ann's journey

JUNE 19, 2008
WSC

I. Intoduction:
Good evening friends! I’m Ann Empenado of SE 14. I will be your prayer leader for tonight. Please join me in reading our theme and promise for tonight:
THEME:
WE DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER WHEN WE LABOR IN HIS VINEYARD.
PROMISE:
“ IF YOU HEARKEN TO MY VOICE AND KEEP MY COVENANT, YOU SHALL BE MY SPECIAL POSSESION, DEARER TO ME THAN ALL OTHER PEOPLE.”
(Ex 19:6)

II. Instruction:
May I request everyone to please stand as we do the sign of the cross and pray the prayer to take authority.
In the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
PRAYER TO TAKE AUTHORITY

III. Prayer Proper:
You may now sit comfortably and feel that we are about to be in spiritual union of the Lord… Let God be in the center and be focused on him, as I invite you to focus on Him on the cross tonight. Let us look at Jesus and quietly tell Him of what had happened to us today. Peacefully surrender to Him what has been bothering you so that there could never be any block that will hinder all his outpouring blessings intended for us tonight, and as we do this, focus only to the Lord…
Heavenly Father, We do ascribe to you the glory due your name, and praise you for the splendor of your holiness. We praise you because in your holiness you are just, patient and wise. In you there is no bias motivated by wickedness or evil. Your vision is not distorted by sin. The vain things of this world do not distract you, and do not complicate your motives.
Unlike us your eyes see the true state of our hearts. With precision your gaze sees the eternal value of all things, for you alone always view life through the lens of truth. So, we praise you, and you only as our worthy and just Judge.
As your people, who so often happily choose blindness instead of sight, and deafness instead of the hearing of your voice, we marvel at your patience; for in the very act of your restraint the depth of your kindness is illuminated and the nature of your mercy displayed.
Every day that you endure the sinfulness of your creation, the shades of your compassion become more clear, and its shape more sweetly. And God we praise you because in your just judgment, in your patience, you display perfect wisdom.
Throughout Scripture, Heavenly Father, we see that it is by your will and your word that all life, all creation exists. Lord Jesus, it is by your life, death and resurrection, by your faithful enduring obedience, that the Father redeems those who are his. Holy Spirit, it is by your work that the hearts of men are turned toward the Father and made capable of glorifying him.
So, Lord, our hearts sing your praise this evening, for you are the source of all justice, patience and true wisdom. We praise you because your character, your attributes, turns the attention of all creation to the only one worthy of glory.
Yes heavenly father, you have given me everything I need. You have known me and known even the things that are not spoken. Even the things that are not asked, you know too well my God what my heart desires. I thank you Lord God for all the answered prayers, from the littlest of all things down to the impossible which only made me realized how magnificent and how amazing you are. Life could never be worthy if I have never known you. I thank you Lord God that you have made me the person that you want me to be, though imperfect as I am. Thank you Lord for my family, friends and the community that I have now, they made your light shine like no other radiance can surpass. You have humbly given yourself to me and to us your people. You selflessly gave your life for our salvation. By this Lord I know that you will be pleased to see us empty ourselves and be humbled to the things you have given to us. Indeed Lord, we are so blessed that we have seen your light. As some of us who are covenanted and committed to serve you, may you continue to guide us and lead us the way…May our hearts be of genuine service for you. May we serve you wherever we may be. May we serve you Lord without feeling the need to be appreciated, may we not serve to be seen, liked or praised by others. May we do not seek power when we do service to you Lord. Father God, we humbly asked for the grace of perseverance to give us humbly as we have been given, as we fulfill our community mission with the selflessness of your son Jesus Christ. Lord teach us to be more like you. Teach me to be more like you. Here I am Lord, use me and let me fulfill my purpose here on Earth. Lord I offer my life to you, I have heard you calling my name, Lord here I am….
( SONG: LORD HERE I AM)
Father, we come to you as you call our names; as men and women who have done wrong in your sight.
Lord God, we confess that, though you have created us and given us every good thing, from the smallest breath to our most precious possession, we have not given you thanks as you deserve.
Though we have been made to worship you, and in your service is joy and liberty, we have put ourselves under the mastery of other things.
We confess that we have made ourselves slaves to our desires—desires for comfort, desires for pleasure, desires for wealth and riches. We have regarded them as better masters than you, and they have borne us bitter fruit. We arrange our lives, not according to your commands as our creator, but according to what will gratify the cravings of our hearts. We are prepared to go to any lengths to serve ourselves. Father, we confess that we will disregard the needs of others and your holy word in order to claim what we want.
Father, we confess our enmity against you. We confess that our hearts too often feel no affection for you. We confess that we see no value in hearing your voice in your Word; we feel no joy in pouring out our hearts to you in prayer. Father, we confess that even the cross of Christ, even that great act of love and grace by the Lord Jesus Christ, inspires little devotion or adoration in our hearts.
Forgive us our ingratitude, Father. Forgive us our idolatry. Forgive us our rebellion and pride. We ask for your mercy and your grace in our helplessness. We ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and on grounds of his blood shed on the cross.
Holy Spirit we love the way you wrap the arms of Jesus around us, Holy Spirit we love the way you come among us to empower us, Holy Spirit infill us with your power, provoke us, enthuse us, manifest yourself among us now…Holy Spirit we love the way.
SONG: HOLY SPIRIT WE LOVE THE WAY….

Holy spirit we invoke your presence tonight.
There is no other God likeYou, O Lord.
You are glorious in holiness ---
So awesome in splendor, performing such wonders
God is holy.
As we meditate on God’s supreme holiness, we cannot help being overcome with a sense of awe. In Psalm 96: 9 it says, “Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth”

Yes Lord, you are my alpha and omega
My strength and my refuge
My trust and my deliverer
My most merciful and loving father
God is great and mighty
He shall reign over all earth
The Lord is great!
He is exalted!
Let us stand to exalt our king on high!
He is exalted!

SONG: HE IS EXALTED and GREAT IS THE LORD

Thank you father for giving us your son who saved us and the continuing guidance of the Holy spirit.

Dear Lord, we come before you now to give you thanks for your grace and mercy to sinners like us. Every day you shower us with blessings we don't deserve, in addition to the supreme gift of your Son Jesus.
Lord we claim that we will do our best to work in your vineyard. Lord, thank you for blessing us, thank you for sending us. Lord, may you continue to bless me wherever I may go. Send forth your most Holy Spirit with me that I may still be your humble servant wherever you will send me. Lord, I thank you for the blessing of the community and its members especially the singles ministry that became my seedbed in almost 3 years. I have grown spiritually Oh Lord and I am praying that the seed that has planted on me with the help of the community will never wither. Yes Lord, I may miss my class, the corporate worship and the WSC but I will strongly hold unto you Lord. With the mighty power of your scriptures and prayers I know that I could always be with you. Thank you Lord.
Now let’s read all together again our theme and promise:
THEME:
WE DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER WHEN WE LABOR IN HIS VINEYARD.
PROMISE:
“ IF YOU HEARKEN TO MY VOICE AND KEEP MY COVENANT, YOU SHALL BE MY SPECIAL POSSESION, DEARER TO ME THAN ALL OTHER PEOPLE.”
(Ex 19:6)
Yes Lord, you have begun a good work in us; we believe that you will faithfully complete what you have started. Amen? AMEN!
SONG: HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK
Thank you Lord for being in our midst tonight.
In the name of the father the son and the Holy Spirit.
May I call on the readers now.

The Singles’ Amazing G.Race is a challenge in which BLD Singles members team up into groups of five to race around the city in competition with other teams. The clues point the teams to the next destination or direct them to perform a task, either together or by a single member. Each task showcases simple, tricky, or wacky challenges that hones the members’ skills of teamwork, negotiation, and knowledge.

On its 2nd year, the BLD Singles calls on its members who are willing to face the MOST PHYSICAL and MOST INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGES to a race to the finish!!!




The Event: BLD Singles’ THE AMAZING G.RACE 2
Race Day: 24 MAY 2008
Starting Point: Redemptorist Church Parking Area @ 7:30am
Race Duration: Whole day


TEAM REQUIREMENTS:
• Teams of 5 BLD Singles members (minimum of two females per group)
• Bundles of Joy for kids within 6-12 years of age

REQUIREMENTS:
• Registration sheet, waiver & payment of P150.00 each
• Must be physically and mentally fit
• Must be prepared for anything
REGISTRATION AND ORIENTATION
With the start of the race in tow, new teams were organized while the rest were ready for action. The yellow team wore yellow, the black wore blue, and the red wore white!

Tdoms opened the activity with a prayer and Super Ando started the orientation.

While waiting for Cliff, Ronironz and Nenoy (yea, i'm singling you guys out hahaha), participants were led to a little warm up exercise by the working team!







STARTING LINE AT THE REDEMPTORIST CHURCH
As the church's patroness, the Mother of Perpetual Help was certainly keeping a close eye on the participants. Everyone was safe, everyone had a fun time, and even the weather was cooperative.

The start of the race was held on the church grounds and all teams had no idea where to do next...

As the teams rushed off to their team bags, once opened, they found a clue pack for the next pitstop, a trivia about the Mother of Perpetual Help, 10 candles, P32.50.

The clue points out to Sto. Rosario... Our Lady of the Holy Rosary's Parish located beside Cebu's oldest university!






FIRST STOP...STO. ROSARIO
The team's first task was to sell the candles provided to buy 5 roses which they would then offer to the shrines of the churches they would be visiting. Some had it easy selling the candles, the others were turned down a couple of times to finally get the right amount of money to buy the roses...


The CLUE:
In the city, go and see,
Cebu’s oldest university...
One Rose you must offer
In the church grotto near the corner...
But first you must vend
These ten candles we sent...
So money you can raise
For five roses must you purchase...
The remaining four you just hold
For the next clue will unfold!!!






SECOND STOP...LOURDES PARISH CHURCH
The teams were to find 2 rosary packs according to team color. They needed to make 2 rosaries according to specs given. As the teams spent an hour finding the rosary packs, they ended up helping each other through trading and negotiation...

The CLUE:

To Labangon off you go
Our Lady of Lourdes will show

Some rosary beads you must find
But the team color you should mind

Two rosaries will be
What you make of thee

A rose in the shrine
And Clue 3, can be thine







THIRD STOP...GUADALUPE CHURCH
From Labangon, teams had to find the quickest way to go to Guadalupe. Some teams took 3 jeepney rides, but two lucky teams - the green and black teams - chartered one jeepney going straight to the next pitstop. This bumped them so far ahead of the rest!

In Guadalupe, teams were to answer a number of the math problems given which has different levels of difficulty. They receive puzzle pieces according to problems answered correctly. Once they've successfully completed the puzzle (which forms a black and white pic of Our Lady of Guadalupe), they may then proceed to offer a rose to the shrine.

Provided on this leg was a water station and lunch packs.


The CLUE:

Roses are red, violets are blue,
Rose #3 - I give to you.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, full of grace,
We visit you in this Amazing G-Race.
Form the puzzle-picture,
As you go on this math adventure.
One puzzle piece you can get,
If you solve one problem set.
Food and box you must carry,
For the next Clue you must hurry…








FOURTH STOP...ASILO DELA MILAGROSA
Running, walking, riding, or singing (Blue Team) their way to the 4th leg of the race, the teams brought their bundles of joy to the Orphanage at Asilo. As they met, greeted, and sang with the orphans, they were taken by a surprise new to the G.Race... the detour.

A detour is a choice between two tasks - each with it's pros and cons ;p

--- math nasad?! dili ui, numbers puzzle ra ni ---

The teams may decide to answer 3 simple sudoku puzzles or may choose for each team member to shoot basketballs from the half court line.

The Green team decided to do the sudoku while the rest were sure they've got game.


The CLUE:

Our blessings we share,
With the kids in Asilo, for we care.
Take a group picture at the reception
The Asilo staff is no exemption.
To complete either one task,
Is all that we ask.
The first challenge is to complete,
The Sudoku puzzle feat.
Or if the team does not want this,
Shoot 5 basketballs, hope you don’t miss.
Rose #4 you should leave,
For Mama Mary, in whom we believe…






MT. VIEW...CHILL OUT
One team member acts as a blindfolded pourer, he will pour cold water on team mates as they sit on chairs provided holding cups above their head, all cups must be filled to the brim!!!




MT VIEW...SPIDERWEB MAZE

Teams follow through a maze of straw ropes and answer trivia questions in each post. This is where the trivia cards given on each stop comes in very handy!


The CLUE:

The trivia you must answer
The faster you are, the better...
So you can go through
The maze made for you.
Next, go up the hill,
But must have the will...
To reach the end
That’s round the bend!!!








FOOD DARE





THE FINISH LINE...TO JESUS THROUGH MARY!!!



CULMINATION AND AWARDING