Here I Am Lord

We spent this last week in Cagayan de Oro in deep prayer for a special intention. Our family retreat was a much needed break to review our time and our mission in the Philippines. I read a passage from the Gospel of Mark that was so real as it spoke to my heart. Even Jesus needed quiet time to go to a field early in the morning to pray (Mark 1:35). Yeah, it was the opposite for us. We had to go to the city to hear the Lord speak, but in the busy-ness of the city I saw the Lord in a blind man.

I was walking home that night from the store with a small birthday cake for Samuel. I didn't know Pippi was blind when I first saw him. He was crouched down by a minivan. With one hand he was making a circular motion on the vehicle and the other one was on his metal cane. “This man must have had a rough night drinking” was my initial thought. It was when I saw the metal cane that I started to kick myself for having that horrible thought to begin with. Still, I passed him as I took one more last glance at the cane. I hadn't seen a metal one before especially with what was sticking out from the handle. “Could that have been a harmonica? Nah, probably not.” As I was going farther away from him I was trying to suppress the strong inner voice telling me to go back. “I wasn't even supposed to come this way,” I thought to myself as I learned of the road construction on the way to the store. I slapped my right leg in a kind of “Aw, shucks!”-way, thinking it was too late to have turned back. When I did that I hit my harmonica that I forgot that I had brought with me on this trip. “Thank you, Lord!” I said quietly as I knew I had to turn back.

A little rewind action. I started to practice on the harmonica again after many failed attempts while in the States. I especially started to learn “Happy Birthday” within just a few days until Samuel's birthday...and learned it well enough to play it until I annoyed my kids. “Play something else!” is what the looks on their faces were saying. So, I started to learn “Here I am Lord” one of my all-time faves. I practiced for a few weeks and had this strange feeling that I should play it for Pippi even though it wasn't Carnegie Hall-ready:)

I turned back and prayed to do my best. I introduced myself to him and he replied in Visaya. I could only catch a few words but I replied with a quiet note on my harmonica. He stood up when he recognized the sound. I told him I was going to play a little of what I had learned. So, I began. I was so nervous with everyone passing by and staring that I could tell that I was not playing as best as I could. I knew I wasn't letting the Holy Spirit work. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't the best that I knew how. As I finished, he gave a little bow and picked up his harmonica. WHOA! Pippi proceeded to play the familiar 80's tune. “Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you...” NO WAY!!! As I write this, I am just now thinking of those words. HE was right there waiting for ME! I never would've met him, never would've shared our music, and never would've been blessed by his skill. His tune was so perfect it sounded as if I was listening to the radio! I applauded when he finished as he gave a shy smile.

How awesome it is to finish an appointment set up by God like that! I hurried back to the Cathedral where we were staying to tell the family of all the good news I had read on the internet (we got a message from back home that our first care package was on its way!) and from Pippi.

Day #2 of our retreat had me going the same way only to find the store had closed 20 minutes earlier. I made sure to bring my harmonica but I didn't see Pippi. I felt a little disappointed at both. I found a pharmacy still open and bought a 4-pack of T.P. On my way back, I looked ahead and saw a familiar shadow just waiting there. It was him! “Hi, my friend! It's me, Odilio.” He moved his head in my direction and started talking super fast in Visaya. He could hardly control his excitement. I told him that I was going to play again and play better. I did. It felt great going through the whole chorus without messing up. It was a blessing too as those who passed by slowed down and wondered what the heck was going on. Even Pippi accepted with a huge grin and a quiet laugh. He then played a cool tune unknown to me but still very smooth. Then he spoke again. I tried to stop a few people to translate but they walked on. I HAD to know what he was saying. Finally, a young guy named Ryan stopped to help me out. I reintroduced myself, using the translator to relay the message, and told him that I was a Catholic lay missionary from the USA. This brought a big smile to his face and then he asked, “Do you have any good news to share with me?” WOW! A chance to share the Faith and there I was ready to pass him by as “just another beggar”--a horrible thought. I answered him, “Yes! Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world! He wants us to continue talking to Him in prayer and never let go of Him. He loves us all so much.” He smiled and told me that he prays every day when he wakes up and every time he eats because he doesn't always have something to eat. Later that night I opened the Bible and turned to Sirach 7:10 “Never get tired of praying, and never miss a chance to give to the poor.” As I reflected on this verse I remembered what Pippi said through Ryan. “I am very grateful for the amount that you gave me (equivalent of $20 USD). I have never held this amount in my hand in all my life!” A part of me was thinking that maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I was thinking that someone might take advantage of his disability. Then I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to “Let it go.” At the same time, he assured me that his helper is a good man and trustworthy. So, I let it go.

I would like to thank all of our benefactors right now. All of those who have donated to our mission in the Philippines you are greatly appreciated. This is your part of the mission here. I don't make the money. I don't work in the aircraft factory anymore. It is your generous contributions that we use to bring the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ! Please continue to keep us in your prayers and tell your friends about us and our mission. We can sure use the help at this time to continue our work here. Please pray for God to send us those who need the most help and please help us help them. I return to the mainland in two weeks to renew our visas (our biggest expense) and maybe then I can get a few pics of Pippi to post. There is so much work needed to be done here. I know He called us here for a reason.

Here I am Lord.

Is it I Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night.

I will go Lord

If You lead me

I will hold Your people in my heart.

Help(er) Needed...Granted

What is life like being a foreign missionary?, you may be wondering. Well, sometimes it is a nice day living on one of God's most beautifully created islands with not much being asked of you except to relax and enjoy the quietness (like when we first got here). Then, there's weeks like this past one. Both ways are part of His plan.

Monday-- Normal schedule shows that this is the day when we all, minus Maddie, visit a day care center for 2-4 year olds and sing a quick song before a teaching of God's Truth. This week Fr. Joe called up and asked for us to go with him to St. James Chapel for the patron saint's Fiesta Mass. We agreed to have Stacie and Meredith stay behind and be with the young-uns while I took the boys (yes, even Julian. I was feeling brave). The Mass went well and then the chapel was cleared for the meal. Wouldn't you know that right before Fr. Joe was to say the blessing his celly goes off? And wouldn't you also know that right after saying “Oh, I gotta take this call. Very important. I will hand it over to our chaplain now (pointing to me).” Well, now you do know. “Come, Holy Spirit.”

Tuesday-- I put the finishing touches on the bunk bed I was building and we all pitched in to get the house ready for our first, unofficial short-term mission group from India and one visitor from Kahayag sa Dyos in Cagayan de Oro. We postponed our teaching on Tuesday at the high school and excused Maddie for the rest of the day so that we could pick up our visitors at the port. We all greeted each other and then headed out to Cantaan's White Beach. It was a super blessed time as we had the entire beach to ourselves. The high winds didn't stop us from having a great time and I thanked God that the rain clouds were swept away. We enjoyed our picnic lunch, fellowship, swimming in the big blue, climbing the coconut trees, and I had a revelation. I finally realized why we curve to one side with our hands pointed together while at the same time singing in the song “I'm Bananas for the Lord”---because we look like bananas! Ohhhhh, 1+1=2!!!!

We finished up at the beach and headed home to rest before going to the convento for dinner courtesy of Fr. Joe's staff. Dinner was excellent and we all accepted Fr.'s offer for transportation for our mountain visit the next day. We settled on being ready early, which for us non-Filipinos means 8am or after. We stayed up late(r) than we normally do. Yes, it was almost 10pm! We talked about biting the snake's backbone to keep it from squeezing the life out of you or something like that because my eyes were getting droopy by then.

Middle of the night comes and the power goes off. Sleeping here is great with the fresh air from the open windows (when it's blowing), but I still need my fan. I tossed and turned and could not get settled in. I finally got up and went to the front porch and lit a candle. It's still hard to believe how dark it gets every time the power goes out. In the open fields of Kansas, we at least had a lot of moonlight to work with. This time I had to use candlelight to pray and to search Scripture for a topic to preach at tomorrow's visit. With the sea breeze at my back and my drowsy eyes, I soon fell asleep and awoke with the candle just a few inches away and no Bible verse or topic in mind. Ok, time for bed. I finally crawled in and fell asleep with my prayer to have the power back on before too long. “Whizzzz..,” the fan clicked on and my sleep was blessed again. Praise the Lord!

Wednesday-- My plan was to wake up before everyone, eat breakfast calmly, and then go shopping for the food supplies at 7am. That didn't happen. I woke up after a few earlier riser-uppers, skipped breakfast, and headed out from the house at about 8am. I then got a text from Father that said we would be leaving at around 9am! “Sure, Father, we'll be ready,” hit the send button and relayed the message to the group. We split up into two groups-- I went with our Indian visitors Nick and Jeremy to get the 60 kilos broken up into 30 bags of 2 kilos each while Susanna and Eric bought the rest of the items like sardines, noodles, brown sugar, and a powdered drink. So, when my group got done, we headed to the store where Susanna was and texted for Father's jeep to pick us up. Ahhh, everything was going well as we were only a few minutes behind schedule. Screeeeecccchhhh! (insert record scratching noise here) Father called us up and said that he had just been invited to attend a speaker's address of our town of Sagay's 102^nd Foundation Day Celebration. There was no telling how long he was going to be! Oh, I forgot to mention earlier how this was a real “short-term” trip for our visitors. They were only going to be with us for about 24 hours total! That meant that they had to leave by 2pm to get to the ferry that departed by 3pm! The devil really hates missions. And I mean REALLY hates missions. I say that because after feeling a little relieved to see Father Joe come out of the meeting his news of the 2^nd vehicle we were taking was not so good. He said to wait just a little longer because there was something that became loose under the Mad Max. If you have seen Mel Gibson's 80's movie Mad Max, then you can see where this one jeep got it's nickname. Anyway, just another delay. No big deal. It's only 11pm......11pm!!! Time was really flying and we weren't even on the way up yet! Some sacrifices were going to have to be made. The life of a missionary. Carry out your mission, sacrifice all the extras. Yes, we were all ready to give up our lunch to give the poor all the help we could and share with them God's Word. Nothing was going to stop us.

Finally, Fr. Joe tells us of the completed repairs and that there will be a shortcut we can take to the mountain chapel. Most everyone fit in the blue Suzuki as they drove off without me and Nanding and Arlyn Ocaba. We got the newly repaired Mad Max. All in all we were at least 18 hiking that mountain trail. Many slips and near plunges into certain death (just kidding) but we still made it! The scenery the whole way was spectacular. God knows how to give one a boost at the right time. Just as your legs are throbbing from the climb, it levels out into a clear path or He gives you a great view of the sea or of giant rocks where the next rain will turn into a beautiful waterfall. God is good...all the time.

We made it up to the chapel in different spurts. We rested and caught our breath while some served us some green coconuts and coconut water. With one eye on the clock, we finally worked our way into the chapel where the people had already gathered. We read the beginning of Psalm 56. Our theme was about the importance of prayer and how great a gift it is to know that we can always talk to our Lord. He wants us to talk to Him. Have you talked to Him today? He is waiting...

After thinking, “What the heck am I going to talk about today?” it was time for the Holy Spirit to take over. I had my Visayan Bible and had only paraphrased what Psalm 56 was about. I had a little note that read, “God is on our side. Nothing to fear.” That's it! I was so thankful Teresa had brought an English copy so that I could quickly glance over some more of the key words. As I wrapped up, I gave the floor to Susanna and anyone else who wanted to share. Susanna talked about how someone must have prayed to God for help because here we were. It was true. Carrying food, babies, and the Holy Bible through narrow, muddy, and slippery trails and we were all safe! God willed it. I was also blessed by Nick's sharing of how awesome it is to work together. An even greater feeling is when we visit a foreign land and work side by side with other Christians and sharing the Love as God intended- encouraging and building each other up. I definitely felt very blessed and re-energized to be working alongside others who share the same values. Great visit!

The trek back was not as bad as the other. In fact, it went by way faster. I think mostly because by the time we were done praying over the group and distributing the food packs every minute was ticking down. I think we all had an imaginary clock hanging over us in big red letters saying that we were not going to make it. When we reached the parking area, it was a huge relief to see the two jeeps ready to go. Everyone loaded up the same way and Father double-timed it back to our cottage to get everyone's things together and leave immediately for the port. Our quick mission was successfully carried out and God's will triumphed once again over all of our “roadblocks”.

That was still not the end of the day for me. I have been assigned as a lector at Holy Rosary Parish. True, this was a Wednesday night and not as many people were there as at my first time during the 2^nd Mass on one Sunday. Still, I want to try my best and sound a little less like a 1^st grader reading Exodus and the Responsorial Psalm. It went fairly well and I think most in attendance got the message...probably because they had to listen really hard to what was being said :)

Thursday-- The day started out with my trying hard to connect to a Skype chat session with the home base in Louisiana. I messed up and clicked something accidentally and thought that I had entirely deleted my Skype account. After almost one hour from our scheduled chat, I finally gave up trying to re-load everything and found the original sitting right there on my desktop. At least we'll be ready for our next try.

Father Joe called us to the convento for a quick meeting. He asked us to go with him to the island's capital city of Mambajao to meet the Governor. He really wanted to introduce us to him because of his strong opposition of the Reproductive Health Bill (RH) which is trying to pass into a law that limits a couple to only 2 children per family. Crazy! If something like this would've passed years ago in the States, I never would've been born as Mom was the 5^th of 9 children. Anyway, we penciled in the visit.

Stacie's day to teach in the afternoon for one hour. She usually makes lunch for all of us then puts Julian down for his nap. Today was a little different though. While waiting for Maddie to show up for her lunch break, we were surprised to see her coming down the street with 4 of her classmates. We welcomed them up the stairs and invited them to have lunch with us at our table. The lunch breaks here are from about 11:30am- 1:30pm. Many kids live too far from the school to go home for lunch so they bring their lunch and stay in the classroom, using their desk for a table. On this particular day(as they had a few times before), the girls came to eat at our home. Maddie said we might as well expect them to come everyday. Fine with us. The more the merrier. Each brings her own small portion of rice and maybe a sardine or two. If still hungry, they taste a little “American” food.

Friday-- We excused Maddie out of her classes again and headed out to meet the Governor. We drove up and parked within walking distance of his front gate. Apparently, the whole town was there celebrating his birthday! We entered and met his father who is also a Congressman from Manila. Anyway, we shook hands and were invited into his home to share a birthday meal. Everything was very nice and so tasty. Finally, the festivities were starting to pick up steam as different singers took the stage to show their karaoke skills. Then, all of Camiguin's 5 priests were asked to go up and sing the traditional birthday song. They sounded great, to my surprise and maybe to a few others. Then, Father Joe, being the leader that he is, grabs the mic and starts to introduce our family. I can pick up on a few words describing our mission. Everyone's heads turn to us and suddenly everyone's looking at us! He motions for us to get up on the stage as well as for the Governor. “Oh, this won't be so bad. He'll just have another few words, give a quick handshake, wave and smile a bit longer then we can go,” I silently thought to myself. Wrong-O! I looked over after I heard Father say my name mixed with some Visayan and then he was handing me the mic asking, “Can you say a prayer over the Governor?” My face was saying sure thing but my innards were trembling! It's very difficult being put on the spot like that, but that's why God gives us the Holy Spirit, the Helper. “Come, Holy Spirit, I need You.” I truly believe in the gift of speaking in tongues because my mouth may have been moving and my voice being projected over the speakers but I never heard anything. I later had to ask Stacie what I said :) Whew! 3-pointer for the Holy Spirit!

On our way home, Father gets a call that says he will be hosting the priest's district meeting at his place and that he should have dinner ready. This also means that his missionary family should also be in attendance. The meeting started after a delicious meal and I was the only one left when Stacie went home with the tired children. The ENTIRE meeting was in Visayan. I really gotta learn this language.

Saturday-- Another meeting request at the convento. This was really a nice gesture by Father to translate everything that was said the night before. And wouldn't you know that he closed with a request to have me take his place and open that night's Talent Show for the town's continued 102^nd celebration? Well, now you do know.

I guess I must have said the right words at the Governor's place even though I still don't know everything that was said :) At least this time I had a nine hour warning. Evening came and the Talent Show was underway...but not until I opened with a prayer. It is so weird praying at a huge gym and hearing the loud crowd suddenly become quiet and then having my voice fill it with the power of a mic and giant speakers the size of a house! All for God's glory!

Father and I took our seats next to an Evangelical pastor, the Mayor, Vice- Mayor, and other city councilmen. The whole time I was thinking of Ms. Genie back at Big Woods saying how you just take everything as God gives it and follow His plan. Well, we stayed for the opening act of a magician trying his best to entertain the crowd. For us sitting at the very front and at a lower angle, it was easy to see that magic is purely illusion and not a power or force. I now know how 85% of the tricks are done. There is a reason for very loud music(to drown the clicking of buttons), wearing long coats (more pockets to hide the 42 umbrellas), and everything being black (not as visible). Just saying.

Sunday-- Day of rest you say?....hahahahahahahahaahhaahahhahhhhhh. Too pooped to start the day with 1^st Mass starting at 630am so we slept in and went to 830am. Before going on our way, we get stopped by our friends, Tata and Tony Credo. They invited us to visit their Kids 4 Christ meeting at 2pm they have only once a month. We accepted thinking we could still make it back to our house and have our Youth Group at 3pm. Everything's fine according to our plan, right? Well, the Holy Spirit was definitely guiding us this week and wouldn't you know that we were invited to come to the church at 2pm for Tita Dolores' anniversary Mass of her late husband's death only we didn't know that's what it was for and we assumed it was for the Credo's prayer meeting? Well, now you do know and are probably as confused as we were.

So, we celebrated the Anniversary Mass and sorted everything out. A dinner was waiting for us at Tita Dolores', but we also wanted to share at least a little bit of our time with the Kids 4 Christ group. Tony introduced us briefly and immediately asked us to share something...anything...ummm....Holy Spirit. Bingo! Just like that we were lead to share how the youth of the world are so important in turning the way this world thinks. It is good for them to start meeting like this and to begin forming their spiritual life through prayer, faith, and good works. We closed with a children's praise song that they really enjoyed. We ended up doing it twice. Good thing, too, because we built up an appetite just in time to celebrate at Tita Dolores' place. Praise the Lord! P.S. In case you're wondering, yes, we had to cancel our Youth Group for this week.

There it is! Our crazy-busy, action-packed, Spirit-filled, Kingdom-building, super blessed week in a nutshell...kind of. We start all over again tomorrow and see where the Spirit blows us this week.

“The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

Go! Tell It On The Mountain!

Two weeks ago my 8yr. old son, Abram, and I hiked up the mountain directly in view from our front porch. We were headed out with our new friends, Nanding and Arlyn Ocaba to visit with some of the people and to share a reading or two from the Holy Bible. We experienced something special at every stop which is something I will never forget.

The hike started at around 8am. We started off on a concrete road that curved to the right just after leaving our town. Then the fun began. The dirt road was still a little soft from the rain the day before but still not awful. I could see how bad it could have been if it was a later rain. I remembered thinking of Oklahoma clay and how smooth it was. I also noticed that the path started to get narrower and narrower as we went on and soon we were all in single file.

We passed a young girl on her way to school going the opposite way. I said a good morning to her without even thinking about classes having already started about an hour ago. Then Nanding says in his quiet voice, “It's a sacrifice, going to school.” Wow! Here is a girl going to school in her clean uniform with dress shoes (not hiking boots) going down a mountain. It is a sacrifice going to school because there is no bus service and no guarantee of good weather. I also didn't know how long it actually took to get all the way up or down. At the end of the whole trip, we had hiked 8 km. So, in order for this girl to get to class and hike about 4km, she would have had to leave her house by 5am just as the sun is rising here, and not return until after dark! And what if it was slippery?!

We kept on and reached our first house visit. I say house but it was more like a one-room hut on stilts. A family of 4 lived there with the parents expecting their third child next month. They were cooking their lunch on their front porch which was the size of our balcony of our home in Kansas! I think our Master bedroom connected to that balcony was even bigger than their place! And we thought we needed that bigger home. We had so much! I forgot to write this family's name but I have kept them in prayer since especially for the safe delivery of their baby. They seemed happy even though they didn't have much cooking on the fire. After I stumbled through the reading in their native Visayan dialect, we all agreed how important it was to keep talking to God through all of our trials and sufferings.

We pushed a little further up the mountain and came upon a little “village”. I am not sure what it is called but it was a group of about 7-8 homes. Most of the men were out doing farm work while most of the women with their little ones were peeking through their windows to see what was up. We only talked to two women and a grandfather of one of them. We continued the theme of prayer in our lives and how God remains the same age to age. One of the women spoke of how her home needed repairs especially the roof. When she showed me her home, it seemed like everything was in order for the most part. The tin roof does need some work and I thought how easy it would be to patch the small holes with some sort of Bond-O or another plastic filler. She also talked about how they have to arrange themselves in order to avoid the drips in the night. Not much comfortable space left. Still, they manage and do what they must.

The next stop was more for our lungs. Climbing almost straight up takes your breath away. Then there's the view. Wow! If the view of the whole ocean is not enough, the sound of the small creek rushing down some rocks can get you refreshed within seconds. We refilled our canteens with the natural spring water for the rest of our way. We also visited a relative of the Ocaba family after this stop. No sooner had we introduced ourselves than the young man darted off to a coconut tree which he climbed in no time and hacked off about 10 green coconuts with his machete. So, we shared with his daughter a good snack of the “meat” of the coconut and its milk. God is good to His missionaries!

Our last stop was my favorite. Arlyn showed us the place where we were going which was in sight....straight up! We had to stop a few times to give our throbbing quads a rest. I slipped three times. The feeling of everyone looking at me while I was down was very humiliating. I tried to lessen the “lesson” by saying that “even Jesus fell down 3 times”. Then, I quickly remembered that all I had with me was a backpack on my healthy shoulders and not the weight of the world's sins on my beaten, blodied body. It turned out to be a good and final place to stop and rest. The house we visited up there was occupied by a very hospitable family. They were ready to serve us the same gifts(boiled sweet potatoes) we had brought to them from their neighbors at the last visit below! That's generosity! But what made this visit memorable was when Arlyn had asked if we could read from our Visayan Bible. They exchanged some words and I kind of picked up something that sounded like “What religion is he?” Arlyn correctly told them that we were Catholic and not to worry. Then the lady of the house said something else which to me sounded like “Oh, we are Iglesia Ni Cristo” a Protestant sect started by Filipinos. What she actually said was that Iglesia had just visited them recently. Immediately I thought “Oh, no! They beat us here!” Actually, she said that they were there and asked them to convert and be welcomed into their church. These people with great faith answered that they have always been Catholic as their parents and even their grandparents were. Wow! What a relief! So many others here, (just like in the U.S. and other places) have been quick to change, perhaps because they lack proper catechesis or because something “new” seems catchy. I praised God for keeping this family together and also the flock of all of His people through the generations. I shared with them how important it is to keep the same faith that we share with the Apostles and to stay safe within the walls of the Church... “the pillar and bullwark of truth” (1Timothy 3:15). I told them that the Catholic Church is the ONLY church that can trace all of the roots from the first leader, St. Peter, to the current in Pope Benedict XVI. If they were to ask all the others who started their church and when, they would come up with someone from the 13^th century at the earliest. (Iglesia Ni Cristo only 97 years ago!)

As we were getting ready to leave, I admired this family's strength to persevere through the difficulties. Not only do they get just one Holy Mass per year, but their crops in the mountains are suffering with weak harvests. The only thing that they can rely on is their coconut harvest. Getting enough to fill a sack may be somewhat easy but going down the mountain with it while balancing it on your head and not falling is another story. It is a sacrifice living on this beautiful island and like Father Joe said just before we left the mainland, “Living on the island is no picnic. It's time to get to work.” Our work and your work is to preach the Gospel. Jesus needs us more than ever! Pray that we are able to continue our mountain ministry, a ministry that will hopefully include food distribution as well as more frequent sharing of Sacred Scripture in the hopes of building a stronger faith community among our hidden brothers and sisters.

Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.--James 1:12

     I can't believe a whole month has gone by since my last post! I apologize for saying that I was going to write every week and then saying I was going to only write a weekly report of what we've been up to instead of one by topic. Sometimes too much happens all at once that there is no way to keep up. It will make for a special meeting when we get to see each other again and then you can hear all the details of why God called us to Camiguin Island.

     A few weeks ago, I posted on Facebook about Stacie's health. One x-ray was inconclusive as to whether she had tuberculosis. It was determined that the two spots on her right lung were from the pneumonia that she was getting over. We started to get a little nervous after we went to the hospital on the mainland. They took another x-ray and asked her if she was a smoker or if she is an asthmatic. Both answers were “no” but the possibility of TB still lingered. One reason that made us feel a little better is that the doctor said that we have only been here 3 months. One reason that made us feel a little nervous again was that TB is VERY common in the Philippines. So, there we were again on the roller coaster heading to the doc's. The new x-rays showed her lung condition improving and the two spots almost completely healed. Praise the Lord!

     That same week I, too, entered the hospital for a checkup. I had been suffering from a very gross, painful infection from athlete's foot. I didn't know at the time because I've had athlete's feet before and after a little spray it was back to normal. A few days had passed since the initial itching and soon my toes were starting to blister and then bleed. (Sorry, I was supposed to put this warning at the beginning of the blog so that you would have time to put the PB&J down.) Anyway, it was taking a long time and showing no signs of healing. I started to get a sore spot on the top of my left foot and then a shooting pain up my leg. All through this, I was thinking of this year's Intake motto that we had put on our missionary t-shirts: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News.”-Romans 10:15

     It was anything but beautiful. Then, I started to think of how Jesus struggled for many steps uphill with a gigantic cross on His back—with my sins and yours and the whole world's! I remember wondering on Good Friday how painful that had to be. He had His entire body scourged from head to toe and that was before having to carry the cross. I had a bunch of time to think of how much of a wimp I am and how ungrateful I am for not meditating on His passion as often. Every day is truly a priceless gift.

     I finally got some antibiotics and am able to walk. It was a good lesson for me to remember the Father's love for me. This Holy Trinity Sunday we read John 3:16. He loved me SO much that He gave His only Son so that I may live forever! Praise the Lord!

Feast of The Holy Trinity

     This is also a good time to wish all the fathers out there a Happy Belated Father's Day! My life is truly more blessed as a father. I thank God for all of my children and for all of their love for me. I now have more time with them doing what I was meant to do-- “Go out into the whole world and preach the Gospel.”

*****Praise Reports*****

     We just found out that Stacie and I will be teaching a Values class for the 2nd and 3rd year high school kids. I will be teaching on Tuesdays at 7:30-8:30am and Fridays at 3:30-4:30pm. Stacie will teach on Tuesdays from 1:30-2:30pm. This is one answer we have been waiting to hear that can help our mssion here.

     Another awesome report is from a woman that we met when we first arrived here in March. She is the mother of the child who had Dengue fever and was healed the very next day after we visited and laid our hands on him. Ate Arlen visited us today and was telling us of dealing with their hardships with a smile and with her faith. All the time I was thinking of the book “Happy Are You Poor” and how she could have been on the cover. I don't want to go into too much detail because Stacie will post about her soon. During Ate Arlen's talk, she invited us to attend one of her visits up into the mountains. To make a long story short, I plan on taking a few trips up into the mountains more frequently as there is a huge need of spreading the message of hope to the forgotten ones. Please pray that I can make regular trips and that God can bless the people there with much needed healthy crops.

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     That's all I have this week. So much going on now that I am “back on my feet”. Please keep checking back and know there will be more to pray for with the next post—hopefully back to weekly, or at least bi-weekly reports. Ang Dios manalangin kanimo! (May God bless you!)

Fr. Joe

      It feels so good to have some free time to write this. Since Easter Sunday, I have strongly felt the message of new life that Our Lord Jesus has promised to all. Everything He said came to be or is happening. The Crucifixion of the Master was the most horrible and terrifying death to witness, and the Apostles were lost without their Good Shepherd, even though He promised that he would rise on the third day. I can picture how the “now what?” feeling must have felt in their hearts. When we arrived here and settled in under the guidance of Mrs. Genie Summers, co-founder of Family Missions Company, everything was at peace. Mrs. Genie then left to finish installing the two single ladies on the mainland a few days later. That's when a version of the “now what?” feeling came into my thoughts. Of course, it wasn't the same as God dying and disappearing for a few days but the fact that an experienced missionary was leaving was just a tad uncomfortable at first. What was being taught and learned at our Intake program about being led by the Holy Spirit was happening! It was also cool and exciting shortly after to see how God was showing us His promises of not leaving us orphans. We were not only feeling the power of the Holy Spirit guiding us, but also seeing it in a very holy priest- Father Joe.

      I don't think that I can fully describe Fr. Joe in a measly blog post. My intention at the beginning of the blog-storming was to actually give you a few quotes that he has shared since our arrival in March. Most are funny but others have really made me thank God for leading us to one of His true servants. Here goes:

• “Oh, don't worry! Just stay on this road; you can't get lost. We're on an island.”
  This is after he asked me to drive because he had only had his typical three hours sleep the night before and he was getting tired at the wheel.
• “Sometimes you have to suffer comfortably.”
  
  After most of the Masses in neighboring towns or barrios (most of this also comes from a FULL day of serving at his own parish), Father would get thanked for answering the request of a Mass with a huge meal. Fr. Joe's constant giving and sacrificing of his time has been something I want to learn how to do- always!
• “Yes, of course! At the barrios, as long as you're wearing something , then it's okay.”
  Upon arriving at a barrio funeral Mass before heading out to our original destination of a tour of the main town on the island, Mambajao, Stacie (dressed in jean shorts and most of us in T-shirts) asked, “Is the way we're dressed okay?” I don't know why but immediately after Fr. Joe's answer, I was still glad that I traded my banana leaf briefs for jeans earlier in the morning.
• “We can still fit two more.”
  Picture a blue Suzuki Samurai. Now, picture the interior of a blue Suzuki Samurai and how many passengers it seats. Yes, you may think that it only fits 4 adults. Hahaha! You are SO wrong! One trip to Mambajao to get to an ATM turned into a taxi ride trip back home. Father's relatives arrived at the port to celebrate their barrio's Fiesta Mass. 9 adults and 2 of my boys plus the family's luggage all made it safely to each destination without any damage to the Suzuki or each other. Oh, yeah! I also had a 5-gallon bottle of drinking water with us. Good thing my entire family didn't come this time.
• “Ah! You don't know where I've been!! I've been to Death Mountain!”
  Nothing funny here but this is probably my favorite so far and one of the most memorable to my heart. One day we were invited to a “prayer meeting” by someone we met at one of our chapel talks. They asked if they could come to our house later that evening to continue the session since we had other appointments. Well, the session at our house was VERY uncomfortable from the beginning. Most was in Visayan so I asked Fr. Joe to help me out by asking if they were in line with the Catholic Church. What I saw when he arrived on his motorcycle was surprising! He climbed our steps and someone quickly jumped up and hid the prayer leader from view. I thought it was odd but then the same man started to walk over to Father and explained who they were. Their group was leaning towards a fanatical side of the charismatic movement. One that places the gifts of the Holy Spirit a spot higher than the Holy Mass—the highest form of prayer. The man nervously tried to explain that they only go where priests can't. WRONG ANSWER! Death Mountain was at one time (and quite possibly still) a very hostile area where Muslims had a license to kill. Father Joe had to earn the trust of the people there and he is only one of a very few that can go up there but still risking his life each time.
• “Julian is a lover of seafoods. Everything he sees, he eats.”
  He is right-on with this one. It must be a genetic thing...from the father's side.
• “If I could choose between a watermelon and an orange, I would still pick a mango.”
  The kids got this answer after our day of watermelon harvesting in the mountains, when Meredith commented that watermelon was her favorite fruit.
• “Oh, yes, my horse can read! He just can't pronounce the words.”
  An answer Father, as a child, would give to people passing by wondering why he was holding a book up to his horse's face.
• “My glass must have a leak. No problem. I will just refill it.”
  If you're with Fr. Joe, Coca-Cola will be served. Another one that goes along with this one is “Don't worry. It is a bottomless bottle.” I knew I was going to like working with him.
• “You ate that?! I've been around that ALL my life and I don't even eat that!”
  Father and I went to a Mass in Mambajao for supporters of Filipino missionaries. After my introduction, we were served a breakfast of eggs, rice, small hot dogs, and dried fish. The dried fish, however, was more of a fish-shaped salt block. One huge bite and I reached for my instant coffee that I hadn't stirred completely. I paused while I hurried to stir up the sugar and creamer to blanket the salt. WOW! That was salty! I told Father on our way home that I never saw it on his plate when we sat down. Then came his quote above. I need to learn how to give the “No, thanks. I'll pass on the instant-dehydration-seafood look” for the next time.

      So, anyhow, this is just a sample of his most famous quotes. There will be a Part 2 in the future I'm sure. I thank God for bringing us here to serve alongside one of his holy servants. One thing that I forgot to mention is that Fr. Joe's assignment here in Sagay is up in two years. After that, he will be moved to another area. With his mind already made up to serve in another rural area, Father will surely be missed here. He has a true servant's heart and a true missionary spirit. I will end with one final quote that sums up who he is: “There's no such thing as doing too much.”

“He gives generously to the needy, and his kindness never fails. He will be powerful and respected.”

Psalm 112:9

***Missionary Appeal***

      Father Joe is requesting help with funds needed to install 12 ceiling fans in the church. These fans were donated by a company after they visited and noticed how hot the church is. Currently, Holy Rosary Church only has bars along most of the sides to let a breeze through. This is still not enough to cool the whole church. Summers are very hot and it quickly heats up by 8am! The body heat with all of the faithful gathered on Sundays is also a factor.

      The materials needed are for steel supports and for electrical items. A huge need that has been met is the labor fees since a volunteer workforce has stepped up to tackle the project. The local electric company has also offered their boom lift.

      Father Joe says that even if we are unable to get the funds the fans will still be installed little by little. He says, “Doing it this way might even help the parishioners in their prayer lives.” Before I could ask how that could help, he replied as someone sitting under a fan, “Please, Lord, don't let this fall on me!”

If you feel called to help, please send your donation marked specifically for Holy Rosary Fan Fundraiser to:

Family Missions Company

12624 Everglade

Abbeville, LA 70510

OSA

(If you are in the Cagayan de Oro area, please reply and I can arrange to pick up the donation at St. Augustine Cathedral or any other location.)

Chapel Visits, Holy Week, and The Resurrection of The Most Holy

     WOW!!! What an amazing two weeks since my last blog post! So much has happened that I couldn't keep up. Stacie and I were extremely busy putting together our testimonies and a Bible sharing for the Chapel Visits as well as starting up the food distribution program for those in need during the first week. After that was over, Holy Week was upon us. There was little time to catch our breath as we prepared to move in to our permanent residence on Alvarez Street. We were also asked to hold a retreat for the Altar Servers of Holy Rosary Parish on Holy Thursday. The rest of the time was filled with mile-long processions through town for the Way of the Cross. There was a joyous vibe as many gathered for the prayers. At one time I thought to myself, “ YES! At every hour of every day, there IS a Mass being said all over the world!” How wonderful it is to be in the ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, and APOSTOLIC Church! While most of my readers were in the USA sleeping, we were celebrating the Resurrection of Our Lord side by side with our brothers and sisters in the Philippines! Now, as I am typing this up through sleepy eyes, the Mass is being celebrated in America. “Father, you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise. All life, all holiness comes from you through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, by the working of the Holy Spirit. From age to age you gather a people to yourself, so that from east to west a perfect offering may be made to the glory of your name.--Eucharistic Prayer in the Holy Mass

     So, in the first week, we were invited to speak at 5 chapels throughout town. It didn't seem so bad at first but after laying our hands on almost everyone to pray over them, it was starting to get hard on the kids and they soon got tired. It was an awesome privilege, however, to share how God was working in our lives as a family to those whose first language is Visaya. The people understand English but we could not tell by their expressions. With the help of our friend, Lilia, we were able to get the message out. We also felt way better after learning that each of the chapels wanted, no, expected us to come back next month! God is good :)

     I became more appreciative of the Gospel of Mathew after these visits. We used the story of the rich, young man (Matthew 13: 1-16) to explain how God was calling us to missions. Matthew has always impressed me as has Peter and Andrew and their call to follow Jesus. Mostly, though, is how Matthew was sitting at his money table and following immediately after Jesus' command. This wasn't just a fishnet or a boat that he was leaving behind. He left his old ways behind, too. Tax collectors were not honest men that charged only what was due. I know what Matthew heard when Jesus said, “Follow me.” Read my post titled “My Dream Job”.

     Palm Sunday came as we finished our fifth chapel visit. We got home exhausted but prepared to repack everything and move in to our new home by Wednesday. Then, we received a call from Father Joe asking us to put together a retreat for the altar servers...on Thursday! Of course, we said “YES!” because we had been praying so hard for doors to open for our ministry. Next time we will pray for the exact size of door to open because while we were thinking about a lil, tiny crease and God opened a floodgate instead!

     Wednesday came and we moved everything to the new home which still needed some cleaning before the blessing. When I arrived with the final load, I asked Richard if I could help him wax the floor. Now I know why he was grinning as if to say, “Yes, if you want to.” There was red dye wax everywhere. At one time it looked like I had lipstick on and nobody told me until I passed a broken glass that was used as a mirror. Ah, Humility:)

     At the very early hours of Holy Thursday, the girls and I walked into town to shop for our breakfast and items for the retreat. Stacie was up until the wee hours the night before preparing for her talk as this is the only “free” time she gets from Juju. Not me. I need my beauty sleep, but since I am not allowed to sleep for 20 hours, now you know why I look the way I do:) Anyways, we got everything we needed and got ready to host our guests by 8AM. We titled the retreat “Called to Serve: A Holy Thursday Reflection”. We again read from Matthew, talked about FMC's 5-point Catechism, shared a personal testimony, had an in-depth study of the Mass, sang praise and worship songs, re-enacted the teaching of Jesus' washing of the apostles feet, and concluded with a candlelight ceremony as we encouraged the students to let their light shine for Jesus. It was an all-around great time reflecting with the youth of Sagay. We are praying that we can do more with them this summer.

     Good Friday was also a special day that we will always remember. Many of the chapels displayed some of their handiwork in a procession through town during the Way of the Cross with the statues and floral decorations. Before the walk, I was handed a piece of paper and asked to read the 8th Station (Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem) except that the entire sheet was in Visaya. I had to ask somebody what number I was reading and quickly ran to the front of the group. Earlier in the week, I read the 6th Station in the Church. I prayed that I could see a Tongue of Fire hovering above my head as in ACTS but instead I saw many Filipino eyes looking to see who in the world hijacked the microphone from Father Joe's hands:) After I was done, I prayed that I didn't sound too much like nails on a chalkboard. I felt way better that night when Fr. Joe talked to us about it. He said that when he saw me walking up to recite the prayer he thought to himself, “Oh, boy! This is going to be a massacre.” To his surprise, everything sounded fine and that I even had the accent for it! Thank God for the Holy Spirit, our Helper!

     We went to the Easter Vigil Mass at sundown which is 6pm here. All of the lights were turned off inside of the church. The wait in the darkness was so still and ,just when it seemed like it was too long, the candle procession began and the church was alive again. The Light of the world came back on the 3rd day just as He promised! Alleluia alleluia!!! This was our first vigil Mass but definitely not our last. What an awesome holy day this is! “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

     So, there it is. This was just a brief description of what was experienced since the last time you read my blog. There was so much more but I don't have time to write it all down. You will have to wait until we see you again so that we can talk about it face to face. We pray that you are well and that your prayer intentions have been heard and answered. Thank you for your prayers for us and know that we are happy to be serving the Lord and eager to see what happens next.

Birthday Week

      With so much happening and not being able to keep up with the blog as often as I would like, I will be changing it up a little. I will be reporting a little bit more of the weekly events of our mission life. This past week was very busy with finalizing a good schedule, setting up our first home visit, and birthdays to finish the week.

      The beginning of the week was awesome as far as feeling like we are starting to “settle in”. Our family sat down and put together a schedule that already seems to be a solid one. Arriving here in March, we were having a hard time knowing what to do besides being ready for a call from Fr. Joe at any minute to say “I'm going to pick you up so that I can introduce you to (_such_and_such) group”. There was no way to know when this would be over and get back to a routine similar to the one at Big Woods. We went through page after page of re-doing schedule after schedule. At least it made for a nice starter for the burn pile of leaves that we have every day (and night).

      Our little rosary group that we started with the neighborhood children was one thing we were glad to say that stayed consistent. We also have seen an increase of the size of those attending increase little by little. Maybe this is because of the summer starting and school ending. Either way, it is good to see that children, even some as young as 5 years old, are skipping their “hang-out” time on the street and spending it with us and Our Lady. These kids literally play on the street at night because most of the homes here do not have a living room. Fr. Joe calls the main road their “sala”, also Spanish for living room, because they gather wherever there is a streetlight to play. Makes me think of our living room back home that we took for granted.

      One little surprise that happened last week was a special meeting called to talk about the use of bad language around our yard. We don't know for sure if it was cuss words that were being said or not-so-nice words that we could do without. Stacie and I overheard our kids saying that “so and so said this is a bad word”. Regardless, we thought we'd better take immediate action before it got worse. Of course, I, being the authority figure, had to tell them and I did not feel good about it. After a short prayer, I quickly felt like it was the right thing to do. To my surprise, they were all very respectful and apologized for any wrong done. I was glad that it was over but even more glad that everyone was on the same page.

      The downside of the week was the news that the mayor of Sagay had passed away the week before and plans were being made for his funeral on Thursday. Fr. Joe knew him well and our family had been with him a few times to pray at his bedside before he died. Father talked highly of him and what he had done for this town. It was also a reminder to me that our time here on Earth is unknown. We pray for the repose of the soul of the Mayor.

      We paid the mayor's daughter, who is also a registered nurse, a visit for Stacie's rash on her leg. It was finally determined that it was an allergic reaction and Stacie was given a cream to rub on it. She was also told to avoid fish, eggs, and wheat. Not so easy to do here. Nevertheless, all is well and it is almost completely gone.

      This week also was a major step for the seniors of Holy Rosary High. The school celebrated its 60th Commencement Exercises with about 40 graduates. Don't let the small number fool you. With a mass and other festivities, the class of 2011 held a 5 hour ceremony! Maddie and Meredith were excited when a few of the schoolgirls came the day before to ask them if they would perform in a dance before the Mass. With only one day of practice, the girls represented FMC well as they were placed at the very front of the pack! Not the first choices of spots on stage for ANY Alvarez but still an honor and a joy to see our little girls do a ballet type dance for us on Stacie's birthday.

      Stacie celebrated her 35th, er, I mean, her thirtysomething birthday on Friday. The parishioners got together and sang the Filipino version of Las Mananitas on our porch. Fr. Joe called me the night before and said, ”Is it ok if we do this for her? Ok, good, we'll be over there before the Stations of the Cross.” Click. Uhhhh....Stations is every Friday of Lent at 430....AM! Yes, they showed up at 345am all dressed up and with very clear voices sang Happy Birthday and other songs beautifully. Then, they came right in and offered us “suman” which is a sweet treat made of sticky rice and magically wrapped in banana leaves. It would take me years just to know HOW they are wrapped so tightly and perfectly.

      So, guess what happened two days later on my birthday? Yup, but this time we got to sleep in 30 minutes and I was sung to at 415AM since first Mass wasn't until 630AM. Of course, everyone still performed awesomely while I tried to squeeze out a smile and an audible “Salamat!” thanking them for their visit. This time they brought a sweet rice treat flavored with chocolate and in the shape of a rice cake. I have forgotten the name of it but I will call it “Choco-flavored rice cake”. The Bisayan name is WAYYY shorter than that! Oh and the kids were only able to use their sense of taste at both times. All other functions caught up about 2hrs later :)

      Another praise report has to do with what we have been praying for since we arrived. We have been praying for ways to get more involved in the town with home visits. Sometimes when one prays to God for a door to open, he'd better watch out. God might open a flood gate! “You asked for it!” is one of Fr. Joe's most memorable quotes. Already lined up is a regular Saturday home visit with a widow named Ring-Ring, preparing and taking lunch to the volunteer workers at our new home, and participating in a new food distribution program for the poor. Programs of this kind are rare here and I was asked to give any advice that I could share with the chapel leaders of the community. Well, I am a rookie missionary and I, too, have little experience in this sort of thing. However, thanks to the short-term trip that we took to Mexico in November 2010, I was able to share how home visits were handled there. With some minor adjustments, Fr. Joe accepted to begin immediately on the project—and I mean immediately! Right after the meeting with the chapel leaders, Maddie and Meredith helped me stuff sacks of noodles for the 50+ families that we will pray with and visit---this week! Already this week is off with a bang! Salamat sa Dios!

      Living on this island for a month now, I still cannot get over how beautiful it is. The palm trees, coconuts, volcanoes, waterfalls, coconuts, the ocean, and even more coconuts were all created with one spoken word! After a long day of Mass, meetings, and noodle sorting, I took a dip in God's swimming pool with the boys. Thank you, God! A perfect birthday gift on a perfect Sun-day.

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them,”My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.”