A Triumph of Faith - Christian Life Program - Nonthaburi

In a span of five weeks from 27 August to 24 September 2023, the Couples for Christ Nonthaburi experienced a profound and transformative Christian Life Program. This spiritual journey marked by dedication and unity, unfolded through two sessions every week bringing together fifteen participants eager to deepen their faith.
The backbone of this victorious evangelical mission was a collaboration among the members of Unit#3 - CFC Nonthaburi, who worked and joined forces together in one goal of a meaningful and impactful Christian Life Program. The effort was further enriched by the guidance of the elders from the Chapter, contributing to the success of the program.
The participants consisting of four couples, one handmaid of the Lord (HOLD), five Single for Christ women (SFC) and one Single for Christ man, ended on a spiritual experience that aimed to strengthen their relationship with God, their spouses, their family, their friends and the community.
As the five weeks journey concluded on September 24, we are blessed too of the Kid's for Christ (KFC) who finished their evangelical journey with the leading of our KFC leaders, coordinators and our Youth for Christ. 
Our stories and testimonies both the 15 new members and the whole CFC Nonthaburi,  now stand as a testament to the power of a united community seeking spiritual growth and our victories inspire others to end  on their journey to faith. To God be the glory 

​50th Anniversary of Capuchin Monastery in Panom

On 29-30 July 2023,  members of the CFC Thailand governance team, Jojoy/Emelyn Mission and John/Princess Balgoa, together with CFC Thai elders, Preecha/Kung Pittisant, joined the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Monastery of the Capuchin sisters and the 51st Anniversary of the Mary Help of Christian Church in Panom, Surathani located about 700 km south of Bangkok. The two-day event was blessed with a good weather following almost daily moonsoon rains in the entire province of Surat Thani. 

During the first day,  the celebration started with a Holy Mass at the Convent of the Capuchin sisters celebrated by Bishop Prathan, Diocese of Surat Thani and Bishop Veera, Diocese of Chiang Mai, together with several priests.  During lunchtime, CFC members and the nearly 500 guests praised God together and honored the Capuchin sisters by singing CFC Thai songs. The sisters were overwhelmed with joy.  During the evening, the group celebrated another Holy Mass and had a procession of the statue of Mary Help of Christian around the area. A short video presentation of CFC Thailand was shown to the parishioners.  The night was capped with a special blessing of the people from the priests.  The night bazaar was also opened to showcase the best fruits of the district.  During the second day, there were festivities in celebration of its 51st anniversary of the parish.  The Holy Mass was also celebrated by Bishop Prathan, Bishop Veera and many visiting priests. 

The Mary Help of Christian Church in Panom holds great importance for CFC, as it was the very place where CFC Thai community was established and then later introduced to the province of Tharae in the northeast, leading to an exponential growth in local CFC membership, numbering in the thousands. Now, after the passage of many years, we were truly fortunate to have the opportunity to revisit this cherished location once more.

Evangelization in Nakhon Si Thammarat

Following the CLP in Phuket, Krabi-Southeast unit also had its Christian Life Program held at the Mater Ecclesiae Catholic Church in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The CLP started on 14 May, the same day as the graduation day of Phuket CLP, and completed on 4 June 2023 with 9 graduates, - 3 SFC brothers and 3 HOLD sisters from Nakhon Si Thammarat and 3 SFC sisters coming from Krabi. The CLP was truly spirit filled and served by dedicated mission workers from Phuket and Central Bangkok. The CFC community in Nakhon Si Thammarat area is steadily growing with many potential SFC candidates in sight. We continue to pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance to nurture our members to serve as evangelizers in other areas in the South of Thailand.

Evangelization in Phuket

CFC Phuket unit completed its Christian Life Program on 14 May 2023 at the St. Joseph Catholic Church, Thalang, Phuket with 7 graduates of which 3 were from the Handmaids of the Lord (HOLD) and 4 from the Singles for Christ (SFC). The CLP was led by Arnel/Vicky Flores and served by mission volunteers from Nonthaburi Chapter, Leo/Bing Busbus, and from North Bangkok Chapter, Francis/Espie Derla and Jhozine Damazo.

The CLP graduates were grateful to God and to the service team for offering such an activity. The CLP renewed and strengthened their relationship with God and made them part of the CFC community, a family away from home. The service team from Bangkok also were refreshed and grateful for meeting brothers and sisters in the South. Despite the long and tiring journey, the service team found the mission truly inspiring and well worth the sacrifice.

Speakers training workshop

SEALEC is organizing a Speakers training workshop in hybrid mode on Saturday, 29 April 2023. CFC members from Nueva Ecija, Philippines will participate online with CFC members from Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar will participate via Zoom.  Click this link to see further details of the training.  

First Fruits offering CFC South Thailand 

​On 5 February 2023, members of CFC South Thailand performed the annual consecrated to God during the First fruits assembly. CFC Phuket held their First fruits assembly at St. Joseph parish while CFC Krabi and Southeast Thailand including Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thung Yai and Surathani held theirs at Mater Ecclsiae Catholic church in Nakhon Si Thammart. 
John and Princess Balgoa, CGT members in-charge of the mission in the South, took the early flight to Nakhon Si Thammarat to attend the 9am mass. Fr. Joseph, parish priest, was very happy to welcome them and excited to hear them news of CFC activities to happen in his parish again after coming back from the COVID pandemic. Before the final blessings of the mass John Balgoa addressed the parishioners and introduced CFC. He invited the parishioners to a Christian Life Program that will happen soon in their parish. After lunch, they proceeded with the First Fruits assembly organized by Oliver and Jasmine Ople and the teaching given by John Balgoa. It was an enriching experience of consecrating to God on the First fruits activity and topped off with a CLP 2.0 training. It was a short visit but overflowing with grace. 

CFC presentation at the Family Apostolate Commission of Bangkok Diocese 

On 20 April 2023, Edgar Dante, member, Country Governance Team of CFC Thailand together with Thai mission leaders Ambassador Precha and Sirikul made a presentation about CFC and its activities in Thailand at the Family Apostolate Commission of Bangkok Diocese. Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak and over 50 priests were in attendance. The presentation was focus on basic information about CFC, including  what is CFC? how does one become a member of CFC? when and how CFC started in Thailand? who governs CFC in Thailand?  who are the members of CFC Thailand and where? and what are the activities of CFC? CFC is grateful to the Family Apostolate Commission for the opportunity to contribute to the conference. 

Marriage Enrichment Retreat (11-12 June 2023)

CFC Thailand is organizing a Marriage Enrichment Retreat 1 and 2 on 11-12 June 2023.  MER is a flagship formation programme of CFC and intended to strengthen Christian marriages and family life.  Click this link to see further details of the MER. 

Rise, pick up your mat and go!

​On 18 March 2023, Couples for Christ Thailand, one of the most active Catholic lay organizations in the country, held a powerful theme weekend retreat that was attended by over 200 members from all over the country, including representatives from CFC Myanmar and Lao PDR. The retreat was filled with inspiring talks, insightful discussions, and meaningful worship experiences. It was also broadcast through Facebook live, where members from CFC West Malaysia, Viet Nam and other countries attended virtually.
The overall theme of the retreat was "Forgiveness and healing" and was anchored from the bible verse "Rise, pick up your mat and go!" (Mark 2:10-11).  The program was designed to bring members to a deeper reflection on their relationship with God and exhort them to rise from slumber and return to the normal vibrancy of community life. The retreat offered individuals the opportunity to meet and socialize with one another. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, with everyone eager to connect with members and share their stories. It was the first major face-to-face retreat of the community after two years.
A team of speakers and sharers from CFC Philippines enliven the retreat with powerful talks and inspiring sharing. The teams included Jimmy/Lorna Ilagan, CFC Asia Mission Head; Romy/Edith Alfaro, CFC South-East Asia Regional Coordinators; Junee/Psyche Nebrada, CFC Thailand Country Coordinators; Raffy/Amie Ballesteros, CFC Singapore Country Coordinators and Ronron/Binay Ong Yiu, CFC Surigao del Norte, Provincial Area Coordinators. Topics covered included welcome home, together making space, a feast of forgiveness, life anew, and we have never seen anything like this. 
A rosary and Eucharistic celebration at the opening session set the spiritual tone of the retreat. Father Joseph Briones gave an inspiring sermon about the anchor verse. CFC Thailand Country Head, Jojoy Mission, gave welcoming remarks and a short reflection of the theme topic. The morning session ended with a solemn Eucharistic adoration led by Father Briones. The day ended with a powerful worship session, where participants gave their all to praise and thank God for the blessings of the retreat. The worship leader, Juan Magpantay, CFC Nonthaburi, led the group in singing and prayer, and the atmosphere was one of joy and gratitude.
Overall, the retreat was a huge success, with participants reporting feeling inspired, encouraged, and equipped with practical tools and strategies to help them strengthen their relationships. The organizers of the retreat expressed their gratitude to all who attended and contributed to making the event a memorable and spirit-filled experience.
More photos of the retreat are available from google drive.

CFC Thailand Leaders Annual Planning for 2023

On 22 October 2022, some 5o leaders of CFC Thailand gathered at the Korea House located at the AIT campus for the annual planning meeting. Father Lucivaldo Costa of the Xaverian Missionaries in Thailand officiated the Holy Mass and exhorted the group to put Jesus at the center of the planning. It was followed by a morning worship led by Sonny and an opening talk given by Edgar with the key message about loving God with all our hearts. The afternoon session started with worship led by Patrick followed by a review of the CFC Community Imperatives for 2023 and the South East Asia response shared by Jojoy. The meeting went into a small group discussion focusing on the three major imperatives namely Expansion of the Spirit, Explosion of Blessings, and Enlargement of the Heart. John Balgoa concluded the meeting with an announcement and a closing prayer. It was indeed an inspiring and productive day for all the participants.