Meeting Jesus Online By ED PASCUAL THE blessings of good friendship from good people—even on the world wide web. That, in a gist, is what I am grateful for since I joined the Light of Jesus Family. I was born on August 3, 1973. And now, at age 47, I live in Anaheim, California. Just like many Filipinos who came to America, my wife Evelyn, our daughter Andrea, and I arrived here with tourist visas and a bag of dreams and prayers that God would lead us to the right path of citizenship. True enough, God led the way, and after several months of doing all sorts of odd jobs, I finally landed a job in the field of caregiving, which became our way in securing our green card through employment sponsorship, and which eventually led us to our American Dream of citizenship. First, I started as a driver of a Home for people with developmental disabilities. And from there, I worked my way up to become an administrator. Until my employer decided to retire and go back to the Philippines-- which opened the opportunity for us to purchase and continue the business. Here we are now, from left: Me, Andrew, Andrea, and Evelyn. So, by God’s grace, I am now the owner and president of this company, today called the Pascual-Emiterio Homes LLC in Anaheim, California. And we would also be blessed with a son, Andrew, born a couple of years after we arrived here. Together with Evelyn and our children, I support our residents not only with their daily living needs but, most important, we make them feel loved and respected. Finding the Light of Jesus I found out about the Light of Jesus Family through Evelyn. She happened to view Full Tank, Bro. Bo Sanchez’s podcast on Facebook. She became an avid viewer, and soon enough, me too. From Bro. Bo, we found out about The Feast. Evelyn sent a message to him inquiring about how we may become members. Bro. Bo sent her the phone number of Bro. Roy Pasimio, leader of the LOJ mission in the United States. Soon, Bro. Roy was already helping us build our own Feast. Long story short, Feast Light Anaheim started on October 19, 2018. So, here we all are celebrating Feast Light Anaheim’s first founding anniversary in October 2019, above, from left: Bro Erickson and his wife Tin Gonzales, LOJ Feast Music Ministry leaders; Sis Chie of Feast Anaheim; Bro Pio Español, LOJ Country Builder for Feast North America, and his wife Sis. Bebot; my wife Evelyn; Sis Rorie Pasimio; Me at the back; Zona Beltran of Feast Rancho Cucamonga; Bro Roy Pasimio, leader of the LOJ Missions in the United States; Sis. Irene Copiozo and Sis. Cristina of Feast Anaheim Music Ministry. I cherish most the joy of gathering with our brothers and sisters in The Feast and worshipping and praising God together with them. At right, members of the LOJFeast Hermosa Beach Music Ministry celebrating

I Believe! By ENYA DEVANADERA ONE day, way back in 2009 in the Philippines, while my daughter Irene and I were at the Festival Mall in Alabang, I noticed there was a “Feast” being held in one of the cinemas. I asked my daughter, “What is the Feast?” She replied, “If you want to know, go in.” Actually, my daughter knows about The Feast and Bro. Bo Sanchez. But she wanted me to see for myself. As we entered the cinema, greeters, as they were called, warmly welcomed us and escorted us to a couple of comfortable seats. At once, I enjoyed the lively Praise and Worship. And there was this preacher -- funny, witty, inspiring-- I would soon know as Bro. Arun Gogna. From then on, I continued attending The Feast which is now known as The Feast Bellevue as its venue is now at the Bellevue Hotel at the Festival Supermall Alabang, Muntinlupa, Metro Manila. It’s at the LOJ that I learned and declared this powerful verse which has become my favorite, John 11:27: “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” I actually have had a good Catholic education as I went to the University of Santo Tomas from elementary, to high school, and to college. I was blessed to be married to Renato and we’ve been blessed with two daughters. Sadly, my husband passed away in 2006. Here we are today: Mylene and her husband Jim; Irene; and me. Sharing the Passion Now a widow, I’ve been able to give my life entirely in service to our good God. In the Philippines, I had also attended sessions where the preachers were Bro. James Nicolas and Bro Jay Yogawin. Their talks were so edifying, they stirred a passion in me to deepen my relationship with our Lord Jesus. Since I’ve been hearing inspiring talks at The Feast, I’ve developed better relationships with my family and friends. And I’ve been able to reach out to more friends and bring them to our faith community that they too may have a deeper relationship with Jesus. One big blessing is I was able to introduce The Feast Alabang to my neighbors and friends who are now regular attendees. More so, I encouraged my son-in-law, Jim (extreme left), who plays the electric guitar, to be part of Feast Alabang’s Music Ministry. Yes, I wanted all my friends to experience the same intense spiritual awakening that simply engulfed me. So, I embarked on bringing The Feast near their homes. First, I invited my friends for coffee in a place where I knew there would be a Feast in that location. So, I was able to bring friends to various Feasts in Metro Manila-- at the Feast Bay Area at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) where Bro. Bo is the preacher, and Bro. Audee Villaraza is Feast Builder; The Feast Manila on

Doing Everything! By JOMAR MONDEJAR I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. — Philippians 4:13 I OFTEN repeat this verse to myself since I learned about it when I joined the Light of Jesus Family. First off, I had an ordinary, simple life. I went to the Belarmino Elementary School in Project 4, Quezon City. My family moved to Maasin, Iloilo, so for high school, I studied at the St. James High School in Iloilo where I learned basics of our Catholic faith. Then for college, I went to the University of San Agustin also in Iloilo where I took up Mechanical Engineering. I then worked as mechanical engineer at the San Miguel Corporation’s Yamamura Asia Corporation. I joined LOJ on January 17, 1984, following an invitation from an officemate at San Miguel. I will never forget the first time I attended the LOJ prayer meeting at the garage of the Sanchezes at 56 Chicago Street, Cubao, Quezon City. Instantly, I felt so touched by God’s Word, especially His unconditionally love for His people, for me. I will never forget this big blessing— meeting in LOJ Maria Lynn, who would be my wife and my faithful, devoted partner in serving the Lord. Here we are, with our children: Joab with wife Joyce; and Joel. I am forever grateful that my very first Caring Group (CG) leader was no less than our founder, Bro. Bo Sanchez, who painstakingly took care of us single men in LOJ, forming us as disciples and preparing us to be servant leaders of our faith community. At the time, LOJ members were grouped into “families”. Lynn and I belonged to the Strength Family. Here we are with Bro. Bo during a recent reunion. Lynn was also blessed to have as her first CG head May Ulanday, one of the LOJ pioneers. A New Way of Life In LOJ, we learned a new way of life. For us singles, a way of life in LOJ was to go through what was called SOLD— State of Life Discernment— to know the Lord’s call for us— either for single blessedness or for married life. At about this time, I was falling in love with Lynn and well, she was going head over heels for me. He-he. In time, we were already thinking of marriage. Now, another way of life for singles in LOJ engaged to be married was joining a Caring Group of married couples— I guess to find out realities of marriage so we can either back out, or go on with our plan to be together forever. Lynn and I were assigned to the Caring Group of Bro. Ed and Sis. Chay Santiago who eventually became our pastors when Lynn and I got married— who brought Lynn to the hospital when she was about to give birth to our first child, because she started feeling labor pains while we were attending a Community assembly— and who brought Lynn to the

Our All-Time Normal By AUDEE VILLARAZA I’VE been blessed to be named Builder of the 8:00 A.M. session of The Feast at the Philippine International Convention Center (Feast PICC A.M.) every Sunday. And doubly blessed that amid the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic, Feast PICC A.M. is thriving through The Feast at Home. Yes, our New Normal is online live-streaming of The Feast on our Feast PICC Facebook page. This September, we celebrate our Light of Jesus Family 40th Founding Anniversary also online, starting on the first Sunday of the month, September 6, 2020, where we started a new talk series titled Miracles and More. Miracles Reaching the LOJ 40 milestone is no less than a miracle for me. In college, I took up Integrated Marketing Communications, at the University of Asia and the Pacific, knowhow that now comes handy for my task as Feast Builder. My wife Kristel and I have been blessed with a miracle baby, Ethan Elijah, already turned three years old September 18! And one more amazing miracle is how I found the Light of Jesus Family, or how Jesus actually found me. This is my journey… My life before LOJ was ordinary. On Sundays, with my family, I attended Mass in the morning, then visited our grandparents and relatives. And then Sunday afternoons I spent at home playing video games or basketball with our neighbors. Weekdays would be for school and Saturday nights I spent in a house or a bar with close friends. I had very little time for God. But deep within, I was always seeking. Even as a young boy, I tried to read the Bible on my own. My mom taught Catechism for the poor living beside our village every Saturday so I was in touch with my spirituality at an early age. Also, as a family, we prayed the Rosary every night—although I would be asleep before the Third Mystery. Awakening My spiritual awakening started after college when my best friend Manny, who’s not Catholic, invited me to a Bible session in his church in Pasig. The service was way different from the regular Masses that I attended. A pastor simply opened the Bible and preached. It was very interactive and I loved it. I spent almost six months attending this church, becoming closer and closer with the members. Eventually, my friend invited me to be part of a Bible study group for young adults at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, organized by a young couple, Edric and Joy Mendoza. They opened their doors to me. I became very close to the members. I attended their discipleship group for a year. Back then, I had a girlfriend who didn't like the idea of me attending a non-Catholic group. So, she looked for a Catholic community and she found the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP). We both joined. It was a beautiful experience. I joined a cell group that met weekly and the members accepted and loved

Bravely, On to the Future! By MARVIN TAN “AT first unchurched, he went through a long journey of seeking God which has made him today one of the longtime leaders of the Light of Jesus Family. He held various leadership positions in LOJ and he now serves as Feast District Head of Bulacan, Overall Head of LOJF Disaster Recovery Ministry (DRM) and LOJF Representative to the Federation of Transparochial Charismatic Communities (FTCC). He lives in Valenzuela City.” That’s how I am introduced in The Feast Stories (https://feaststories.com/), one of Bro. Bo Sanchez’s discipleship websites. Here we are, members of Feast Bulacan District (above) and Feast Baliwag (right) In 2007, I became a member of the LOJ Council of Elders. I never thought of becoming or being selected as one of the members of the Council of Elders. I have had endless blessings since I joined LOJ. The spiritual blessing is on the top of my list. I am deeply grateful that I’ve come to know, love, and serve our God. I have particularly come to appreciate the meaning of the Holy Eucharist. I treasure the blessings of our faith Community life, many friends! And the perks of going abroad to fulfill our core mission to go and make disciples for Jesus. Being Brave Today, bravely, with my Feast co-servant leaders and members, I face the COVID challenge. We meet through The Feast at Home, our online live-streaming of our Feasts via the ZOOM app. Some members are not familiar with it, so we are teaching them how to zoom! We are conducting The Feast at Home, our online live-streaming every Sunday 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. via our Feast Bulacan District Facebook page. Although some of our servants assigned in the technical side of producing this online streaming are not that knowledgeable with the details, we seek help from other servants in the District to learn the techniques. Some of our members lost their jobs and many are looking for additional sources of income. So, we created the Bulacan District Livelihood Opportunity project, a venue for sellers to promote their products and an opportunity for others to re-sell those products in the market. Yes, by God’s grace, we are responding well to this challenge. Together, we are adjusting, adapting the crisis situations to live the New Normal by uniting, cooperating, and helping one another to survive each day. I am particularly confident we shall overcome this ordeal. God called me to this mission, and I have fervent faith He, not I, who is in control of everything, just as He has always been in control of my LOJ journey, as my Feast story (below) attests. My Feast Story Here, I share with you what I wrote in The Feast Stories: BEFORE I joined the Light of Jesus Family, I had a very simple routine – workschool-home. I was a working student. Sometimes I spent my free time joining my friends for a

Eng, Eng, Eng! Go! Go! Go! By ENG SI MY full name is Renato Si. Eng is my nickname. Wag uulitin, ha? I tell folks, in jest, not to repeat the name because say it three times and it sounds like a fast-moving vehicle— Eng-Eng-Eng! But really, I am very much like a fast-moving vehicle. I am always moving, can’t stay still — as you can see, I have not only one, but a couple of images on the photo at left, taken during the 10th Anniversary on June 15, 2019, of Feast Quezon City where I now serve as District Builder. Yes, I can’t sit still because I have this mission to make disciples for our Lord Jesus, the mission He gave to His disciples, the mandate we in the Light of Jesus Family have embraced as our core mission. But wait… I love my real name. Google “Renato” and you’ll see this: “Renatus is a first name of Latin origin which means "born again" (natus = born). In countries of Italian, Portuguese and Spanish languages it exists in a masculine and feminine form i.e., Renato and Renata.” Wikipedia adds: “The name has a spiritual, not literal meaning, i.e., to be born again with baptism, i.e., from water and the Holy Spirit. It was extensively adopted by early Christians in ancient Rome, due to the importance of baptism… “In Persian Mithraism, which spread widely in the West as a religion of the soldiers and officials under the Roman Empire, persons initiated into its mysteries were designated renatus (with the meaning of regenerated)." Other sources say Renato in Latin means reborn, and in Spanish, What’s in a Name? It must not be mere coincidence that I was named Renato. Since ancient times, it’s been said that you are what your name is — like the name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Yeshua or Y’shua, meaning to deliver, to rescue. So, yes, I am Renato, born again, reborn, regenerated, rising again. I come from a family of Chinese-Filipino origin—my father is from Amoy, China, and my mother from Zambales. I grew up in Metro Manila. I first went to a public school, Juan Luna Elementary School in Sampaloc, Manila, and then Philippine College of Commerce for high school and the same school for college where I took up Accounting. I was a working student— employed as clerk-typist—until, by God’s grace, I took up and passed the Board exam to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). I worked in Accounting departments in various companies in the early ‘80s and then moved to Sales and Marketing. From there, I decided to be self-employed, a jack-of-all-trades— skills that now come handy as I pursue my calling. Becoming My Name Indeed, I’ve become what my name is. Early on, my job as a sales person brought me to various places-- and to various vices. Even up to the time I got married to lovely Nimfa. Yes, I was practically dead in my spiritual

I See the Lord’s Goodness By ROY PASIMIO I know that I will live to see the Lord’s goodness in this present life. Trust in the Lord. Have faith. Do not despair. Trust in the Lord. — Psalm 27:13-14 THAT’s my favorite Bible verse which has been my inspiration as I pursue the mission He called me to fulfil. It’s the mission our Lord Jesus gave to His apostles before He ascended to Heaven: Go then to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples. (Matthew 28:19). And our Light of Jesus Family has embraced the Lord’s mandate as our core mission. Indeed, I have well seen the Lord’s goodness in my life. As you can see at right, that’s me speaking at The Feast, our weekly faith gathering, one of my big blessings ever. But the path to The Feast was a long, winding road for me. Here’s my story… I went to good schools—at Manila Central University for elementary and high school, and for college, at the Philippine College of Commerce. And I’ve been blessed with a good job— as vice president of Solidbank Corporation. I’m married to a godly woman, Aurora, or Rorie as we lovingly call her— and, if most couples wish to have a boy and a girl for children, well, we have them—Gemma, born in 1972, and Lester, in 1973. Beginning in 1975, and with Rorie’s consent, I started to go out with my barkada at beer joints and bars. In 1977, I got involved with a young girl in my office which blossomed to a romantic relationship—thus throwing my family into chaos. But instead of resorting to separation, Rorie sought help from God through attending prayer meetings, until she found the Light of Jesus prayer meeting at the San Miguel Corporation auditorium on Ayala Avenue in Makati, led by an 18-year-old guy named Bo Sanchez. At the LOJ prayer meeting, Rorie sought counseling from Bo’s mother, Tita Pilar. After many months attending the LOJ prayer meetings, and prayer support from Tita Pilar and other prayer warriors in the Community, Rorie finally received the answer to her plea: to get me to join the LOJ prayer meetings. One Sunday, in July 1986, I found myself joining Rorie at the LOJ prayer meeting at the garage of the Sanchez home on Chicago street, Cubao, Quezon City, also led by Bro. Bo. After three months attending this weekly prayer meeting, I volunteered to attend a one-day Jesus Encounter Seminar held at the Philippine Coconut Authority building on October 4, 1986. This officially began my life-long relationship with God, committed membership and servanthood in LOJ, and restoration of my marriage with Rorie. At right, here we are during our pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2019-- our gift to ourselves to celebrate our 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary. And here we are celebrating this joyful milestone with our children, from extreme right: our son Lester; his wife Mardee; and our daughter Gemma. The kids are daughters

Victory Is Our Name By VICTOR ‘Vic’ ESPAÑOL MY name, Victor, is Latin in origin meaning conqueror. I best appreciated my name when I read a favorite Bible verse, John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. And since Jesus conquered death and promised us eternal life, the apostle Paul further pointed out in 1 Corinthians 15:57: Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (emphasis mine). So, early Christians called themselves “Victorious” and to this day, in our Light of Jesus Family, when someone asks us, “How are you today?” We happily exclaim, “Victorious!” Humbly, I like to claim I am indeed victorious through our Lord Jesus. I went to Catholic schools— elementary at La Salle Academy, high school at St. John the Apostle Academy, and college at the Ateneo de Manila University. I’ve been blessed with my loving wife Ditas and our son Miko, now already in his 40s! Early on, in my younger days, I was what’s called nominal Christian, a regular Sunday Mass goer. No vices. Clean living. Focused on career. And somehow, along the way, became proud and arrogant. Had a lot of fears about health and death. Had a lot of questions about faith. Suffered depression even, that paved the way to my joining the Light of Jesus Family, through the invitation of my brother Pio, a pioneer LOJ member and member of the pioneer Council of Elders. Ditas and I joined LOJ in 1990. By God’s grace, I’ve been able to serve in various LOJ Ministries— as Chapter head of the Alabang Chapter and sector head of the Makati Sector of the Homes for Christ, and as head of the Feast Ortigas District. I also helped Ditas in organizing the Pastoral Care Ministry. Ditas now serves as head of the LOJ Pastoral Care Center, a partner beneficiary of our Feast Family. Today, I serve as Region head of LOJ International, going on pastoral visits abroad, such as at Feast Qatar (right) and Feast London (below) Amid our busy, busy service, our simple, little family received the biggest blow in 1991 when Ditas was diagnosed with cancer. It’s distressing, to say the least, but we look up to Him with steadfast faith as we know God heals. And every day, we’ve received grace upon grace as we go through this mission. I’ve particularly become aware of the suffering of others, I have been able to help them deal with their trials, and in the process, I’ve been healed of my own wounds, especially my fears and depression. Today, I focus on shepherding our Feast International flock as we struggle through the Coronavirus Crisis. I have advised everyone to join our online live-streaming of our faith gathering, we call The Feast at Home. We’ve been going online for almost half a year now, and we are