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LEARNING LIFE

THRU EARLY MUSIC

EXPERIENCE

Abigail Halili Pionso

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A

child receives messages as early as when he

is inside his mother's womb. Love, concern,

happiness, rejection and even music

appreciation can be transmitted into his

being.

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W

e have often been told that a child's interest in

music starts when he is allowed to listen to

songs, watch concerts, operas and musical

plays. These are essential to a child's musical

development, but I believe that training is still

the best gift parents can give to their children.

Early training in Music helps the child deepen

his expression and brighten his disposition.

I started singing at the age of four. My Mama

was my first teacher. Although She had no

formal Music training, she taught my two sisters

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and me her favorite songs. "Ako'y Basang

Sisiw" was one of the first songs I learned from

her. It speaks of a child who was separated

from her mother, and was left in the streets

feeling cold, with nobody taking care of her. It

was through the story behind the song and

from my Mama’s explanation that my

awareness of life began. I became aware of

other children who lives in the streets without

parents to keep them warm and secure.

Music is a powerful tool in educating people. It

can convey countless different messages. The

melody alone whether fast, moderate or slow

can suggest what emotions we should feel.

Music becomes more powerful when we put

words in it. It can speak about God's love for

us, for His creation and for our country, or

about love that a man and woman feel for each

other. It can also be used to pollute people's

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minds and spirit. Parents should therefore be

careful in choosing songs for their children.

Exposing children to songs that have Christian

and moral values will have great impact in the

child's life.

Growing up in a Christian home and singing

songs for the Lord helped me decide to take

Music as a ministry and a career. But as I grew

older, I realized that Music is more of a ministry

than a career.

Working and ministering to children is not easy.

It means train­ing them to sing the right way,

checking their phrasings and breathings,

explaining to them the message of the song as

well as its characteristics and background, and

making sure that they understand all these well.

Most of the time, I lead my students to

imagining and play roles to let them feel the

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song and be effective in their singing. It is also

important to listen to the student’s questions

and allow him to tell his own stories.

Sometimes we adults take these for granted,

but they are very important to children.

Each day with a student is a new experience for

me. One example is my learning experience

with Joy, my 8-year old student. We always had

a rich interaction. While studying a song from a

musical play "Les Miserable," I was explaining

to her the character of a little girl name Cosette.

Cosette was separated from her mother and

was left to work in a Tavern for a couple who

didn’t treat her well. She found peace and

safety every time she thought about her "Castle

on a Cloud" where there was room full of toys,

no floors for her to sweep, nobody shouting,

and where loud crying was not allowed. But

what made her really feel good was lady in

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white, who held her and sing her a lullaby and

would say, "Cosette, I love you very much."

After I told this story to Joy, she looked at me

and said with tears, "Teacher, kawawa naman

si Cosette." And when she sang "Castle on a

Cloud" in our recital, she was in Cosette's

character and was very effective. I looked at

Joy's teary eyes again in that recital the same

eyes I saw when we learned the Song. After

more than a year, Joy still remembers the song

and she just loves telling it story over and over

again to her parents and friends.

Rubs, as I fondly call her is 12 years old. She is

one of the two very talented daughters of the

late Juliet Ramo Valente, a well-renown pianist

and Pasay City Alliance Church Music Minis­ter.

Rubilee plays the piano well and is also a gifted

singer. Whenever she sings I ask her to tell me

about the songs we have learned together, and

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she always does. For our voice recital, I chose

"Great is Thy Faithfulness" (an adaptation by

Gary Grana­da) for her to sing.

During that recital she learned that her mother

was dying of cancer after so many months of

prayer. She sang the hymn so beautifully that

night. She sang it again in her Mom’s wake.

Three months from that day, she again sang it in

the Necrological Service for her father who died

of heart attack I never heard her sing "Great is

Thy Faithfulness" song with all her heart, --

pouring all that was within her. I cried when

she sang the second verse,

"Pardon for sin and a peace that

endureth Thine own dear presence, to

cheer and to guides-Strength for today,

and bright hope for tomorrow Blessings

all mine with countless beside."

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Through this song, Rubs, a young innocent child

felt God's affir­mation of His love and His

promises that she together with her sister and

younger brother can hold on to.

The rewarding experience I get in teaching and

working with children is something that I won't

exchange for anything. Seeing the joy, love,

trust, contentment, composure in the midst of

pains and difficulties through the children's eyes

is a blessing from the Lord. These are little

things that we adults miss in. our interactions.

RB is eight years old and a Pastor's kid. One day

while we are having our lesson, his mother

excused herself from being with us during the

session to pick up her other son from school.

As RB and I were doing the vocal exercise, he

stopped and said "Teacher umuulan." I looked

out and said "00 nga,” and went back to playing

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the piano. RB became restless, and said

"Teacher, and Mommy ko, kawawa naman siya.

Baka mabasa siya, wala siyang payong." I

didn’t know how to respond to him then. He

was uneasy, and could not concentrate. I

prayed, "Lord, what must I do in times like this?

How do I explain that the rain comes and goes

and should not bother us in the things we do?"

I stopped for a while, then RB said "Teacher,

pag-pray natin and Mommy ko, na sana huwag

siyang magkasakit dahil mababasa siya, at sana

makasakay siya kaagad." I was amazed at the

depth of this 8-year old boys love and concern

for his Mother. It so charac­teristic of a child's

unpretentious concern, the kind Jesus wants us

to show in our dealings with one another^ As.

we prayed to­gether, I thanked the Lord for the

daily privilege of learning from little children

about Jesus' love and about life itself.

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ABIGAIL PARADA HALILI PIONSO

Sequel to this article+ There are other lessons I have learned from my

learners as a voice instructor and voice coach

through the years. I am now married to a

musician himself, and a mother to an amazing

child. Her name is Renee Dominique. This is

her story

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Outline:

A musician from my womb She can make music before she can

speak A drummer A conductor

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A composer A concert performer (Can’t be stopped from crushing the stage) Wants to be a Ballet (shoes)

Latest suggestion; Write the book with Ding and Renee who is also a gifted writer with graphics décor by Renee and Euan.

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Reflections from Grandpa Rey Halili

WONDER IS ONE GIFT WORTH

RECOVERING.

The wonder of it all is I

rediscovered its magic in

a 3 year old child, my

Apo, Renee Dominique

Halili Pionso. Her favorite

expression, "WOW!"

Renee is a facinating child. She gobbles new

learning as fast as she can talk fluent

English when she was 3 years old. One time

we ate in the canteen of ABS-CBN while

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waiting for her parents did some

recordings. When the food was served in

the table, she raised her hands in

amazement at the many kinds of food

served, she shouted, "Wow, thank you!"

Like perhaps any normal child she is very

inquisitive. She would listen with the look of

amazement and almost always greet your

explanation with "wow!" I surmise that she

discovered more about things that interest

her by wondering.

Wonderment is magical. Wonder is "a rapt

attention or astonishment at something

awesomely mysterious or new to one's

experience." Its a gift any child of 3 or 60

should not lose. A person who has the gift

of wonder anticipates good surprises. That

is why he believes that no failure is fatal

and that some successes that comes is

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never final.

Our lives as adults could lose our sense of

wonder. It could extinquish the fire and

"wildness" inside us. Our minds could

become to quick to reduce events into a

simplified formula of "wala lang."

Excitement could dry up in the heat of the

noonday - and easily the rut of boredom

could engulf us. Passivity would rule our

days.

How do we recapture wonderment, (Let

me listen to you, please share your

thoughts. Then I will come back with the

sequel) In the meantime, observed your

children and or people around you if you

can spot those who have this gift.

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WONDER IS ONE GIFT WORTH

RECOVERING. The wonder of it all is I

rediscovered its magic in a 3 year old child,

my Apo, Renee Dominique Halili Pionso. Her

favorite expression, "WOW!"

Renee is a facinating child. She gobbles new

learning as fast as she can talk fluent

English when she was 3 years old. One time

we ate in the canteen of ABS-CBN while

waiting for her parents did some

recordings. When the food was served in

the table, she raised her hands in

amazement at the many kinds of food

served, she shouted, "Wow, thank you!"

Like perhaps any normal child she is very

inquisitive. She would listen with the look of

amazement and almost always greet your

explanation with "wow!" I surmise that she

discovered more about things that interest

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her by wondering.

Wonderment is magical. Wonder is "a rapt

attention or astonishment at something

awesomely mysterious or new to one's

experience." Its a gift any child of 3 or 60

should not lose. A person who has the gift

of wonder anticipates good surprises. That

is why he believes that no failure is fatal

and that some successes that comes is

never final.

Our lives as adults could lose our sense of

wonder. It could extinquish the fire and

"wildness" inside us. Our minds could

become to quick to reduce events into a

simplified formula of "wala lang."

Excitement could dry up in the heat of the

noonday - and easily the rut of boredom

could engulf us. Passivity would rule our

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days.

Learning About

Death's Sayang, and Magic

From a Child

Several days ago, my daughter Kaye

received a text message from Abeg & Ding

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at almost midnight. Renee Dominique,

their 4 years old daughter, was mumbling

words in sleep like “sayang”,

“evaporation,” “magic”. What could that

be? Kaye replied that the words must be

“evaporation”, a term Renee learned in

the dental clinic w/ Kaye. The next

morning the curious parents ask her “what

is evaporation?” Renee said, its “sayang”,

it disappears, it’s magic! Evaporation was

explained to her by getting her hands and

putting a bit of alcohol, which after a while

disappeared. So she the saying, but she

did not missed to say magic.

Sayang is a word that came to me when I

heard that Mario passed away. Mario as

you knows for two years is in deep stupor,

one degree less than comatose. Alice is

hoping that she can bring Mario to

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the US for treatment. We are hoping that

the money that we await will soon

come. Sayang, it seems, the hope is dash. I

look forward to again play Chess w/ Mario

or have lively discussions on the many

issues, Bible and business and other

contemporary topic. We have the same

mother. The first time I saw Mario was

when he is five years old when I visited my

mother and her family. Immediately, we

liked each other. I was 6 years older, we

run around the house, I put him in the

rocking chair and raced. It was a difficult

parting at the end of the day, I together w/

my sister, left the house w/ a broken heart

leaving Mario, Sally and Hermie and a

broken rocking chair. Several years later,

when my father died, my stepmother

acceded to release Elvie, my younger sister

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and I to my mother to live with her

husband, two other sisters, Hermie and

Sally and Mario. My stepfather, Mario’s

father is a former councilor, vice mayor

and mayor of the city.

Mario is my only brother and we shared

the same room till I got married and

moved out of the house. We share a lot

when we were growing; run around the

house, the yard and the roof, at one time

he fell from the garage roof as we were

playing soldiery. He got a scar to mark

such adventure together. He most often

would beat me in chess, and other card

games. I beat him in billiard, basketball

and other games that I can make manage

to daya.

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After, I came to know the Lord when I was

in college, he too followed Christ. We pray

together evenings in our room. We share

family burdens, soon we saw, our mother

coming to Christ, my sister, and even my

stepfather. We share books, debated on

many things under the sun. He study his

Bible seriously as he serve the Lord and the

church w/ full dedication. He graduated

at MIT took the board w/ good grades. He

took his work seriously and climbed the

corporate ladder very quickly.

Sayang, at age 55, Mario can still do a lot

of things. There were many dreams, many

concerns he wish to pursue not only for

himself and family but for other. In the

mind of a four years old, His Lolo Mario is

gone, evaporated, disappear. But Renee

has other word for evaporation as she saw

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and feel the alcohol on her hands being

spirited away; she said “magic.” If we will

join her world of fantasy, there is no loss in

the death of a Christian, but merely a

transformation, or a translation from this

world of fast fleeting time-bound change,

decay to a new world of incorruptible and

eternal joy in the presence of God.

I pray that the magic will not disappear in

our lives, touch by Mario. Two years is not

sayang. It is not lost. To me it seems

magic, in the parlance of a child. It is

actually a miracle. It is beyond

comprehension! What we have is that we

all are a part of this miracle. We have

witness the seemingly lifeless form of a

man gasping for dear breath. We have

seen the concrete form of a hope so frail,

yet it cannot be killed. We have seen the

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gallantry and courage of a wife and

children hanging on for what ever thin

threads that remain for the survival of

their love one. It is a picture of “ the song

in Joseph movie produced by Dreamworks

“though hope is frailed, it cannot be killed”

We have in past two years saw the courage

of a wife, a son, 3 daughters valiantly

hanging on to the faith of the Lord Jesus

who said I will be with you.

We are part of the larger Christian

community that prays and support in many

creative forms a brother. It was

no sayang that the multi-faceted face of

love and grace shows itself in these two

years. Mario is gone, evaporated, but the

magic stays, the miracle of a life touch by

God, will continue to touch us and remind

us that the darkest of nights cannot dispel

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hope, faith, and love. That there is magic

in sufferings and sacrifices. That indeed,

Christ will never leave us nor forsake us-

not in any circumstances. That like Mildred

Kreager, 1961, said, “I stand breathless

before each new day, glad for the

increasing realizations of the unfailing

grace of God.”

Eulogy by Rey Halili in

the wake of his half

brother, Mario Milan,

who had a stroke and

was in semi comatose,

he only regain

consciousness after 2

years in the presence of his Master and Lord,

Jesus Christ.

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reyhalili wrote on May 23, '07

Like what we tell our kids, there are only two

things we can give them, roots and wings. Roots

that established their values and beliefs,

examples and training on the basic things of life,

and wings that give them the freedom to surge

and fly into their vision, dreams and aspiration.

Praise the Lord, He is our helper in leaving a

legacy for our youth and supporting their

dreams.

reyhalili wrote on May 15, '07

Those who are too afraid or timid about the ups

and downs in the roller coaster ride, won't get

in and ultimately missed the thrill of trusting,

and understanding faith.

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Your Children & Grandchildren

Link:http://www.mayyoubeblessedmovie.

com

As we appropriate God's all-encompassing

blessings and promises into our own lives

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and learn to claim them for ourselves, it is

now our responsibility to pass them on to

our children and grandchildren.

If you are a parent or grandparent and a

member of the family of God through faith

in the blood of Jesus Christ, you have

spiritual authority over your household.

You have authority and power to speak

blessings into the lives of your children and

grandchildren.

Your words of blessing are energized by

the power of God when you speak them.

When you speak what God wills you to

speak, your children's and grandchildren's

lives begin to change. Their lives begin to

conform to your words, so be careful how

you bless them and always be positive.

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Remember, once the blessings are spoken,

they cannot be stopped or thwarted by

man or by the powers of darkness. (See

the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 27.)

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself provides the

best example of how to bless our children.

When several parents brought their

children to Jesus for Him to "touch them,"

He "took them up in His arms, put His

hands upon them, and blessed them"

(Mark 10:13,16).

The New Testament speaks much of the

"laying on of hands" when a special gift or

anointing is being given to someone. I

believe it is important, whenever possible,

h) touch your child with gentleness and

tenderness as you impart your words of

blessing.

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Sample Blessing for Parents and

Grandparents

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His countenance upon you and give you peace." You have been chosen to be His own possession. He is God, the faithful One, who keep His covenant and His loving kindness to a thousand generations of those who love Him an obey His commandments. The Lord will keep His covenant of love with you for you are holy to the Lord your God. Let all these blessings that you speak by faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ rest cn the heads of your beloved children and grandchildren now and for the rest of their lives. Numbers 6:24-26 • Deuteronomy 7:6-9

Our Heavenly Father has provided a

marvelous inheritance for His children. He

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has given us all things that pertain to life

and godliness: physical, spiritual, material,

and personal. Nothing has been omitted to

help us have everything we need for a

truly good life. He even promises to share

with us His own glory and goodness. (See 2

Peter 1:3,4.)

(Taken from The Larry Lea "Could You Not

Tarry One Hour" Prayer Diary.) Courtesy of

Ted Amper

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Remembering the past in all its glories

strengthens us each day, as we struggle to

fight the idols of our hearts, and enthrone

Christ as we reach out for the hopes of our

tomorrow.

‘Let's start from the very beginning’

We, nowadays are often advised to “start

with the end in mind.” Let our purpose

drives us and directs our battles. I am

delighted to hear my 3 year old “apo”,

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Renee Dominique, sings Julie Andrews'

Broadway musical, “Let us start from the

very beginning. A very good place to start,

when you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi. .

.” I would likewise like to begin for a

change with our passion as the starting

point of casting our vision.

Vision, after all is a product of our

spiritual passion. Our inner drive that

makes us to dream dreams and create

“miracles” not otherwise possible. Think of

the many beautiful and creative invention

and achievements of man. Think and

reflect again on the nature of your

organization. Your vision and mission

statement. The missing ingredient towards

attainment in all your quest could be the

absence of a spiritual passion.

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Passionate spirituality is where it all

starts. However, in the heat of the noon

tide heat and the weariness and attrition

of the day-to-day struggle, the flame of

passionate spirituality can be diminished

or extinguished. The discipline

of passionate spirituality need to be more

than intentional - though that is an

excellent place to start.

Our passion triggers the many good things

in us. It helps us to face ourselves, our

identity, the inner prompting and

aspirations and at the same time recognize

our realities and urgent priorities. For a

restart, I have come across a prescription

Recapturing Our Spiritual Passion

1. Renew spiritual and emotional reserves,

through observing Sabbath times

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and personal retreats - half-day or longer

on a regular basis.

2. Make intentional decisions which reflect

the Lordship of Christ. Choose God’s

priorities in your time schedule. Learn to

say “no.”

3. Cultivate spouse and family relationships.

Enlarge your circle of people caring for

others.

4. Maintain physical health through diet, rest

and exercise.

5. Respond in immediate obedience to the

prompting of the Spirit - however small.

6. Develop mentoring relationships. Pray for

and find a spiritual mentor to meet with on

a regular basis. Or enter into an

accountability relationship or group.

7. Nurture the fruit of the Spirit despite your

circumstances.

8. Discover and use the gifts God has given

you.

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ANNIE, wrote:

This Mothers' Day, I told the Lord how bored I am at this phase of my life. The next day, I received a call from Ding, my son-in-law, that I was chosen from amongs many to model for a health company brouchure. It is not a big thing maybe to others, but for me, I felt the Lord is telling me that, He is

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not done with me yet. There are more exciting things for a wife, a mother, and a granny in stored for me yet. I felt that the Lord kissed me and said, "Happy Mothers' Day, Annie, I never forget." (See other photos in that section)

. . . ganito ang sabi Yahweh:

“huwag kang matatakot, ililigtas kita,

Tinawag kita sa iyong pangalan.

Ikaw ay akin. Pag ikaw ay daraan,

Sa karagatan, sasamahan kita;

Hindi ka madadaig ng mga suliranin.

Dumaan ka man sa apoy, Di ka maaano.

Hindi ka maibubuwal Ng mabibigat na

pagsubok.

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Sapagkat akong si Yahweh and iyong Diyos.

. ."

Isaias 43:1-3ª

"Kayo’y inaruga ko mula sa inyong

pagsilang.

Ako and inyong Diyos. Iingatan ko kayo

Hanggang sa pumuti and inyong buhok

At kayo’y tumanda.

Isaias 46:3b-4a

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Lord, Thou knows better than I know myself

that I'm growing older and will someday be

old. Keep me from the fateful habit of

thinking that I must say something on every

subject and on every question, and release

me from the craving to straighten out

everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but

not moody, helpful but not bossy.

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Thou knows, Lord» that with my vast store

of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all,

but Thou knows too. Lord, that at the end

of life I may want a few friends around.

Keep my mind free from the recitals of

endless details and give me wings to get to

the point. Seal my lips on my own aches

and pains. They are increasing and love of

rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as

the years go by.

Thou knows that I dare not ask for grace

enough to enjoy tales of others' pains, but

help me to endure them with patience. I

dare not ask for improved memory, but for

a growing humility and a lessening

cocksure-ness when my memory seems to

clash with the memories of others.

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Teach me, too. Lord, the glorious lesson

that occasionally I may be wrong. Keep me

reasonably sweet. ... Thou knows that a

sour old person is one of the crowning

works of the devil. Give me the ability to

see good things in unexpected places and

talent in unexpected people and give me.

Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen.

Adapted Author Unknown

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Miraculous Interventions

▪ Lora, our second child when, she was

about 7 years old, was fond of

fantasizing. She would gather small

chairs, lined up in our sala and start

teaching them as if they were in a class

room. One time she got into our car

alone, sat in the driver's seat as if ready

to travel. Accidentally, she released the

hand brakes, then the car started to

back out of the open garage door in our

Antipolo house. As it glide into the

rolling subdivision street, its rear tires

hit the gutter embankment that caused

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the car to surged downhill forward to

the open secondary road .

▪ Ofcourse, she was already frantic and

shouting. Me and my wife and two

daughters were shocked the car is

gaining speed downhill heading towards

the main subdivision street, which leads

to the highway. To day, I still shudder at

the thought of what could’ve have

happen once the speeding car reach the

Sumulong highway unstopped.

▪ But who will stop it, Lora cannot even

reached the brakes if a seven years old

kid knows what brakes are for. I jumped

our low fence and run after the

speeding car as it swayed left to right in

the street. So far, no cars have

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appeared, and before it got to the main

avenue, with many speeding cars in

both directions, the

Lord intervened. Lora must have caused

the car to sway hard to the right, and

due to its gathered speed, climb the

sidewalk embankment and hit earth

mound in the vacant lot where its

engine stopped.

▪ A miracle the Lord directed.

▪ A second one happened in the

same place several months after. She

got into the driver's seat alone, the

hand brake was disengaged, the van

started to move. She sensed this and

shouted, "Papa, Papa." I got out of the

house run, and jumped inside the

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moving van, whose sliding door

was ripped off and was out for repair of

its big dent. I frantically reached out and

pulled from the back the hand break

which arrested the van's descent. If it is

true that lightning can strike twice, but

the Lord's constant deliverance is

always at hand for His children.

▪ Many years after that Lora, became our

best driver in the family. Still moving

very fast, driving like a taxi driver. BUT

learned well not to disengage breaks,

unless ready na and how to steer in the

ways of the Lord.

▪ Quadruple Bypass

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▪ 3 years ago, my wife, Annie, was in

constant pain. She has to be operated

on her Gall Bladder the following week.

But before that time comes, I was

rushed to the Phil Heart Center for a

stubborn blood pressure that won't go

down. Annie's BP was higher than usual,

so both of us underwent an Angiogram

procedure. The result for me was not

that bad. However, 4 spots in her major

blood vessels were 90-95 % clogged.

Immediate surgery is required. We were

unprepared emotionally and financially.

We were also drained physically and

spiritually. Our family were hanging by

the thread not knowing what to do.

Prayer is the only one that sustained us.

Annie underwent an emergency

quadruple bypass. She survived the

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Can A Congenital Defect Be Healed?

▪ My eldest daughter, Abigail, as a child was diagnosed as having a congenital hole in her heart. We were asked to submit her for a surgical heart operation. But our faith prompt us to trust God alone for healing. We asked the Lord, Jehovah Rophe to come and take charge. We abandoned the surgical and other medical intervention. She enrolled in the Children's choir - before long she was singing high soprano and wrestling in school as her PE class - all impossible in a child with such heart condition. Later, she then decided to take music and wind up as an operatic singer, a voice coach and a choir director. Now she is happily married

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with a 13 year old daughter and a miracle 4 year old boy.

▪ Very clearly when things are impossible, turn to the Lord in prayer, God fills our heart with Himself and covers holes in our life with securities and joy.

▪ FROM ABIGAIL:

▪ It was in 1994, a bright light is all I can remember and later learned that I was engaged in a would have been fatal car accident with my sisters. I was between life and death. The car was totally damaged and I was badly hurt and had to undergo therapy for several months, for I cannot walk without a cane. God was there during the accident. He saved me and healed me.

▪ FROM ABIGAIL:

▪ I never imagined surpassing my teenage

years. At 30, God gave me a Godly,

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musically gifted man, Ding Pionso, a

professional singer to marry in January

3, 1998. Expecting a child is a joy to a

mother’s heart. They say that, “Natural

birth is a delight and a great relief to a

husband’s pocket.” My life was in

danger and I almost lost it. After that

unending labor, a natural birth is out of

the question. Finally I gave birth to a

baby girl named Reneé Dominique

(Reborn of the Lord) through a

caesarian section. Again, it was a new

life for me. God is in control.

WHATS YOUR MIRACLES LATELY?

Miracles are really all around us. In "minor"

or "major" events in our daily life. To

Christians, miracle is a normal occurrence,

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but we need to expect it. That seems to be

the norm, it would be 'a miracle' if no

miracle happens to a child of God. We

need to put that proper perspective and

conscious practice. I must confess that I

failed to be consistently claiming miracles in

our midst thus, I don't see it more often

than I should.

▪ Some miracles I have lately. Our cat

beaten to a pulp by several dogs in the

neigborhood. It was given up for dead.

We prayed for it and witness it limped

its way to full health. My printer that

won't run w/ wrong ink specs. After

many tries and when finally I need it

crucial to meeting a deadline, I prayed

and it works. My funding proposal

submission that I will never be able to

finished with only a day to go before

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deadline. I prayed for extension, not at

all possible, it was granted when I

prayed - to my surprise. (FUNNY) Like

the Christians in the upper room praying

for the release of Peter from prison and

when he appeared on the door, a free

man, they can't believe, and won't even

open the door for him to get

inside. Many, many more must be

happening in our lives, but we attribute

it to chance, luck or coincidence.

▪ Would things change if we

acknowledge the Lord's presence in our

impossibilities and say a simple sincere

and direct prayer for His

intervention. I hope I can consistently

recognize miracles appearing

impossibilities in my here and now.