Solar Energy Lights Retreat Center Huts

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center has several grass-roofed bamboo huts that may be used as additional space for  activities such as  small group devotions, prayer, sharing, or discussions or camp staff meetings. The huts are illuminated by solar lamps at night.

Each hut is equipped with a solar panel...

...that recharges the battery in this lamp. 

Some of the buildings at the retreat center were built by former street dwellers being ministered to by Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries.  Read the heartwarming story of one changed life HERE and HERE. 

For information on the CCT Group of Ministries, its programs, and target beneficiaries,  please visit  cct.org.ph.

Photos by Ciara Tan

A Testament To God's Life-changing Power

The multipurpose hall at the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center.  Section on the left is the
worship/assembly hall. On the right is the dining area with kitchen and restrooms beneath.  

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center is a testament to God’s greatness.  It is an answer to prayer of CCT board and management for a place of its own where the Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries could hold retreats, workshops, and conferences of community partners, staff, and board alike.  It is borne also of a need for a venue where street dwellers  being ministered to would not be rejected for fear that they would vandalize the facilities or that their smell would stick to the furnishings.  

This 6.6 hectare piece of land has the following major buildings:

• a multipurpose building with a meeting hall capable of seating 1,000, a dining hall, and kitchen
• five dormitories that can accommodate a total of 460-500 overnight guests. Each dorm has a session hall on the ground floor.
• an administration building
• a pavilion with a snack bar on the ground floor

Outdoor facilities are two basketball/volleyball courts, a children's play area, an amphitheater, several native huts, a mini soccer field, and an obstacle course.   

This place is a testimony to the faith,  generosity, and hard work of His people – the hundreds who gave time, talent, advise, resources, and materials,  lent equipment, and in many other ways helped make this place what it is today.   

Most heartwarmingly, this retreat center stands as a monument to God’s power to change lives. More than 70  former street dwellers  were spiritually transformed as they helped build this place.  Once, these men roamed Manila's streets destitute and hopeless. About half of them were involved in vice or crime.  Today, they know the Lord, their children attend school, they support their families with an honest living, and they know that the future beckons bright. (Click HERE and HERE for stories of changed lives.)

For Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center rates and booking information, please get in touch with Eva Lope, guest coordinator, at evaranlope@yahoo.com.ph, evamlope@gmail.com, 09192933157, 09232497605, 8066912, and 6542536.
For more information on the work of the Center for Community Transformation Group of Ministries, please visit its website at cct.org.ph. Read the blog of CCT Founder and President Ruth Callanta HERE.

To God be the Glory!

Tall buildings on the left and right are two of five dormitories at the retreat center.  The Abraham dorm
on the right is closest to the assembly hall and dining area and recommended for
groups composed of senior citizens. Partially hidden low building on the left is the administration
building. Partially shown low building on the right is the multi-purpose hall. 

The retreat center bedrooms can sleep six. These twin beds and the sofa bed  each have pull-out sections. 

Water bubbles out of the sphere in this fountain, the focal point of the entry to the
retreat center and a popular nighttime picture-taking spot. 

Paglikas, a wooden sculpture depicts a family fleeing their home
while the Taal Volcano erupts. It stands in the paseo or
passageway  between the worship hall and the dining area.  

Rustic seats in the paseo, the middle section of the multi-purpose building.

The administration building receiving area.  

Native huts may be used as additional meeting areas by small groups during breakout sessions,
for group devotions or prayer time, or simply for hanging out. 

This swing set has a climbing  wall, belt swings, a tire swing, rope with disc,
captain's wheel, and binoculars, ensuring hours of fun for children. 

Photos by Ciara Tan

Retreat Center Has New Building, Features

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center has a brand new building and several new exciting outdoor features for both children and adults.

The new building, an octagonal structure nicknamed Pabilyon, houses a snack bar on the ground floor and a game room on the second floor.

Recently-added outdoor facilities are two basketball / volleyball courts, amphitheater-style seating, a children's play area (http://ccttagaytay.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-post.html), exercise machines, and a trampoline.  An obstacle course will also soon be completed.

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center is run by the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Group of  Ministries and is ideal for conferences, workshops, seminars, and similar activities.

The Pabilyon and a few other buildings at the retreat center were built by former street dwellers being ministered to by CCT.  Read the heartwarming story of one changed life here:  http://cctsikhay.blogspot.com/2012/04/weve-been-blessed-say-former-street.html

For rates and booking information, please contact Eva Lope, CCT partners development officer / CCT servant, at evaranlope@yahoo.com.ph, evamlope@gmail.com, 09192933157, 09232497605, 806-6912, and 654-2536. For information on the CCT Group of Ministries, its programs, and target beneficiaries,  please visit  cct.org.ph.

In keeping with the CCT aim of preserving Filipino arts and traditions, the snack bar features
 Vigan-inspired design, low tables, and native mats.   The low tables are called dulang which were used
 by Filipino families during pre-colonial periods.

The capiz paneling of the counter is another feature that reminds one of Filipino ancestral homes.
http://365greatpinoystuff.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/101-capiz-windows/  

Guests may write prayer requests on Post-It notes and stick them on this
prayer wall.  Prayer items will be prayed about by the retreat center staff and
construction workers during their daily morning devotions. 

Games to be enjoyed on the second floor include table tennis, darts, billiards, air hockey, table football (foosball),
x-box, and board games.   

The trampoline. Beyond providing lots of fun, trampolining strengthens muscles and enhances coordination
and flexibility.

This set of  amphitheater-style seats adjacent to the Pabilyon  is an excellent area
 for an early morning worship service.   

Photos by Ciara Tan

Retreat Center Has New Play Area for Children

Young visitors to the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center can pretend to be Tarzan swinging through the jungle or the captain of a ship or an explorer climbing a rope ladder or  Queen Esther or whatever exciting role their young minds can imagine... when they're playing at the Rainbow playground.

A recently-installed swing set has a colorful canopy and flags, a slide, a tire swing, two belt swings, several ladders, a ship captain's wheel, a climbing wall, a knotted rope with disc, and a pair of binoculars -- all ensuring hours and hours of outdoor fun for the younger set.

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center, run by the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Group of Ministries,  is an ideal venue for church- and school-related activities.  For rates and booking information, please get in touch with  Eva Lope, CCT partners development officer / CCT servant, at evaranlope@yahoo.com.ph, evamlope@gmail.com, 09192933157, 09232497605, 806-6912, and 654-2536.

 For information on CCT's programs and target beneficiaries, please visit  cct.org.ph.

Photos by Ciara Tan