Makita ang dating kanlungan; tahanan ng ating tula at pangarap.
“I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!" (Psalm 119:19).
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COVID-19 Negative
Thank you all for praying for us and thinking of us as we approach this date! Today at 6:35pm we're scheduled to leave Cebu, bound for Doha, Qatar. A couple of weeks ago, we ran into a slight snag and want to thank you all once again for your ceaseless prayers and support.
Prior to a couple of weeks ago, passengers on Qatar Airways were required to present a negative coronavirus RT-PCR test result taken any-time during the day that began 72-hours prior to departure. In other words, if you were leaving at 6:35pm on a Tuesday, your test could be taken any time on Saturday (including Saturday morning, even though Saturday morning would technically be more than 72-hours prior to departure).
Two weeks ago the government of Qatar changed the rules for flights coming from the Philippines, reducing the time to 48-hours, and holding strict to that time-frame. Taking the test Sunday morning was no longer an option for us, and since most testing facilities closed before 6:35pm on Sunday (the time we depart on Tuesday), that left us with Monday morning. While this normally wouldn't be an issue, the free testing site we had used in the past (Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center) can no longer guarantee results within 48-hours. In fact, their lead time for results is now 3-4 days!
Our options were a local private hospital (Cebu Doctor's University Hospital) or the Philippine Red Cross, both of which can give results within 24-hours (the Red Cross itself guarantees the delivery of results within 24-hours). We chose the Red Cross since it was about $20 (US) cheaper per test. Our family of six needed five tests, so the $20 savings added up.
Praise the Lord, in the middle of the night between Monday and Tuesday our results came in. All of us are negative for the coronavirus! With bags packed and passports at the ready, we're all set to head to the airport. From Cebu, we head to Doha. Then we go from Doha to Dallas, and finally from Dallas to Minneapolis!
We can't wait to see you all again! Thank you for being a tremendous source of encouragement, empowerment, and strength for our family. We're looking forward to seeing you all in person and sharing about all of the wonderful things the Lord is doing in Cebu.
MOVING-UP
On Monday, CCHS (the Cebu Children of Hope School) held its Moving-Up Ceremony, and there couldn't have been a better way to spend our last night (for a time) in Cebu. The kids all did such an amazing job, as did our excellent team of teachers along with our illustrious principal, Teacher Cris! I couldn't end this blog post without sharing at least one picture of the event. Since we've been using our school (CCHS) as a make-shift quarantine facility, we instead held our Moving-Up Ceremony in our "Multi-Function Outdoor Area" (a.k.a. - our parking lot by the flags ... haha).
Praise be to God for a wonderful afternoon!
UPDATE (5/26/21)
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21, ESV)
So ... there has been a slight hiccup in our plan, but we know that God has everything in hand 😊. The government of Qatar changed the rules once again right before our departure, and we unfortunately didn't notice the change. We had called the airlines multiple times leading up to our flight to make sure everything was in order, but this experience has been a good reminder to always check for updates on the ever-changing government imposed travel restrictions, especially during this time of pandemic.
The change involved coronavirus swab tests, but didn't involve the time-frame in which the tests had to be taken (still 48-hours as noted above). This time, the change involved the age requirement for those that need to be tested. The government of Qatar now requires all transiting passengers from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines—regardless of age—to present a negative RT-PCR coronavirus swab-test result before they can depart for Doha, even if you'll just be there for a stop-over. This includes infants and small children, which caught quite a few families at the airport off-guard. Prior to this change, only children 12-years and older needed a swab-test. We didn't test our youngest, Bastiaan, since he's only 11.
We were towards the front of the line and could almost feel the tension and worry coming from the families behind us as the friendly Qatar check-in lady told us the news. A poor family traveling with an infant was distraught, and truth be told, so were we at first!
What ended up transpiring was that I (Roberto) stayed behind with Bastiaan, while Heather, Dietrich, Tessiana, and May continued on. They'll still arrive on-time as planned, but Bastiaan and I rebooked our flights (at no additional charge ... praise be to God!) to leave two days later, giving us enough time to get an RT-PCR swab test. I'll be taking the test too since my old results will expire by tomorrow morning. This time, we're heading to the Cebu Doctor's University Hospital which allows people to show-up without an appointment at their walk-up/drive-through facility.
Thank you again for praying with us. While the turn of events initially caused some sadness and worry, being able to spend the next couple of days alone with Bastiaan has been a huge blessing. Before the pandemic, we used to take our kids, one at a time, on a date each Wednesday (what we called our "Wednes-dates"). This gave us time to hang out with each of our kids individually, alternating which child we took out each week. Quarantine restrictions have kept us from doing that for over a year, so this brief pit-stop has given Bastiaan and I some much needed father-son time.
Please continue praying with us for the safe journey of Heather, Dietrich, Tessi, and May who are likely somewhere over Europe right now. Please also pray that the new swab-test results for Bastiaan and I come back negative, and within the next 24-hours. May God be glorified in all that we do!
UPDATE 5/27/21
Praise be to God! Heather, Dietrich, Tessi, and May have made it to MN safe and sound. Not only that, Cebu Doc was able to get the test results to us early this morning. Bastiaan and I should have everything we need now to travel later this afternoon.
Thank you all for praying with us, not only throughout this portion of the journey, but throughout our entire time serving the Lord in Cebu. To God be the glory!
UPDATE 6/1/21
Happy Memorial Day! Praise the Lord, Bastiaan and I landed safely in Minnesota last Friday night. Thank you all again for praying with us through this leg of our journey. After an 8-hour layover in Doha and a couple of long-haul flights, both Bastiaan and I spent much of the Memorial Day weekend in bed ... haha.
Now that we're all back together in Minnesota, we look forward to visiting with you and catching up after an extremely eventful 2020-21! By the grace of God, after a couple of nights of sleep, we were able to hit the ground running with doctor's appointments, vaccinations, and generally getting back into the groove of American living. We're giving a our vaccines a chance to do their thing before visiting folks (outside of family and essential trips), but are so excited to be able to see you all in person again. May the Lord be glorified in all we do!
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