Change the world, one small act of kindness at a time.

Dear Friends,

I just came from Singapore after another historic GK Global Summit, and it was truly a privilege to be part of the service team.  Throughout the years, I've had these amazing opportunities to serve in big and small ways, but I just wanted to share with you this amazing letter that came to me last Saturday.

It is from one of the students that we met perhaps about 11 or 12 years ago, when as a Youth for Christ Mission volunteer, we were asked to conduct recollections in various schools in Metro Manila.  This letter is just an amazing affirmation to me that the work that we do for the Lord and for one another is never big or small.  We simply must be faithful in the little and big things, and be confident that the Lord is planting seeds of love and hope among the people that He sends our way.

So let us continue in this journey with faithfulness, knowing that the Lord Himself is watching, and is looking out for people who will simply say Yes to the call, and He begins to create miracles in and through us.

And if, like me and Corrine, you've been touched by someone and your life has changed because of the presence and love of the amazing people God has sent your way, then only one thing is left to do.

Pay it forward.  And change the world, one small act of kindness at a time.  It will make all the difference in someone's life.

Issa

Ate Issa?

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Between You and Corrine Elum

Corrine Elum June 26 at 6:39pm

Hi!

I am Corrine Elum, Mim Meloto's friend from high school. I saw you comment on one of her albums before and when I saw your name and picture, I really started to wonder if you were the Issa Cuevas I met many years back not only because of your name but also because you really look like a slimmer version of her.

When I was in grade 5 at Holy Spirit School in Cubao, we had a recollection or something similar to that. It was facilitated by a group of ates and kuyas from YFC. At some point during the activity, I broke down and cried, and one ate came to me, hugged me, talked to and comforted me until I was okay. Her name was Ate Issa Cuevas.

After the recollection, I asked Ate Issa to sign my autograph book. I still have it now. Ate Issa was a third year IS student then in Ateneo. Among her closest pals were Josette (an ate who was also there during the activity and who also left a dedication in my autograph book), Raf, Meg and Wowie.

If you are that Ate Issa, I assume that your friend Wowie is Wowie Meloto-Gonzales, Mim's sister. If you don't remember me, it's okay. After all, it's been over a decade since that happened. I would just like to let you know that you really touched the life of an eleven-year old girl that day and I never forgot about you all these years. If are not her and the connections to Mim (YFC and Wowie) are just mere coincidences, then I would just like to let you know that you have a really kind namesake who did a wonderful job at being my ate for a day.

May God bless you and your family.

Corrine

Issa Cuevas-Santos June 28 at 2:56pm

Dear Corrine,

Thank you so much for your message. Yes, I think I remember you from the YFC recollections, and I really want to thank you for taking the time to write to me. As a young person, it was a blessed time to be able to encounter younger kids and share God's love to them by just being an ate or kuya to you. Most of us never really think much of what we do, but receiving letters like yours continues to affirm me that it is these little loving acts of kindness that always make a difference. For some reason, God chooses us to be an instrument of love to another person, and we become vehicles for life changing moments.

Thank you for allowing me to be an ate to you that day, and I hope that you have just passed on the gift of presence and friendship to everyone that you've met and will meet along the way. Your letter came at such a wonderful time, and is a great affirmation that the work that we do for the Lord is never small in measure -- He will always find a way to create great things from our small acts of faithfulness.

You remain in my prayers, always!

Ate Issa

A Special Thank You to the Global Summit 2010 Team

Dear Service Team,

I was on the plane from Singapore to Manila with Tito Tony and Luis, and my heart is now overflowing with affirmation just hearing about how people truly found this Summit meaningful, truly excellent and global in every sense of the word.

I look back at our journey in the past months, and I am in awe of how God was at work through each one of you -- Because we all said yes to the call, we now find ourselves sharing in the joy and privilege of having created heaven on earth last weekend for our over 500 delegates.

I am sure all of us are exhausted, but I am also just as sure that you share my feeling that no amount of exhaustion can compare to the overwhelming sense of fulfillment that we all share knowing that we have planted the seeds of hope in our delegates and that seed will continue to bear fruit towards our vision of 2024.

And as I prayed to God today to just thank Him for everything, allow me to share with you the reading and a reflection for today.

"Animals have burrows and nests to where they can go home and find rest; but Christ had "nowhere to lay his head on." (Mt 8: 20)

Jesus denied Himself any comfort to concentrate on His work of saving us, showing us how to sacrifice for the good of others. Following Jesus means following His example, to cultivate a sense of spiritual poverty, denying some comforts as our sacrificial contribution to the continuing work of Jesus in restoring the balance of justice and harmony in this Kingdom of God. Even if the imbalance is not of our doing.

And what is our reward?

Have you ever wondered why it feels so good when you sacrifice and do things for others?

That is because Jesus has found in your heart a soft pillow to lay His head on."

Thank you for your love, commitment and selfless work, for all the sleepless nights, for the tears, for the moments when you chose to smile when it was so easy to get angry or frustrated, and for JUST BEING THERE, READY TO SERVE. It has been an honor and privilege to be the team leader for this year's Summit, and I truly could not have asked for a better team to serve with.

I said in my last note that the true measure of the success of the Summit is how we were able to love and serve one another and all the delegates. During our Thursday meeting, I shared with you that the Summit already was a success because of the unwavering commitment during the preparations. But today, as we close the Summit and look forward to what the Lord has in store for us next, allow me to say once again --

CONGRATULATIONS for a job well done! And because we have served the Lord with all our heart, the world has come to see how the work of GK truly glorifies God, not just because of the powerful messages of our speakers, but more so because of the quiet and loving service of the Global Summit 2010 service team. It has made all the difference.

I look forward to a lifetime of service with all of you, as we journey in mission following Jesus' footsteps, all the way to 2024.

WALANG IWANAN! :)

Issa :)

To the Wife of the Visionary

Dear Tita Lyn,

On your 60th birthday, allow us to give a long overdue tribute to the Wife of the Visionary, the woman who is the force behind Tony Meloto, and the wind beneath his wings.

This is for all the years that you've had to be, at one and the same time, the ever-patient companion, willing to share her husband with the world and yet always ready to welcome him with open arms every time he comes home tired, bruised and broken from the mission.  Thank you for being Tito Tony's silent cheerleader, his partner when the burdens seem too heavy to bear.

Here's to your being the immaculate housemaker, the business manager able to create a beautiful life for the family despite modest resources.  Somehow, with all those roles you're still the loving mother, the disciplinarian when necessary, the best friend and infallible source of wisdom.

This is a tribute to the composure and dignity that you always seem to carry with you, despite some of the most painful storms that have raged throughout the years.  There are many who are there to share the tributes to Tito Tony, but you have gracefully carried yourself through the lonely moments when the criticisms seemed overwhelming, and the real friends, few.

Thank you for your generosity to open your heart and home to every person that believes in the mission.  Because of you, every missionary has found their home in the Meloto residence, and has been warmly welcomed into your family.  Team Meloto is also Team GK.  And what a privilege to be son or daughter to you, and sister or brother to your amazing children, who are now living out the mission, and are our co-servants as we build a poverty-free world.

Because of all these and so much more, you are truly beautiful in our eyes.  And in the eyes of Tito Tony, no woman could ever come close.  

They say Tony Meloto is the visionary, but I believe you were one too -- you saw the diamond in the rough, and knew in your heart that he was a man destined for greatness in the Lord's service.  Because of you, we have Tito Tony as our mentor and role model, the Filipinos have a man they can be proud of, and the poor have found the love of a father.

You are such a wonderful blessing, and we can only pray for many more happy and healthy years with the family that you love dearly!  Happy birthday Tita Lyn, we love you!

In behalf of all the young moms out there who look up to you,

Issa

Love and Courage

It's always wonderful to encounter people who are in love.  They carry this unmistakable glow that comes only to those who have opened their hearts, and are willing to risk the vulnerability that comes with it.  But vulnerability carries its twin, and that is fear.  I saw both this glow and this fear in a dear friend and co-servant of mine today, and reminded me of this amazing movie that I watched recently.

It's called Letters from Juliet, about a place in Verona where broken hearts go to write about their pain and leave it in Juliet's shrine, where a group of ladies called Juliet's secretaries collects the letters and writes back in her behalf.  It is the story of an "old" woman who wrote a letter there in her youth and received a reply 50 years after.  It recounts her journey to find her one true love.

They do find each other after an amazing journey, and during their wedding ceremony, Claire reads the letter that she received.  I believe it's a letter that's written for all women out there who are aching to find their one true love.  Allow me to share with you the words from the movie.

*********

Claire says : "Dear friends, 50 years ago I went to Juliet's house in Verona.  I wrote her a letter and I asked her a question.  And two months ago, I received a reply.

And without that letter, none of us would be here today.

Dear Claire,

WHAT and IF are two words as non-threatening as words can be.  But put them together side by side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life.  

What if.  

What if.  

What if.

I dont know how your story ended but if what you felt then was true love, then it's never too late.  If it was true then, why wouldn't t it be true now?  

You need only the courage to follow your heart.  

I don't know what the love like Juliet's feels like; a love to leave loved ones for, a love to cross oceans for. But I'd like to believe, if I ever were to feel it, that I'd have the courage to seize it.  And Claire, if you didn't, I hope one day that you will.

All my love, Juliet.

*********

This letter rings true for every woman out there who has ever encountered the wonderful gift of falling in love.  I agree that love is its own gift - one that is deep, the one that remains faithful for a lifetime, the love that overcomes against all odds. 

But FALLING IN LOVE is a gift in itself too.  When you fall in love with the right one, may this letter give all of you, my dearest girlfriends, the courage to seize it and never let it go.

Seven years ago, I met a man in Brunei during a two day mission trip with Tito Tony.  We exchanged letters and phone calls for two months, he came to the Philippines and proposed, and we got married within a year of meeting each other for the first time.  It didn't make sense, it was the scariest thing I had ever done, and it made me understand for the first time why they called it FALLING in love and a LEAP of faith.  But seven years later, I look back and I thank the Lord everyday for the grace of courage to have chosen to follow my heart despite everything that people said.  I would not have it any other way.

People ask me all the time how you know that you've found the right one.  I've struggled to answer that question, because there never seems to be the right words to describe how I felt then when I said yes to marry Manny.  But let me share with you again something that I found online that comes pretty close to what my heart felt and tries to capture what is quite simply, beyond words.

"The way you know you have found the right one is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with the person.  Having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away." - Dinah Craik

Today, I pray for all my beautiful and passionate single friends who are praying to find the right one.  May the good Lord, in His perfect time and place, allow you to find the one especially made for you.  And when that time comes, may you find the grace to be courageous, and to simply follow your heart.  

You deserve all the happiness in the world, and the Lord intends for you to experience nothing less.

You are in my prayers, and I look forward to sharing that special day with you very soon!

1 John 4:18 "Perfect love casts out all fear."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV3sHN7J7rY

Lessons from the First Day

Last year, I had to be in Boston for the historic and first ever GK Global Summit in June.  And although my heart was bursting with joy at the privilege of being part of it, it was also broken in a thousand pieces because I missed our Kuya Aaron's first day of school in Xavier.  So while preparing for the event in Boston, I would peek into Facebook and see pictures of my son all dressed up in school uniform for the first time (no uniform in his small school).   And as we reveled in the victory of that event, I was also weeping at night talking to my son talk about his first day of school and struggling to find answers to the question : "Where are you Mom? Why aren't you here?"

Those questions brought with it many sleepless nights where I was left wondering.  I still wonder sometimes and I must admit the answer escapes me still. 

But today, I woke up to a beautiful morning.  It is Aaron's first day of school again, and this time, I am right there to witness every moment of this historic day in his life.  This time, little Calliya joins the adventure, and all three of us got into the car at 6:15 today and drove to Ateneo to bring Kuya to school.


Yesterday, Manny and I toured him around the campus and taught him how to go to his classroom from the drop off area (parents are no longer allowed).  Even yesterday, he was so confident.  I was wondering how such a small boy like him could walk without fear in the huge grounds of the grade school.  Today, I expected him to at least be a bit nervous because there were so many kids around, but when we finally said goodbye, I asked him if he was going to be okay.  

He just replied, "Yes Mom.  I'll be fine.  I can do this!"  It really felt like he was the one assuring me instead of the other way around.  Go figure.

And I'm so lucky because we have GK Ateneo, so I'm here working on some stuff and blogging while waiting for early dismissal time at 9:30.  This time, I am with our little princess and she's lying down on the chair while Mommy's working.  This reminds me of the good old days when I used to bring Aaron to work everyday.

These days, I find that this balancing act of wife, mom and missionary is getting to be more difficult but a conversation with Manang Joy Mempin reminded me of a very important lesson I learned a while back.

It's not about balance, but about intensity.  Yes, intensity.  Yes, 100% in everything you do.  Yes, because all these facets of life are meant to serve one God.  I am a wife because my service to my husband serves God.  I am a mom because taking care of my children honors God.  I am a missionary because it is my deepest purpose -- and in the mission is revealed the very face of God.

I also just found out from a GK co-servant, Sheila Abella, that we have another brilliant young woman, a cum laude, who just gave up a promising career and chose to serve as a Sibol teacher in their GK community.  And so these young children will be given the same beautiful opportunities that our own children are being given.  It is again an affirmation that the small part that we all play in this great work that is GK really makes a difference.  And these little sacrifices that we all make together for love of God and country are the pillars of GK : God's Kingdom on earth.

Which brings me back to the existential questions from my son.  I don't know the answer, I don't know if I ever will.

But seeing my little daughter now asleep on my lap while I type on my computer, I am once again reminded that I should not worry too much for the future.  After all, despite all the worries about Aaron coming to work with me everyday, he has grown up to be quite a wonderful little boy who loves life and learning.  And so I find that God just has His ways of taking care of my concerns in ways I didn't expect.  Everyday, I just seek for the grace to be faithful to the call because that is all that matters.

Today, I once again discover that faithfulness is its own reward.  

And so we push forward.  Building our own families, building a nation, building heaven on earth.  What a beautiful world for our children and for the generations to come.