You’re the Man

Created by DesignEvery time I ride the MRT to Ortigas, I am fond of looking at luxury cars

like Audi, Benz and others, displayed along the chain of car shops in the Greenhills area. I really don’t know much about cars except that when I look at them I see that they are exquisitely designed. Men are much like luxury cars. We are actually wonderfully designed, created in the image of the Creator, not a product of chance. We did not evolve. King David in the Bible said, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!” Why did God make man so wonderfully well? Man was created exquisitely well so that he could reflect the image of the Creator. We are designed to reflect the image of the Creator in three areas:

We are designed for spiritual things. We have physical bodies, yet we are spiritual beings. We must take care of our spirit as well as our physical body. Most of us guys like to exercise and work out, but men often forget to feed their spiritual part. We need to have spiritual workouts as well as physical ones. We can have a spiritual workout when we read the Bible, pray and obey God.

We are designed for social relationships. God designed man to live together with others. God gave Eve to Adam. A man’s first relationship is with his wife and children, and then other people. When we live in love and peace with others, we live according to God’s design.

We are designed for work. When we do our work excellently, we also reflect the Creator.

It’s true that sometimes we fail to live up to the design God engineered for us, but there is hope. Jesus Christ can help us grow into the design that God has for our lives. Let’s ask Him to help us be Men In Progress together!

In This Issue:

You’re the ManCreated by Design

Real MenThriving in a Desert Land

The BuilderFathering Across the Miles

Gadgets & GizmosBridging the Distance

The GymHealthy & Fit

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” –Unknown

by Alvin Tud

Real Men

Thriving in a Desert Land

Felimon Cimeni went to the Middle East because he wanted to give his family a good

life. While there he built a thriving business for his employer. He endured loneliness and separation from family and even survived a high-speed road accident.

Tell us about your work abroad, what were some of your experiences?I worked in the Middle East for almost nine years, first as a food attendant, then later, a supervisor. We started as a small restaurant that eventually evolved into a restaurant offering international food. We started with 15 employees and grew to more than a thousand workers.

One unforgettable experience was the accident I had on the highway. My employer’s nephew was driving the car too fast. Suddenly, we blew a tire and the vehicle flipped over several times and rolled on the highway, landing in the other lane. Miraculously, we didn’t have any severe injuries. Afterwards, I realized that it was God working in my life.

What were the benefits of working abroad? What were the challenges?

You can never earn here the salary that you can earn abroad. After only two years of me working abroad, we were able to buy a lot and build a house. My family had a good life.

The greatest challenge was being away from my family especially during the first few years. This was so hard because I only have one son. Homesickness was very real. It was also quite hot in Saudi, and it was hard to adjust to that and to a different culture. Sometimes you couldn’t even depend on the government. One of my co-workers there had a heart attack and died. I was the only one who made a way for his remains to be brought to the Philippines and for the family to receive some financial help.

How did you keep your communication with your family?

I wrote to my family every day. My letters were like a diary. I even numbered my letters so I would know if one was lost. I posted my wife’s letters on the ceiling and lined up their photos on the side of my bed so I would feel that they are close.What advice would you give men who plan to work abroad?

Working overseas can mean financial security, but one needs to pray hard before deciding. It is so hard to be separated from your wife and kids. Many families are destroyed because of this. If I look back, although I didn’t see it before—it was only the Lord who kept our family intact. You need constant communication with your family. It will bridge the gap and prevent infidelity. OFWs need strong character traits to survive… do not conform…don’t do vices…give your best…work hard…love your work…express yourself.How does your experience help you now?

I lead a small group of 6-8 men with 5 former OFW’s. I can relate to them more effectively through these experiences. God has changed me for the better.

by Alvin Tud

Mhon and his wife, Baby.

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The Builder

Fathering Across the MilesFathering your children is not easy and the

challenge becomes greater when you are away from them. Working abroad can have a negative impact on the family and it will require a lot of reflecting, and commitment to actually hurdle the challenges of parenting across the miles.

Here are practical guidelines to help fathers remain involved in the everyday lives of their children.

Make sure you and your wife are a team. When the husband and the wife decide to practice teamwork to raise their children, the negative effects of the temporary separation will be minimized. Together, they should decide on the core values of their family; what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable, and how these values should be implemented and monitored.

Create traditions to strengthen the “togetherness” of the family. There should be regular communication with the children, not to “sermonize” but to listen, connect, and express how you value them. Don’t let anything prevent or interrupt this weekly communication.

Actively participate in the lives of your children. OFWs parents delegate all parenting responsibilities to the spouse that is left. Never underestimate your value and influence on your children. Having positive and meaningful relationships creates a sense of security and safety for your children

Pray! There are many influences that can negatively affect children. When we pray, we surrender the situation and our children to the Lord. We recognize that our children are really the Lord’s and we can entrust all of our concerns and worries to the real Father of our children.

Gadgets & Gizmos

Bridging the DistanceCommunication is vital when cultivating

healthy long-distance relationships among OFW family members. Keeping in constant connection helps alleviate the feelings of loneliness, physical separation and estrangement between family members.

Here are some of the tools readily available through the internet provided that you have a computer or a smart mobile device, and an internet connection:

Internet video, voice conference and instant messaging – Talking to family members “face-to-face” is now possible through internet video conference applications like Skype, Yahoo Messenger and Apple’s Facetime. Voice chats are also available for lesser internet speeds. Viber is a recent software developed for smart phones that can make free internet calls anywhere in the world. Instant messengers like Yahoo Messenger and Facebook chat allows you to correspond with your loved ones on the spot.

Social networking – Post updates in social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Share photos and videos with your loved ones through these sites. Privacy customizations are available to determine the persons you’d allow to see your posts. These are also available for various mobile devices for people on the go.

Good old e-mail – The classic correspondence without the hassle of going to the post office and waiting for weeks to hear back from your loved one on the other end. Free and reliable e-mail providers such as Google Mail and Yahoo Mail are excellent examples to send and manage e-mails.

The power of technology is just within our reach, and we can make it work to nurture strong and healthy relationships.

by Herald Cruz by Patrick Tan

The Gym

Healthy and Fitby Peter Banzon

Men should be in good physical

and emotional shape to be able to cope with the demands of everyday work. Exercise is a great stress and depression reliever, reduces blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, controls blood sugar, and increases mental ability. It improves your posture, muscle tone and controls body weight.

Types of Exercises

Cardio/Aerobic: Brisk walking, stair climbing (going down stairs stresses the knees more than going up) biking, exercise biking, walking on the tread mill. Do these 20 minutes 3 times a week. Strength training. Push-ups, crunches (modified sit-ups), body weight squats. These do not take up much space or require equipment. Do these 2 to 3 times a week.

So how do we incorporate physical and mental conditioning in an otherwise hectic schedule? • Use the stairs instead of the elevator.• Take an exercise break instead of a coffee

break. Walk around the compound or office building a couple of times.

• While watching TV do ten push-ups, ten crunches, ten bodyweight squats every time

there is a commercial. Do 3 or 5 sequences within an hour. This is a great combined strength and cardio routine.

Results take time. Adjust to the exercise gradually. Set realistic goals. Don’t overdo it. Listen to your body, if something hurts, stop. Drink fluids before,

during and after exercise. Eat healthy.

Emotion Boosters

• Be careful what you see, hear and read on the internet. Remember, garbage in, garbage out.

• Focus on the positive things in life:”Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise, true and honorable, right and pure and beautiful and respected.” Philippians 4:8

• Learn to forgive, don’t hold grudges.• Be part of support group, where people study

the Bible and share lives together.• Always communicate with your family. It’s a

great emotional booster.• Talk to God regularly. He is the greatest source

of emotional wholeness.

Published quarterly by Asia Pacific Media MinistriesUnit 2608 Raffles Corporate Center, Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center, 1605 Pasig City, PhilippinesTelephone: 914-9767E-mail: mip@apmedia.orgReproduction of photos and articles is prohibited without permission.

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MIP EDITORIAL STAFF

Editor Alvin Tud

Layout Design Patrick Tan

Distribution Johnson LiMIP Editorial Staff:

Alvin, Johnson & Patrick

Corbis.com

Phot

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Don

Dav

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