Martweven

  Wrestling with Giants, Walking with Faith: My August Journey August has been a month of wrestling—with doubts, fears, and uncertainties. I found myself at a crossroads: should I quit my current job and pursue my profession, or stay where I am until my family and finances are more secure? This question weighed on me daily. Yet in the middle of the struggle, I kept holding onto this truth: the giants I face are never greater than the God I serve. Even while wrestling in my mind, God was at work in quiet and surprising ways. At the start of the month, YATTA held a meeting to plan our activities from August to December. It reminded me that God knows how to balance things out. Most of our officers are in their busiest year of college, some are juggling work and studies. Then there’s me—I graduated earlier than the rest of my batch. At first, I questioned why God allowed that, but now I see: this year, He positioned me to take on more responsibility, to help lighten the load when other...

I’m Jirah Martweven Palopalo, and my life has been deeply rooted in faith since childhood. Growing up in a family anchored to one church for generations, I served as a volunteer Sunday school teacher alongside my sister, sharing God’s love with children. As a scholar of the Dumaguete Kalauman Center for Development, I learned the value of service through Saturday classes, teaching, and community outreach. Kalauman also led me to VCS with Silliman University Church and to YATTA, where I use theater as a tool for advocacy, compassion, and change. Whether in ministry, community work, or creative expression, my purpose is to glorify God. By His grace, I passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers and am now a Professional Licensed Teacher, major in Social Studies — a milestone that reflects His guidance, provision, and faithfulness in my life.