Latest / PHLV Radio / Feast Across Borders - Jon Escoto on Joyful Faith and Global Outreach

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Feast Across Borders - Jon Escoto on Joyful Faith and Global Outreach · PHLV Radio

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Just like a friend from back home.
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  Speaker 2: This is your Filipino radio experience in Las Vegas PHLV Radio.
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  Speaker 1: Hello Manacao Bay and welcome to another PHLV radio podcast.
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  Joining us today on the PHLV Radio podcast is John Escoto,
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  a respected Catholic lay leader and speaker known for his
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  inspiring work with the Feast, a global faith gathering under
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  the light of Jesus Family. With his deep experience in
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  pastoral ministry and spiritual formation, John brings a message of hope,
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  healing and purpose to communities around the world. Well, monacabo bien.
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  We're so lucky because he's here right now in Las Vegas,
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  but as a Feast Las Vegas sixteenth anniversary event, and
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  there will be events starting night and of course tomorrow
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  September twenty and we'll be dancing in September, a celebration
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  of faith, fellowship and spirit. We're going to start tonight,
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  but we're going to start right here at PHLV with
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  Brother Johnny is Caloto. Welcome on a phlby Radio podcast.
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  Brother John, How are you.
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  Speaker 3: Paul Ohaya, so happy to be with everybody today, So
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  thank you for having me. Johan, my honor and pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: So Salama I know, you just arrived in Vegas, Comusa.
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  How are you adjusting to the weather.
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  Speaker 3: Oh okay, the weather is not so different demands of inns. Okay, yeah, okay, okay,
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  I like it here all right.
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  Speaker 1: So we are going to get started with a double
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  night celebration here in Las Vegas tonight, and there will
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  be an event very close to the radio station here
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  at PHLV Radio. Brother John, tell us, what brought you
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  to Las Vegas? You're acting? The Las Vegas community has
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  been longing for something like this for a while now,
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  and now that you're here, what do you think will
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  be the challenge of, you know, bringing people together? And
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  of course the Filipinos have been exposed to different cultures,
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  different beliefs, different religions here in the United States. How
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  are you going to do it? How are you going
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  to bring them together? And so to speak, with what
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  you're going to do walk with wonder tonight?
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  Speaker 3: Oh at all. We are into different walks of life,
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  many different concerns. But the bottom line, you know, I
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  realize that we might be coming from different cultures, but
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  essentially we have the same need. At the end of
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  the day, our hearts long for the same things, and
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  we go through the same experiences. So every time we
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  talk about hope, people need hope and people go through
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  a lot of pains in Balangen details we just have
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  probably different details, but everybody is hungry for hope and
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  that's what you want to bring. People get tired and
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  that's what happens when when when you journey, and that's
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  a normal thing. So we we want to come together
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  and be refreshed, be reminded of things that matter most,
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  stuff like those So union.
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  Speaker 1: Will that be the focus of your talk tonight at
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  at your event tonight.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, So that will be the focus of our the
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  theme of our what we will be talking about so wonderful.
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  Speaker 1: In the introduction of Brother John, I talked about the
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  feast I know, the Feast of Las Vegas. This is
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  a worldwide UH gathering or movement. Give us a little background. Uh.
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  We saw you here Las Vegas many years ago at
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  the Texas Station with Brother Bo Sanchez, and we've had
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  a great time. The Texas Station isn't there anymore, but
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  of course the fire at the burning spirit of our
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  Kababayans is still there. That's why they're excited to see you.
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  Give us a little background of what the feast is
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  all about.
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  Speaker 3: A la Moojohan. The feast is a gathering of people
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  when Bo and I we were having when we were
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  starting this one, there's one staggering stat in the Philippines,
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  I'm not sure if that's true here, that only thirteen
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  so three thirteen percent of Catholics are practicing are regularly
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  going to Mass. The rest kbl Castalpina, Glebinlanzela and Pupunta
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  in the church. So we thought that maybe God is
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  calling us to call back home the eighty seven percent.
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  And we had to package the love of God, the
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  message of hope that comes from the Lord, in a
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  way that's fresh and new, in a way that people
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  would appreciate. And then we began packaging the quote unquote
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  old time Catholic faith in an entirely new way to
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  make it interesting and then fresh for people. So that's
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  what we did. That's why when we were inviting people
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  we look less religious. The music that we sing is
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  not so different from what they hear from the radio
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  and Spotify, And little did they know that while enjoying
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  these music, I'm getting to know God, hey Lord, and
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  Christianity is a valid lifestyle. It's not something that's.
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  Speaker 1: Of old or.
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  Speaker 3: Old fashioned so to speak. Oh yeah, so it is
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  very much alive. It is a joyful life, not just
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  a valid lifestyle. And uh, and that's what we're about.
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  We want to proclaim to people that hey, God is
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  alive and we can enjoy him.
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  Speaker 1: It is current, It is very current. Yeah. The last
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  time I saw you at the Texas station, I was
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  talking to the feast and you know, all the organization
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  and everything. They were saying, like are you going to
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  the concert? Like concert? What? What? What? Concert? Right? So
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  is that part of the packaging what we were talking about.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, primarily we are proclaimers who can sing. We're not
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  released singers, but but at least we can carry it
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  to and we enjoy.
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  Speaker 1: Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you for a sample, okay, okay.
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  Speaker 3: So we use the we use as media and music,
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  so because that's the common language for everybody. So to
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  make it lighter for the messages to get through to people.
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  And by the way, we make it funny too.
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  Speaker 1: Funny, yes, okay.
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  Speaker 3: We want to tell everybody, Hey, God is a funny God.
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  We can laugh together. May ha long comedic you Wow?
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  Young aming presentations, so you don't have to be overly serious.
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  God has many faces and he meets you where you are,
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  so you don't have to change your personality. God meets
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  you there and yeah, so that's the message.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that's right. So for those who are attending
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  this for the first time here in last y yes,
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  I'm sure, because there's a lot of people who asked
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  us about this, what is this all about? You know,
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  obviously they probably haven't been into one of the gatherings.
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  For those who are attending for the first time, what
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  are they expecting.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, and you just show up and enjoy the people there.
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  Speaker 1: Just enjoy it.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, So you go there in a way that you
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  go to a commonplace, make friends, and we've got friendly
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  people there, and just sit back and relax and enjoy
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  what you will hear and the songs that you can
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  be singing along with the people. And then as you enjoy,
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  something miraculous happens to your heart. Joy wells up into
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  your spirit and heart. So if you look for something
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  that would relax you and give you the rest that
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  you need amidst the daily doll drums of life, this
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  is the place.
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  Speaker 1: Just show up, No pressure, nothing intimidating, you know, just
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  show up as yourself. Like what you said, he meets
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  you where you are. You don't really have to change
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  and you know what you are. Just show up to
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  meet you where you are in your life.
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  Speaker 3: That's right, that's right.
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  Speaker 1: That is awesome because there's a lot of people who
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  are like, I want to attend, but I'm kind of intimidated.
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  What should I wear? What should I you know, how
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  do I how do I behave? So that is something. Uh,
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  some of the barriers I would say, you know, when
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  we invite people to these kinds of gatherings, but with
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  the way you're you're, you're you're saying it right now,
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  it sounds so inviting and very inclusive. You know, anyone
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  can just come.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I hope that you guys come there and just
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  show up. So again, be yourself and we will have fun.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, what message are you personally hoping that the attendees
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  will take away after this weekend?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? Okay, number one Again, all of us get tired.
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  Only those who have given up on life are not tired.
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  So if you're a normal person like me and the
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  rest of us in the in the Feast Gang, we
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  get tired. Yeah, and it would be great to come
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  together and and be refreshed. And if you're needing, uh,
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  some sort of truth to return to, I say return
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  to because again, the world proclaims different messages. So if
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  you want to return to what you feel a something
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  that you need, be reminded of things that would refresh
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  your spirits. So this is the place to go to.
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  And this is one place that you go to where
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  you get refreshed, but at the same time you enjoy
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  while doing it.
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  Speaker 1: So wow, that that that is amazing, Brother John, take
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  us back a little bit, you know, with the with
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  the feast, you know here in Las Vegas, you know,
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  we enjoy a lot of buffet and we feast a lot,
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  and you know, the joy of being together as a family.
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  And how is it outside of these events that you do,
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  you know, you're gathering that end tonight and then tomorrow
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  the fundraising outside of those events, how is it to
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  be part of the feast, you know, without the event,
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  you know, being part of the organization or the group.
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  How do you describe the feeling of someone who's part
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  of it?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? Okay, well time, I really like your question because
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  at the end of the day. The feast is it's
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  a life that you live. It's not a gathering that
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  you attend.
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  Speaker 1: It's not a one day thing, it's not a one
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  weekend thing.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a twenty four to seven type of experience.
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  That's what sort of life really. We work as you
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  guys do we I was chatting with friends earlier on
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  and Toba. My work is that I'm a corporate training consultant.
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  So six days a week I go to companies. I
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  teach people how to be great leaders, how to earn money,
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  and how to be effective and successful in what you do.
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  And ultimately, so as we put to work these things,
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  you will be surprised that at the end of the day,
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  what we teach people is not a religious stuff. We
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  teach people the way to live, the way to live
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  a happy life. So as well, the second thing that
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  I want to share is that the feast is the
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  relationships that we have.
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  Speaker 1: The feast is the relationships that we have that is
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  very beautiful.
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  Speaker 3: So the family that we enjoy, in fact, the events
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  that we're having is simply an excuse for us to
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  come together. So take away the take away the complicated
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  requirements of a formal gathering, But at the end of
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  the day, people show up, the people that you love
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  are there, the people you enjoy having a chat with.
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  The feast is a family, so we see each other
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  and at the end of the day the relationships that
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  we have. That's the kind of feasting. Again, we always
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  say this about what makes life happy is the relationships
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  that you have. What makes a family happy is the
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  happy family relationship that you have. What makes a happy
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  workplace is the happy relationship you have in the workplace.
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  So you can be having the nicest of office, but
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  if you're at war with each other, baliuela. So the
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  feast is the relationship that we have. In fact, there
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  was this funny story story that there was people are
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  having a Christmas party in the feast and then domating
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  young the priest because we will be having a Mass already.
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  And then the MC was saying, okay, brothers and sisters,
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  let's stop the fun and happiness because the Mass is
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  about to begin. And I just laughed because I whispered
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  to the brothers that, huh, no, that's not the way
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  to see it. The feast is happiness all over. So
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  it's in fact, even the prayers that we do. We
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  do this together as a family. We want to do
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  it the fun way, the singing that we have and
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  at the end of the day, in the context of
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  a relationship amongst one another in the spiritual family with
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  God as our father. So it's a relationship that we enjoy.
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  Speaker 1: Oh. That is indeed the role of joy and celebration
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  in deepening the faith of those who of those who attend,
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  And a brother John, for those who are not able
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  to attend, how are they able to get into the
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  orbit of the feast like family members and those who
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  are at work? You know here in Las Vegas twenty
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  four to seven. You know they work, and you know
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  and sometimes they are not able to attend events like this.
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  How are they able to take part of the feast
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  without necessarily physically attending.
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  Speaker 3: Oh so we I don't have the details now, but
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  we're very much present social media, so they can probably
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  get back to the live stream of our events. And
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  you want to visit the page the site of Coarigma family,
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  the feast dot com or dot pa, and we have
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  a Feast app where they can download and then see
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  our live stream or broadcasts our our talks. Even the
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  small groups that we do, and also we are involved
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  in by the way in small groups we we have.
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  Probably we can show sometime the details that we have
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  virtual meetings online. So probably if you're not able to
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  leave your office or you cannot leave your house for
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  some reasons, we have a group that meets online and
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  you can share your stories, let your hair down, and
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  journey with people online.
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  Speaker 1: So that's that's amazing. The key word there that I
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  picked up for you is journey with people. It's amazing.
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  It is, after all a journey. It is it is,
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  after all a journey, and that is why the title
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  of your talk I suppose for tonight is walk with Wonder.
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  We walk with wonder, journeying through wonder, you know, the
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  beautiful life that we have, Brother John. As a takeaway
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  before we let you go, memory, I'm not gonna let
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  you sing any words of encouragement as a takeaway, especially
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  to the Las Vegas Filipino American community, who is you know,
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  wanting to deepen their faith and might be able to
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  find it through the feast and the events that you're
• 17:29
  going to have this weekend. What is your message to them?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? Yeah, often, maybe I can say that a human
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  person can survive forty days without food, four days without water,
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  four minutes without air, but only four seconds without hope.
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  Speaker 1: Four seconds without us.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, So talk to any people who have given up
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  on life and they made that decision the last four
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  seconds of their lives. Again, we say that hope is
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  important when you're journeying, and when you sometimes lose hope,
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  don't worry. You're normal. It happens to all of us.
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  And that's why we come together because a feast person
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  like me is a beggar telling another beggar where to
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  find bread, and let's journey together. We point everybody to
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  the way happiness and enjoy is not a destination. It's
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  a journey, and we experience that together. And ultimately, hope
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  is not a concept. Hope is a person. He has
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  a name, and his name is Jesus, and that's what
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  we talk about.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you so much. And Brother John on the what, when,
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  where and why? What's gonna happen this weekend, We're going
• 18:52
  to take you to a Guys, We're going to take
• 18:55
  you to this event happening here in Las Vegas, not
• 18:58
  only tonight. Tonight there is going to be a talk
• 19:02
  that it will be doing. It is called Walk with
• 19:06
  Wonder with their brother John Escoto. It'll be a thirty
• 19:09
  seven hundred here at Maryland Parkway, Monacopo Pipe, right within
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  Filipino Town and this will be on Suite five two
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  five E. That's going to be tonight and tomorrow it's
• 19:20
  going to be another event Monacolbayan. Here we go body
• 19:24
  yea d yahd Yah dancing in September. It is a
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  fundraising project of the Feast Las Vegas. One of the
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  most striking things that I that I noticed when you
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  came in. You are wearing something that is that collar
• 19:44
  and at the back. If you could turn around please
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  a little bit, brother, brother John, there you go explain
• 19:51
  to us why you are passionate about this prison mission
• 19:56
  in the Philippines, the.
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  Speaker 3: Fact and the director of a movement in the Philippines
• 20:05
  called the Prison Mission. It's a partner ministry with the
• 20:09
  light of Jesus family with a brother Bosaanchez. In my
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  country in the Philippines, we realized that the poorest of
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  the poor are the prisoners, the prison inmates. Because again
• 20:22
  the beggars, they can go to the street and back
• 20:25
  the street. Children can find ways to find food to eat,
• 20:31
  but not the prisoners. They just wait for somebody to
• 20:36
  remember and help them. And especially in the Philippines, it
• 20:43
  is a poor country. Budget for food for prison inmates
• 20:46
  is just thirteen one to three bezos, that's twenty five
• 20:50
  cents per person per meal. And I realized that when
• 20:59
  Jesus during these days, he was actually talking to the poor.
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  And the entire Gospel is all about the poor. So
• 21:07
  we turned our attention to the poorest of the poor,
• 21:10
  the prison inmates. So our ministry brings hope to the
• 21:15
  prison inmates. So we provide for their practical needs. So
• 21:20
  when I say practical again, we augment the food the
• 21:29
  if you would ask a prison in myth coming on
• 21:31
  Christmas gift, you'll be surprised a kind of answer toothpaste,
• 21:38
  paste brush. So that's the Christmas gift that they need,
• 21:42
  they want because again because that's rare, because again the
• 21:46
  government is not able to provide for these things. And
• 21:49
  they're the happiest person on the planet if you're able
• 21:52
  to give them these things. So that's why you know
• 21:55
  a friend. If you're able to brush your teeth last
• 21:57
  night or this morning, you were rich in my cont
• 22:00
  So and we provide these things so optical dental mission
• 22:07
  and medical missions and stuff like these. And then of
• 22:12
  course ultimately we speak the word of hope coming from God.
• 22:16
  So we tell them, hey, it's difficult in here, but
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  we're here your brothers and sisters quote unquote outside, praying
• 22:26
  for you, journeying with you. And then we we visit
• 22:29
  them regularly once a week, create communities there. And then
• 22:34
  also those who go out of prison, we show them
• 22:41
  the way because and recidivism rate in the Philippines is
• 22:44
  close to seventy five percent. That means three out of
• 22:49
  four people who go out of jail simply goes back
• 22:53
  within three to five years. So we provide coaching, counseling
• 22:57
  to integrate them into society operately.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: Such a wonderful work, brother John. And the event that
• 23:05
  will be happening tomorrow Saturday here in Las Vegas, the
• 23:10
  fundraising dancing in September is going to help fund the
• 23:16
  prison mission in the Philippines. Let's bring in around the corner,
• 23:21
  sister Cindy de los Santos just just a little bit
• 23:25
  and show us, show us the poster, and you know,
• 23:29
  invite them come on over here, brother sister, and oh Hey, yeah, sis,
• 23:35
  tell us a little bit about the how do they
• 23:38
  get into the event tomorrow?
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: Yes, thank you so much, brother Johann for this time
• 23:47
  that you have given us and supporting us. And yes,
• 23:51
  tomorrow we will be having a fund raising dinner dance.
• 23:56
  Our team is seventies Era, so if you're coming, you
• 23:59
  have to are your best seventies outfit and we will
• 24:04
  have seventies music. We have a DJ and we also
• 24:08
  have a d We'll be doing line dancing. So if
• 24:13
  you want to join the fun, it's only fifty dollars.
• 24:18
  There's already dinner, young dinner. It's a park hotel and
• 24:24
  I'm in full.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: And also.
• 24:29
  Speaker 4: Just come and we'll still have some tickets left. Actually
• 24:34
  printed one hundred and seventy five and we have only
• 24:38
  we sold already more than one hundred tickets. Thank you
• 24:40
  so much for those who support it. Okay, we will
• 24:44
  be at the Maryland Parkway. If you wanna don't GPS,
• 24:48
  it dot Google just it's at the back of Marshalls
• 24:53
  in Maryland Parkway. You go up the parking area the
• 24:57
  second floor. That's where the entrance is because maybe because
• 25:02
  if you will GPS, it will lead you to in
• 25:04
  front of a boulevard. Mad thank you and hope to
• 25:07
  see you all. Okay, Jad blessed, thank you so much.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: John so much. What I'm slam at the sister Cindy
• 25:14
  Monhacolo Bay. And you've seen her many times here at
• 25:16
  the radio station. They're doing a lot of stuff actually,
• 25:19
  and even with the first events of the feast, she's
• 25:22
  always been here at the radio station. And yes, that's
• 25:26
  what she was saying. You head over to Maryland Parkway,
• 25:32
  thirty seven hundred South Maryland Parkway, look for Marshall's. Behind that,
• 25:38
  there is a two level parking structure, the t Tech
• 25:42
  Parking Structure. You go up there on the second floor
• 25:45
  and you will see the entrance going to the event.
• 25:47
  So we will see you there. Monhacolo By and brother
• 25:49
  John your takeaway shatting manhacolo By, and this last invite
• 25:54
  for tonight and for tomorrow.
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: Monacolo Bay, and we hope to see you there tonight,
• 26:01
  walk with wonder, be refreshed by God's word, and we
• 26:06
  hope to see you there and tomorrow enjoy porgo so
• 26:11
  dance the night away and you will have fun, but
• 26:14
  at the same time experience the joy of helping others.
• 26:19
  So because again, as you support this thing that we're having,
• 26:23
  you are giving a lot of hope to those who
• 26:26
  need it most. So thank you so much for doing that.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: Brami Marami Salamatpo, Brother john S, and right here at
• 26:34
  PHLV Radio as adting PHLV Radio Podcast, we will see
• 26:41
  you at the events. It's kua yo right here at PHLV.
• 26:44
  We'll see you next time. Just like a prind from
• 26:50
  back home.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: This is your Filipino radio experience in Las Vegas PHLV Radio.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Wait