Life in LIGHT, Nueva Era

“Life is getting funny in Nueva Era.”

Or so two of my classmates would say. We are much into our fourth month of training here at LIGHT, and as is commonly said, it is the time when true character begins to be revealed, and thus is also the time for more interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts.

December of last year, my church sister Dowry and I travelled from Davao to Manila, to Pangasinan (to attend a camp meeting there), to Cavite, to here in Ilocos Norte, virtually spanning the entire length of the Philippines to attend this Health Evangelism Training here in LIGHT, Nueva Era.

When we arrived here in January, everything was new to us and we didn’t really know where to place ourselves, except that people have always been kind to us, always going out of their way to accommodate us and make things a wee bit easier for us.

We were 25 students in all, including a 71-year old Tatay and a musically-inclined couple (plus their baby). Our classroom was (and continues to be) more than just the multi-purpose hall where we sat to lectures, ate our meals, and held worship and Sabbath services. As it turns out, everywhere we went in this place is a classroom, and everything and everyone we saw was a teacher. We learn daily from work, from people, from nature, from assignments, and from our experiences.

“Character-building” was the watchword, the battle cry, the answer to so many questions and concerns.

We are good so far. We have lost four classmates over time, and are in danger of losing two or three more, but God is good. He has not only sustained us, but has also given us joys to to outbalance the tears and fears, and growth to more than compensate for all the trials.

There’s more to come. We all know it in our bones, there’s much more to come – more of the struggles, the hardship that require painstaking endurance, the conflicts, the everyday battles against self, the testing and trying of patience and faith. And it's alright -no, it's more than alright, because we also know full well that there will be so much more of the learning and growing and blessings and opportunities to be ourselves the blessing.

Thoughts from Week 3

Written January 2014

It has been three weeks since I came to LIGHT Missionary Training Center. I notice that it’s a time when students and volunteers feel that they have adjusted to the schedule, to the amount of work and homework, to one another, and to the cold (yes, the cold deserves to be factored in).

Back home, I usually wake up around 5:00 am, all the while thinking that was early. Here, if I want to get anything done, I must wake up at 3:30. That will give me just enough time for my morning devotional, a bit of personal preparation, daily chores, morning worship, a bit of homework, and then work education (which I am loving so far). In the afternoon, there are the classes, supper, and evening worship. I get back to the dorm around 8:30 pm, pray with the girls at my dorm, do my homework, have my evening devotional, and sleep. There is no leisure time at all! But guess what, I love it. I love that my mind is always occupied, that it doesn’t have the time to wander, that it gets taxed and pushed to think constantly about work, study, and worship.

The classes are wonderful. So far, we’ve had classes on the Spirit of Prophecy, Health Talks, Health Expo, How to Study the Bible, the Plan of Salvation (by far my favorite), Gospel in Action, the Sanctuary, Mental Health and Mission Medicine. I am able to put to use the things that I have learned in my personal studies, and learn so much more. The reality of God’s Word is sometimes so moving that I would find myself in tears during classes. Still, all of the studying that I’m currently doing only serves to remind me of just how much I still do not know.

Then there’s Work Education – half the reason why I came here. After breakfast, we students go to work in different areas: Kitchen, Construction, Mushroom, Agriculture, Bakery, and Vermi-composting. I have been assigned to the Bakery, which is just so fun and informative. But I’m also very excited to learn from the other fields, especially Vermi and Agriculture. On one hand, I’m not used to heavy work and kneading bread is – believe me – heavy work. I can just imagine the exhaustion from tending vegetable gardens and digging for construction work. But I’m still really excited because it’s all useful labor and I know that it will help prepare me to fill my place in God’s work. Plus, I get better health while doing it. God really is wise in putting all that together in one package – work education.

Another thing that I love is the prayer atmosphere in this place. I find myself praying at least 20 times each day, and that’s excluding mealtime prayers and personal prayers! The people, too, are always encouraging one another to pray, study, and speak of spiritual things. It’s only been three weeks, but I’ve already found family in people who share my love for reading the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. Whenever there’s a chance, like during meals or while waiting for classes or worship to begin, or even while walking to and during work education, I’d share with them what I have been reading. They’d share their devotionals with me, too. We swap books and quotations, pray together, discuss Bible lessons, share experiences. The exchange is so wonderful that it sometimes makes me want to cry. To me, it’s like a dream come true.

They say here that things usually go well the first two months, and then the real challenges begin. People will then tend to relax more, so they become less guarded and the true characters would surface. Add to that the increasing pressures of work, chores, class requirements and deployment, plus being away from home for so long already. To top it all off, there’s the struggle within against discouragement, personal weakness, and old habits. It’s actually the perfect formula for discord, but in my heart, I really do trust that God will bring us through if we only humble ourselves enough to let Him lead. In fact, I also am just realizing that those circumstances put together also make up quite a good formula for change and growth.

I almost can’t wait to get back home to my family and my church and share with them the things I am learning here. But I will wait. I will wait, work, pray, learn, worship, share, and grow, all by God’s grace. I will keep my promise to them and to God that I will endeavor in all my God-given capabilities to make my time here and my seven-month absence from home worth it because God is making a better co-laborer out of me.

True education means more than taking a certain course of study. It is broad. It includes the harmonious development of all the physical powers and the mental faculties. It teaches the love and fear of God, and is a preparation for the faithful discharge of life's duties.-- "Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students," p. 64.  {MYP 168.1} 

True education is the preparation of the physical, mental, and moral powers for the performance of every duty; it is the training of body, mind, and soul for divine service. This is the education that will endure unto eternal life.-- "Christ's Object Lessons," p. 330.  {MYP 168.2}