Health & Home (May - June 2023)

ISSN 0115-0839

Bursts of Gladness Newfound Confidence Through Operation Smile Philippines

COLUMNS

5

4

iContact

6

Stewardship

Anxiety Disorders

Instructing Children How to Earn and Use Money

20

8

Life Musings

Journey Toward Eternity

Dr. Carlito P. Quidet, Jr.

Bursts of Gladness

13

Personal Answers Dr. Sheryll Ann M. Castillo

Dear Doctor Dr. Linda L. Varona

RSV Infection

CONTENTS M AY– J U N E 2 0 2 3

27

Consult Your Lawyer Atty. Silvino L. Sumagaysay, Jr.

Limited Purpose Marriage

32

Food for the Family Dr. Miriam R. Estrada

Michelle Anne P. Diamante

Ellen G. White

Edmund R. Villasorda

A Dose of Humor

14

Grace in the Act

Leomar P. Percival

Giving the Wrong Shoes

16

Doable Fitness Eden L. Elisan

Short Incident Physical Activity

38

21

40

Standpoint Nathanlie M. Baldoza

Learner’s Lab Ophelia Miraflores-Barizo

How Do Animals Survive Harsh Environments?

About the Cover

Model: Angel Gift Tubig Cover photo: Harold Bryan L. Namoca

Amusing Moments in History

Time to Eat

Whistles in the House

All Smiles. Children with cleft lip or palate can face a brighter future with the help of Operation Smile Philippines (see p. 24).

REGULARS

4

Education Emelyn Joy A. Maglana

A Rich Teacher

23

A Day in the Life of . . . a Veterinarian Royce Bellaire G. de Luna

The Animal Doctor Is in

30

Happiness in Leadership Dr. Dan Smith

You Can Be a Leader

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

16 COMING UP . . . Flashes of Optimism • The Story Behind the Maginhawa Community Pantry • Are Fungi Our Allies? • Absolute vs. Conditional Pardon • Toning Exercises at Home • Sadie’s Dog Is Missing! • What Changed My Mind About Marriage

33

Modern Homemaking Royce Bellaire G. de Luna

Less Is More: Build a Capsule Wardrobe

34

People & Places SULADS

The Practical Buhid Mangyan

36

Children’s Corner Meriam A. Polinar

When a Smile Goes a Mile!

39

Arts & Crafts Gabriel S. Tiano

Book Paper Bouquet

46

Word for the World Jeffrey E. Panes

The Happiest Day of All

47

Notes from the Frontlines Elphie A. Alonzo

My Team

36

24

10

FEATURES Motion Creates Emotion Dr. Darren Morton

Act happy to be happy

18

Humor in Marriage Dr. Irelyn C. Gabin

Laugh with—not at—your spouse

44

24

Operation Smile Philippines: Changing Lives 45 Minutes at a Time

Health & Home Staff

Hope for children with cleft lip or palate

God Has a Sense of Humor

28

Dr. Dan Namanya

Making light of darkness

42

Too Much Blood: Polycythemia Vera Dr. Jerald L. Pelayo

Health problems due to an overproductive marrow

44

Laugh Your Way to a Healthier You Bruce Manners

Try a “laughie” instead of a selfie

Stewardship

By Ellen G. White

model not subject of the article

Instructing Children

P

How to Earn and Use Money

arents are to bring up and educate and train their children in habits of selfcontrol and self-denial. They are ever to keep before them their obligation to obey the word of God and to live for the purpose of serving Jesus. They are to educate their children that there is need of living in accordance with simple habits in their daily life, and to avoid expensive dress, expensive diet, expensive houses, and expensive furniture.

When very young, children should be educated to read, to write, to understand figures, to keep their own accounts. They may go forward, advancing step by step in this knowledge. But before everything else, they should be taught that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. . . .

Give lessons in money values Money which comes to the young with but little effort on their part will not be valued. Some have to obtain money by hard work and privation, but how much safer are those youth who know just where their spending money comes from, who know what their clothing and food costs, and what it takes to purchase a home!

There are many ways in which children can earn money themselves and can act their part in bringing thank offerings to Jesus, who gave His own life for them. . . . They should be taught that the money which they earn is not theirs to spend as their inexperienced minds may choose, but to use judiciously and to give to missionary purposes. They should not be satisfied to take money from their father or mother and put it into the treasury as an offering, when it is not theirs. They should say to themselves, “Shall I give of that which costs me nothing?”

There is such a thing as giving unwise help to our children. Those who work their way through college appreciate their advantages more than those who are provided with them at someone else's expense, for they know their cost. We must not carry our children until they become helpless burdens.

Encourage children to earn their own money Many a child who lives out of the city can have a little plot of land where he can learn to garden. He can be taught to make this a means of securing money to give to the cause of God. Both boys and girls can Health & Home ︱ 6 ︱May–June 2023

Motion CREATES EMOTION

By DR. DARREN MORTON

H

old your pointer finger out in front of you as far as possible. With your eyes closed, guide that finger back to touch your nose.

Did you skillfully navigate your finger? I am assuming you did because it actually isn’t that difficult. But how is it possible, given that you can’t see your finger to guide it?

One person said their brain knew where their mouth was because they constantly put food in it, so they just aimed a little higher!

This is partly true: Our brain does know where our body parts are even when it can’t see them because throughout our body are millions of tiny nerve endings called proprioceptors.

Proprioceptors detect how our body is positioned and moving, then relay this information to our brain.

On the way to the Leader (the thinking part of the brain), the messages from these nerve endings pass directly through the Limbo (the feeling part of the brain).1 The result is that motion creates emotion as our proprioceptors tell our Limbo how to feel.

Acting before feeling Proprioceptors can be used to manage anxiety and calm our Limbo by sending it soo­­thing messages.

These anxiety-reducing quick fixes can be summarized as the 3S approach: Slow refers to breathing.

Anxiety is associated with shallow and rapid breathing. Respiring like this can bring on an anxiety attack! Step one in creating a state of calmness is to take slow and full breaths consciously. This is why breathing exercises are integral to many relaxation strategies.

Health & Home ︱ 10 ︱May–June 2023

Grace in the Act

By Leomar P. Percival

Giving

the Wrong Shoes

B

ack in 2010, I was facing around PHP15,000.00 in student debt. I was then in my second year of college as a working student at the Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP) in Silang, Cavite.

Due to my debt, the only way I could enroll and continue stu­dying was through a miracle. Either I paid what I owed or begged the Director of Student Finance (DSF) to allow me to en­roll that semester. The second option sounded more feasible so I took it.

The path leading to the office of the DSF must be a sacred place because here, the sincerest hearts on campus whisper their most ardent prayers just before they speak with the staff.

Fortunately, after hours of que­uing, pleading, and bar­gaining, I was allowed to enroll three units. That was only one subject for the entire semester!

Nonetheless, I was satisfied because I was one step closer to my goal of becoming a teacher. I got accepted as a student guard and was tasked to be on duty for almost the entire week. photo courtesy of author The author (left) poses with the subject of his article. Dr. Gladden Flores wears shoes that look exactly the same as the ones in the story.

Striking conversation It was a typical Sabbath day. Students, faculty, and staff were streaming out of the church. The service just con­cluded, and so was my duty as a student guard that day.

A tall man sud­denly walked beside me.

“How was your day, young man? Are you on duty?” he asked.

The ham radio and logbook in my hands gave me away.

“I have just finished my work, sir, and I’m heading home to rest after an 18-hour shift,” I explained.

“After the sun sets, go to my house,” he said as we parted ways.

When I took a good look at him, I was stunned. It was no other than the university president, Dr. Gladden Flores.

Health & Home ︱ 14 ︱May–June 2023

Education

model not subject of the article

By Emelyn Joy A. Maglana

A

Rich

Teacher I

n junior high, I overheard senior friends talk about what they planned to take up in college.

“I wouldn’t be a teacher. Imagine coming to school since elementary and remaining in school after college because you are a teacher. No way!”

“Yeah, and teachers don’t get much money.”

“Teaching is hard.”

“It won’t take you abroad!”

That’s not correct! Please don’t let me hear that! I wanted to scream at them but never got the chance or courage to do so.

Some of those statements may have been true.

But now that I am teaching, I find this career very rewarding. It sounds cliché, but it’s true and much more!

I beg to disagree with those who say that getting rich is out of the question if teaching is one’s only source of income here in the Philippines.

If being rich is a matter of the mind, then I am rich because I am a teacher!

Tangible riches Teaching is like investing, but the investment is way beyond financial gains. Teaching enriches the mind and the heart. And when the heart is

happy, and the mind is filled with excitement and contentment, one has great riches.

Who will not feel rich with these tangible proofs?

Scrolling up and down through my social media apps, I am inspired to see former students’ posts. When licensure exam results are released, my feed gets flooded with rejoicing for friends passing the exams.

When it’s not time for licensure exam results, former students still have many exciting life updates.

Treasure chest Ron, Rex, and Kyla have been honored as excellent teachers in their areas.

Bon has been receiving awards for teaching out-ofschool youth.

Lyn, who had not previously demonstrated excellence in English, now teaches the language to international students. When she visited the campus, my fellow teachers were amazed to hear her speak fluently and with a Western accent.

There’s also Bert. He used to struggle to pay his school fees all his years in college. He would take the exams late several times. Sometimes he could not even take one because he could not pay the school fees immediately.

Health & Home ︱ 21 ︱ May–June 2023

Changing Lives 45 Minutes* at a Time

Philippines

By HEALTH & HOME STAFF

With volunteer medical professionals ranging from plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, and nurses to speech pathologists, therapists, and nutritionists, OSP can make what seems impossible possible.

Birth of benevolence An international organization serving 60 countries, Operation Smile has its roots in the Philippines.

In 1982, Dr. William “Bill” Magee, Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen “Kathy,” a nurse and clinical social worker, joined a group of volunteers to repair cleft lips and palates in Naga City. Expecting to help about 40 patients, they were blown away to meet some 300 families begging for help.

(L-R) Emiliano Romano, OSP Executive Director, welcomes Health & Home editors, Dr. Carlito Quidet, Jr. and Janet Tolete, to their main office in Makati City.

Health & Home ︱ 24 ︱May–June 2023

photo/Harold Bryan L. Namoca

B

ingot, bungi, ngongo. These are the words children born with cleft lip or palate often hear while growing up.

“Why do they keep calling me ‘bungi’ when my name is Jane Rose?” asked one girl to her father.1 Mothers, in particular, bear the emotional, physical, and financial burden of caring for their child, who is more challenging to feed, prone to infections, and may have other difficulties such as speech and hearing.2 Guilt, poverty, social stigma, and lack of support can even make their troubles unbearable.

Often teased, bullied, and ostracized, children with this condition usually suffer low selfesteem and have problems socializing and communicating.

But not all of their stories end there. Many find new hope and joy after as little as 30–45 minutes.

Surgeries for cleft lip and palate can vary between less than an hour to a maximum of two hours. Ideally done around a child’s first birthday, cleft lip/palate surgery has a high success rate.3 Surgery for cleft lip/palate in a private hospital, however, can rack up to around PHP250,000.

Where can underprivileged and underserved patients turn to?

Providentially, benevolent organizations, like Operation Smile Philippines (OSP), offer surgeries and other services for free.

God Has a

Sense of Humor

By DR. DAN NAMANYA

I

n 2009 after our training under 1000 Missionary Movement (see p. 8), I learned that I would be sent somewhere in the Philippines. To my surprise, a Filipino friend of mine put his arm over my shoulder and kind of mourned for me, saying I was finished.

He told me that I would die within a few weeks because I was bound to be kidnapped by some rebel groups in that area at that time. He seriously said goodbye to me, with tears in his eyes.

What an encouragement from my fellow missionary! I thought.

Honestly, I got so scared. The thought of death in the mission field made me tremble. I asked God to change my African skin color, if possible, so that I would not look so different from the people that He was sending me to serve.

A dark surprise As soon as I arrived at my destination, I was comforted by the fact that the church members were so happy and excited to have me. Right on the first night, they invited me to join them in serenading one of the church members who would be celebrating her birthday the following day.

I was informed that we would visit her house at 4:00 a.m. This was the first culture shock I had because back in Uganda, aside from the fact that we never celebrated birthdays, we never woke up at 4:00 a.m. to sing at people’s houses. Only night dancers or ritualists did that.

It was something as­­so­­­­ciated with witchcraft that involved cannibalism and spirit possession.

Well, I thought, things are different here in the Philip­ pines. So, I joined them.

I did not realize that my brothers and sisters in faith had a special surprise for the celebrant, and that surprise was me. They asked me to hold the flowers while standing at the door of the celebrant’s house as Health & Home ︱ 28 ︱May–June 2023

What will Honesty Humility Obedience

shape

character

the of your

son or daughter?

Diligence

Respectfulness

Charity Care for the Environment

Reverence

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