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Next week I will be traveling back to a restricted access country to assist in the graduation and commissioning of this year's batch of Calvary Bible Institute graduates. Many of these graduates will immediately go on to start their own churches. Actually I will be going back to "Nevada" and also to a neighboring country. This unnamed country is not as restrictive as Nevada as it is technically a constitutional monarchy. For security reasons I think it best that I keep my travel details secret at this time. What is no secret is the power of prayer, and I keep saying, it is the difference maker. Please pray for my trip to these countries, and also pray for my family while I am gone. I never enjoy being away from them, please pray that they are safe and well during my absence. Also pray for my travels, that myself and the team would stay under the radar of the secret police.

Today is a blessed day indeed. We celebrate the birth of my lovely wife, Christine Anasco. Here we are enjoying breakfast at a local hotel. They have an excellent breakfast buffet. We had a fun day spent with family. Happy birthday, Chris.

On Friday I, Chris, was riding on a Jeepney near our home and saw a woman with her baby. Dark-skinned with curly hair, she stood out as one of the Ati people. The Ati’s are a nomadic people that come into the city on occasion to look for work or beg. According to some of our friends here, the Ati people are even more discriminated against than the “normal” street beggars, so I knew as I looked at her that her life was not an easy one. As the jeepney drove past her, I felt a profound sadness, not totally for her though; more so for me, because I realized as the jeepney rolled along that I would go on with my day and probably not even remember her. And so I did. Thankfully though, I was forced to go in the same direction later that same day and when I did, I remembered her, but she was gone. In her place, I saw 3 Ati children and I figured they were probably part of the same family. This time I was determined not to just go about my day and forget them. The jeepney moved on, but

Through this blog and emails, I got to know Matt. We have still yet to meet in person, but he has blessed my family and I in a simple but very big way. His wife is from this area, the province of Iloilo. They visited here a few weeks ago. I was hoping that we might be able meet, but with Camp Sonshine going on right now (and our family battling the stomach flu--that is another story for another time), we are just too busy. So I get a knock on my door this morning, and it is one of Matt's relatives with a care package for us from them. Words cannot fully express how much of a blessing this is. These simple gifts, coffee (from STARBUCKS!) and treats for the kids, are a HUGE blessing. To Matt and Agnes, I am sorry that we were not able to meet during your time here. I hope your stay here was full and fun. Please know that you have blessed me and my family in a big way. Salamat gid!

My amazing wife has been homeschooling our children for several years. Here is Faithy hard at work.

I wrote about Nek Nek a few weeks ago. Sadly he will not be returning to school. Even more sad he will probably not be coming back to Sonshine Center for afterschool program and Saturday Kids Club Church. His guardian, his grandmother, does not care about him at all so she has farmed him off to other relatives who live far away from the Center. These family members have no interest in sending him to any kind of school, even one that is already paid for through the scholarship program of the Sonshine Learning Center, because he now lives so far away. It is so sad because this youngster came to the Center every week. The whole staff knew about Nek Nek, mostly because he was such a discipline problem. For over half of his young life he came to the Center to receive love and acceptance. Then he really matured and thrived in his first year at the preschool. Now his future is not so bright. His family can't afford to send him to school so he will probably spend his days on the s

We are so blessed to have family also living here in Iloilo. We spent this Easter holiday with my cousin Kay and her husband Jesse, and their girls. Easter portrait We often call Danny our little puppy dog, from the picture above I am sure you see why.

Maybe we are a bit foolhardy by doing this, riding on the roof of the jeepney instead of safely inside. But on the island of Guimaras it has become kind of a tradition. Here is Chris along with Beth Capone a few summers ago. Well Eric is now a member of the Roof Rider Club. A few weeks ago we visited Guimaras again, and he finally got to enjoy this most unique way to ride.