Most of us would say that we were not prepared for it. But at the end of it all, we were pleasantly surprised.
The Fondacio Asia Regional Team (Alice, Annie, Roger and Florence) called for an emergency meeting for the different leaders in Fondacio Asia.
Laos – Aleona, Bout
Malaysia – Douglas, Maria, Mag Chin, Charles
Myanmar – Raymond, Julia, (Martin)
Philippines – Jason, Becky, Baby, Rod, Rose Ann, Maricar
Vietnam – Mary An
They informed and invited these leaders to take time for a series of meetings from October 27 to 29.
What was the meeting for, you ask?
It was for a very important meeting in Fondacio we call the GRP.
The Meetings & Preparations
GRP meetings (a French abbreviation which means “Meeting of the Country Responsilbles/ Leaders”) are done twice in between two International Congresses of Fondacio.
It normally gathers the leaders of every country/ community (we call “Responsibles” or “Country Coordinators”) to share and work on Fondacio’s orientations and plans, ensuring each country and community is able to participate in Fondacio’s common goals & vision.
Since Covid-19 pandemic prevented a face to face GRP meeting, it was moved to an online platform. This enabled more persons to be invited. Each continent was gathered on separate times based on language.
On Oct 27, some members of the Fondacio International Council met with the English speaking countries. This included the Asian countries and Romania.
The Council shared the reflections and directions about the following topics:
Governance – Reflection on the governance of each country and identify the way forward by country, regionally and as one Fondacio.
Social Business – Looking at Social enterprises as sustainable means to help youth and communities.
Youth Education – Maintain and replicate existing projects for youth education especially to empower those who are marginalized. Specifically looking at Young Lives and Green Pastures for Asian context.
Charismatic Grace – Deepen and strengthen the charismatic grace and its development throughout Fondacio
Fondacio Congress (2023) – Sharing our opinions, ideas and suggestions for the next Congress.
After the Council’s input, the leaders in Fondacio Asia took 2 days to reflect, discuss and prepare the topics.
Blessings from the Encounter
On October 29, Fondacio Asia presented the results of their conversations to the Council.
There were many blessings that each one acknowledged:
The hope from seeing the gifts and potentials of the young leaders
The synergy and sense of stronger Fondacio Asia community through these kinds of dialogues and the quality of work done
The celebration of how the Holy Spirit has guided Fondacio Asia until today
The joy of envisioning the future of Fondacio in the whole world
The acknowledgement of each one’s love for Fondacio who participated wholeheartedly despite the short notice
The opportunity to share about Fondacio Asia’s innovative “Shared Journey of Transformation” which emphasized inclusivity and localization, opening up new paths in building a new generation of leaders