A few years ago I decided to jump out of my comfort zone and sign up for the Youth for Christ Oceania - Great Adventure Tour (GAT). We traveled as a group in the Philippines and we visited one of the ANCOP villages where we were able to see first hand how the charity supports many families and their children by funding their education and providing work opportunities. Before our last session at the village one of the little girls from my host family asked what we were going to do that evening. I told Khayla we had our final session at the village and then our group had to continue on with our travels. She held my hand tight and said - "And then you're coming back here so we can play again?". My heart sank at the thought of leaving the families who had given so much to us despite having very little during our stay.
This immersion experience left a mark on me and since then I've always wanted to do what I can to help these families and their communities. This is the reason why I signed up for CITY2SURF this year along with a few of my friends in Singles for Christ (SFC) City-Bankstown unit, and raise fund for ANCOP. When we started our training sessions for the 14-kilometer run, we were almost at the end of our SFC Christian Life Program and it was a great way to get to know more about each other whilst training in a supportive environment. We met up every Saturday until the weekend of the race. I spoke to many people to let them know more about how ANCOP help assists people in communities across the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. It also allowed me to have conversations about the causes of injustice and poverty and how we can all be encouraged to take action.
On the morning of the race we all met up with people from other SFC chapters and prayed together before running the marathon. I kept in mind Khayla, her family and those in ANCOP we were raising funds for. It was a surreal feeling to see that our training paid off when we finally reached the finish line at Bondi. We are very thankful to all the those who contributed and supported us because together we can help make a difference to families living in impoverished communities.
This immersion experience left a mark on me and since then I've always wanted to do what I can to help these families and their communities. This is the reason why I signed up for CITY2SURF this year along with a few of my friends in Singles for Christ (SFC) City-Bankstown unit, and raise fund for ANCOP. When we started our training sessions for the 14-kilometer run, we were almost at the end of our SFC Christian Life Program and it was a great way to get to know more about each other whilst training in a supportive environment. We met up every Saturday until the weekend of the race. I spoke to many people to let them know more about how ANCOP help assists people in communities across the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. It also allowed me to have conversations about the causes of injustice and poverty and how we can all be encouraged to take action.
On the morning of the race we all met up with people from other SFC chapters and prayed together before running the marathon. I kept in mind Khayla, her family and those in ANCOP we were raising funds for. It was a surreal feeling to see that our training paid off when we finally reached the finish line at Bondi. We are very thankful to all the those who contributed and supported us because together we can help make a difference to families living in impoverished communities.
- by Simone Bautista