Manila, Philippines — On the last day, they were asked to leave the room.
Not because anything had gone wrong. Because another group needed the space, and the young people at the front — praying, weeping, worshipping — showed no sign of moving. From 26 July to 2 August 2026, twenty-nine young adults and leaders from nine nations gathered in Manila for ARROWS, part of The Cause movement and the first mission immersion of its kind organized by Nazarene Missions Mobilization Asia-Pacific. They came from Fiji, Myanmar, Australia, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United States, and Brazil. They left as arrows.
The week was not comfortable. Delegates and facilitators commuted by tricycle and jeepney, walked the same sidewalks Manileños walk daily, shared simple meals, and sat with Buddhist communities in Chinatown and Muslim communities in Quiapo. The lesson emerged from the streets rather than the sessions.
“Missions is not about bringing Jesus to people, because Jesus is already working in their lives,” said Angel Estacio of Baguio, Philippines. “It is about joining Him in what He is already doing. That truth changed me. It lifted the burden I carried of thinking I had to ‘make things happen.’ My heart is full, and my spirit is free.”
The day the prayer came back
For Rachel Neetia Eteuati of Australia, the turning point came on Day 5. Visiting a nearby community, she stopped at a house where three women stepped out of a single small room. She asked what they wanted prayer for. All three answered the same way: a house.
“That’s when I realised that the single room they’d just walked out of was their entire home,” she said. “And it wasn’t just one family living there, but three families sharing that one space.”
She shared Jeremiah 29:11 with them — plans to give you hope and a future — and prayed. That evening, reflecting back at the campus, she understood what had happened. “God had used me to speak the exact words that I needed to hear myself.”
Rachel had spent a year doubting whether God’s call to mission was really meant for her. On the final night, as leaders prayed over each delegate, that year of questions was answered plainly. “God is saying, ‘I CHOOSE YOU.’”
“My life is Yours,” she prayed. “I accept the calling You’ve placed on my life, Lord. Send me. I trust You.”
Grace for right now
Not every story arrived with fireworks. Hyun Joo “Ginger” Park of South Korea came in weary, facing a season of transition that frightened her, and she is refreshingly honest about the week itself: “The program was ‘ok’. The people were ‘fine’. The schedule was… hmm…”
And yet.
“On paper, there was zero logical reason for me to feel encouraged or empowered at all. But I am, totally,” she said. “Afterward, the weight of these new challenges surprisingly grew lighter. It has to be God.” What settled in her was a single conviction: “Whatever I have to do, I can only do ‘now’. This exact time, this context, this ministry, these studies, this family, and this current version of myself are all positioned right here, right now.”
Karina Pilga of Papua New Guinea left with her plans rearranged. “Every experience drew me closer and closer to God that all of my personal agendas suddenly faded and God’s agenda became mine… I’ve decided to commit myself fully to God and to His mission.”
For Edna Wusik of Papua New Guinea, ARROWS answered a prayer she had carried since childhood, when she helped her mother serve as a local NMI president. “Most of the time, I cried because I usually heard sad stories about missionaries. It motivated me, and I always pray, God when do I become a missionary.” At ARROWS, she found her answer. “It wasn’t just a program. It was an encounter with God’s mission.”
Prepared, shaped, sent
“Being an ‘arrow’ means being prepared, shaped, and sent wherever God wants us to go,” said Frandy Willyan Uke of Indonesia. “Missions is not only about going to another country, but about being available to God wherever I am.”
Leilani Baletalei, who came from the Fiji District with her husband Robert, put the invitation this way: “You don’t need to worry about what you have done or have not done in missions. Come with an open surrendered heart. Be ready to learn, unlearn and relearn. Go with God — across the street or across the sea.”
Noah Mendoza of the Philippines came carrying frustration from his current ministry. “ARROWS healed me and made me hopeful and fixed my eyes to the One who can change lives,” he said.
Mark Ezra Toleroso of Eastern Samar, Philippines, almost didn’t come. Money was tight and the reasons to stay home were real. “But the Lord is good, gracious, and faithful,” he said. “You might have financial struggles. You might even wonder if you are really called to go. But remember: God can make a way where we cannot see one.”
Rachel puts it simply: “God has a mission: WE ARE HIS MISSION. We are his ARROWS, and he is shooting us out into the nations.”
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By AP Personnel Hub Team
