Remember a missionary this Christmas

Missionary Christmas

Christmas was special when he was a child,
food and presents and carols and smiles.

Tree decorating was great family fun,
and cold nights by the fire watching old reruns.

But then one day God spoke to his heart,
and he gave up his culture to make a new start.

Now taking the Gospel to far off lands,
his Christmas is different than what he had planned.

The weather is sticky, with stench in the air,
the needs that surround him are terrible to bear.

Instead of carols and Christmas bells,
he hears chanting and the casting of spells.

The childhood dream of Christmas in the snow,
was left at the altar when he decided to go.

If only the ones who he left behind,
would remember his face during this special time.

And send him a note, or a word of thanks
or maybe even something he could put in the bank.

Then Christmas would not be so tough this year
and even for the missionary it would “good cheer.”

©Wayne Dillard 2004
www.prayercentral.net

“Is the Lord going to use in a great way? Quite probably. Is He going to prepare you as you expect? Probably not. And if you’re not careful, you will look at the trials, the tests, the sudden interruptions, the disappointments, the sadness, the lost jobs, the failed opportunities, the broken moments, and you will think, He’s through with me, He’s finished with me, when in fact, He is equipping you.”

(The Mystery of God’s Will, by Chuck Swindoll)

Silver Jubilee Homecoming of the Quezon City Science High School

Batch ‘84 of the Quezon City Science High School will be celebrating its Silver Jubilee Homecoming on September 12, 2009, 6 pm at the school grounds.

QCSHS is the Science High School for Quezon City, and the Regional Science High School for the National Capital Region (RSHS-NCR). QCSHS is located at Golden Acres Rd., cor. Misamis St., Bago Bantay, Quezon City, Philippines. Founded in 1967, it was appointed as the Regional Science High School for the National Capital Region in 1998.

QCSHS has two school publications: The Electron, and Banyuhay. It holds the District Press Conference championship title for the 14th consecutive year; the school also joins in the Division and Regional Press Conferences, the Teodoro Valencia Awards, and the YMCA Search for the Young Campus Journalists(2007-2008). Also, the school sends delegates to the National Schools Press Conference.

I had the privilege of being the Electron and Banyuhay adviser in 1983-84.

Video: How to create a blog for your school organization or for yourself

A blog is a free, easy to use form of a website, capable of posting pictures, videos and text. As of May 2008, according to Technorati (a popular blog search engine) there were more than 112.8 million blogs. You can use a blog for posting pictures and articles of your school organization events, announcements, etc.

To learn more about how to create a blog for your school organization or for yourself, please view the YouTube video below.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Free photos for Christian publications

ChristianPhotos.net is a leap of faith. Everything is free - you can download high resolution stock photography for Christian purposes without having to pay anything - expenses are covered by donations and ads. The photos can be used freely in Christian advertisements, program booklets, bulletins, invitations, newsletters, religious education materials, flyers, posters and any other project for which photos are needed. The vision of ChristianPhotos.net is simple: it wants to help churches to publish better material for spreading the word of Gospel. You can also submit your own photos.

Photo categories include Religious, People, Animals, Scenery, Plants, Macro, Artistic, Objects, and Uncategorized.

Apply now for a free account.

Creative writing: Picture no. 18 series Clouds and nostalgia

These two pictures show the athletic oval and the Main Building of Rizal High School, Pasig City, Metro Manila.

In the 1990’s the Guinness Book of World Records credited the school as the largest high school in the world, with its enrollment reaching a high of 26,000 students at one point in time.

I took the sepia-toned picture in 1995 and the colored picture in 1996. If you are a beginning photographer wondering how you can get great cloud shots, you can simply fit a filter (polarizing or graduated) on the lens of your single lens reflex camera.

Way back in 1969, I was a first year student in Rizal High School. Back then it was better known as the Rizal Provincial High School. Anyway, what I remember most about those youthful days was the Field Demonstration held annually in the oval. The most popular song in the Philippines at that time was Joni Mitchell’s song “Both Sides Now.” Some of you may be familiar with the famous lines from that song:

Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere, I’ve looked at clouds that way.
But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone.
So many things I would have done but clouds got in my way.

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall.
I really don’t know clouds at all.

I don't know about you but for me, sepia-toned or black and white pictures can evoke nostalgia better than colored pictures. Posted below are some quotations about nostalgia:

Owens Lee Pomeroy: “Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect!”

Author Unknown: “People seem to get nostalgic about a lot of things they weren't so crazy about the first time around.”

Bill Vaughn: It’s never safe to be nostalgic about something until you're absolutely certain there's no chance of its coming back.

Florence King: “True nostalgia is an ephemeral composition of disjointed memories.”

Lou Reed: “I don't like nostalgia unless it's mine.”

Ted Koppel: “It becomes increasingly easy, as you get older, to drown in nostalgia.”

Doug Larson: “Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.”

Will Rogers: “Things ain't what they used to be and probably never was.”

And the bride wore white ... Seven secrets of sexual purity

Note: I first posted this article December 10, 2007 in my Salt and Light blog. I am reprinting it here to include the results of the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study conducted by the UP Population Institute and in view of the raging controversy over HB 3773 or the “Integrated Reproductive Health and Population Reduction Bill”. Please surf to the PRO-Life Philippines website for its critique of HB 3773.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Statistics on teenage pregnancies and sexual experiences

Dr. James Dobson, I think, said that a million teenagers in the US get pregnant every year. In the Philippines, according to the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey, one out of four women become mothers by age 19 while four out of 10 women in the 20-24-year-old bracket have already engaged in sexual activity.

The 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS 3) conducted by the UP Population Institute and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, Inc. revealed the following alarming statistics:

[1] Twenty-three percent of youth have engaged in premarital sex. A considerable number of sexually-active youth have had multiple partners, with almost half of the males (49%) and 11% of the females reporting more than one sex partner. One in five of the sexually-active males had paid for sex while 12% had accepted payment for sex. Prevalence of commercial sex is negligible among females, with less than one percent of the girls having paid or been paid for sex.

Over time, there has been an increase in the proportion of sexually active youth in the country, from 18 percent (among those aged 15-24) in 1994 to 23 percent in 2002. The age of first sex is also getting younger. Based on the 2002 survey, 1.2 percent of both young males and females have already engaged in sex before they turn 13 years old. Before reaching 18 however, the probability of engaging in sex increased sharply for males (28 percent) while 12 percent would have done so among females.

Previous analyses conducted by the UP Population Institute on the sexual behavior of Filipino youth have highlighted the increasing influence of peers on young people's decision whether or not to engage in sex. Peers have also been cited as important source of information regarding sex and reproductive health matters, along with the media.

[2] While nearly all (95%) young adults have heard of HIV/AIDS, 73% believe there is no chance of them getting HIV/AIDS.

[3] The percentage of young adults who think that AIDS is curable more than doubled between 1994 and 2002. In 1994, only 12.5% thought that there was a cure to HIV/AIDS. This increased to 28% in 2002.

[4] More males than females are familiar with sexually-transmitted diseases (70% vs. 63%) although males are more likely to think that AIDS is curable (30% for males vs. 26% for females).

[5] Thirty two per cent of Filipino teenagers (15-19 years old) knew that their single female friends are sexually active while 38 percent said that their single male friends have already engaged in sex. This interesting information provides yet another clue on the extent of sexual activity among Filipino teenagers.

In addition, their report on their friends' sexual activity also shows some degree of awareness on the possible consequences of sexual activity. They said that half of their female friends who have engaged in premarital sex got pregnant. Of this proportion, 4 out of 5 pushed through with the pregnancy and slightly more than half of those who went through with the pregnancy eventually married the father of their kids.

Among their unmarried male friends on the other hand, 4 in 10 claimed that their friends got somebody pregnant. Out of this number, 2 in 5 ended up marrying the mother of their kids.

On a more personal note, I have known of incidents involving unwed pregnancies and premarital sexual activities involving pastors’ kids and teenagers who grew up in church. One pastor asked me if he could solemnize a marriage between members of his church (both minors), the girl having gotten pregnant. I informed him that under the Family Code, no person below 18 can get married, even with parental consent. One pastor in Cavite who has become frustrated by what was happening to the young people in his church once asked me what to do.

I strongly support sexual abstinence and purity programs such as True Love Waits and Silver Ring Thing. One author I highly recommend to you (whether you are a mother or father, a teenager, a pastor or youth director) is Dannah Gresh.

Resources on sexual purity before and during marriage by Dannah Gresh

Dannah’s websites are www.purefreedom.org, www.secretkeepergirl.com and www.dannahgresh.com. Her books on sexual purity before and during marriage are “And the Bride Wore White”, “Pursuing the Pearl”, and “Secret Keeper Girl”.

November 2006, I gave a lecture for the BMP-HELP pastors conference in Tagaytay City. Rushing home to Manila in the afternoon, I got to OMF Lit Bookstore in Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong just before 5 PM. From the love gift given to me by the pastors, I was able to buy at nearly seven hundred pesos the very last copy of “And the Bride Wore White”. March 2007, I gave this book as a graduation gift to the love of my life. She is the second most beautiful woman in the universe. Who is the most beautiful woman in the universe, you ask? Well, who else but movie actress Angel Locsin!

In the Purefreedom website, Dannah and her husband Bob, explain what their ministry to young men and women is all about:

It is the mission of Pure Freedom to equip men and women of all ages to live a vibrant life of purity, to experience healing from past impurity if it exists in their lives, and to experience a vibrant, passionate marriage which portrays the love Christ has for his Bride the church.(Ministry verse: Ephesians 5:31,32)

Pure Freedom provides resources with radically-unique approaches to focus on specific issues that teen girls and/or guys face in the area of purity and holiness. Our events, the hallmark of our ministry, are about sexual purity and yet they are much more about the totality of a life submitted to the will of God in a quest to enjoy the blessings of His plan.

We believe that the temptation to fail sexually comes in different forms for girls and for boys. We also believe that they will one day enjoy God's gift of sex within the confines of marriage for different reasons. Whereas the girls are primarily emotionally driven, the guys are primarily driven by sight. Because of this dichotomy, it is vital that we educate them separately and emphasize different areas of temptation.

In their seminars for young men and women, Dannah and Bob have expounded on the Bible’s principles on sexual purity through their discussion of the Hebrew word "yada". In their website, they explain that "yada" is used to both refer to holy sexuality as in that between Adam and Eve AND to refer to the holy knowing that a man can know with God. It speaks of the emotional and spiritual nature of a relationship.

Seven secrets to sexual purity

Dannah, in her book “And the Bride Wore White”, discusses the following secrets to maintaining sexual purity:

[1] Purity is a process.
[2] Purity dreams of its future.
[3] Purity is governed by its value.
[4] Purity speaks boldly.
[5] Purity loves its Creator at any cost.
[6] Purity embraces wise guidance.
[7] Purity watches burning flames.

Dannah does not simply discuss things at a theoretical level. One of the very practical tips she gives in her book on how teenagers can stay sexually pure is to "stay public and stay vertical."

The quest for a pure, passionate marriage

The second book by Dannah Gresh which I have read is “Pursuing the Pearl” (it was a gift from Bro. David Witta and his family from Massachusetts, USA). In this book, she discusses what she calls “The Enemy’s Fake Pearls” which are [1] status and stuff; [2] social acceptance; [3] giving up and starting over; [4] pride and dreams.

Locally, this book costs around four hundred pesos. That is quite steep, but what Dannah says in page pages 62 and 63 are worth the price of the book. She warns her readers, “Sexual impurity is a zero tolerance arena. You are on shaky ground if there are emotional bonds being created between you and another man (or your husband and another woman).” Dannah explains that these bonds begin with little things like:

• Innocently having lunch alone with a man


• Seeking advice from a man about personal issues, especially marital issues


• Seeking or accepting frequent praise or affirmation from the same man


• Being or becoming comfortable with being alone in an office or a home together


• Intentionally seeking out time to be with this man


• Manipulating your schedule to see him


• Spending time fantasizing about him

If you are parents concerned about your teenage kids and their sexual purity, a pastor or youth leader seeking to help your youth group, or a man or woman thinking of the best Christmas gift to give the love of your life, consider giving them any of Dannah Gresh’s books.

The only book by Dannah Gresh I haven’t read yet is “Secret Keeper Girl.” Two problems. One, as far as I know, there are no copies of this book locally. Two, even if it were available, how do I go about buying the book? Hey, I am a guy and I’m thinking, what would the store clerks say if I bought a copy of this book?

Creative writing: Picture no. 17 Serendipity

I took this picture way back 1991 or 1992. After a lunchtime siesta, I got up, went out of my room and then I saw these stuffed toys just hanging around. I got my beloved Canon AE-1 program camera with an FD 50 mm f/1.8 lens.

I centered the stuffed toys in the viewfinder and filled the frame (this is a basic technique in photography).

I’m sure the girls among you will agree with me that this picture is probably the cutest picture in the history of photography!

Creative writing: Picture no. 16 The toys and joys of childhood

Eugene Field (September 2, 1850 - November 4, 1895) was an American writer best known for writing poetry for children and humorous essays. Some of you might have come across his melancholy poem “Little Boy Blue” with such lines as:

The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and staunch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And his musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

“Now, don't you go till I come,” he said,
“And don't you make any noise!”
So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,
He dreamt of the pretty toys;
And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue---
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true!

I took the picture above in the early 1990’s. I used Kodak T-Max black and white film (if I remember correctly) and my beloved Canon AE-1 Program camera with a Vivitar 28-210 mm zoom lens. I first saw the rusted cans of baby milk products, but I felt that something was missing. I looked around the area, and then I saw an old rubber doll that my nephew (five years old at the time) had discarded. I placed the rubber doll in one of the cans and then I shot this picture.

Free online resources on creative and journalistic writing for teachers and students

WritingFix is a global resource for Writing teachers and students with hundreds of free interactive writing prompts, lessons and quality resources for classrooms where writing is taught, not just assigned.

Some of the interactive writing prompts are:

Daily Writing Prompts
Interactive Writing Prompts for K-6th Grade
Right-Brained Writing Prompts using serendipity and creativity to launch a piece of writing
Left-Brained writing prompts
Writing Lesson of the Month Network for teachers around the world