Launio family

Karen, Rhea, Aida, Esther, Mama, Daddy, Wilbert, Jefferson, Marlon

A Call for Books

(pls. click poster to enlarge)

Dear All,

This is a kind call for books, a call to share in a dream, a call to help encourage reading in our communities, especially the children. It is a small start to a big dream.

We are barely readers ourselves, but we know the value of reading. So we are dreaming of a ministry of putting up a 'public private' or community library where people can read or borrow books, and where children are encouraged to discover the wonder and joy of reading. Apart from the many obvious benefits of reading, the following, in one way or another, inspired us to dream:

1. Books are expensive and not all parents, much as they desire so, cannot afford to buy books for their children;
2. Our provincial and municipal governments, much as they desire to furnish our public libraries, lack the fund to do so;
3. Our University libraries are only for students and alumni;
4. "Filipinos are not book lovers?" (Manila Chronicle, 1987) (Well, this is a matter of opinion, but indeed, relative to the Japanese or Europeans, we can, indeed, be branded as such.) Just as they say we can measure the economic progress of a town by the number of banks in that town, we can probably measure how interested people are with books by the number of bookstores in a town.
5. "One's trash might be another's treasure." For those who can afford books, especially textbooks and children's books, at some point, they might not need them anymore and these books may just be earning dust in the attic. But these used books may be very useful to others. Whoever conceived "Booksale" has done one good thing for the country's readers.
6. Our experience in Japan partly motivated us-- a 5-month kid in church playing with a soft picture book, a town library furnished with all kinds of books for all ages, a private library exhibit where a good Japanese friend brought us, a Japanese mother who is aware of the famous authors of childrens' books worldwide.


Whether interest for books is genetic or cultural, or a racial character or not, it is our fervent desire to contribute a mechanism to encourage our kakailian in the Cordilleras to love reading and enjoy learning.

And so, as the internet resource adviced, "By definition, a library starts with... books! and if you don't have any, you need to get some."

We are therefore starting, by communicating with our blog readers--family, friends and acquaintances-- our dream, and enjoining those who care to share with our dream by considering any of the following:

1. If you have any books of any kind that you think are not being used and you can let go for others' use,
2. If you are working in any school or university where textbooks change every season, and those schools throw old textbooks you think are useful, and still usable,
3. If you have friends, especially foreigners in English-speaking nations who have children, and who may have disposable children's books especially board books, (for our Japanese friends, e-hon board books would be mighty useful as well),
4. If you think there is a good cause in this endeavor, and know private individuals or organizations who give free books,
5. If you have any suggestions that will bring this dream closer to reality,

please give us the favor of sending any information by contacting us at the this email address: ukay2book@yahoo.com or sending the books directly to the following addresses:



for Philippines:
Cheryll C. Launio
c/o Imelda Casiwan
DENR, Diego Silang st.
2600 Baguio city


for USA:
Catalina T. Ballitoc
6709 Hamilton St. Riverdale,
MD 20737



for Canada:
Annabelle E. Banda-ay
222 Balmoral Avenue,
S. Hamilton, ON
L8M 3K7 Canada

for UK:
Winslow B. Casiwan
9B Lanhill Rd., Maida Vale
London W9 2BP England

Alternatively, if you have books but freight cost is too expensive to handle, kindly send us an email with your name and address and we can arrange a collect mail arrangement (possible in US, Canada, and UK i suppose), and in the case of the Philippines, please let us know and we'll see how we can find a way to shoulder the freight cost.

Thank you very much. Have a joyful and blessed New Year ahead. God bless you.

Sincerely,
Cheryll, Marlon and Khane

Khane at 2

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

"How old are you?" "Two." (while raising 5 fingers!)

Siblings

Winston, Winslow, Beveryn, Beverly, Cheryll (from top left to bottom right)

"The warrior is a child"

(Our dear Daddy went to the Lord on November 27, 2009, two days before my son's birthday. I just realized I have blogged about other people, but never wrote an inch about Daddy. Here is an interspersed biography and testimony of how gracious indeed God has been to Daddy and to us through him. Thank you very much for all the prayer and support you have given him while he was still alive. He was 69. -che)

"Lately I've been winning battles left and right.
But even winners can get wounded in the fight."

Daddy has been fighting since childhood. He fought for his future when at an early age in Agawa village, his father died. He decided that education is his way out so he traveled to La Trinidad and fought for his education. Washing dishes in the then famous Manila Café in Baguio city was just one of his many bouts. God was gracious enough to use his perseverance, and win him a degree and a first job at Easters’ School (now Easter College) as a teacher. He later moved to the then Mountain State Agricultural College, now Benguet State University (BSU).

When God granted him a scholarship to the UK for a diploma course, he thought diplomas are almost not recognized in the Philippines compared with degrees so while completing the course, he applied for a scholarship to be able to pursue an MS degree. In his words, “I never studied very hard that much in my whole life.” By God’s grace, he got himself a scholarship and went on to get his MS degree at Reading University.

He had his share of flaws. When he was young and not so young, he kept fighting his drinking problem. He was a mess when a drunk. He can be found sleeping in some sari-sari store or outside our door. He always tried to control, but always, he was unsuccessful. It took Christ's power and a redeemed heart for him to finally be able to stop.

He fought and worked hard for our family. At some period, we were five going to different universities all at the same time. How unimaginable for parents this time. “That education is the only inheritance he can leave us“ became almost a cliché for the household because of how often he repeated it. He nailed to our minds the value of getting an education. (He silently wished one of us would take up Law, which was his one unfulfilled dream.) I cannot remember anymore what our discourse then was about, but his teasing voice saying "I thought you are intelligent!" with a triumphant laugh subsequently became a household phrase or punchline, even now in my own family.

At BSU, God raised him through the ranks and allowed him to achieve full professorship some years before he retired. He often fought for the faculty and staff. He had detractors, yet often, when there was something the faculty or staff would like to lobby, he was always urged or entreated to assert or be the spokesperson. I know this from his many accounts of how people can be friends or foes depending on the circumstance, and how so often, people forget. He had shortcomings and made mistakes yet I know in those 36 years, he sincerely served and fought for BSU in many little ways unknown to many. When his stint as VP for research was ending, we were discussing whether he should go for renewal during one of our weekend talks. I opined, "What for, when you can just enjoy life sans the stress and the intrigues."

He fought for the pigs, the chicken, the pig raisers. I remember how he was sometimes sought for by neighbors who had sick pigs. He was often mistaken to be a Vet (Dr.) as he was a PhD holder in Animal Science and called Dr. He fought for indigent communities whom he didn’t know. He facilitated a HELP project, a yearly program where students from some British Universities visit the Philippines for sightseeing, but at the same time establish at least one community project they themselves construct with the help of local folks.

Always, he fought for his kakailian (co-villagers). He was a member of the Agawa people’s organization, and a long-time adviser to the Agawa credit cooperative based in Baguio and Benguet. He has been in La Trinidad for around two-thirds of his lifetime, yet he always cherished the times with his kakailian during lalapet, an old Agawa village tradition of eating lalapet, a sort of rice cake – powdered rice and glutinous rice filled with roasted grated peanuts steamed in banana leaves. He boasts of the small Agawa credit cooperative which now has a million-pesos worth assets. It is both conjecture and prayer on my part, but I think in God's sovereignty, his life story inspired and will continue to inspire our kakailian regarding the virtue of hard work and learning.

Months before he was about to retire from the University, he was diagnosed with chronic renal failure. He had to undergo dialysis twice then later thrice a week. This started his long fight with life. He said, it was painful and tiring, but along with mama, he fought with bravery the frequent dialysis sessions, congestions, and the handful of drug capsules and tablets he had to take before or after every meal. He recognized that death is in God’s time, yet human as he is, he asked God to tarry a little while longer if possible. Every injection, every handful of medicines, every hospital admission was a fight for another week, another month, another year. God was gracious enough to him and to our family in those five years.

In August this year, for reasons unknown, he suddenly lost control of his nerves and muscles. He was diagnosed with a spinal problem and couldn’t move from his neck down. His body was weak, but with his mind still sharp, he tried to reconcile God’s love and his tremendous suffering. This started his fight with his own faith, alternating between his assurance of an eternal life with Christ and his human desire to live for a little time more. He recognized how blessed he was in his lifetime, but in his pain and suffering, poverty in spirit overcame him.

A week before he died, he told mama he is tired, and asked to be given a week.

"He drops his sword and cries for just a while.
Cuz deep inside this armor, the warrior is a child."

(I am currently writing up my thesis which i thought has no story to tell (It deadlines on Christmas day!!). After writing Daddy's story, I don't think that now. I think my thesis might have an interesting story after all, albeit behind the lines. Whether I finish or not, I thank him for inspiring me to strive for learning. Because although even education and learning are immaterial in the next life, God, in His sovereignty, can use them for His divine purposes.-che)

An encouraging devotional

"We do not know all that awaits us in the remaining todays of this perishing world. Yet we can be sure that there are trials to come—deprivations, dangers, failures, tragedies, broken relationships, disappointments, and persecution. How can we face it all? We persevere in the strength of Scripture’s assurance that heaven’s victory will come...

Heaven does not make earth’s trials vanish, but it shrinks them from their giant proportions with the perspective of God’s ultimate provision...

We spend too much time stressed out over what eternity will make incidental, defeated by ephemeral setbacks that heaven’s magnitude will dwarf to microscopic proportions... "

(from a devotional article at Covenant Seminary's LivingChrist360 ministry. Hehe we have no time to write so we just upload encouraging and interesting articles whenever we can. Please read the whole article below if you are interested. We hope this will encourage you as it has encouraged us tremendously. - che )

Immortal--and Undaunted--in Christ
(downloaded from http://www.livingchrist360.com/dailymessages/devotionals/?date=2009-08-17)

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

-- 1 Corinthians 15:53-58

We do not know all that awaits us in the remaining todays of this perishing world. Yet we can be sure that there are trials to come—deprivations, dangers, failures, tragedies, broken relationships, disappointments, and persecution. How can we face it all? We persevere in the strength of Scripture’s assurance that heaven’s victory will come. Paul says, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality,” heaven’s realities will blossom (1 Cor. 15:54). Note how definite these words are. There are no “ifs” but a definite “when.” The mortal will have immortality in Christ. This perspective is our source of hope and renewal in the face of any disaster.

Heaven does not make earth’s trials vanish, but it shrinks them from their giant proportions with the perspective of God’s ultimate provision. If we know we are safe eternally, then what threat of man can intimidate us? What challenges of this world have the power to detour us from God’s purposes? C. S. Lewis advised that when Satan attempts to frighten or paralyze us with this world’s trials, we should answer his threats with this retort: “Pish, posh. What can you do to me? I am an immortal being!” We can say: Death, be not proud; decay, do not exult; disaster, do not claim victory over us. For though you may seem to conquer our bodies here, our Bible says that all of this life is but a hand’s breadth of time compared with the infinity of eternity that spreads before Christians in God’s Kingdom (cf. Ps. 39:5).

We spend too much time stressed out over what eternity will make incidental, defeated by ephemeral setbacks that heaven’s magnitude will dwarf to microscopic proportions. Embarrassing grades, frustrating finances, ministry failures, relational mistakes, life’s terrible injustices—all these carry legitimate pain. Yet with heaven’s perspective we have strength to endure all these earthly trials without buckling to despair. This trouble will pass, and the matters of eternity alone shall last.

Of course, merely enduring trial is not all Paul wants for us or from us. It has been said that hope hears the music of heaven, but faith dances to it. If heaven’s claims cause us merely to endure this world, then we have not heard the angelic strains clearly enough. When we understand that resurrection realities provide joy for tomorrow (so it need not worry us) and strength for today (so it need not intimidate us), our hearts should begin to beat for higher purposes than the rest of the world can even consider. Heaven rightly perceived results not in retreat from this world’s concerns, but in wholehearted commitment to the purposes of God. When we rest assured of future blessing and present security, there is nothing to hold us back from committing ourselves fully to the work of ministry. An uncompromising heart on fire for God’s purposes is the inevitable result of heaven’s realities fully grasped.

May the Lord grant us all such heaven-empowered zeal, and may he use us mightily for his Kingdom work.

This material is adapted from chapter 8 of Bryan Chapell’s book The Wonder of It All: Rediscovering the Treasures of Your Faith (Crossway, 1999). Learn more about the glories of God's grace with our free CD of Studies in Romans, featuring Bible teaching by Bryan Chapell and Scripture readings by Max McLean.

Technology's Wonders: Not so Wondrous

(I am currently reading a book entitled "The Accidental Theorist" by Paul Krugman. It is actually a compilation of articles he wrote for popular magazines. I kind of like his statements in this specific article he wrote on technological progress. I am sharing it here.-che)

"Technology's Wonders: Not so Wondrous

Lately many business leaders and thinkers have become preoccupied with something called the Information Technology Paradox. It goes like this: We live in an age of unprecedented technological progress, which is making everyone far more efficient than before. Yet where is the payoff? The standard of living of ordinary Americans doesn't seem to be soaring; if anything, many people are finding it harder, not easier, to make ends meet. If we're so smart, why aren't we richer?

A lot of ingenious things have been said about the reasons for the paradox, but there is one explanation that hardly anyone dares mention: Maybe the wonders of technology we keep hearing about aren't really all that wondrous."

Loved by the Father!

our birthday encouragement...

"My actions are not blameless. My status is." - Bryan Chapell

... He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it
away, nailing it to the cross. - Col. 2: 14

Pu-ru (Pool) ga daisuki Khane!

with Jay in Kochi

Jay Sano is a batchmate in High School and College.

A typical and atypical Jap's advice

WORDS TO LIVE BY
Author/Physician Shigeaki Hinohara
(Published in The Japan Times Online January 29, 2009)
By JUDIT KAWAGUCHI

At the age of 97 years and 4 months, Shigeaki Hinohara is one of the world's longest-serving physicians and educators. Hinohara's magic touch is legendary: Since 1941 he has been healing patients at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo and teaching at St. Luke's College of Nursing. After World War II, he envisioned a world-class hospital and college springing from the ruins of Tokyo; thanks to his pioneering spirit and business savvy, the doctor turned these institutions into the nation's top medical facility and nursing school. Today he serves as chairman of the board of trustees at both organizations. Always willing to try new things, he has published around 150 books since his 75th birthday, including one "Living Long, Living Good" that has sold more than 1.2 million copies. As the founder of the New Elderly Movement, Hinohara encourages others to live a long and happy life, a quest in which no role model is better than the doctor himself.

Energy comes from feeling good, not from eating well or sleeping a lot. We all remember how as children, when we were having fun, we often forgot to eat or sleep. I believe that we can keep that attitude as adults, too. It's best not to tire the body with too many rules such as lunchtime and bedtime.

All people who live long — regardless of nationality, race or gender — share one thing in common: None are overweight. For breakfast I drink coffee, a glass of milk and some orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil in it. Olive oil is great for the arteries and keeps my skin healthy. Lunch is milk and a few cookies, or nothing when I am too busy to eat. I never get hungry because I focus on my work. Dinner is veggies, a bit of fish and rice, and, twice a week, 100 grams of lean meat.

Always plan ahead. My schedule book is already full until 2014, with lectures and my usual hospital work. In 2016 I'll have some fun, though: I plan to attend the Tokyo Olympics!

There is no need to ever retire, but if one must, it should be a lot later than 65. The current retirement age was set at 65 half a century ago, when the average life-expectancy in Japan was 68 years and only 125 Japanese were over 100 years old. Today, Japanese women live to be around 86 and men 80, and we have 36,000 centenarians in our country. In 20 years we will have about 50,000 people over the age of 100.

Share what you know. I give 150 lectures a year, some for 100 elementary-school children, others for 4,500 business people. I usually speak for 60 to 90 minutes, standing, to stay strong.

When a doctor recommends you take a test or have some surgery, ask whether the doctor would suggest that his or her spouse or children go through such a procedure. Contrary to popular belief, doctors can't cure everyone. So why cause unnecessary pain with surgery? I think music and animal therapy can help more than most doctors imagine.

To stay healthy, always take the stairs and carry your own stuff. I take two stairs at a time, to get my muscles moving.

My inspiration is Robert Browning's poem "Abt Vogler." My father used to read it to me. It encourages us to make big art, not small scribbles. It says to try to draw a circle so huge that there is no way we can finish it while we are alive. All we see is an arch; the rest is beyond our vision but it is there in the distance.

Pain is mysterious, and having fun is the best way to forget it. If a child has a toothache, and you start playing a game together, he or she immediately forgets the pain. Hospitals must cater to the basic need of patients: We all want to have fun. At St. Luke's we have music and animal therapies, and art classes.

Don't be crazy about amassing material things. Remember: You don't know when your number is up, and you can't take it with you to the next place.

Hospitals must be designed and prepared for major disasters, and they must accept every patient who appears at their doors. We designed St. Luke's so we can operate anywhere: in the basement, in the corridors, in the chapel. Most people thought I was crazy to prepare for a catastrophe, but on March 20, 1995, I was unfortunately proven right when members of the Aum Shinrikyu religious cult launched a terrorist attack in the Tokyo subway. We accepted 740 victims and in two hours figured out that it was sarin gas that had hit them. Sadly we lost one person, but we saved 739 lives.

Science alone can't cure or help people. Science lumps us all together, but illness is individual. Each person is unique, and diseases are connected to their hearts. To know the illness and help people, we need liberal and visual arts, not just medical ones.

Life is filled with incidents. On March 31, 1970, when I was 59 years old, I boarded the Yodogo, a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and as Mount Fuji came into sight, the plane was hijacked by the Japanese Communist League-Red Army Faction. I spent the next four days handcuffed to my seat in 40-degree heat. As a doctor, I looked at it all as an experiment and was amazed at how the body slowed down in a crisis.

Find a role model and aim to achieve even more than they could ever do. My father went to the United States in 1900 to study at Duke University in North Carolina. He was a pioneer and one of my heroes. Later I found a few more life guides, and when I am stuck, I ask myself how they would deal with the problem.

It's wonderful to live long. Until one is 60 years old, it is easy to work for one's family and to achieve one's goals. But in our later years, we should strive to contribute to society. Since the age of 65, I have worked as a volunteer. I still put in 18 hours seven days a week and love every minute of it.

Judit Kawaguchi loves to listen. She is a volunteer counselor and a TV reporter on NHK's "Out & About." Learn more at: http://juditfan.blog58.fc2.com/

(The article was forwarded to us by Mr. Dan Espiritu, our Ninong who knows how to feel good and have fun himself, and makes others, too.)

P.S.
I say a typical Japanese because a lot of his words to live by are words to live by for most Japanese. I say atypical Japanese because, in my opinion, points 1, 5 and 10--some of my favorites in the essay, are true for some, but not typical to a Japanese. -che

"It's His Kindness that Leads Us to Repentance.."

Improvement of Species

And that's what we call improvement of species (lol)

Khane goes "undokai"

May 14, 2009. Khane participates in the undokai (sports day) at the Akebono daycare center.

other pix at 17mos

Easter Greetings

Dearest all,

It’s been quite a while. I’m just pausing from what’s keeping me to keep in touch, and greet my dearest all a Happy Easter. Indeed, our greatest hope is in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. On my end, it’s really been a struggle to keep my prayer time and devotion up and well. So whenever I get my head straight and am able to do it, I keep asking His forgiveness, and keep thanking God for Christ’s death and resurrection. Otherwise, I’d be possessed with guilt, and be tempted to give up trusting Christ. It’s the essence of Easter that continues to give me hope. Thank you for continually remembering me and my family in your prayers.

Attached is an encouraging Easter devotion I got from the Covenant Theological Seminary’s living Christ resources- http://www.livingchrist360.com/. I hope you will also find it encouraging. By the way, the site’s great, along with their worldwide classroom (http://www.worldwide-classroom.com/).

Another year more, and God willing, we’ll all be back for good. I do miss you all, and although I don’t write often, I know I have a family back there (church, office, relatives, friends, acquaintances--whichever group you think you belong to) I can always go home to.
Happy Easter.

In His Care,
Cheryll

Giving birth in Japan (...while studying)

In summary, I would like to say that although it was not an easy experience, the grace of God--the love of our champion sister and the Japanese Christian brethren, the kindness of the Japanese volunteers for foreign students, and the resilience of a Filipino spirit-- made it a wonderful, tolerable one.

It was not unwelcome but I got pregnant in a not very opportune time. I therefore had mixed feelings of great joy and apprehension upon receiving the news but because I acknowledge that it was God-ordained, I decided that I should face the fact only with joy and great expectations. An avalanche of questions, decision points and scenarios ensued in my simple mind. That I can sacrifice my PhD degree for the human heartbeat was out of the question. The question was can I have both in Japan? In the end, after many prayers and much consideration, and discussion with my husband, my parents, my academic adviser, and my champion sister (a Japanese sister in church cum volunteer), I made the decision to give birth here in Japan. I struggled but it was the best compromise for the interest of my family and studies.

It turned out that the two most formidable problems were first, convincing others that it was the right decision based on my circumstances, and second, communicating to doctors and nurses in Nihongo. I have no control over the former, but solving the latter started the never-ending service of our champion sister who painstakingly accompanied us to the hospital and health center, translated for us, was with me in the delivery room, and watched the development of our little one with genuine care. Her gift of service then and even until now is unmatched. We are comforted and inspired knowing that her motivation of helping us is the sheer joy of serving her God. She helps and expects nothing in return, not even a debt of gratitude.

The love and prayers of our Japanese Christian brethren at the Asakura Joyful Christian Church are also equally much appreciated. Their authentic moral support, prayers and encouragement were helpful. Their steadfast faith was a source of inspiration, not only for my family, but also for my studies. They have become my family in Japan, indeed.

Also, it would have been impossible for me to give birth and raise a baby here in Japan without the kindness and assistance of the Japanese volunteers for foreign students. One Japanese volunteer translated important documents so my husband was able to come and help me out. Another champion volunteer taught us how and where to avail of government services, and assisted us in many ways making sure that we have the basic necessities enough to cope with life in Japan with a baby especially in the winter season. She and another couple volunteer are unsung heroes to many foreign students, especially the new students, and they deserve great commendations.

Finally, I should say it is not easy to raise a baby and study at the same time even in one’s homeland, and more so in a foreign land. It definitely entails difficult trade-offs. Yet true to the resilience of a Filipino spirit and only in the grip of God’s grace, I am now blessed with a boy who is now toddling, and on the academic side, so far one paper published in an international journal. Kami sama, kansha shimasu!

(This is an article they asked me to write for Akebono. The last phrase on publication, i must say, was included there, as a matter of politics . Otherwise, it can be dispensed with. - che)

w/ Douglass C. North

(from left) Douglass C. North, 1993 Prize in Economics; Third Dacanay, professor at UP Baguio; Laarni Escresa, graduate student of University of Bologna (Picture taken during the Beijing Ronald Coase Workshop on Institutional Analysis)

Sino ba sya?

Excerpts from Douglass C. North's autobiography (bold text, mine)...

... Our family life was certainly not intellectual...

... My record at the University of California as an undergraduate was mediocre to say the best. I had only slightly better than a "C" average, although I did have a triple major in political science, philosophy, and economics...

... What the war did was give me the opportunity of three years of continuous reading, and it was in the course of reading that I became convinced that I should become an economist...

... I went back to graduate school with the clear intention that what I wanted to do with my life was to improve societies, and the way to do that was to find out what made economies work the way they did or fail to work. I believed that once we had an understanding of what determined the performance of economies through time, we could then improve their performance. I have never lost sight of that objective.

For his full autobiography, check
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1993/north-autobio.html

For his prize lecture
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1993/north-lecture.html