A week in the hospital watching Mom suffer, a week in Palm Springs debating and eventually solving ministry growing pains, followed by Mom’s funeral and the settling of her estate with my siblings—these past three weeks could have been and should have been some of the most difficult and stressful days of my life, but they weren’t so bad. Why? Because of my wonderful family and my faithful friends. I need to take a few lines and say THANKS to so many of you who helped me through the past few weeks.
Jim, Liz, Lynn, David—my brothers and sisters. We laughed, cried, looked at old photos, and told old stories as we made the most of our last few days with Mom. At times it felt like we were in the middle of our own Chad Kroeger video. As a pastor I have had to act as referee between warring parties as greedy siblings fought over an estate. There was nothing but peace and grace as the five of us sorted through the initial stages of Mom’s estate. I thank God for blessing me with such wonderful, wise, and loving brothers and sisters.
The Filipinos in Palm Springs: Joey, Jun, Manny, Robert, Michael, Rouel, Lee, and Kevin (an honorary Filipino with an Indian accent). Thanks for praying for me, standing with me, and encouraging me in Palm Springs. And thanks for building with me in Asia. Your prayers, faith, and words of encouragement make leadership easy. It is an honor to work with all of you and our other Asian leaders. My only regret is that I had to miss the Pacquiao/Morales fight with all of you in LA.
Jun and Michael. Can’t tell you how much it meant to me and my family for you to fly all the way to Mississippi for Mom’s funeral. It would not have seemed right for me to bury her without seeing a couple of Filipino faces in the crowd.
And to all of you from all over the world who emailed, sent text messages, and prayed for me and my family during this tough time, THANKS. Deborah and I are blessed to have friends and family like you.
