1

bloom, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, believe God’s word and act on it, and to have a grateful heart. The CFC community rallied behind the Handmaids to make the 2010 OLC a unique experi-ence. CFC wives and husbands from the different areas accom-panied their handmaids to the conference. Service teams from Sydney and Melbourne took part in the production and music minis-tries, while teams from various cities performed many of the creatives. In Canberra, the whole CFC community led by Ronnie and Weng Bautista threw its full support to the Handmaids and the conference. “We thank the Lord for allowing Canberra to host the confer-ence. We thank Him for using us to become instruments to spread His love, words, wisdom, and care,” said Ronnie.

This was the resounding mes-sage of the recently concluded Handmaids of the Lord Oceania Leaders Conference. Held in Tharwa, ACT, on October 1 to 3, the conference was at-tended by more than 200 hand-maids and other members of the CFC ministries. The delegates heard about blossoming in God’s Garden, the conference theme which was made more special be-cause it coincided with Can-berra’s spring festival of flow-ers. Speakers from Manila, Japan and Australia expounded on the five session talks. The first session," And God Saw It was Good,” spoke of God’s love and wisdom in creation, and despite man’s disobedi-ence, God’s love and wisdom remain ready to bless those who follow Him. The second session, “Uprooted from the Garden,” reminded

everyone that the grace of God can again light our soul, and that we can be delivered from sin through our Lord Jesus Christ. In the third session, “Regaining Paradise,” everyone was ex-horted to become rooted in Christ and to have a personal renewal where Christ is the centre of one’s life. A healing ceremony was integrated into the talk where HOLD was ex-horted to bring Christ’s light to the rest of the community and the world. In the fourth session, "Tending the Garden," the handmaids were reminded to always tend to this renewal to allow the relationship with the Lord to blossom fully. They were re-minded to spread the roots by sharing their faith with others through evangelisation and mission work. In the last session, “In Full Bloom,” the key message im-parted to all was that to fully

BLOSSOMS Last Issue

5 November 2010 OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE 2010 HANDMAIDS OF THE LORD OCEANIA LEADERS CONFERENCE

Go, grow and glow! Be rooted in Christ and spread the roots, handmaids told

OLC inspires handmaids, CFCs

“The greater blessings came from the love and support by our brothers and sisters from all over Australia, PNG and New Zealand, for without them the spirit of the conference would-n't have been as successful in enabling us to blossom in God's garden.”

Souvenir edition

Spread the light of Christ! Above, the Handmaids at the Healing Ceremony of the OLC

Perlie Tomas, above, of Auckland, New Zealand. New Zealand will host next year’s HOLD OLC.

'Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, live in union with him. Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving.' Colossians 2:6-7

2

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, First of all join us in thanking our great God for blessing us with a wonderful conference. We thank Him for allowing us to host the conference. We thank Him for using us as His instrument to spread

His love, words, wisdom, & care to our other sisters & brothers. It is always an honour to serve Him. For everything Lord, we thank you. A huge thank you to everyone who has assisted in any aspect of the conference in any way, big or small. Your dedication and commitment to serve our God were the key to the success of the conference. And it was your untiring and selfless efforts that brought us thru. We commend every-one for giving it your all for God. For sharing of your time, talent and treasures, we thank you.

It was indeed a tremendous blessing for Canberra to be given the op-portunity to host the Handmaids of the Lord Oceania conference, and serve all our sisters and brothers. But the greater blessings came from the love and support given by you all. Heartfelt thanks to our brothers and sisters from all over Australia and New Zealand, for with-out your untiring service, the spirit of the conference would not have been as successful in enabling us to blossom in God's garden. Thank you to all area coordinators for rallying their members to come to Birrigai! The delegates came from all family minis-tries, supporting the sisters in every way. Thank you to our brothers, specially to the members of the National and Local councils for com-ing to Canberra to meet, greet and laugh with us all. Thank you to the music ministries from Sydney and Melbourne! You have blessed the conference with the gift of wonderful and inspiring music. Thank you to the production team from Sydney! Your service has

made it possible for a seamless program. Thank you to all the speakers, sharers and worship leaders! You are the instruments of the spirit in delivering God's messages. A very special thank you to our brothers and sisters from CFC Canberra and to the young men and women of YFC and SFC. We thank you all for being a source of inspira-tion to each other and to the bigger community of CFC and the Family Ministries espe-cially the HOLD. Thru this conference we have showed everyone that individually we can do good things. But together, as one single CFC family united in Christ, we can do great things. Let us take into our hearts the closing message of the 2010 HOLD OLC that “In this city of God, we have realised that we are all Blossoms in God’s Garden. So, let us all continue to blossom for greater things are yet to come. We hope you enjoy this souvenir issue of Blossoms. Praise God!!! Yours in Christ, Ronnie and Weng Bautista, CFC Area Head, Canberra Medy Bleich, HOLD Head, Canberra

Thank you

Medy Bleich, HOLD Canberra head

Ronnie and Weng Bautista, CFC Canberra head

3

The 2010 Handmaids of the Lord Oceania Leaders Conference kicked off on Saturday night with a festive celebration called the Garden Festival. It was an event where the ‘princesses of HOLD’, through music and dance, experience the full joy of being with our King and one another in His wonderful Garden of Creation. The festival was designed to prepare the delegates for the sessions of the following two days. The princesses danced to the tunes of old time classics like Walking on Sunshine, Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, and Here Comes the Sun. At the end of the delegations’ presentations, the live band from Sydney, led by Ray Villarica and other young CFCs, provided the awesome music which sent the crowd to a dancing frenzy! It was an unforgettable night. The SFCs and YFCs watching the scene ate their hearts out, realizing that the handmaids and the ‘young once’ can still outdance them!

GARDEN FESTIVAL

4

Sisters, today we praise and glorify God because everything around us… everything inside and outside of us … All of creation is a monument to God’s glory, not made for Himself but for His creatures, particularly for the good of man and all his neighbors.

Odeng Zaballa, Session 1, And God Saw It was Good

Sin keeps mankind uprooted to this very day. It keeps us separated from God. It enslaves sinners and ruins their victims. Our collective sins have caused injustice and brokenness to mankind. It has given rise to uni-maginable damage to creation. It has brought total grief to our loving God. Today, the spiral of sins and suf-fering continues to rise. But shall we remain forever uprooted? Sisters, there is hope! The grace of God can once again light our souls. Yes, we can be delivered from the state of original sin. Yes, we can be delivered from our personal sins. Yes, we can be delivered from our bro-kenness and sufferings. Even the earth can be delivered from decay and destruction! We can be delivered from death! We don’t have to be uprooted forever! The Scripture tells us of this hope in Romans 7: 24-26 — Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! Sisters, Je-sus Christ is our hope! This is the Good News! We have a reason to rejoice! Jesus can take us out of the dark.

Jenny Bernardo, Session 2, Uprooted from the Garden

Sister, to regain paradise, remember SCARRS! Sorrow for our sins. We must feel true sorrow for disobeying God and for causing pain toward other people. Confess our sins. We must receive the sacrament of reconciliation. Ask for forgiveness. We should ask God for forgiveness and also ask forgiveness from the persons whom we

have hurt. We must also forgive ourselves; know that God loves us even though we have sinned. Rectify problems caused by the sin. Make restitution by fixing any problems caused by your sin. Receive forgiveness. The Lord will forgive you when you truly repent with a sincere heart. Allow his forgiveness

to come upon you. You will feel at peace when you accept God’s love and forgiveness. Sin must be forsaken. Make a promise to yourself and to God that you will never repeat the sin. Recommit

yourself to obeying God's commandments. Precy Confiado, Session 3, Regaining Paradise

When God created us, He sowed in us the seed of life that is meant to bloom to its fullness. While we let it wither, He did not allow it to die. Through His Son Jesus Christ, He has revived us by an incomparable act of life-for-life gift-giving. How blessed we are that through our covenant as Handmaids of the Lord and the differ-ent forms of expression of our mission, we have been given the means to nourish and sustain this life. As we remain faithful to our covenant through the grace of the Holy Spirit we will attain to its fullness and become truly lovely and colorful blossoms in God’s garden. Sisters, do you know the HOLD covenant by heart? Are you ready to renew this covenant and commit to live it out day by day?

Thelma Hizon, Session 4, Tending the Garden

Your King delights in your love for Him. He delights in you, a priced blossom in His garden – always fresh and fragrant as you stay in a love union with Him, radiant in color because you are deeply-rooted in Him, delicate yet sturdy for your life is built on Him, blooming in faith, dazzling with joy as your heart overflows with thanks-giving. A blossom in full bloom. Your King cannot help but whisper in your ear, “Ah, you are beautiful, my be-loved. Handmaid. Wear this as a token of my endless love for you.” (Do you still keep the token I distributed at the conference?)

Bing Bacarro, Session 5, In Full Bloom

OLC Food for thought The OLC has given everyone a lot of food for thought, and these are the things we hope you would remember. The speakers and sharers would rather that you remember the mes-sages (below), more than the food and music, etc.

Medy Bleich, Canberra HOLD leader and OLC organiser

5

“When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come . Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus”.

The above is from Matt Redman’s fa-mous song, The Heart of Worship.

The recently concluded HOLD Oceania Leaders Conference brought back a lot of men and women to the heart of wor-ship.

Led by worship leaders like Medy Bleich, Nanette Estera, Emma Caguin, and Donna Quiason, the whole congre-gation opened up to God, communi-cated its love to God ,and allowed the worship to transcend everyone's weak-nesses and acknowledge God’s power.

Patrick Ambida, a YFC and the official photographer of the OLC, captured some of these moments with his lenses.

“I love to take pictures of groups of people praising God together. To me, praising and worshipping God is telling our Lord how much we love Him just because He is, and that we simply want to dwell in his presence, even for the fleeting moment of the opening worships, such as these ones in the HOLD OLC,” said Patrick.

The heart of worship

6

ave you watched a plant grow? From a seed embedded in the soil, stems shoot up and grow to become strong branches. Tiny leaves sprout and multi-ply to dress up the branches. Buds ap-pear and bloom to crown the plant and

make it a real beauty. But all these changes do not happen overnight – it takes weeks, months, sometimes even years for a plant to blossom. And during this time, it needs proper care and attention so that it will continue to thrive and be fruitful.

So it is with us. It will also take some time, in fact, a lifetime, before we can be fully restored to the image and likeness of God and to the fullness of life that He has meant for us. Like plants, we all need tender loving care to become mature Chris-tians and bear spiritual fruit that will make us beautiful blos-soms in God’s garden. We need to regularly tend what we have planted to make them beautiful and fruitful. This requires pruning of unproductive branches, removal of dried leaves, weeding, watering, apply-ing fertilizers and/or pesticides, re-planting, tilling the soil, staking or caging to prevent the plants from falling over, etc. These are all time-consuming and painstaking efforts that we need to make in order to have a beautiful garden. Then we patiently wait for the flowers to bloom or the fruits to appear and ripen. Tending the garden of our souls is just as hard. Repentance may have brought us healing and reconciliation with Jesus, but our enemy is always on the prowl to keep us from growing in holiness. Hence, we need to continually take care that we do not fall into his trap and become separated from God again. In the same manner that we go around the garden to check on what is happening to our plants, we also need to look into what is happening to our spiritual lives. Constant care allows the roots to go deeper and wider in search of water and food for the tree. The deeper the roots, the more nutrients they will get to sustain the tree. Thus strong roots contribute to the growth and stability of the tree until it blossoms and bears fruit. The same is true with us. The more rooted we are in Christ, the more nourished we will be. As we immerse ourselves in His life and teachings, the more we will understand the mystery of God’s love and the deeper our faith will be. This will give us the resiliency to withstand adversities that may come our way. As we live out our faith, we will begin to bud and bear fruit that will last. In this way, we will witness to Christ dwelling in us to others.”

“H Sister Thelma exhorts the handmaids: tend the ‘garden’

Thelma Hizon, exhorting the delegates in Session 4

Members of the Sydney delegation, tending the garden. This was a creative for Session 4.

By Thelma Hizon, HOLD Country Coordinator for Oce-ania and HOLD International Council member

“The more rooted we are in Christ, the more nourished we will be. As we immerse ourselves in His life and teachings, the more we will un-derstand the mystery of God’s love and the

7

tracing our footsteps in the hilly streets of Cooma North where Carlo developed his muscles cycling around after school and Cooma hospital where Mark was born. Only then we can drive back home to Sydney.

How fulfilled I am for attending this gathering. This long week-end of October leads us to a deeper appreciation of God’s rooting, tending, renewing and blossoming care. Mothers, grandmas, sisters and women like me opened up some wounds and scars of the past. But we all look back now with-out the pains, just the victories of God’s caring and faithful love for us. In slow motion and real

By Josie Pangilinan,

CFC Sydney This conference must be “godcidence”, how it happened that I would be reliving a part of my life in that very place – that gateway to the southern table-lands where my shared experi-ences happened.

I received mixed feedbacks from members of my household who heard my sharing during Talk 4 at Canberra’s HOLD ICON.

They said it felt different. This is because, I think, this time I shared a part of me from deep inside and not just telling a story or proving a point of rele-vance to some lessons learned as a pioneering migrant.

Now I can look back with joy to my struggles in the 70s that sometimes, we can just hop in the car at 5 a.m. – have our wee stop at Berrima, the cluster home of antique shops.

Our leg stretch stop would be the roadside of the fabled Loch-

Ness of Oz, Georges Lake. It was teeming with fish and bird life then. Federal Highway was narrow and the water level sometimes flood the road that can isolate Canberra for days. How sad that after they have raised and widened it, the billa-bong’s lakebed lay bare and parched with just patches of grass. Then we would hit the long stretch of due south Mon-aro Highway until we reach the end of the railroad tract, Cooma – our home for our first 7 years in Oz. The only sign of this sleepy town’s connection to civilization is the big corporate building of the Snowy Moun-tains Engineering Corp. where billions of AUD were being spent and sent as aid to poorer countries– Dom my husband was part of the design team for power plants of Ok Tedi, PNG, Trengganu, Indonesia, etc. while I was part of the Hydrol-ogy team.

Our nostalgia will be quenched only after a few hours of re-

OLC brings back nostalgic past

This conference must be “godcidence”, how it happened that I would be reliving a part of

my life in that very place ”

fast forward, we saw God’s designs that take time to mani-fest.

We can be blossoms in God’s garden. The talks made us laugh, cry, embrace, dance, sing, reminisce, pray and bond.

What an awesome weekend!

Josie Pangilinan, above at the OLC, and with husband Dom, right, 34 years ago.

Josie was one of the sharers at the OLC. The other sharers who captured the crowd were Sheila Conejos, Carmen Curtis-Smith, Lina Nascimiento, Win-kie Monje and Amy Tranquilino. Their sharing put flesh to the messages of the sessions. Their stories inspired the listeners, who were teary-eyed at the end.

8

We are the voice of the Handmaids of the Lord. Merciful God our Father, we hear loudly the cry of the children and the youth. We see their deso-lation. We hear clearly the cry of the poor and their plight. We hear and see the cry of the environment and the imminent destruction happening around us and around the world.

Together we cry to you O Lord our God. Please hear our pleas. We ask for forgiveness for all our sins O Lord and the sins of our parents, the generation before us and the current generation. In your compassion Lord, blot out our sins and transform us by your love. Prune us dear Father that the dead unproductive branches of our lives will be cut away.

Grant us the strength to endure the painful consequences of our sins and our mistakes. But be there for us Lord, hold our hands and be our guide as we get out of the darkness into the light. Let your Holy Spirit be with us leading us to the straight path and empowering us to overcome the evil that abounds around us. Let this light that comes from you begin to enlighten our personal lives, then let us bring this light to our family, to our sisters in HOLD, to the poor, to all the people that you bring into our lives, to our mission areas, and to the world. Grant us loving, selfless and a generous love that can only come from you. Bring us from darkness into the Light.

On behalf of all the Handmaids of the Lord, we pledge to bring the Light of Christ to all the corners of the world, bringing the love of Christ, his forgiveness and healing. We thank you Lord for giving us hope. We thank you for bringing your light into our darkness. We thank you for saving us from our sins and the sins of the generations before us. We thank you for cleansing us by the blood of your son our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for your unending love and your faithfulness to your promises and the covenant with your people. We look to a better future because of you and the love of our community Couples for Christ Handmaids of the Lord. We claim your healing power O Merciful and loving Father and as one with you, we commit to be instruments of heal-ing in the world.

We are the voice of the Handmaids of the Lord... During the Healing Ceremony, candles were lighted symbolising the light of Christ . Everyone was ex-horted to bring this light to the rest of the world. This was followed by the handmaids pledging to bring Christ’s love, His forgiveness, His healing to their respective families and to the people around them. That pledge is printed here, to serve as a re-minder to all.

The HOLD area heads

Leonie Calma

Amy Tranquilino

9

Who are these

women?

News bulletin. Stop the press.

Mystery deepens as to the identity of these very colourfully dressed ladies.

Sighted at the Variety Night of the recently concluded Handmaids Oceania Leaders Conference, these women continue to be the topic of conversations, long after the conference was finished.

“I think they’re the spin-off of ABBA”, says one observer.

“No you’re wrong,” says another. “The green-haired woman is actu-ally Cindy Lauper, showing off her newly -found friends from the Eurovision Song Contest.”

“Really? I thought they’re the latest cast of Glee. I like their bling blings... Were those real?”

Blossoms is offering a prize to the first reader who could identify this mystery group correctly.

“It’s a shame we don’t know them. I’d like to invite them to a party. Do you think they’re single?” asked one interested reader.

10

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing… For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see an-other law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my mem-bers” (Romans 7:19-23)

This lament of St. Paul is echoed in these modern times. This predicament is seen even in the situations of the very members of the community.

In a performance that left the crowd in stitches, Jei Tallada, Lani Mojica, Bitoy Victoria, Emma Caguin, Nanette Estera and Mimi Capistrano, all from Sydney, very convincingly enacted very common situations where there is a raging battle between good and evil inside a person’s heart.

The skit was part of Session 2 on Uprooted from the Garden.

“In our human nature we are created as good as the Father, but because of worldly things we are surrounded by, the desire to be good and staying good is an ongoing challenging task. The skit shows that on the surface, some of us show this good side, but underneath this layer there is a dark side— evil thought and deeds— that keep us uprooted and separated from God,” ex-plained Mimi Capistrano, one of the skit’s actors.

Session 2 ended with a song (sung by Ray Villarica) entitled Take Me Out of the Darkness, which, together with the skit, stirred people into reflecting the message:

You have forgiven me, too many times it seems I feel I'm not what you might call, a worthy Christian after all And though I love You so, temptation finds its way to me Teach me to trust in You with all my heart, to lean not on my own understanding I just forget, You won't give me what I can't bear, take me out of the dark, my Lord, I don't wanna be there.

A zany group from Sydney plays a skit involving situations where women repeat the same wrongful acts, despite promises to quit or change. The comedic skit was very en-tertaining, but at the same time had a real seriousness in the message it wanted to tell.

Above, Bitoy Victoria and Nanette Estera, as the devils. The other members of the satiri-cal/farcical play were Mimi Capistrano, Lani Mojica, Jei Tallada, and Emma Caguin, below pictures.

11

The transportation arrangement for the delegates in the recently concluded Handmaids OLC was executed without glitches.

That was the assessment of Pol Basilio, the CFC leader who was given the task to organise the moving of people to and from the conference.

“The planning was good. In particular, the committee members’ roles were clearly defined. It was always clear who drives who to where, and when. People were always eager to lend a helping hand. One CFC member, Rudy, was a good example. He was asked to pick up a delegate from the train station and to bring her to Birrigai. That was very late at night , and at a very short notice. He did it with a smile!” said Pol.

The Transport Committee relied on the Registration Team to coordinate the list of people to move. A good communication line between these two committees is essential to future plan-ners of OLCs.

“We initially considered hiring a bus, but because CFC were ral-lied to support the OLC, there was a surplus of people who could help with transport. People simply volunteered. Also, a big ad-vantage was that Sydney had organised a bus. It was utilised to help other delegations get to the Floriade. To the next hosts of OLC, our advice—based on experience— is for you to coordinate with the other areas as well, as their own transport arrangements can also be put to good use,” advised Pol.

Transporting the guests

Child minding at the OLC A big challenge for conference organisers at any big gathering such as the OLC is “what to do with the kids?”

The task of looking after the children of delegates and the service team members went to the KFC Coordinators for Canberra, Marie and Luciano Maucieri. A handful of YFCs assisted them. Couples from the other committees also lent a helping hand.

Marie and Luciano did a fantastic job in entertaining the children. There was a theatre in Birrigai which provided the kids with hours of movie entertainment. The climbing wall was also very popular, but kept Luciano and Marie at their toes most of the time.

Ronnie Bautista, the Canberra CFC head, declares that this commit-tee needed all the help it can get in the future, not only so that the welfare of the kids could be taken care of, but also to give the people in charge, whoever they may be, a well-earned break so that they themselves could also listen to the talks in the OLC and to join the worships, for example. “Our advice to the next hosts of the OLC is to have several people rotating around the clock, and to conscript the young ones, for example the SFCs and YFCs, to help,” said Ronnie.

Linda Ness, of the Registration Committee, coordinating with the Transport team

Pol Basilio, above, with wife Jhong, also coordinated the transport needs of the YFC OLC in 2009

The coach hired by the NSW delegation.

With transportation, people can move around. This lovely group from Sydney managed to visit the Canberra Floriade.

Luciano Maucieri, right, with wife Marie (not shown), patiently looking after the kids during the OLC

12

local CFC community.

"Several meetings took place prior to the OLC. The meals were planned; the marketing was planned; the catering was arranged in advance. Many of the food were cooked by our members," said Ner.

"We were so fortunate to have a professional chef (Jojo Mon-taos), a CFC member, leading the food preparation in the kitchen. The kitchen was run so very efficiently, with the mem-bers of the committee gelling so well, that it was like child play! We enjoyed serving and we're glad that many people were happy about the service we provided," added Ner.

Jhong says that correctly sched-uling the tasks was important, so that the committee members could also go to some of the OLC sessions and listen to the

CFC’s ‘masterchefs’ cook a culinary storm for the Handmaids OLC It's a labour of love.

This pretty much summarises how it felt like serving at the recently concluded HOLD OLC.

The Food and Kitchen Commit-tee, headed by Ner Ambida and Jhong Basilio, received acco-lades for a job very well done for feeding more than two hundred delegates.

"It's one of the most organised food and kitchen jobs I have ever seen," commented a dele-gate from Melbourne. "The food was excellent, the quality of service exceptional. You can see the service team members happily doing their kitchen and mess hall tasks, all smiles! Things were very orderly and meals were always on time."

Ner thinks that everything went well because of the all-out sup-port given by members of the

Jojo Montaos, above, and other members of the Food and Kitchen Committee, below. A few are missing from

the photos

talks. "We made rosters for every meal, for things like food preparation, serving and clean up. This allowed clarity of roles," said Jhong.

"Likewise, we made sure that no Handmaids were assigned to the kitchen so that they can focus on the sessions.” added Ner.

Deo Montaos Alex Estrellado

Jhong Basilio, Annie Abello and Ner Ambida Noel Gomez

Brett Spaven and Pol Joseph Solicar and Albert Chua

Arlene Montaos, Ressie Pahate and Maribel Alfaro

Annette Jose

Rene Jose Joseph Cecil Nacion Deo

Jhong Fun in the kitchen Ner and Pol Basilio

13

Preparing the garden CFCs blitzes OLC stage on time

Rey Abad knows the feeling very well. It's like working for Back-yard Blitz and you're told you have only 10 minutes to go be-fore the owner arrives.

Rey, together with a small group of volunteers, was behind the planning and execution of the stage design for the HOLD OLC.

This is two years in a row. Rey, a CFC member from North Can-berra, was also the key person responsible for the design stage of the 2009 Youth for Christ OLC, also held in Canberra.

"I have now become the get-to person when it comes to 'staging' and it was a pleasure and honour for me to be able to help the Handmaids," said Rey.

"This particular design posed a challenge because it meant to be an 'evolving' stage. In other words, there is a progression that people should realise at the end. What people see on the first day is different from what they see on the second, and what they see on the third day is also different from the first two. The concept is that of growing a flower garden-- plain at the beginning, then in full bloom at the end. I'm glad the delegates saw the transition that happened, so that on the third day, everyone was telling how 'blooming' the stage has be-come. The idea was to connect the stage to the essence of the conference talks, where at the last session, the delegates were asked to bloom fully, be rooted in Christ, and spread Christ's roots," explained Rey.

"I'm amazed at the number of helping hands during the set up. It made things a lot easier when you know you have everyone sup-porting you," added Rey.

"It is important to be adaptable and flexible. It was only at the last minute when we found out about the progression concept. For future OLC stage planners, my advice is to accept that lots of things can change at the last minute. Be prepared for them. Be clear on the vision or purpose of the design, and minute details can work around it".

Thank you Rey for giving us an unforgettable stage!

Rey Abad, with his crew, setting up the stage.

14

"It was the switcher."

Asked why the AV operation during the OLC seemed to be seamless, Ronnie Bautista and Ruel Abello explained that it was the work of the 'switcher'!

Hmm. What is a switcher then?

A switcher is an AV device which al-lows two laptops to be connected to the one projector (or something like that!). "By switching, the operators can choose which of the two laptops gets projected onto the screen. This gives time to the operators to get their slides or videos readied, and projected seamlessly, because the materials are not crammed into the same input source. So if Ronnie is finished showing his Powerpoint slides, all I have to do is press the button of the switcher, and there goes my video being projected on the screen!' explained Ruel.

Confused? Well, don't worry about it. Just call these Canberra boys if you need help.

Ruel and Ronnie, together with Raul Ruiz, handled the Audio-Visual as-pects of the HOLD OLC conference.

"Raul was the brain of the operation. Months before the conference, Raul conducted a site visit so that logistics can be worked out and visually see what is needed. He designed the AV set up, for example, where things like

speakers and projectors will be posi-tioned, how many cables are needed, what kind of equipment, etc. Costs were kept down by listing all the things they needed and then booking what they needed to hire. He also very thoughtfully considered how the creative videos and presentations will work, knowing that there was a lot of them. And the answer was the 'switcher', which cost $90," ex-plained Ronnie.

A technical simulation was done a few weeks before the OLC so that all the equipment and the system could be tested. "It was also like a training for Tito Ronnie and Tito Ruel so Tito Raul can be confident in leaving the set-up and operation with them just in case," said Aimelle Caguin, the program director of the OLC.

The 'just in case' refers to Tito Raul being unable to help during the weekend, in case his wife Cindy gives birth around that date. Well she did! Raul, despite sleepless nights imme-diately following the birth of his son, managed to spare some time to over-see the set-up of the AV system on Friday afternoon.

Well done techies– and congrats Raul and Cindy!

Raul Ruiz, checking the AV set up.

Raul and Ronnie, testing the connections

Ronnie and Ruel, with Aimelle Caguin, the program director, and Nica Alonzo

(back) of the production team

‘Techies’ ensure seam-less AV operation at OLC

15

Aimelle, production team behind all the onstage action

The production team at this year's HOLD OLC was headed by a young SFC member from Sydney, Aimelle Caguin.

Aimelle, currently serving as a mission volunteer for CFC, was helped by fellow SFCers and a few YFCs from Sydney and Canberra.

"I had a team that was extremely reliable and easy to work with so even if there was lot of demand from all sides, they were cooperative and served happily and duti-fully", quipped Aimelle. Called the 'program director', Aimelle spent considerable time studying all as-pects of the program and how it can be implemented. This involved talking to speakers, sharers, AV team members, performers, etc. She shares, "Studying the script and run-ning through the' story conference' was important. I did not have a chance to meet with the entire team as some were from Sydney and some in Canberra so it was critical that directions were clear and the script updated so that stage managers and runners will know what will happen well in advance. "Future program directors should watch out for this-- there is no such thing as a 'final script' until the talk or segment is actually delivered! The script was continu-ously being updated right to the end. Things can get a little messy if you were not aware of these. By God’s grace I was able to complete the final scripts and print cop-ies for the team at 4 pm on Friday after-noon.

"I had fun working with the main speakers. Tita Thelma, Tita Bing and Tita Precy were a big help in clarifying the elements because they have given and attended the HOLD international conferences this year. They gave me tips on which segments needed a lot of coordination with people.

"God allowed the first two sessions to flow smoothly and finish early, therefore the team, music ministry and participants of the Healing Ceremony were able to have a run through, or blocking. This was key in the proceedings of Session 3 as there were

lots of directions to be given regarding where people will stand, the timing of the videos in sync with the prayer leaders, the lighting on stage, etc.

"To future program directors, my advice is to talk early to the people involved in the program. The meeting on Friday night was helpful especially for the production team to meet the worship leaders, speakers and sharers so they knew who to gather before the sessions.

Aimelle comes from a family of dedicated CFC members. Her dad Hector and mom Emma are both very active in the Sydney CFC community. Her sister Allison and her husband Joseph Gozun are fulltime mis-sion workers in Seychelles. Her brother Kurt is a YFC leader in Sydney. The Caguins were the recipient of the Inaugural CFC Family Ministry Award, given to them at the 22nd CFC anniversary celebrations

held in Marayong last August, for dedica-tion and untiring service to the community.

Looking back at her HOLD OLC experience, Aimelle has this to say, "I was affirmed by our community even more by everyone's support and participation. It really does go to show what God can do when we cooper-ate with Him. In doing God's work, there is always a place for each one of us, whatever age or state of life we are in, or whatever part of this world we are in.

"I guess what I remember from one of the talks is that if the people from our commu-nity are blessed, then everything else will in turn be blessed. So thank you to all the leaders who facilitated our growth as a whole. We are truly experiencing the fruits of your labour".

God bless you Aimelle! May more young people be like you.

Aimelle Caguin, OLC program director (left), with team member Dana Ambida, of YFC Canberra. Below, the production crew, enjoying a well-deserved break. From left: Terese Samuels, Megan Bautista, Dana Ambida, Mez Estepa, Candice Pasion, Nica Alonzo, Krystle Cassar, Gelina Montierro, Therese Santos and Aimelle Caguin. Not in photo: Kat Bautista.

16

Music ministries provide the factor

Raul and Cindy Ruiz had a key role in forming the Canberra group and in helping at the rehearsals," Syrel added. Kceb Limsiaco, the handmaid re-sponsible for Canberra's creatives, said that it is important for people to be encouraged and empowered to use their talents, be that the dances or the music ministries. "When you sing or dance, you are doing it not for your self or for the people around you. It is for God," said Kceb. Well done, music ministries!

f the OLC were a competition, there will be several X Factor winners, most notably the bands which provided the music during the event. Three bands, or music ministries, took turns in singing: a band from Melbourne, a band from Sydney, and the music ministry from Can-berra. The band from Sydney was led by Ray Villarica. It provided the mu-sic for the sessions, and also took care of the music to get the disco up and going during the Garden Festival. The Melbourne band, called the 29AD, was led by Ben Taban-querao. It provided the music for

the worship sessions. It also got the crowd swaying and grooving at the Variety Night. The Canberra group focussed mainly on the songs for the masses, held on Friday and Sunday. The group was coordinated by Noel and Syrel Uriarte. "Having three groups proved to be extremely helpful to divide the num-ber of songs that had to be learned and played for the conference," said Syrel. "Canberra had several rehearsals.

�I

Anna Tolentino and Nonoy Albano Canberra Music Ministry

‘29 AD’

Syrel Uriarte of Canberra

Vince Mortillero

Ray Villarica and Anna Tolentino

Olpha Yabut and the ‘29 AD’

Jeremy Peyton Carmi Velasco

Ben Tabanquerao and the ‘29 AD’

Jay Duma

Ryan Villarica

17

Youth inject freshness to conference The KFCs, YFCs and SFCs shared the limelight as they took part in some sessions of the recently con-cluded Handmaids of the Lord OLC.

Alessandro Maucieri and Mika Limsiaco, of the KFC, and Kathleen Bautista and Dana Ambida of the YFC, stirred everyone’s heart with the prayers they read during the Healing Ceremony of session 3.

One such prayer went, “I am the voice of the youth whose parents disregarded the laws of the Lord our God. Those who have contrib-

uted to corruption, those who have committed sexual crimes, those whose lust for power and riches has brought about wars and death of innocent people, those who teach their children evil ways by their example and distorted value system. Forgive them Lord and change their ways before it is too late for them and for our nation and the world.”

Karen Ho, a North Canberra YFC member, performed a dance interpretation of “On Eagle’s Wings,” an apt song for session 5, which spoke about building

our house on solid rock– Jesus Christ. Karen’s dance reflected a key message of the session talk: “If we build our lives on Christ, we will dwell in His shelter. The rains (stress, failures, trials and diffi-culties), floods (temptations from the world; the evil happening around) and wind (Satan) will not be able to destroy us.”

‘On Eagle’s Wings’ was sung live by another YFC, Megan Bautista, with Patrick Ambida, also of the YFC, providing the guitar accom-paniment.

Megan’s rendition of this song strengthened the message that our strength comes from Christ, our refuge, our rock. It will come from knowing that He will shield and protect us under His wings; that He will raise us up and soar with us above all the rains and the floods and the wind; that He will not allow a blossom in His garden to be destroyed by any of these.”

The Canberra Singles for Christ (SFC) performed a dance to intro-duce session 1. The dance was entitled “Fullness of Life”, which the SFCs interpreted as way to praise God for His creation. The song reminded everyone that we are stewards of God’s creation, which God has planned for the fullness of life.

At the Variety Night on Saturday, the YFCs presented a couple of song numbers which showcased

the group’s budding talents, including those of Cheno Go-mez, Kat Bautista, Monty Abello and Quag Le.

Canberra’s SFCs dancing the ‘Fullness of Life’.

Canberra’s YFCs joining

the fun

Pat and Megan,

rehearsing ‘On Eagle’s

Wings’

Karen Ho, rehearsing her dance number

Alessandro Maucieri, reciting the Prayer of

the Unborn Child

Mika Lim-siaco and the Prayer of the

Poor

Kathleen, Cheno and Quag, at the Variety Night

18

CFC Canberra Notice Board What ’ s on in November?

CFC Family Day November 27

Saturday Weston Park, ACT

11 am to 3 pm (see poster below)

Marriage Enrichment Retreat (Canberra’s first mission trip) Nov 20 and 21 Moruya, NSW (see poster below)

Livin La Vida YFC A YFC Canberra Cluster Event November 20 Saturday 1:30-4:30 pm Corpus Christi School Hall Bugden Avenue, Gowrie

The editor wishes to thank this young lad, Patrick Am-bida, for taking the photos used in this issue of Blos-soms. The photos speak for his excellent camera work. Job very well done Pat! On that note, the Editor wants to thank all contribu-tors to this newsletter. Sadly, this will be the last issue of Blossoms. It has been an honour publishing this newsletter for the com-munity. More power to CFC and HOLD! May God be praised.

19

Go forth and blossom!Go forth and blossom!Go forth and blossom!