Oasis Cebu
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THE
dictionary defines “oasis” as “fertile verdant place in the desert.” The watering hole of desert travelers or camel caravans whose whereabouts are uncharted in regular maps. With the aid of nomadic guides, or Bedouin escorts using generational memory, experience, familiarity with the arid and everchanging contours of the sand, pilgrims find a resting place amidst the forbidding topography and treacherous heat of the sun.
It is said that the desert brings death. Amidst the great expanse of peril in sand and sun, there is to be found places of refuge, a cover, a resting place for the weary wanderer, the tired tourist, the itinerant migrant, the purposeless wayfarer. Oasis is a sanctuary, a shelter from the burning and inhospitable clime. Oasis, life.
In today’s world, amidst the challenges, daily burdens, and seductions of human existence, we all are actually in a journey of sorts. We experience mental, physical, emotional “deserts” in our lives. Where to hang our hats? Lift our burdened heels? Or to address our fatigue in mind and soul struggling in an anxious environment? Life is hard enough as it is. How more difficult is it when we are confronted with uncontrolled appetites and addictions?
In Cebu, there is an oasis for those who seek a sanctum in their daily struggles. Nonito “Tatay” Dodong Limchua is the walking miracle of what is popularly regarded in parts of the Visayas, Mindanao, all the way to Luzon, as the head of Oasis of Love – Cebu founded in 1995. His narrative is a testament dedicated to recovering the life and souls of those who are the last, least and the lost. Tatay is a living witness to miracles being still possible to this day.
The “Walking with Jesus Seminar” is a 3-day pilgrimage to physical and spiritual salvation. This will involve embracing God’s love, accepting Jesus Christ, healing of generational sins, forgiveness of sins, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work and grant personal gifts to participants. Yes, even politicians are most welcome to be part of this experience, so they may find the true meaning of servant-hood and shepherding.