My Kairos household experience

by AJ Ralota

For a long time, I did not think I was going to experience something even remotely similar to the Household. It was only last year that I heard about it, as while I was supposed to join, certain factors prevented me from doing so. I looked forward to the next one, whenever it may be, or how long it may take. When Kuya Avi sent me the invitation to join the Household, I did not hesitate to say yes. I wasn’t forced, pressured, or made to join the Household to get a certain incentive. The main reason I joined was to experience being able to live by myself.

At first, I over-thought about the smallest things. How would I be able to connect to the internet? Would my data be strong enough to handle my daily usage? Turns out, you don’t even use your phone as much. You’re always busy, helping around with cleaning, cooking or any household chores. If you aren’t working, you’re playing sports with your fellow brothers, or perhaps napping. There was not an empty moment in there, whether it be something I appreciated or not. I could confidently say that without a doubt, the Household was one of the most busy times of my summer. You could see a night and day difference in how I handled my summer this year and last year. I was very sedentary, only moving to go to the gym or going out with family, but all I did was stay home and play games. This summer was different. For three weeks, I was constantly moving, learning new things and picking up new habits. The Household proved to be vital in instilling new habits and traits that I can apply in my day to day life, such as cleaning, preparing food, cutting grass or cleaning out moss. It was an experience that I will certainly never forget.

However, it was a taste of what reality is like. There are certain things that we might have misunderstandings on, or differences in behavior. But despite all of that, I heed the words of my parents who told me to adjust. Adjust to the different personalities, traits of people. Despite the fact it may be difficult, it taught me to have better patience, as before the Household, it was a struggle for me to control my temper. Even inside it, it was a test of patience, not only for me, but for my brothers inside as well. It became clear that living together for a long period of time will entail that it isn't always going to be sunshine and rainbows. There are times when miscommunications happen, or certain opinions we might disagree on. It is with that I must thank the servants, Kuya Bart, Kuya Jesse, Kuya Avi and Kuya Cedric, who were vital in guiding us both spiritually and physically in situations we felt lost.

I will forever remember the sharing during the one to one's, as well as the different impromptu talks we have had. It is not easy to leave plenty of things behind in Manila for three weeks, especially at an age where many are going out with friends and having fun somewhere else. Despite this, not once have I seen them complain or provide any excuses. They were energetic and enthusiastic all throughout the 3 week program. Once again, thank you. It is because of them that many habits were broken and new ones were formed. We were taught what was right and wrong, and how to handle the different situations we came across in the Household.

Their spiritual guidance was clear, and simple enough for us to understand and digest. We were able to grow closer with God during our Psalm readings, morning and night prayers, as well as different activities we have joined together with the CYA. I could see the changes in all of the brothers in the Household, as we grew in our faith and were more bold in worship, intercessory prayers and willingness to grow in our faith. We did not say it for the sake of sounding holy or sounding like we made some sort of progression. It felt genuine. Our first day, we were not bold enough to intercede in prayer. Now, we are able to support one another during our morning and night prayers. We are now more conscious about the media we take in, about the friendships we choose and the various decisions we make, as I would recall a talk that Kuya Avi gave us about choices.

You choose to follow God, and you choose to leave your old life or old sins behind. It does not guarantee that you will be perfect throughout, but it provides you with something to bounce back off of. That’s what the household was about. Choosing God and choosing to follow him together with other brothers. Not alone, as they have told us plenty of times that trying to be a Christian alone in this world is difficult. Being in the household allowed us to pray without judgement, to worship without judgement and to be free in declaring our faith to God.

It is not always perfect. The Household program is fun, but it is far from an ideal place for everybody. Inside, we saw that there are situations we find out of our comfort zone, but it is up to us how we choose to respond. There were plenty of struggles, and as the days went on, you start to be grounded. You are grounded in your faith, in who you are as a person and in reality. It's not the perfect experience, but it is the experience everyone is encouraged to try at least once in their life..

** Kairos Household started in July 2023 and culminated in August 2023