Oct

3

Christian Magazine

Filed Under Announcements, Faith & Values, Mailbox | Comments Off


I’ve been receiving copies of The Good News magazine since last year (I signed up for a free subscription online). So far, I’ve been satisfied with its content.

The GN editorial staff presents world news in the light of the Bible (this is important to me) and features helpful articles on Christian living, providing practical solutions to the challenges individuals and families face alike.

And yes, this magazine is delivered to your doorstep for free. In these times of economic crisis, it seems to me like a great deal.

Anyway, I received a letter from the GN people today. Part of it reads:

We’d like to continue sharing The Good News with you, but we need to be sure you want to continue to receive it. Soon your last issue will be posted to you, and then…no more.

…You can keep The Good News coming for another two years — FREE. Simply return the card in the envelope we’ve supplied.

It’s fairly an easy decision to make. Surely, I don’t like to miss out on future issues packed with information as well as insights. So, YES, I’d like to renew my Good News subscription. I’ll mail the confirmation card pronto.

If you’d like to receive your own copy of The Good News magazine, click here for more details.

May

6

Philippine Embassy

Filed Under Mailbox, The Philippines | 9 Comments


The Embassy of the Philippines in Bern is staffed by people who are kind, courteous, and competent. And Filipino citizens based in Switzerland are blessed to have them.

Renewing my Philippine passport at the embassy was so effortless that, in an inexplicable way, I kind of missed the incompetence usually associated with government service back home (e.g. applying for a driver’s license at LTO, getting a copy of your birth certificate at the NSO). Where’s the red tape? Where’s the long line? (Wala bang pila?) Where are the power-tripping civil servants?

Thankfully, there was no struggle on my part to get a new Philippine passport. All I needed to do was visit the Philippine Embassy’s Consular Section and submit all the requirements, as listed in the embassy’s website. And that was that.

Four days after I lodged my passport application, my new passport and my identity card arrived by mail (passport applicants are requested to give the Embassy personnel a self-addressed envelope with a CHF5.50 stamp, on top of the other requirements). It could have arrived much earlier had there been no weekend that followed the date of my application.

The Philippine Embassy in Bern clearly has a reliable system in place, and its people do know the meaning of efficiency. It feels just great to be served well by compatriots who care. Salamat po sa inyo!

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