By Maricor Elquiero-Doctor, Camarines Sur, the Philippines
Editor’s Note: Maricor was a recipient of the first round of Mustard Seed Grant awards on behalf of the FER–UB (Fifth Epochal Revelation–Urantia Book) group. She proposed a project to fund stronger internet connections for Urantia Book study group members, and to make and post four short videos for outreach.
“Love is the desire to do good to others.” 56:10.21 (648.4)
This message from The Urantia Book motivated us to apply for funding from the Mustard Seed Grants Program (MSGP) of Urantia Foundation. We desire to do good to others.
For us, doing good to others means sharing the love—the truth, beauty, and goodness—of the fifth epochal revelation. So we thought of a project that could help us share the love, the joy, and the good news with God-seeking people both directly and indirectly: in our neighborhood through in-person study meetings, and across the internet by making Urantia Book–inspired video clips.
Because I had a lonely childhood, I enjoy making children happy. After reading about the MSGP in News Online, I seized the chance to apply on behalf of the FER–UB project [2]. I was helped and supported by the entire Urantia Philippines family, and received special encouragement from the amazing Eugene and Belen Asidao.
We hold several weekly study groups. Brother Eugene hosts The Second Milers group every Monday and Thursday. A Friday group is led by Brother Allan Bancairen. This is where between 5 and 20 children, a couple of youths, and several adults gather to hear a reading from The Untold Story of Jesus. Urantia Philippines donates funds for snacks and game rewards, making the study more fun and exciting for kids. On the last Friday or Saturday of each month, we celebrate and acknowledge diligent attendees with an array of awards.
The short video portion of the project has involved some trial and error. There is much to learn about the rules, regulations, and policies of Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms. I have found more inspiration in making Facebook reels, and was recently recognized as one of the top 4% and 2% Rising Creators, a label that Facebook introduced to make it easier for users to discover up-and-coming creators on the platform. Even so, I am still learning!
All of these activities wouldn't be possible without the strong Wi-Fi connection that we now enjoy thanks to our grant from Urantia Foundation. It has also helped with monthly electric bills and content uploading costs.
The MSGP has been an answer to our prayers. We were granted both financial and moral support for our project. Thank you for putting smiles in our hearts and on our faces. We are forever grateful!
[2]
FER-UB Project