Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you (Gen 31:3).
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV).
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Back In Cebu!
So much has happened in the short time since our family returned to Cebu. We will do our best to share these events over our next 3 posts (hence the "Part 1" in the title).
However, before any of that, let me first say THANK YOU. Thank you for encouraging us, for praying with us, for supporting us, and for being a blessing to our family during our 11-weeks in the US. Every moment in the States was saturated with wonderful connections; connections that allowed us to come back reinvigorated and ready to hit the ground running! Thank you for all of the meet-ups, the hang-outs, the times of prayer, the words of encouragement, the meals 😊 ... and thank you for listening to our stories of joys and struggles, of triumphs and set-backs, and of lockdowns, grace, love, and mercy.
Thank you for living out the mandate in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 to "encourage one another and build each other up." You have helped to make the love of God real and tangible for our family, and you have helped empower us to do the same for others in Cebu.
Thank you for listening to our stories of joys and struggles, of triumphs and set-backs, and of lockdowns, grace, love, and mercy.
For "Part 1," we'd like to primarily focus on our trip back as a means of highlighting God's faithfulness and provision throughout our entire journey.
Dallas: Big Things Happen Here
Years ago, when the word pandemic conjured up images of a fun board game instead of face masks, lockdowns, and social distancing, the City of Dallas had a slogan: "Big Things Happen Here." We can now tell you from experience: they weren't kidding!
Our entire journey from Minneapolis to Cebu took nearly 40 hours; about 28-29 hours in the air and another 10 hours waiting for connecting flights.
The first leg of our trip took us from Minneapolis (MSP) to Dallas (DFW). We had been asking countless friends and family (countless of you) to pray with us because our connection in Dallas was scheduled to be just one hour and five minutes. That's right, an hour and five minutes to get off of our plane from Minneapolis, hoof-it across DFW, and get loaded onto another plane bound for Doha, Qatar (from Doha we then fly home to Cebu). We were concerned that we were going to miss our connection, lose our checked luggage, lose our sanity, or some combination of the three.
As the plane was descending through the clear skies of Texas with the twinkling lights of Dallas down below (or Fort Worth; who can really tell through those tiny airplane windows anyhow), I was going back and forth between praying and checking my watch. By the grace of God, de-plane-ing (is that what it's called? ... the verb for "getting off of a plane"? ) was pretty smooth. Getting through security was even smoother! Everything seemed on track. That is, until we arrived at our departure gate.
The crew of Qatar Airways flight 732 was already calling up passengers zone-by-zone when we arrived. A line of passengers whose seats granted them early zone boarding had begun forming in front of a thick glass door: Gate D16. As we got closer, we noticed that when folks reached the gentleman scanning boarding passes, about a third of them were being turned away. They were being given back their boarding passes and told to wait in line at one of two desks flanking the glass door. Getting past boarding-pass-man was all that lay between us and a 15 hour flight to the Middle East.
When it was our turn to face boarding-pass-man, most of the zones had been called and at least 30-40 people were in-line in front of each of the two desks. The guardian of Gate D16 took one look at our boarding passes and told us what he'd told so many others that night: that we, too, had to line-up at one of the desks.
The issue was the ever changing government policies/procedures related to the coronavirus pandemic. Qatar is very much a gateway to the rest of the world, and nearly everyone on our flight—about 1/3 of the passengers—were traveling through Qatar to other points in the Middle East, Africa, and SE Asia. The crew members at the desks needed to confirm that all passengers were in compliance with the protocols at their final destination before allowing them onto the airplane (many governments, like the Philippines, will fine airlines for transporting passengers to their country who cannot, or do not, comply with all of the entry requirements).
The reason we were turned away at the gate so quickly was because of, well, Heather 😊. Even now, the Philippine government does not allow foreigners into the country unless they fall into one of a few very specific exceptions. What we knew, and what the crew members at the desk had to confirm, was that spouses of Philippine citizens are allowed to enter the country provided they are traveling with their Filipino spouse. The trick was that in order for the crew members to confirm this, they had to get a hold of their counterparts in the Philippines and receive confirmation.
We waited at one of the desks for nearly two hours, making us the very last passengers to finally make it past boarding-pass-man. Everyone in line (except for a woman and her infant child) had made it through the desks and either onto the plane, or turned away and told to return home (one man was traveling with an expired visa and left the gate after exchanging words with desk-lady, desk-lady-number-2, boarding-pass-man, and the other superheroes of Gate D16). With every passing minute, I expected the crew member to tell us that the plane had to depart and that we had to spend the night in Dallas to wait for the next flight.
But God had other plans. For one reason or another, they decided to keep the plane on the ground for over two hours after the planned departure time. We were grateful for the delay but were sure that many onboard were either furious, disappointed, and somewhere between tired and frustrated. The delay meant that many passengers would unfortunately miss their connections in Doha. Our planned lay-over in Doha was 6+ hours so we were one of the fortunate ones with some wiggle room.
Finally, the needed confirmation came through. We were issued new boarding passes and finally allowed to enter gate G16. Looking at the faces of everyone onboard, I found that my suspicions were correct; tired and frustrated was an understatement! We settled into our seats and after about 30-minutes, we were in the air!
We don't know why the plane remained on the ground for so long, but we are grateful and thankful for the Lord's hand over the entire process. It was a lesson, for me, in not being anxious—to not constantly stare at my watch, or feel impatient and frustrated while waiting in lines I have no control over—but to instead, in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present all of my requests to God (para. Phil. 4:6-7).
THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR PRAYING WITH US. For more stories, well ... you'll just have to wait for Part 2.
CIVIC DUTY
We also have a positive family update to share. A couple of weeks ago, both Dietrich and I were able to register as voters in the Philippines! In 2022, the Philippines will elect its next President, and I'm proud and honored to be able to do this with my son for the first time!
The process for registering to vote during the pandemic was surprisingly smooth and easy. COMELEC (The Commission on Elections) opened up satellite offices in local shopping malls to make it easier for citizens to get registered while maintaining social distancing. Dietrich will be turning 18 before the 2022 elections so the two of us headed to SM SeaSide—a large shopping mall in the southern part of Cebu City—and after only a couple hours of waiting in line, we became registered voters. We even got to take pictures in front of a cool sign that SM and COMELEC set-up (mine came out a little fuzzy, as you can see).
Praise God for this opportunity!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
While we were fortunate enough to have the paperwork and status to allow us to spend some time in the US and then return to the Philippines, there are many missionaries we know who are unable to return to the places and people they are so passionate to serve. Please pray for our fellow co-laborers in Christ who are anxiously waiting for borders to re-open around the world, particularly in SE Asia.
As the country approaches a big presidential election, please pray for calm, peace, fairness, and justice.
Please pray for our family; that we will be able to continue spreading God's Gospel of love, grace, mercy, and salvation, both in word and in deed.
Please pray for the continued health and safety of everyone at the Children's Shelter of Cebu.
THANK YOU FOR PRAYING WITH US! More stories and opportunities to pray incoming.
Learn more about the Children's Shelter of Cebu here.
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