This document discusses the importance of early music exposure and training for children's development. It shares stories of the author's experiences teaching singing to students as young as 4 years old. Key lessons include how music can convey powerful messages and emotions, and how listening to students helps them feel understood. The author finds reward in seeing children experience joy, love and composure through difficult times with the help of music.

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LEARNING LIFE
THRU EARLY MUSIC
EXPERIENCE
Abigail Halili Pionso

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A
child receives messages as early as when he
is inside his mother's womb. Love, concern,
happiness, rejection and even music
appreciation can be transmitted into his
being.

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W
e have often been told that a child's interest in
music starts when he is allowed to listen to
songs, watch concerts, operas and musical
plays. These are essential to a child's musical
development, but I believe that training is still
the best gift parents can give to their children.
Early training in Music helps the child deepen
his expression and brighten his disposition.
I started singing at the age of four. My Mama
was my first teacher. Although She had no
formal Music training, she taught my two sisters

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and me her favorite songs. "Ako'y Basang
Sisiw" was one of the first songs I learned from
her. It speaks of a child who was separated
from her mother, and was left in the streets
feeling cold, with nobody taking care of her. It
was through the story behind the song and
from my Mama’s explanation that my
awareness of life began. I became aware of
other children who lives in the streets without
parents to keep them warm and secure.
Music is a powerful tool in educating people. It
can convey countless different messages. The
melody alone whether fast, moderate or slow
can suggest what emotions we should feel.
Music becomes more powerful when we put
words in it. It can speak about God's love for
us, for His creation and for our country, or
about love that a man and woman feel for each
other. It can also be used to pollute people's

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minds and spirit. Parents should therefore be
careful in choosing songs for their children.
Exposing children to songs that have Christian
and moral values will have great impact in the
child's life.
Growing up in a Christian home and singing
songs for the Lord helped me decide to take
Music as a ministry and a career. But as I grew
older, I realized that Music is more of a ministry
than a career.
Working and ministering to children is not easy.
It means train-ing them to sing the right way,
checking their phrasings and breathings,
explaining to them the message of the song as
well as its characteristics and background, and
making sure that they understand all these well.
Most of the time, I lead my students to
imagining and play roles to let them feel the

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song and be effective in their singing. It is also
important to listen to the student’s questions
and allow him to tell his own stories.
Sometimes we adults take these for granted,
but they are very important to children.
Each day with a student is a new experience for
me. One example is my learning experience
with Joy, my 8-year old student. We always had
a rich interaction. While studying a song from a
musical play "Les Miserable," I was explaining
to her the character of a little girl name Cosette.
Cosette was separated from her mother and
was left to work in a Tavern for a couple who
didn’t treat her well. She found peace and
safety every time she thought about her "Castle
on a Cloud" where there was room full of toys,
no floors for her to sweep, nobody shouting,
and where loud crying was not allowed. But
what made her really feel good was lady in

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white, who held her and sing her a lullaby and
would say, "Cosette, I love you very much."
After I told this story to Joy, she looked at me
and said with tears, "Teacher, kawawa naman
si Cosette." And when she sang "Castle on a
Cloud" in our recital, she was in Cosette's
character and was very effective. I looked at
Joy's teary eyes again in that recital the same
eyes I saw when we learned the Song. After
more than a year, Joy still remembers the song
and she just loves telling it story over and over
again to her parents and friends.
Rubs, as I fondly call her is 12 years old. She is
one of the two very talented daughters of the
late Juliet Ramo Valente, a well-renown pianist
and Pasay City Alliance Church Music Minis-ter.
Rubilee plays the piano well and is also a gifted
singer. Whenever she sings I ask her to tell me
about the songs we have learned together, and

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she always does. For our voice recital, I chose
"Great is Thy Faithfulness" (an adaptation by
Gary Grana-da) for her to sing.
During that recital she learned that her mother
was dying of cancer after so many months of
prayer. She sang the hymn so beautifully that
night. She sang it again in her Mom’s wake.
Three months from that day, she again sang it in
the Necrological Service for her father who died
of heart attack I never heard her sing "Great is
Thy Faithfulness" song with all her heart, --
pouring all that was within her. I cried when
she sang the second verse,
"Pardon for sin and a peace that
endureth Thine own dear presence, to
cheer and to guides-Strength for today,
and bright hope for tomorrow Blessings
all mine with countless beside."

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Through this song, Rubs, a young innocent child
felt God's affir-mation of His love and His
promises that she together with her sister and
younger brother can hold on to.
The rewarding experience I get in teaching and
working with children is something that I won't
exchange for anything. Seeing the joy, love,
trust, contentment, composure in the midst of
painsand difficulties through the children's eyes
is a blessing from the Lord. These are little
things that we adults miss in. our interactions.
RB is eight years old and a Pastor's kid. One day
while we are having our lesson, his mother
excused herself from being with us during the
session to pick up her other son from school.
As RB and I were doing the vocal exercise, he
stopped and said "Teacher umuulan." I looked
out and said "00 nga,” and went back to playing

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the piano. RB became restless, and said
"Teacher, and Mommy ko, kawawa naman siya.
Baka mabasa siya, wala siyang payong." I
didn’t know how to respond to him then. He
was uneasy, and could not concentrate. I
prayed, "Lord, what must I do in times like this?
How do I explain that the rain comes and goes
and should not bother us in the things we do?"
I stopped for a while, then RB said "Teacher,
pag-pray natin and Mommy ko, na sana huwag
siyang magkasakit dahil mababasa siya, at sana
makasakay siya kaagad." I was amazed at the
depth of this 8-year old boys love and concern
for his Mother. It so charac-teristic of a child's
unpretentious concern, the kind Jesus wants us
to show in our dealings with one another^ As.
we prayed to-gether, I thanked the Lord for the
daily privilege of learning from little children
about Jesus' love and about life itself.

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ABIGAIL PARADA HALILI PIONSO
Sequel to this article+
There are other lessons I have learned from my
learners as a voice instructor and voice coach
through the years. I am now married to a
musician himself, and a mother to an amazing
child. Her name is Renee Dominique. This is
her story

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Outline:
A musician from my womb
She can make music before she can
speak
A drummer
A conductor

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A composer
A concert performer (Can’t be stopped
from crushing the stage)
Wants to be a Ballet (shoes)
Latest suggestion; Write the book with Ding
and Renee who is also a gifted writer with
graphics décor by Renee and Euan.

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Reflections from Grandpa Rey Halili
WONDER IS ONE GIFT WORTH
RECOVERING.
The wonder of it all is I
rediscovered its magic in
a 3 year old child, my
Apo, Renee Dominique
Halili Pionso. Her favorite
expression, "WOW!"
Renee is a facinating child. She gobbles new
learning as fast as she can talk fluent
English when she was 3 years old. One time
we ate in the canteen of ABS-CBN while

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waiting for her parents did some
recordings. When the food was served in
the table, she raised her hands in
amazement at the many kinds of food
served, she shouted, "Wow, thank you!"
Like perhaps any normal child she is very
inquisitive. She would listen with the look of
amazement and almost always greet your
explanation with "wow!" I surmise that she
discovered more about things that interest
her by wondering.
Wonderment is magical. Wonder is "a rapt
attention or astonishment at something
awesomely mysterious or new to one's
experience." Its a gift any child of 3 or 60
should not lose. A person who has the gift
of wonder anticipates good surprises. That
is why he believes that no failure is fatal
and that some successes that comes is

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never final.
Our lives as adults could lose our sense of
wonder. It could extinquish the fire and
"wildness" inside us. Our minds could
become to quick to reduce events into a
simplified formula of "wala lang."
Excitement could dry up in the heat of the
noonday - and easily the rut of boredom
could engulf us. Passivity would rule our
days.
How do we recapture wonderment, (Let
me listen to you, please share your
thoughts. Then I will come back with the
sequel) In the meantime, observed your
children and or people around you if you
can spot those who have this gift.

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WONDER IS ONE GIFT WORTH
RECOVERING. The wonder of it all is I
rediscovered its magic in a 3 year old child,
my Apo, Renee Dominique Halili Pionso. Her
favorite expression, "WOW!"
Renee is a facinating child. She gobbles new
learning as fast as she can talk fluent
English when she was 3 years old. One time
we ate in the canteen of ABS-CBN while
waiting for her parents did some
recordings. When the food was served in
the table, she raised her hands in
amazement at the many kinds of food
served, she shouted, "Wow, thank you!"
Like perhaps any normal child she is very
inquisitive. She would listen with the look of
amazement and almost always greet your
explanation with "wow!" I surmise that she
discovered more about things that interest

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her by wondering.
Wonderment is magical. Wonder is "a rapt
attention or astonishment at something
awesomely mysterious or new to one's
experience." Its a gift any child of 3 or 60
should not lose. A person who has the gift
of wonder anticipates good surprises. That
is why he believes that no failure is fatal
and that some successes that comes is
never final.
Our lives as adults could lose our sense of
wonder. It could extinquish the fire and
"wildness" inside us. Our minds could
become to quick to reduce events into a
simplified formula of "wala lang."
Excitement could dry up in the heat of the
noonday - and easily the rut of boredom
could engulf us. Passivity would rule our

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days.
Learning About
Death's Sayang, and Magic
From a Child
Several days ago, my daughter Kaye
received a text message from Abeg & Ding

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at almost midnight. Renee Dominique,
their 4 years old daughter, was mumbling
words in sleep like “sayang”,
“evaporation,” “magic”. What could that
be? Kaye replied that the words must be
“evaporation”, a term Renee learned in
the dental clinic w/ Kaye. The next
morning the curious parents ask her “what
is evaporation?” Renee said, its “sayang”,
it disappears, it’s magic! Evaporation was
explained to her by getting her hands and
putting a bit of alcohol, which after a while
disappeared. So she the saying, but she
did not missed to say magic.
Sayang is a word that came to me when I
heard that Mario passed away. Mario as
you knows for two years is in deep stupor,
one degree less than comatose. Alice is
hoping that she can bring Mario to

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the US for treatment. We are hoping that
the money that we await will soon
come. Sayang, it seems, the hope is dash. I
look forward to again play Chess w/ Mario
or have lively discussions on the many
issues, Bible and business and other
contemporary topic. We have the same
mother. The first time I saw Mario was
when he is five years old when I visited my
mother and her family. Immediately, we
liked each other. I was 6 years older, we
run around the house, I put him in the
rocking chair and raced. It was a difficult
parting at the end of the day, I together w/
my sister, left the house w/ a broken heart
leaving Mario, Sally and Hermie and a
broken rocking chair. Several years later,
when my father died, my stepmother
acceded to release Elvie, my younger sister

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and I to my mother to live with her
husband, two other sisters, Hermie and
Sally and Mario. My stepfather, Mario’s
father is a former councilor, vice mayor
and mayor of the city.
Mario is my only brother and we shared
the same room till I got married and
moved out of the house. We share a lot
when we were growing; run around the
house, the yard and the roof, at one time
he fell from the garage roof as we were
playing soldiery. He got a scar to mark
such adventure together. He most often
would beat me in chess, and other card
games. I beat him in billiard, basketball
and other games that I can make manage
to daya.

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After, I came to know the Lord when I was
in college, he too followed Christ. We pray
together evenings in our room. We share
family burdens, soon we saw, our mother
coming to Christ, my sister, and even my
stepfather. We share books, debated on
many things under the sun. He study his
Bible seriously as he serve the Lord and the
church w/ full dedication. He graduated
at MIT took the board w/ good grades. He
took his work seriously and climbed the
corporate ladder very quickly.
Sayang, at age 55, Mario can still do a lot
of things. There were many dreams, many
concerns he wish to pursue not only for
himself and family but for other. In the
mind of a four years old, His Lolo Mario is
gone, evaporated, disappear. But Renee
has other word for evaporation as she saw

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and feel the alcohol on her hands being
spirited away; she said “magic.” If we will
join her world of fantasy, there is no loss in
the death of a Christian, but merely a
transformation, or a translation from this
world of fast fleeting time-bound change,
decay to a new world of incorruptible and
eternal joy in the presence of God.
I pray that the magic will not disappear in
our lives, touch by Mario. Two years is not
sayang. It is not lost. To me it seems
magic, in the parlance of a child. It is
actually a miracle. It is beyond
comprehension! What we have is that we
all are a part of this miracle. We have
witness the seemingly lifeless form of a
man gasping for dear breath. We have
seen the concrete form of a hope so frail,
yet it cannot be killed. We have seen the

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gallantry and courage of a wife and
children hanging on for what ever thin
threads that remain for the survival of
their love one. It is a picture of “ the song
in Joseph movie produced by Dreamworks
“though hope is frailed, it cannot be killed”
We have in past two years saw the courage
of a wife, a son, 3 daughters valiantly
hanging on to the faith of the Lord Jesus
who said I will be with you.
We are part of the larger Christian
community that prays and support in many
creative forms a brother. It was
no sayang that the multi-faceted face of
love and grace shows itself in these two
years. Mario is gone, evaporated, but the
magic stays, the miracle of a life touch by
God, will continue to touch us and remind
us that the darkest of nights cannot dispel

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hope, faith, and love. That there is magic
in sufferings and sacrifices. That indeed,
Christ will never leave us nor forsake us-
not in any circumstances. That like Mildred
Kreager, 1961, said, “I stand breathless
before each new day, glad for the
increasing realizations of the unfailing
grace of God.”
Eulogy by Rey Halili in
the wake of his half
brother, Mario Milan,
who had a stroke and
was in semi comatose,
he only regain
consciousness after 2
years in the presence of his Master and Lord,
Jesus Christ.

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reyhalili wrote on May 23, '07
Like what we tell our kids, there are only two
things we can give them, roots and wings. Roots
that established their values and beliefs,
examples and training on the basic things of life,
and wings that give them the freedom to surge
and fly into their vision, dreams and aspiration.
Praise the Lord, He is our helper in leaving a
legacy for our youth and supporting their
dreams.
reyhalili wrote on May 15, '07
Those who are too afraid or timid about the ups
and downs in the roller coaster ride, won't get
in and ultimately missed the thrill of trusting,
and understanding faith.

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Your Children & Grandchildren
Link:http://www.mayyoubeblessedmovie.
com
As we appropriate God's all-encompassing
blessings and promises into our own lives

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and learn to claim them for ourselves, it is
now our responsibility to pass them on to
our children and grandchildren.
If you are a parent or grandparent and a
member of the family of God through faith
in the blood of Jesus Christ, you have
spiritual authority over your household.
You have authority and power to speak
blessings into the lives of your children and
grandchildren.
Your words of blessing are energized by
the power of God when you speak them.
When you speak what God wills you to
speak, your children's and grandchildren's
lives begin to change. Their lives begin to
conform to your words, so be careful how
you bless them and always be positive.

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Remember, once the blessings are spoken,
they cannot be stopped or thwarted by
man or by the powers of darkness. (See
the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 27.)
Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself provides the
best example of how to bless our children.
When several parents brought their
children to Jesus for Him to "touch them,"
He "took them up in His arms, put His
hands upon them, and blessed them"
(Mark 10:13,16).
The New Testament speaks much of the
"laying on of hands" when a special gift or
anointing is being given to someone. I
believe it is important, whenever possible,
h) touch your child with gentleness and
tenderness as you impart your words of
blessing.

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Sample Blessing for Parents and
Grandparents
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord
make His face shine upon you,
and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His
countenance upon you and give you peace."
You have been chosen to be His own
possession. He is God, the faithful One, who
keep His covenant and His loving kindness to
a thousand generations of those who love Him
an obey His commandments. The Lord will
keep His covenant of love with you for you are
holy to the Lord your God.
Let all these blessings that you speak by faith
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ rest cn the
heads of your beloved children and
grandchildren now and for the rest of their
lives.
Numbers 6:24-26 • Deuteronomy 7:6-9
Our Heavenly Father has provided a
marvelous inheritance for His children. He

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has given us all things that pertain to life
and godliness: physical, spiritual, material,
and personal. Nothing has been omitted to
help us have everything we need for a
truly good life. He even promises to share
with us His own glory and goodness. (See 2
Peter 1:3,4.)
(Taken from The Larry Lea "Could You Not
Tarry One Hour" Prayer Diary.) Courtesy of
Ted Amper

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Remembering the past in all its glories
strengthens us each day, as we struggle to
fight the idols of our hearts, and enthrone
Christ as we reach out for the hopes of our
tomorrow.
‘Let's start from the very beginning’
We, nowadays are often advised to “start
with the end in mind.” Let our purpose
drives us and directs our battles. I am
delighted to hear my 3 year old “apo”,

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Renee Dominique, sings Julie Andrews'
Broadway musical, “Let us start from the
very beginning. A very good place to start,
when you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi. .
.” I would likewise like to begin for a
change with our passion as the starting
point of casting our vision.
Vision, after all is a product of our
spiritual passion. Our inner drive that
makes us to dream dreams and create
“miracles” not otherwise possible. Think of
the many beautiful and creative invention
and achievements of man. Think and
reflect again on the nature of your
organization. Your vision and mission
statement. The missing ingredient towards
attainment in all your quest could be the
absence of a spiritual passion.

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Passionate spirituality is where it all
starts. However, in the heat of the noon
tide heat and the weariness and attrition
of the day-to-day struggle, the flame of
passionate spirituality can be diminished
or extinguished. The discipline
of passionate spirituality need to be more
than intentional - though that is an
excellent place to start.
Our passion triggers the many good things
in us. It helps us to face ourselves, our
identity, the inner prompting and
aspirations and at the same time recognize
our realities and urgent priorities. For a
restart, I have come across a prescription
Recapturing Our Spiritual Passion
1. Renew spiritual and emotional reserves,
through observing Sabbath times

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and personal retreats - half-day or longer
on a regular basis.
2. Make intentional decisions which reflect
the Lordship of Christ. Choose God’s
priorities in your time schedule. Learn to
say “no.”
3. Cultivate spouse and family relationships.
Enlarge your circle of people caring for
others.
4. Maintain physical health through diet, rest
and exercise.
5. Respond in immediate obedience to the
prompting of the Spirit - however small.
6. Develop mentoring relationships. Pray for
and find a spiritual mentor to meet with on
a regular basis. Or enter into an
accountability relationship or group.
7. Nurture the fruit of the Spirit despite your
circumstances.
8. Discover and use the gifts God has given
you.

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ANNIE, wrote:
This Mothers' Day, I told the Lord how
bored I am at this phase of my life. The next
day, I received a call from Ding, my son-in-
law, that I was chosen from amongs many
to model for a health company brouchure.
It is not a big thing maybe to others, but for
me, I felt the Lord is telling me that, He is

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not done with me yet. There are more
exciting things for a wife, a mother, and a
granny in stored for me yet. I felt that the
Lord kissed me and said, "Happy Mothers'
Day, Annie, I never forget." (See other
photos in that section)
. . . ganito ang sabi Yahweh:
“huwag kang matatakot, ililigtas kita,
Tinawag kita sa iyong pangalan.
Ikaw ay akin. Pag ikaw ay daraan,
Sa karagatan, sasamahan kita;
Hindi ka madadaig ng mga suliranin.
Dumaan ka man sa apoy, Di ka maaano.
Hindi ka maibubuwal Ng mabibigat na
pagsubok.

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Sapagkat akong si Yahweh and iyong Diyos.
. ."
Isaias 43:1-3ª
"Kayo’y inaruga ko mula sa inyong
pagsilang.
Ako and inyong Diyos. Iingatan ko kayo
Hanggang sa pumuti and inyong buhok
At kayo’y tumanda.
Isaias 46:3b-4a

43. 43
Lord, Thou knows better than I know myself
that I'm growing older and will someday be
old. Keep me from the fateful habit of
thinking that I must say something on every
subject and on every question, and release
me from the craving to straighten out
everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but
not moody, helpful but not bossy.

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Thou knows, Lord» that with my vast store
of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all,
but Thou knows too. Lord, that at the end
of life I may want a few friends around.
Keep my mind free from the recitals of
endless details and give me wings to get to
the point. Seal my lips on my own aches
and pains. They are increasing and love of
rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as
the years go by.
Thou knows that I dare not ask for grace
enough to enjoy tales of others' pains, but
help me to endure them with patience. I
dare not ask for improved memory, but for
a growing humility and a lessening
cocksure-ness when my memory seems to
clash with the memories of others.

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Teach me, too. Lord, the glorious lesson
that occasionally I may be wrong. Keep me
reasonably sweet. ... Thou knows that a
sour old person is one of the crowning
works of the devil. Give me the ability to
see good things in unexpected places and
talent in unexpected people and give me.
Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen.
Adapted Author Unknown

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Miraculous Interventions
▪ Lora, our second child when, she was
about 7 years old, was fond of
fantasizing. She would gather small
chairs, lined up in our sala and start
teaching them as if they were in a class
room. One time she got into our car
alone, sat in the driver's seat as if ready
to travel. Accidentally, she released the
hand brakes, then the car started to
back out of the open garage door in our
Antipolo house. As it glide into the
rolling subdivision street, its rear tires
hit the gutter embankment that caused

47. 47
the car to surged downhill forward to
the open secondary road .
▪
▪ Ofcourse, she was already frantic and
shouting. Me and my wife and two
daughters were shocked the car is
gaining speed downhill heading towards
the main subdivision street, which leads
to the highway. To day, I still shudder at
the thought of what could’ve have
happen once the speeding car reach the
Sumulong highway unstopped.
▪
▪ But who will stop it, Lora cannot even
reached the brakes if a seven years old
kid knows what brakes are for. I jumped
our low fence and run after the
speeding car as it swayed left to right in
the street. So far, no cars have

48. 48
appeared, and before it got to the main
avenue, with many speeding cars in
both directions, the
Lord intervened. Lora must have caused
the car to sway hard to the right, and
due to its gathered speed, climb the
sidewalk embankment and hit earth
mound in the vacant lot where its
engine stopped.
▪
▪ A miracle the Lord directed.
▪
▪ A second one happened in the
same place several months after. She
got into the driver's seat alone, the
hand brake was disengaged, the van
started to move. She sensed this and
shouted, "Papa, Papa." I got out of the
house run, and jumped inside the

49. 49
moving van, whose sliding door
was ripped off and was out for repair of
its big dent. I frantically reached out and
pulled from the back the hand break
which arrested the van's descent. If it is
true that lightning can strike twice, but
the Lord's constant deliverance is
always at hand for His children.
▪
▪ Many years after that Lora, became our
best driver in the family. Still moving
very fast, driving like a taxi driver. BUT
learned well not to disengage breaks,
unless ready na and how to steer in the
ways of the Lord.
▪
▪ Quadruple Bypass
▪

50. 50
▪ 3 years ago, my wife, Annie, was in
constant pain. She has to be operated
on her Gall Bladder the following week.
But before that time comes, I was
rushed to the Phil Heart Center for a
stubborn blood pressure that won't go
down. Annie's BP was higher than usual,
so both of us underwent an Angiogram
procedure. The result for me was not
that bad. However, 4 spots in her major
blood vessels were 90-95 % clogged.
Immediate surgery is required. We were
unprepared emotionally and financially.
We were also drained physically and
spiritually. Our family were hanging by
the thread not knowing what to do.
Prayer is the only one that sustained us.
Annie underwent an emergency
quadruple bypass. She survived the

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quadruple bypass, and the family needs
were miraculously met.
▪

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Can A Congenital Defect Be
Healed?
▪ My eldest daughter, Abigail, as a child
was diagnosed as having a congenital
hole in her heart. We were asked to
submit her for a surgical heart
operation. But our faith prompt us to
trust God alone for healing. We asked
the Lord, Jehovah Rophe to come and
take charge. We abandoned the surgical
and other medical intervention. She
enrolled in the Children's choir - before
long she was singing high soprano and
wrestling in school as her PE class - all
impossible in a child with such heart
condition. Later, she then decided to
take music and wind up as an operatic
singer, a voice coach and a choir
director. Now she is happily married

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with a 13 year old daughter and a
miracle 4 year old boy.
▪ Very clearly when things are impossible,
turn to the Lord in prayer, God fills our
heart with Himself and covers holes in
our life with securities and joy.
▪ FROM ABIGAIL:
▪ It was in 1994, a bright light is all I can
remember and later learned that I was
engaged in a would have been fatal car
accident with my sisters. I was between
life and death. The car was totally
damaged and I was badly hurt and had
to undergo therapy for several months,
for I cannot walk without a cane. God
was there during the accident. He saved
me and healed me.
▪ FROM ABIGAIL:
▪ I never imagined surpassing my teenage
years. At 30, God gave me a Godly,

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musically gifted man, Ding Pionso, a
professional singer to marry in January
3, 1998. Expecting a child is a joy to a
mother’s heart. They say that, “Natural
birth is a delight and a great relief to a
husband’s pocket.” My life was in
danger and I almost lost it. After that
unending labor, a natural birth is out of
the question. Finally I gave birth to a
baby girl named Reneé Dominique
(Reborn of the Lord) through a
caesarian section. Again, it was a new
life for me. God is in control.
WHATS YOUR MIRACLES LATELY?
Miracles are really all around us. In "minor"
or "major" events in our daily life. To
Christians, miracle is a normal occurrence,

55. 55
but we need to expect it. That seems to be
the norm, it would be 'a miracle' if no
miracle happens to a child of God. We
need to put that proper perspective and
conscious practice. I must confess that I
failed to be consistently claiming miracles in
our midst thus, I don't see it more often
than I should.
▪ Some miracles I have lately. Our cat
beaten to a pulp by several dogs in the
neigborhood. It was given up for dead.
We prayed for it and witness it limped
its way to full health. My printer that
won't run w/ wrong ink specs. After
many tries and when finally I need it
crucial to meeting a deadline, I prayed
and it works. My funding proposal
submission that I will never be able to
finished with only a day to go before

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deadline. I prayed for extension, not at
all possible, it was granted when I
prayed - to my surprise. (FUNNY) Like
the Christians in the upper room praying
for the release of Peter from prison and
when he appeared on the door, a free
man, they can't believe, and won't even
open the door for him to get
inside. Many, many more must be
happening in our lives, but we attribute
it to chance, luck or coincidence.
▪ Would things change if we
acknowledge the Lord's presence in our
impossibilities and say a simple sincere
and direct prayer for His
intervention. I hope I can consistently
recognize miracles appearing
impossibilities in my here and now.