Gift Boxes!

By Aaron D'Souza

This is a reflection I had after listening to the homily by Fr. Vella. 
Fr. Vella told us a parable of the man who died and met St. Peter in heaven. I have typed a shorter version of the parable and a reflection .

Parable:
St. Peter showed him around and the man noticed a store house. In the store house he saw a number of boxes stacked up which had his names on them.  Out of curiosity, he asked St. Peter why were there boxes with his name on it. Peter replied ' These boxes contain the gifts which our Father wanted to give you during life on earth. But whenever he came to meet you. You were never there to receive it. So He came back to heaven and stored these gifts in the warehouse. These boxes symbolise all the gifts you did not receive ur entire life'

Reflection:
What I like about this parable is that God never threw the boxes away even after the man died.

I am sure there are boxes with our names written on them. The exciting part is , it's not thrown away.. Which means they ready for delivery even now when we turn to The Lord.

In the past one year how many boxes has he stacked ?.. I wonder?. Can we get our hands on those boxes?Of course we can!! That's the best part... When we turn to Him .. He will be the most excited to give away all those boxes. But, in his time!

Each one of us are special and our gifts from him are unique to us.. He will never share or divide the boxes with others.. So you can be rest assured whatever God has kept for you.. Is meant only for you because you are unique and special to Him.

Therefore wait on The Lord. His timing is perfect. :) ' Patience with God is Faith' . 

Receive those boxes . That will make you and I the 'BEST VERSION OF OURSELVES ' in the likeness and image of God.


Don't you wanna know whats in those boxes? Turn to the Lord! :)

Christmas and New Year Wishes - A Reflection of the Year That Was

By Jack Chui

Each year I receive a Christmas card from a former cell group friend where her tradition is to write a reflection of the year that was on Christmas day and send it to all her friends. I have been a privileged recipient of her cards for several years now and she has inspired me to do something similar - hence this post. I have given few if any gifts to people this Christmas and I hope the following will be gift enough to everyone who has been a part of year/life. It is the gift of Jesus that I really want to give to all and maybe while I'm writing this, it will come through although I won't be writing about it explicitly.

The year of 2013 for me could be summed up as one of amazement and great blessing. If you look back at all my previous posts in the year its not too hard to see the highs and the lows of my journey as a leader in ministry this year. Through it all, God has provided me with enough just when it was required.

We tried new doing new things for the Friends of Refugees outreach. Early in the year we piloted English classes and employment searching services but after one week the refugees didn't come back. We also invited them to a BBQ at the Church and while we prepared a lot of food, they didn't turn up. Such is the nature of the ministry some times. However, where we might have failed in understanding them or where God did not give us a way through there were other things where God gave us a way.

We continued with our monthly visits to the Detention Centre and the released refugees in their homes, but undoubtedly the most wonder came from the Moving Days. All we had done before were simple tasks which involved volunteers, cars and communication, but Moving Day was a big logistics operation the like I had ever been involved in let alone organised. We started with nothing and just came away amazed at how the Holy Spirit drew volunteers, donations, trucks (Man With A Van) and just a way to bring furniture from those who didn't need it, to those with none.

Emmaus Cell Group was my support through the first half of 2013 and the group was growing slowly from strength to strength. Sadly, from such a high, I decided to leave Emmaus halfway through the year so that I could concentrate more on STAY the young adults ministry. From what I've heard, Emmaus Cell Group (which is a parish cell group) have adapted well to their new leaders and I pray that Emmaus Cell group will only become stronger.

Halfway through 2013 I was facing an ultimatum of whether to continue leading STAY or just giving it up with the other leader Jean heading to Singapore. STAY had few if any consistent people coming for cell group on Sundays after morning mass and it was lonely leading a group that mainly consistent of just me... But at the last moment just when we needed it, God came through and brought a few people along with more fire than me. If you read the last few posts, you can read how STAY has amazingly turned around from next to nothing and become a wonderful group/community which has also driven the growth of Friends of Refugees and Firebrandz (STAY's P&W partner).

A lot of STAY's growth has come through a new ministry called Firebrandz. Firebrandz is an overseas group which brings God to young people through music. Aaron had come from India to start up this branch in Melbourne and was a keen but unknown supporter of STAY. With a little help from STAY, Firebrandz has hosted 4 Worship nights, a healing mass and a retreat with great turn outs. the people attending these were also encouraged to come to STAY cell groups on Tuesday evenings. While the ministry is run predominantly by Aaron, I believe God through the people being formed in STAY will lift Firebrandz so that it will experience the amazement that I was able to see in STAY and in Friends of Refugees.

Writing about how great this year and ministry has been might be repetitive after a while but I do this to bring out God's glory. All I had to do was say yes and be there, and God drew the people and made a way for all these wonderful things to work. In all my years in Melbourne participating in Church and then leading I have not experienced so much amazement. It was not my own skills and ability for which brought all this about because it was never this good before.

I think God was preparing me through the many trials and opportunities of the past so that I could experience and witness the joy of such fruitful ministry. I have a learned a lot in my years leading Emmaus, STAY and Friends of Refugees and I know that I'm a little more wiser now having learned from others and being taught by others. All this has been leading me to a mission - and that is to bring God to people - in particular young people. I have been so privileged to see God draw people closer to him through cell groups, Firebrandz worship/retreat/mass and the refugees outreach. Some people have even been drawn through this humble website.

I feel like I'm Joshua in the battle against Amalek. I'm the one out the front of the battle doing the work and receiving all the glory, but the battle was really won by God and the intercessions of Moses on the top of the hill (Exodus 17). There is no way all of this could be done by my hand below, but through the prayers of the few or many that are praying for me and the ministries. I wish to thank everyone for their prayers and I hope that if you are not able to witness some of the great things that have happened because of them that you might get a glimpse of them through the writing in this blog. If that was 2013, then I'm a bit scared of what 2014 will bring in terms of the new challenges that might be set (2013 challenges were a stretch and beyond for me) but I say bring it on! because then God's work will have be to even more powerful through us.

It has also been a very blessed year for me not just because of the wonder and amazing things which have happened in ministry, but I've also been able to sustain a relationship with my girlfriend. Prioritising can be hard with so many things on and so I'm very blessed to have the time for ministry and importantly her support to be able work for God's Kingdom here on earth. I think the arrangement now permits me to be able to lead and be very involved and so I will continue fighting the good fight while I can because one day, things will change and I may not be able to any more.

So this Christmas/New Year message is one of thanks - for your prayers, participation, support and contribution to all the ministries I've been involved in, that you will be blessed with His love, joy and peace more than I have been so blessed to have witness this year. That 2014 will be one of greater glory for God and that the gift of Christ which is the intention of all ministry is spread deeper in your hearts and in more people. That those who are struggling like the refugees and their own problems will find solace in an unconditionally loving God. Wishing you a most blessed Christmas and a joyful New Year.

What To Do?

By Jack Chui

I can look back at some of my earlier posts in the year and reflect fondly on how STAY has just transformed in just six months. People from church and sometimes outside of church have been coming up to me to tell me what an amazing group STAY is and then congratulate me on building such a wonderful community of young Catholic adults (no mean feat by the track record of other groups out there). I might receive all this glory as the leader, but all this credit really goes to God because I did very little in making STAY what it is today.

A friend from STAY recently told me about the patron saint for Priests - St. John Vianney. He was apparently not a very smart guy, barely making it through the seminary out of sheer persistence. His superiors took the safe option and sent the newly ordained and incompetent young priest to a remote parish (today known as Lourdes). When St. John Vianney reached there, he just prayed and prayed for many years - there were only a few people attending mass at the church. He also heard confessions for 16 hours a day and somehow, many were drawn to the parish and the whole town was converted to the amazement of other priests and his superiors.

I feel like I am like St. John Vianney, except much worse - I haven't been praying and I'm not 100% devoted to STAY or God. Yet the people just came, but not like before ... they actually "STAYed"... My aim and mission for the whole year was quite simple - just keep the ship from sinking... One of my gifts apparently is persistence - stubborn persistence sometimes and so I'm quite good at just keeping things going. That's all I really did for STAY...

Through little if any work of my own, the Holy Spirit brought new people to STAY, such that few if anyone in STAY from a year ago is still here today. They love STAY more than me and are so hungry for more of God that as the leader, I don't know what to do to meet their thirst or our simple goal of bringing God to young people. Because all I know how to do well is to keep the ship from sinking.

STAY is not in survival mode any more, and I've never been a part of a group as energetic and lively as this one. We have almost 20 people attending cell group each week (diligently for most) and at this run rate, STAY could have 40 people in mid 2014 and 60 people by the end...  I never imagined STAY would be more than 12 people at best given how few in number young adults are attending mass, and let alone having the time and will to attend a cell group. Its scary to imagine how much more of a powerhouse STAY can become (thankfully I don't have much imagination) because while its a nice problem to have - lots of people, it will come with more work and complexity of more relationships.

While keeping the ship afloat, I have been directed by the newcomers in STAY and they have been taking a lot of the initiative to run worship nights (Firebrandz), outreach for the refugees (Friends of Refugees), prayers and outings for the cell group. They have much more ideas and fire than me and I wonder whether it is time for them to take more control of the rudder to steer STAY towards to the will of God. I think I've not said no to any of their ideas. I have done my role faithfully, and while I have been advised not to stop until God waves the big red stop sign, I wonder if I should take more of a back seat so that the newcomers are not held back to take STAY forward. I have also thought about whether I should lead both STAY and Friend so Refugees or only one...

It might also be a good time for God to push me outside my comfort zone to try new things for His Kingdom so there might still be purpose for me to continue being a leader of STAY. My mission might also be to encourage people to become leaders and take on some of the cell group leading which I currently do. What to do ...? Already on the cards is a worship/music group for STAY/Firebrandz to play for Sunday mass and perhaps Firebrandz - to start in January 2014 while the regular worship bands at church take some time off after serving during Advent. Another initiative STAY had run in the past is a retreat in the 2nd half of the year.

I'm looking to study a professional course for my work early in 2014 of which I attempted last year and didn't pass. It would require a lot more study than trying to fit study around my many commitments and so my other worry is whether there are people willing and with the time to do more for STAY ... I think and hope that I underestimate the group and their abilities - it is time for God to shine more through the members of STAY. I pray that I can be not so proud to ask for their help.

Hampers for Refugees - Beyond my Expectations

By Jack Chui

Last Sunday which is my last Sunday in Melbourne for the year we went to for our last refugee visits for the year. As part of Friends of Refugees, throughout the year, I have been scheduling visits to the refugees staying outside detention about one Sunday a month. Its not a difficult event to organise as all it requires is volunteers with cars if possible and a list of addresses/families to visit. Previously it was hard to find new families to visit but with our links the Detention Centre and a relationship with Red Cross we had heaps of addresses (some which were too far to reach...) and then it was a case of not having so many volunteers to help with the visits.. Still - God provided 'enough' to see us through.

A month before, Andrea from STAY who had come with us a few times for Moving Day raised a brilliant suggestion to make some hampers to give to the refugee families. I had not thought of what to do leading up to Christmas for the refugee home visits so it came as a welcome suggestion. Last year, Father Peter had bought $1000 worth of Christmas cakes whom a refugee family made to sell and we gave those to many families.

I had no idea how to put hampers together, but if Andrea could lead the charge then who was I to stop her? I think I am a bit tired of doing most of the work in preparing and this idea looked too much for me so it was nice to let Andrea take the lead with this one. My expectations of it was similar to last year - to visit about 20 house with a few cars to wish each family well and Merry Christmas but boy was I in for a shock...

Andrea through STAY managed to bring the rest of STAY along the mission to raise funds, design and purchase the hampers and plan the delivery of the hampers. The big group went ballistic in asking friends and the church for donations so much so that I was a bit worried about what to do with the excess funds (I don't like to hold donated money because it should be used). They raised more than enough for 40 hampers and 20 presents for the children at which I told them that it was probably enough and that it would be too much to do any more!

One worry for limiting them was the number of families we knew we could reach and distribute them. Each time I was notified of how much we received and how many hampers we could create meant that the distribution list and paths would need to increase. I left poor Nicole to deal with most of the changes and I probably caused her more grief with my additional requirements and unresponsiveness to her questions. Nicole went the extra step to contact the families to let them know we were coming on Sunday to visit them - a step I had not put into my process myself as I was used to visiting unannounced.

I'm glad that I let the group rather than myself lead this project because I realise that my ambitions were limited and would have limited the potential of the Secret Santa. With the greater number of people (that I was too proud to ask for help) they could do so much more and their aims were sky high. They went to shopping centres all around Melbourne just to find the right items within budget to fit into the stockings and boxes. There was more than enough donations to give each family a $30 food voucher which would be flexible for the family's needs. They also gathered 9 cars to be able to make the deliveries in one afternoon and enough volunteers for at least 2 in each car - I have never had so many volunteers help out for such one of our events!

What resulted was what I and probably many who were able to help deliver the hampers could describe as a wonderful day. Each car had 'only' 5 addresses to visit all around the same location which meant we could spend some time with each family rather than stay at the door to give them the present and then run off again.  Most of the time I would be managing the timings or the moving of items such that I would not do much if any of the talking to the families, so it was nice this time to be able make myself uncomfortable and engage with the family to just be their friend.

I expected about 25% of the addresses to have no one home and therefore some of the hampers would not be given away, but in the end only few hampers were left because just about every family we had planned to visit welcomed us in. I had plans to give the rest to Father Peter so in his other visits, he could give them to those families but this wasn't needed. The experiences I was privileged to hear about were all very positive and it was a joy to hear from them and how some were touched the experiences. I hope to share some of these in the next post.

Through it all, I kept in mind that the hampers were not the focus of visit. This is not to downplay the good work that was put to getting them together. The main gift I wanted to give was that of Jesus because at Christmas, I'm reminded, more than the presents that I don't need or want to receive, is that I need the gift of Jesus to be renewed in my heart and also to share it with the refugees who need hope more than material needs. I wanted to also give them my time and company which I think is my most scare resource in my busy life. While it might be a precious gift for me to give and some of the refugee families may not appreciate it as so, I think it gives Jesus a chance to reach them through me and the volunteers.

The hampers were of great aid in breaking the ice to visit some of the families and it they were received warmly. I wish to say a big thanks to the production team for bringing it together and preparing the way for such a wonderful and smooth day for all the drivers and volunteers. I know I've named Andrea and Nicole in this but my thanks includes everyone who helped out big or small. Thanks also for putting up with me and my tense moments. I am so glad that there are people much better than me at doing all these things and that they are so generous in helping in this last visit. Thanks also to the fundraisers and the people who donated - I hope you can see through this blog the good and amazing things which come from your generosity.

God has worked his wonders through us once more through STAY and Friends of Refugees. Thanks be to God and thanks also for the prayers which made this day most wonderful and beyond my expectations.

Some photos of the of the team creating the hampers -

Greetings from Singapore:)

By Jean Cheng

It's been awhile since I've wrote on this blog and I thought of updating a recent grace that God has poured into my heart. He remains actively close to me in my journey, since leaving Melbourne. :) Before that, however, I just wanted to say that I have been so happy and awed at what God is doing in STAY, and how a community has formed here. It is truly amazing to see how God has called the hearts of individuals together to share, empower each other other, and encourage each other in the hope and joy of God, that will never disappoint. May all of you continue to see and taste the truth that God-is-with-us as you look at each other journeying with you. =)

Yesterday, we celebrated the feast of Christ the King. Pondering on the passage last week, an image came to mind. It was based on the verse, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23: 43). When I saw Jesus say these words to me, I saw him gently taking my hand as he said it, and leading me somewhere. Then the image stopped. I did not know where He was leading me, but I knew that He was leading me and I was not afraid. Instead, there was hope, anticipation, and excitement.

Before that, I was struggling with the possibility of my fiancé entering into the leadership team for his church young adult community. A part of me wanted him to because I believed that he has many gifts and the right heart to be in a position of servant-leadership. But a part of me did not want him to because I was afraid of what this would mean about our time together, especially as we prepared for marriage and a life together. These fears were compounded by the fact that I still am in the process of finding my place in his community, hence I worried I would be unable to support him by feeling with him the same ways that he felt about his community.

But last week, when I went for mass, I found myself unexpectedly praying to surrender all my expectations of what kind of husband he 'should' be, what kind of wife I 'should' be, what kind of married/family life we 'should' have, etc. In that prayer, there was pain and tears but there was also a deep peace, hope, and excitement. It was as if in that moment, I was dying to how I felt my future should be, and therefore allowing God to finally be in control, and surprise me with a better plan He has for us.

After surrendering and blessing Marcus to go wherever God calls Him, I was surprised that I was actually excited that he was nominated and elected as a leader. It's as if I finally died to my fears and surrendered my life into God's hands.

I do not know what this will mean for us and our married life. In fact, when I think of my future, I do not know how that will pan out. But somehow I feel as if because I do not know, I am free. Free from trying to make my life fit into one mould. Free to be surprised. The imagery was an affirmation from Jesus that my future is in His hands. He is the one leading me, and He is holding me. I do not see the path ahead of me, but there is excitement because I know who is leading me and with me through it all. Praise God. =)

Friends of Refugees - Moving Day 5

By Claire Dcunha

Humbling is probably the best word I could use to describe my experience on Moving Day. This was the first time I had ever participated in something like this so I didn’t know what to expect but I knew this is something I very much wanted to be involved in.  This desire to assist came about when Jack mentioned participating in Moving Day during one of the STAY meetings -  I'm glad I was able to make it to help out - what a rewarding experience it was!

I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by people who had previously participated and knew exactly what they were doing. My understanding was that this was the fifth time this was being carried out and what a massive effort it was from collecting donations, sorting them out and transporting them to refugee houses that really needed them. It was wonderful to see how people as a community freely volunteered their time to help people in need who they had never met. I was reminded of James 2:14-17 "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." How true this is!

The Company ‘Man with a Van’ donated a truck. We were also joined by Matt and Liam - 2 volunteers from the same company who did such great work helping out as there were quite a few locations to go to. Their patience and efficiency was nothing short of amazing!

We were able to go out to all the 8 houses on the list in a timely manner as Andrea and Nicole had worked on our route map – Regardless, it was still not an easy task as there were quite a few houses to visit in different suburbs. We were however, able to give a few items to each house which was really appreciated by the families. Among the donations were clothes, toys, cutlery and crockery, couches, beds, fridges, microwaves etc.  It was wonderful to see the smiles on people’s faces when they were given the donations. Finding the simple joys in the little things in life not taking anything that was offered to them for granted, I felt that some of the families were really appreciative of just us coming out to meet them and say hello as a few of them had come here by themselves and had left their families and all that they knew behind.

Among the houses we visited were three families, two of which were expecting their first child and one that had a baby aged 1 year and 20 days. We were able to give them some toys, clothes, cutlery and one of the families received a fridge. 

There were 2 other houses we visited and the people there really needed our help. In one of the houses lived 3 young men from Iran. When we met them we were greeted with smiles but we were surprised that they had absolutely no furniture, there were just empty rooms. It was like as if they moved in just a few days ago but they had been living there for 3 months.  It was really wonderful to be able to give them some jackets, shirts, pants, beds, couches, a microwave and a few other items. 

The last house we visited housed about 5 families but only had one bed room and bathroom and a lounge area. We were only able to meet 5 of the tenants who lived there. The only things I could see were a table to eat and shelves with a bit of cutlery. We were able to give them clothes, cutlery, couches among a few other items. I really wish we had more to give them as they really needed it but, as it was the last house there was not much we could do. One of the men at this property highlighted to me that this was the first sort of aid they had received since coming to Australia and all of them were really appreciative of the effort and hoped we could help them more.

I guess the part I found hard was when we had to say no to giving away some of the items to some refugees as we knew that there were other houses that needed it more and also not having enough to give. Donations clearly play a very large part in the whole process so it wouldn’t be right to close off without acknowledging all the donations that made it possible to give all these refugees a chance at having the basic life necessities that I know I take for granted like a bed, fridge and clothes.

A Test on Forgiveness

By Pat Pagulayan

Whoever said following God is a piece of cake must be hallucinating.

So far, my faith journey towards Him has been a rollercoaster ride. Probably the most exhilarating, nerve-wrecking, mind-blowing ride I have ever taken in my life, hands down! This journey has broken me and mended me over and over again. It has made me question myself, my family, and even God Himself. It has made me feel a myriad of things that I don’t even know that I am capable of feeling. It has brought me so much sadness and sorrow, as well as joy and peace, and I am loving every minute of it.

The last 24 hours has unexpectedly been a difficult one, for reasons that I am still trying to comprehend.

The day started beautifully with a confession wherein the priest prayed for three things for me: patience, humility, and charity. I guess I have underestimated how powerful prayers are. Little did I know that these three values are going to be put to test so soon, and I guess I was unprepared for it. But actually, I find that sometimes, it’s good to be unprepared, because the lessons learned penetrate deeper in an unprotected heart.

That test came with a grand entrance that I was so appalled that even now, I still find the turn of events unbelievable. I guess I have never been hurt by someone I consider a friend in such a short amount of time. I was so hurt that this same friend has put me in a situation wherein I have to make a very logical and drastic decision.

So I prayed and asked God for counsel to do what is right. And the answer I got is probably one of the hardest thing I had to do as of yet (well, I guess aside from overcoming my fear of confession).

“Forgive and give another chance.”

And so there I was just sitting, still in disbelief, and being my stubborn self, trying to argue.

I guess my “yes Lord” was actually we a “yes Lord, but…”

Ah, faith. To trust fully in God and His plans, ideally without question. But well, I’m still working on the questioning part. You see, God has given me an inquisitive mind that sometimes brings me more stress and hinders my trust in Him.

Eventually, a heartfelt “yes” finally came out of my mouth.

After that, I was expecting to sleep well and be in peace knowing that it is the right decision. But when I found myself awake, uneasy, and disturbed at 3am, I began questioning if it was really Him who’s telling me that, because since I’ve started going back to Him, one of the main issues I’ve had is not being able to discern His voice: is it really Him, or is it just my own head telling me those things? Or worse, is it coming from the devil? It has been a struggle for me and one of the most common thing I ask other people. I remember being told that when it comes from Him, you will feel at peace. I was like, where is the peace right now as I roll around the bed feeling so bothered and uneasy? As I discovered later on, it is different for everyone - a custom-made, personally modified, faith journey.

And so I woke up feeling very drained and decided to stick to my “logical” decision. I just felt so stressed, so tired, and emotionally drained, so I went to church early to pray.

And once again, that voice rung inside me head,

“Forgive and give another chance.”

Deep inside I know what I should do, but my mind finds it very difficult to do God’s will.

“How many times have I provided people to be there for you, even during the times when you didn’t think you needed a friend?”

I felt humbled. So humbled that I just started crying, thanking God for humbling me. If other people saw me, they would have thought I’ve lost my mind.

For He is right. During the times I was at my lowest, during those times when I felt alone, there were always people who were there for me. Some of them kept me sane, some of them listened, and there were the blessed few who brought me closer to Him. God has always provided me with a friend.

And how many times has God given me another chance when I have failed to do the right thing, when I have made a fool of myself, when I have hurt other people? Countless.

Forgiveness is not an easy thing to do, but with God’s grace, it is possible.

There is a thing called justice as well.

Even if wrongdoings have been forgiven and forgotten, does not mean there are no repercussions to those actions. Growth entails change, and change may require discipline. Tolerance of wrongdoings won’t help anyone grow to become better versions of ourselves. In saying so, I guess justice has to be delivered with compassion as well.

So I did what He told me: to forgive and give my friend another chance.

And then the most amazing thing happened. After doing what He asked me to, that was when I felt peace.

I felt happy. I felt light. At peace.

I guess sometimes you just have to jump without holding back to find what you were looking for. I guess that in my case, it’s not just saying “yes” to God that you experience peace, but rather, it is in doing His will that you get to experience peace after.

This has been a test of trust, doing His will, even when everything else seems to be pointing the other direction.

Ah, the beauty of faith. Trust Him and He’ll show you.

Refugees

By Nicole Chin

When we talk about refugees ,  people have different opinions. There are some who do not care, some who see occasions to help those in need, or (In most cases) negative views. I have to admit, I was one who did not support the refugee program, but as I got to know them, it changed my perception on refugees and that I needed to understand them first before I made any judgements.

First of all, who are refugees? They are people who fled their country because they suffer fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because they are a member of a persecuted 'social group' or because they are fleeing a war (Wikipedia 2013).

Let me share the plight of some of the refugees that I have met since I decided to  get involved in this outreach program

There was this man who came alone 5 years ago and today he is still locked up in the detention Centre hoping for his papers to be approved.  He was a Science teacher back in India, reasonably educated with an engineering degree.

There were other stories of men who were depressed and attempted suicide in the Detention Centre, many of the male refugees left their family and children in India.

I met a girl from Jordan who decided to take refuge in Australia from the Syrian war. Until this day even in Melbourne, she speaks about her constant nightmares or flashbacks of the war, fearing for her life. She is now on depression medication and finding it hard to settle down in Australia as her visa has restricted her from working. Before Australia, She was a flight attendant working for the Royal Jordanian Airlines.

I recently visited a mother with two little girls, who shared a family photo during one of the girls 9^th birthday, today she is 10 years old not knowing when she will see her dad again.

Refugees come for a better life.  If we look back, our parents, great grandparents who left their country of origin and made Australia home, they too came for a better life. Whether we come as refugees or as migrants, should we be treated differently?

They are our brothers and sisters in Christ; they are no different from us in God's eyes.

A Prayer for Refugees

Almighty and merciful God,
whose Son became a refugee
and had no place to call his own;
look with mercy on those who today
are fleeing from danger,
homeless and hungry.

Bless those who work to bring them relief;
inspire generosity and compassion in all our hearts; 
and guide the nations of the world towards that day
when all will rejoice in your Kingdom of justice and of peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

Set Free Inner Healing Retreat

November 2-3, 2013

Celebrant: Fr. Elias Vella, OFM Malta

Initiative of the Institute for World Evangelisation - ICPE Mission

Once again, Fr. Elias Vella conducted a two-day inner healing retreat titled "Set Free". This was a concept started by Diana Mascarenhas, which aims to liberate us from bondage, inner conflicts and bring healing of memories.

Healing Mass

October 23, 2013

Celebrant: Fr. Elias Vella, OFM Malta

It was a Eucharist which focused on the healing of one’s family - a time to remember our family members who have gone to be with the Lord, a time for healing of one’s griefs and losses and unspoken traumas and events in the past.

Presided by Fr. Elias Vella, who has written several books on Healing, The World of Occult , New Age and Deliverance. Recently he addressed thousands of youth at World Youth Day in Rio.

The Lord comes to heal the broken-hearted and mend broken relationships.

Friends of Refugees - Moving Day 4

By Jack Chui

I write this very late in the evening on the day Moving Day 4 which was a long day for me... Personally, it started with a 5:30am wake up for a morning 10km run with the Melbourne Marathon event, followed morning mass and then the lunch and afternoon sessions of Moving Day. I still have energy to write this probably more from the caffeinated energy drink which was given to me after the run than by the grace of God (which I seem to have been blessed with anyway).

On paper, it was another successful Moving Day. We filled a truck donated by Man With A Van (comes with 4 men who also volunteer their time for half a day each) with donations of large furniture of mostly mattresses and sofas from 8 pick up locations around Melbourne and delivered the items along with the help of 9 volunteers driving 3 cars full of smaller items like clothes and kitchen items donated by parishioners to 7 newly settled refugee residences this time all occupied by single and married men in one day. But I will remember Moving Day 4 by the following 3 reasons.

The most organised Moving Day yet...

After each Moving Day we learn how to do things better and if you read some of the past posts on Moving Days, they were chaotic though at the same time rewarding. We developed more contacts, in particular on the refugees needs side by working through the Red Cross case managers and also one from AMES. We had an idea of which houses needed which items before we went to scout them out and then confirm what they needed. In past, it was struggle to find new refugee residences. I was worried during the lead up week that we wouldn't receive enough donations (and also enough volunteers) to actually meet more than half the needs of the new arrivals.

Having the schedules of all pick ups and deliveries sent to everyone saved me from having to make up the routing of all cars on the fly and having to shout to everyone and confirm the next destination for fear of having cars getting lost. The stress and amount of preparation work is still the same, but thankfully its more efficient and smarter and leads to less stress on the day but also less exciting moments... My thanks to all the donators, volunteers, drivers and now case workers for being so co-operative and making it a smoother operation.

The disappointing 1%...

Although the preparation was better and a bit late, I could not help but feel anxious and sidetracked by Moving Day preparations for the whole weekend leading up to it. It was not a feeling I had so strongly before in previous Moving Days and I'm not a very emotional person so it bugged me that I was feeling such a way (even though all the preparations were good) from enjoying the weekend. I think its still the random element of God's blessing which always worked out in previous Moving Days that matches our donations with our recipients. We pick up almost all items we are given without so much regard to the items which the asylum seekers actually take and so my biggest worry at times is actually picking up more stuff which no one really wants. The self interest in this worry is that I have to figure out where it goes which is most problematic for the large items in the truck.

I was confident that just about everything would be shifted out of the truck but after finishing the last house on our list we were left with a sofa bed, 2 desks/tables, a mattress base and 4 dining table chairs. It was going so well throughout the afternoon in terms of deliveries that there were stages where I thought we should hold some items back for the coming houses else we'll rock up with very little to give. But there I was disappointed with the few pieces of nice furniture that we had no one else to give to. Part of the disappointment could be because I know a lot of effort was made to 1) decide to donate and 2) pick it up and give it to a family that needs it and to not donate such large and useful items felt like a failure.

But somehow, I was reminded by my good volunteers, that we still managed to give away 99% of the of all the items that were given and that in itself which should have God's work stamped on it. Was I having such high expectations of God to deliver the best match as it seemed to be the case in previous Moving Days... perhaps - but I shouldn't concentrate on the 1% that wasn't and not forget the 99% which we found items a home to help make living in a new country just a bit more bearable.

The most humblest of gifts...

Humble doesn't quite describe what I'm about to share but it might be the most appropriate. I was honoured to be invited to Dane and Christabel's wedding on the Saturday before Moving Day. Dane had volunteered his Sunday afternoon once before to help us with Moving Day 2. During the offertory procession of his wedding, were brought up the usual bread and wine for Catholic mass, 2 candles representing a light from each family for the candle ceremony and small box which had to be carried by 2 people to the altar. Dane wanted me to take the box after the wedding and give it to the refugees on the next day. I opened the box after mass and inside the was some basic food - a box of cereal, some lentils, some canned food and a small bag of rice.

We had some requests for food during our scouts of the refugees homes and it was exactly what they had requested. Never had I seen such a gift brought up for offertory during a wedding. I would have expected things special to the couple brought up to the altar and offered to God but a box of just basic food!? I have not paid so much attention to the offertory part of mass until then - what do I offer up to God? Anything?

Dane and Christabel chose from all possible items to bring to the altar some basic food to give to the refugees and that was the most touching and humbling gift I've seen for a long time. They would not be able to volunteer to help on the day after their wedding, but they still used their special day to show to me that they kept their disadvantaged brothers and sisters in their hearts and minds. I share this because very few would know what was in that box on the day it was brought to the altar and the very special meaning it had to me although I was not such a close friend to both of them. I don't think Dane or Christabel told many what that box was for. I feel so unworthy to be responsible for such a humble gift. I hope my sharing here does some justice to give this wondrous act the glory God deserves from it.

~the wedding was beautiful btw =)

Friends of Refugees - Moving Day 3

By Lee Mills

Having been in Melbourne for two months, I had hit a massive low. I had felt like I am useless and wanted to return back to Wellington, New Zealand. Things were becoming very difficult for me, I was struggling to get employed and even interviews were few and far between, I was quickly running out of money. Then one day my mum said I should offer my services to Jack as he goes and meets and helps out refugees most Sundays. That was probably one of the best choices I have made since I moved to Melbourne and I have not looked back since.

That was some six weeks ago, I have been out on two moving days and a scouting day, I missed a trip two the detention centre as I was overcome with illness. This is a brief report entitling my experiences on those days and all the work that goes into such a large and rewarding challenge.

The first moving day I attended was a massive eye-opener to me, as I had not been out the previous week I had not met any of the families and was not sure what to expect. I just stood back and observed the entire goings on.  To me what stood out the most was seeing how grateful all the refugees were for even the small donations. These families had left the troubles of Sri Lanka for an unknown future in Australia; they sacrificed everything for a long tough journey with no guarantee of any outcome even if they did make it to Australia. They came with very limited possessions; they lived a very basic standard of living in Australia, a few of the families were living in a cold house and often sleeping on the floor. The donations they received were of much use and hopefully they would be of great use. Unfortunately we were unable to give away all the clothes so we dropped them of at one of the halfway house AMES. It was here I met Niksan and Nagul, Nagual was an academic back in Sri Lanka and had a passion for computers and Photography. His English was near perfect.

After talking to Jack, I was shocked to hear what the refugees are put through. Not just to get to Australia, but for years afterwards. Once the refugees land on Australian shores, they are then sent to a detention centre (often Christmas Island), with no promise of how long they would be there or even if they will be accepted into Australia. Once they are released it is to a halfway house for 6 weeks and then they are left to fend for themselves on as little as $200 a week for all expenses. The adults are on bridging visas so they are unable to work for 6-12 months.

On my first scouting mission, me and Jack visited Nagul, Niksan and their families who we had met at Aimes one month earlier. It appeared that they were settling in nicely into Australia, they had been provided some basics but still needed more. It was at Niksans house where I met Jephthah, Jephthah’s story really appealed to me. He was a Hindu who had found Jesus and turned to Christianity, His love of Jesus was spoken about through his basic English. Jephthah had a tough few years, his wife committed suicide a few years ago at this point he also had a 18 month old baby boy, this really upset me but what really stood out was that he was strong and working for a better life, not only for himself but for his three year old son.

On the second moving day I attended we were overwhelmed with all the donations received to the point where we had to turn some donations away as the truck was packed to the brim. The families we scouted for the previous week had all the basics but luckily we got word of some released refugees that were living in very basic conditions. Once again all the donations were received gratefully and their appreciation really showed on their faces, images I would not forget.

Niksan had invited all of us for dinner at his place, which Jack accepted on behalf of us. To me this was one of the greatest feelings as it showed how much all the effort we put into the moving days and they valued everything we had done for them. This was a time to celebrate, a time to enjoy, a time to cherish new friends. Although dinner was basic, it was done with love and joy and gave a real sense that the families had a great respect and love for the work done.

Since helping out Friends of Refugees, I have really come to understand that I really am grateful to be living in Australia without any restrictions, to be close to my family and only a few hours from my friends and families in New Zealand. I am allowed the privilege of being able to arrive in Australia and to be treated as an Australian. There is a great Kiwi song written by Fred Dagg called “we don’t know, how lucky we are” that applies to both myself as a Kiwi, but all Australians and I hope one day all these families that we help will one day be lucky and live here in Australia freely and peacefully.

God Bless You All

Put Out Into the Deep: The New Evangelisation - Talk 8 (Final)

By Jack Chui

I finally get around to writing about the 8th and final talk of the Theology of the Body series hosted each Wednesday night for 8 consecutive weeks. I was late to the last seminar and missed half the video but it seemed to me according to the heading in the notes that it was just going to be about spreading the word on Theology of the Body and the truth about our bodies. So rather than recount the notes which I didn't think were too exciting, I will try and sum up the whole TOB course and what it means to me.

My three key take outs:

1. Lust is a Battle - vs. love is a great counterfeit. It is such a great struggle to combat lust, or the using of another's body for self-seeking pleasure. It can be difficult to see the joy of unconditional love when lust is so tempting. This battle is a constant one and an impossible one to win...
2. We need more of God's help - but we can win the battle if the Holy Spirit helps us. I learn than in marriage, to sustain the love between a man and a woman, it is better to humbly ask God for Him to love my partner more through me than for me to do it from my own will. It reinforces the idea that I continuously need God and that it will be so much harder, likely impossible without Him.
3. The Heavenly Marriage - the early marriage and/or sex is not the be all and end all to life because there is a greater marriage in Heaven that we are called to. If we can look forward to this then its not so important to seek marriage here on earth as much as it appears to be the most happy thing in the world to find love in a partner and get married.

All in all, I wasn't too surprised by or excited by the content of the talks, mostly because I had heard part of it before and in a way I was/am living its message through most of my life. After some shortish relationships which broke my heart I stayed single for 8 years in a way determined to make sure that the person I would choose next would be my last. I was very passive in looking for the right girl, to the point of disinterest. Yes, there was pressure from my parents to find someone because they were concerned for my long term 'loneliness', but I was lucky I moved to Melbourne from Sydney and so don't live with with my parents and so don't face the pressure so much. So, I could say, I have waited patiently for the right girl if there is one.

I wasn't very concerned about not being able to find the right person because I had come to a comfortable stage in life that I would be happy being single and continuing this way for a long foreseeable future. I had ministry, sport and enough friends to keep my faith up. My faith was growing to trust God more and more that He would look after me, and look out for my best interests. I'm lucky perhaps, that I've had such a 'posivite' (can't find a way of saying 'goodie goodie') upbringing, but its a great blessing that I've somehow stuck close to God/Church for quite some time.

Now, things are different because for almost a year, I have been in my most steady relationship in my short life. With TOB, I hope to discern about marriage and live to God's initial plan for His creation to the best of my ability. I have learnt more about this now in TOB, and while I have been living most of it for some time, I pray that my partner can live it too and that together we can help be a model to encourage others to do the same. Its going to be hard, as I/we fight a losing battle against the world's ways, but it is one that I think I can lay my life down for. Please pray for me, that I can remember what I learned, practice and be true to it, and help encourage others to know of God's plan for our bodies, sex and life.

The Old have been Replaced by the New

By Jack Chui

I was meant to write about the first Firebrandz P&W night which was held on the last day of July but just hadn't had a chance to. Now that some other things have settled, its time to write about it and conveniently tie it in with how the other ministries are going.

Bur first, to put this post into context, I was feeling down and lonely 2 months ago as I wrote here:

http://stay-ministry.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/lonely.html

Jean has now left Melbourne which means I'm the only one left of the early leaders and of any one that came has been in STAY over a year ago. But God is so faithful, as I've encountered several times before, He brings the right people at the right time. So far (and its kind of early), God is renewing the young adults ministry of STAY with completely new people - people so different than the old crowd. They have a new life and energy which I as part of the old crowd really lacked and its great to see them lift me.

When STAY started, we had 5 aims: Worship, Fellowship, Service/Ministry, Evangelisation and Discipleship. Instead of closing STAY when it struggled to do even one of these aims, I can happily say we are getting there with 3 of them =)

Worship - Firebrandz

This came out of nowhere and I will gladly claim partnership and say that Firebrandz is an offshoot group from STAY. Its managed by much better people than me but that kind leader Aaron is now a strong part of STAY so I can claim it as part of us (even though its more an externally organised group).

Firebrandz hosted its first P&W night on the last Wednesday evening of July. Aaron and his core group were doing most of the work, and I only gave advice and helped promote the event at church at which was going to be the venue. I had little idea what the night would be like short of the many other P&W events that I've been to. I had lowered my expectations based on Aaron's past experiences with organising such events but in the end it didn't matter how many people came, if there were only 10, it didn't matter so long as we could praise and worship God together.

For the first night, an amazing ~70 people came, mostly on the young side which spaced out a bit filled about one third of the church. There were too many people from goodness knows where to get to know so I concentrated on getting the equipment set and changing the slides. There were only 2 people playing and leading the music - Christine and Aaron, but they were enough for God to reach out to the whole church. One of the elders from Aaron's core group came from India (or NZ) to give a bit of a talk after 4 songs and even though I didn't quite appreciate his style of preaching, he managed to encourage just about everyone to come to the front for prayer (a little pentecostal style) -- only the Holy Spirit could inspire such courage from everyone!

So while I wasn't so amazed because I've seen things like before in my other life, it was still a great night from which I could see God work powerfully. The next Firebrandz P&W night is again on the last Wednesday of the month, this time it coincides with St. Augustine's feast day so I'll be praying for that one to be Spirit filled.

Fellowship - STAY Cell Group

Cell group is the core of STAY because its the base from which people find each other and then participate/volunteer for the other ministries. It has been operating for the last 4+ years and had its ups and downs. Two months ago, I was the only person in the cell group that would show up on a Sunday afternoon but last night we had 12 people! And most of these that came were there last week. For the first time (I don't remember the last time) it seems we might be able to get a consistent attendance in cell group.

The rebuild started slowly, after I called an 'emergency' meeting 1.5 months ago to decide the fate of cell group and therefore the entire STAY ministry. I was open to just about any suggestion that we could try to keep STAY from folding and keep faithful to my ministry. We changed the time from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday evening and the ones that were at the meeting came and started to bring their friends.

The Holy Spirit seemed to work and touch each person as it attracted 'new' people to STAY - most which didn't belong to such a young adults group before and searching for more of God than just on Sunday mass. Some have found us from Sunday masses, but quite a few have come to STAY from attending Firebrandz. They kept coming back, which was a struggle before and so I'm so grateful to be able to see the same people for several weeks and hopefully build better fellowship with them when I failed to before.

And now with 12 people last night, it was like an overflow because we couldn't really sit close around the table. I find large groups such as last night hard to manage because it can be difficult to encourage sharing but its a nice problem to have. So thank you Holy Spirit for drawing people to build what I hope to be a wonderful cell group. I pray that through STAY, we can simply bring God to young people.

Service - Friends of Refugees

On Sunday 4th August, we ran our 2nd Moving Day where we pick up large donated essential items in a truck and deliver them to newly settle refugees. It is a large logistical operation for such a small group where many things can just go wrong. Even after some better planning after learning from the experiences of the first Moving day, there were still other problems cropping up which somehow, we managed to deal with as we went.

While not as amazing as the first Moving Day (my personal account of that here: http://stay-ministry.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/simply-amazing.html) it was still fruitful to see that we could help such underprivileged families have it a bit easier with settling in Australia. Perhaps my main take out which I can share is the dominance of young people that got involved to help the operation succeed. We usually enlist more adult volunteers because they seemed to have bigger hearts and also more time on a Sunday afternoon and young people have kind of been lacking. So it was uplifting for me and Father Peter to see young people involved - plus it also helps the refugees meet more people of the same age.

Hopefully as STAY cell group builds up, more can be encouraged to help Friends of Refugees befriend our new neighbours.

Please keep praying for these three ministries - so far things are looking good. We don't have anything that helps meet the aims of Evangelisation short of evangelising to the people that the ministries reach out to. For Discipleship, I am thinking of hosting a retreat or at least day trip/overnighter somewhere away from Melbourne city at the end of the year as a celebration to the year gone by.

Theology in the Bedroom: Love, Sex & Fertility - Talk 7

By Jack Chui

Sexual Honesty

Most of this talk centered around explaining why the Church holds a stand on controversial topics related to sex. These are topics like:

• Contraception
• Pre-marital sex
• Homosexual acts
• Pornography
• Masturbation
• In vitro fertilisation

Not all of these were answered, but left as a thought question post the talk. The way to answer these moral questions is to answer the following - Is this an authentic sign of God's free, total, faithful, fruitful love or is it not? Each of the above should fail in at least one of those four criteria. We are only bitter towards the law when we desire break it...

Contraception was particularly focused on because I think a lot of Catholics struggle with this one. Contraception was not intended to prevent pregnancy - there was always a 100% reliable way of doing that - to abstain. So it was invented so that we wouldn't have to abstain. Unfortunately, it promotes a society that does't have to say yes to abstaining - it promotes sexual addiction so that men and women can indulge in lust. Not free...

Contraceptive sex denies the total gift of self because it gives all of the body EXCEPT my fertility. Fertility is the original blessing of God on humanity

Contraception is also not faithful because it violates the marriage vows of being open to new life/children.

Sex should be both life-giving and love-giving - we should not divorce the two.

Responsible Parenthood

its a myth that the Church teaches that couples are obligated to have as many children as is physically possible. The Church calls couples to a responsible exercise of parenthood. That is - "to prudently and generously decide to have a large family, or for serious reasons and with due respect to the moral law, choose to have no more children for the time being".

There are two accepted forms of 'contraception' in the Church - abstinence and Natural Family Planning (NFP). NFP is acceptable because it is in keeping with the nature of sexual intercourse as a renewal of the couples wedding vows. Never does a couple using NFP do anything to sterilise their acts of intercourse. If pregnancy does not result from their acts of intercourse, it's God's doing, not their doing. Every time such a couple have intercourse they can honestly pray, "Lord, your will be done."

Some random notes on Marriage

Simply getting married doesn't automatically guarantee sexual honesty. Sexual sin is a dodging of the cross - because true love hurts too much. The first step to a healthy marriage is faithfulness - how healthy would a marriage be if s/he were unfaithful to their wedding vows? Sex is like a renewal of the marriage vows expressed bodily.

The marriage or love vows is actually a forging of God's love rather than our own, because its impossible to love by ourselves all the days of our lives. We are called to participate in this love - stay close and 'convert' into it --- towards God's love. This is an ongoing daily conversion.

Children are not a right, they are a gift. The child is a sacramental expression of 'one flesh' of marriage - the child is the flesh! Spousal love prepares us for parental love. We need to continue spousal love when having children - I can be a better father by being a better husband to my wife.

Praise You in This Storm

By Jean Cheng

PhD. 

Brief moments of respite,

Overtaken by incessant roadblocks and frustration. 

Whenever I have thought that I could breathe and run,

Again, I find myself facing another mountain that forces me to climb with all fours on the ground.

Perhaps it is in my mind,

Perhaps I am exaggerating.

Whatever it is this is by far one of the most prolonged torture I've experienced in my life. I am still waiting, still waiting on other peoples' schedules.
To do a PhD is to be a beggar - just a clean one.  

The other day I attended mass and, as is often the case, was present only physically.

When I knelt to pray,

I found myself in mindless chantings of "help me, help me, please help me".

As my mouth continued chanting that,

My mind asked me what on earth I was doing.

Why was I praying as though this was some kind of wishing well;

As if I do not know the One to whom I am praying to personally?

As if my God is a set of rules (keep begging to get the outcome you desire),

as opposed to a relationship (a God who is with me through my storm and is running to help me, even if I currently fail to perceive it)?

So I stopped.

How else should I pray then?

As I asked that question,

I felt a new spirit take over me,

"I know that you will help me. I know that you will see me to the end of this. I know I will graduate. I know I will make it. I know You are the God of the impossible, and You are God who is helping me."

I asked to have a faith like Abraham - one that goes beyond understanding and physical assurances,

Grounded only in who God is.

Perhaps this is His answered prayer to me.

Perhaps this is what it means to praise Him in the storm.

Perhaps, just perhaps, all these things are happening to protect me from a darker kind of danger that my God sees. 

I will finish this. 

I don't know how.
I am very tired.
I am constantly dejected, like now.

But I know I will. 

Because You will see to it, and help me at every step of the way. 

Psalm 121

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

Praise You in This Storm - Casting Crowns