The other day at class, everyone was assigned to read two chapters of a book that would talk about the Panamanian Laboral Economy and then to be ready to answer questions about it, the following week. Nothing really weird about it, if you are studying at college. But...the catch here, was that the reading was in English and the challenge was for many whose English level was little or null.

However, among the different disciplines represented in class, we have a young lady who is a lawyer and did raise her concern out loud in front of the class. Her argument was that although she handles the language, she decided NOT to read the document because she wanted to be solidary with those who could not read, let alone understand the assignment. Furthermore, she reminded us all, that our mother tongue is Spanish and that when she signed up for the MBA she was not notified about the use of a different language other than Spanish. The professor looked at her in disbelief and very politely, graciously but firmly and convinced, stated that in all her years of educating at a master degree level nationally and internationally, she had never heard such a complain. She explained to us all, that in order to be competitive in an ever growing globalized community, only those with a wide variety of competences and up to the task of overcoming challenges with wisdom and an attitude to learn will succeed. She explained that only those people, would be the leaders in any organization that will guide the boat to safe harbor.

This makes me remember a professor I had last period who recently attended a worldwide seminar about H.R. management in Brazil and gave us an assignment to read and write a paper, which was in Portuguese. We were all in shock, but we all took the challenge. Some googled it and found the document and used the Altavista tool to translate it to Spanish and in doing this,not only learned the lessons but learned to learn. I personally found it interesting that after spending a season in Italy and learning the language, it shared similarities to the Portuguese and Spanish which made it less difficult to do that one assignment.

Overcoming Monotony and Clearing up Some Stuffs

Albert Einstein's quote about monotony is definitely not applicative to me. It reads "The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. " Personally, I find this completely untrue. Doing the same set of things over and over again, week after week and month after month and now recently year after year, becomes like a poison that kills my already undeveloped creative mind.

For this reason, I am thankful for having shared such a great weekend in the company of some old friends and a new bunch lovely people, young people with a bunch of imperfections, but young people with a common goal, namely, learn to serving God and leading others to Him.

We spent three days and three nights away from the job, studies, family, responsibilities and others important things semi-locked in a hotel in the always colorful and peaceful town of El Valle de Anton out in the countryside. It was a time to be quite and learn from someone who has been where most of us are and with a willing heart to teach and mentor us. It was a time of refreshing the same basic principles of character, attitude and a heart that pleases God, like the one modeled by King David a few thousands of years ago. Those same principles that for different reasons we keep forgetting and neglecting and yet we keep on preaching to those following our lead.

One particular experience stands above the other great lessons and experiences I now keep in my heart and memories. Part of the training we went thru, included serving the people in the community, by means of hosting children parties, working with the disabled kids, hanging out with the elders at the local nursing home, giving away cloth and food to the kids in the far away little towns deep into the mountains and even giving speeches to a group of junior, sophomore and senior school students about self-esteem and motivational speech.

I had to prepare a speech with all needed material, prior to travelling, and was told I would have to talk to a group of teenagers, children of the local town people, who barely finish school and who most never go to college to achieve a higher education. I took the challenge, prepared the needed material, I used every single trick and tool learned recently on my ongoing studies of human resources administration and though I was so nervous at the beginning, the flow of the one hour speech went smooth and I felt I had the undivided attention of the whole seventy-something students listening to this perfect stranger talking to them in the room. I have this great satisfaction in my heart that a seed was seeded and someone else will water it and eventually someone else will harvest it. I knew it, almost instantly, that this is something I want to do either for a living or as a volunteer, whichever the case may be, but I feel this is something I can be good at, and can make a difference in our society by teaching christian values to young people who will be our society's future for good or for bad.

Today, back into my real life and all it includes, I went to class and got to speak with my mentor, professor Hania E., expert psychologist who has spent over two decades teaching and working with people in big and small companies, and involved in changing organizations mindset in order to convert them into successful and profitable companies and businesses and who runs her own Human Resources Consultant Office. I felt so satisfied and joyful in telling her, how meaningful her advises were and how all those hours of sleep and party times sacrificed were so much worth-ed. I remember vividly, for it is still fresh, how I many times got to think how hard her classes were and how demanding but at the same time loving and comprehensive she was and still is, for I am taking yet another course with her this my last period at college. She was a happy mother and mentor hearing to her former and current student behave like a child while telling her the details of the whole experience.

God is clearly, little by little clearing up my panorama and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together into a big picture. My cosmovision is getting clear even more and more and I have come to a few conclusions that are leading me to taking yet some other decisions for the rest of the days I may have left on earth.

Leap of Faith

After a long period of not knowing what would be the outcome of my current job post, I was advised that would be transferred to a proyect where I would have to work afternoon shift from monday till saturday the first 4 weeks and then the off day could be any day of the week per availability.
I should not forget that God has been good and have used different people within the company to keep my position secured and the pay checks flowing amid all these job instability.
However, the new schedule goes against every other activity I take part in, such as classes in college, church services and activities. I started to weight the cons and pros of it. After thinking a bit, I decided that I could put aside the studies for a while, after all, without a job how would I pay the monthly fees, but then, when it comes to not been able to attend church and the discipleship meetings and quality time with my friends, for who knows how long, it struck to me, that it was to high the price to pay. So I have been praying and listening to God and I had to take a choice, not an easy one.
So often I had pray to be able to serve God with my time and abilities and it is what I cherish the most and to throw that away because of a job, well , I had to take one side. I decided to honor God and trust in Him that he would provide a better job, more stable, better paid and one in which I would not have work on sundays and possibly on saturdays either so that I can continue to be part of the things He is doing these days through His church. I chose to believe in God the Provider, who is willing to grant and fullfill his children needs like a job for example.
On friday I spoke with the HR Mgr. and explained to him the circumstances, he understood and wished he had another schedule available. He was pleased to see that I was advising him upfront so that he could allocate my position to someone else who could take it. I am convinced I took the right decision. The hard part I feel though, is to explain this to some people who would be disappointed. My family understood and is fully supporting my decision in prayers and economically.
Right after taking the decision, I got two job offers and as a write this, another one came in. I am in awe and tears come to my eyes when I think how good God is. Knowing God thru mere knowledge is very important, but nothing compares to experiment God's power in ones' own life. This God that provides and makes miracles and honors those who honor Him I have met several times in my life and family's, but everytime around is such a wonderful experience. The deep night just before the light of the morning comes up, the fresh air of life taken in, after a long period underwater, boy, this can only be experience thru overcoming hardships and suffering in God's hand. A few days back I read that God is really dishonored when we do not believe He can make it happen, even more than when an atheist claims there is no God. I know He will provide, I feel it, I have rest my faith on the One.

A Woman to Admire - Mom

Through the ages, many have attempted to describe with eloquent words and poetry the balance of determination, grace and fragility all wrapped up in what we call "Mom".
I remember as a child been told several times the story of a woman who grew up in a very humble home, youngest one to four children who set her mind to reach the stars. One particular story always left an impression on me, and it was the fact that her dreams were to become a physician, a doctor, but boy, was it expensive and at the time, out of her family's financial possibility. However her passion to help people was stronger than her limitation, so she opted for an close career and graduated as a Lab Technician and Biology Teacher. However her youth dream was alive and it passed onto Ana my sister who embraced it since even before high school, and she made well sure to nourish it.
It was not an easy task, my sister, a smart girl who graduated with honors in school, soon came to discover first-hand the tough reality of med-school and countless were the times when she would give up just out of the pressure, stress and hardships. But there was mom, who would see to it that her daughter would find every possible mean to succeed. Mom would pray against the odds of the unknown, against the spirits of failure that would pass by from time to time and many were the miracles provided as answers to the woman's prayer. We saw during these last five years, God moving His hand in favor for Ana, against adverse forecasts, we saw God honor my mom's prayer.
Today, I can not describe how ecstatic and joyful I myself feel and not to mention Mom, after watching her daughter, take her diploma all dressed up in front of a couple of thousands of people. She did it, she was the one who studied and learned a profession, but it wouldn't be possible without God's intervention as a direct consequence of my mother's intense and non-stopping prayer life and support. Everyone in our family had to sacrify something for her to be able to study an expensive career, but Mom was the one who sacrified the most during these past five years and she did it with so much love, the kind of love only a mother can spare to their children, the kind of love which the Bible describe as un-interested and we all are bound to learn that, not only toward those who we love but those who are not so close to us as well.
Thanks Mom, your example is so powerful and have left an impression on me for the rest of my life. You have taught me, not to give up just because it is not easy or there seems no way around it. There is always a way and your faith in God have prove it again and again.

When life seems to be worthless!

Yesterday during the afternoon hours I learnt a very disturbing news, an acquaintance of mine from work place decided to end with his life by throwing himself out from the balcony of this flat of the building were he use to live. He left two small kids without the opportunity to grow next to a fatherly influence. His wife perhaps broken-hearted and numerous people at work who appreciated him or not with a bitter and ugly feeling deep into their hearts. Although I barely knew him and exchange words for he was a very quite person, I must admit that I have been deeply affected and have not been able to think of something else for the past 24 hours.
And after thinking and sharing with several co-workers and thinking some more, I've come to several conclusion.

1.Lack of friends: for not in vain the Scripture says in Ecclesiastes 4.10: "If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." I remember someone making a comment several months back about this guy who was known to said he was not interested in making friends with no one while at work, and so he did convey that attitude on a daily basis. I thank God so much for people like Alexis, Ariel, Howard and so many others who are constantly aware of my whereabouts and will cheer me up and advise and rebuke and eventually help me to get on my feet. I must admit I even got angry during the day, wondering if anyone actually called him up or talked to him during these last days of emotional difficulties which could have avoided such a infamous episode. I thank God for all those godly friends of mine who do appreciate me and even get on my way even when I don't feel like allowing them inside and they still do. Conclusion>we are relational beings, alone we are in real trouble like the wise Salmon wrote several thousand of years back.
2.Lack of God: while sharing with two other co-workers today, one of them said "dude, you gotta be real sad or emotionally impaired in order to take this decision", another friend of mine mentioned earlier on the day"you gotta have guts to do so or perhaps drugged" and God brought to my heart Matthew 26:38>"Then He <Jesus> said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, (to the point he was actually sweating blood) so that I am almost dying of sorrow...and going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed to God", asking for deliverance but overall for the Father's perfect will to be done. Jesus's answer to grievance and sadness sets the example for us mortals to follow. But we must know who God is and his unlimited power and knowledge, so our mind won't betray us during the darkest hours, so our mind and heart is secured in His promises of everlasting life, the same promises and blessings Jesus was granted after his darkest hour when He came up triumphant over the sin and death itself, that could not withhold him and keep him separated from God forever. My acquainted perhaps knew God but only as someone who is found at church on Sundays or Christmas or Easter seasons and not as the One, who loved him so much that already did the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate prove of love for all of us and once in for all.

Today many of us cry and are saddened, and may this help the rest of us who outlived him to realize how fragile we are and how needy of God's real love we are. May this serves to bring real repentance and commitment to get to know Him and his Word. May this serves to me and those who profess to know God with our heart to continue spreading His hope and His love no matter what, no matter if it cost us our job, our reputation, our status quo, even our life. This guy decided against his own earthly and eternal life, may this bring real urgency in my heart to share with everyone on time and out of time about Jesus.

>>>>>>>>>In memory of F.C. May his family and closest friends find hope and consolation in Christ Jesus during this terrible hour.