IFFASIA Gathers her Alumni from the Past 15 Years!!
The IFFAsia Batch Kumustahan last September 25, 2021 was aimed to gather our alumni, to offer a space to reconnect with one another and be recharged and nourished with prayer, sharing, and teaching. Aside from that Batch Kumustahan is also a platform where alumni may share, discuss and exchange ideas on their work and ministry.
In this first Batch Kumustahan, 50 alumni attended. We started with a welcome message from the Director of the Institute, Ms. Florence Alexius, where she expressed her gratitude for the graces and support received ever since the commencement of IFFAsia, 15 years ago till now; and today marks another milestone for IFFAsia to be with many of our alumni from the 1st batch to its most recent batch of alumni. Then, Sr. Nuala Gannon, IBVM continued with the opening prayer on the gift of “breath” that very nicely prepared all present for this gathering.
Following the prayer time, a significant time was given to the alumni to be with their respective batch mates to have a good time of KUMUSTUHAN… “how are you”. After which, Ms. Leah Tolentino of Ginhawa was invited to give a talk on ‘Wellness during this time of Pandemic’. She is dearly cherished by all the alumni, as she has been with IFFAsia for the human formation from the very beginning! Ms. Leah shared about “Breathing” bringing awareness of each person’s connection to the creation of God as a whole system. “We inhale oxygen produce by the plants and it gave us life, we exhale carbon dioxide that plants need to produce oxygen (Leah)”.
In the closing announcement, Ms. Florence invited the alumni to join other programs that will be organized for them as part of the Alumni Ministry Support Skills Training besides the Batch Kumustahan, which was well received by the alumni too. This meaningful and nourishing time with IFFAsia alumni was then wrapped up with a prayer time by Sr. Nuala celebrating the “Season of Creation”.
Here are some insights from our alumni after our “Kamustahan:”
Mag Chin - Batch 1 (S.Y. 2006)
Thanks for organizing this time. I feel very connected and I recall the memory of encountering God during my formation year. It is also a sign that I need to start counting my blessing despite the challenges nowadays.
Danu - Batch 11 (S.Y. 2017)
I appreciate this time to get the chance to listen to ate Leah’s session. This session would be very expensive to attend if I were to attend it outside.
Diana Flo Lazing - Batch 2 (S.Y. 2007)
Thanks for organizing this time. I feel very connected and I recall the memory of encountering God during my formation year. It is also a sign that I need to start counting my blessing despite the challenges nowadays.
Genevieve - Batch 11 (S.Y. 2017)
The session is a reminder for me to always learn to love myself. It is very important especially for us who involved in ministering others. In sharing with my batch-mates I can feel the emotional support and affirmation that we are not alone in our ministry.