Holy Week in the Desert

     Yes, Holy Week was more than a month ago and I'm barely getting to writing about it. It is always tough for me to put into writing all of the ideas and experiences without getting behind on all of it. Oh, well, I hope to keep better track of this blog in the coming weeks as our schedule is firming up. As I said earlier, we arrived on Monday of Holy Week and had little time to get settled before we were invited to different gatherings.

Raul, left and Marta, middle

     One of the first invitations was from Raul and his wife, Marta, who are one of FMC's newest missionaries who live here in General Cepeda. I had only met Raul during our 3-week visit to Mexico for our Intake training in 2010 but we immediately made a connection. He reminds me a lot of one of my uncles so it is easy for me to treat him like family. :) Anyway, he asked me to go with him to two of my favorite ranchos, San Francisco and Fermin. These two lie on the outskirts of one end of General Cepeda's boundaries. There aren't many people in the ranchos there but I always feel blessed when they put aside their chores to come and listen to us preach the Word of God. The people are always welcoming and afterwards thank all of us for coming.

Manuel, far right. In case you couldn't guess :)

     All I could think about when we visited Fermin was if I would see the man that left a huge impression on me during Intake almost two years ago. I think the elderly gentleman's name is Manuel, like my grandfather's. We had asked that anyone who wanted to share a testimony could come up. Manuel got up from the rickety bench and removed his cowboy hat. He stood there for a short while not saying anything and I was afraid that he had gotten stage fright with everybody staring. Then, he started talking about how he has lived in Fermin all of his life. He said that he remembered praying with his mom and having all the saints' pictures hanging on the walls. But it was when he said this that made me tear up: "No one can come here and take away my Faith in God. They can try to drag me out of here but I will be fighting them all the way!" He said it with so much passion and sincerity. I don't know who "they" are that would try to take him out but I looked around the rancho and it was a very simple layout. Two rows of homes on one side and there the chapel in the middle. That's it. I think what hit me most is that he probably doesn't own very much, except for his valuable Faith, which is something that he would be willing to fight for. It made me think of how our Faith is attacked like it is today. Are we willing to fight for it or just sit back and not get "into it" with others? Well, we did see him there this time. He probably doesn't remember who I am or that I was there a few years ago but it was good to see him.     

     After that stop, we continued to San Francisco. The sky was starting to fill up with gray clouds which looks very cool in the desert. A few drops fell on the dusty windshield and I quickly hit the wipers out of habit. Bad move. All we had now to look through was a muddy smear and not good while travelling on a rough dirt road. The drops had stopped and I looked at my water bottle thinking if it was worth it to use up my only few sips for a clean windshield. I prayed for just a few more sprinkles enough to wipe the window clean. Sure enough we had a clear view when just enough raindrops fell a few seconds later.

San Francisco Chapel

     Finally arriving at SF, we exited the van and took in all the Stations of the Cross to hang them up on the walls. The people gathered and we held a short prayer meeting with them afterwards telling them that we would be back on Good Friday. A few days passed and we were able to return to pray the Way of the Cross with them. It was a blessed time to be praying with our brothers and sisters and united in the passion of Our Lord. It was also a very quick reintroduction to Spanish for me. It had been so long that I had used it especially using religious terms as found in each station.

     As our first week went on, Raul asked me to go with him to a home visit. There we met a bunch of ladies form a neighborhood and held a prayer group. We read from the Bible and each gave a testimony. I shared that I am always in awe that everything that the Lord said happened or is happening! Why do we get anxious about our problems or let or worries get in the way of living our life? Don't we know the end result? Jesus lives! He is risen! Death is not the end of it all. It is the beginning of our eternal life with Him in His kingdom. Be not afraid!

     We also were invited to go on the Via Cruz (Way of the Cross) all through the town. It sure was different than last year's in the Philippines! We didn't start at 4am but at 10am-ish. We also didn't have any big leafed banana trees to protect us from the blazing sun. It was still a very blessed time knowing that our brothers and sisters took time out of their daily lives to meditate on the Passion of Our Lord. We stopped at every station to pray and finally finished on top of a hill. We were all beat and tired when we arrived and I started to think how much more difficult it would've been with the world's sins on my whipped, bleeding, and torn back. Thank you, Lord, for thinking of me and dying for me so that I may have that chance of entering Your kingdom one day.

We somehow ALWAYS forget an umbrella: 0-2 in a foreign country's Stations of the Cross 

     Well, I am thinking of wrapping this up here. It's been more than two days writing this and I seem to get farther and farther behind. Anyways, this Way of the Cross was just as memorable as the last one. Please join me in praying that all Christians are always ready to take up the cross and follow the Master. Yes, we may fall (more than 3 times) but we need to get right back up, dust ourselves off, and keep trying until the Mission of the Redeemer is complete...even if it means giving up our own lives.


1 Peter 5: 12-13 "My dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful test you are suffering, as though something unusual is happening to you. Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ's suffering, so that you may be full of joy when His glory is revealed."

Cool gray clouds in the desert

Our Angels at Work

     We arrived in General Cepeda for our new mission on April 2. We loaded up the van to the brim with shoes, clothes, household cleaners, etc. and we still hadn't packed our own things! After it was all in there, I couldn't even see through the rear-view mirror. So we took off after midnight and headed towards the border. We arrived at the border in Laredo, TX at about 11:15am and waited for my parents to make the 2 hour drive from my hometown. We parked at a McDonald's to use their Wi-Fi and book a room. I was beat. I started to count the hours of "no-sleep" and I had only taken an hour nap the day we left. That put me at 28 hours with only that little nap and then we found out that we couldn't check-in until 3pm! Yes, those reports of a zombie roaming the streets of Laredo (and making time to shop at Wal-Mart) have been confirmed here.
     The next morning we woke up way later than expected (wanted to check-out by 630am and that's when we woke up) and with Grandma and Grandpa saying their goodbyes while we were still having to gas up and find breakfast, we finally made it to the border by 8am. Not a very good start especially since I had messaged our mission partners, Sidney and Luis, to tell them that we were hoping to make the 5hr drive and arrive around 1pm. We still had to change our dollars to pesos, apply for our visas, and register the van to be able to drive inside Mexico...oh and then there was this other minor thingy-- I had only driven the way as the last in a long caravan in which I was only following and not really noticing exits or highway numbers. The good thing is that we have the gift of prayer. Even before we left, Joseph and Brooke and the rest of the community prayed over us to have a safe trip with no problems. One concern I had was with all the donations that we were taking and not wanting to be pulled over for inspection and risk losing the gifts for the poor. We also prayed in our hotel room that morning as a family that our guardian angels would go before us preparing the way. When we finally got to the international bridge, we felt really confident that everything was going to be OK.

     The first thing that happens when you cross is that you pass through these blocker-arm gates. If it rises, you go through and continue on to the Immigration Office for your visas. If an alarm that sounds like an angry cat with sharp claws pawing at an old rusty bell so that your blood pressure shoots up and you think you're about to be arrested goes off, then you fake like you're calm and drive forward to talk to the kind gentleman who does not want to arrest you but only look inside your vehicle for 2 seconds. Then you continue to get your visas. Obviously, the latter happened to us.

     I am not a patient man and knowing that the last time I had talked to the mission base that I had probably giving them an early estimated time of arrival instead of a later one was working on my nerves. And I also probably shouldn't wear a watch. We actually got there at a very good time as we were the only ones in line for the visas. The problem was that we have to fill out the paperwork for 8 of us and there was only 1 pen!!!  I had left my pen in the van and just as I was thinking of running out to get it a lady shows up next to us, offers us an extra pen, and offers to help us fill out our info. She filled out 3 forms to my one and we were quickly off to finish the process. Guardian angel? Yes, I like to think so.

     Finally, the last station is for the van. This is where the crowd was. Pretty long line with only 3 tellers.


"Lord, it would be great to shave off some more minutes here."
"Okay, my son, how about you stay patient and wait for these 3 other tellers to clock in to help?"
"Praise, You, Lord!"


And that's how it went. We got through all the legal stuff and hit the highway in no time. The next thing was to go through one more checkpoint. This one was more intimidating as we were waved to the side where two soldiers were standing. I would've opted for the cat and the bell but when a guy with a machine gun slung over his shoulder flags you over the best thing to do is comply. It wasn't all that bad really. In my rush to meet our departure time from Louisiana at midnight, I packed very sloppily. It wasn't my best, orderly, or neatest packing job and it showed! The soldier opened the back door and shut it quickly. He was about to be buried in all kinds of stuff. Just a few quick questions and we were off. The rest of the way was toll roads and only a few easy exits. We made it at 315pm which was way better than the 5 o'clock ETA that I was thinking after we left the Immigration Office.

Team Meeting in Gen. Cepeda

     Sid and Luis greeted us at the door and helped us unload the van. We made it safe and sound. So far everything feels great and the way it should be when we are in mission. We arrived during Holy Week and attended the Via Cruz-- Way of the Cross-- through the whole town (pics and next blog coming soon). We got to meet the Mexican FMC missionaries the next day and had a team meeting. It feels so good to be out again in the field and ready to serve the Lord as He did for us with His angels along the way here.

******Praise Report******

Once we arrived in General Cepeda and rested for a bit, I checked my email and found one from our realtor that said we got an offer for our house back in Kansas! We signed and sent the forms and we hope to close VERY soon! Praise the Lord for this confirmation of our new mission post!

Psalm 91:11 
"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." 

A restaurant with my mom's name...on the turn-off from the highway to Gen. Cepeda

Mercenary or Missionary?

     A few weeks ago I was talking to my dad. It was good to hear his voice again after so long. We were talking about our mission in the Philippines and how everything turned out better than expected. He also told me a funny story that happened at his local Veterans of Foreign Wars(VFW) meeting.
     So, after the VFW meeting, a bunch of old guys were hanging around talking about all kinds of things. They were all swapping stories of family, retirement, and whatever else jumping in while mixing Spanish and English every once in a while. This is how the story goes:


Guy: What do your kids do?


Dad: One of my sons is a cop and the other is a mercenary.


One guy: Oh, yeah, where at?


Dad: The Philippines.


Same guy: Where's he based at?


Dad: Some place in Louisiana.


Same guy: Fort Polk?


Dad: Haha, no not Ft. Polk. (Dad thinking...Why there? That's an Army base)


Same guy: Well, who is he working with?


Dad: Just him, his wife, and his six kids.


Same guy (totally confused): What? I've never heard of that before. The whole family?


Dad (equally confused): Yeah, why is that weird?


Another guy: Well, how many has he killed?


Another random guy: Yeah, what are they using? M-16's?


Dad(totally lost): No, not killing people. He helps them. Um, they're just using the Bible, I think.


Some guy in the back: You mean "Missionary"!! Your son is a missionary!!


Dad: Yes, of course! Wait, what did I say?


Note: Either it was the Spanglish or my dad's new dentures...I'm blaming the dentures.  :)

Christ the King!

(This was the speech I gave to the parish on the Feast of Christ the King on our last Sunday on Camiguin. I spoke in Visaya for this after it was translated for me. It was a blessed time.)

Maayong Buntag sa tanan! This is the first time that I will speak in Visaya in my own words and not in God's words as a lector. I want to make sure that my message is understood clearly so I asked Mrs. Lilia Gacus to help me translate this. It is also hard for me to get tears when speaking to you in Visayan since I don't know what I am reading. Haha.

First, I want to thank all of the people that made us feel welcomed here in Sagay. This was supposed to be our mission but in one way it turned into our home. Maybe you have heard the saying “Home is where your heart is”. We really poured our hearts out here with everyone we met and so our hearts are here with you and will always be with you. We would like to thank Father Joe for the invitation to work here. Father was a very good example to us and helped us to learn the meaning of being a missionary by always being ready to serve you and us. The Ladao family also is a good example by giving all of their time to the students of Holy Rosary High School while making sure students also grow in their faith. They also donated the lot where our cottage is. The Maintenance Group also gets thanks from us for building that cottage where we were able to hold the student recollections, Altar Servers Youth Group, and especially in sharing God's Word with those in need. Maybe there are too many names to mention at this time but we truly are thankful for your generosity to us.

Today is the Feast of Christ the King! This past week we have heard in the Gospels about giving of our time, talent, and treasure. We have all been given different tools to build God's Kingdom. It is up to all of us to work together and put to use these gifts to use. We can't hold on to them and not use them. We can't hide these gifts and let them rust or spoil. Christ the King gave His all to us, we should give our all to Him. How do we do that? He says today, “whatever you did to the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” We all need to be servants of each other and at the same time we are servants of the King.

In the USA, I used to always read the news. I would read about politics mostly because I was so worried about which direction my country was going and also the direction of the whole world. As I started praying more and reading my Bible more, I figured out one thing. It doesn't matter what my crazy president or the power-hungry leaders of the world think or do. They are all trying to be rulers of their countries and not stopping there. They want to take over another country or talk about growing in wealth. It doesn't matter! We already have a King! A King of the whole world! A King that rules His people with kindness and love. A King that forgives when we are truly sorry when we offend Him. A King that keeps His promises. A King that asks us only to love Him and be near to Him. He is Christ the King!

Nothing that humans will do to build their earthly kingdoms can ruin God's plan of salvation. They will only bring ruin to their own lives. One beautiful thing that we have noticed here is how everyone is so friendly. It is very easy to talk to anyone unless, of course, they are shy. Don't be shy. God doesn't want us to be shy. He wants us to share our needs and our gifts. He wants love, peace, and happiness. Isn't that what we want? I do. I am sure you do, too.

So, now our time and our mission in Sagay, Camiguin is coming to a close. Why do we have to leave? The answer is simple. We are missionary. We come and go as the King commands. It is His plan, not ours. Many people all over the world do not know who He is yet. The Word needs to get out. The peace, love, and joy that they are looking for will never be found in earthly things. It is not only our family's responsibility but yours too. Every baptized Christian should be a missionary. We all are required to spread the Faith by our lives. Not everyone is called to go all over the world to do this but everyone is called to love their neighbor. Here is an example of the full favor of the Catholic Faith: The next time you are going to make Nestea, do this. Pour in the powder and then the water. Do not stir. Take a drink and you will see that it is not very tasty. This is an example of a lazy Christian. Now, stir it until it is fully mixed. Does it taste good? Yes, of course. That is what it was made for. This is an example of an active Christian moving around and giving the full-flavor of the Catholic Faith. It is what we all were made for.

Thanks again to all of you. There were some nights when we were about to go to sleep and we thought “Are we doing what we're supposed to be doing? Does God really want us here?” Our prayer was answered every time we read “Be still and know that I am God.” It was His plan to bring a family of 6 children here at this time (and one with blonde hair). It is His plan to take us out also. We have to be willing and ready to serve. It was almost a year ago that we were wondering where we were going to be sent. We waited and waited and finally the invitation from Bishop Ledesma came opening the doors to us here in Camiguin. Every day we spent in prayer asking God to help the people welcome us and to be open to the message that God wants us to say there. We were always praying for the people and we didn't even know their names. Now, after 8 months of being here with you and praying with you and loving every one of you and the Parish of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, we will continue praying for you but this time we do know your name. We will never forget you. Please don't forget to pray for us also.

Finally, I would like to close with a simple request. Since we are not able to experience the Christmas celebration here, please give this gift to each other or to those who are not here today. Treat each other the same way you treated us. Share the love and spread it. Don't let it spoil or go to waste. Doing this you will give glory to God at the same time. Remember, we serve a great King. Viva Cristo Rey!

Leavin' Camiguin

     Well, in case you don't already know, we are back in the United States from our first mission post in a foreign country. We left Camiguin on Monday the 21st of November and began our very long journey all over again in reverse order. So, here we sit at George Bush Intercontinental Airport awaiting our next orders from the Lord. No matter what we have planned, His will rules. His will was done on Camiguin and He provided for us every step of the way. He is the same yesterday, today, and will be forever.
     Now, speaking of yesterdays, I will be posting some of our experiences from our past year that really stuck out and touched our lives forever. I will have a lot more time to do this for those "in-between" points where we were too busy to even think about looking at our laptop and putting a sentence together. This time back at Big Woods will also be a time of reflection of our entire first year in mission and reviewing with the Founders of FMC. It will be a good time to get recollected and fired up again! Already we feel the burning starting to grow as we think about how much we had with so little.
     Please join us in prayer to discern our next step in our mission lives. Should we return to Camiguin or continue in a different direction? Either way, let God's will be done and pray for us to hear His voice guide us. All for Him!

Our Busy-ness With The Lord

Busy, busy, busy! That's how these past few weeks have been.  In this time we were able to join in the harvest of rice from the experimental farm, begin the monthly recollections for the high school students, start the Sea Wall project, prepare for the Parish Fiesta, and sleep (well, not very much). Thank God for the Holy Spirit! We couldn't have done it without Him.

We thought it would be very fun to join the harvest of “palay” with the Parish Maintenance Group...and it was! But it was also very itchy! I had no idea how much work it takes a farmer from beginning to the end. And we were just doing the end part. I'm sure it was a lot more work plowing and planting the seeds than it was to cut and haul the reward. I know it is probably a lot easier in the States with all of the machinery. We did all of this work by hand. Father Joe said that this was a “very primitive way of doing it” as I watched Lop-lop gather the rice stalks and then twist and turn them with his feet over the bamboo floor. Little by little the grains sifted through the cracks on the floor and unto a tarp that we laid underneath. Meredith, Abram, and I continued hacking the field with the others and then transferred the heaps into a giant mound. After a while, our skin was starting to show some bumps as we scratched and scratched and scratched some more. Wow! And there was Lop-lop “dancing” away  with a huge smile on his face. It was when I was cutting the stalks that I remembered how true the parable of the weeds and the wheat is! The weeds grew right next to the palay and along with it. It would be so time consuming if one were to try separate the two. Anyway, in the end all that is not for eating is thrown into the fire.

The high school recollections are going well. The students get to meet at our house for some fun with games and activities to enhance a sharing of God's Word from the Holy Bible. The theme for the 1^st and 2^nd year students was about being ready for battle. We are always being attacked by the devil and he will keep trying to distract us from the ultimate goal. Stacie handled most of the talking parts as I prepared the powerpoint presentation. We also had them decorate paper plates as Shields of Faith. After a short snack break, they got their shields and lined up for a “dodgeball”-type war. They tried to go from HOME to CHURCH and vice versa while not getting hurt by sin (7 balls representing the Deadly Sins). If hit, they must spend some time at Confession. (Thanks to the Blue Knights Leaders Guide) At a brief pause in the game I talked about how we must always be aware of the devil's temptations. If one is to walk with their shield of Faith lowered and not paying attention, WHACK! they will get hit! And sometimes as we sin, it not only hurts God and ourselves, but we may be bouncing it around and hurting others.

Nanding Ocaba

A few months ago we asked God to help our friends with a sea wall to protect their home from the damaging waves and bad weather. With your help, we were able to start this project right at the end of September! The sea wall is now in its final stages and should be completed by mid-October at the latest. Praise the Lord! When we received the funds we were only thinking of how blessed the Ocaba family would be to have a dry home. God is so good with His timing! The man of the house, Nanding, is also the leader of the group of fishermen in his area. The men had not been able to go fishing because of the typhoons in the north causing rough waters for us here in the south. So, this came at a good time for these men to be able to feed their families by working as masons and laborers. The whole area now has been blessed by this one sea wall. The need is so great here. People have been doing hard labor here and all for 150 pesos per day. This is just under $4 in the U.S....not per hour but per day! That is a fair rate here and they are happy to do it, but it is just enough to scrape by on in these desperate times. Please consider sending a donation to us through Family Missions Company in Louisiana so that we can help feed our brothers and sisters in Christ. One Value Meal at your favorite fast food stop can feed a whole family rice and fish for at least one day or maybe even two days (they are good at making it stretch!)

The Fiesta of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was on October 7^th. We had about two weeks to go and then one and we were thinking of how routine all of the Fiestas that we had been to in the past two months had been getting. We attend the Mass, we share a meal with the parish priest and his staff, and then decide to stay to visit vendors booths or leave (which we usually did). But this had DIFFERENT written all over it. With four days to go, Father approached us and asked if we could prepare the Youth Group to fill in a one-hour time slot between Masses. “Sure, no problem!” we replied without any clue as to what we were going to do. We went home and talked about it. Since this was the time for the Holy Rosary, I thought that we could have the students line up and present a Living Rosary. I pictured them as a rosary with sky blue paper mache balloons as the Our Father/Glory Be beads and the others with candles as the Hail Mary beads. Stacie added a sweet and simple Marian song to go between reflections of the mysteries. With the help of Gogoy (guitar) and Mag-mag (music/dance/director) we practiced and practiced. We also were able to put a little dance number to the song “I Lift Your Name On High”. It was all good! Father Joe had a group with him from Magsaysay and heard many compliments from them and the rest of the parish. “This has never been done before!” The kids get all the credit though. They did all of this while practicing their band routine for the day before the fiesta! Amazing! Maddie got to participate with the band while her proud parents watched from front row seats in the gym.

I threw sleep in there because even though there has been many nights with few hours of it the cooler weather has allowed me to sleep way better. Quality over quantity. I think of Ms. Genie's saying also that goes a little something like this: “...no better feeling than going to bed exhausted in His service.” Thank you for reading and thank you for praying for our mission. We can feel your prayers.

      Endure trials with patience. That is something I like to think I do pretty well most of the time. Some have asked me if I ever get angry. Little do they know. When the right button is pushed, yes, I can be mad. It is frustrating at times because I think that after I have cooled off, that I could have done better if I would have just suffered a little longer or turned the other cheek. And then I read about our Lord being led like a lamb to the slaughter. Not one single word to confirm His innocence or to retaliate. That's when I know I should have done better.

      A few weeks ago, I had to rush off to the mainland to renew our visas five days earlier than planned. I had to go in on a Friday instead of the usual Tuesdays because of the Fiesta of St. Augustine shutting down the office for two days. If I didn't renew now, I would have to pay a huge fine. So, I left the house on Thursday and rushed off for the port. Then came the trials.

I decided to take Samuel (6 yrs) since we were not able to fully celebrate his birthday earlier in the month. We got to the port thinking we could make the 2pm ferry. We made it at least 15 minutes earlier except that the schedule had changed for all afternoon trips to now leave at 5pm! “Ok, ok. Three hours is not that big of a deal. I got my little buddy here. We'll find something to do,” I thought to myself. We waited and waited, watched some fish dart in and out from under the pier, walked around awhile, and waited some more. We finally boarded the ferry and headed to the mainland with very few passengers on board still. Thank God a few big cargo trucks came on at the last minute or else we may not have left until the next day.

      We got to “the other side of the pond” and were very hungry. We had only munched on some small snacks and hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. We also had a two hour bus trip left to reach the city so we bought our dinner and ate. We waited another 40 minutes and Samuel was starting to feel tired. I prayed that he wouldn't fall asleep so that I wouldn't have to try to carry him onto the bus. He fought off the sleep and we got a front row seat. Yes, I said seat...singular. “Two hours is not that bad. Maybe the guy next to me will get down sooner than the city anyways (he didn't),” I thought. There wasn't much room for both of us to get too comfortable for too long. Still, I was glad that I hadn't brought Abram (8 yrs) also. Finally, we arrived at 9pm.

      We hopped on a motorela but had to stop at an internet cafe to email the mission base a request to have enough funds transferred to our account to cover the cost of the visas. When we finished that, we finally made it to the Convent at the Cathedral. After a long day I still wasn't ready for bed...neither was Samuel. I wanted to complete all eight forms for renewal to save time at the office the next day. I only got a few lines done on the first form when the pen ran out of ink. Grr. Oh, well. This will have to wait til the morning. Prayers, then bedtime.

We woke up early, ate breakfast, and borrowed a pen to finish up. We stopped by the ATM and withdrew some money. Everything was going great. We got to the office a little earlier than planned and passed a room before the visa office where we usually get copies of our passports. It was closed and I had forgotten to get copies. “No big deal. I'll just go find another place.” It gets HOT in the Philippines early in the morning. So, we found a place and sweated getting there and back. Everything all set up and still we were the first in line. This will take no time.

      We turned everything in and waited to pay. When it was my turn to pay, I handed over the money and got back more than I expected in two ways. One was that it was a lot cheaper than we figured and the next was a bombardment of rudeness, anger, and frustration. “Whoa! What's up with this guy?” I thought. He was raising his voice in this small office that had quickly filled up. After a little break, I finally understood what he was trying to tell me. He was mad because I had not completed the process for this thing called an I-Card. It didn't take too much longer for me to lose my cool this time, and I began to reply with the same anger. “Why as a paying customer was I being treated this way?” I thought to myself. It seemed like everyone in the room disappeared and it was just me and him. Back and forth this went on for a few minutes. As a Christian, I knew I failed. Then, a very patient soft-spoken lady offered to explain the situation.

      Back in April, I was told we “needed” the I-Card. To my understanding, this card is for foreigners that want to open a bank account or for other official business. That was part of the reason for the high cost that month. Anyway, I was not told then that I needed to do anything else to get this card except pay for it-which I did. By the end of June, however, I returned to renew our visas again, and was told the I-card was not available because I didn't turn in the family's pictures or have copies of the receipts with it. “Ok. I will have to do that next time because my family is back at the island.” Since I rushed off this last time I totally forgot about bringing those things. I think what made me angry this time is that another item was “missing”-- I also didn't have a copy of the application. So, even if I had brought my items, the process would have been incomplete. When I calmly asked to make a list of everything that I needed to bring for sure next time, the man refused and started his rant. I knew that a new trial was beginning. I knew I should have stayed calm and not retaliated. I knew that I should have waited just a few more seconds and turned the other cheek. But I failed. Though the whole thing lasted just a few minutes, it seemed like an eternity. Also, while I was firing back I heard a little voice that sounded like Ms. Genie's saying, “Our enemies are not flesh and blood.” That's when I knew that I lost the battle against the evil one. I gave in and gave a bad example to the faith and to our Lord.

      Forgetting all about the blessing of how much we had saved on the visas, Samuel and I headed for lunch. We had been at the office waiting for 3 hours. He picked McDonald's as his treat for being patient. We took our tray over to our table and set it down. I don't know how it happened but the table was kicked or bumped from underneath by either Samuel or me and the drinks went everywhere! All over my shirt. All I could do was smile and laugh to myself. “The devil HATES missions!” Ms. Genie said again in my head. It was true. No matter how small the mission is, even if it is just to enjoy a nice meal with one of your lil ones, the devil will do whatever it takes to break it up. Not this time!

      Immediately, I started to replay everything that had happened since we left. I quickly forgave the man at the office and prayed for whatever was bothering him that day. I also asked for forgiveness from our Lord for failing to be a light for Him. Why didn't I just do that there at the office right away?

      When I got back to the island, I told Stacie what had happened. I told her that I felt like I was being called to go back the following week and turn in everything for the I-card as well as formally apologizing to the entire office staff. I did. Just before entering the office I said a quick prayer to have everything go smoothly (and that I wouldn't get arrested - -j/k). I turned in all the required paperwork and noticed the man talking to someone. There was a temptation to say, “Oh, well. He is busy. I'll just go on my way.” I shrugged that off and sat down a few more minutes until the opportunity opened up. I felt a peace all around me as I got up and walked over to him. I asked for forgiveness and apologized to him for raising my voice that day. He seemed like a totally different person as we shook hands and he accepted my apology. I also stopped on my way out to apologize to the soft-spoken lady as others watched on. I told them all that it wouldn't happen again.

I left the building feeling like a ten ton boulder was lifted off of my shoulders; the same as when I leave the Confessional. Our enemies are not flesh and blood. 

 

"For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

 

 

"Be sober and watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen."--1 Peter 5:8-11