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Egmedio Equila
The Rev. Egmedio Equila, who made a 7-kilometer prayer walk for peace before the U.S.-North Korea summit in June 2018.
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Korea Peace Walk
For security reasons, the Rev. E. Equila was allowed to finish his 7-kilometer prayer walk for a successful U.S.-North Korea summit in this space between two Singapore hotels where the leaders stayed.
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Korean Cross
This cross was presented to the Rev. Egmedio Equila, a Filipino United Methodist clergy, by his colleague, the Rev. John Go, a Korean pastor, as a request to pray for peace on the Korean peninsula.
A Filipino United Methodist clergy did a 7-kilometer prayer walk for peace a night before the U.S.-North Korea summit, and intends to ramp up prayers for peace in his own country.
Rev Egmedio Equila, Jr has been a missionary to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Singapore since 2006. The OFW mission is under the program umbrella of Barker Road Methodist Church. Rev. Equila is an ordained elder from the South Nueva ECija Annual Conference Philippines.
"As a United Methodist clergy I saw a need to pray for the Trump-UN Summit, that each Christian must be mindful of peace."
US President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) offered a major concession during the first summit meeting between their nations.
News reports said the two leaders conducted a comprehensive, in-depth, and sincere exchange of opinions on the issues related to the establishment of new U.S.-DPRK relations and the building of a lasting and robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
"I remember my Korean friend, Rev. John Go of Tabor Heights UMC, who gave me the Korean Cross last General Conference 2016 at Portland, Oregon," said Rev. Equila. "When he gave me the cross he told me that the cross is to meant to request someone to pray for peace in Korean peninsula the unification of North and South."
"With this in mind I did my prayer walk of more than seven kilometers from my home going to St. Regis Hotel where Mr. Kim Jong Un stayed and about half kilometer from St. Regis to Shangri-La Hotel where Mr. Donald Trump was."
Rev. Equila said that his walk had a very good atmosphere, "it was smooth and orderly."
"I prayed for peace and the good and positive outcome from this historic summit," said Rev. Equila. "The Barker Road Methodist Church Prayer Warriors joined me in praying for this summit."
A prayer warrior for summit, Faith Domingo Loscos, a deaconess who also does a mission in Barker Road Methodist Church in Singapore, said, "I feel so grateful to be one of the instruments to pray over this historical summit. And the only prayer of mine is to give considerations to what the people generally concern to have, simple living and yet fair and beneficial despite differences in races and faith foundations."
Rev. Equila shared his reflections after the prayer walk.
"After my Prayer Walk I reflected on the next prayer, we need to pray for the peace talks in my country, the Philippines, the longest insurgency in Asia," he said. "The possibility is at hand but we need to storm them with our prayers mentioning the words of a song 'Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.'”
Rev. Equila was hopeful for the summit. "I believe that if these two countries can work out for peace with powerful prayers, big things and miracles can be easily achieved."
Gladys P. Mangiduyos is a United Methodist writers based in the Philippines.