What begins in formation takes on new meaning when it is lived alongside people and communities.
For the young leaders of the Institute of Formation Fondacio Asia (IFFAsia) Batch 17, this became the heart of their first week in the field as they began the “Hope in Action: Go, Inspire” Mission Project 2026 in Zamboanga and Basilan, Philippines.
Running from September 17 to October 4, the mission project brings participants into communities across Zamboanga City, Basilan Province, and Zamboanga Sibugay. Guided by the “Pilgrims of Hope: Walk with Christ in Love and Service,” the immersion invites them to translate months of formation into concrete experiences of youth leadership, community engagement, cultural exchange, faith, service, interreligious dialogue, and care for creation.
The 16-member delegation includes 12 participants, one intern, and three staff members, bringing together young people and formators from across Asia. In partnership with the Claretian Missionaries – Solidarity and Mission, their first days became a journey of listening, learning, building relationships, and discovering how hope can take shape through encounter.
Beginning the Journey in Zamboanga City
The mission officially began on September 17, when the IFFAsia delegation arrived in Zamboanga City.
One of their first engagements was a courtesy visit to the Zamboanga City Government, where Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary Celso Lobregat welcomed the group and introduced them to the city’s heritage, history, culture, identity, and language traditions.
It offered the participants an initial window into the community they were entering, grounding the mission not only in activities to be accomplished but in understanding the people, culture, and history of the place.
The delegation also had a meaningful encounter with Most Rev. Julius S. Tonel, Archbishop of Zamboanga. His welcome and sharing offered the young leaders another perspective on a local Church seeking to walk with its people and serve through love.
For the participants, the encounter became an invitation to approach the mission with open hearts, ready to listen, learn, and respond to the realities they would encounter.
Different Paths, One Calling
On September 18, the participants continued their immersion through encounters with young people in Zamboanga City.
Claret School of Zamboanga City welcomed the group for a campus visit, bringing together young people from different cultures and backgrounds through moments of friendship, cultural exchange, faith, and fellowship.
That same day, another encounter brought the mission back to its foundation: the Word of God.
Together with members of the Claretian Youth Ministry, the 12 young leaders gathered for Bible sharing and reflected on Matthew 20:1–16, the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.
Coming from different countries, cultures, and experiences, they reflected on comparison, grace, calling, and the courage to respond when God invites a person into mission. Their sharing brought forward a simple realization: formation is not a competition, and each person enters the journey with a different story and at a different pace.
The evening was captured in three reflections:
Different paths, one calling.
Different stories, one Gospel.
Many workers, one vineyard.
For a group beginning an immersion among unfamiliar communities, the reflection offered a fitting orientation. Their differences did not have to disappear for them to walk together. Instead, diversity itself could become part of the experience of mission.
Encountering Youth and Community in Basilan
The journey then brought participants to Basilan, where their encounters moved deeper into community life.
From September 19 to 20, IFFAsia participants joined the Claretian Youth Ministry–Tumahubong at San Vicente Ferrer Parish for a two-day youth encounter centered on friendship, faith, cultural exchange, and service.
Through getting-to-know-you activities, games, sharing, and an “Asia Tour,” the young people encountered cultures beyond their own while discovering common hopes and aspirations.
What began with unfamiliarity gradually became friendship. The participants’ different languages and nationalities became opportunities for curiosity and dialogue, not barriers.
For the young people of Tumahubong, the gathering offered a chance to experience Asia’s richness through their visitors. For the IFFAsia participants, it provided an equally important opportunity to listen and enter the lives of young people in the community.
The encounter reflected one of the Mission Project’s central dimensions: formation deepens not only through what participants bring to communities, but also through what they receive and learn from the people they meet.
Listening to Basilan’s Journey of Peace
On September 20, the participants encountered another dimension of life in Basilan by visiting the headquarters of the 32nd Infantry (Daredevil) Battalion in Barangay Tumahubong, Sumisip.
Together with Rev. Fr. Arvin B. Bellen, CMF, and Claretian mission partners, the group engaged with soldiers and learned about Basilan’s peace and security situation, as well as the roles communities, government institutions, faith-based organizations, and civil society play in supporting peace and local development.
LTC Gerwin T. Maghuyop, the battalion’s commanding officer, emphasized that the encounter was also an opportunity for mutual learning.
“Your presence is a meaningful opportunity for us to share our experiences and, at the same time, learn from one another,” he told the delegates.
He expressed hope that the encounter would help the young leaders better understand the people of Basilan, their aspirations for peace, and the ongoing efforts of different sectors to build stronger, more peaceful communities.
For participants, the visit broadened their understanding of peacebuilding. It presented peace not simply as the absence of conflict, but as a shared responsibility requiring dialogue, mutual respect, cooperation, and participation from different sectors of society.
Keeping Hope Alive with Young People
On September 21, the mission continued at Claret School of Tumahubong in Sumisip.
Welcomed by School Principal Agnes B. Rabaca, the IFFAsia participants entered the classrooms to meet students, exchange experiences, and share moments of music and dance.
IFFAsia Director Florence Alexius spoke with the students about becoming good youth leaders and the importance of keeping hope alive. A symbolic dance presentation by the IFFAsia group likewise encouraged young people to live with purpose and persevere through difficulties.
Rather than staying on stage, the participants visited classrooms, creating opportunities for closer interaction with students. Through conversations, music, movement, and shared experiences, the encounter sought to make hope something people could experience through presence and relationship.
The group also visited Claret School of Maluso, Inc., where another school community welcomed them into its activities. The delegates participated in the school’s SciMath Slogan and Painting Contest and joined students in a game of soccer, creating informal spaces for friendship, teamwork, and cultural exchange.
The school later expressed its gratitude for the participants’ presence, describing the visit as an opportunity to strengthen friendship, unity, and cooperation.
Across these school encounters, leadership was no longer simply a subject discussed during formation. It was practiced through presence, participation, listening, encouragement, and the willingness to meet young people where they were.
Building Bridges Through Encounter
As their Basilan immersion continued, the delegates also paid a courtesy visit to Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman at the Provincial Capitol in Lamitan City on September 24.
Governor Hataman welcomed the delegation and expressed support for initiatives that promote service, cultural understanding, and stronger community engagement.
The encounter added another perspective to the participants’ growing understanding of Basilan. Across schools, youth communities, Church spaces, local institutions, and encounters with those involved in peace and development, they were being introduced to a community through the experiences of the people who live and serve there.
These encounters also reflected the Mission Project’s broader purpose: to help young leaders step beyond familiar environments and engage communities with openness, respect, and a willingness to learn.
When Formation Becomes Mission
The first week of Hope in Action brought IFFAsia Batch 17 through very different spaces: a city hall, an archbishop’s residence, schools and classrooms, a parish community, a military camp, and the provincial government.
Yet a common thread connected them.
Mission was taking place through encounter.
Whether sharing Scripture with fellow young people, learning about another culture, listening to stories of peacebuilding, entering classrooms, playing soccer with students, or meeting Church and community leaders, the participants were being invited to experience formation beyond the walls of IFFAsia.
Their first week showed that walking as “Pilgrims of Hope” does not mean arriving in communities with all the answers. It also means being willing to listen, receive, learn, and let encounters with others shape one’s understanding of leadership and service.
As the Mission Project continues through Zamboanga and Zamboanga Sibugay until October 4, more communities, stories, and experiences await Batch 17.
For now, their first days in the field have already given concrete meaning to the project’s vision: hope-filled young people living with purpose, walking in love, and witnessing Christ through service to others and care for creation.