It feels like it's just yesterday when we were the ones sitting in the front chairs; Bro. Marlon facilitating the talk; and the service team doing their tasks around the Risen Christ Chapel.
Now, it's our turn to be on the backseat as part of the Service Team, and serve our participants on this very special day.
This time, we are at De Castro Chapel to celebrate Talk 9, Receiving the Power of the Holy Spirit. We intended to start early for this is a special day. Every special day should be celebrated and be felt for a long time, so we are expecting to end it late at night. We waited for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist to end, and then we set the place up by around 7pm.
Here we go.
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One by one, our participants started coming in, well-dressed, and ready to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is overwhelming just to see them arrive. We had quite a number of participants for Faithbook, this CLP's theme. Now I understand how it feels on the Service Team's end to hold this program for evangelization. As a participant, I used to come in every Saturday night filled with smile and hope for we have another day to enjoy the fellowship, to praise and worship Him, and to feel the God's love. I look forward to the short conversations with my fellow participants, the talk itself, and of course, to sing (with my out-of-tune voice) out loud. I'm on the other side right now, and I can feel the same excitement like before. I am excited for the events, the icebreakers, the lessons, and most of all, I'm excited that we have so many participants who are about to experience the same excitement we once felt. Their presence was enough to feel the accomplishment on our end. But this is just one of the initial steps. It may be a long way to go, but I'm sure that in God's grace, we'll surely welcome our new and fellow servants to the SFC community.
Like the last time, we started to take a very hearty meal before the start of the session. Hat's off to the Food Committee for coming up with such a nice dish :) . Our tummy's full, and now it's time to empty our loads. We had our confession before this celebration to cleanse us of our mistakes and be fully prepared for this special day. The facilitators had their one-to-ones with their groups. We're all set.
Preparations are completed. We have a total of 18 participants receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Bro. Marlon took charge of the talk - a very "powerful" one indeed. The participants had some laughs, serious looks in their faces, closed their eyes, then laughed again, had a handful of tears, and prayed.
Our main event goes on.
The surroundings got a little bit darker. The gifts were wrapped : all 9 gifts, in big boxes, in each participant's favorite colors and font.
Our participants are now in a circle. Holding the oath, Bro. Marlon started one of the highlights of this Baptism. Accepting our mistakes, admitting they are our own, asking for forgiveness, and wishing to be purified with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Eyes closed. Worship songs playing in the background. The individual prayovers started.
One will love the solemnity of those moments.
Silent prayers recited all around. Every second. the place gets brighter - the same way that the participants, and even the service team, had unloaded all the unnecessaries and felt the power of the Holy Spirit working on them, on us.
Overflowing.
As the chapel went in full brightness, the prayovers ended, and the participants are now wearing those calm and happy faces. The celebration has reached its climax.
Ablaze.
Bro. Ross led the praisefest before ending this special day. Time to shout for joy, sing Him praises, and lift our voices unto the Lord. This is how we celebrate our praise and worship. This is a festival after all. The Holy Spirit manifests in everyone within the chapel. Dancing, rounds of applause, singing, raising hands, and everything. This is SFC.
It is such a joy to be a part of this CLP, the Service Team, and this Chapter. We have never sang our hearts out like this in any other place and in the company of any other people. It is even more joyful to know that we have fully embraced the service and this commitment to have every single man and woman all over the world experiencing Christ. We just had a new batch of warriors, our new Brothers and Sisters.
Overjoyed.
In the following weeks, we'll celebrate another special event for our new Brothers and Sisters. We lift up the remaining days of our CLP, and may all our participants continue to experience the power and love of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We thank God for bringing them here and embracing them with open arms.
We pray that we will continue to serve, be witnesses of Christ, doing whatever He tells us.
In Jesus' name.
