So as some of you may know. I have fallen into home here in Hong Kong. But more than home I have realized much about myself and where my calling and passions are. Through the over past year and a bit I’ve been pushed & pulled, stretched & torn, and then sewn back together with love and care. I’ve been encouraged and in ways expected to grow & change. And when life seemed like it was coming to an end, the pamilya here pulled close and held me up with encouragement, let me cry and then helped me see the future through different eyes.
I’ve realized that my calling is in the work for migrants rights but above that its alongside the progressive organizations who empower the grassroots to stand up and fight for their own rights. I am an organizer & I am an activist.
For the past few months I’ve struggled with the decision to continue in my program and return to work in the US or to stay here in Hong Kong. I had tough conversations, shed alot of tears, and then went to the Philippines for a month.
In the Philippines I was able to have more conversations and meet some of amazing people who work with Migrante International. Stay in touch with some of my dear sisters in Hong Kong. I also received word of my domestic placement site. It was a really good match but I still wasn’t too sure. Then I had my interview with my new supervisor from the domestic site who happened to also be in the Philippines attending the same conferences i was at. They were excited to have me join the staff and that excitement rubbed off on me. I was excited to go work with my new supervisor.
I received the encouragement I needed to finalize my decision and move ahead. I was encouraged to go by some of my closest friends here in HK. They reminded me that someone needed to go and share the stories with people in the US. They shared how proud they were of me, happy that we were to remain in the same network of IMA and promised that “we’ll see each other in1 year more times then we see our boy friends so why was I sad?” (note, none of us currently have bf’s). With the final dose of encouragement and smiles, I found new energy and renewed excited to return to the US to share the stories I’ve heard, the lessons I’ve learned, and to continue working with grassroots and the International Migrants Alliance (IMA).
I’ll be working in the USA instead of Hong Kong. It is the decision God wants me to make. The decision was not without tears and my temporary leave from my home here in Hong Kong will not be without tears but it’s also with cheers. Cheers for the growth, cheers for the lessons learned & friendships formed and most importantly cheers for a domestic placement site that is closely related to my work here in Hong Kong.
You see my new co-worker used to sit on the board of directors for the Mission for Migrant Workers, Ltd. She lived here in Hong Kong working as the executive director of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants before she returned to the Philippines to work with Migrante International and just recently migrated to the USA. Oh and her name is Joy.
I’ll be joining Joy and the other volunteers to work at the Filipino Migrants Centre. Located in Long Beach, Cali. I’ll be serving as a Service & Outreach associate. I’m going to enjoy my time here in Hong Kong and am nervously excited to get out to Cali and join the work of the Filipino Migrants Centre. So go click here to learn more about what they do.
Living by God's Grace: Serving God, serving the people 