Mara Pastrana
Hello! I’m Mara Pastrana. If I can sum up the Lord’s work in my life, it would have to be how He instilled in me obedience in His will and courage to step out in faith! In all this, the Lord has brought about a huge transformation in my life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines into a Catholic family. I went to an all girls Catholic private school growing up until my family decided to move to Vancouver, Canada in 2005. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a joint major in Psychology and a concentration in Human Resources hoping to work corporately. But the Lord had different plans!
After graduation and even with a full-time job offer in an engineering firm for an HR position, I decided to instead go on a GAP mission year to Lansing, Michigan with University Christian Outreach. This was where the Lord expanded my heart for the beauty of ecumenism. Going on this GAP mission year changed the trajectory of my life as I realized that I was made to use my gifts for the building up of the kingdom of God. It was truly a year set apart for a life set apart!
In 2013, during my GAP mission year the Lord also started to call me to live in the Philippines for a time. I sensed this in my times of prayer and as I shared with God my curiosity and growing desire to live in the Catholic charismatic community in the Philippines. I was fearful when I heard God call me. I wrestled with God a lot even if part of me also wanted to see what life would be like serving as a missionary in the Philippines. I was gripped with fear and doubt at that time. I questioned the Lord’s call. “Why is that step to move back to the Philippines so big and hard to make?” I asked God. And so I just placed my ponderings on my journal and continued to seek the Lord.
Meanwhile, as I moved back to Vancouver from Michigan, I was privileged to work and serve in Alpha Canada whose mission is to train and equip churches in its mission to evangelize. It was like I gained evangelization training for 4.5 years. It was in my years of serving in Alpha that the Lord continued to expand my heart for other Christians and deepened my love for the Catholic church in my desire to continue His evangelistic mission for our church. I loved the very supportive and upbuilding environment we had in Alpha - empowering and mobilizing Christian leaders in evangelization.
As years went on, I continued to sense the Lord’s call to me to move back to the Philippines for a time. He would nudge me every now and then and remind me of His call. Basically, that thought and desire to serve in the Philippines never left me. I kept delaying, doubting and questioning. Until October 2017 came. That was my turning point.
One of Alpha’s core values is the reliance on the Holy Spirit, so at our staff retreat, one of the speakers shared about the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit. Then, we had a time for prayer ministry where the speaker invited us to ask the Holy Spirit for an image. He said, “Ask the Holy Spirit for an image and share it with someone.”
A coworker of mine had this image for me. It was a white boat with a blue sail and in that image was a white bird. I knew that was the Holy Spirit. The last time I had a vivid image of a white boat with a blue sail was when I went to the Philippines at the beginning of 2017 and saw one so beautifully in one of the white sand beaches there. I knew it was again the Lord disturbing and nudging me to take action. I couldn’t delay His call any longer. He was using more people to speak to me.
Today, since 2018 and after years of serving in the Lord’s vineyard and His continuous call for me, I now work and serve in the Philippines through Christ’s Youth in Action (CYA), a charismatic non-profit youth organization whose mission is to evangelize and train young leaders for the service of the church and society. Through CYA, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to not only help set up administrative systems and processes for the organization, but I’ve also been able to develop trusting relationships with fellow youth workers and student leaders.
But there’s more! The Lord cannot be outdone in His generosity. The Lord is generous and abundant in His blessings to those who respond to His call. It was also during this time that He brought my vocation into completion. I have been happily married since the beginning of this year! And I’m now on a journey to discovering what the Lord has for me in the world of coaching as I look to coach women to find joy, freedom and confidence by knowing their worth, unlocking unhealthy thought patterns, and discovering their God-given mission. It is my joy to see and experience people working and serving in their strengths, God-given gifts and talents.
I thank the Lord that my delayed obedience was not put to waste. He made something very good and waited patiently for me to respond to His call. He granted me the grace to take heart and step out in courage. Even now, He continues to grow in me the virtues of obedience and courage. To God be the glory!