Dann and Joji Pantoja are peace building missionaries commissioned by Peace Mennonite Church and administered through Mennonite Church Canada. They are assigned to the Philippines to lead a team of Peace and Reconciliation (PAR) Specialists called PeaceBuilders Community Inc. They also co-founded Coffee for Peace Corp. to help indigenous farmers in the Philippines produce, process, and market their products in accordance with inclusive and sustainable development principles.
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WE’RE GEARING OURSELVES UP TO FACE THE PANDEMIC THREAT AS THE NEW NORMAL
We have to accept and face the new reality. The on-going threat of a global pandemic is the ‘now normal’ and we’ll learn how to be resilient as we live with it. No, this is not a defeatist attitude. We’re being like normal Filipinos. We face some 20 typhoons a year that devastate our lives and livelihood. After each typhoon, we get up. We count our loses—lives and properties. We receive relief. We rebuild. We move on. Then we get ready for the next typhoon. This is life. We cry. We get angry. But we also make jokes about this life and laugh about it.
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2020/04/17/were-gearing-ourselves-up-to-face-the-pandemic-threat-as-the-new-normal/
PRAYING TO ‘FLATTEN THE CURVE’ IN THE CONTEXT OF MINDANAO’S URBAN POOR
Joji and I are on self-imposed indefinite quarantine. We’ll interact only with a handful of staff members face-to-face at 2 meters (6 feet) #SocialDistance. All our travel plans are suspended indefinitely—domestic and international. This is our small way to help #FlattenTheCurve.
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2020/03/14/praying-to-flatten-the-curve-in-the-context-of-mindanaos-urban-poor/
HAVE A LOVE-FILLED AND PEACE-ORIENTED CELEBRATION OF JESUS’ BIRTH
Mary, a strong revolutionary woman, gave birth to Jesus, a Palestinian Jewish boy. His birth was graced with the presence of Arab wisemen. His family was a trans-continental refugee escaping a cowardly tyrant who massacred children. He grew up and established a community that incarnates Love and Peace. Energized by the Spirit of the Creator, this community replicated itself around the world through the centuries.
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2019/12/24/have-a-love-filled-and-peace-oriented-celebration-of-jesus-birth/
HELP! WE, AND OUR PARTNERS, ARE EXPERIENCING A SERIES OF POWERFUL EARTHQUAKES.
We need help! We’ve been experiencing a series of earthquakes. Magnitude 6.3 last 16 October. Magnitude 6.6 last 29 October. Magnitude 6.5 last 31 October. 22 people died. 420 were injured. The earthquakes were tectonic, not volcanic — we’re not worried about Mt. Apo erupting. There have been no tsunami threat — the epicenter is inland. The series of earthquake occurrences, according to experts, are being caused by interacting faults, adjusting to each other’s movements.
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2019/11/04/help-we-and-our-partners-are-experiencing-a-series-of-powerful-earthquakes/
THE AWARDS WE RECEIVE INDICATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION THEOLOGY
We give all the glory to God for the awards we have received. According to the Philippine government, we’re the national winner for fair employment and productivity among the micro-establishments in the service industry. And according to an international sustainability awards organization, we demonstrate in the Philippines how a sustainable business benefits companies, the environment, and all stakeholders. Here’s our reflection on why and how these awards were won.
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2019/10/10/the-awards-we-receive-indicate-the-effectiveness-of-peace-and-reconciliation-theology/
WANAY BALUYAN CONTRIBUTES TO INTER-TRIBAL SOLIDARITY BETWEEN THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH
Wanay Baluyan is a new graduate of our PeaceBuilders School of Leadership (PBSL). She’s a native of the Banao Tribe from the Cordillera Region in the northern part of the Philippines. Part of her training at PBSL was to get immersed cross-culturally with another tribe. As a result, she was ritually adopted by the Tagabawa Bagobo Tribe from the Southern Mindanao Region. This relationship contributes to inter-tribal solidarity among various Indigenous Peoples struggling for their right to self-determination. She wrote her story just before she went back home to her native community.
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2019/09/09/wanay-baluyan-contributes-to-inter-tribal-solidarity-between-the-south-and-the-north/
A PARTICIPANT REFLECTS ON THE 2ND MENNONITE PEACEBUILDING CONFERENCE IN AMSTERDAM
Emil Jonathan “Jon” Soriano is a member of the Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation Commission (JPARCom) of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC). JPARCom, along with PeaceBuilders Community, have been laboring to promote peace and reconciliation between armed-conflicting parties in the Philippines. Jon attended the 2nd Global Mennonite Peacebuilding (2GMP) Conference and Festival held last 26-30 June 2019 in The Netherlands. He shared his reflection with us.
Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2019/07/28/a-participants-reflection-on-the-2nd-mennonite-peacebuilding-conference-in-amsterdam/
MEET OUR FAMILY
VISIT COFFEE FOR PEACE
VISIT PEACEBUILDERS COMMUNITY
OUR DISTINCT BUT INSEPARABLE ROLES
