Monthly Archives: December 2011

Cagayan de Oro Flooding Response Trip Update after Day 1

Our team of 5 individuals from Bukal Life Care & Counseling Center began the trip to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) on Monday approximately 6AM. The previous week flooding resulted in over 1000 deaths and 50,000 in temporary housing. The team arrived in Manila and got on their 4PM flight to Cagayan de Oro. Unfortunately due to bad weather in CDO, the plane was diverted Davao, a city that is 10 hours from CDO by bus. Arriving in Davao, they were able to find a van going to CDO and began the overnight trek. Local government was not recommending taking the overland route because of risk of landslides, but since air travel was cancelled, there was no choice.
The team arrived around 7AM on the 27th. After breakfast, they began training local church and layleaders in crisis intervention. During the previous week, local government, government agencies, NGOs and religious groups joined together in CDO to plan response. Because of our plan to come down, the evangelical churches were given the responsibility for crisis counseling/intervention. They formed Ka-gayan Evangelical Disaster Response Network. This was the group we started training. 97 trainees were with us on the first day of training. The same trainees plan to join us on day two of training. The following day, our team will work with the trainees in crisis counseling/intervention with primary and secondary victims of the flooding.

After the first day of training, the team visited some of the major flood areas. Now they are catching up on their sleep (having been awake for two full days). We will update you all in a couple of days.

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Special Needs Parenting

Special Need Parents have it difficult. Often it is even more difficult in the Philippines. The support system is spotty at best. The school system, even where it does accommodate special needs children, is overcrowded, teachers overworked, and children are put together in the same classroom who should not be. There is also a cultural tendency to keep special needs children hidden away at home.

Much of these problems are world-wide. With that in mind, here is a blog article that we think you might enjoy. It is called “11 Things I’ve Learned Since Becoming a Special-Needs Parent.”  Here are the first three items. To read the rest, click on the article at the bottom of this post.

1.  Not knowing is a lot harder than knowing.   Yes, there is a lot we can do via therapy to help our children walk, talk, learn, etc.  But the hardest thing to admit is that most of it is simply up to their brain and its wiring.  There are no certain predictors that a special needs child will develop speech, be able to read, be potty-trained, or become self-sufficient .  Good signs, yes.  But nothing is certain.  The not knowing can drive you crazy if you let it.

2.  The internet is a blessing and a curse.  On one hand, there is valuable information out there.  Yet, information overload can get you stuck.  You end up reading too many awful things — that often don’t apply to your child at all — and it can deplete your hope and make you paranoid.

3.  Connecting to the special-needs community (whether it be acquaintances, support groups, or the internet) can be both a lifesaver and bummer.  It is vital to find people who know what you are going through.  Yet, sometimes it can produce even more negative feelings.  Since there is always someone who has it worse than you, it can make you feel guilty for complaining.  And, since there is always someone else who has it much better, you can sometimes forget that, when it comes to parenting, stress and worry are relative.  Those people are just as immersed in their concern over their children as you are and, understandably, aren’t grateful simply because it could be worse.  It can always be worse.

To Read More, Click on THIS ARTICLE

BUKAL LIFE PROPOSED 2012 CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES

<CPE = “Clinical Pastoral Education>

<CPO = “Clinical Pastoral Orientation>

<CPSP = “College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy>

Jan-Mar   Extended CPE (2011 Batch 4A) continues

Extended CPE-Manila begins (2011 Batch 1B). End date TBD.

Feb 6    CPO at Philippine College of Ministry completes.

Mar 1-4    CPSP Diplomate Visit—Staff Appraisal and Enhancement —Dr. Raymond Lawrence

Mar 20 –25    Summer Intensive CPE (2012 Batch 2) Orientation

May 8- May 13   2nd Annual William & Viola Farrel Pastoral Care Symposium

         CPSP Diplomate Visit—Staff Appraisal and Enhancement —Dr. Cesar Espineda

May 26    Intensive CPE (2012 Batch 2) Graduation

Jun-Aug    Extended CPE (2012 Batch 3)

Sept – Nov    Extended CPE (2012 Batch 4)

Oct    Board of Trustees Annual Meeting

Oct 8-14  CPSP Diplomate Visit—Staff Appraisal and Enhancement —Dr. Charles Starr

Oct     2nd Anniversary Celebration

Nov    Bukal Life Staff and BOT Thanksgiving

Dec     Break

—————————————–

On-going Activities:

CPO groups in Baguio, Kalinga, Bulacan etc. are being scheduled.

Bi-Monthly Pastoral Care & Counseling Mini-Workshop—Last Saturdays of January, March, May, July, September and November.

Disaster Response Crisis Intervention training for teammembers and interested partners will be scheduled

Note: Bukal Life-certified CPE supervisors as well as individual centers (such as Manila and Bacolod) work with a certain amount of scheduling freedom. Therefore, schedules can vary considerably.

End of Year Activity List

Some Activities in 2011

Thanks to all who participated in making 2011 a great year of ministry and growth.

Jan 4    Shepherd in Every Classroom training for teachers at Union School International
Feb 3   Recollection Retreat for High School students from CCDC, held at Mount St. Paul’s Retreat Center, La Trinidad
Feb 12   Parents Training at Immaculate Heart of Mary School, La Trinidad
Feb 23 Psychology of the Family Training, Bang-Ar group, Naguilian, La Union
Mar 4     Conflict/Confrontation Training, Psychology Group, University of Cordilleras
Mar 29   Basic Health & First Aid for Short-Term Missionaries. Asia Vision-STM, at PBTS
Mar 21 – May 28 CPE Batch 1. 23 students, 5 supervisors-in-training. Baguio.
Apr 20, 23 Inauguration of CPSP-Philippines, and Certification of Bukal Life as training center for CPSP.
May 9    Workshop for Special Needs Ministry, At PBTS

May 10-13    Training at Calvary Baptist Elementary School
May 14    “The William & Viola Farrell Pastoral Care and Counseling Symposium.” Baguio City
May 21    Medical Mission, Irisan Dumpsite
May 31    Crisis Care Seminar. Dalicno, Itogon.
Jun 14    Parenting Seminar II. Immaculate Heart of Mary School
Jun 18    CPE Batch 2 started. 6 trainees. Baguio
Aug 6    CPE Batch 3 started. 17 trainees. Baguio/Manila. Start of Bukal Life-Manila.
Sep 3    Annual Board Meeting. Baguio
Sep 29   Family Day, AVRC-1. Dagupan.
Oct 20    Dinner For a Cause/1st Anniversary Celebration. CPE Batch 2 and 3A Graduation
Nov 7    CPE Information Meeting, PBTS, Baguio City.
Nov 12    CPE Graduation, Bukal Life-Manila
Nov 12    University of the Cordilleras, Commerce Graduating Class. Seminar, Stress and Time
management.
Nov 14  CPO class start 1-4pm, Mid-City Christian Church. 17 Trainees
Nov 14    CPE Batch 4A begins. 11 Trainees
Nov 28-29   CPO Training with Highlands Convention, UCCP, in Tabuk Kalinga. 25 Trainees
Dec 10    CPO class with UCCP, Highlands Convention
Dec 16   Christmas Party (Bukal Life-Baguio and BOT)
Dec 26-30   Disaster Response Crisis Intervention, Cagayan de Oro

Disaster Relief Cagayan de Oro Update

Disaster Relief Chaplaincy Training (a training in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing/Psychological First Aid for clergy and lay professionals) will be facilitated by Bukal LIfe Care & Counseling Center. December 27-28 at Cagayan Gospel Church, 15 cor Tomas Saco St. Nazareth, Cagayan de Oro

Disaster Response Trip to Cagayan de Oro

5 members of our team, led by our Executive Director, will be traveling to Cagayan de Oro, as part of a Bukal Life Care & Counseling Center mission. Our Bukal Life team is going down with the focus of training and empowering church leaders (clergy and layleaders) to effectively provide crisis care/counseling to their members and members of their community. Evangelical churches in CDO are joining together to form Kagay-an Evangelical Disaster Response Network. They are working with a broader team of NGOs and government groups. The team leaves Baguio (and Davao) on December 26 and returns on the 30th. Please pray.

Flooding in Northern Mindanao

Please keep the people of Northern Mindanao in your prayers as they are recovering from massive flooding. Hundreds have died and thousands are in temporary shelters. We are looking to put together a disaster response counseling team. We need your prayers in this… but they need your prayers much more than us.

Bukal Life-Baguio Christmas Party

Bukal Life-Baguio had its Christmas Party at the Salas’s on December 16, 2011. (Bukal Life-Manila held its Christmas Party on December 9th).

This was also a sending off and thanks to Tessa Leones for her help with us in CPE and training seminars. Ma’am Tess was head of Psychology at Saint Louis University for many years until her retirement. She joined us for over a year, but is going with her husband to be with children and grandchildren in the US.

We are thankful for her help and have best wishes for the whole family.

December Pastoral Care Updates

CPE and CPO are ongoing.

CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) Extended in Baguio is presently in its 4th week. We have a total of 11 trainees with three supervisors.

CPE-Manila is hoping to start up again in January with a new batch. The center for ministry is the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

CPO (Clinical Pastoral Orientation) is in its 5th week as a partnership with the Philippine College of Ministry in Baguio City. 17 trainees.

CPO is also being held periodically in Kalinga as part of a partnership with the UCCP

Our CPE-Intensive will start in late March, but we are accepting applications already. (Go to the forms page and download the Application Form. You may also want to download the Financial Aid Form).