sunny days: SOARING HIGH: JIL'S 32ND ANNIVERSARY October 2010

SOARING HIGH ON THEIR 32ND ANNIVERSARY

Thousands attended the 32nd anniversary celebration of the Jesus Is Lord Church in Luneta Friday evening.

Earnest prayers were said during the height of the event in Quirino Grandstand, Luneta, site of the bloody August 23 hostage-taking incident that killed eight Chinese nationals.

“Let the curse be broken in our land,” said JIL founder and spiritual director Bro. Eddie Villanueva as he claimed healing and peace for the families of the victims of the said tragedy.

Aside from the Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Villanueva was also joined in prayer by other government officials including Congressional Representatives Justin Mark Chipeco of the 2nd District of Laguna, `Rey Umali of the 2nd District of Oriental Mindoro, CIBAC Partylist Representatives Chona Gonzales and Sherwin Tugna, and Kalinga Partylist Representative Abegail Ferriol who read the House Resolution commending JIL for its 32 years of service to the Filipino people. League of Governors of the Philippines president, Oriental Mindoro Gov. Alfonso Umali Jr. and Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn were also present.

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Director General Joel Villanueva and Bocaue Mayor Eduardo Villanueva Jr., sons of Bro. Eddie were also in attendance.

Respected heads of different religious organizations also joined in the celebrations including Roman Catholic Bishop Deo Iniguez of the Archdiocese of Caloocan, Bishop Leo Alconga of the International Bible Society, Bishop Dan Balais of Philippines for Jesus Movement, Pastor Ed De Guzman of Intercessors for the Philippines, Pastor Paul Chase of Alabang New Life in Christ, Apostle Renato Carillo of Jesus Our Shield Worldwide Ministries, Pastor Art Ferriol of Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ, Pastor Emilio Henares of River of Life in Bacolod, Pastor Joshua Bontogan of Life Touchers Ministry, Pastor Entoy Sintos of Jesus Miracle Crusade, and Bro. Danny Navales of Ang Dating Daan.

Other highlights of the program included the giving of love gifts to 32 non-JIL churches and pastors from other Christian denominations. The churches and pastors were selected by the ministerial heads in Metro Manila.

"Ipanalangin nyo pong higit na marami pang mga simbahan at mga manggagawa ng Diyos ang ating mapagpala,” said Villanueva.

The iCare Compassion Ministry of JIL also gave away gift boxes to 3,200 children and grocery items to 3,200 families. They were represented on stage by 32 children and mothers.

The selected children and families were from Parola, Capulong, Aroma, Sunod-Apog, Raxabago in Tondo and from various places in Metro Manila including Tambunting, Sampaloc, Baseco, Paco, San Andres, Sta Ana, Leveriza, Malate, Pembo, Mandaluyong, Nueve De Pebrero, San Juan, Taguig-Pateros, Kaunlaran, and Malabon.

The program ended in a parade of flag featuring the 44 countries where JIL churches are currently planted and the 36 countries JIL is set to reach in the next ten years.

Today, JIL is in five continents. It has reached 44 countries and has planted churches in 875 cities. It regularly conducts 11,589 worship services worldwide.

“This is all for the glory of God,” said Villanueva.

We went to the event to support Carol, a very good friend from way back.Multitudes of believers. Congratulatory speeches. Songs of Praise, dancing. . .We enjoyed ourselves.

Quirino Grandstand, Luneta
October 29, 2010
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The Photo Exhibit: The Tour of Hope and The On-going War Against Cervical Cancer

The invite came riding in a red toy bike.

A master lensman. A noble cause. And hundreds of passionate advocates.
The exhibit opening was scheduled at 6pm, while the 11am event was just a prelude. Some of the participantsrelived their experiences during the recent Tour of Hope 2010, including Joyette Jopson of Team David's Salon, actress Mymy Davao, and Tristan Cho. Ever the beauty queen, Abbygale Arenas de Leon came in white blouse and white pants, and said her piece. "The message is very clear: cervical cancer is easily preventable, and women do not have to die from it," proclaims Abbygale Arenas, Bravehearts representative and wife of Jun de Leon. "By empowering Filipinas with information about this disease, we look forward to winning the battle versus cervical cancer." This year, they raised nearly one million in pledges and sponsorships to further spread the anti-cervical cancer message across the Philippines. It's amazing how dedicated these women are in their race to fight the deadly CC. This early they are planning for a grander event next year.

Actually, the exhibit was the culmination of the Tour of Hope 2010 360 Degrees: Fighting Cervical Cancer In Full Circle event last March 20-24, wherein hundreds of people from different walks of life traveled a 500-kilometer cycling tour from Manila to Baguio inspired by the same goal, that is basically to raise the public's awareness of cervical cancer, the second most common female cancer afflicting Filipino women .And everyday, 12 Filipinas die of cervical cancer.

Famous faces, all of them heroes, at the Tour of Hope 2010 Kick Off

Some of the photos at the TToH 2010 exhibit

or celebrity photographer Jun de Leon, an advocate and staunch supporter of cervical cancer awareness, his camera is his tool in spreading awareness here in the country. With his team, he joined the 5-day tour to immortalize some of the most winning moments of the event . “Through ‘The Tour of Hope’ exhibit, I want to showcase the passionate fight of these biker heroes in bringing down cervical cancer deaths here in the country.” The visual array of photographs were featured in a grand exhibit at the lobby of Greenbelt 3 from October 1-6.

The photographs serve both as testament to the heroism of the "Tour of Hope" bikers---and a challenge as well for more people to defy cervical cancer and live to celebrate the beauty of life.

The Tour of Hope: Awareness is the Key
The Tour of Hope (TToH), is a non-profit initiative of a group of like-minded people of various
backgrounds, which set-up bicycle tours in order to increase awareness and raise funds for
health prevention and education projects benefiting resource limited communities. TTOH is a
joint project of CIF/CECAP, Bravehearts, GlaxoSmithKline Philippines, and in strategic
partnership with Team David’s Salon, the Philippine’s first all-women multi-sport team,
dedicated in promoting sports and at the same time sharing a passion for health and
wellness. It has managed to attract people from all walks of lifesince it started in 2008. This
include personalities such as Senator Pia Cayetano and sports polymath Jeena Lopez. Bravehearts is currently supported by a growing number of women, including prominent
personalities such as Sen. Loren Legarda, Rina Jimenez David, Ellen Tordesillas,
Atty.Gaby Concepcion, Tessa Prieto David, Abbygale Arenas de Leon and Suzi Entrata.

But the good news is ---GlaxoSmithKline has the cervical cancer vaccine that shows the most promise in defending them from cervical cancer. Its cervical cancer vaccine provides significant protection for women against the two most common cancer-causing Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types (HPV types 16 and 18) for at least seven, the longest duration of protection reported to date. Modeling studies also demonstrate that it may provide protection for 20-50 years.

The GSK’s cervical cancer vaccine has also shown efficacy against 12 other cancer-causing HPV types beyond HPV 16 and 18, which includes HPV strain 45 – another strain which prevalently causes cervical cancer among Filipinas. Designed to last for both young and mature women, females from 10 years old onwards can be vaccinated using GSK’s cervical cancer vaccine.

Greenbelt 3 Lobby, Makati City
October 1, 2010, Greenbelt 3

**When I learned about the Tour of Hope in a press con I attended and its aim to educate the Filipinas about the perils of cervical cancer early this year, it was really my fervent wish that I could go with the tour. But much to my regret and frustration, I never did learn how to ride a bike (oh, I know how to ride the three-wheeled ones and the stationery exercise bike I have at home, but what good would it do on a tour like this?) What I can do is make sure that this piece of article gets published and read by everybody. And maybe there is still hope for me with the bike, who knows. Anyway, age is just a number, right?