Dear Ministry Partners,
HOW CAN 180 CONTINUE IN THE MIDST OF THIS PANDEMIC???!!! Its Quarantine 101 in Metro Manila (National Capital Region), meaning its been 101+ days ( I stopped counting the other day) since we were tasked by the government to stay at home. From extreme, to modified, and now General Community Quarantine (GCQ), senior citizens and young people ages 20 years old and below were “…required to remain in their residences except when indispensable under the circumstances for obtaining essential goods and services or for work in permitted industries and offices.” Stated under Section 4 of OMNIBUS GUIDELINES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY QUARANTINE BY THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES’ INTER AGENCY TASK FORCE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
I mentioned in our last letter that God’s purpose will stand. We believe that the virus will not put an end to the continuous work of God in the hearts and lives of our 180 Degree-ers! As the saying goes, “This too shall pass.” But I say, when it passes, we will come out as gold!
BUT In the meantime…WE WORK AS USUAL IN 180 DEGREES! Last June 13, Ate (Big Sister) Jovy (180 staff) and I went to the Ministry Center, (wearing our masks) and got the rest of the office materials that were left during the lockdown, so we can continue to work from home. Yes, the work of discipling the new generation continues…
In the meantime…WE SAY GOODBYE TO THE OLD! We said our goodbyes to “Kerokeropi”, our good old equipment truck and sold him for Php 50,000 ($1000)!!! Since we are in the new normal and our new pieces of sound equipment are light and travel-friendly, we believe that we don’t need a big truck to transport our equipment to the concert venue. Come to think of it, we are not even allowed to have concerts these days…
SO In the meantime… WE WELCOME THE NEW! We keep on recruiting for Batch “Elect” Eleven. When we started last January, there were only 6 members. God’s timing is perfect. Please welcome our new guitarist, Kenny Baltiador and Joyce Areglado (singer) in the team!!! Before COVID, they passed the auditions in 180 but unfortunately, their church schedules did not permit them to join. Who would have thought this pandemic will bring them back to their calling in 180? Please pray for them as they start to journey with us in the new normal. Please pray for wisdom as we begin to plan on how we can put the team together (virtually) and still do an excellent production and be effective youth ministers.
THAT’S WHY in the meantime…WE CONTINUE TO EQUIP OUR 180 DEGREE-ERS AND DO OUR PART!!! Just last week, we taught our young people how to share the good news via story-telling! We have asked them to shoot a video of them telling one of the stories from the bible and telling the stories as if the audience’s souls depended on it!
We are doing all of our training online! We are thankful for our “Activate” MAD (Mentoring, Accountability, Discipleship) groups’ Facilitator, Kuya (Big Brother) Tom Dennison for his extra effort to record our video sessions so that our young people will not miss the sessions, especially if their internet happens to be slow during our live sessions every Sunday. Yes, we still meet with our respective mentor groups every week and have our live zoom training from time to time. We are currently in our missions 101 and so far we have discussed about reaching the unreached by being an Intercessor, a Welcomer, a Sender, a Mobilizer and a Goer. We have learned how to pray for the missionaries as based on Paul’s writings, and prayed for and with our *cousins during the Ramadan. We have summarized the mission with the initials P.G so we can always remember the important points about mission: Proclaim the Gospel, Purposely Go, Partner with God and Produce a Generation. That’s what we are doing in 180….PRODUCING A GENERATION “…who will praise Thy works to another and shall tell of His mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4.
THANK YOU 180 FAMILY!!! We know that nothing is permanent in this world. Even our life here on earth is temporary. But in the meantime, we do what God has called us to do. So that when its time for us to go and face our Saviour Jesus Christ, He will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have served well!” Your support is encouraging us to move forward even when it seems hopeless. Our hope is in the Lord!!!
“But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” Psalm 33:11
In Christ’s name and fame,
Roselle Brocal
Executive Director, 180 Degrees Music Team, Inc.