We met around 6 years ago, and our friendship blossomed over time. In retrospect, the time we took to slowly form a friendship was key to cultivating a healthy foundation for our relationship. In this way we both felt comfortable around each other, and never had any pressure to pretend we were something we were not.

When we decided to get married, we found that the spirituality of the Focolare was helping us prepare ourselves. We discovered that we can always be a gift for each other — instead of viewing a relationship as being “in love” and “receiving love” from the other person.

We continue to experience this now, every day of our marriage! After marriage, we decided that at that point in our lives, we were still free to enjoy traveling as a married couple before starting the big adventure of a family. We first thought about doing an English-teaching program, since it seemed like an economical thing to do on a student budget. We finally decided to try out one of the social centers of the Focolare, Bukas Palad (“open hands”).

We took the big plunge and embarked on a three-month trip to the Philippines.

Bukas Palad is located in one of the p o o r e s t neighborhoods of Manila. Similar centers have begun in other parts of the Philippines, including one in Tagaytay, another in the heart of the Philippine Archipelago in Cebu, and another one in the far south in Davao.

Of so many experiences we made there, two come to mind.

During our stay, we also attended Mariapolis, a Focolare summer gathering. There we met a couple from Brazil who had come to the Philippines five years ago and were now working with a group called Facienda that helps recovering drug addicts.

They were amazing people! As volunteers in the program, they lived completely dependent on divine providence, even with their two small children! We were astonished by the courage it would take to rely on and trust in God to that extent. They said that they really did not worry about anything, that they knew that as long as it was God’s will for them to volunteer with this group, then God would provide. We, too, wanted to acquire the courage to fully trust in God.

The following week, we needed to make a trip to the wet market for food. This market was quite far and would take a lot of effort: many jeepney changes (low riding SUVs that can cram up to 20 people) and much walking. Michael remarked, “Well, if it’s r e a l l y God’s will to go to the market, why can’t we ask him to provide us with a ride?” Colleen wondered at first, “Can we ask God even in these small things?” We went ahead and asked him.

On our way to the market, we ran into a friend. Seeing the bags we carried for our groceries, she asked if we were going to the market. Our first thought? “This is our ride!” We couldn’t believe it and immediately we said “yes” — only to find out that she needed us to pick something up for her. Of course we agreed, but admittedly we were a bit disappointed, wondering if God really would answer our prayer! A couple of minutes later, just as we were commenting that we really could still use the ride, someone stopped and offered us one. We had met him at the Mariapolis! The whole ride over, we couldn’t stop smiling. We had traveled many times to been offered a ride. From this experience, we felt the courage to ask God for even our smallest needs.

The next week we had another experience of God, and another prayer was answered. At a certain point during our stay in the Philippines, we had a problem, mainly because we were yearning to do something in a more tangible and concrete way to respond to the suffering around us.

This feeling was frustrating because we had given up much to come to the Philippines. We decided to pray harder, asking God to help us find a substantial way we could help out.

The answer did come. We had planned to visit several islands of the country. Although the plane tickets were relatively cheap, the money needed for hotel, food and other travel expenses was adding up. Many people had encouraged us to take advantage of being in the country, but this decision was weighing down on us because we felt sightseeing was not the original reason for our stay. Still, we pressed on with our plans and bought all the necessary tickets.

Then one of the older students at the social center confided to Michael that she had just been dropped from the scholarship program because her overseas donor couldn’t offer support any longer.

We immediately felt guilty. We could have used the money for our trip on a student instead! Why hadn’t we thought of it before? But we had already bought all the plane and boat tickets.

Our “ride to the market” experience helped us think, “Let’s immediately ask God to help us get a refund on the tickets to support our friend!” So we ended up getting refunds for all our tickets. Then we were able to offer this vacation money to the student — a tangible, concrete contribution! Later we received.

That very same day we got an e-mail from a couple. After hearing about our trip and the work we were doing, they had thought we might need a little break; so they offered to send us a ride, pick us up and take us to a beautiful part of the Philippines for a vacation! We realized then that God truly has a special love for each of us, and we should never be afraid to ask anything of him, provided it is his will.

We won’t ever forget these special moments where we began our life together.

We were able to immerse ourselves in a completely new culture, pushing our limits with s o m e t i m e s very difficult experiences, to grow as Ch r i s t i a n s , to serve our neighbors and ultimately, to know God more fully.

By Michael Biver and Colleen Kelley Biver with So Youn Rosa Kim

Bukas Palad (Open Hands)
Some quick yet amazing statistics with real results for Bukas Palad, a social project of the Focolare Movement in Manila

- 23 assistance programs reach more than 6,000 families
- 3,200 children and teens are taught in the schools and colleges
- 7,000 people receive care in clinics
- 2,000 children receive food and milk daily
- 1,872 children are supported through adoption-at-a-distance programs
- Tuberculosis prevention programs have been awarded for their efficiency
- 1,600 families have received loans to begin small businesses
- 259 families have had their houses repaired
- 285 houses have been hooked up to running water and sewage systems
- Numerous courses on family planning using natural methods are offered