Skill and Practice

A skill to become personal needs a lot of practice.  

In my class, Creative Teaching Methods and Techniques, I required each of my student to demonstrate a skill, which they are familiar with.  This is a teaching technique where it gave everyone equal opportunity to share something that is close to their heart without any lesson plan, bias or coercion.  

The title of the activity we had was called The Learners' Market, each student was given around 20 minutes to present a skills they can be called as experts.   They are to demonstrate such skill and for their classmates to replicate such skill.  

The class was so engaged that each students was not only excited to learn but most important of all, the student teaching does not have any pressure since it was in a very informal setting.  Such activity allows individual walls to be down and be engaged with the entire class.  The center of learning was focused among the students with only supervision coming from the teacher.  

As my class was busy doing their stuff, I, myself was busy honing my skill on film, which I do not know if they have notice such.  I filmed each of their presentation and created a short clip of what they have presented using the iMovie app of my iPad.  

It was a fun experience for my students but it was also a fun learning experience for me.  I believe in learning by doing as a core teaching methodology as influenced by the Scouting Movement in my life.  It gave me a opportunity to practice filming and editing video that resulted to wonderful movie projects.  I believe my skill on this has leveled up.  

Lastly, I am still thinking whether breathing exercises is really a skill, which according to my student is... I am not convinced.  :D

Video links to my FB... :D

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152177135848550&set=vb.632818549&type=2&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152177082748550&set=vb.632818549&type=2&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152177044773550&set=vb.632818549&type=2&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152177000978550&set=vb.632818549&type=2&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152176974988550&set=vb.632818549&type=2&theater

Remembering Rev. Wesley Shao

Today, family and friends gather to celebrate the life of Rev. Wesley Shao, who passed away two years ago in full age.  He served as our Senior Pastor at the United Evangelical Church of the Philippines, completing more than two decades of leadership.  After his retirement, he continued to served as Emeritus Pastor for another more than two decades of ministry before, he was finally called back to join our Creator.  

It was during the last stage of his leadership that I started to attend worship service in our church.  We still use to worship in the old sanctuary that is about to be demolished this April.  I can still remember his intensed and practical preaching, he was well sought after preacher during his time.  

Practical and popular lessons like "big problems make it into small problems, and small problems make it into no problem at all."  He is remembered as a person of few words but when he talks, people listen.  A true peacemaker and a man of prayer.  I heard that he keeps a small notebook and has a list of all the members of the church members, including their families who do not even come to church.  He prays for them daily.  It was only when I myself became a pastor and visited him one time, that I saw the notebook and my name was actually listed there.  I was indeed blessed with that visit because instead of me praying for him, he prayed for me even though he was sick during that time.  

My real close encounter with him; learning from his wisdom when I was in seminary, he taught pastoral ministry.  He was not able to finish teaching our course because of his health, but during the half semester, I learned from him important principles on church administration, evangelism and church must have the heart for missions.  These are  important areas a pastor actually needs to master.  He was very clear with the organizational set up of our church using it as a model on organization structure including a clear separation between the pastoral work and the work of the church leaders - how these must not be overlapped.  As for evangelism, he reminded us to use ever opportunity to share the gospel and give an altar call.  In missions, he taught us to be aggressive in mission work, especially allocating 10% of the weekly tithes for our mission fund.  

In his old age, he continued to go visitation until in his late 80s when age really has set in.  He became a role model and a champion for us pastors.  He would always reminds us that the caring of the flock must be given the highest importance.  

I am privelege to be the last pastor being ordained under his hands in 2009, while my younger brother also being ordained during that time under the hands of Rev. Shao's Associate Minister, Rev. Wesley Chang, both were in their mid 90s.  If my memory serves me right, six months later after our ordination, Rev. Wesley Chang passed away, and two years later, Rev. Wesley Shao passed away as well.  Both of them are now with the Lord, but their legacy and inspiration has move many to continue their faithful service to the Lord, which I am included.  

Rev. Wesley Shao has done so many other works including writing songs, books, even translating some English books to Chinese.  He also served as President at the Biblical Seminary of the Philippines and helped formed many organizations both local and abroad.  

So far, none has ever fitted the shoes he has worn, nor any has outdone his contributions in the ministry of the Lord among the local Filipino-Chinese pastors.  Still, may his legacy inspire us to do our best and hopefully by God's grace in God's time there would be more pastors who can at least leave the same legacy or even surpass the legacy he has left behind.  

To God Be All the Glory!  

Missing the Moments

Since childhood, my Christmas schedule is fully booked with parties and family reunions.  I never missed a Noche Buena and Media Noche with my maternal side of the family in Pasay City, later in San Juan, then transferred to Multinational Village.  And on January 1, we need to go for lunch with our paternal side of the family in the house of my Uncle Vicente.

Truly, when family leaders passed away, things change, from the continuous practice of reunions to diminishing and none.  Since Uncle Vicente died years ago, the tradition of meeting our clan has stopped.  I think it is now exclusively for their own family.  Yes, while it is true that family expands to families, and we have to respect that and their privacy.  I just missed those coming together  being a family for it brings a very different essence of closeness and belongingness.  

While the passing of my grandmother in the maternal side has the same effect.  Though we have stopped attending Noche Buena some years earlier before she passed away because of duties in church, our church has an annual cantata every Christmas eve.  But, still during those days, dinner is required to be attended and rush back to church duties.

I remember there was even a time in the late 90s (we did this for several years), where I use to cook Noche Buena for church members after the Christmas cantata. Young people and friends who does not have Noche Buena in their own respective houses, flock to my house to welcome the birth of Christ.   Some of us would rush back to my house after the cantata to prepare the food, and some will stay late afterwards to clean the dishes.   These were now only moments in the past.

It has been more than 5 years now, our family or my family, meaning my parents together with me has not celebrated any Noche Buena nor Media Noche.  It has become just another day like any regular day, where you sleep according to the time required.

Can this be a result of being single or age has really come upon me and my parents?  I have no family of my own, but we never actually celebrated our own Noche Buena nor Media Noche with the family of my siblings.  Maybe, we were just stingy a little bit and not willing to spend or it has become impractical due to commitments and distance.  :D

Last night, as I spend the time looking at those fireworks again for the nth time alone in my room, I suddenly felt of missing having my own family to celebrate such wonderful and important moments, as families throughout the globe come together to celebrate.  There was a sudden emptiness within me that calls my attention of wanting to be warmth.

The Tedious Task of Taking Care of Parents

I was awakened by my mom early 4 am this morning to help my dad get up, he fell again for the second time this month.  I was dumbfounded seeing my dad flying flat on the ground.  As I hurried to help him up, he was practically helpless and unable to move even though I managed to sit him up and single handedly raised him up to bed.  He practically lost all his strength.  I even thought he died already because he was not responding for almost ten minutes, as if I was pulling a dead body from the floor.  

Gladly, he responded a little and I was able to transfer him to his chair, where he sleeps.  After seeing him ok, I left to go back to bed.  But with a big pain at my back, also a sign of aging crawling up on me. 

This morning, as I prepare my dad's breakfast and help him eat (his whole body is aching because of the fall), I was thinking of hiring a caretaker for him, and here we go again, my mom who always can't get alone with any house help objected the idea.  Many times, it is really tedious and difficult to care for old people.  Both of them have their own respective weirdness.  

My mom would almost daily complain that she has a bad life, but I would answer back that life to be good or bad is actually in the hands of the person.  She could have enjoyed life for years but opted to live a bad life trying to make herself slave for all, which I personally don't appreciate.  All my life I have been a good son providing material, emotional stability for this family.  She is making herself a slave for all, which she never realized that such is only putting her children in a bad light for being perceived as bad children because she enjoys being pitied by people.  

Well, I have always did my best and has even sacrificed my personal life for them.  Me, remaining single is a result of the need to provide for the needs of my family.  Though through the day's experienced challenged me to think, 'how about me when I grow old?  Who will take care of me?'  I have used up my finances to provide for this family.  So, what will happen to me in the future? 

Sometimes, parents really need be practical and work hard and save for their future in order not to be a burden to their children.  I am not complaining about my situation but I do believe, I am not alone going through such tedious task of providing and caring for old parents.  Good thing, God has blessed me in my journey, though I really missed the train of having my own family.  

Still, I am hopeful in the coming days, I would meet the right girl to journey with me in the last leg of my life.

Nothing Compares to the Thumb Print of God

Today, my academic team had our first official meeting.  We went through 6 hours of marathon meeting trying to define the school, which practically defines what we like Life Academy to be.

We started to get to know one another followed by a prayer meeting, then, vision casting by representatives of the board and put those ideas into writings using "educational language."  

Amazingly, with the active participation of the team members, we were able to write the mission and vision statements of the school, define our graduates attributes and verbalize our educational philosophy.  We also threshed out some academic work and assignments, went for a school facility tour, individual consultation, and even partial review of curriculum.  I also had interviews with two pairs of parents applying for their kids education with our institution.  

Summing up today's work in two words would be "amazingly productive."  What was supposed to be an at least three months of discussion and processing, ended up in 6 hours with everyone fully satisfied with all of our meeting outputs, which allowed us to have a clear direction for the coming days.  

Truly, today is another day of miracle as we see the thumb print of God in the result of our meeting.  To God be all the glory!

LIFE Academy 

Mission: We are a global innovative learning institution that partners with families in providing transformative education to help build holistically developed Christ-like influencers.

Vision: Through global innovative education, we envision our learners to be wise, holistically developed Christ-like servant leaders who love God and others with a commitment to make a positive difference in the world.

Blessing Upon Blessing!

The Lord truly blesses His people.  I have never thought I would be changing gadgets successively this month.  For the past years, it has been my practice that I would give myself a birthday gift and a Christmas gift.  So, it takes time to really save some money for my personal gift.

This practice of giving myself gifts started when I was still a teenager, when a counselor told me that money earned and placed in a bank is not yours, but the bank's.  Unless you enjoy part of your hard earned money, they are not yours.  This principle is simple, in order for you to say that the money you earned is yours, you need to spend some for yourself.

Looking at many people trying to save money and depriving themselves with the material blessings God has given them has made me think this philosophy or principle.  I was convinced that this is really true.  In order for me to proudly say that this is my hard earned money, I have to spend some of it for myself and not just put everything in savings for the rainy day.

I have witnessed people who died of starvation only to find out that the person has save hundreds of thousands of pesos under her bed.   I also remembered one time my mom was complaining that she is spending much of her SSS retirement money.  And I have to remind her that she has indeed retired, and such money was supposedly be spend for that purpose.

Some might look at this principle too much, but again, money saved in bank can also connote that money is controlling you.  While money spend wisely for some personal pleasure is you controlling money.

As my iPhone 4 starts to become very slow, I was forced to replace it with a new one, with Pavs convincing me to go for the Globe iPhone Forever Plan.  After being convince to take such, I tried the whole month going from Globe branch to branch but there were no stocks available.  Finally, December 24, I thought that there would be lesser people in Manila, and indeed, I was able to get one.

And comes today, my new MacBook Pro arrives to replace my old MacBook Pro who served with me for the past 4 ½ years of ministry.  

I praise God for new gadgets, I believe God would use these gadgets again for my ministry especially to establish communications with my flock as well as make my work more productive in many ways.

This is truly blessings upon blessings... Thank you Lord for your continues blessings!

Not God

Church leaders should actually be good spiritual leaders.  They are men who Christians look up to, seek guidance and respect their God given authority over the church.  But, we also need to understand and be reminded that it is not necessarily that whatever they want or say is already equivalent to God's will or what God wants.  Spiritual leaders are only human leaders and not God Himself. 

As believers of God, it is our personal responsibility to discern the will of God in our lives, and not just rely on counsel of godly men. Knowing the will of God is the result of our relationship with Him.  

Therefore, church leaders can affirm or confirm God's will through their counsel, but to solely seek God's will through counsel of spiritual leaders is definitely a NO!  We cannot put such important responsibility of seeking God's will in the hands of people, especially if it involves personal decisions, directions in life and our service for the Lord.  

When we looked at the Bible, there were times when God allowed lying spirits to be on the mouths of Israel's prophets to deceive and punish disobedient leaders.  In the same way in our generation, there would be times our discerning of God's will might not conform with the opinion of godly spiritual leaders.  

Therefore, it is better to put our relationship with God first, and discern the will of God rather just being lazy and just rely on the council of our spiritual leaders.  These leaders can be good spiritual leaders but still, they are not God.