"Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" (Luke 24:32) These were the words the hearts of the two disciples spoke of when they reflected on their encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  We echo the same words to capture our experience of the deepening transmission of the Determinations of GC XVIII.  It was facilitated by Sr. Leoly Quitorio and Sr. Felisa Molina on November 5-6, 2025, here in Mae Hong Son (MHS), Thailand.  In the two-day spiritual journey, we followed the dynamics of prayerful reading of the text, moments of silence and reflection, and conversations in the spirit.  The visit of our two sisters inspired and encouraged us to strive and commit ourselves, aided by the grace of God, to live out the calls of GC XVIII—to witness “a life surrendered to God” (cf. Art. 1) and to contribute “our grain of mustard seed” (cf. Art. 23) in the continuous building of God’s kingdom.

The two-day deepening encounter was preceded by the sisters' visiting the two refugee communities served by JRS-MHS.  Hence, the encounter also became a grace-filled opportunity for all of us sisters in the Thailand community to share with our visiting sisters the joys and challenges of bringing God closer to our refugee brothers and sisters through collaboration, accompaniment, service, and advocacy work.  The entire visit was also a series of days of prayer and communion among us, sisters in the Lord, who continually invite us to become authentic Daughters of Jesus.

Blessed be God!  Thank you very much, Sisters Leoly and Felisa, for gracing us with the joy and graciousness of your person and presence.

By Sr. Elvie

Some Images of the Visit..