Manado Independent School (MIS) always holds a Week of Prayer (WOP) twice a year. It has been the agenda in the school calendar for many years now. Recently, such spiritual activities have been held for a week from September 12th – 16th, 2022. The purpose of MIS WOP is to help students build a strong relationship with the Creator. Through prayer, praise, and worship – students get closer with God and have peace within. In addition, this spiritual program is a preparatory week for the midterm examination to students so that they stay focused on studying. This semester, the WOP theme was “Christ is Our Victor” presented directly by the guest speaker Pst. Ronald L. Marjee who came from the Philippines. The message delivered by Pst. Ronald reminds students that Jesus’ victory is theirs to claim. “Christ is our victor that of the excellent things, but student needs to apply it in their lives. For example, drugs are made by companies to treat a disease, and are efficacious if taken regularly. But if the medicine is only stored, it becomes useless. So, students can take that victory which Christ is giving into their lives; like for example, there are temptations which are coming – how can we get victory over our temptations? Sometimes we are naughty, but we can always come back to Jesus because he forgives us. So that is the thing that we can claim. It is not only about Christ is our victor, but student can experience the victory by forgiving. “
The WOP program is also filled with talent presentations from students such as playing violin, guitar, band, and kolintang. The spiritual hymns sung also added to the solemnity of this event.
In addition to the week of prayer, Pst Ronald also held a Parenting Seminar on Thursday, September 15, 2022 through Google Meet. The seminar with the theme of Elevating Moral Values discussed tips for parents in disciplining their children in a good way. Such includes not getting angry, not shouting (raising the voice), and not beating. Parents must have self-control in order to help children develop good attitude. MIS hopes that the activities can mild all students to have a good religious character not only at school, but also at home and the surrounding environment. Moreover, through seminars, parents can also strengthen collaboration with MIS to support the development of effective and productive learning for children.
