Nobel 2007

Every time the world rejoices at the winners of the Nobel Prize for the year, I get a little frustrated because no Filipino has ever won it.

Cory Aquino was close to getting the Peace prize, I was told, but she didn't make it. Not one of our home grown scientists and writers and economists have earned the award either.

To see a Filipino win a Nobel is to bring the Philippines back on the map. But more than that, it will affirm that the Filipino is not merely a spectator, watching other powerful countries play the game in the international arena. A Filipino winning the Nobel is proof that the Filipino is, in fact, actively involved in human affairs, propelling this world to change, and to change for the better.

I'd like to see that happen in my lifetime, inasmuch as I'd like to rejoice over a Filipino grabbing an Olympic gold. But when?



Here are this year's notable Nobel Prize winners:

for Peace: Al Gore and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for their work to alert the world to the threat of global warming.

for Physiology and Medicine: the three scientists who discovered the principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells.

for Physics: the two scientists who discovered Giant Magnetoresistance, the basis for technologies like hard drives.

You can view the rest of the winners at the Nobel Prize website.

Who says we're nerds?

A basketball girls match in the College of Science (SC) Sportsfest. In this game, MBB defeats Biology.



Checa Robles emerges as the highest pointer of the match. She's poised to pull off that crucial free throw, advancing MBB's lead by a point.



In a technical time out during the first half, MBB head coach Juanchi Pablo reminds the players of the game strategies.



Five minutes before the end of the game, MBB and Biology players anticipate where the ball is going to fall.



Dianne Deauna of MBB warms up after being called to the bench.

As for me, well, I took the pictures.

Evangelism

I. Frustration

Frustrated, I walked out.

You know the feeling when something you've been praying for has been granted, but you didn't have enough courage to grab it at that very moment?

Today could've been the chance for me to share the gospel to a friend. But I was dumbfounded. I was hesitant. I was afraid.

II. Evangelism

Frustrated, I went to church.

The preaching on evangelism dug deep into my heart. Evangelism was defined as the "sharing of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit to sinful people for them to trust in God as their Savior and Lord."

To share the truth about Christ is a command (Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8). Sadly, we often choose to disobey it.

Why?

We are afraid. We fear that the message we carry will be rejected. We fear for our reputation.

We think that a specialized training is a prerequisite for evangelism, such that we have an adequate amount of Bible knowledge to answer every single question thrown at us.

We think we can leave the work of evangelism to the leaders of the Church, to pastors, and to those who are more mature in the faith. We think they're better at it than us.

III. Grace

Like everything else in the Christian life, sharing the Gospel is by grace only. Therefore we can never say that a person received Christ because of our eloquence--no. It is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to evangelize.

Successful evangelism is sharing the gospel in its entirety, regardless of whether the person accepts it or not. We're called to proclaim Christ (1 Peter 2:9). We don't worry about the results. It is God who converts sinners, not us.

IV. Prayer

O Lord, help me overcome my fear, my pride, and my insensitivity in order that I may preach Christ to sinners who need Him ultimately.