(Christmas, 2015)
Hello world, this is my family. My home, my place of refuge, my source of love, and my first household. The man of the house, Mario “Ohmar” Rivera (the original Ohmar). The commander of the house, Merlita Rivera. The Korean of the house, Mier Rivera. Then there’s me. Meet the Rivera Family.
FAMILIES in the HOLY SPIRIT
RENEWING the face of the Earth.
Couples For Christ’s Mission
Having grown up in this community, quite literally, from Kids for Christ, to Youth for Christ and now recently transitioned to Singles for Christ, I can truly say that I have come to understand and further appreciate the value of family. Wherein we care for every person in a family in this community. And that can be attested to by my family.
Thinking back on the journey so far that my family has gone (obviously only ’til as far as I could recall), one thing is certain… that nothing went according to our expectations. That in saying yes to the Lord, He had taken us to the other side of the world whether or not we acknowledged it was God at work. As a result we have found the Lord in each other and ourselves and are now living in life of love and service. And so let me share with you, my family’s journey, from the desert to the rivers.
The story begins in Dubai, where I was born and where my parents first met, you’ll have to ask them about their story in person. (And shout outs to YFC UAE on their National conference!). And if there is one place that I remember the most about my faith life during the 7 years I lived in Dubai, it was the crying room. Almost every moment spent at St. Mary’s was either sleeping in a pew, or crying my head off in the crying room. We were the typical family that went to Mass on Sundays just because my parents were brought up that way and thus they would do the same for their own children. And other than grace before meals, that was the full extent of our faith. Funny enough, close to when we migrated from Dubai to Toronto, my sister asked our parents if she could join Kids for Christ, but our parents were skeptical and opted not to. However, just as the Lord is funny, He still made things work…by having our closest family friends (who moved to Canada a year before us and who were already in CFC by then) to actually sit in for my parents. So that once we arrived in 2001, they simply said, “Oh by the way, we’re gonna take you to a Christian Life Program! Don’t worry for missing 3 talks, we’ll fill you in during the car ride!” And from there my parents would complete their CLP, my sister would attend her first youth camp and I would go join Kids for Christ. Thus begins our love story with God, as one family.
The reason we moved to Canada was simply for my sister and I to get a better education. And only that. However, in reality, we were led on a journey towards Christ. As my parents began to serve more and more, my sister and I were exposed to mission since we would be dragged to my parents’ households and meetings that covered the vast lands of the Greater Toronto Area and even Windsor. Of course, at the time, young OJ did not appreciate being dragged to these places. But yet, it was in these moments of travelling with my family to serve, was what ignited that desire for mission in me even though I did not acknowledge it then. From there, my sister would go on to become a Full Time Pastoral Worker and I would apply to the Mission Volunteer program. Now don’t be mistaken, this journey was not without any sort of struggle or hardship. In fact, even until now, we face the same uncertainties of life. How can we serve if we are tired? How can I provide for my family? Or future family? Am I worthy or able to do this? The only difference now, is the great confidence we have in the Lord that He will and always will take care of us. Because He has done just that this whole time. We came for education but God gave us something greater, a purpose to love and serve Him. We came, to some extent, to lead a successful life, but God gave us something greater, a life according to His will. We came to serve ourselves, but God called us to serve Him.
And so, why did I say yes to mission? At first it was because I was inspired by the joy that the FTPW’s exuded whenever they were on mission and that I wanted to experience that. But thinking on it recently, especially with this post, I believe those 3 in the picture above are the reason. That they were the ones who brought me to mission, they were the ones who exuded joy on mission, they were the ones who said yes so that I could say yes.
The Lord took us out of the desert, our dryness in faith, and brought us to the rivers of His grace. Wherein, we came to nourish our minds, but instead we ended up nourishing our hearts and souls. This is how I am affirmed by the mission of CFC. That in being renewed by the Lord’s grace, we are able to in turn bring Christ to others. He took our yes and brought us to places far greater than we expected. And He is not yet done.
Thank you, Papa. Thank you, Mama. Thank you, Ate Mier.
Thank You, Lord.
AMDG.
#ONRouteToHeaven