About ronaleen BALANGON
My name is Ronaleen (Ron).
I am studying Molecular Biology and Applied Chemistry at La Trobe University (PSB Campus).
In my free time I like to read and write. I recommend Blessed is she devotionals, Nicholas Sparks (but pls don't take the stories seriously HAHA), and Jacques Philippe for spiritual reading.
RON'S TESTIMONY
Taking a break from my parish community before entering uni, I knew that I was restless and
needed to find a community to journey with throughout my degree. The Lord knew of my
needs and revealed to me a non-local university community under OYP which consist of the
different private universities. I knew this was God’s way of affirming my need for a specific
community to journey with in this phase of my life, even when I had other communities. As I had
to venture on my own to a foreign part of town, I was anxious. Even though I got lost for about
5 minutes, there was a stirring in my heart to enter a random lift, and eventually found myself
in front of the Private University Catholic Community, praise God indeed!!
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Journeying with brothers and sisters in the same phase of life really helped me through the
hustle of deadlines & group assignments. Despite the never-ending workload every week, I
was still drawn to going for community sessions because it helped me to focus on Christ & Him
alone. Sessions were for me to rest in Him and to grow deeper in my relationship with Him.
Truly I could not have deepened my relationship with Jesus alone, because I would have been
too caught up with all my assignments. Having my sisters to remind me of the need to rest
during sessions enabled me to surrender all of my thoughts and days’ worth of baggage at
the foot of His Cross. It is through my brothers & sisters in the community that I am reminded of
Christ’s universal goodness – that there will always be something to be grateful for.
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Through the past several semesters, the Lord revealed His desire for me to grow deeper in my
relationship with Him. He stretches my heart & increases its magnanimity so that I may learn to
love my brothers and sisters intentionally. As I continue in my journey with the community, I am
always reminded of His desire to shape me to the woman He desires for me to become. The
Lord has also generously sent angels in the form of my brethrens to assure me that I am never
alone. I am convinced that being part of this community is God’s plan for me.
​
- Ronaleen Balangon, 2020