Abp. VALLES ENDORSES KALAKBAY Youth Newsletter In the Service of the Young

There are several crosses less taken, one of which is the cross of service. To serve is not just a piece of cake it entails a bunch of responsibilities; a balanced dose of passion and fortitude and a firm faith are essential in facing the challenges of servant-leadership. For service is a big thing thus, once you have ventured into it then you have to give all your heart into it. Let the word commitment encapsulate everything!

Every day we are called by the Lord to take up our respective crosses and follow His path. We are encouraged to take our crosses for us to discover the wonderful blessings that the Lord has in stored for us. For more than a decade, Roldan Baliano, fondly called as Kuya Dan, took up his cross and sacrificed a lot in the name of service. Kuya Dan has his own fair share of experience and tale of his humble beginnings. He started as Pangulo sa Batan-on (PSB) in their chapel; then, assistant animator after which became the treasurer of the Parish Youth Apostolate (PYA). Since 2007, he started to have a bigger cross of service as the PYA Coordinator of San Pedro Metropolitan Cathedral.

As a young professional, a dynamic coordinator and a responsible man to his family, every day is challenging journey for Kuya Dan. Keeping all the systems going in his life daily is a strenuous undertaking amid such, at the end of the day he found rest in the Lord and felt grateful with the strength and graces that the Lord has blessed him with. As well, Kuya Dan is more than just all of that; he is also a mentor, a counselor and a friend to everyone.

With high hope, Kuya Dan has this vision of having more youth actively engaged in the church. For he believes that in order to experience the wholeness of being a person created in the image and likeness of God one must start building foundations of love and dignity as a Christian at his young age. Kuya Dan further emphasized that it is important that faith and compassion for others must be instilled among the young especially at this crucial times wherein the youth are severely tempted by dishonesty,illegal drugs, pre-marital sex and many others.

Progressively making this vision a reality, Kuya Dan together with the active members of the PYA continues to create fun and interesting activities for the youth like seminars, workshops and worship gatherings and inspires them to be more involved in the church and become witnesses of God’s abiding love and goodness.

To take the cross of service is tough, while carrying the cross, the road you have to travel is rough. But, when you have the Lord in your heart then you just have to let it go and feel the thrill of journeying with Him. He may not have promised an easy journey but He promised a safe landing—that eternal salvation we must all be reminded about and look forward to.