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September 2012

"The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. " ~Mitch Albom These wise words written by my most favourite author strike a chord in my heart. We are not islands existing alone and simply working towards self-realisation. True! True! Yet, I feel that Mitch Albom is missing the greater picture. I would like to add that we cannot devote ourselves to loving others, creating something that gives us purpose and meaning if we do not have God in our lives. It is not a matter of doing good out of our own human will or efforts. God is the one moving us to devote our lives for a greater purpose, a greater good. On 7th to 12th September, a group of Verbum Dei Disciples and I went for a Verbum Dei Family Encounter in Taiwan. There, we met up with other Verbum Dei disciples and missionaries from Manila, Tagaytay, Cebu and Taipei.

Verbum Dei Missionaries Singapore

73 Taman Mas Merah Singapore 128195

Tel: 62740251 Email:

verbumdeispore@yahoo.com.sg Website:

www.verbumdeisingapore.org/

We shared the joys and challenges of living out the mission in our concrete places. Behind these efforts to devote ourselves to others and to community, there is God in us who is the one stirring the desire, opening our eyes to see the needs of others, giving us creativity to share his Word, strengthening our love for those around us. As I am writing this, I am remembering each disciple and missionary I met in that enriching Encounter. Cecilia with her infectious laughter and joy, Lisa with her joyful smile, Roy with his quiet pride and care for his wife and daughter, Desiree with her sharing that moved so many, Abby with her wicked sense of humour, David who was always ready to help, Piling who shared so beautifully her struggles to love her mother ....There was this sense of joyful togetherness. We came from different countries, cultures, personalities yet we were united in God. Those days together, we were Home! In this Home, we prayed, played, laughed, ate, shared, danced. In this Home, there were no strangers, only brothers and sisters. In this Home, we have found purpose and meaning.

Editor Says!

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Verbum Dei Jubilee Celebration

Asia Disciples' Encounter

7th ~ 12th September 2012

'Different Cultures, One Mission' Verbum Dei Disciples and Missionaries from the Philippines, Taiwan and Singapore gathered at Little Sisters of St Theresa Retreat Centre, at Taoyuan, Taipei for a Verbum Dei Family Encounter. In the Encounter, we focussed on our four sources of spirituality: Mother Mary, Mystical Body, Holy Trinity and the Eucharist. We had guidelines and prayers every morning. We also present Mother Mary and the Holy Trinity in the context of the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan. The creative and informative presentations helped us all to understand the different realities of each country. We had two days of visiting some beautiful places! Yeliu Geopark where we saw rock formations that took our breath away! We also visited the beautiful sanctuary of Our Lady of Wu Fong Ci. Of course, we happily shopped at the many souvenir stores as well as the famous night markets at Taoyuan and Danshui. Lastly, we ate and ate and ate! In those short few days together, we gained, not only many insights and kilos, but friendships as well. Looking forward to the next Verbum Dei Family Encounter!

Gary

Yvonne

Sandra

Monika

Desiree

Disciples and Missionary representing Singapore

Debbie

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Day 1 Snapshots

First day morning

guidelines on Mother

Mary

Disciple from Manila presenting

Mother Mary in the context of the

Philippines

Philippines team singing a

Tagalong song to Mother

Mary

Singapore team sharing on Mother Mary

in the country

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Taiwan team sharing the

presence of Mother Mary in

the country

Night Fiesta: Cultural Presentations

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Night prayer to end Day 1 Day 2

Snapshots

Guidelines on Mystical Body to

start the day

Group Sharing

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Philippines,

Singapore and

Taiwan

presenting how

they lived the

reality of the

Mystical Body in

their concrete

places.

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Day 3 and 4: Visiting Taiwan

Yeliu Geopark: Natural Rock

Formations

Watching street performances at

National Centre for Traditional Art

Celebrating Mass at missionaries'

house at Danshui

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Mother Mary of

Wu Fong Ci

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Food & Faith 30th September 2012

'Who Am I?'

This was our second series of our Food and Faith series for non-

Christians. In a non-threatening environment, we share our faith about God the Father through activities, sharing, talk, and of

course, over yummy food!

Welcoming participants with chips , mooncakes and beverages

Looking for pictures that spoke to them most about their life now, how others saw them and their ideal life they had

for themselves. Each then had to do a collage with the

pictures they chose.

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John, who was a non-Christian, sharing

on his personal journey of discovering

God the Father's Love

"Being a sceptic, I still doubted this relationship with God many times! I thought it was too good to be true. What if faith is like opium and I was just using it as a tranquiliser? But each time I doubted, I was proven wrong, and therefore, I decided to take a leap of faith. It was a realisation that even though I doubted him, yet he remained faithful and he continued to love me...It is with this relationship with God that I have the strength to go through the challenges in life." ~ Abstract from John's sharing

Gary giving a talk on God the Father

Group Sharing over tea