What Are You Most Thankful for this Year?

We had a small party in our Victory group to end the year and celebrate Christmas. I wanted to make our last meeting for this year quite different than usual so as part of this small celebration, we had an activity where we listed down three things that we are most thankful for this year and then we shared it to the group after.

It was fun to see that everyone enjoyed making their lists and they even did it very creatively. When it was sharing time, it was very encouraging to hear some of the things these girls are thankful for. Let me share to you some of it.

Fae wrote "Victory" on her #3 spot. This girl was introduced to me just this month because she needs to finish a 15-hour church work requirement in her Theology class.

She said that she felt the warmth of the crowd when she first attended Night LIFE and as a shy person that she is, she was surprised at herself for being able to comfortably share her heart to the people whom she just barely knew. And even on her first time in church, she made a decision to continue on attending even after she completes her requirements in her Theology class.

Bea is thankful for the church for helping her find strength. :) Blessed by this girl for always being excited and eager to attend Victory group.

Gaea is the only UP student in the group and we're blessed to have UP represented! :)

Aside from passing UPCAT and being a Dean's Lister on her first year in UP (bigatin! haha), Gaea is thankful for being part of a Victory group. This girl, when she misses a meeting, would ask either me or Brenda about the lesson/topic we tackled for that day. Blessed by her willingness to learn.

Christine, on the other hand, is the only Ateneo student in our group and we are thankful for having an Ateneo representative around. Hehe.

Christine wrote "Ateneo" on her list. Comes with being a student from Ateneo are other many simple things that she's thankful for. One would be being able to join a Victory group. ;)

Brenda is thankful for being part of a church. She said that it keeps her encouraged.

I'm blessed by this girl for her compassion and heart for the lost. She always tries to invite her friends and blockmates to come with her in our Victory group and I've seen lives touched because of her heart for the people to know Christ. It was her who brought/invited most of the girls in this group.

Nothing but privilege. It is a privilege to know these girls, to share my life to them, to see them gain new friends, to hear their stories, to learn from them, to see them grow in their love for Christ. And that's one of the things I am most thankful for this year.

Looking forward to share my 2011 with these pretty, smart and lovable ladies. In behalf of our Victory Group, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR! :)

Victory Group 2010

(L-R) Christine, Gaea, Brenda, Bea, Fiona

Fae, Yna, Gwyneth, Camille, Eri

You? What are the things you most thankful for this year? :)

DAY 134 12.23.10 3:43pm

Why Reach Out to Your Campus?

The month of September has gone by like a whirlwind. It was during this month that the demands of my academics were at its peak. Each day was a tough fight that even finding time to sleep was a battle.

I'm sure you can relate.

Yet with all the demands that we get as students and with our busy schedules, why do some students still carve out time to do One2One, lead a Victory Group, share the Gospel or volunteer in a youth service? I guess the more important question would be, why do some students take time to reach out to their campus?

You've probably heard a lot from me already and for sure you'll hear more soon. So I thought it would be nice to hear from some of the students from the three major campuses in Quezon City.

So here it is, enjoy and be encouraged! :)


Steph Gabriel

A few months ago, if you ask me who am I and what do I do, I could answer in a heartbeat--I’m Stephanie Gabriel, libero for the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team. I have this clear definition of who I am, and it’s something that I really hold on to. I think everyone is like that. We always try to define who we are because apart from that identity, we think we can’t make sense of life. The problem is, because change is inevitable in this world, we keep holding on to an identity that is temporary. That is why people keep on searching. I, for one, have been searching. As I feel my own definition slip away, something in my heart seems to slowly come to clarity. Somewhere along the way, I wanted to say I have finally found it, but I know it has been there all along, waiting for acknowledgement. It’s an identity, and what makes all the difference is that it is constant.

I am Somebody’s creation. That alone already gives me a path. And every step I take, it is ever clearer. I have been a “Christian” all my life. I grew up in a Christian community, studied in a Christian school. But it never made sense to me until a few months back. I am basically new to this. But because it made so much sense, my heart overflows. I just have to tell someone. I have to reach out. Not because I need to, but because I could not contain it. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. I know how it feels to be lost and constantly searching. But I also just came to know that there is rest. You can’t deny who you truly are. It will come out, no matter what. But why wait until you are weary? I guess it’s true that the more you know, the more you are responsible. But what amuses me is that because it’s Jesus, reaching out is not a matter of responsibility, but of love.

Stephanie Gabriel is a graduate from Ateneo de Manila University and currently taking up her Master's Degree at the Ateneo School of Business. She is the libero for the Ateneo Woman's Volleyball Team.

Patrick Diaz

Why reach out?

When you enter into a relationship with God, you will feel that it is something so wonderful you couldn't just keep it to yourself. When something good happens to you, you want to tell your friends about it. But when the best thing that could ever happen to you, happens to you, you COULDN'T NOT tell it to the world. A genuine relationship with God, and the countless perks that with it overflow: nothing could get better than that.

Knowing about the sacrifice of Jesus which is good for everyone but seeing that not everyone knows about it just pushes you to preach it to them. Being with your friends everyday and seeing them not sure of what or who they are living for, or from whom to draw comfort and strength when they need it, or where they will go after their life in this earth, you couldn't just sit back and relax and not tell them about Jesus.

Truth is, one doesn't get any material reward for doing this. In fact, reaching out and engaging people could cost you a lot of money, time, and energy. It requires you to get out of your comfort zone, get into many awkward moments of sharing the Word, feel people try to avoid you and think you are weird for what you do. But what keeps one encouraged and fired up is knowing that it is not him who saves the people but Jesus, and he is merely Jesus' instrument. This is also the reason why difficult and seemingly impossible cases become possible. Why Sauls could turn to Pauls. And why we could keep the faith even when people don't reply to our texts or attend our Victory groups.

"Jesus' instrument." I'm absolutely sure there's no title I would rather have than that. He loves me so much that He gave His life just so I could be with Him. There's nothing I could do for Him that would match up to what He did for me. So if the most that I could do in this life is to be His instrument, that's what I will do. Because I know that He loves us more than I could possibly imagine, I know it would please Him if I would live my life, trying to lead as many people to their faith in Him.

Also, it's a command from Him which we disciples don't have the option to just politely decline. He said it in His Word, along with a message that He will be with us.

Why the campus?

According to Pastor Manny Carlos, who is one of the founders of Victory QC, the campuses of Miriam, Ateneo and UP compose only about 2% of the college population of the Philippines, but almost all the leaders of this country come from these campuses. This makes the campuses a good and strategic starting point for discipling the nation. I also believe God put me in my campus not just so that I could have good education but also so that He could use me to shine His light here.

Patrick Diaz is a 1st year BS Civil Engineering student at the University of the Philippines, Diliman.


Meg Samelin

"Why do you reach out to your campus?", Fiona asked

I remained silent, letting myself drown into the feeling of being joyfully unexplainable. It was the feeling that topped my answer.

I am fond of calling my past as my "dark years" simply because I haven't seen the light yet, it was when I was lost in the dark because my life didn't have any direction.

After knowing my God, a new life was given to me, a brighter and better life.

Coming to know God did not happen in a blink of an eye, it was a journey Fiona and I started with God. I was in school when we started to talk about Him seriously, something I was not used to but I slowly fell in love with it.

After my life has been changed and I began to see myself as a daughter and follower of Christ, I knew right there and then that I should share what I've felt and the changes I've undergone but most importantly share about God who made it all possible to my fellow students.

I have witnessed and realized that many students strive hard to blend in with the ways and beliefs of the world that they are being led to nowhere, trying to be satisfied with what the world offers and looking for their purpose in life. Little do they know that apart from God we are nothing.

Purpose is known, meaning is given when we are one with Him.

Why do I reach out to my campus? Because God is worth knowing, His word is worth sharing.

Meg-Anne Samelin is a 4th year student in Miriam College taking up AB Communication.

DAY 59 10.09.10 3:30am

Back-to-back-to-back

Three significant events that took place the past few days...

August 27, Friday - Night LIFE

We've just entered a new season in Night LIFE as we are trying to incorporate new things in our youth event. Last Friday was the second time that we ended the word by singing a worship song and it was the first time that we were led by a full-band worship team. We sang the song "You Are God" and "You'll Come." God's presence was there. You see, praise and worship is something new to the students who attend our event so we're on that stage of trying figure out what will work best for them. At the end of the day, whatever format we may come up with, our goal still is to minister. So far, worshiping God after hearing the word works for Night LIFE.


We also invited Ptr. Joseph Bonifacio to speak an encouraging word for us last Friday. He talked about being thirsty for God. It was powerful. After the word, we had our usual "Coffee Talk." It has been a trend in Night LIFE where we don't just only listen to the word but we also take time to share among our groups what we learned. This is my personal favorite because it gives us an opportunity to check our hearts, to think and apply the lessons to our personal situations in life. This is the time where the word gets more personal.


August 28-29, Saturday and Sunday - Campus Victory Weekend


Three girls from Miriam College attended Victory Weekend last Saturday and Sunday. It was refreshing for me and life changing for the three girls. Seeing people die of their old self and living a new life in Christ never gets old. Indeed, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I am excited to see what God can do in and through them. I am also blessed by their heart to reach out to their friends and classmates. I believe that God will use them to shake our campus and I am in faith that they will do greater things than what I've done when I was their age.


August 31, Tuesday - SJE's LSS: Life's Successes and Struggles Event


This is the second time that LifeBox was invited by a student organization to give a talk inside Miriam College. The first one was when David Bonifacio gave a talk on "Value" to Marketing students. This time, Joey Molina gave an inspirational talk to the Entrepreneur students. We didn't stop by just giving a talk but we also encouraged the students to continue on learning from each other by joining a Life Group or more popularly known to Miriam students as Chill. Around 170 students attended the event and a lot of them signed up for Chill. This is a major major breakthrough and I am believing that God will open more doors of opportunities.


These back-to-back-to-back events leave me with no words to express how great God is moving in my campus. He loves the youth so much, isn't He? And this is just but a tiny piece of the bigger picture. I believe as we continue to sow seeds in the hearts of the young generation, we will see a great harvest that will not only change our generation but will also make an impact even to the generation after us. Let us not stop preaching the Gospel and discipling the youth! :)

"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are YOUNG. But set an example to the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" - 1 Timothy 4:12 NIV

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9 NIV

DAY 20 08.31.10 11:28pm