Parents as God’s Intruments

Taking things for granted, I never realized how blessed I was. It never crossed my mind. I have good parents; both are Christians actively involved in IVCF. They exposed me to joining Grad Team Conferences ever since I was young. I was even encouraged to join Sibol Camp after just graduating from sixth grade. Apart from that, I also joined the Discipleship and Leadership Camp the following year. Initially, I dared to feel like I was just entering for the sake of it. Yet, little did I know, deep in my heart, I enjoyed participating.

The one-week camps for three consecutive years during the summer held significance for me. Throughout those experiences, I gained friends along I could be vulnerable and share my thoughts. Most importantly, I learned how to understand the Bible verse after verse and understand how meaningful my participation was in reaching out to unbelievers.

However, my spark was easily dimmed when I started to go to school again after the camp. It also did not help that our campus ministry become inactive, and it went on like that for years until I reached college. I could say that perhaps I become dormant and too complacent. Although I still go to church and sometimes have my daily devotions, but that was all. There was also a time when they invited me to an IVCF get-together, but I was so busy and did not make an effort to join. I was too focused on academics, so my mom kept reminding me to have a work-life balance. I was deeply immersed so much so that I forgot my responsibilities in Church as an officer, to the point of missing some meetings and activities as I stayed in Davao.

Despite my inactivity in campus ministry, my family made sure I stayed in touch with the Lord somehow by setting up weekly devotionals. Every monday, my mom, dad, sister, nephew, and I gathered for one, and another on fridays with my mom’s side of the family. And now, as I think about it, I appreciate them a lot for doing these as we can learn new verses from the Bible, new songs to sing, and more stories, experiences, and prayer requests to share. Every family member had the chance to talk and play a role during these devotions. Additionally, just December of the previous year, we had the opportunity to attend the National Conference in Tagaytay as a family. I learned a lot from all the expositions, lessons, and stories shared during the small group. Ultimately, I could say that it rekindled my spark to become more involved in campus ministry if it were to be established again.

Lastly, I thank the Lord for using my parents as instruments for my Christian life. I also want to apologize to my parents and thank them at the same time as I mistakenly believed in the past that they were forcing me. But now, I realize how blessed I am to have supportive Christian parents. I remember hearing stories from my small group about how hard it was for them to join IVCF because their parents were against it or how they were the only Christian in their family and that no one understood them. Their experiences are the exact opposite of what I experienced. And for that, I am eternally grateful for being able to worship as a family. Without their guidance and influence, I would not have become a Christian and would instead be strolling around the streets without purpose and substance.

-Krystiana Grazzia Niog Alegre, USeP Obrero