Despite the challenges we faced this year, it is still a blessing. Here are some sharings from our Fondacio Asia members talking about their learnings from 2020:
A bit of history:
Fondacio's trip to Asia
Fondacio's journey began in Asia with the birth of the two communities in the Philippines and Malaysia in 1981. Growth during the first decade was driven by the presence of French members of Fondacio who came to Asia as full-time lay missionaries. The main focus during the first decade was the transmission of Fondacio's spirituality and the training of local leaders. The 1990s were a period of integration of this spirituality into the Asian context and the process of inculturation continues into the third millennium. The first 25 years were a period of rooting the communities in the local Philippine and Malaysian church.
The 1st Asian Congress in 2006 marked 25 years of Fondacio in Asia with a clear challenge: to be at the service of the local churches in Asia. The launch of the Fondacio Formation Institute, Asia (IFF Asia) in the same year was a step of faith to be at the service of the local churches in Asia – a response to the Holy Father’s message for the 3rd millennium “to go into the depths. The challenge of this message was a call to mission: to move from Fondacio being active in local parish life to being sent on mission to other countries.
Since 2000, visits have been made to Myanmar and later to China. In 2003, the leaders of Fondacio Malaysia and the Philippines took a step of faith to start a mission in Myanmar and continue mission trips to China. To date, the Institute has hosted young people from 16 countries in Asia. IFF Asia is a sign: a covenant of our commitment to serve the local Church and society in Asia. Today, we are a community on mission engaged in community building, evangelistic activities, youth education and social development projects in Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
Lessons from 2020!
Roslyn (a Young Lives Myitkyina intern) tells us how she overcame her overthinking that made the year difficult for her.
Virgini (Young Lives Yangon Staff) explained how the challenges of this year have made her family stronger.
Jecy (IFFasia Alumni) tells us that 2020 was the year she needed. It was the year she thought about slowing down, never taking life for granted and loving deeper.
Imelda (a member of the IFFasia training team) shares how she learned to adapt to situations and find hope wherever life takes her.
Joseph (IFFasia alumnus) shares how he discovered and nurtured his relationship with God.
Melo (Fondacio Asia Staff) tells us that she has learned to be content, happy, grateful for all the blessings she has and to trust and believe in God's protection.
Jason (Fondacio Philippines National Coordinator) said that this year has taught him to take better care of himself and love himself.
Roger (National Coordinator of Fondacio Myanmar) explained that he also finds benefit in difficult and painful situations.
We thank our members who shared their stories and learnings from this year. No, this was not a typical year and there were also many moments that were difficult.
But if we take the time to look back on how we lived this year, you will surely find many gems along the way.
20/20 usually means our eyes have clear vision. Maybe that’s exactly what this year has done to our lives. To allow us to see what really matters most.
And you? What is the most important lesson you learned from this year? Maybe you just need to look again to see the blessings of this year.
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