31 JAN 2005

JVP Batch 22 sponsors another "fool for Christ" in Batch 25
by Nikki Hipolito

"Imagine the power of one, multiplied several times over… Together we can Make A Difference."

This was the theme for the International Year of the Volunteer in 2001. These words are written on the JVP shirts of Batch 22. And so, I felt volunteering wasn’t that scary after all. I became more excited because we were doing it together: our efforts, fears and joys will be one. It gave me much consolation, for we were to make a difference together. Although separated by miles of sea and land, our thoughts were one. We were a group of friends, bound by the joy of self-giving and Christ-sharing, a whole Batch, a community of believers.

We said our huling habilin and set sail, bringing along the spirit of those words on our back—and the tight hugs of friendship. There was something striking and powerful on what was written on my JVP shirt, for they were words of hope.

Throughout those 10 months of service, our bond as a batch only became stronger - a batchmate composed a song for the synchronized 9PM prayer, Star ng Nine, the letter cycle among volunteers went around many times, and at Midyear seminar, more songs were composed, after the first song that started with ”Baliw nga ba, kung ba’t kami narito..” Truly, we were fools for the Lord, fools for His cause.

The volunteers of Batch 22 wanted to relish the JVP experience as eight renewed and went for a second JVP year, and some got absorbed into their partner institutions. And soon, some were chosen as Local Project Assistant in their local communities. Talking, Sharing and Praying (TSP) is inevitable whenever a batchmate is in town. If a group of four or even a pair would have time, we would relish the great memories of how we found ourselves, shared Christ through our work and touched lives in the short while that we were JVP. In a particular TSP, guided by the Spirit, we wanted to see more people doing just that: sharing their lives, making a difference, being fools for Christ’s people and so Batch 22 decided to sponsor a volunteer for Batch 25.

It wasn’t easy as we were geographically separated. But thanks to email and text, a batchmate is just a button’s click away. When we weren’t getting quick replies, some thought that maybe it was an ambitious project. After all, we were still trying to settle back into our lives after the 10 months of being baliw. But, we held on to our promise, we made sacrifices, we found ways to make it happen.

Thanks also to online banking and money transfers, and two batchmates at the Central Office—the dream, the “ambitious” project, slowly became reality. Batch 22 was able to raise enough funds to support a volunteer, one baliw for the Lord, in Batch 25, the silver anniversary batch. It is a tribute to the message of hope that the Jesuit Volunteers Philippines Foundation is carrying on and a heartfelt thanksgiving to the Spirit that has guided it through the years in its work to empower communities and shape lives.

Batch 22’s sponsoring a volunteer began as an “ambitious” suggestion. Now, it has become a reality, along with a Bukidnon scholarship project. It wasn’t easy, but we recalled what was written on our JVP shirts: Imagine the power of one, multiplied several times over. Together we did it. Great things happen when we are one. It happened because we believed.