Health & Home (March - April 2023)

Ripples of Joy

Northern Luzon Adventist College

100 Years of Educating Competent and Caring Professionals

MARCH–APRIL 2023

5

Dr. Carlito P. Quidet, Jr.

13

20

Dr. Sheryll Ann M. Castillo Gender Identity Issues

Dear Doctor

Dr. Linda L. Varona Lack

27

Your Lawyer Atty. Silvino L. Sumagaysay, Jr.

4

iContact

Michelle Anne P. Diamante Kindness Ripples

6 Stewardship

Rose F. Fausto

Common Cause of Midlife Crisis

8 Life Musings

Aimee Grace B. Tapeceria Bringing Joy to Others

14 Grace in the Act

Marlo Schalesky

Wonder Changes the World

16

Doable Fitness

Eden L. Elisan Full-body Home Workout

21 Education

Dr. Thomas A. Peterson Finding Service in Education

30 Happiness in Leadership

Dr. Carlito P. Quidet, Jr. Joseph's God-led Leadership in Egypt

About the Cover

LEARNING, SHARING. Many schools focus on helping their students become excellent in their eld. There are a few, however, that intentionally expose the youth to practical Christian service. One of these is Northern Luzon Adventist College (see p. 24).

Model: Bea Darlene R. Oro

Cover photo: Harold Bryan L. Namoca

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

33

Modern Homemaking

Michelle Anne P. Diamante Cleaning Your Washing Machine

By Michelle Anne P. Diamante

KINDNESS

Ripples

Helpers

When Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands in 1940, persecution of Jews spilled over to Amsterdam. Otto Frank, a Jewish German businessman, and his family were forced to hide in a secret annex of his o ce.

His two secretaries, Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl, along with a few other helpers, supplied the people in hiding with necessities and news from the outside. Miep and Bep became close friends with the Franks, especially the young girl Anne.

When the family was arrested, Miep kept Anne’s diary in hopes of returning it to her one day. Bep also saved loose pages, photos, and other documents. Anne, however, didn’t survive. Miep later gave the diary to Otto, the sole member of his family to survive the Holocaust, and the journal was eventually published as The Diary of Anne Frank.—www. historyextra.com

Martyrs

In 2011, a group of more than 200 elderly Japanese volunteered to assist with the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Naming themselves the Skilled Veterans Corps, these retired engineers and professionals over the age of 60 reasoned that it was better to let them face the dangers of radiation instead of risking the young.

Their example of self-sacri ce inspired the world.—www.beliefnet.com

Adviser

Adolf Hitler considered the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games an opportunity to showcase Aryan supremacy, but Jesse Owens, an African-American, won gold in several track-and- eld events. For the long jump, however, Owens had been committing fouls while up against Luz Long, the German athlete and European record holder.

According to some accounts, Long advised Owens on a technique to avoid fouls. Owens succeeded and went on to win gold, while Long won silver. At the end of the nals, both hugged in front of Hitler.

In a nal letter before he died during World War II, Long wrote to Owens, “Someday nd my son . . . tell him about how things can be between men on this Earth.”—npr.org

Matchmaker

Anthony Nolan was born with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a rare condition for which the only cure is a bone marrow transplant. There was no match in his family, and though they tried to search for an unrelated matching donor, they never found one.

In 1974, Anthony’s mother, Shirley, founded the Anthony Nolan Registry (now Anthony Nolan Trust), a charity that manages and recruits donors to make it easier to nd a match for patients needing bone marrow transplants.—www.anthonynolan.org

Michelle Anne Pedernal Diamante is a freelance writer and musician based in Silang, Cavite.

By Aimee Grace B. Tapeceria

Bringing Joy to Others

It is often said that “JOY” stands for three things: Jesus, Others, and You. This simple acronym reminds us to put Jesus first in our lives and reach out to others; then, we will find true happiness in our hearts. In the flurry of our daily lives, it might be a challenge to go out of our way to bring happiness to people. However, we at the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) know that it doesn’t cost much to put a smile on someone’s face. Allow us to share the last time we brought joy to someone.

We go around various institutions to share how one can become an ADRA Angel or a regular donor. After one particular session, a woman approached me, asking for the sign-up form. She filled it out and handed it back to me, saying, “If I had known about ADRA before, I would not have wasted money on online shopping! Thank you for the opportunity to share my resources and help change lives. I will be an ADRA Angel until Jesus comes.”

Indeed, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). People are more than happy to share their blessings through ADRA!

Shantell Leigh Villapez Marketing Officer

As an ADRA staff, I feel blessed to be a channel of help flowing from thousands of donors worldwide to numerous disaster victims. Bringing joy and hope to them is another meaningful blessing.

The struggle, though, is to continue doing it in my personal life.

Recently, I delivered some souvenirs to a young supporter who was about to leave for work in Germany. I drove to the airport, bringing souvenirs, a calendar, and a winter jacket.

Upon meeting her, I hugged her and asked if I could pray for her as she embarked on her new journey. When we finished, she had tears in her eyes. She said that it felt comforting to be prayed for because it had been a year since she left her home church, and she missed praying with a close-knit community.

My simple deed meant the world to her. Little did I know that our two-minute encounter would also be a turning point for me.

Aimee Grace Tapeceria Marketing & Fundraising Coordinator

photos courtesy of ADRA

By Marlo Schalesky

Wonder Changes the World

He came from a world so different from my own. Gangs, drugs, violence. Fear. Fear he tried to strangle with a tough-guy exterior and tattoos that weren’t entirely covered by the long sleeves of his hoodie.

He was 15 years old.

Too young to spend every day, every minute looking over his shoulder, waiting to be jumped, shot, or knifed. Too young to need the rough gang persona to survive.

He stepped out of the city’s car with three other kids and shuffled, pants hanging low, down the path to our barn.

Breath of fresh air

The city’s street team worker stepped beside me. “Juan almost didn’t come.”

“I’m glad he did.”

She nodded. Once a month, she brought gangimpacted youth to our Wonder Wood Ranch to ride horses, do archery, and get out of the gang environment for a few hours.

Typically, I could see the difference in them the moment they stepped from the car. Their shoulders relaxed, they stopped fidgeting, and they forgot, for a time, they had to be hyper-vigilant to get by.

By Dr Thomas A. Peterson

in Education Finding Service

In the late 1960s, while attending La Sierra University in Riverside, California, I explained to 3rd and 4th graders that I would be involved in a service project in a remote part of Africa. There was a critical need for a medical clinic to be built in the tiny, inaccessible village of Masenjere, Malawi. When the students heard that, their eagerness to be involved evolved into a whirlwind of activities to raise money for the village.

These students were drawn into an ever-deeper relationship with the project when they later received letters, tape recordings, and pictures about my experiences in Masenjere. They also received a carved piece of ironwood given to me by the chief and engraved with the words, “THANK YOU FROM MASENJERE, MALAWI.”

Integrating service into the classroom

After I became a teacher, I was inspired to find ways to integrate service into my classes in order

to respond to the sense of disconnection many students experience in their daily lives. Many young people feel a growing loss of connection with family, teachers, learning, the church, and their own hearts.

The challenge for educators is to reveal to students the joy and connective value of service and to remind them of our moral and spiritual responsibility to care for one another.

Ellen White reminds us of how service powerfully builds a sense of spiritual connectedness: “Our Lord teaches that the true object of life is ministry. Christ Himself was a worker, and to all His followers He gives the law of service—service to God and to their fellow men. Here Christ has presented to the world a higher conception of life than they had ever known. By living to minister for others, man is brought into connection with Christ. The law of service becomes the connecting link which binds us to God and to our fellow men.”1

On the verge of its centennial founding anniversary, Northern Luzon Adventist College (NLAC), formerly Northern Luzon Academy, continues to bring hope to communities in the country’s northern region through its extension services and social responsibility program.

Adopting barangays

As the only full-fledged senior college in Sison, Pangasinan, the school endeavored to open links with the schools in the municipality, public or private, to serve as their “mother” school.

NLAC offers them free professional growth undertakings, including free use of the library, to give the town’s teachers an opportunity for self-growth and to be on par with the best teachers in the region, if not the entire country.

The school partners with an adopted barangay or village every three years to conduct sustainable development programs. There, NLAC’s different academic departments share their expertise.

Years

of Making Ripples of Joy

By DR. RUSS DEL CASTILLO

Democratizing learning

For instance, the School of Nursing renders free health-related services apart from health lectures and assessments.

The School of Teacher Education conducts a massive numeracy and literacy program for children with difficulty reading and counting.

Meanwhile, the School of Computing extends programs like immersive trainings for teachers and students in using PowerPoint, Excel, and other applications deemed vital to the teaching-learning process.

The School of Arts and Sciences contributes to the physical and mental wellness of the community by initiating exercises and providing counseling.

The School of Theology renders moral uplift and spiritual programs aiming for the community’s total transformation.

Contributing to the local economy

The Department of Business Education teaches small enterprises like eateries and stores bookkeeping, basic accounting, and inventory procedures.

photos/Harold Bryan L.

Namoca

Children’s Corner

By Meriam A. Polinar

Unexpected Blessings

Yum!” Anna was enjoying another bite of her favorite pasta dish for dinner when, suddenly, Mother announced a plan.

“We’re going to have a party on the beach on Sunday to celebrate your 10th birthday!”

“Hooray!” Anna beamed. “Can Elena come, too?”

“Of course, dear,” Mother replied.

Elena was Anna’s best friend and they both loved to swim and have fun together. Mother had invited Elena’s family, and they agreed to join them that day. Some friends and relatives were coming, too.

“Oh, Mom, I can’t wait till it’s Sunday!” Anna was excited as she thought about having fun on the beach. They just finished preparing for their outing when Anna unexpectedly came down with a nasty cold and fever on Friday afternoon. Her father and mother were worried their daughter wouldn’t get any better until Sunday. The doctor told them that she needed to stay in bed for the whole week.

When Anna’s birthday came, she was still in bed. Except for some sniffles, her fever was gone. Still, she stayed in bed until she was well enough to move around the house.

“Surprise!” Mother hollered as she showed Anna the small and big packages that were nicely wrapped and neatly piled on the table in their living room.

“Are these for me?” Anna curiously asked.

“Yes,” Mother answered, “coming from all the people who love you!”

Anna never really expected to receive anything when her birthday was over. Overwhelmed with joy, she eagerly read the names and opened each gift, grinning from ear to ear.

Anna was so sad. Her parents were a little bit troubled. They had no choice but to inform their relatives and Elena’s family about the predicament. They prayed hard that Anna would get better on her birthday, but that didn’t seem to happen.

On Saturday night, a special report was announced on TV. A big storm was about to hit the beach area where they were supposed to be going, close to where they lived.

“What a coincidence!” Father declared. “God must be telling us something. Maybe it is not a good time for us

“Oh, well,” Father said, “sometimes life never turns out the way we plan or imagine, but I guess we must always be on the lookout for hidden or unexpected blessings, . . . for which we all need to praise and thank God!” to go!”

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