PRAYERS DIFFUSED TYPHOON PEPENG: I am sure we are now heaving a collective sigh of relief after Typhoon Pepeng literally fizzled out and did not turn out to be the super typhoon that it was touted to be.
But lest we forget and become complacent once again, this happened only because of fervent and continuous prayers offered to God to spare us from further harm.
Many Filipinos fell to their knees and cried their prayers to God, through emails, text messages and other forms of communication, asking His mercy because we cannot afford to be hit by another calamity at a point where we have not yet recovered from the deadly aftermath of killer typhoon Ondoy.
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PRAY WITHOUT CEASING: And, indeed, God in His great mercy and love for humanity, listened.
Typhoon Pepeng, reputed to be a Category 5 storm because it packed winds of up to 250 kph as it was roaring its way from the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines, mercifully weakened and veered away from much of Northern Luzon Friday and Saturday.
The lesson here that needs repeating, therefore, is this: we must pray to God more often and invoke His love and mercy in our daily lives, lifting up to Him our problems and our concerns in bended knees and with contrite hearts, and He is sure to listen.
As 1 Thessalonians 5:17 of the Bible says: “Pray without ceasing”.
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LYNE ABANILLA: TIRELESS WHEN IT COMES TO HELPING OTHERS: Manila Bulletin Vice President for Classified Advertising Lyne Abanilla is one tireless lady when it comes to helping others who are in need.
Her experience as a past district governor of Rotary International (RI) District 3810 and as incumbent chairman (now on her third straight year) of RI’s public imaging resource group for its Zone 7 (covering the Philippines and Indonesia) and as the executive director of the worldwide Physicians for Peace as well, is serving her well.
Last October 1, 2009, she officiated at the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the ten district governors of RI based in the Philippines and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), whereby Rotarians and DENR will plant up to one million trees in February 2010.
Happening in the wake of realization that Ondoy’s devastating fury was the result of denuded forests and wanton destruction of our trees, the projected planting of one million trees nationwide will go a long way in preventing fatal catastrophes in the future.
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“PANTAWID GUTOM” PROGRAM FEEDS THOUSANDS: On September 30, 2009, Lyne and her Leader Team (those who served with her when she was district governor for Rotary Year 2006-2007) led Rotarians from District 3810 in feeding some 2,500 residents whose houses along the banks of the mighty Talayan River in Araneta Avenue, Quezon City were demolished as a result of Typhoon Ondoy, through her own “Pantawid Gutom” program.
Lyne told BATAS RADIO in an interview Thursday that her group cooked 20 sacks of rice and opened canned goods for the Talayan residents.
On October 3, 2009 (Saturday), in the afternoon, she is expected to once again lead Rotarians in feeding another 2,000 Ondoy victims, this time in Marikina City, composed mostly of children of displaced families.
After the feeding program, Lyne’s group will proceed to another evacuation center also in Marikina and distribute blankets, used clothes and other items needed by the residents who have not been able to start anew, including four boxes coming from the Rotary Club of Davao 2000.
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BATAS RADIO: Please listen to BATAS INTERNET RADIO, an Internet radio station under www.batasmauricio.com and www.eradioportal.com. Log on to either of these two sites, click BATAS RADIO and you can stay tuned for 20 hours a day, from 4 in the morning to 12 midnight, Mondays to Fridays, enjoying the latest news, credible commentaries, free legal and problem counseling from the point of view of the Bible.
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