Night Sky Watching Event Held at Retreat Center

Jupiter and its  moons.
Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/34486353@N07/6123875554/in/photostream

More than 350 teachers got a chance to view Jupiter and its four moons, as well as a star cluster in the constellation Sagittarius during the first ever night sky watching event at the CCT Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center. 

The activity and was led by Mr. Roland Beard,   author of Astronomical Observing from a Biblical View, a practical curriculum for observing the heavens, during the Institute for Foundational Learning's (IFL) Third National Educators' Conference

“The heavens were created by God to be seen.  They display His power and attention to detail,” says Mr. Beard who earlier this year trained several IFL staff and teachers on how to reach people with the Gospel by leading them in observing the heavens from a Biblical view.

Pairs of trained staff set up five telescopes all the while explaining their basic features and rules for use. The teachers then lined up to take turns looking at planet Jupiter and at star cluster M22 through the scopes and through binoculars.

M22 is a globular star cluster in the constellation Sagittarius. It is made up of more than half a million
stars. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalm 19:1
Photo source: http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/330838/view

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center is managed by the Center for Community Transformation. Some of the buildings here were built by former street dwellers being ministered to by CCT.   Read the heartwarming story of one changed life here:  http://cctsikhay.blogspot.com/2012/04/weve-been-blessed-say-former-street.html

For information on the CCT Group of Ministries, its programs, and target beneficiaries,  please visit cct.org.ph.

Taal Up Close

See an active volcano up close! Feel its heat! Include an exciting boat ride to Volcano Island and a trek to the main crater of Taal Volcano when you come to stay at the Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center. You can also bird watch and go horseback riding.

Awesome view of the Taal Volcano Main Crater.  This is also called Crater Lake.
The rock at right is Vulcan Point: an island in a lake (Crater Lake) on an island (Volcano Island)
in a lake (Taal Lake) on an island (Luzon).

This familiar conical crater seen from the highway and the subject of numerous posters and postcards
is NOT the main crater of Taal Volcano. Note the fishermen's huts and fish pens in the foreground.
A 30-minute boat ride to Volcano Island costs P1,200 for six persons. 

Enjoy this view of the most familiar of Taal's 47 craters about halfway to the main crater.
Are volcanoes mentioned in the Bible?
Yes, in Micah 1:4: “The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.” 

Do some bird watching during the 45-minute hike to the crater. Flocks of crows are a common sight.
 For tips on bird watching visit
 http://leesbird.com/birdwatching/birdwatching-tips/bird-watching-christian-perspective/
 and http://leesbird.com/2008/02/16/birdwatching-tips-1/

 If you see just a few birds, sit down for a relaxing moment to listen to them instead.
Close your eyes and count all their calls and songs. You’ll discover that birds are more often heard than seen. 

The hike to the crater is generally easy but men and women offering horseback rides will follow you
 nearly all the way, commenting, “Malayo pa po yon! Baka mapagod po kayo,”
(“It’s still a far way off! You might get tired [before you reach it”])
The cost of a horseback ride drops from P450 at the beginning of the trail to P200 as you near the summit.

Horse hoof jewelry. These horsey anklets jingle all the way.

Lava strata: top layer is a lovely shade of pink. 

Panoramic scenery: hardened lava, lush green shrubs, fresh water lake, Tagaytay City in the distance and
two high-rises reaching into the sky. 

A steam vent nearly a hundred meters to the crater.

Branches tied together to make a set of steps give photographers a good (yet rickety) vantage point
at the viewing area.  Souvenir shops maintained by locals sell t-shirts, caps,
fresh buko (young coconut)  and soft drinks. 

A vent in the crater wall emits steam. 

The downhill trek from the crater rim is easy and the view picturesque.  

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center is managed by the Center for Community Transformation. Some of the buildings here were built by former street dwellers being ministered to by CCT.   Read the heartwarming story of one changed life here:  http://cctsikhay.blogspot.com/2012/04/weve-been-blessed-say-former-street.html

 For rates and booking information, please contact Eva Lope at evaranlope@yahoo.com.ph, evamlope@gmail.com, 09192933157, 09232497605, 806-6912, and 234-1301. For information on CCT'  programs and target beneficiaries, please visit www.cct.org.ph.

Center Hosts First Teleteaching Session

Rob Martin in Seattle, Washington speaking to Cross Philippine Partners' Conference attendees
in Tagaytay.

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center hosted its first teleteaching session on September 6, 2011 during the Cross Philippine Partners' Conference held on September 3 to 7 .  The lecturer was Rob Martin of First Fruit Inc.(http://www.firstfruit.org/institute) who spoke on The Communion of Giving and Receiving and The 10 Principles of Biblical Fundraising from his home in Seattle, Washington.

In the audience were 46 delegates from organizations ministering to micro entrepreneurs, orphans, out-of-school youth,  lepers, and the poorest of the poor. The organizations represented were:

• Compassionate Franciscan Sisters of the Poor
• Gawad Kalinga
• Daughters of Wisdom 
• Friendship Home 
• Franciscan Missionaries of Mary
• Kamama Foundation
• International Care Ministries 
• Cross International
• Center for Community Transformation  

The conference was hosted by Center for Community Transformation and convened by Dave Larson, Cross International's international projects manager-Asia and Near East. .

Brother Luis Ortiz of Friendship Home...

...Brother Buboy who ministers to members of the Tala
Leprosarium...

...Mother Joan of  the Compassionate Franciscan
Sisters of the Poor...

....and Max Fabrecante of International Care Ministries
ask Rob Martin a question.  

Attentive audience.

The Tagaytay Retreat and Training Center is managed by the Center for Community Transformation. Some of the buildings here were built by former street dwellers being ministered to by CCT.   Read the heartwarming story of one changed life here:  http://cctsikhay.blogspot.com/2012/04/weve-been-blessed-say-former-street.html

For rates and booking information, please contact Eva Lope, CCT partners development officer / CCT servant at evaranlope@yahoo.com.ph, evamlope@gmail.com, 09192933157, 09232497605, 806-6912, and 654-0536. For information on CCT'  programs and target beneficiaries, please visit www.cct.org.ph.

Photos by Myra Gaculais del Rosario