The Manleluag Hot Spring in Mangatarem, Pangasinan is one of the province’s tourist attractions and it is the venue of the forthcoming SRBC Young People Outing on February 21, 2009.

The group which includes high schoolers from Polong National High School and students from the Colegio de Dagupan and the University of Pangasinan will meet at the SRBC compound at around 7:oo a.m. and is expected to arrive at the venue by 9:00 a.m.

It will be a whole day affair and it promises to be one unforgetable experience for the youngsters who are mostly first timers in the venue.

The group is spearheaded by Ptr. Jess Paragas who is ably supported by a group of committed youth leaders which include Jason Lopez, Randolf Fajardo, Charisse Pearl Fajardo, Christine Cervantes, Aisa Fernandez, and Fiona Joyce Ayson.

The Macro-Encounter had just been concluded when typhoon “Cosme” started to devastate northern Luzon.  I was told that Pangasinan was at that time under signal no. 2.  But when the clock struck 6:00pm, Saturday, May 17, 2008, Pangasinan was feeling more than a signal no. 2 typhoon.  At around 9:00pm, many houses had been severely damaged and the Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) church building was not spared.

The morning of Sunday showed in better view the collateral damage that “Cosme” has left behind.  I was supposed to go to church because it was Sunday, but I knew I could not go to church.  I saw houses of some brethren wrecked by the typhoon.  I still went to visit the church building and when I got there I saw the extent of repairs we have to make.  The following pictures were taken one week after the typhoon swooped down in the area.

The damage you see in these pictures has been sort of patched up a little bit.  There was a more horrible sight than what you see here.

Every Friday, during the current summer term, a group of students who opened their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ meet regularly to celebrate God’s goodness in the Christian Clique. The Christian Clique is an informal group of Christians, most of them new in the Christian faith. They are being guided by a couple of Christian teachers who happen to be their teachers in at least one subject.

Here are a few pictures shot during one of their regular meetings.

Clique leader Mr. Jessie Paragas shows a Powerpoint presentation to the group through a laptop.

Sir Jess explains the power of the presence of God as the group listens.

The group attentively watch the Powerpoint presentation.

The clique takes a snack break.

Some of the group pose with Sir Jess after the clique meeting.

Here’s another shot during the snack break.

Four ladies pose for a shot after the Clique meeting.

Here’s one of the nicest verses I’ve ever read.  It’s calling on men, but I believe women should seriously take it, too.

The World Needs Men…

Are you the man (or woman) the world needs?

By now everyone has gotten back to normal day-to-day life.  The Christmas and New Year breaks gave us probably enough time to “escape” from the routines of our lives.  Parents get back to the usual office, business or home activities and look after the children’s classes.  Children resume schooling and make their teachers buzzing again.

But as we get past the first week of 2008, may we learn to look back one more time to the past years and thank God for whatever we had gone through.  Anyway, life is a matter of being grateful to our Maker whether we received more blessings or not in the past. 

Life is an enormous blessing in itself whatever your attitude toward it.  Your way of looking at the happenings of life does not affect the fact that you are alive. 

One thing that we should all learn to do is to live life to the fullest and this can only be done if we connect this life to its Author.  Only the Author knows the full extent of a life lived fully and only the one who confides to the Author knows if he/she is living a full life.

The year 2008 is the Year of the Lord, not the year of the earth rat.  Every year is the year of the Lord and if everyone just lives each day of the year for the Lord, then this year shall also be called the Year of the Lord’s favored ones.

I pray that you reader belong to the Lord’s favored ones this year and to eternity.

I was in the middle of a class and one of my students was about to do a singing activity when the building started to shake a little and it took me a couple of seconds more before I shouted to the class that there was an earthquake.

Everybody panicked but I told them to stay in the room. We were in the fourth floor of a building. I was afraid there might be a stampede along the stairs so I insisted that everybody stay in the room.

When the temblor subsided, I ordered the class to go down as fast as they could. According to initial reports, the quake was magnitude 6 and had its epicenter in Pangasinan.

This temblor brings to memory the July 16, 1990 earthquake which brought Dagupan City down to one of the worst hit cities.

The panic caused by the quake aggravated the fear of many in Luzon after two typhoons ravaged the island and leaving lives and properties terribly affected.

Let us all pray to God that the people will be able to bear the trauma caused by these natural calamities. Pray also that people will learn something from these experiences. God is probably sending a clear message to everyone.

Nine young leaders of the Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) attended the FIFCOP’s Youth Encampment last August 19 & 20, 2007 in Caloocan City.

The Youth Encampment is part of FIFCOP’s Conquest 300 which aims to register at least 300 young people in every church affiliated with the FIFCOP Mission.

The nine youngsters from SRBC together with more than 200 other young people from various FIFCOP churches were treated to a series of lectures and activities led by Rev. Raffy Panlilio, FIFCOP Executive Director, Rev. Uriel Vallano, Rev. Pabs Dionisio and Rev. Joy Gabasa.

It is expected that after their encampment, the young Christians will be fired up in realizing the goals of Conquest 300.

John Stockton’s famous story, The Lady or the Tiger, has gained much review especially about the possible ending to the story. Stockton’s treatment of the ending and his presentation of the background for the ending come with just the right formula to make his story a hit.

But what really came out of the opened door? The lady or the tiger?

The author used a lot of words to somehow bring the ordinary reader to an immediate conclusion that it’s the tiger. Words such as “hot-blooded”, “despair”, “jealousy”, and “barbarism” will create such picture of the princess as a person more inclined to lead her man to the door that would show her selfish love and her brutal nature.

But what did the author mean when he said, “The more we reflect upon this question, the harder it is to answer. It involves a study of the human heart which leads us through devious mazes of passion out of which it is difficult to find our way”? Well, Stockton’s magic is actually in the descriptive word semi-barbaric which he used to picture the king and the princess, and impliedly, the suitor.

Had the author removed the prefix “semi-”, the question would have been easier to answer. But those four letters imply a half-and-half nature of the princess. Those four letters show her heart as equally dominated by both brutality and humanity. Those four letters tell us that she was not just capable of easily dumping her man into a bloody death, but that she was equally bothered by the wickedness of such a fate especially that it would befall the very man she loved.

When she signaled to her man to open the door on the right, did she make that decision based on the SEMI or the BARBARIC part of her? The author said she made that decision after “days and nights of anguished deliberations.” What level of anguish would she have to go through to make her finally bring her man to the tiger’s deadly fangs and paws? What other level of anguish would she have to go through to show her man that her love was willing to let go and give him another lease on life in the arms of the lady behind the door?

Another point of issue is her extent of barbarism. If she indeed had to decide on the basis of her barbarism, did she decide in a more barbaric way? And which was more barbaric: to let her man die a cruel death or to let her man live a life of regret? The princess knew how much the man loved her and it is safe to assume that he loved her with the same ardour and passion that was enough to show a highly barbaric level.

Why in the world did the man love the princess when there was that other lady who may have been lovelier and more attractive? How much pride did the princess feel when she realized that she was loved more than any woman in all the kingdom? And when she had to make that decision based on her barbaric nature, did she make it to tell her man to say “thank you” to him for the love he shared to her; that though it was only for a moment, it was enough to make her live a fulfilled semi-barbaric life? Was not her presence in the arena an indication that the extent of barbarism inside her was enough to witness only the delightful wedding and not the horrible demise of the man she loved with semi-barbaric intensity?

Or was she still so barbaric that she decided not to suffer alone in a losing cause for love? That she wanted also her lover to feel the pierces of pain brought about by a semi-barbaric passion? Did she want that they both suffer: she for longing to shower a barbaric love to a person forever absent, and he for showering a barbaric love to a person forever wrong?

I hope I did my share in making you, reader of the story, decide on the most logical outcome of the story. Or did I make you more confused?

Share your reactions, please.

If the results of the senatorial race in the May 14, 2007 elections are any indication, the typical Filipino voter is sending President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a message of warning which will likely read: “Better be careful, Madam President, I have men to watch your every move.”

The imminent entry of eight opposition senators will create a not-so-friendly atmosphere between Malacañang and the House of Senate. In fact we should expect a senate that will be more of an investigative body than a lawmaking body especially with the entry of two young but vocal politicos, Senators Francis Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano.

Also, if things will go their way, Senators Gringo Honasan and Antonio Trillanes will add military color to the fighting desire of the new senate. Senator Honasan will probably draw courage from the his latest debacle with the administration and, may be, he is silently celebrating the victory of Trillanes who is rumored to be his disciple at the Magdalo group.

Even the independent Senator-elect Francisco Pangilinan, though very level-headed and cool, has what it takes to be a staunch critic of the President.

Returning senator Loren Legarda has a score to settle with Vice President Noli De Castro, a very cooperative political player for President GMA.

Senator Panfilo Lacson has always been consistent in his position as a critic of the administration although he has mellowed a bit. But with the arrival of Gringo, Trillanes and company, we expect Senator Ping to be in the fighting mood, next level.

First timer Senator Noynoy Aquino is expected to play a role similar to his father’s and he will probably not betray his mother.

Coco Pimentel will have a family affair with his father Nene Pimentel and this affair they will share with fellow opposition senator Alan Peter Cayetano who will join his sister Pia Cayetano.

The two administration candidates who made it to the Magic 12, Senators Ed Angara and Joker Arroyo may not be that friendly to GMA. No one is forgetting the fact that, Angara was with the opposition a long time until only the election period came. He actually shares only a few agreements with the President.

Senator Joker Arroyo is a watchdog of the administration. Although he is in their team, he is there to pounce on their misdeeds. He can easily join the opposition if he wants to.

Where will the close allies of GMA go? Migz Zubiri, Mike Defensor and Prospero Pichay will most likely get cabinet positions so that they can defend the president from inside the Palace.

If there’s one thing that puts a smile on GMA’s face vis-a-vis the election results, it is the victory of House Speaker Joe de Venecia who played an instrumental role in the losing cause of the impeachment against GMA. Escudero and Cayetano may have gained a plus in winning senate seats but the victory of JDV in the Lower House will neutralize Chiz’s and Peter’s triumphs.

Related to the voting IQ of the current Filipino electorate is the loss of two of the biggest names in show business today, Richard Gomez and Cesar Montano. The Pinoy voter of today has learned his lessons in electing personalities only on the basis of popularity, at least in the arena of national positions. Vilma Santos won the governorship of Batangas because of her good track record as mayor of Lipa City and may be because of the voters’ discontent of Governor Sanchez.

The Pinoy voter, in short, has become a little more intelligent now.

Pangasinenses can now have a treat of the famed Encounter God Retreat (EGR) in their own province when the EGR Pangasinan Network opens its first ever EGR on February 19 and 20, 2007 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort located in Poblacion, Labrador, Pangasinan.

This EGR is a cooperative effort of a number of Pangasinan pastors and lay leaders headed by Ptr. Charlie Loranza of the Solid Rock Bible Congregation.  Together with him are other pastors from Pangasinan, Zambales and Manila.

Pastor Charlie has also sought the blessing of the Pangasinan Alliance of Ministerial Associations Now in Action (PAMANA) of which he is currently the coordinator for district 2.  A memorandum of agreement (MOA) is to be signed soon by Ptr. Charlie and PAMANA Chairman Rev. Rodelio Javien.

This Encounter God Retreat (EGR) is an activity with several nature depending on the individual situation of a delegate.  If a delegate is one who is spiritually down, the EGR is a revival experience.  If a delegate is struggling spiritually, the EGR is a source of hope and strength.  If a delegate is confused especially about a calling, the EGR is an instrument of enlightenment.  If a delegate is a pastor or church leader, the EGR is a trigger of vision and a spark plug for church growth.  If a delegate is sick, the EGR is a channel of divine healing.  If a delegate is financially burdened, the EGR could be key to financial freedom.  If a delegate is in a state of blessing and joy, the EGR is an occasion for further joy and to share joy to many who seek joy in their lives.  The EGR is a unique activity for every kind of believer whatever his/her circumstances may be.

Requirements for the EGR include the following:

1. The delegate should be a believer.
2. The delegate should have gone through the Pre-Encounter Program (PEP).
3. The delegate should register with the Secretariat.  Registration is Php500.

Requirement #2 is basic and if a registered delegate has not gone through the PEP, he/she shall be automatically disqualified. 

For more details, inquire from your head pastor or contact Ptr. Charlie at cell no. 09203290415.  You may also ask through this site.  Click on the comment button and log in your queries.