After months and months of uncertainty and postponement due to the pandemic, the much-awaited Missionary Formation Program (MFP) was finally organized and conducted for the full-time servers of Pure Heart Philippines. This was an 8-day retreat and was held in the priory of the Community of St. John.
I have to admit, I didn’t really know what to expect from the program, nor did I paint a picture in my head of what will happen exactly. But true enough, the MFP gave justice to its name as it provided us with formative means to grow more as missionaries. We had a great start on the first day of the program as we jumped right into a workshop facilitated by an organizational developer. During this session, we were asked to take a test which assessed our top talents and strengths. It was a fun and interesting way to discover ourselves more deeply, as well as get to know our fellow missionaries more, which is crucial in building a strong and united team.
During the rest of the week, various talks were given by speakers, both from in and outside the Pure Heart family, on topics such as liturgy, vocation discernment, charisms, Catholic leadership, etc. These helped me go deeper in knowledge and understanding of the faith, spirituality, and also of the way of life that we had chosen to practice as Pure Heart full-time missionaries. Even our free time in the afternoons was purposeful as it gave us the opportunity to have some restful “me-time”, and more importantly, to spend more time with the Lord in prayer and intimacy. To me as a missionary, this was the most essential part of the program—to reconnect with the One who sent me, and to strengthen my personal relationship with Him who loves me.
Just as it started strong, the Missionary Formation Program also culminated with a bang through two meaningful and memorable activities—our commissioning as new full-time missionaries, as well as our first girls youth group gathering of the year. It was like a back-to-back-to-back event! At the end of the day, as the MFP finally came to a close and we went back home, I was left with a renewed spirit, and with peace and gratitude in my heart.
Written by Guada Cheung. Guada has been a full-time missionary for Pure Heart since August, 2020.
Our "Chiara Luce" girls youth group