We are missionaries!

We are missionaries!
God is our rock in whom we trust.

For who is God except the Lord? And who is a rock besides our God?
the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights. (Psalm 18:31-34)

We are missionaries! Cut from a cloth of commitment to service and stitched into being through our faithfulness to God’s calling on our lives, the members of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) will be neither cowed nor impeded by the renewed attacks on our missionaries and ministries throughout the Philippines.

We stand firm in God, who has been our steadfast Hope and Help in these trying times. No one should misconstrue the humble and quiet pursuit of our ministries as any indication that we accept the foul and malicious accusations hurled at us by militarists and warmongers in government. We flatly reject such lies and smear tactics. Let the world know: we are missionaries who unabashedly proclaim God’s love for the rural poor.

If you walk in our sandals, you also will experience both the travails of poverty and the resplendent joy of God’s transforming love that inspires and empowers peasants, farm workers, fisher folk, and indigenous peoples, who are striving to improve their difficult situations. We are a dynamic, yet simple, presence in neglected and far-flung areas, where the mission of the Church takes root. We seek to model care for our common home by engaging ecological, educational, and healing initiatives. We accompany children, women and men in community programs for livelihoods and holistic development.

As missionaries, we are unapologetic and unwavering in our commitment to work in poor areas, even when these areas are visited by militarization and armed conflict. We are peacebuilders, who seek to be participants in addressing the root causes of armed conflict and social unrest in the Philippines. Bringing services and accompanying grassroots leaders are effective methods for resolving community issues and sparking change and development that benefits the communities where we serve.

The law has been weaponized against us. We will not cower, even as we are afraid. God gives us strength and wisdom, quickening our steps and assuring our safety. Even as we face incredulous, manipulated and fabricated stories that have been conjured by purveyors of darkness, we stand firm in the light of truth. Those who seek to besmirch our ministry, by saying it supported or financed ‘terrorism’, should be held to account; their lies will only further the suffering and poverty in marginalized communities.

The mission of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines to proclaim Good News for the poor, to bring food to the hungry and sight to the blind, and to help the oppressed find liberty is a commandment from God Almighty.

We follow God. We are missionaries. ##

Reference: Rural Missionaries of the Philippines Leadership Team
Sr. Rebecca Pacete, 0956 330 9580, FB Page:@RMPNational