THE PRAYER OF THE COCONUT

Hymn:
The Mission by Jon Mohn & Randall Dennis

There’s a call going out across the land in every nation,

a call to all who swear allegiance to the cross of Christ
A call to true humility, to live our lives responsibly,
to deepen our devotion to the cross at any price.
Let us then be sober moving only in the Spirit,
as aliens and strangers in a hostile foreign land
The message we’re proclaiming is repentance and forgiveness,
the offer of salvation to the dying race of man.
Chorus
To love the Lord our God is the heartbeat of the mission,
the spring from which our service overflows
Across the street or around the world, the mission’s still the same.
Proclaim and live the Truth in Jesus Name.
As a candle is consumed by the passion of the flame,
spilling light unsparingly throughout the darkened room
Let us burn to know Him deeper then our service flaming bright
will radiate His passions and blaze with Holy light.
Chorus:
To love the Lord our God is the heartbeat of the mission,
the spring from which our service overflows
Across the street or around the world, the mission’s still the same.
Proclaim and live the Truth in Jesus Name.

Introduction:
The common coconut tree grows all over the Philippines.
As we said when we were introducing the symbol of our Region.
The coconut tree is tall and straight, its slim trunk grows up towards the sky, heavenward with no
detours whatsoever. Direct to its goal in simplicity.
No abundant foliage, austere, just what is necessary, to protect its fruit.
It is a humble tree, its wood is not precious like that of the ebony tree or the mahogany tree.
Yet it gives itself completely: its humble wood, is used in construction works and as firewood in the
kitchen. Its fruit, which is edible, is used in a hundred ways in the local cuisine, and it is also a very effective
medicine.
We will not go into details this time, I just mentioned a few ways in which it gives itself completely,
totally without reserve, just as Paula told us to do when she said,
“When you have a little, give a lot. I did this and I never regretted it”.

John 12: 24-26

Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Those who love their life destroy it,
and those who despise their life in this world keep it for everlasting life.
 The Story of the Coconut Seed
After having seen the power point let us ask ourselves:
 Am I being called to leave my nest?
 If I am, am I ready to surrender?
 You are then welcomed to share a prayer.

Hymn Of Thanksgiving: Psalm 92

1 It is good to praise the LORD

and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;

I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
5 How great are your works, O LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
6 The senseless man does not know,
fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be forever destroyed.

8 But you, O LORD, are exalted forever.

9 For surely your enemies, O LORD,

surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
10 You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox;
fine oils have been poured upon me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The LORD is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him”.

While we sing this hymn you are invited to take a candle and its coconut shell holder.
We invite you to take this candle as a symbol of the flame Paula ardently wished we would light in all
the parts of the world we are missioned to evangelize.