Three days full of praise and worship. My heart sang, so did my soul, and I experienced so much peace within me. For me, attending the ICON is the best part of being an SFC member.
This year’s ICON was my best experience ever. From the speakers, sharers, priests, etc. Even down to the covered venue itself. I believe God ushered me to become part of this ICON so as to share what I learned to my fellow SFC members and to non-members as well. I praise God for including me among the 8,200 attendees. (The largest ICON delegation)
My personal spiritual boost began via the event’s Eucharistic Celebration, followed by Session 1 where I personally felt the presence of the Holy Spirit through songs of praise and worship. I felt as if God was speaking directly to me and right from that moment, all the anxieties and misgivings I had within me before the event all went away. I immediately felt the intimate presence of God. (Before, I feel uneasy when I dance or raise my hand in the air when worshipping and praising God. But during ICON, it was amazingly the other way around).
God’s personal message to me during Workshop 1 led by Bishop Teddy Bacani was “Ang tao pwede manloko pero ang Diyos hindi manloloko kaya magtiwala tayo sa Diyos”. (A person can fool you, but God is beyond mischief, so let’s put all our trust in HIM). We trust a person who is powerful and loving. God is almighty and loving. God is love, therefore we should trust God.
Mr. Edwin Lopez, Workshop 2 speaker, touched my soul through his message; “The mark of a true witness is a cross, if you run away from the cross, you run away from Christ.” Committing yourself to becoming a true Christian is not an easy devotion, but as God is assuredly within us and among us, we can overcome any obstacle that may come our way through HIS grace.
This year’s ICON was my best experience ever. From the speakers, sharers, priests, etc. Even down to the covered venue itself. I believe God ushered me to become part of this ICON so as to share what I learned to my fellow SFC members and to non-members as well. I praise God for including me among the 8,200 attendees. (The largest ICON delegation)
My personal spiritual boost began via the event’s Eucharistic Celebration, followed by Session 1 where I personally felt the presence of the Holy Spirit through songs of praise and worship. I felt as if God was speaking directly to me and right from that moment, all the anxieties and misgivings I had within me before the event all went away. I immediately felt the intimate presence of God. (Before, I feel uneasy when I dance or raise my hand in the air when worshipping and praising God. But during ICON, it was amazingly the other way around).
God’s personal message to me during Workshop 1 led by Bishop Teddy Bacani was “Ang tao pwede manloko pero ang Diyos hindi manloloko kaya magtiwala tayo sa Diyos”. (A person can fool you, but God is beyond mischief, so let’s put all our trust in HIM). We trust a person who is powerful and loving. God is almighty and loving. God is love, therefore we should trust God.
Mr. Edwin Lopez, Workshop 2 speaker, touched my soul through his message; “The mark of a true witness is a cross, if you run away from the cross, you run away from Christ.” Committing yourself to becoming a true Christian is not an easy devotion, but as God is assuredly within us and among us, we can overcome any obstacle that may come our way through HIS grace.
I also learned invaluable lessons in the second talk about the subject “EMPTY” wherein I discovered that emptiness in not a punishment from God. Rather, emptiness is a longing for HIM. A life that is empty of God is empty of love. Material things and recognitions are not bad, it is just not enough. Pleasure is also not bad, but is likewise never enough. Nobody is exempted from emptiness, but God alone can fill the void.
I’m thankful because I was able to meet many SFC brothers and sisters from various countries, such as the SFC delegates from Canada, USA, Bahrain, UAE, Brunei, and especially my SFC brothers and sisters from my homeland, the Philippines.
God also providentially gave a comfortable covered arena, which enabled participants to concentrate more on sharing activities and talks.
It’s a great feeling to experience the camaraderie among new-found friends. Most of all, I feel all the more blessed because the event gave me the opportunity to become more attached to my fellow delegates from SFC Qatar which I haven’t had the chance of fulfilling due to my work schedule in Qatar.
Lastly, I thank God for allowing me to serve Him during the Eucharistic Celebration through love offering. I want to express my appreciation to Sis Jill, who assigned me the task of collecting the love offerings from the SFC Middle East chapter members. I’m truly blessed by my Icon 2013 experience and because of this, may God be praised!
By Sis Jesse Rie Tumagan
SFC Qatar
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