by Emily Garcia, Entrust
The vision was cast right after I took Facilitating Relational Learning in 2015 in the U.S. I declared to Corrie M. (then director of WWMT*), “We need this training in the Philippines. I will complete all four modules and let’s bring this to the Philippines.” I completed all the modules in 2018 and was appointed the Entrust hub coordinator for my country shortly after that.
We were set to begin FRL in January 2019 but some changes at the coordinating church forced a cancellation. I was devastated and asked God, “Why?” Guess what. The week we were supposed to be at the retreat house for this module, the nearby Taal volcano erupted. Had we been there, we would have been buried in ashes! Thank God, indeed!
The next opportunity was for an FRL in the south of the country in April 2020, which we had to postpone due to the pandemic. What about online? A super typhoon hit Legaspi last November, destroying homes and all communication/power lines.
The Philippines hub group (Corrie, Joycelyn, Trish, Ann and I) continued to meet and pray regularly, as did our registered participants. Finally, power and internet connections were restored.
The Philippines’ first-ever FRL will take place twice a week, April 6 – May 15, online, coordinated by Greenhills Fellowship Church, Legaspi, southern Luzon.
*Women-to-Women Ministry Training (now Entrust Equipping Women)