At the time Jesus was hanging on the cross, He uttered seven sentences which in the Christendom is popularly known as the 7 Last Words.

In the Good Friday of 2008, 2:00pm at the Solid Rock Bible Congregation in 151 Samat, Bugallon, Pangasinan, more than a hundred people heard seven inspirational messages highlighting the value of the 7 Last Words of Christ in the life of each person in attendance.

Then when Resurrection Sunday came, the church went to Tobuan Beach and at exactly 5:30am, the Sunrise Service was celebrated commemorating the triumph of Jesus Christ over death when He was not found in His tomb three days after He died.

Rev. Charlie Loranza stressed in his sermon that the Resurrection of Christ is the bedrock of our hope of an eternal life with God in His kingdom.

After the Sunrise Service, the church witnessed the water baptism of 33 brethren, all of them products of the G12 Vision of the church.

Rev. Charlie, assisted by his associates, Pastor Jess and Pastor Joel, and by church and cell leaders, led the baptismal rites.

I got what I wanted when Manny Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez for the WBC Superfeatherweight Championship but, honestly speaking, I was not impressed by my countryman’s victory.

It was a close fight, close enough for everybody to see it in three ways: win for the Pacman, triumph for Dinamita, or still an “unfinished business” in a draw. Although the judges saw my countryman the winner, it is not easy to dismiss the fact that it could have gone the other way around.

For all his sacrifices and claims to be the winner, I give credit to Juan Manuel Marquez for giving Pacquiao another hell of a fight. He has the tools to neutralize the Filipino dynamo. He’s got the correct technical skills to slow down the onslaught of Manny; he’s got the quick wits to improvise at every moment of danger; he’s got something that neither his two compatriots, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, don’t have in facing up to attacks of the one they call “The Destroyer of Mexican Legends”.

Despite his age, Marquez was able to give Pacquiao a tough duel which the Filipino seems to put immediately to oblivion. Those right hand leads, uppercuts and counterpunches were like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that Pacquiao almost did not make to show us a victory picture.

The Pacman’s power was there. It floored Marquez once and probably twice more had Marquez failed to adjust properly. But what was missing was Manny’s speed and the improved right hand. Yes, there were moments when his speed was shown but only a few times. His right fist didn’t get to the target most of the time and there were occasions in which Manny seemed at a loss as to how to penetrate JMM.

See it again, folks, but during the time the winner was being declared by Michael Buffer, Manny Pacquiao went over to Juan Manuel Marquez to congratulate the Mexican. He knew he did not do enough to crack the Mexican nut and he thought it was well to accept the “fact” that he lost this time. He thought he failed his countrymen. He wouldn’t be surprised at the declaration of a loss unlike the first time they met when the mention of the word “draw” was for him a victory for Marquez and a defeat for him considering that he dropped the Mexican three times in the first round.

But when he was declared the winner, he painted a face of surprise, an amazement, some kind of unbelief in the pronouncement of his triumph. Noticeable also was the kind of moderate cheers from among the fans. There were many Filipino spectators there but half of them seemed to have been surprised also at the judges’ decision. They wanted to cheer but there was a question in their minds if it was right for them to cheer at the victory of their countryman.

No, I’m not impressed with Manny Pacquiao’s victory against Juan Manuel Marquez.

It’s not because I am a Filipino that I have this bias in favor of Manny Pacquiao.  I believe that the odds favor a victory for the Pacman, racial  and other factors counted out.

First, in terms of hunger, Manny has more.  Although he is the acknowledged king of superfeatherweights, Pacquiao’s not the legal king, and the man he will fight on March 16 is the recognized crown owner.  Manny feels that the crown should be in his hands, and to remove all doubts about his status as the numero uno, he will give all he’s got to legitimize his status.

Second, Manny has shown tremendous improvements in his skills as a boxer since his first meeting with the Mexican warrior.  He has grown more powerful and refined in his boxing craft.  Up to this point, no one has really solved the puzzle that is Manny Pacquiao, except of course, Marquez.  But the Pacquiao he fought that time is not the same Pacquiao he will meet on Saturday.

Third, Juan Manuel Marquez has not really shown much since he fought Pacquiao.  He only got the belt from Marco Antonio Barrera not really through his own efforts but also because of some misdeeds of Barrera himself during their match.  Had Barrera not hit Marquez while the latter was on the floor, Marquez would not have snatched the belt from the Baby Faced Assasin.

Lastly, Juan Manuel Marquez is old.  There’s no question about excellent technical skills but the age factor will take its toll on him especially against the younger and much more improved Pacman.  Pacquiao’s speed and power will wear down Marquez with his aging body.

I expect a knockout win for Manny Pacquiao.

The Encounter God Retreat (EGR) set on February 22 & 23, 2008 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan has been cancelled.

The next EGR is tentatively scheduled in May. Everyone is adviced to keep posted to The Postman for developments.

Meanwhile, the Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) graduated eight School of Leaders (SOL) students last February 10, 2008.

Those who finished the SOL curriculum and who comprised the 2nd Batch of SOL Graduates are:

1. Charisse Pearl Fajardo – Valedictorian
2. Maria Cristina Maneclang – Salutatorian
3. Trixia Maneclang
4. Ptr. Joel Maneclang
5. Juanito Maneclang Jr.
6. Julie Cervantes
7. Precilla Ayson
8. Elizabeth Reyes

These graduates went through the tough 10 lessons in each of the three levels of the SOL program. They also prove to be fruitful Christians because they already have their respective cell groups.

Congratulations to the new SOL graduates!

The first Encounter God Retreat of the EGR Pangasinan Network has been set on February 22 & 23, 2008 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan.

The Postman invites all who have not been to an EGR to take advantage of the February EGR which is likely going to be the last 2-day EGR of the Network. The next EGR is tentatively scheduled this coming May 2008 and it is a 3-day EGR.

The 3-day EGR is patterned after the EGR of Rev. Castellanos of Bogota, Colombia.

Interested parties should make sure they go through the Pre-Encounter Lessons. For more inquiries, please contact Rev. Charlie Loranza at cell no. 09203290415.

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.

This is a rather late post but just the same, it is to the delight of The Postman to tell everyone that there was a December EGR which hosted 88 delegates from Zambales, La Union and Pangasinan.

The December EGR which was not actually in the schedule was held last December 21 & 22, 2007 at the Villa Narcisa Vinoya Resort in Labrador, Pangasinan.

It was thru a strong request that the December EGR was held.  The next EGR is tentatively scheduled on February.  Specific days are still withheld at the moment because there is a proposal to make the EGR a 3-day activity.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and may God make 2008 a year of breakthroughs, triumphs, blessings and hope.

The Solid Rock Bible Congregation (SRBC) and the EGR Pangasinan Network sent their first batch of delegates to the Re-encounter God Retreat last December 7 & 8, 2007 at the Grace Testament Church (GTC) in Caloocan City.

The 12 delegates joined more than 50 other delegates from various parts of Luzon.

The Re-encounter is a curricular requirement of the PEPSOL of the G12 system for church multiplication. Specifically, the Re-encounter is required to those who already finished SOL 2. The 2-day retreat rekindled the fire which the delegates experienced in the EGR.

If the EGR was great, I can say that the RER (re-encounter) is even more wonderful. I encourage every EGR baby to go on to the PEPSOL curriculum and go through the RER.

The following are the delegates from SRBC and EGR Pangasinan Network:

1. Rev. Charlie Loranza
2. Ptra. Jenny Tolentino
3. Ptr. Rey Prangan
4. Ptr. Ronald Hermano
5. Ptr. Jess Paragas
6. Sis. Kess Maneclang
7. Sis. Tess Loranza
8. Sis. Nora Paragas
9. Sis. Nene Fernandez
10. Sis. Angie Olanda
11. Sis. Julie Cervantes
12. Bro. Lester Onza

It’s now in the news that the Marquez-Pacquiao II has been done. If things really go the way of the rematch, then this rematch will be one of the most anticipated rematches in recent years.

After their May 8, 2004 meeting, Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao have had different experiences going into their rematch. Marquez went the way of less money and loss of belt. He squared it off against Chris John of Indonesia and loss his featherweight championship belt in the process. On the other hand, Pacquiao decided to move up in weight at 130 lbs. and challenged Fahsan 3K Battery of Thailand and won by knockout.

Marquez then faced a couple more fighters, one of them was Filipino Jimrex Jaca who floored him. Marquez, however, prevailed over Jaca via knockout to make his boxing record still shining. He faced the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera, then the WBC Superfeatherweight champion, and decisioned Barrera over 12 rounds to become the new champion. His latest bout was a successful defense against Rocky Juarez.

Manny Pacquiao, for his part, faced up to the challenge of one of Mexico’s greatest, Erik “El Terrible” Morales. He fought “El Terrible” for 12 grueling and bloody rounds, his face distorted by a cut caused by a headbutt. For the first time in many years, the vaunted Manny Pacquiao was dealt a loss. His famed knockout punch didn’t bring Morales down.

He asked for a rematch and this time, Pacquiao would not be bullied again. He pummeled Morales to submission after 10 rounds and celebrated one of his sweetest victories ever. Morales, not wanting to be counted out that easily, challenged the Pacman for a 3rd meeting. Pacquiao responded and the two wrote one of the great trilogies of boxing. In the final chapter, Pacquiao shut the door completely for Morales when he finished off the Mexican in just three rounds.

Lately, Pacquiao put a period into his story with Marco Antonio Barrera. After rumors flew that Barrera’s loss to the Pacman was based more on the Mexican’s distractions than on the Filipino’s great boxing skills, they finally decided to meet another time. But the Pacman was just overpowering for the skidding Barrera.

If there’s a rematch that would equal if not surpass the magnitude of the Pacquiao-Morales II & III and the Pacquiao-Barrera II, then it’s the Pacquiao-Marquez II.

Of all the Mexican greats, Marquez is the only one who managed to survive the boxing phenom known as the Pacman. Though he was floored three times in their first meeting, Marquez rose from the canvass to register a three-way no-winner decision. His vast skills in the sweet science sent Pacquiao a message that “you can’t KEEP a great boxer down.” Yes, Pacquiao put him down but he could not keep him down. In fact, it was as though Marquez won the fight because after giving away one round, he won a majority of the next 11 rounds.

Marquez is the hardest test for Pacquiao at the moment and it is well that this rematch is finally born. A study of their developments since their first meeting will showcase an interesting battle of Level A fighters who have gone through both devastation and domination. Also, it is interesting to see how Marquez would rise against the age factor. He is now 34 years old and he seems not to be slowing down. His masterful handling of Juarez is an indication that he is another Bernard Hopkins in the making.

On Pacquiao’s part, boxing fans and experts will see how he adjusts after Marquez put to shame his title which reads, “Mexican Assasin.” He has learned his lessons from his previous top level performances and Freddie Roach has fine-tuned his previously erratic boxing skills. It’s only Marquez who survived his dominating bravado in the ring. Amidst the bright horizon of Pacquiao’s success as a boxer, there is the Marquez fight that paints a black picture, a sort of ghostly silhouette which cannot be simply ignored. A win in their rematch will dissipate that ghostly silhouette and make Pacquiao’s fame one of the most colorful in the annals of the sweet science.

I would say that if Pacquiao wins over Marquez, he should be boxing’s no.1 pound-for-pound even when Mayweather prevail over Hatton.

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.