My Experiments on My Life After a Bout with Stroke. I Worked to Recover My Health, Strength, Mind & Enriched my Memory w/ Natural Foods, Herbs, Exercises, Songs of Faith & Love Songs

Chapter 61

Experiments On My Life: After a Bout w/ Strokes, I Work to Recover My Health, Strength, Mind & Enriched My Memory w/ Natural Foods, Herbs, Exercises, Songs of Faith & Love Songs...

I was hit twice with stroke in 2009 and 2011. My mind and memory was weakened, I worked a bit hard to recover my health, strength, memory and my mental focus and concentrations.

I have not preached in the church since 2009 until 2015. I have not made any lectures. My mind often went blank. I lost much of my confidence. I continued to read and write. Writing was hard. Often I cannot remember words I need to say.

I have a hard time remembering things and events. I thought that was the end. I could not preach. I could not lecture. I could not write anymore. But, I could pray. I still could reached out to people and share. I reached out to farmers, fishermen and gardeners.

When I tried to preach, I wrote my message. But, as my eyesight was blurred with cataract. preaching with a manuscript was now quite impossible.

Before, when I spoke on the radio, I wrote my messages. Every weres were selected. I need to put much in a ten minute message over a 15 radio time, with a song and introductions of the message. I prefer to preach or to make lecture with just an outline. But with limited radio time, the message has to be direct and clear. In my situations, I find it hard to preach or lecture. I decided not to accept any invitation the last 5 years. Until now, no invitations came anymore from the Baptist churches.

I received invitations from the communities, the farmers and fishermens association and the ecumenical groups. I gave lectures on how to find technical and finanacial resources, with Feasibility Studies and Project Proposals. Through this skills and knowledge pastors, leaders of organizations and NGO’s can access resources in the community, the government, national and international funding partners.

To strengthen my body, I went on with soft calisthenics and walking. Not even breast walking. I only walked slowly about one fourth kilometer, two days a week. Then I pull some grasses in the garden under the soft heat of the morning sun. I do some kind of manual labor, cutting fire woods, pulverizing soils with a speeding fork. I continue working, until I get little perspirations on my forehead and neck. Then, I stop and get some rest.

I eat rice, if possible, not sprayed with pesticides. One (1) cup per meal. I eat vegetables that we planted. We avoid vegetables from the market, as most vegetables are heavily sprayed with pesticides. I eat fish, small fish caught from the sea. We minimized eating fish cultured on fish ponds. Fish feeds were heavy with growth hormones. I eat pork, small part, without the fat. We care some native chickens, feed with ordinary feeds –rice bran, corn bran, corn meal, grasses and fermented feeds. I have a few chicken that lay eggs. I use native chicken eggs for my breakfast.

Now, big broiler farmers, we heard were raising chicken at 28 days only. Before, broilers were raised 45 days. We learned, big amounts of growth hormones and anti-biotic on broiler chickens.

While, it cannot be avoided, we tried to minimize eating broiler chicken at home.

I hope it will improve my health and strength, expecially, now at 77 years.

To help lessen my high Blood Pressures, I maintained the medicines given me by my physicians, some years ago. I took daily 1 tablet of Amlodipene 10 ml. One tablet of Chlopidogrel 75 ml. And 1 tablet of Atorbastasin 20 ml.

I also drink a Teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar/Tuba Vinegar together ½ Teaspoon of Baking Soda in a glass of water every three days.

I add some herbs, to help lessen my blood pressure. Every two days, I got 2 cubs of garlic and one small union bulb. I cut it into small pieces and mix with honey. I eat this mixture at 6:00 AM, when my stomach was still empty. Thirty minutes later I drink 1 cup of warm water mixed with 1 tablespoon of ground ginger and ½ table spoon of grounded Tomeric roots with a little brown sugar. I found it helpful.

To fight against diabetes, as I am at the border lines, 10 years ago, I used a herb called Acitaba. I often get 3 -5 leaves, wash it and eat it every day. I just try hard to remember to get 3 -5 leaves every day. Make sure, I eat 3 to 4 leaves of Acetaba daily. It helps me with diabetes on the border lines.

To strengthen my mind and memory, I try to read every day. I try to commit a verse to memory. But I found it’s now harder. I also read a verse or two, and reflect on its message and meaning. It strengthen my faith. It also strengthen my memory.

I eat 3-5 flowers of Blue Tarnate. I just picked the flowers and eat immediately. Then drank a glass of water. Sometimes, I also gather a hundred flowers, blend it with honey and kept it in a refs and eat some flowers.

I also gather some 15 leaves of Mint, which I put in hot water. I allow this to cool a little, then drink. Mint is good too for the health. Sometimes, I put the Mint with 4 leaves of Gutocola and few cuts of Tanglad leaves . It is a refreshing drink which I often do, after breakfast.

I discovered GEMS Mineral Juice. I find it refreshing. I think it helped also strengthen my mind, my memory and concentration.

I do little workouts to strengthen my body. Every two days, I walked about half kilometer both ways to give strength to my feet and ankle. I do a little calisthenics every other day.Some days, I go some little swimming. Cutting some firewood and gardening is good for me.

About 2 years ago, I started writing. I wrote slowly. It took me, three days to one week to write and draft a chapter of 4 pages. I persisted writing. Now, I found it more easier to write. I am writing an Auto-Biography, a religious and political history. I planned to have it printed and published. I begun to think, God is opening a new ministry -writing. It is a possible new ministry. Writing stories that can touched the lives and taught some principles on leadership to the younger generation.

To strengthen my concentration, I often get a few leaves of Mint from our garden. With a glass of hot water, I put about 10 leaves of mint, put honey or brown sugar. I drunk it often, when I am working, reading or writing. It’s good, I was told, it's good for my vile. It cleanses will my blood and body.

To fight stress and relax my mind, I tried to sing inside my room. I do not have a good singing voice. But singing helped relaxed some of my tensions and nerves. I listened to songs that were composed and written during our time –the 60’s, 50’s and 70’s. I listened to these songs again. Now, I tried to sing every day, often alone. I think, it is good for the mind and heart.

To open my day, I sang Christian hymns and spiritual songs. I followed it with some love songs of our year. These were songs that were soft with light melodies that often touched the hearts. I love to sing “Morning Has Broken.”, “Amazing Grace”, “How Great Thou Art” , “It Is No Secret”, “Because He Lives”, “Lily of the Valley”, “One Day at a Time”, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow”. The songs prepare me for the the day. It give me strength and a little power.

To relax my mind and heart, and lessen my blood pressures, I go back to the songs of yesteryears. –song from our past. “This is My Song”, I first heard from Petula Clark. “Memory” from Barbra Streisand. “They Way We Were” from Doris Day. “Those Were the Days” from Mary Hopkin, “Yesterday, When I Was Young” from Andy Williams. “Yesterday Once More” from Karen Carpenter;

Some other songs, I love singing, “I Have a Dream” from Abba, “Warm” from Johnny Mathis. “Rhythms In the Rains” from Jason Donovan, “Top of the World” from Garfungel. “Strangers in the Night” & The Last Waltz” from Engelbert Humperdinck. “A Tear Fell” from Teresa Brewer; “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from Madonna. “ A Time For Us” from Johnny Mathis and “More” from Doris Day.

I often closed my day, with “Somewhere Over the Raindbow” from Judy Garland or “Edelweiss” from Julie Andrews.
These were songs of the past. These songs will help refreshed my memories, touched and jolt minds a little, to try to remember and dream for bigger things once more.

As I close Chapter 61 of our book “MEMORIES: Faith & People’s Struggle for Freedom”, I would like to asked you to join me in singing this beautiful song ...

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow

I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day
I don’t borrow from the sunshine, For it’s skies may turn to gray

I don’t worry o’er the future, For I know what Jesus said
And today I’ll walk beside Him, For He knew what lies ahead

Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand.

Ev’ry step is getting brighter, As the golden stairs I climb
Ev’ry burden’s getting lighter, Ev’ry cloud is silver lined.

There the sun is always shining, There’s no tear to dim the eye
At at the ending of the rainbow, Where the mountains touch the sky

Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow, And I know who holds my hand.

Songwriter : Ira Stanphill
By Capitol Christian Music Grou

Last November 23, 2017, I celebrated my 77th birthyday. It was a simple celebration with my children. We have dinner together. It was a time to look also to the future. What is the future for me? I tried to look into the future, amidst the situations in our country and the uncertainties in the world. Recent concerns, was North Korea’s nurclear weapons, they said, it could reached the United States and therefore, most of the countries in Asia.

I am deeply concerned with President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision declaring the New People’s Army (NPA), a terrorists organization. This will put them on the level of the ISIS and the terrorists group that tried to control Marawi City. With this declaration, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), will put their best efforts to destroy and eliminate the NPA and the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Prof. Jose Ma. Sison, the teacher of President Duterte at Lyceum of the Philippines in the 60’s , said, the NPA will intensify their military activities, in response to the President’s declaration. There will be another total war between the NPA and the AFP in the coming days and years.

After living 77 years, and seeing the poor Filipinos still suffering the hardest kind of life, in the slums of the cities, others living landless and hungry in the countrysides, where vast tracts of lands were owned by rich and the elites. The super rich and the very rich wallow in their wealth and power, and the poor struggling in poverty and want, I saw the future hard for most of us.

The AFP may succeed in killing all the NPA’s and CPP’s today? But the war in the country will still continue. As long as extreme poverty is suffered by most Filipinos, in the slums and the countrysides, young Filipinos will continue to stand and fight the elitist and oligarchs, even if they are protected by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The war in our country will go on, after President Duterte, myself and other older Filipinos have been buried, unless genuine land reforms were effected and bureaucratic capitalism were destroyed in our country.

What will I do the next few years? I may live in 2 years more. Or perhaps, 3 or five more years. What will I do?

If God give me more time to live? After we published this Auto-Biography, “MEMORIES: Faith & People’s Struggle for Freedom”, released January 18, 2018. This is our PART 11.

Then, we will work for the publication of PART 1- “MEMORIES: Early Life, Studies, Training & Involvements in the Works for Change ,” which we target to print November 2018. I have written the volume already. It needs re-writing, editing and proofreading.

The PART 111, “REMEMBRANCHES: Experiments, Practices on Natural Farming & the Present Battles Against Drugs, Corruptions & the Dream for Federai Democracy”.

Hopefully, we will published this February 2019.

We also plan to re-print and publish the 9 small books (95 to 120 pages) we have printed in 1999 – 2008, with Rev. Olof Lindstrom which were now out- of- circulations. The 8 books of the past, includes “FROM LUZON, VISAYAS & SWEDEN, too”. FROM MY PULPIT Nov. 2003, FROM MY PULPIT Part TWO, Nov. 2004; FROM MY PLATFORM & PULPIT, November 2005; PERSONALITIES IN OUR TIME -10 PORTRAITS, May 2006; PERSONALITIES IN OUR TIME: From Asia and Europe, April 2007 and PERSONALITES: From the Philippines, Chile & UK”, May 2008. We have now started to re-encode the books. We will re-print it along the way.

A small group of writers, have now started to think of writing short biographies of pastors, church and community leaders in the ecumenical communities, so their lives, struggles and experiences could help and guide the younger generations. I thanked our friends, who will help us publish these books.

Thank you for being part of this book -MEMORIES; Life & People's Struggle for Freedom". God bless us all!