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As we return to the Philippines, we are reminded of Luke’s health condition when we left.  Many of you knew and prayed for Luke as he struggled with asthma in the Philippines.  Upon returning to the States last summer, we were able to wean him off his medication.  We praise the Lord that this past […]

Like millions of other Americans, this weekend we went to a veteran’s cemetery.  This was more for Dad, Stephen, than for anyone else.  But hopefully our kids were able to get a glimpse of the meaning of Memorial Day and the sacrifice that so many made for our freedom.  Here in Grand Rapids, more than […]

The countdown has officially begun, 38 days and counting down.  Lord willing, we will be boarding the airplane on June 29th and beginning our journey back to the Philippines.  This has been a great year here in the States and we appreciate all the words of encouragement from many of you.  Please pray with us […]

As we have mentioned, Rebekah and Ginger, have a short list of places we wanted to take our children to while we were in the States. Yesterday, our family took a field trip to Fort Michilimackinac in Michigan. Our children were able to see a replica of the fort that was once used by the […]

This year we have had a short list of things we wanted our kids to do and to see here in the United States. That list in part was prepared by us parents, but also by Rebekah. Over the last five years in the Philippines, Rebekah has studied several different places and has asked us […]

We are excited that our kids do miss the Philippines.  To no surprise, they all miss it for different reasons.  For example, Rebekah longs to get back to somewhere warm.  For Abigail, she looks forward to the “special” father-daughter dates we used to have.  For Luke, he really misses his best friends Ty and David […]

This Friday our minds and thoughts will be focused upon the death of Jesus Christ, as the Lamb of God.  However, this morning our thoughts are upon a different death, the death of an Agutaynen.  Our partners sent us an email to let us know that one of Ginger’s best friends, Tisi, died today.  Apparently […]

With every road trip we take, we try to do something fun with our children.  For example, this last week, we were at Mayfair Bible Church’s mission conference.  Our children actually enjoy it when we attend a church more than once.  In other words, they don’t make a new friend and then have to say […]

During this year, time after time, we will be getting ready to go visit another church or visit a family.  Often Jonathan’s response is “but Mom, I’m having fun playing with my toys at home.”  Even though a little disappointed, the kids get ready and off we go.  Once we arrive to our destination, they […]

Last week, Stephen’s brother Paul made a quick stop by our place in Michigan.  We knew Uncle Paul would be coming, but we wanted it to be a surprise for our children.  And what a surprise it was!  Uncle Paul was only here for a few hours, but the nieces and nephews had a great […]