Health & Home (July - August 2023)

Flashes of Optimism Flashes of Optimism

Ana Patricia Non: Pioneering Positivity Through a Community Pantry

About the Cover

OPTIMISTIC DURING A PANDEMIC Ana Patricia Non, the Maginhawa Community Pantry founder, has received accolades for her initiative. But what really inspired her to give?

(See p. 24)

Cover photo: Harold Bryan L. Namoca

Unless otherwise credited, all photos and graphics are from vecteezy.com, canva.com, and pexels.com.

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iContact

Michelle Anne P. Diamante Accidental Discoveries

6 Stewardship

Ellen G. White

Beware of Your “Filtered Self!”

8 Life Musings

Jisty Dana A. Frias & Eden S. Fabregas How to Stay Positive Amid the Negatives

14 Grace in the Act

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Pr. Noah Q. Hope The Hand of God in Tragedy

Doable Fitness

Eden L. Elisan Home Toning Exercise

21 Education

Delia L. Mantos A Square Peg in a Round Hole

23 A Day in the Life of . . . an Embalmer

Royce Bellaire G. de Luna The Final Caregiver

30 Happiness in Leadership

Drs. Dan Smith & Carlito P. Quidet, Jr. Be a Faithful Leader

By Jisty Dana A. Frias & Eden S. Fabregas

How to Stay Positive Amid the Negatives

Life will always have its positives and negatives, and it is in learning to adapt to the latter that we can remain optimistic even during burdensome and trying situations.

Young people studying at Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) Academy in Silang, Cavite, share their thoughts and experiences on the matter.

God is the Potter, and we are the clay (Isaiah 64:8). During the shaping, the clay is not only exposed to the sweet and tender touch of the Potter’s hand but also to different temperatures.

Sometimes, the clay is left unfinished, and we cannot appreciate its beauty. But God, as our Potter, will complete it and turn it into a beautiful masterpiece.

With the knowledge that He is my Potter, who allows difficult things to happen in my life to shape me into a beautiful vase, I remain undisturbed by any negatives of life.

Alba Marcia Hawi Pondi Kenya, Grade 5

When Thomas Edison was asked about his failures as an inventor, he said, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”

In the Bible, Joseph trusted the Lord and remained faithful even when he was wrongly accused and thrown in prison.

If we put our trust in God, make plans to provide for our needs, and surround ourselves with positive people, we can slowly learn to be positive amid all the negativity the world throws at us.

Alvina Ritchil Bangladesh, Grade 9

photos courtesy of the interviewees

By Pr. Noah Q. Hope

HandTheTragedyGod of in

ife on earth is a mixture of pain and pleasure, triumph and defeat, success and failure.

When we face challenges and disappointments, pain and sadness, frustration and exhaustion, we usually ask God, “Where is Your hand to protect us?”

My wife and I have faced a seemingly impossible situation together and proved that amid the stormy seasons of life, God’s hand is always there to tide us through.

Love blooms

Blessie and I met when we were both starting in our respective professions. I was a young pastor in San Fernando City, La Union, while she was a new teacher at a school run by our church.

My church members and her fellow teachers were only too eager to play matchmaking as we

often found ourselves hosting church and school activities together. It took two years of teasing before I finally realized how beautiful she was—physically and spiritually.

Coming from a devoted Christian family, she was gifted in telling children’s stories and befriending parents and church members. Everybody loved her—including me. I decided to court her, and after two years and despite many other suitors, she finally said yes to me in 2011.

From honeymoon to heartbreak

We got married on December 16, 2012. By January, I was assigned to pastor another city in Pangasinan. By March, I had to start my chaplaincy training at the Manila Adventist Medical Center (MAMC, now Adventist Medical Center Manila) in Pasay City.

I felt sad to leave her behind, but she could not abandon her students and her responsibilities as a head teacher in Ilocos Sur.

April 14, 2013, came. It was my birthday, but it would be much more than that.

Doable Fitness

By Eden L. Elisan

Toning exercises are similar to strength training. Some women didn’t want to get bulky from strength training, so trainers started using “toning” instead of “strength training.”

The American College of Sports Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control recommend that every adult exercise at least two days per week for muscular strength, especially if you want to gain lean muscle mass while losing body fat.

Toning focuses on muscle endurance rather than muscle size. It is beneficial not only to the young but also to the elderly; even people over the age of 90 can develop muscular strength through regular strengthening exercises.

Younger people, on the other hand, can increase their bone strength through regular strength training. Bone strength is critical in the prevention of osteoporosis and lower-body fractures. Despite the possibility of bone loss as we age, strength training can help to slow this process.

Aside from these, strength training also enhances glucose metabolism, improves the maintenance of healthy body weight, and aids in improving cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure. There is a 10–20 percent lower risk of death from any cause, including cancer and heart disease, when doing these exercises regularly. And according to a recent meta-analysis, people who engage in muscle-strengthening practices are less likely to die prematurely.

Here are some toning exercises you can do at home:

Push-ups

• Get on all fours and spread your hands slightly wider than your shoulders.

• Extend your arms and legs.

• Lower your body until your chest almost touches the floor.

• Pause for a moment, then push yourself back up.

• Do three sets of twelve. Repeat three times a week.

• If you have trouble doing regular push-ups, start with modified push-ups such as wall push-ups.

Biceps curl

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a small hand weight in one hand, palm facing forward.

I Changed My Mind

About Marriage

SHERI JOY C. NAMANYA

Iwill remain single forever!” I always responded emphatically whenever my high school classmates persuaded me to jump on the bandwagon and join the rest of our classmates who were already in a relationship. Well, I am now happily married, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Jokes and fears

Perhaps just like many others, I grew up with a distorted picture of marriage because of the influence of soap operas depicting mostly the ugly in marriage and couples joking, “What’s the difference between getting married and getting a dog? After a year, the dog is still excited to see you.”

If marriage was only fun for a short time and the rest of the time it is a pain, why marry?

The concept of marriage used to be uncomfortable and scary for me. One day, a professor gave my friend a simple but wise advice: “Inday, life is already difficult in itself. Don’t make it more difficult by choosing a difficult husband.”

There, I found the root cause of my fear of marriage. So, my husband now was the only boyfriend I ever had. You can already imagine how cautious I was.

Before I say further, let me underscore the fact that God is always the author of beautiful love stories and only He can make things beautiful. So, as you read my succeeding discussion, remember that this is the fundamental principle my husband and I live by.

A change of heart

So, what became of my high school oath? I broke it, and I couldn’t be happier that I did. And after eight blissful years of being married, I am still convinced—in fact, more than ever—that marriage is one of God’s most precious gifts.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I used to dislike my husband before he started courting me and even more when he started showing interest in me.

I so despised the thought of sharing the same house with this stranger, or anyone for that matter, but now I feel like a stranger in my own house without him around.

He must have used some African potion to get me into this. But whatever he did, it worked! Now I see marriage as not only exciting but also altogether desirable.

Ana Patricia Non

Contagious Optimism and Compassion

By

HEALTH & HOME STAFF

On April 14, 2021, the Philippines was going through a second wave of COVID infections and deaths.1 Although Metro Manila was placed under a modified Enhanced Community Quarantine, 2 people’s movement and activities were still restricted.

deaths.

The previous year, the economy contracted by 9.5 percent, “the worst economic performance ever based on recorded data since 1945.”3

1945.”

Hunger and unemployment remained high, while the budget for the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) or ayuda was running low.4

On this day, an anonymous 26-yearold girl thought of putting up a bamboo cart on a busy street in Quezon City to offer food and hygiene items to whoever needed it. It was a foreign idea, and it took quite some time before people grasped what it was all about.

compassion revolution was set in motion.

about the project went viral, over 200 community pantries sprouted nationwide. Months later, official government records showed at least 6,700 similar initiatives by religious groups, civic organizations, and regular folks.

had the opportunity

to sit down with Ana Patricia Non, the anonymous girl-turned-householdname who pioneered the Maginhawa Community Pantry.

shares her life story and heart with our readers.

Poverty in childhood

little “Patreng” was no stranger to hunger and poverty. Her single mom was into development work. Having

photo/Harold Bryan L. Namoca

A Truly Happy Meal

By JOHN RYLLAND A. DEL ROSARIO

It was a chilly evening when a young man sporting a gray hooded jacket, a white V-neck shirt, black slacks, and black rubber shoes arrived at a fast-food restaurant.

When the door opened, he felt his nose overwhelmed by the aroma of fried chicken and french fries. The scent reminded him just how famished he was as he stood at the end of the long queue.

Finally arriving at the counter, he ordered a meal and waited at a corner table. There, he began to observe those around him.

Dissatisfaction

Two tables away sat a middle-aged couple. The man was garbed in a long-sleeved navy blue polo, gray slacks, and black leather shoes. A gold-plated watch was fixed around his wrist.

Across the table was a woman in a dark green shirtdress and cream-colored spool heels. From her ears dangled a pair of expensive-looking earrings.