HE QUALIFIES THE CALLED | KAIROS GLOBAL | DECEMBER 2020

Author: Geo Roncy

Intro: In the light of Jesus Youth’s Coral Anniversary, Geo Roncy talks to Jilu Chengat on her role as the JY USA National Coordinator, being a working mom and deeper encounters with the Lord amidst time-consuming responsibilities.

When was your first encounter with the Lord?

My first personal encounter was at my first retreat as a twelve-year-old. 

When did you first encounter the Jesus Youth movement?

I encountered the movement in its early days in the US, back in the early 2000s. My first stay-in retreat was a Jesus Youth retreat. It was followed up by regular gatherings every other month. 

What aspect of the movement captured your heart and made you want to be a part of it?

To be honest, in the beginning, the chance to meet friends from other states was the primary motivating factor. I really enjoyed these ‘bimonthlies’ as they were called. Later, after my conversion experience in college, I began to see the beauty of the movement from a whole new perspective. First, I met God the Father in a deep and personal way. I saw his love reflected in the Church and in the many people who gave their lives for him. I came to appreciate the witness of JY families and my peers in the movement, for the fellowship but furthermore because it provided a foundation where a daily journey of faith was challenged and inspired. 

There were many times I wondered if I was called to remain a Jesus Youth. During each of those times, the Lord reminded me of how much I had received and grown through the spirituality of the movement, in community and in knowing the Lord. 

How has the movement helped you grow in your relationship with the Lord?

My life in the movement has been such a powerful source and space for me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. I think my peers, JY families, and the space that I found to simply be myself are some of the greatest gifts of the movement in my life.

Did you ever see yourself taking on the role of national coordinator?

No, I never would have thought of myself in this role. Over the past three years, I have grown into the role, but when I first began, I felt like a child who had suddenly been given all responsibility of the family. However, we believe that the Lord doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called. In the months prior to the National Council election, the Lord was moving in my heart. My husband and I started praying the 33 Days to Merciful Love and consecrated our family to the Merciful Heart of Jesus at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy on the day before the election. It was very providential and part of the Lord’s preparation for myself and my family to take up this role and service for the movement.

Earlier, I desired to be a full-timer but was unable to do so. Then, when I took up the role of coordinator, I felt that it was an answer to a prayer from many years ago. Now, I could give three years – not just one, supported by my husband, kids and extended family. I felt that the Lord was responding to the desires of my heart to serve Him. He continued to prepare and purify me through various struggles over the years, but the privilege of being able to give back to a family that had nurtured me and supported my journey in the Lord has truly been a blessing. 

What does a national coordinator do? Not many people know what the role entails?

Every day is different, but to fit my lifestyle and family, I usually set aside a few hours in the morning and late afternoon. Typically, there are night calls a few times a week. And when I was able to travel, I would probably travel at least one weekend a month for regional gatherings, or to attend other meetings. Depending on the need, I am involved in various aspects of finance, programme planning or ministries. I would say that most of my time goes to calls – either individual or conference calls of various ministry teams.  The movement has always been very communal, so I’ve found the importance of giving time to building relationships, both inside and outside of ministry. Outside the practical commitment, I would say most of my heart goes to prayer, interceding or praying for the direction of the Lord. I learned very early on that my personal prayer would orient any work that I was called to undertake.

What are some challenges and blessings of the role you play in the movement?

More than anything, I feel my role is a calling to facilitate and nurture the work of the Holy Spirit that is already working and moving in the grassroots. Along with the National Council, it is such a blessing to be able to see the movement of the Spirit and to be able to map it onto the realities that are to come. In that sense it is a blessing to be able to be the hands and feet of the movement and of the National Council. On the contrary, the challenge of my role is that it is so undefined. I have plenty of people I can consult or ask for advice, but I need to be internally motivated and driven to be able to see what areas of the movement need attention. Prayer has played a pivotal role here, both personally and communally, as the Lord continues to reveal where in the movement he is calling to serve. 

You are also a mother of two kids. How has being a mother shaped your relationship with the Lord and how has it impacted your everyday life?

Actually, being a mother has been one the primary defining roles during this term of coordinator-ship. I began my term when my second son was nine months old and my older daughter was over two years. At that time, I had just started getting to love and appreciate the small daily realities of being a mother. It was not an easy transition for me. But just as soon as I started feeling comfortable in that role, I began my role as coordinator and between my limited hours working as a nurse, I had become a full time working mom!

There were times where I felt I was failing at all my responsibilities and that there wasn’t enough time in a day to be a good coordinator, be a good wife and mom. But over time, God helped me redefine my understanding of ‘good’ and success. I learned to surrender more, pray more and realised the beauty of the spiritual motherhood that God was inviting me to in my role as coordinator. In both practical and spiritual ways, I realised that I had to change and adapt to what God had placed before me. 

How are you balancing the role of being the national coordinator, being a mother, and growing in your spiritual life?

There would be no balance if I couldn’t rely on my husband, Roger and my -in laws. Roger’s parents live with us and play a huge role in taking care of the house, food and kids. Their practical and spiritual support has been a huge blessing and place of rest. Part of the balance also comes when I can step away from the role – maybe for a weekend, or a week, or for time to take a retreat. Those times allow me to give priority to my spiritual life and also the needs of my family. 

But this has been a difficult journey and there were times, especially in the beginning when I felt like such a failure in all my responsibilities. As I gave more priority to prayer in the middle of my ‘work’ schedule, I saw that God didn’t necessarily need more of my time; he asked for my whole heart and the primacy of him working in and through me – whether they be mundane tasks or spiritual responsibilities. I began to appreciate more the ordinary, lay responsibilities that each of us are called to undertake. For me, faithfulness in those areas actually led to more fruitfulness in areas of my spiritual life and ministry. 

How do you handle the difficult moments that come up in life? 

Running to God! Probably the greatest difficulty and greatest graces that I have experienced, throughout life, but especially during this term, was poverty. Not financial poverty, but poverty in many other senses – different inabilities, physically, spiritually, etc. In all of those poverties, God had a beautiful and powerful lesson to teach me. Sometimes the lesson was that I needed to review my inability not through the eyes of the world, but through the eyes of God. Many times, when I (finally!) surrendered to God, I also received a grace to work despite the limitations of my nature or physical abilities.  In these years as coordinator, the Lord stretched me beyond my human capacities and revealed the great treasure and wellspring of life that awaits us when we begin to tap into the supernatural abilities that the Lord desires to give us. 

What have you noticed in this generation of the youth? What are the positives and negatives you have noticed?

I have noticed that there is a certain excitement in many young people today – a desire to change the world. Though the unrealistic idealism of that needs to be refined, the raw energy of that can be nurtured to contribute to the Church and the world in very significant ways. Especially through virtual media, so many restrictions or limitations that young people faced in the past no longer limit them today. In that, there is a great challenge and opportunity for those who walk with and form young people. 

What is the best way to support and uplift the youth of today to fulfill their true potential?

Love, patience and sacrifice. When I look back at my journey in Jesus Youth, in addition to my parents, there were so many people who provided the love of their open homes and family lives, patience in not valuing my importance in my skills or what I had to offer, and many, many hidden sacrifices. These sacrifices may not have been directly visible to me at the time, but now with a family of my own, I see the beautiful and challenging sacrifice that is required of a family to be a joyful witness, open to sharing the joys and struggles of life. That sacrifice is deeply rewarded in turn by being surrounded by youthfulness and all that comes with the joy of being young. 

What is your message to the youth about how they can encounter the Lord?

The Lord desires to speak to you personally and specifically. Many times, young age or youthfulness will make us question what the Lord can do in and through us. Salvation history points to many times where young people were given great responsibilities and the Lord qualifies them. He calls them, anoints them and sends them. There may be many moments of confusion and doubt. There may even be long periods of awaiting the fulfillment of those promises in our lives, but the Lord continuously wants to speak. Like young Samuel in the Bible, who hears the voice of the Lord several times without recognising it, we may also need people like Eli, who direct us back to the Lord. 

This story reminds us that the Lord is so personal. Eli did not hear God’s voice, he just knew that his role was to direct Samuel back to the voice of the Lord. Likewise, he calls us each uniquely and specifically. My mission may not look like your mission. The voice of the Lord in my life may direct me differently than the voice of the Lord in your life. Yet in this discovery of the same Lord and the unique ways that we are called to serve Him, he WILL speak. We just have to wait and respond, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.

Geo Roncy is a second-year Finance student at the University of Houston, USA. He has been living in Houston for the past ten years.