Mission HIMpossible – Christmas in the Mountains
Every Christmas season, people get busy preparing for parties, exchanging gifts and sharing food. That is how we usually celebrate here in the lowland. Meanwhile, there is a group of people in the mountains whose holiday is spent in silence. They celebrate Christmas like an ordinary day, while we city people hold extravagant gatherings.
In December 2011, a group of young mountain climbers, including myself, conducted an event called Mission HIMpossible to celebrate Christmas with the mountain communities. Later on, we decided to continue holding the event every Christmas season. The purpose of this seasonal event is to share the love of Christ and to celebrate the real essence of Christmas with our tribal family in Christ.
Recently, by the grace and blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ, we accomplished Mission HIMpossible 2014 in Sitio Sipit Saburan and Sitio Ambang, Puerto Galera with the presence of a Mangyan family. Although we were just four in the team, we did our best in the activities and committed them to the Lord.
God gave me a lot of new experiences in this trip, the first time that I led a mission team. What a blessed time it was!
-Nathan Rotap

Here are some excerpts of insights from my teammates.
“…. We praised God that he provided a way. With no doubt, the hike was harder and the track was muddier. Nonetheless, we learned to be flexible and had fun while it lasted since we're all in this together and we wanted to reach our destination. The situation itself allowed me to reflect on my own spiritual walk and how I trust God with everything. It reminded me of the fair-weather believers, those who follow God when everything is "smooth-sailing" or for what they can get. This kind of superficial faith can easily be destroyed by a taste of adversity. However, adversity strengthens genuine faith ((2 Corinthians 11:23-30). It causes believers to dig their roots deeper into God and to lay their foundation on Christ in order to withstand storms…” –Kheita
“…I’m blessed with my team mates, for they are always beside me, we are one body of Christ. Our fellowship and celebrating Christmas with the native Mangyan believers is also an unforgettable moment. The Lord taught me how to mingle with them, by showing respect, acceptance, by sharing our blessings and giving encouragement to them as we love them. At the same time I learned from them because they are faithful in serving the Lord despite the difficulties. They are satisfied with what they have; they relied on the Lord…” –Jestoni
“…. During our hiking God revealed to me that climbing up the mountains is like our Christian life. You will experience rains that will cause you to stumble and fall down, insects that will bite, tiredness and muscle cramps. In the same way in our Christian life, we experience problems and wrong decisions that make us stumble and fall, people who hurt you, tiredness in waiting for answered prayers. But God reminded me of Luke 9:23 – “Then He said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” which made me realize that the more challenges you have, the more God will test you. We should not lose hope but continue in serving Him faithfully… -Renz





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