good afternoon okay first of all thank
you very much for the opportunity to be
here with you today it’s really an honor
I would like to start by sharing with
you the story of four blood brothers all
born and raised at the foothills of the
longest mountain range of the
Philippines the Sierra Madre the parents
of the Blood Brothers are farmers
they’re both elementary school dropouts
the father only finished sixth grade and
the mother third grade I want to tell
you about blood brother number one first
blood brother number one grade school
for him went very smoothly but when he
got to high school he got into bad
company he drank his smoke his skipped
classes and you see because of skipped
classes by the time he reached third
year his school kicked him out he
detested farming though his parents were
farmers because he believed that it
never improved their lives he became a
construction worker a truck helper than
a rugs maker later on however blood
brother number one got sucked into
illegal logging as a form of as a source
of income when he was 25 years old he
was accused of murder the police came he
was handcuffed dragged into the police
car and thrown into prison no trials no
nothing two years later he was released
and life continues to be a hand-to-mouth
existence he is now 38 years old and a
father of two now blood brother number
two blood brother number 2 never liked
to study even as a young kid his parents
had to plead with him to attend classes
each day as a punishment therefore his
parents made him work at the farm hoping
that he would realize
difficult life could be without
education he had to wake up very early
in the morning he planted he harvested
he cleaned and he helped sell their
families produce at the marketplace when
he realized that he could make money
from selling vegetables all the more he
lost interest in studying he dropped out
of school even before he finished fifth
grade soon farming planting and selling
vegetables lost its charm and so he
became a construction worker just like
his older brother a rugs maker a
trucking assistant but later on he
succumbed illegal logging and charcoal
making earning but a dollar a day while
destroying our environment one day his
mother was diagnosed to have serious
complications of urinary tract stones
diabetes and high blood pressure really
wanting to help blood brother number two
at age 17 moved to Manila and worked as
a garbage collector he was so enticed to
try it because the other young man in
his community thought that it was more
lucrative than illegal logging and
charcoal making one year later he came
back to the same grind he’s now 23 years
old has a live-in partner and a
two-year-old son now blood brother
number three was a double whammy he
never liked to study he would always get
in trouble and he would always skip
classes when he reached first year high
school he joined a gang he would always
get detained and his name was frequently
on the police blotters when he reached
second-year high school he finally
dropped out for his parents it was the
end of constant embarrassment in a
school community but as but it was only
the beginning of endless arguments at
home
blood-brother number three because of
his reputation couldn’t find any jobs
and so he he also hated farming and as a
result he became a good-for-nothing host
left during the day and hang out with
his friends at night soon he began
stealing money from his mother’s purse
gambling smoking weed using meth many
times he came home late drunk and under
the influence of drugs and whenever his
father would reprimand him for his
obnoxious behavior and his laziness he
would answer back – out of the house and
be gone for days one time their family
received a phone call it was his
girlfriend she was sobbing heavily as
she broke the news blood brother number
three had attempted suicide fortunately
for him his girlfriend stood by him
despite the challenges despite
everything and this brought stability
into his life there now the girlfriend
is now his live-in partner and they have
three children and an adopted son blood
brother number four the seventh out of
nine kids witnessed all of the problems
of his older brothers growing up he
would always be terrified whenever he
learned that his brother was picked up
by the police
got into a fight or attempted suicide
every single day he wondered when will I
drop out next will I be able to continue
with my schooling will you have anything
to eat today in fifth grade blood
brother number four had an English
teacher who was very passionate about
teaching and she emphasized her students
that poverty should never be a hindrance
in fulfilling ones dreams these words
were etched into the soul of blood
brother number four and it became his
conviction that education is key to
escaping the claw
kiss of poverty one day his mother heard
about a foundation that was established
in their neck of the woods
it’s called green earth Heritage
Foundation they were restoring the
forests providing livelihood in organic
agriculture and they were teaching
farmers kids to live hope and dream it’s
a holistic organization and so they have
a child sponsorship program wherein they
connect farmers kids with donors who
would then give modest monthly monetary
support to help the kids with their
school essentials as you all know public
schools free but everything else is not
so at this point this was the only thing
new that would bring hope so
blood-brother number four accompanied by
his mother and his two younger brothers
walked for hours round trip across a
bridge les River unpaved roads slopey
terrains under the searing heat of the
Sun he wanted to apply for the child
sponsorship program that’s what he did
that after the foundation of acceptance
application and after 30 days he was
connected to a donor but green earth
believes that in the Bible in the
biblical teaching that whom much is
given much is required every sponsored
child was required to attend the English
and computer literacy classes as well as
the Bible based values formation
sessions every weekend and every day
during the summer definitely not an easy
deal but brother number four had to walk
four hours round-trip he would leave his
house very early in the morning always
in an empty stomach and he would get
home very late at night there was a time
when he nearly drowned crossing the
river when it rained so heavily all of a
sudden but he still crossed because I
just wanted to get home as he laid on
the bank of the river he said to himself
enough is enough this is it time to quit
but you know as he laid there he came to
his senses and realized that if he did
quit he may not drown in the river but
he would drown in grinding poverty for
ever and ever
and so he resolved in his mind that he
would not give up he renewed his mind
after a year of attending the literacy
at Green Earth diligently the leadership
noticed his dedication he was outpacing
the other farmers skills in terms of
English and so he was assisted to
compete for the five-year scholarship
offered by the International School
Manila in 2012 blood-brother number four
became the first farmers child to win
the International School Manila
scholarship in its 92 year history you
see five years later but brother number
four one for Fulbright scholarships
abroad from Dartmouth Harvard NYU Abu
Dhabi and Wesleyan he decided to go to
Harvard and is actually starting this
fall blood-brother number four embarked
on a different journey in life and it
all started by transforming his mind by
the renewing of his mind
he thought that this would never happen
to him but because he renewed he
resolved at age of 7 do not to become
like his older brothers and at the age
of 12
we listened to his public school teacher
who constantly reminded him that poverty
should never be a hindrance and
fulfilling one’s dreams this happened to
him you see my friends to set one’s mind
on a goal is just the beginning
but in the journey ahead it’s long and
it’s difficult it requires passion
perseverance it requires faith most
importantly not in oneself but in God
blood
brother number four he trusted in the
Lord with all his heart he leaned not on
his own understanding in all ways where
she acknowledged him and he directed his
paths transformation is the process of
profound and radical change which Aryans
individual into a completely different
place or direction taking itself it’s an
entirely different level effectiveness
and progress transformation is not just
about being oriented in one in a
different place transformation is about
being an effective individual one that
is relevant one that is Purpose Driven
in a book called the Oxford group and
the world crisis Hermann Hagedorn the
author he talks about the 6,000 people
in Switzerland who have been transformed
and as a result began paying their
income tax one day before the Geneva
meeting began an unprecedented event in
Canada a newspaper publisher faced the
government twelve thousand dollars in
payment of the custom duties he wants
evaded in Great Britain a team of over
100 students from Cambridge and Oxford
spent their Christmas vacation in East
and London living with the unemployed
and began to see them changed by love in
Holland and engineers smashed by
depression invent a invent a new kind of
explosive bomb and three countries
clamored for the patent but he was
transformed he toured the formula these
examples embody true transformation
transformation is not just about a
change in appearance your trades or your
beliefs transformation is about becoming
an effective individual ever since the
fourth blood brother graduated in May of
2017 he has been traveling around the
country offering a message of hope and
inspiration to rural public school
students and idle teenagers he does this
because he believes that it only takes
one person to inspire another
just as he has been inspired by his
public school teacher whose words
constantly ring in his ears poverty
should never be a hindrance in
fulfilling one’s dreams while on his
spree Harvard gap year he has been
invited to speak in different
enviroments s numerous times in addition
to that he is helping mentor
undereducated urban citizens coming to
his foundation looking for jobs he’s
taking part in every step of the tree
planting initiative of his supporting
foundation from the collection of
seedlings and seeds the propagation the
planting he is using every opportunity
he has to be a beneficial and an
effective member of our society he is
using every opportunity he has as a far
as part of his continuing process of
transformation transformation is not
just a one-time event it is a continuous
process that goes on through life now
you may ask how do we become transform
I searched exhaustively and because I
wanted to find the best answer to this
question but you know what for me I got
the answer from the Bible it said do not
conform to the patterns of this world
but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind how then can we in your mind
well fix your thoughts on what is true
what is honorable what is right what is
pure what is lovely what is admirable
dwell on these things thank you very
much [Applause]
you very much for the opportunity to be
here with you today it’s really an honor
I would like to start by sharing with
you the story of four blood brothers all
born and raised at the foothills of the
longest mountain range of the
Philippines the Sierra Madre the parents
of the Blood Brothers are farmers
they’re both elementary school dropouts
the father only finished sixth grade and
the mother third grade I want to tell
you about blood brother number one first
blood brother number one grade school
for him went very smoothly but when he
got to high school he got into bad
company he drank his smoke his skipped
classes and you see because of skipped
classes by the time he reached third
year his school kicked him out he
detested farming though his parents were
farmers because he believed that it
never improved their lives he became a
construction worker a truck helper than
a rugs maker later on however blood
brother number one got sucked into
illegal logging as a form of as a source
of income when he was 25 years old he
was accused of murder the police came he
was handcuffed dragged into the police
car and thrown into prison no trials no
nothing two years later he was released
and life continues to be a hand-to-mouth
existence he is now 38 years old and a
father of two now blood brother number
two blood brother number 2 never liked
to study even as a young kid his parents
had to plead with him to attend classes
each day as a punishment therefore his
parents made him work at the farm hoping
that he would realize
difficult life could be without
education he had to wake up very early
in the morning he planted he harvested
he cleaned and he helped sell their
families produce at the marketplace when
he realized that he could make money
from selling vegetables all the more he
lost interest in studying he dropped out
of school even before he finished fifth
grade soon farming planting and selling
vegetables lost its charm and so he
became a construction worker just like
his older brother a rugs maker a
trucking assistant but later on he
succumbed illegal logging and charcoal
making earning but a dollar a day while
destroying our environment one day his
mother was diagnosed to have serious
complications of urinary tract stones
diabetes and high blood pressure really
wanting to help blood brother number two
at age 17 moved to Manila and worked as
a garbage collector he was so enticed to
try it because the other young man in
his community thought that it was more
lucrative than illegal logging and
charcoal making one year later he came
back to the same grind he’s now 23 years
old has a live-in partner and a
two-year-old son now blood brother
number three was a double whammy he
never liked to study he would always get
in trouble and he would always skip
classes when he reached first year high
school he joined a gang he would always
get detained and his name was frequently
on the police blotters when he reached
second-year high school he finally
dropped out for his parents it was the
end of constant embarrassment in a
school community but as but it was only
the beginning of endless arguments at
home
blood-brother number three because of
his reputation couldn’t find any jobs
and so he he also hated farming and as a
result he became a good-for-nothing host
left during the day and hang out with
his friends at night soon he began
stealing money from his mother’s purse
gambling smoking weed using meth many
times he came home late drunk and under
the influence of drugs and whenever his
father would reprimand him for his
obnoxious behavior and his laziness he
would answer back – out of the house and
be gone for days one time their family
received a phone call it was his
girlfriend she was sobbing heavily as
she broke the news blood brother number
three had attempted suicide fortunately
for him his girlfriend stood by him
despite the challenges despite
everything and this brought stability
into his life there now the girlfriend
is now his live-in partner and they have
three children and an adopted son blood
brother number four the seventh out of
nine kids witnessed all of the problems
of his older brothers growing up he
would always be terrified whenever he
learned that his brother was picked up
by the police
got into a fight or attempted suicide
every single day he wondered when will I
drop out next will I be able to continue
with my schooling will you have anything
to eat today in fifth grade blood
brother number four had an English
teacher who was very passionate about
teaching and she emphasized her students
that poverty should never be a hindrance
in fulfilling ones dreams these words
were etched into the soul of blood
brother number four and it became his
conviction that education is key to
escaping the claw
kiss of poverty one day his mother heard
about a foundation that was established
in their neck of the woods
it’s called green earth Heritage
Foundation they were restoring the
forests providing livelihood in organic
agriculture and they were teaching
farmers kids to live hope and dream it’s
a holistic organization and so they have
a child sponsorship program wherein they
connect farmers kids with donors who
would then give modest monthly monetary
support to help the kids with their
school essentials as you all know public
schools free but everything else is not
so at this point this was the only thing
new that would bring hope so
blood-brother number four accompanied by
his mother and his two younger brothers
walked for hours round trip across a
bridge les River unpaved roads slopey
terrains under the searing heat of the
Sun he wanted to apply for the child
sponsorship program that’s what he did
that after the foundation of acceptance
application and after 30 days he was
connected to a donor but green earth
believes that in the Bible in the
biblical teaching that whom much is
given much is required every sponsored
child was required to attend the English
and computer literacy classes as well as
the Bible based values formation
sessions every weekend and every day
during the summer definitely not an easy
deal but brother number four had to walk
four hours round-trip he would leave his
house very early in the morning always
in an empty stomach and he would get
home very late at night there was a time
when he nearly drowned crossing the
river when it rained so heavily all of a
sudden but he still crossed because I
just wanted to get home as he laid on
the bank of the river he said to himself
enough is enough this is it time to quit
but you know as he laid there he came to
his senses and realized that if he did
quit he may not drown in the river but
he would drown in grinding poverty for
ever and ever
and so he resolved in his mind that he
would not give up he renewed his mind
after a year of attending the literacy
at Green Earth diligently the leadership
noticed his dedication he was outpacing
the other farmers skills in terms of
English and so he was assisted to
compete for the five-year scholarship
offered by the International School
Manila in 2012 blood-brother number four
became the first farmers child to win
the International School Manila
scholarship in its 92 year history you
see five years later but brother number
four one for Fulbright scholarships
abroad from Dartmouth Harvard NYU Abu
Dhabi and Wesleyan he decided to go to
Harvard and is actually starting this
fall blood-brother number four embarked
on a different journey in life and it
all started by transforming his mind by
the renewing of his mind
he thought that this would never happen
to him but because he renewed he
resolved at age of 7 do not to become
like his older brothers and at the age
of 12
we listened to his public school teacher
who constantly reminded him that poverty
should never be a hindrance and
fulfilling one’s dreams this happened to
him you see my friends to set one’s mind
on a goal is just the beginning
but in the journey ahead it’s long and
it’s difficult it requires passion
perseverance it requires faith most
importantly not in oneself but in God
blood
brother number four he trusted in the
Lord with all his heart he leaned not on
his own understanding in all ways where
she acknowledged him and he directed his
paths transformation is the process of
profound and radical change which Aryans
individual into a completely different
place or direction taking itself it’s an
entirely different level effectiveness
and progress transformation is not just
about being oriented in one in a
different place transformation is about
being an effective individual one that
is relevant one that is Purpose Driven
in a book called the Oxford group and
the world crisis Hermann Hagedorn the
author he talks about the 6,000 people
in Switzerland who have been transformed
and as a result began paying their
income tax one day before the Geneva
meeting began an unprecedented event in
Canada a newspaper publisher faced the
government twelve thousand dollars in
payment of the custom duties he wants
evaded in Great Britain a team of over
100 students from Cambridge and Oxford
spent their Christmas vacation in East
and London living with the unemployed
and began to see them changed by love in
Holland and engineers smashed by
depression invent a invent a new kind of
explosive bomb and three countries
clamored for the patent but he was
transformed he toured the formula these
examples embody true transformation
transformation is not just about a
change in appearance your trades or your
beliefs transformation is about becoming
an effective individual ever since the
fourth blood brother graduated in May of
2017 he has been traveling around the
country offering a message of hope and
inspiration to rural public school
students and idle teenagers he does this
because he believes that it only takes
one person to inspire another
just as he has been inspired by his
public school teacher whose words
constantly ring in his ears poverty
should never be a hindrance in
fulfilling one’s dreams while on his
spree Harvard gap year he has been
invited to speak in different
enviroments s numerous times in addition
to that he is helping mentor
undereducated urban citizens coming to
his foundation looking for jobs he’s
taking part in every step of the tree
planting initiative of his supporting
foundation from the collection of
seedlings and seeds the propagation the
planting he is using every opportunity
he has to be a beneficial and an
effective member of our society he is
using every opportunity he has as a far
as part of his continuing process of
transformation transformation is not
just a one-time event it is a continuous
process that goes on through life now
you may ask how do we become transform
I searched exhaustively and because I
wanted to find the best answer to this
question but you know what for me I got
the answer from the Bible it said do not
conform to the patterns of this world
but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind how then can we in your mind
well fix your thoughts on what is true
what is honorable what is right what is
pure what is lovely what is admirable
dwell on these things thank you very
much [Applause]
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