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Freely you have received, freely youshall give. Matthew 10:8

Singing our praise is a gift. Manyaspects in our journey can be foundin the songs we sing from the Glory-book. A line in a familiar song goes,...what can we give; that You havenot given, and what do we have thatis not already yours? But in practice,do we indeed recognize that we ownnothing? Do we truly freely give whatGod has freely given us?

How awesome and generous is Godwhom we serve! He takes care of allour needs: food, clothing, shelterand many more. He takes care of ourloved ones, grants us good health andgifts us with a happy and Spirit-lledlife. Many times we are amazed at themany little miracles of His providen-tial intervention in our lives. Yet howdo we respond to Gods goodness?

How often do we nd ourselves as-suming that everything we have is o urown possession? After all, these arethings we say we earned through ourown hard work and labor. Doesntthis give us the right of absoluteownership over them? But God cre-ated everything. Everything belongsto Him. Poverty and riches belongto the Lord (Sirach 11:14). Mine isthe silver and mine the gold, says theLord of Hosts (Haggai 2:8).

Human as we are, we tend to forget

that loving God is more than just hav-ing good intentions. There is no roomfor misers in Gods kingdom. Whenwe start to struggle to share, when wend it hard to give to others, when westruggle to give our support to Godsmission, we forget the Giver!

Our life in Couples for Christ affordsus countless opportunities to remem-ber the Giver of everything we have.We have a two-fold mission of Build-ing the Church of the Home and theChurch of the Poor that entails a greatdeal of sacrices of our time, talentand treasure. We have made a cov-enant with the Lord to fully support

Kids running around, clinging on you, sitting on your lap, dancing,singing, stories left and right. Kids...They are such a source of joy, of hope,a picture of humility and simplicity.

Education units are required for oneto teach in the Academe, sometimeseven a Graduate degree. But morethan that, teaching requires passion.And so I let my dream of becoming ateacher stay aside and continue with

my usual 8:30am to 5:30pm corpo-rate work. Soon, I found myself in thedifferent KFC and its mission areasactivities during weekends. Canthelp but to be with the kids.

Then here comes 07July2011, ourtraining for the Cornerstone pro- gram. Only then I understand howthe program aims to promote literacyand values formation. It was moving. Ihave been involved in several Corpo-

rate Social Responsibility of the samekind, but this one is much different.30 students, 10 schools, 1 schoolyear to start, a new generation to buildand I was asked to be a part of it as ateacher volunteer. The school loca-tion is an hour to an hour and a halfride from my place and we need to bethere before 9am. One school year -more than 32 Saturdays of waking upearly to be there, to be with the kids.Should I or should I not? I can servein my area and I need not to wake upearly. Should I really go there Lord?

But seeing the smiles in the childrens

faces, enliven my spirit. Innocent asthey are, for sure they dont know why they were there. They sang andthey danced. They told us stories andshared their lives. And it was just ourrst day, our rst meeting.

The following week, seeing themstare at letters and words, shakingtheir heads as I point from one wordto another, saddens my heart. Theycant even read a 2-letter word. Oh.Its real, there are grade 2 and grade3 students who cant read at all. Howcome? Whose fault? Teachers? Par-ents? Students? Government? Ahh. Were not there to blame anyone,were there to help.

I just realized that the Cornerstoneprogram is not just a literacy program,it is a Missionary calling. It is a call tochange lives. It will be difcult. It will be challenging. Itll be like movingmountains. And it is. Every Saturdayour patience is being tested. EverySaturday our creativity and innova-tiveness were being developed. Oursinging and dancing talents are beinghoned to perfection. Every Saturday we teach our students new words.Every Saturday we found out some-thing new with them. Every Saturdaywe meet new Ates, Kuyas, Titos andTitas supporting the program. Every

Saturday we learn something new.Every Saturday we realized that thiscalling is not only changing the livesof the kids, but changing ours as well.This calling is not meant for us alone,but meant to be shared. Cornerstoneis and will always be Gods work.

Four months left. But not yet too late.There are more things to be done.More missionaries needed to answerthe call. As a Cornerstone teacher volunteer we dont need to have anEducation unit, or a Graduate de-gree... we just need a heart.. Passionfor the kids. Passion for service. Pas-sion for the mission. Why not be oneof us?

Cornerstone:

A Missionary Call

RETURNING

TO GODWHAT

RIGHTFULLY

BELONGS

TO HIMBy Nonoy Dalman

that mission as part of our growing inHis spirit.

To what extent we support His mis-sion is a test of our love for Him. Wehave to be prepared to give from what we have as freely and joyfully as wereceived them, and that should be ourdaily exercise. Sometimes we thinkthat we are good stewards of Gods re-sources when in reality we are merelybeing selsh. In the same breath wesing,... and I give my all, take me as Iam. I am yours oh God, till the end of

my days, I give my all!

But then again, we know that God isnot really interested in our resources.He already owns everything, He con-trols everything. He is interested onlyin what is in our hearts. God will blessus accordingly, if He nds in us a gen-erous heart that is willing joyfully andfreely giving what it possesses.

Only then can we sing to Him ourpraises and tell Him... All that I am,all that I have, I lay them down beforeyou... as a pleasing sacrice. Lord Ioffer You my life!

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Our sufferings, our pains are noth-ing compared to the glory that is to berevealed in us. All throughout the YFC Metro Ma-nila Conference held at the First AsiaInstitute of Technology and Humani-ties in Tanauan, Batangas last Octo-ber 22-23, 2011, puzzles were beingsolvedcrosses were formed from boxes, placards bearing convictionstatements formed the word LOVE

onstage, and 2,800 delegates hand-prints formed the face of Jesus Christon a billboard. All things that mayhave seemed random were proven tohave meaning and purpose during theconference, and the same truth wasto be aptly repeated in the talks and personal sharings during that week-end. After all, the theme of the Like Jesus: Be. Love. Live Conferencewas taken from Philippians 1:27-30, which speaks of both struggles andvictories in Christ.The rst day of the 2-day conferencebegan early, with some delegates ar-riving even before dawn. After the

soft opening, the competitors tookthe Oath of Sportsmanship beforetrooping to various venues withinthe school grounds for the sports,creative, and special competitions.Later that day, the delegates were

also able to choose from the various workshops to further enhance theirskills and knowledge.After the workshops, the Metroconsevening segment began with a paradeof sectors, featuring the various Sec-tor conference logos. Then, Dudz Academia, one of the newest YFCFulltime Pastoral Workers assignedin Metro Manila, led the crowd in anopening worship, thanking the Lordfor His pasalubong for the YFCs.This was immediately followed bythe rst session, which took off witha Rock segment composed of bandand dance performances which were

connected to the talk points of therst session, Victory in the Vision, by MM FTPW GJ Ramores. In histalk, he enlivened the participantsto claim Gods victory in their lives,and to aspire to inspire before they

expired. He launched the new YFC Vision of Young people being and bringing Christ wherever they are,as well, and called on youth heads toshare about Gods victories in theirown lives and areas. The speakerwrapped up the session by stressingthat in spite of the difculties thatYFCs might face in pursuing the mis-sion to be like Jesus, it can surely beachieved by the grace and mercy ofGod. A dance segment featuring creativerepresentations of common sins and vices among the youth followed therst session. Then, Tutch Ongsia-

ko, the Overall Sector youth head ofWest B, came onstage to deliver the2nd session entitled, Gain in Pain. While wowing the crowd with hiscomedic spiels, Tutch delivered thecentral message of the talk, which

was that pain and suffering are part ofthe greater victory. He called on 10YFCs who spoke of their own strug-gles in life and how they had learnedto see the good in such. The ip

boards they held eventually formedthe word LOVE onstage, remind-ing everyone of how much God lovesus, even though we might be temptedto believe otherwise because of the pains we experience. Before endingthe session, Tutch testied that, It isonly by accepting that you are lovedby God that you will see the privilegeof suffering for Him, and afterwardsled the crowd into prayer. As the par-ticipants reected to the song, In Your Arms, the praise fest leader, Jake Lime, took the stage to shareabout his own struggles in the past.The new MM FTPW emphasized thatthough our individual pains and suf-

ferings vary, one thing is common inour journeywe are never alone. Heinstructed the delegates to write downon their left hands the sufferings thatthey were currently struggling with.

And with their right palms dippedinto red paint, the delegates testiedto Christs love for the world, for the blood He shed to save us all. Afterthe evening praise fest session, YFCMetro Manila continued its 10-yeartradition of celebrating E-night witha special performance from formerYFC and Pinoy Dream Academy starRJ Jimenez, as well as dance acts fromthe Believe Dance Company, a Praiseand Fashion segment featuring Over-all Sector Couple Coordinators and Youth Heads, a Liveloud 2012 pre-view, ILC Aklan teasers, and a songand dance medley from all the MetroManila YFC FTPWs.

Early the next day, the delegates cel-ebrated the Holy Eucharist before hearing the 3rd and nal session,Being Like Jesus, from youth headRon Celajes. In his talk, he spoke of

how each youth can be like Jesusasa child who trusts in and obeys God,as a youth who exudes passion andconviction, and as a mature indi- vidual who ministers as an army ofGod. During the talk, each delegate was asked to write down the con-crete and specic ways by which he/she could be like Jesus, and to leaveimprints of their right handswhichsignify the victories the Lord hasprepared for uson a giant billboardat the center of the venue. The bill-board bearing the handprints, whichformed Christs face, was then liftedonto the stage as YFC Metro Manilastestament to Gods glory and victory.

Ron ended the talk by inviting eachYFC to worship God and to live theJesus All Day experienceto trulybe like Jesus and bring Him whereverthey went.

The Like Jesus Conference ended promptly on that sunny day, with2,800 YFCs excitedly trooping backto Metro Manila, and three hundredlivestream delegates signing out oftheir online accounts. It was perhapsthe rst Metrocon that did not see adrop of rain during the entire confer-ence weekendsurely a sign of even greater victories to come from GodAlmighty.

Reigniting the Fire:

The Resurrection

of Flame MinistriesBy Katrina Martin

Being Like Jesus:

YFC Metrocon 2011By Katrina Martin

November 4, 2011, 5:45 p.m. It was almost closing time at the Flame storein the CFC Home Ofce when a small commotion began to take place aroundthe display table. The new In His Steps had just arrived and it was quite differ-ent from the 2011 series. Shorter but wider than a usual tome, this volume,like all of its new products released this year, aptly reected the new directionthat Flame is bent on pursuing.

More than becoming a global brand that consistently churns out world-classproducts which fuse tradition with vibrance, Flame Ministries, Inc. aims toinspire people to embrace the CFC way of life. In Pope John Paul IIs pas-toral instruction Aetatis Novae on social communications, he said that, Itis for Gods faithful people to make creative use of the new discoveries andtechnologies for the benet of humanity and the fulllment of His plan for theworld . T ruly, Flame has taken this instruction to heart. For its thirty-threeemployees, a book isnt just a book but a means of helping deepen ones faith;a shirt isnt just a shirt but a tool for witnessing to Christs presence in oneslife; and sales dont simply equate to money, but to funding for the greatermission and support for the CFC missionaries.Rewind to October 2010 when the decision by the CFC International Coun-cil was relayed to then Youth for Christ International Coordinator, RommelAnchetahe was to take over the reigns of Flame and try to turn it around from

its Php 5.5M debt. At that time, he wondered why he was called to leave hisperfect setup in YFC to lead a highly technical department of CFC. Little didhe know that God had a greater plan for Flame Ministries, and he had a roleto play in it. When Rommel assumed his post in January 2011, the rst thinghe did was to converse with and get to know each of the Flame employees.Rather than focusing on the technical and administrative changes, he soughtrst to familiarize himself with their individual working styles and strengths,and their personal lives as well.

The people at Flame jokingly recall that during its inception, CFC leaderswould recruit the unemployed to serve in the department. Wating Escribir,who is now the overall Sales Coordinator, started out as a custodian in the rstCFC ofce. He used to tease the workers whom hed spot entering and leavingthe property but it was one of those whom he taunted, brother, who eventu-ally invited him to join them. And the rest, as they say, is history. Though theemployees of Flame have their unique stories as to how they ended up working

for the Social Communications arm of Couples for Christ, one thing is truetoday: there is a reason that each o ne of us is serving here now.

During the Flame planning last March, that purpose was claried. It was thenthat everyone realized how necessary it was to communicate the greatness ofChrist through the products and through our daily interactions, both in andout of the ofce. Directions were set; the vision, mission, and fruits of the mis-sion were dened; and strategies to improve the operations were developed.But above all, the ideal that every individual present took with them was thatthey were not merely employees but missionaries giving their best for the Lordand graciously anticipating the fulllment of Gods promise for and throughFlame Ministries.

In less than a year, Flame has managed to rise from its nancial troubles bythe grace of God and by the labor of love that each Flame missionary offers.Many changes have taken place: crucial business process assessment and revi-sions are being put in order; new hires have been made to improve productdevelopment, purchasing, and marketing; and dialogue with other ministries

have been increased. It is a work in progress that has entailed sacrices fromall those involved, with people clocking in much more than the requisite 40hours a week. But these sacrices are lovingly made and never imposed.

Last September, the CFC Home Ofce employees gathered in the lobby asFlame presented its exclusive sale for them, which involved giving employeesa 75% discount on Flames previously released products as a means of helpingthem generate additional income to provide for their families. It was a win-winsituation because it not only facilitated the liquidation of existing inventorybut, more importantly, helped fulll Flames secondary objective, which isto nancially bless the CFC global work, its missionaries, and the people itserves.

November 10, 2011, 11:45 a.m. Songs from Walt Disneys Beauty and theBeast ll the air at the Flame ofce extension at the 3rd oor of the CFCHome Ofce. In one corner, a graphic artist is revising the upcoming Glory

Song book for the nth time. In another, nishing touches are applied to thenew novelties which are set to be released by Christmas season, while the Mar-keting team is busy forwarding the 4th quarter electronic catalogue via emailand various social networks. The Accounting staff are busy updating theirrecords and following-up the different regions for their receivables. Down-stairs, Sales coordinators are calling their local counterparts to inform themof the soon-to-be-released products while the Purchasing head charms a sup-plier into lowering their publishing rate by a few centavos per copy. And justoutside the room, the President is meeting with an IT volunteer, planning forthe automation of transactions.

This is the new Flame Ministries, Inc. Everyday sees it in organized chaos,with some days being more organized, and other days being more chaotic. Itis made up of different individuals with different personalities, backgrounds,strengths, and yes, weaknesses. But though each is faced with a new challengeeveryday, they do their best that they might not be fazed, knowing that it is forGods purpose that they toil unrelentingly.