Filipino Adventist Network: Unity of Mission Amidst Diversity

Hannah, above left, was a young girl from Singapore who lived on the PUC-Baesa campus with her parents and older sister. I remember her mom towering over her dad, Wu Chook Ying. He was short and smart, completing a BS math degree and shortly thereafter went to UP Diliman for his Master's degree.

Photo credits: Lita Laoyan and Cora Coo

While people trickled onto the main sanctuary and were settling into their most comfortable location from which to view the proceedings, it was time to begin so our pastor host, Dean Horinouchi of Mission Road Church, started us with a video slide show I prepared: Unity of Mission Amidst Diversity -2.

Shortly, with Tita Rada leading, accompanied on the piano by Cora Coo, we stood to sing our university hymn, AUP Our School Beloved, followed by the school song: Shine On Forever, Dear AUP! Invocation was offered by Tita as well.

Regarding what came first and what followed next: either somebody talking or a musical “intermission” between speeches, we chose to play it by ear in lieu of a printed program. Thankfully, the audience was mostly cooperative and attentive.. Their “amens”, I believe, was a signal for me to let the presenter know we needed a break.
https://youtu.be/hUUGFaO4x5g

Nichole Aye, violinist; Kyawthan Aye, pianist

Pastor Eliseo Jimeno, right,
responding to Bangele's query regarding the religious, sociocultural situation in Guam-Micronesia past and present.

Dr Wenceslao M. Torres, Jr.

As earlier announced, our two featured main presenters spent their entire professional careers engaged in cross-cultural mission as regular appointees of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: Pastor Eliseo Jimeno in Guam-Micronesia and Dr Wenceslao M. Torres, Jr. in Uganda, East Africa and Curacao, Central America.

Dr Bangele D. Alsaybar, Jr.

David Khoo, BSE-Biology'67, MA'68

Heidi (nee Haniel) Dawal, left

Dr Hedrick J. Edwards, right

They were joined shortly by a group of conversation partners. These were alumni who spent several years, though not their entire careers, as official denominational representatives in countries outside their homeland: Heidi Haniel Dawal and Myrna Novilunio Dial from the Philippines; David Khoo from Singapore. Though not officially a “missionary”, rather a cultural anthropologist with years of practical field experience as an academic, Bangele D. Alsaybar, Ph.D. UCLA, from the Philippines, completed the panel of alumni conversation partners.

Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Hedrick J. Edwards graciously accepted our invitation to participate. Except for two separate stints in his homeland, Dr Edwards devoted his professional career, as pastor-evangelist and health educator, serving as an expatriate faculty for 13 years in the Philippines with AUP and AIIAS (Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies) and later in North America, employed by La Sierra University and Loma Linda University.

Neither Ely Jimeno nor Wens Jr Torres dreamed of becoming missionaries. Regarding prior preparation, the formal education each had acquired up till then helped, some. While Ely spent years of elementary, through academy and college in Adventist schools, Wens was not as privileged. A blessing they had in common was the lessons learned in their respective homes from God-loving, Christian Adventist parents. Letting the Holy Spirit to speak to them for wisdom and guidance, as the need was presented to them by church leaders, they decided to step forward in faith. They never turned back.

A two-to-three hour joint conversation with the two presenters, each with over 40 years of fulltime service, alongside their spouses and families, fails to do justice to the task of beginning to understand what it was like to be Christ’s witnesses in foreign lands.

Somehow, the discussion drifted into disparities in remuneration between inter-division and intra-division service employees: also known as Section 1 and Section 2 of the General Conference Working Policy. Hopefully, the Q and A from the audience had shed more light than heat!

Empowering indigenous, national service employees may not be a perfect solution to this conundrum, but it’s an objective we can unite in trying to achieve. God is good! Evidences of God’s leading, provision and protection were underlying themes. Someone suggested, afterwards, this should have been the focal point of our conversation. Next time.

"Only God"
Singing Solfeggio
Dr Noemi Cabahug Tañada, conductor; Shaelan Gagatam, pianist

Nichole Aye, violinist
"My Faith Has Found a Resting Place"

"Witnesses"
Singing Solfeggio

Incidentally, all our musicians have had mission experience as expatriates : (1) Nichole Aye, 9-year old violinist daughter of alumni Kyawthan Aye and Karen (nee Tolentino) Bjae Aye ; (2) mixed chorus Singing Solfeggio directed by Dr Noemi Cabahug Tañada; Shaelan Gagatam, pianist; (3) Mike and Heidi (nee Haniel) Dawal; and (4) Yoly Nava Martono Chai. Except for Kyawthan (pronounced “Cho-tan”) who is from

Myanmar

, the rest were originally from the

Philippines

Noemi and Jubilee Tañada taught music and served as a chaplain, respectively, in Thailand for about 4 years. Kyawthan and Karen, both BSN and BM Music Ed alumni taught music also in Thailand for 5 years.
Mike and Heid (nee Haniel) Dawal were regular mission appointees, aka IDE/ISE - Interdivision Empoyees or Interdivision Service Employees; they served for 13 years in Africa, part of which time they were fleeing the civil wars first in Liberia, next to Sierra Leone, and finally at Franchophone Ivory Coast.

Yoly who spent 21 years in Taiwan sang a popular Filipino song, “Dahil Sa ’yo”, and a song in Taiwanese during the reception.

As always, working behind the scenes, our volunteer kitchen crew provided the needed nourishment so we could continue the small group conversation in the fellowship hall. Thank you Nelia, Rachel, Myrna, Amy, Armand, Tita….