Embracing Hope: Trusting God’s Plan for the Year Ahead

I always look forward to going to the Mission Volunteer yearly retreats because it is always at the beginning of the year and it just makes starting the new year out right. Personally, I always treat going to a retreat (especially if I’m just a participant) as a time to rest from the busyness and fast pace of life. It’s a time for me to slow down, rest, and reflect back on the things that God has done for me up to that point whether it be struggling times or joyous events. And it allows me to really refocus myself where I am currently in life and most importantly my relationship with Jesus. And this year’s MV retreat was no different.

The overarching theme for this year's retreat is full of hope, which I find very fitting where I am currently. Going into 2025, I had my eyes set on a lot of things that may or may not change how my life would be like. And with change, you got to have hope that everything will turn out right. There were many things that helped me solidify my resolve of my plans for 2025, but one highlight that really sealed the deal was during an activity where we had to create a timeline. We were to create a timeline of your life’s story and indicate parts in your life that you felt were full of hope and parts where you felt it was seeming hopelessness. As I was creating the timeline, it was very refreshing to see how my life has been like up to now. Just seeing all the ups and downs that have happened and being able to see that there was always one person throughout all of it that was always there helping guide me through: Jesus. Even though I only started my real and authentic relationship with Him in 2017, the years before that He was always there ready to guide me through times of hope and times of seeming hopelessness. Just as He has always been there for me in the past, He will continue to be there walking with me as I go through 2025 facing any changes that may occur, good or bad.

So I just need to trust in the plans He set for me, as said in Jeremiah 29:11, and continue to be hopeful. The start of a new year is always a new adventure, but I will face 2025 with the same attitude that is said in Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.” I’m looking forward to what the year has in store for me and I’m also excited to see what service God is calling me to do this year!

 Ray Angelo Siapno - Mission Volunteer