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Lost Bear Reunited with Four Year Old Owner

Heartwarming stories are always worth telling, and retelling. A little girl, Phoebe Steel, left her stuffed bear at the Toronto Pearson International Airport. The family lives in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Realizing that the bear wasn’t on their flight, the mom alerted the airport which began a search for the bear. They found it in lost and found and posted the journey home for the bear on Facebook. First they showed the bear waiting in a filing cabinet in Toronto and then going through security. They showed it on a moving walkway going towards its flight and then at duty free trying on a Toronto Blue Jays jersey. The staff flew the bear back to Phoebe along with another toy from the airport.

The staff added “Ra Ra had fun at Toronto Pearson, but was happy to head home to his family. Goodbye, Ra Ra!”

As Mrs. Steel remarked, “When we got him back she was overjoyed and so excited. She has been quite attached to him and has not let him out of her sight. The airport went above and beyond to get Ra Ra back – they have been amazing and so generous. They made a little girl so happy and are such kind people. I could never express how grateful I am to them.”

See the pictures and enjoy this feel-good story!

Great DIY Halloween Costume Ideas

Halloween is almost here and that means that you need costume ideas! Don’t wait until the last second to think about this. Your costume might need some time and energy invested in it to make it great, and now is the time to get started. Here are some great do it yourself ideas that don’t take too much time or money – but that will help you to really enjoy the holiday!

New Product for Acid Reflux

For people with terrible heartburn – a solution may actually be available. A bracelet-like device has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2012 to help gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD).

The new device, called the LINX device, is a magnetic bead that has to be implanted around a muscle at the bottom of the esophagus.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have now concluded that LINX should be considered as a first-line treatment for acid reflex.

As Dr Robert Ganz, chief of gastroenterology at Abbott Northwestern Hospital and associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, said: ‘This study demonstrates the LINX procedure provides significant and durable improvement in heartburn, regurgitation, PPI independence and quality of life. Patients can now have a relatively simple procedure to restore their sphincter function and avoid the invasiveness required in fundoplication procedures. In my view, LINX represents the next generation of anti-reflux treatment.”

Is Your Plate Keeping You Fat?

You know that diet that you’re always about to start? How about if we told you that you really don’t have to diet – you simply have to change your portion size and a few eating habits. This is the latest finding from Cambridge academics. Their 387 page report showed the most conclusive evidence to date that we simply eat too much food – we eat what we are given even if we don’t need that much.

Here are some tips for portion control:

Reduce the size of the plate or bowl that you have in front of you. This can reduce food intake by 159 calories a day according to the scientists.
Drink one to two glasses of water before starting each meal.

Eat a salad before you eat other items at your meal to signal to your brain that you’re full.
Use smaller tableware as well and this will mean that you put less food into your mouth as you eat.

These tips certainly can’t hurt, and they just might set you on your way towards a smaller pants size in your future!

Building Bridges with Yechiel Eckstein

A book about the work of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein – Founder and President of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) – was recently released. The book, entitled “The Bridge Builder – The Life and Continuing Legacy of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein,” was written by author and New York Times reporter Zev Chafets, and details the life and times of a man who has dedicated himself to the “contemporary Jewish scene….creating strategic alliances for the Jewish people.”

Throughout his career, Eckstein has fought for recognition and respect in building relationships between Jews and Christians. As founder of the IFCJ he has, in the last three decades, become known as an advocate between the two religious communities, literally, as Chafets’ book says, a “bridge builder.”

There are many communities of divergent religious beliefs trying to build bridges along similar lines as Eckstein. For example, Pastor Bob Roberts of Northwood Church, said, “We’re trying to watch one another’s backs … How we treat Muslims here (in the United States) has an impact on Christians in Pakistan and Egypt and other places around the world. We need to learn how to be civil. We need to teach those who are in the majority how to treat those who are in the minority. We want to pull together pastors and imams in different areas. We need to watch out for religious minorities worldwide.” Roman Catholic Priest Channan is on the same page as Roberts and Eckstein, saying, “We want to heal wounds and build bridges.”

Perhaps this was why Channan received the Global Ambassador of Peace Award from the Institute of International Social Development at the United Nations, and Eckstein the Man of the Year Award and Award for Special Contribution to the Welfare of the State of Israel.

At the end of the day, what people like Eckstein, Roberts, and Channan are all just trying to do is “build bridges” between different communities.