Author Archives: bukallifeministries

One-Day Family Counseling Training

On the 23rd of February, our training team went to Naguilian, La Union. There were worked with Bang-Ar, a faith-based social ministry. We provided training in some topics of family counseling. Approximately 25 attended.

Rev. Joel Aguirre did an overview of the Psychology of the Family, followed by group work on Dysfunctional Families in the Bible. After this, Mrs. Tess Leones spoke on Responsible Parenting and Parenting Styles. In the afternoon, Dr. Sim Dang-Awan spoke on Understanding Alcoholism and the Alcoholic/Family.

It is our hope to broaden this in a two-day program with group counseling principles and practical workshop.

New Stuff Coming Up

In addition to the other things listed previously, here are some more:

A. March 4. 9am-12. Socialization Training (SYIS) at University of Cordilleras. This is for students and is being done under the UC Department of Psychology.

B. March 4. 5:30pm – 8. CPE Supervisor Orientation Meeting

C. March 29. 8am-12. Basic Health and First Aid for Short-term Missionaries. Held as part of the orientation and training of AV-STM mission interns.

D. April 18-21. National Clinical Supervisors Seminar. For CPE personnel working on their supervisory qualifications. Led by Dr. Raymond Lawrence, General Secretary of the College of Pastoral Service and Psychotherapy.

Parenting Seminar Completed

We had a great time doing a half-day seminar at Immaculate Heart of Mary School (IHMS) in La Trinidad. We spoke to approximately 100 parents and guardians of children at the school. Bob Munson provided a review of IQ testing and interpreting and utilizing the results. Mrs. Tess Leones provided a training seminar on Responsible Parenting and Parenting Styles. Ptr. Ricky, Celia, Jehny, and Alicia assisted with logistics, question and answer, and other aspects of the seminar.

We thank Sister Tomasa for inviting us and for the staff at IHMS for taking care of us and sharing a wonderful lunch with us.

The Powerpoint for the seminar on Responsible Parenting and Parenting Styles is available at http://www.bukallife.org/training_aids.php.

CCDC Recollection Report

We held a Values Training and Recollection Service for approximately 80 students from Cordillera Career Development College (1st, 2nd, and 3rd year high school students). It was held at the Mount Saint Paul Retreat Center in Pico, La Trinidad.

We had a great time, and hope the kids did as well. Our focus was on healthy relationships. We focused on healthy relationship with God, healthy relationship with self (along with self-understanding), and healthy relationship with others. In the afternoon we had the ecumenical service. This included some self-evaluation and some fun and games.

All of the students were very attentive and we hope and believe that all involved took something away from it that would help with their lives.

As a counseling center, we tend to focus on psycho-emotional issues. However, as a faith-based institution we also believe in a holistic understanding of the human condition. This means that we need to address the physical, emotional/values, spiritual, and mental components of the individual, and need to address other social units including, family, friends, and community. We appreciated the opportunity to integrate some of these ideas.

February Updates

Several things are coming up. Here are just a few:

Feb 1st. Cooperative Meeting.

Feb 3rd. Student Retreat at St. Pauls, for High School Students at CCDC.

Feb 12th. Parents Meeting at IHMS, La Trinidad

Preparing for CPE that starts at the end of March. Also for Special Needs VBS during 2nd week of May, and (prayerfully) a major Pastoral Care Symposium also in mid-May.

That’s enough info for now.

January Updates

1. The FORM section on our main website (www.bukallife.org) is now working. It is, and will continue to be the repository for the latest forms and brochures for Bukal Life Care & Counseling Center.

2. Finished training, “Shepherd in Every Classroom” at Union School, led by Bob and Celia Munson. Approximately 20 teachers attended the one day training. Next week, our director, Rev. Joel Aguirre, and Celia Munson will again be joining Union School. This time to be speakers at the USI Spiritual Emphasis Week.

3. Also next week, will be doing psychometric testing at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in La Trinidad.

4. Looking forward to a busy busy busy 2011.

January Updates

We are taking a bit of a Christmas Break, but things start up again strong in January. Here are a FEW of things going on during the month.

1. January 4th (all day) . “Shepherd in Every Classroom” training being held for teachers at Union School International, in Baguio City, Philippines.

2. January 6, 10am – 12pm. Proctor Training for those who want to volunteer with us in overseeing IQ and personality testing.

3. January 10-14. Psychometric testing at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in La Trinidad, Benguet.

Maybe because of all the training seminars, testing, and projects, we get asked if we do counseling. YES! We do free individual and group counseling, as well as referrals in the Baguio area. Contact us if you need help.

The “Ceppo”. A Christmas Thought

A ceppo is a Christmas decoration used in Italy. It consists of a wooden frame filled with symbolic gifts. Typically, the frame exists in three tiers.
Bottom Tier. Manger scene, representing the gift of God.
Middle Tier. Fruits and nuts, representing gifts of the earth.
Top Tier. Items representing the gifts of man.
Topping the ceppo is often a pineapple representing hospitality, or a star, representing the star of Bethlehem.

It is good to be thankful at Christmas… and in fact, year around. The gifts of man are nice… but they are unreliable, as man is just as good (if not better) at taking as giving. The gifts of the earth are wonderful and more reliable… but nature’s bounty can also be temperamental and can bring destruction as well. However, God’s gift is a sure thing… that’s why it is at the foundational level. We can count on God’s gifts, and hope for the rest.

Christmas Break

We are taking a bit of a break for the Christmas holidays. We will start things up again starting January 4th with Pastoral Care training at USI, and personality testing it IHM-La Trinidad the following week (with some others of us at Lide-Walker).
NOTE: Slots for CPE I (March 21 – May 28) are filling up fast. God to the ARTICLES section of http://www.bukallife.org and download the CPE application form now if you want to be considered for chaplaincy training.