Surely God is still using servant-leaders to touch lives in the campuses!

People whom we’ve touched in the campuses are God-given testimonies that HE can still work in and through the students’ live regardless of who or where we are as long as we are willing.

Keep up the good work guys because for sure, the lives we touch are precious blessings from GOD!

Having time with God is like a breath of fresh air, very refreshing. Even as I stepped down from the plane, I took a deep breath then I said ” walang ganito sa maynila!” God truly works in amazing ways that even the smallest of things can bless a person. Going to this camp, I’ve seen a lot of things I don’t normally see in Manila such as the sky full of stars, an amazing sunrise and sunset, malalaking tuyo, and even the gecko’s or tuko. It truly renders me amazed as I reflect that God made all of these in 6 days.

But then I think about why I really went to this camp? Was it just to escape the problems of this world, to escape sin and temptation? I feel that God took me here to tell me that He is not yet Lord over all of me. He took me here to realize that for me to truly serve the Lord, I have to make him Lord over all of me and not only part of me. That wherever I go, I can truly be a living testimony to how God works in my life. I’ve realized that I need to be driven by the Holy Spirit and not to work on my own for it is hard to progress much less move in my journey towards Christ If I don’t yield to the Holy Spirit.

And as I go back to my home, my church, my youth, and to the “real world”, I pray that my life may be truly driven by the holy spirit. I praise You O God for even if I stumble, even if I fall You are still there to put me back on track.
To GOD be the glory!

additional stuffs:
I thank God for bringing me to the NLDC ’10 camp for I’ve learned many things about the Holy Spirit, about how to study the Bible and even in the recreation there were lessons to be learned. Through this camp, I’ve gained a lot of friends, even closer in my small group(mamention ko:D kuya Paul, ate Lala, Febz, Aque, Danielle, Jed), I’ve learned hiligaynon(kahit jutay lang kabalo ko) and a new place that i’ve been to(BACOLOD!!).
Sa mga NLDC PEOPLE! Don’t forget to text kahit magsimula na ang school year! Remember that kahit hindi magreply ang mga tayo, we have someone closer than a brother whom we can count on.

MISS KO NA KAYO SOBRANG SOBRA!
GOD BLESS!!!!

Past:
I couldn’t wait to go to LCDC. Seeing my friends from last year’s Sibol Camp, the meeting of new campers and counselors, Banquet Night, and all those crying sessions I have come to expect from IVCF.
Funny how God changes our plans, right?
One day, during our weekly ISCF meeting, I heard about the NLDC from Jeremy and Kuya Raf. So basically just an LCDC duplicate, only in Bacolod, and with campers from all over the Philippines? Pretty much the same deal, but with airplanes and a dialect I couldn’t speak? Lord, You bring the humor everyday.
So there. I met with some of the campers from MMRU to talk about campus report. Me, an emcee in this skit about ISCF at our schools? And how many campers will there be? God, I’m not laughing so much anymore.

Present (in a way):
Alone at the airport, waiting for the other delegates to come. I hoped somebody would ask me why I was there, so I could tell them I was running away from home. I have a sense of humor too, you know.
Bacolod. Is it really this hot? No wait, we’re still in the airport. Outside, IS IT REALLY THIS HOT?! Then we find ourselves the first ones there. We already knew we would be the last to leave. Funny, funny, funny.
Camp. After hours of waiting, the rest of the campers arrive. Of course there’s no special treatment for US, we register at the same time as them (drama king as I am). I steal glances at all the new faces. Cute? Friendly? Emo? What the heck was I in for?
And then NLDC really started. I’m more introvert than extrovert, but I found myself enjoying, the songs, the atmosphere, and the company of the other campers. I thought, uhhhhh, okay?
The days go by. I’m learning so much at this camp. Not just typical Bible and Christian lessons, but about myself, and the lives of the faces around me. Even Recreation was a chance to learn, like how to avoid getting long scratches on your wrist (by not joining Touch Me Not). I continue to grow closer to Jesus, also growing closer to my new friends in the process. Those times on session leading, cabin sharing, small groups, and work groups helped me, helped ALL of us to grow, inside and out. I especially had fun during Banquet Night, as it was a huge relief from the disaster that was my JS Prom! XD And its not every night I’m Gent of the Night! (I’ll say it here because I won’t say it anywhere else. Special sakin, alright?) And Testimony night was an emotional one. Having the opportunity to pray for and affirm eachother, simply for telling us how God touched their lives through the camp, it’s enough to make anyone cry. Amen.
I made lasting (hopefully) commitments and formed unbreakable (hopefully) friendships. The outing and final SG had a huge impact on me, as I realized I may never meet these people again. But I know God has a plan. If He wills us to meet, we’ll meet again. But that is another matter.
Final minutes. Full of grasped hands and warm embraces. Hi! I’ll miss you, God bless you. (Then I think, wait, have I ever talked to you? Why are you hugging me?) But I forget it quickly. I’ll miss you anyway. And then I say goodbye as the jeeps drive off, yelling GOD BLESS!! as loud as I can. May we all remember each other.
SM Bacolod, adventure na!! We met a few of the other campers. Told you we’d meet again. ;D Pizza, and then back to sleep in camp. Not much to be said, except for another demonstration of the Spirit of the Paper and a neverending UNO game.
Airport. Cebu Pacific pabalik? I think of the Bring Me games they play. Oh joy. But look, isn’t that Bamboo? He’s tall in real life. I turn around, and Hey! You’re the vocalist of Kamikazee! ESSUPAHSHARINNNNGGG. XD
And finally we’re back in Manila. One by one I say goodbye to those I became close to during the travel, inside hoping them well.

Future:
So that’s it. The camp is over. But as I write this, all the lessons, taught and touched, come back to me. Let’s not the end of the camp be the end of our closeness to God. Our Christianity isn’t invisible, only to come out during church or camps. Let’s not make our experience at camp a light one. I pray for each of you, my fellow campers, to truly have been changed from the inside out, and may God bless each of you. Continue to glorify him through your life. ;D

Whew!! Kung nakaabot kayo dito, congratz!!
As for the friends I mentioned, here they are:
Delegates from MMRU (Chesie, Donzz, Jeremy, Joshua, Karlo, Shekinah, Gino, Luz, & YC)
SG mates (Abby, Gen gen, Donzz, Jemar, JT, & Tipin)
Work group (Abby, Gen gen, Donzz, Jemar, JT, Tipin, Liezl, Gino, John, Marc, Luz, Lyka & Kiss)
Recre group (Abby, Gen gen, Donzz, Jemar, JT, Tipin, Charles, YC, Ella, Deana, Imie, and ung mga iba XD)
Kasabay maglakwartsa sa SM (Chesie, Donzz, Jeremy, Shekinah, Gino, Luz, YC, Aque, Genesis, Kiss, & Queenie)
Tablemates sa Banquet Night (Kenneth, Imie, Earl, Ella, & Deana)
Cabinmates (Jemar, JT, Tipin, Jake, Jigs, Jaja, Kean, Daniel, & Karlo)
Co- session leaders (Jesus is the rock… XD)
And sa lahat ng Counselors!!
God bless all of you. I thank Him that you all became a part of my life through this camp ;D

Sweet Extreme ;D

God intervenes in each meeting I have with first year students. One particular occasion was when we had a topic on family. I thought it is boring. Besides, because I was new to them, I thought that they would find it awkward to discuss something personal.

For that meeting, I prepared incomplete statements (completion guides) which they had to fill in. These all had to do with family issues. Initially, it was an ordinary meeting seasoned with laughing and murmuring. However, Arvy’s turn made it so memorable. He was then an invitee and one who seems a bully. He always laughs and teases his classmates. I can no longer remember what he wrote in the completion guide. As he spoke, I knew that God had been speaking and revealing Himself to him head on. Apparently, the rest shared their struggles with me. After all, that is what Small Groups are for—a venue of enabling and encouraging each other.

Since then, Arvy, has faithfully attended our weekly meetings. Initially, I did not expect him to be that eager and serious. I realized that our small group is God’s and He chooses those who constitute it. What makes Arvy hooked up to our small group? It is not because of the games, songs, friendship, sharing, laughter and tears but because of God Himself.

By Imee Gregorio, Graduate Team Member at Pamantasan ng Lunsod ng Maynila

There’s a lot that you learn by word, but words are dead unless you feel their weight upon your life. They’re just jargon until you’re living and feeling and working them out. That was the camp’s relevance for me: it was another situation that the Lord put me in, to try and refine me.

First, there was my experience with the counselors. I’ve never been around a group of peers who have challenged me so much. From the first day to the last, their energy, winsomeness and initiative inspired, prodded and pushed me to take up the role of a counselor. And then, there was my experience with the campers. I had the privilege of seeing one of my roommates come to know Christ during the camp. What a blessing it was to see a vivid example of Newton’s timeless lines: “I once was lost, but now am found; was blind but now I see!”

What did the Lord work in me through (before, during, and after) LCDC? A greater appreciation for the sustaining grace of God in the Christian life, and ministry in particular. A revitalized sense of the Lord’s worldwide work. A more hopeful outlook for my own place in that work and a deeper determination to serve Him with tunnel vision. An expanded imagination for the potential of my own church’s youth ministry.

By Kito Espiritu, member of State Varsity Christian Fellowship, UP Diliman

Before I become a Christian, I have never gone to any church. I didn’t know how to pray. And worst of all, I didn’t even know who Jesus really is. I belong to a “Banwaon Tribe” who doesn’t praise God, but praising the elements of nature instead. For almost 18 years, I’d spent my life enjoying and living in a very sinful way. I thought it’s just okay to live a life of my own style, being gay. I couldn’t count and name those things that I have done. Many times I really loved the world and I obeyed the Satan’s will. Many people advised me to change my life, but I didn’t listen to them!

My board mate, an IVCF leader, kept inviting me to join their group but I kept refusing. Then I gave in to his invitation. I never thought that tears would fall down from my eyes and it really felt down like a flowing river. I couldn’t help but to cry out ’coz I found out who God really is. God touched my heart and embraced me during that time. But a lot of questions filled up my mind. Why I’m like this? Who am I? I started hating myself, being a gay.

I started attending the fellowship, prayer meetings and small group meetings, even though I was still ashamed, ’coz I can’t relate to the other people. What kept me joining was the acceptance of the IVCF people of who am I. My small group helps me as my support group while being ridiculed by my former barkadas. I can now prove that God is really working towards my spiritual growth. I know now how to pray, not only for myself, but also for my family, and other people too. I can also manage myself and even my emotions. I am now in love with a girl. Glory to God! The Lord had just proved
that I am changed by His power.

By: Lito G. Manseliohan, IVCF student from Agusan del Sur State College of Agriculture and Technology (ASSCAT)