Josepha (Nene) Blaza Yap is the mother of three who joined the Columban Lay Missionaries. - Photo: Nene Yap
Our local Church in the rather poor and sparsely populated area of Ipil grew in cohesion until it was eventually able to look after its own affairs, putting it well on the way to transforming from an outpost of one diocese to being one in its own right.
In the mentality of the day, missionaries came from overseas. So, as local people describing ourselves as lay missionaries, we introduced a new dimension to the way people thought about mission. My children have now taken this one step further, volunteering to go overseas and be part of a new era of the Philippine Church as a mission-sending body.
When our children were growing up, our missionary work took my husband and me away from home for extended periods, meaning we could not always be physically present for them. We often had to leave them with adult relatives or friends, not just for days but for weeks owing to the distances we had to travel. Our children had to grow up in this peculiar family environment, but we accepted the situation and the sacrifice, relying on the grace of God. There are no regrets.
It is only with God's grace that we have given all our children the education they need to fulfill their own dreams and aspirations. Some of them even went to big universities and institutions, which was unimaginable on the meagre salary we received as a couple from the Church.
With our love of God and continuous service in the Church, I can proudly say I have seen and felt God's generosity through the many people we have worked alongside. Indeed, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all things will come to you” has been our lived experience as a couple with our family. We served God wholeheartedly, and God did not let us down, for he provided the things we needed to raise our children.
I believe that our family's unique situation is why some of my children received the call to mission. As a couple, we made it clear to our children that they could choose to be whatever they wanted to be, and we would give them the support they needed in the best way we could. And it is with great joy that the call of my children to be missionaries came not from external pressure but their own willing and personal spiritual discernment.
I have nothing but joy in my heart that our hard work and sacrifice as a missionary couple have more than paid off. As I recall loving memories of my husband, Lito, who went ahead of me to our Creator on 6 June 2006, I know that he is smiling with me at the knowledge that some of our children have followed our missionary footsteps with our model and guide, who is Jesus. The life of a missionary is never easy. It is a path full of sacrifice, pain and danger, but at the same time, it is a path of self-discovery, adventure and spiritual fulfilment. It is a path that I would not want to exchange for any other in this world, for it is a path that has given me my knowledge of God’s great love. Yes, it will be a path that I will always recommend but not force on anyone else because I know that we each have our own calling to serve our God.
Listen to "Called to be lay missionaries"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - July 2022
