Tens of thousands of people in the Metro Manila area and several provinces suffered in the onslaught of record rainfall from Storm Ketsana. God has encouraging words for them as well as those of us who were not affected much by the storm. Psalm 46 is one chapter that assures and quiets our souls, especially in times of great distress such as this.

God is Our Refuge, Strength and Help: A Sermon on Psalm 46

I. When Creation is in Upheaval 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though h its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

II. When Enemies Surround God’s People 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

III. When Christ Returns in Judgment 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

October 9, 2009—This is a correction to my previous post. The outreach program will not be for flood victims, but for “our less fortunate batch members.” My apologies to all of you, especially to our President. I have been flooded with emails about flood relief (no pun intended), and that was foremost in my mind when I received his email.

October 6, 2009

Dear Batchmates,

THS Batch ‘67 Year 2009 will be having an outreach program for our less fortunate batch members which will be held on the Annual Homecoming at the Ambassador Hotel, Manila on November 27, 2009.

I wish to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to all my batchmates abroad who have extended their support to this program and to all those who will extend their assistance to this noble endeavor:

1.  Teresita Cheng — Canada

2.  Vicente Barrientos — Canada

3.  Angelina Manipon — Canada

4.  Virginia Guevarra — USA

Respectfully yours,

DANTE R. MAGAT
President
THS Batch ‘67 (2009)

This activity is part of  THS Batch 67’s traditional annual program. Bonding experience such as sharing and laughters,  early morning fragrance of  fresh air and the serenity of the lagoon made us cool and relaxed. Potluck sa food and KKB sa entrance of 50 pesos ang bawat isa. Busog na busog kami sa sobra ng pagkain. May nagdala ng kare-kere, inihaw na hito, japanese food, pritong talong na may bagoong, mga ibat ibang klase ng prutas, inihaw na tilapia, mga matamis, fruit salad, puto kutsinta, drinks, inihaw na liempo, karne barbecue , ibat ibang klase ng lutong Pilipino at marami pang iba. Masaya and very successful ang bonding and support group experience ng bawat isa. I hope you can post these to our website.

Regards to everyone.

God bless and more power!
Dave Bondoc

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).

12►

From: Ofelia Saniel
Date: 12/25/2008 12:23:57 PM
To: CJ

Hi CJ,

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.  Thank you for sharing with me the wonderful message. At times I really dread the coming of Christmas because of so many things that I need to do and I forget the real essence of Christmas.

My term as THS67 president is nearly up in a few days. Actually, the outgoing Board members and the incoming 2009 members will have a Christmas-cum Turnover party this Saturday. The usual potluck and some singing and probably dancing.

We already turned over to THS the woodworking tools that we promised. These tools cost ₱49,000. Likewise, we also turned over ₱30,000 for financial assistance for 10 months for two incoming 4th year students. That turns out to be ₱1,500 per month per child. The THS librarian suggested that we can even increase the beneficiaries to seven for the same amount so that more children can benefit from the assistance. We are still hammering out the conditions of the assistance such as the selection process, the grade requirements, the disposition of the money etc. We also gave them ₱56,000 for library books and references. This money came from the solicitations received last Las Vegas mini reunion. (Thank you so much for this.)

The turnover of these donations was done during the Christmas party of THS students kaya tamang-tama. The teachers and the students were of course happy. I am sure THS67 Alumni Association members are also happy. We gave a substantial amount this year. It was just unfortunate that we were not able to sell many tickets during the Dinner-Dance last Oct. 25. We needed to sell 200 tickets lang so we will have some ₱20,000 earnings. That was a missed opportunity to earn more funds for THS67. Many found the ₱500 ticket expensive. (I was able to sell 63 tickets myself, however.) Our bingo socials this year did better than last year. I realized that it is easier to sell bingo tickets than dinner-dance tickets to our batchmates.

We also registered anew the Alumni Association. Its registration was never renewed ever since it was registered the first time. The Constitution and By-Laws were revised and approved by the general assembly during our joint 2008 Reunion and Christmas Party  last Nov. 29. We had our Reunion at Old Swiss Inn Restaurant. Far different from the usual Chinese restos that we patronize. We also had our elections and Dante Magat is the new President.

I am just too eager to hand over the leadership to Dante. He told me that the first activity of  THS67 will be a Valentine’s Party.

Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2009!

Ofie

Ofelia P. Saniel, MPH, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, College of Public Health
University of the Philippines Manila
Tel. +632 5254239 +632 5247118

This post is a place for everyone to greet one another a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Or in Tagalog: Maligayang Pasko! • Visayan: Maayong Pasko! • Ilocano: Naimbag a Pascua! • Pampangueño: Malugud Pascu! • Pangasinan: Maabig ya Pasko! • Bicolano: Maugmang Kapaskuhan!

What are your fondest Christmas memories while you were in high school?

My family has an annual Christmas newsletter which you can read or download here.

I also have a recent Advent season sermon posted here, “The Star and Scepter of God’s People,” based on Numbers 24:15-25. Here’s a summary:

This Christmas season, remember a couple of gifts God has given you. First, God has given you the righteousness of Christ. Because Christ is The Sun and Scepter of Righteousness, you who have faith in Christ will also be counted as righteous in Christ. And if you have put your trust in Christ, you do not have to fear his coming in judgment!

Second, since you have Christ’s righteousness, God has also given you a glorious future. Instead of judgment, you will receive your reward. Instead of destruction, you will receive a glorious resurrected body, a body whose glory will be like the glory of the stars in heaven. Then, like Christ the Bright Morning Star, The Sun of Righteousness, you will “shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” forever and ever.

Dinner: Saturday, Sept 6 [?]
Grand Canyon Tour: Sunday, Sept 7 [?]

Contact Person:
Buddy Jose
8452465 Boseck Drive #219
Las Vegas, Nevada 89145
(702) 405-8581 (Home)
(909) 800-0646

List of Participants:

Hello Everyone! You are receiving this email because you are GORGEOUS, GOODLOOKING, WONDERFUL AND PRETTY DARN SPECIAL to the other THS batch 67!!!

Now that I have your attention, here’s the latest.

Our Vegas gig is fast approaching. I know there’s been no word about it for a while, and that’s because I had to wait for more concrete news from the Manila folks, which I did and good news is: eight wonderful Manila based friends are definitely coming. They already got their papers and tickets tucked under their armpits!! The delegation will be headed by none other than the Father and Mother of THS’67, Lino Carpio and Lydia P.

So everybody listen up! Vegas is still on (September 5-8, 2008). Below is the tentative itinerary:

Friday, Sept 5: Arrival in Vegas per Buddy (verbatim),” we will probably have buffet dinner at any of the casino hotels depending on the agreed budget. No reservations needed. Outside of the strip, Buffet @Asia offers all you can eat lobsters, oysters and many popular seafood at a reasonable $16.99 per head including drinks with a voluntary tip for large parties. We can squeeze in a trip to the Valley of Fire if they arrive early. It is only 45 minutes from the strip. For old folks like us, it is worth seeing red rock formations and petroglyphs from the ancient people, read Indians, than just watching them on Discovery channel or reading them on National Geographic”.

Saturday, Sept. 6: ??

Sunday, Sept. 7: Free day for shopping or sightseeing

Monday, Sept. 8: Grand Canyon Outing. Also per Buddy “the Grand Canyon trip to the west rim “skywalk” takes about 2 hours from the strip and another hour to get to the site on unpaved road. This is privately run so it is a little bit expensive than the north/south rims where you pay only an entrance fee per vehicle (depending on size) but needs 4 hours or more to reach. At skywalk, you pay an entrance fee of 50 bucks per vehicle and 25 bucks per person to cross the sky bridge. You have to shell out 25 more for pictures (no cameras allowed) and that’s it. Hoover Dam is on the way to the canyon and we can stop for photo ops which can take from 15 to 30 minutes.”

Please note that you are responsible for your own accommodations in Vegas. Those U.S. and Canada based participants might get a better deal when booking airfare and room accommodations as a package.

Buddy needs firm numbers to book transportation needs for the Grand Canyon trip. You have a fairly good idea now of the cost per person. For those who have not seen the Grand Canyon , especially folks from way out of town, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. God knows when you’ll be in the neighborhood again. It is not cheap, so work on your budget and let me know in you next e-mail.

The success of this get-together will be based on everybody’s cooperation. If you are serious about this mini-reunion, take time out from your busy schedule and give a definite answer. We’d really appreciate it. Consider this an RSVP and the deadline is at the end of this month (July).

So I’m looking forward to hearing only from those who are serious about this event. If you have any question, e-mail me ASAP.

Will keep everybody posted as to the finalized itinerary. Regards and hoping to hear from everyone soon!

CJ

P.S. Buds: Thanks a million for taking care of business your side of the mountain.

Note: Carol: Dinner on Friday all depends on what time the San Francisco folks get to Vegas. If they get there late (SF to Vegas is a very long drive, something like 9 hours and 570 miles) then they might be too tired from the drive. If that’s the case then Saturday night would be better for dinner and social. I think that you really cannot finalize anything until you hear from all the participants’ arrival time in Las Vegas.

Update on the Dinner-Dance from Ofie Pardo-Saniel: Preparations for the Dinner-Dance on October 25 are well underway. It will be held at Teatrino at Promenade in Greenhills at 7 pm. (You can even go shopping at Greenhills if you come early. Lots of parking available.) Tickets are now available (Php 500 each inclusive of dinner) from me (0922-863-3542; 525-4239 work, 559-0576 (home evenings only or you can leave message on the answering machine). You can also contact Vang de Villa-Salvador (253-8580 home or 0928-221-3785) if you need tickets. There will be prizes for dance contest winners. Have fun and help the Class raise funds to support our various projects for Torres High. Bring your ballroom-dancing friends and enjoy the night. See you on October 25!

Bingo Social: Hello THS Class 67! We will have the first of our fund-raising activities, a Bingo Social, on August 9, Saturday at 1:00 pm at Torres High School oval. Bingo cards are on sale. Please contact Dante Magat (712-0554), the overall chair for the event. You can also contact Vang de Villa-Salvador (253-8580) or Belen Bohol (0915-430-4491) for tickets/bingo cards or for more details. The prizes are PhP5,000first prize; PhP3,000 2nd prize; and PhP2,000 3rd prize. There will also be PhP500 for each game of the 7 games.

The proceeds for this Bingo social will be used to support THS67 projects such as college scholarship assistance for needy but bright THS graduates, library upgrading and tools for carpentry class. On October 25, we will sponsor a Dinner-Dance. This will also be part of our class fund-raising activities. I will update you about this event in future postings. Let us support Torres High, its faculty, students and graduates and have fun during these fund-raising events.

Dinner Dance: October 25 at Teatrino in Greenhills.

Other THS ‘67 Announcements: SEC Registration

Here’s Ofie’s message in full:

Dear CJ and other THS’67 members abroad,

Thanks CJ for the information. I will pass this on to the rest who expressed interest at one time or another. May I use the LV reunion to appeal for financial assistance from THS’67 members who will be in the Reunion and from other who are in various parts of the world with whom we have contact?

The THS ‘67 Board of Trustees for 2007 has lined up two major fund-raising activities. These are the Bingo Socials on Aug. 9 at Torres High and the Dinner Dance on Oct. 25 at Teatrino in Greenhills. In addition to this, we are re-registering the THS’67 Alumni Association with the Securities and Exchange Commission since its registration was never renewed since it was incorporated. (This statement needs to be verified by the past presidents, however.)

Although there are some who think SEC registration is unnecessary, I passionately feel that this needs to be done. The registration will not only legitimize the existence of the Association, it will also justify our efforts to raise funds through fund-raising activities and solicitations to finance our class projects. We also plan to present to the general THS67 membership in November 2008 the proposed amendments to the Association’s Constitution and By-Laws, specifically on membership, the selection and tenure of the Board of Members, etc., which are not very clear in the present Constitution and By-Laws.

During the Strategic and Operational Planning that we had early this year, the Board and the Advisory Council composed of the Association’s past presidents decided that for this year, we will support the following:

1. limited scholarships or financial assistance for college education to bright but poor THS graduates;
2. upgrade/update THS library collections and facilities;
3. provision of teaching/learning resources needed by THS students in some of their subjects (e.g., woodworking carpentry tools for vocational students, lapel microphones for teachers for big classes);
4. last, but not least, the small financial assistance that is provided to THS67 members in case of deaths within their immediate family.

There were other suggestions but the group felt that these could be very expensive and not sustainable given the limited funds of the Association.

We had been in-touch with the THS principal, the librarian, with Blanche Palileo-Tavios (a teacher at THS), and the officers of the federation of THS Alumni Association (through Ester Ong). We may need to join forces with the “mother” THS Alumni Association for the scholarship project since this kind of project usually requires large amount of funds. Moreover, we will spared of the tedious task of administering a small amount of funds. It is more efficient to coordinate with other alumni classes who have similar projects.

Given all these plans, we are appealing to our sisters and brothers in the Association to help us realize all the plans. Your assistance may come in the form of more active participation (now made possible by our own website). We need your ideas, thoughts, suggestions about the class projects. Of course, we will also welcome whatever financial support you can extend us to fund those projects. We also need your encouragement and support since we are doing all these work at the time when the entire country and its people are reeling from the high cost of living brought about by the energy and food crises. All of us are affected including members of Class 67.

I am not and cannot do this alone. I am supported by the rest of the Board Members and by some of the former association’s presidents. To them, I am very grateful. For instance, Dante Magat (with the help of Mon Urbe, Belen Bohol, Vang de Villa, and others in the Board) was very generous to agree to take charge of the Bingo Socials. (This was a lot of load off my shoulders.) Mon and Belen are not members of the current Board but they are more than willing to give a hand.

Other members of the Board like Belen and Nita Ampil help me with the SEC registration. Volet de Jesus and Vang de Villa are my foot soldiers being the Board Secretary and the Treasurer. Our minutes of meeting and monthly financial reports are never late and are in order. Flor Lauriaga, Letty Sta Ana and Buddy Mapile are helping craft the revised Constitution and By-Laws. Tess Alog and Rosie Salazar are always ready to take on odd tasks. Nora Agustin and Tess Cunanan, together with Dante are doing the canvassing for the carpentry tools. Dave, of course is always ready to lend a hand for our special needs like designing the Board’s stationery and photo needs. Ester Ong gives the Board advise and represents Class 67 in the THS federation of alumni associations. Like Ester, we can always count on Lino and Lydia Carpio for their help. We still need to hear from Jessamyn Nilo who is the newest addition to the Board when Manny Mariano resigned because of ill health. She promised to join us on July 26 meeting, however.

Of course, CJ, you are the Board’s “town crier,” reporter, organizer, rah-rah girl, etc. Thanks a lot for all your trust and support.

So that, my friends, is my State of the Association Address midway through my term as President. (He-he!) Thank you for all your support in the past, the present and the FUTURE.

Best regards.

Ofie Pardo Saniel

Another THS Class 1967 reunion is planned this September (or sometime around Fall) 2008 in Las Vegas, USA. Planning is ongoing, and those interested should contact cj6atcoxdotnet or opsanielatgmaildotcom.