anascomissions.org

For several years my wonderful Mom has visited us here in Iloilo, timing her visits on or very near Christmas. This year she and my brother, Rey, both came to Iloilo to enjoy Y.A.F.C. (Yet Another Filipino Christmas), . . . and we are getting spoiled again.

Christmas at the Sonshine Center is a week long celebration made up of parties for the preschool kids, the youth and the Mom's Club Bible Study, a clothing giveaway, and then finally a big Jollibee Christmas party on Saturday for over 200 kids. At the end of the week our street kids came home with armfuls of gifts and bags of groceries for their families. It is amazing to see these kids who have so little being blessed so much. Truly it is more blessed to give than to receive.

This week we celebrated Christmas in grand style at the Sonshine Center. I truly enjoy spending Christmas here in the Philippines, mostly because our family learns in a very real way that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive. Here are our kids ministering to our street children and their families at the Sonshine Center. Danny prays for the kids during a ministry time. Danny prays for the kids during a ministry time. Preparing the gifts. Passing out the gifts. Preparing the gifts. They are not FUTURE missionaries.

A few years ago at Walt Disney World EPCOT center I saw an exhibit called Leave a Legacy . Park visitors could purchase a two inch square commemorative plaque that would become part of their "Leave a Legacy" garden. I hope the legacy I leave behind after I leave this earth is more than just a two inch plaque at some theme park in Florida. The legacy of Oral Roberts is certainly more than just that. Myself along with tens of thousands of ORU alumni are a part of Oral's (as ORU students we felt like we could call him by his first name) legacy. I am proud and honored to say that I am a product of Oral Roberts University. I am what I am today in large part because of my time at ORU. Being a student at ORU changed my life. I went on my first ever missions trip while a student at ORU. I got my first experience doing ministry as a wing chaplain at ORU. I even spent my last semester of my senior year at ORU here in the Philippines as a missionary intern. As an ORU student I lear

Today Chris went to Manila for a pregnancy checkup. You may remember from our original announcement that this pregnancy is high risk, so we have been receiving care at a more advanced hospital in Manila, and eventually this child will be born in the States. Someone has been praying (was it YOU?), we have received some amazing news. Chris had some tests run today and in spite of the potential risks with this pregnancy, our fourth child continues to develop normally. This is miraculous and amazing news. Truly this is a miracle and is a result of people like yourself who have been praying. Your prayers are powerful and effective, don't stop. On a related note, today we found out that we are having a girl. Here are some pictures of our beautiful baby girl:

Every two years Calvary International along with Global Advance holds a pastor's conference in Davao, Philippines for pastors and church leaders from the tribal peoples of Mindanao. You may recall I was a part of the Calvary team in 2007 . This year we held yet another incredible conference for pastors and church leaders. Calvary missionaries Ken and Cris Sandberg have an ongoing Bible school specifically for the peoples of the tribes of Mindanao. This year there were over 500 tribal, church leaders in attendance. As with the conference in 2007, the Calvary team was made up of pastors and church leaders from the United States as well as the Calvary International President Jerry Williamson. It was an incredible time of equipping, encouraging, and ministering to these church leaders. After the conference Jerry Williamson and the pastor team traveled to Iloilo to visit our ministry at the Sonshine Center and in Iloilo.