Prayer of Filipinos in Diaspora: A Case in South Korea

This study examines the Filipino migrants’ personal journeys of “home” from colonial to global dislocations, as well as their journey to an eternal home, which is founded on prayer. According to the findings, Filipino migrants’ prayers are genuine heartfelt expressions. It exhibits trans-reciprocity, or the visible and invisible form of reciprocity between the transnational, transcendence, and the migrants’ relatives in their home countries. They serve God and their family members who are far away in return for God’s blessings. Migrants who are family breadwinners and who themselves serve as a sacrificial offering to alleviate poverty in their homeland pray for material benefits and virtues. Migrating is a step toward a richer and better life, similar to the goal of prayer, but it does not preclude the concept of home because each step of the journey is a search for healing; a search for a true home, i.e. the self.