There’s a woman here in our village that has been in “veggie-like” condition ever since she gave birth to her fourth child. We don’t know whether the sickness is post-partum depression or post-partum psychosis, but one thing we do know for sure, she needs our help and attention.
Até Mylene, the name of the woman, lives with her husband, parents-in-law, and brother-in-law. Kuya Jhun, her husband, is working the whole day for the baby’s milk and their food. The father-in-law is old and cannot help much, while the mother-in-law takes care of the baby and cooks food for the children who go to school. Até Mylene just lies there. She bathes very seldom. Her body is wearing away. She can’t talk, walk, or sit on her own. Will somebody care? ...
This month I’ve learned a very important lesson in teaching. Since last month I’ve been struggling in teaching vocabulary and word problems to my fourth graders. Understanding word problems is really a challenge for my students. They can hardly understand and figure out what the problem is really all about. Each day I began to be impatient until one day I lost control. My words became harsh and intimidating. My words put them down instead of building them up. I didn’t realize it at that moment. I walked out of my class, went inside my house, and I sat on a chair facing the wall. In my frustration I asked God, “Lord what am I going to do?” As I fixed my eyes on the wall of my house, I saw a quotation posted on it to which I’d not paid attention before. The quotation said, ...
It was Friday when my wife, Venus, asked me to make a shelf for our books. We have plenty of books. I made it so quickly that I still had the time to make a spear gun out of wood. I love spear fishing! The male teachers had an agreement to spear fish that weekend. It took me quite a bit of time to finish my gun. I was proud of my work. I went inside the house and played with my baby girl. “Bang, bang, bang!” I exclaimed with a resounding motion. My wife told me not to do that and not to teach our daughter the use of a gun even if it was just made of wood.
I was not really contented with the spear gun that I made because I wanted it to be smoother. I knew I needed to help my wife take care of the baby because she needed to cook our food, but I wanted to make a masterpiece of my spear gun. So, I chose the latter part. God rebuked me for not helping my wife as I accidentally cut myself. It was a deep cut on the knuckles of my hand. I couldn’t spear fish now. I couldn’t play basketball either. ...