Thank God for the Healing

After the annual Santa Parade in Henderson, Auckland on Nov 24, 2012, the Cerna couple (Elmer and Maylaine), who chaired the Katilingbang Bisaya sa New Zealand project committee, dropped by our house to assess our association’s participation and just chat the afternoon away. Our conversation led us to discussing about healing, as they had witnessed just two weeks earlier a miraculous event.

Roderick Catuday, a Filipino who had become a media personality in Auckland, due to his highly publicised difficult journey towards permanent residency when he fell seriously ill years ago. Initially, the government refused to give him assistance, but with the support of the community and other well-meaning Kiwis, he obtained the crucial medication that healed him.

According to Elmer, Roderick became involved in Christian communities by giving testimonies. On the first week on November 2012, without warning, he was rushed to the hospital, and doctors said that he only had two hours to live. Friends and supporters went to work in the social network asking to pray for healing.  When the two hours expired, Roderick astounded the medical staff as he had regained consciousness and became well.

Roderick narrated his ordeal in a later testimony. He said that in his helplessness, all he could do was pray. Half of his body had become numb and his vital organs, as the doctors predicted, started to fail. While unconscious, he saw in a dream a hand reaching out to him from heaven. When the hand touched him, he could feel warmness move from his body towards his head. He transcended from weakness to strength. Today, Roderick stays in his home, very much alive, very much thankful to the Lord.

Surely faith healed Roderick, as it did Fr Mario and Gingin, a close family friend, who both went through scary health ordeals in the past few months. Not only did they personally ask God for wellness, their family, friends and even strangers likewise sought God’s kindness. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  (Hebrews 10:23-25)

There are still many others who need healing, and it is for us to give aid, moral support, and more importantly spiritual assistance through our prayers. I am sure that God listens to us, His people. “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14) Roderick, Fr Mario and Gingin are living testimonies.

Mai Guan

Early last week, I read an article written by Malcolm Moore entitled, “Corruption starts early in China,” with a sub-lead “Government jobs pay a great deal more-–if you can afford to buy them.” It told about a 28-year old office worker who paid $29,000 to get a job as a policeman in Inner Mongolia. Why policeman and why Mongolia? The answer was, “The job is stable and there is profit in it. The cops in the bureau all have houses and possessions that do not match their salaries.”

The article said that corruption in the Communist Party “runs from the billions allegedly amassed by the families of top leaders all the way down to the lowliest state employees.” The scathing report said the phase “mai guan” or “buying a job” has entered the Chinese dictionary as it has contaminated the Chinese lifestyle.

Later in the week, Xi Jinping, who assumed the leadership of the Communist Party and the nation, while acknowledging the economic might of China in the world, said in a speech broadcast worldwide, “There are also many pressing problems within the party that need to be resolved, particularly corruption. We must make every effort to solve these problems.”

When China hid behind the bamboo curtain, communism carried a mystical aura that led many brilliant and idealistic youths to fight revolutions in their respective countries. A utopian state where the people held the power, and that the resources of the nation were distributed equally to all was too difficult to resist. No privilege class, no corruption.

How many of these idealists died for a cause; and still there are those who dream that communism is the elixir that will end poverty for the farmers, fishers and those exploited by the ruling class.

But then, with the opening of the doors of China, the mystique of communism has been shattered. The admission by Xi Jinping reveals the sad truth that even with high ideals dishonest people will look for opportunities to enrich themselves at the expense of the state, at the expense of the people.

Whether one lives in a capitalist society, a socialist nation or a communist state, corruption persists as it does in dictatorial regimes. Graft and corruption are two-headed monsters that thrive even in the most admired societies. “Meanwhile, the wrong-doer must persist in his deeds of wrong, the corrupt in his corruption, the just man in winning his justification, the holy in his life of holiness. Patience, I am coming soon; and with me comes the award I make, repaying each man according to the life he has lived.” (Apocalypse 22:11-13)

Some governments are able to rein these in through good governance, exemplary leadership and punishment for wrongdoers. But the key actually begins within families, within homes, within the heart of each individual. “You deserve honesty from the heart; yes, utter sincerity and truthfulness. Oh give me this wisdom.” (Psalm 51:6)

by Mel Libre

Ambition

Working in a shell craft factory as he went through night high school, Romy Loay dreamed of becoming a professional. Born of a farming family, as a young boy, he often gazed at the distant Cebu City longing for a life beyond the rugged mountains.

It was difficult when he went to the university. The meagre earnings of his parents were barely enough to sustain the daily needs of his 8 other siblings, but that did not deter Romy. He toiled in dusty factories during daytime, and spent the evenings studying to gain an accountancy degree. “It was not easy, but ambition kept me going,” Romy shared, “My parents believed in me, and I left my fate to God.”

Romy can now look back, as he sits in a sofa in his home in Auckland. His love for the earth remains, as he has planted roses, mostly blooming in spring, around his house. His becoming a Certified Public Accountant had allowed him to work in private companies in managerial capacities. In New Zealand, he is content with his work that has allowed him to enjoy life, to provide for his family as well as loved ones in the Philippines, to help others, and to give valuable time to the Lord.

In many verses of the Bible, ambition is looked upon with negative notion. For instance, “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25) Yet ambition has a positive side as well. When Romy was gazing towards the city, he exemplified what Louisa May Alcott said, "Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow them." When he toiled in the factory floor, he lived the quotation, "Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in." (Bill Bradley)

What I admire about Romy is that every time that we meet, he always asks me how he can help in charitable projects that we do. He has a giving heart.  Henry Van Dyke wrote, "There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher."

In the very early hours of Sunday at 1:00am, Romy alone prays in the St Mary’s Catholic Church, Titirangi for his weekly schedule in the 24-hour vigil of the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the altar. He tells that this devotion is in thanksgiving for the gifts and blessings in life, in the conviction that God will bring good to his family, to the community and to the world. Such is the strong faith of Romy.  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”  (Hebrews 11:1-3)

by Mel Libre

Big Day for the Lord

November 6, 2012, 3:49am. I am 56 years old today. I just had hot coffee and bread with my wife, planning out on things for the day. It’ll be simple really.

Originally, I had thought of organizing on my birthday this blog into an activity to be called “BLOTFREE-Alive & Singing”.  It will be sort of a praise and worship affair, with me singing spiritual songs and sharing inspired writings before family, friends and readers.  I would then ask two to three people to read their favorite blog I’ve written. Then we'd pray together for healing for those who are sick, guidance for those who are lost and prosperity for those who are financially deprived.  Before we part ways, we will have shared porridge.

But my wife said that a Tuesday would be a difficult day to bring people together, and that we’ve had too many activities the past weeks, that we lacked the time to prepare. At first, I was disappointed. Then, the Holy Spirit filled me. He told me that if I really wanted to have a meaningful birthday celebration, I’d offer my singing, praising and praying to God.

Thus, for the past three days, I’ve been choosing the songs; rehearsing these; and physically, mentally and spiritually preparing myself for a gig for the Lord. This is one of the most important performances in my life. It is just God and me.  I truly am excited.

It’s already 4:24am, I should get back to bed to prepare for this big day for the Lord.  Thank you Lord for this life. Thank you Lord for all the gifts. To you I offer my all.