Providence! It can’t be explained any other way.

PSALMday, I said…I would attend a Metro Manila PSALM gathering. But other activities kept coming up in direct conflict with those schedules. Finally, the time came…my first attendance to a MM PSALM gathering. All the while I thought I had missed so many MM PSALM Alumni reunions, not knowing that the one I made it to at last, was indeed the FIRST MM PSALM Alumni reunion! PTL for being part of a historical event!

PSALMwhere in Ortigas Center. Prestige Tower along Ruby Road. Hmmm…quite a
distance from my place of abode in Antipolo. And on a busy weekend, that would take extra effort, for sure. Besides, our church’s discipleship group for leaders, of which I’m a part, would be having a meeting that afternoon. But wouldn’t you know it: my scheduled morning board meeting’s venue happened to be….of all places: at Ortigas Center. GCF to be specific, corner Ruby and Garnet Roads! No excuse NOT to attend now…

PSALMhow…I don’t know how I could’ve managed. Having just arrived from Cebu for the PSALM Staff Development Training as a Resource Person, then travelling to and from
Isabela for Hubby’s weekend ministry, and getting sick thereafter…probably from sheer
exhaustion. Just how would I drag myself to Ortigas for that full-packed day? REST! I had stored enough rest for a couple of days that I came out recharged and revving to go again. Thank the Lord!

PSALMtime…that precious commodity: TIME! It seems such an inconvenience to carve out a weekend afternoon of a “ber” month, when everything is happening at a dizzying pace. It seems a waste of time to just sit, greet old friends, meet new ones, and listen to others speak…when I have a million other things to do in my ministry. But God
surprised me with a time of refreshment.

Spiritual refreshment through the:
1. inspiring and heartwarming testimony of our Brother Mon (What an encouragement and a blessing!
2. surprising discovery that someone like Dr. Met Castillo was into Youth Ministry \o/ (I’m in good company then)
3. rousing and invigorating message of Brother Alison (Are you sure you aren’t a pastor? Because you’re a good preacher!

PSALMone…
1. released me to attend the reunion instead of the discipleship group: our discipler…my Hubby!
2. invited me as a Resource Person for the PSALM SDT and revived my burden to assist the Green Movement, as I interacted with the passionate, smart and committed staff. (Thanks, Elvin!)
3.…an emcee at the reunion…posed questions that brought back memories of my time with PSALM as the Ateneo De Zamboanga Campus Student Leader in the early 80s.

I reminisced on how PSALM was instrumental in developing my leadership at that critical period of my life, how PSALMone like Ate Ruth Uy touched me in a brief moment at the NLTI (that’s another story altogether)…and while I was the Alliance MM District Youth Director in the late 90s, how I realized that some of our best Alliance MMD Youth Presidents were Psalmistas: Jeff Castillo, Jason Tan, Donna Castillo-Tan.

PSALMone took up the challenge, stepped up to the plate, left his comfort zone and home base…to bat for PSALM. To you, Brother Mar, I take my (baseball) cap off! May God empower you as He continues to lead the national movement onwards from first base: Mindanao, second base: Visayas, and third base: Luzon(!)…resulting with many home runs of discipled youth for Christ!

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Anne de Jesus Ardina is faculty and director of the Youth Studies program of the Alliance Graduate School in Quezon City, Philippines. She has written Experiencing God Asian Youth Edition, a six-week version of Henry Blackaby’s best-selling course book with the same title designed for Asian young people, and Xtreme Disciplines Tagalog Edition, a discipleship lessons series for youth.