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| 12/24/2020 | Merry Christmas! (12/25) Praise God that UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has declared that teachers should receive priority access to the COVID-19 vaccines. A Filipino nurse was the first to administer the vaccine in Britain to a 90-yr-old woman. Praise God also that The Philippines is finalizing negotiations with Sinovac Biotech this week to acquire 25 million doses of the Chinese company's COVID-19 vaccine for delivery by March. President Duterte wants to immunize all his country's 108 million people, preferably buying vaccines from Russia or China. “Jesus, thank you for family. When I look down at my little three-year-old grandson, I can imagine the love and wonder that Mary felt as she looked into your eyes on that first Christmas morning in Bethlehem.” Minmin, BCA’s cashier, since it is Christmas week, had the privilege of doing her work at her desk with her grandson Zabdiel on her lap. As the little guy’s Aunt Hazel was the morning’s devotional speaker, they were encouraged to be strong in their faith because we have Jesus, the Solid Rock, as our foundation. Minmin looked into Zab’s cute face while Teacher Janice knocked on the door. “We’ve got to go downtown to pick up the printers that were repaired over the weekend. Otherwise, the teachers will not be able to print the thousands of modules for their students!” Minmin handed a small kids’ book to her “little distraction”, as she authorized the vehicle to be used. An hour later, Janice was back at Minmin’s door with sad news. “We couldn’t pick up the repaired machines as the entire street was shut down due to covid!” A playful and active Zab helped “Grandma” to look at the bright side. The little boy started his special dance as she turned to his favorite song on her cell phone. “You know, since you have the vehicle anyway, why not go to the stationery store, since it is on another street, and buy 50 reams of paper and 10 cases of staples for the students’ daily modules that need to be printed and delivered?” Janice smiled that her day would not be wasted, and as she left, Minmin cuddled her loving boy and with a tear in her eye prayed, “Lord, thank you for Little Zab…my stress reliever!” Then she set him down and started calculating the bills to be paid, as well as the salaries of the teachers. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $3,635. Present Need: $399 for Repair of two printers, 15 Pcs. Of Smoke detectors & drill bits, 7 pcs fire extinguishers. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $4,206.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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Support us through Amazon Smile! Go to smile.amazon.com and type "Paul M Barner Ministries Inc" as the charitable organization you want to support. That's all you have to do! Now when you shop, 0.5% of the purchase price will be automatically donated to our ministry, at no additional cost to you. Thank you! PayPal Merchant ID for Paul M Barner Ministries (Barner Christian Academy) is Z89E34M2ZBQM6 OUR ACTIVE MINISTRIES: Abby- Youth Group President, Church Music team, High School Varsity Volleyball team PJ- University of Albany Student Elvie- National Board of Trustees for CAMACOP, Principal at BCA, Sunday School teacher Paul- Senior Pastor at FAF church, Board of Trustees Recording Secretary & Professor at FIA Missionary School, Spiritual Aims Chairman at Kiwanis Club, Vice President at DCL Prayer Foundation, President at BCA, Honorary Member of PI Eagles FOE, President of PMBMI, Half-Ironman Triathlete Paul & Elvie- Founders & Directors of 25 churches & FHF orphanage, Kiwanis members, DCLFI Community Prayer team members & vice president, Professors at DABC College, Board members at FAF church. Rev. Paul, Elvie, PJ and Abigail Barner BCA Landline: 011-63-82-234-4000 Home address: 18 Eileen Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144 PLEASE NOTE: OUR PJLILTIM@SKYINET.NET ADDRESS IS DISCONTINUED. PLEASE INSTEAD USE BLCKIDS@YAHOO.COM THANKS! |
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| 12/17/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: Please pray for safety for BCA’s guest house while we are trapped stateside. Our BCA staff is occasionally visiting the property (killing rodents) & also putting up Christmas decorations so it looks lived-in (to fend off thieves). Praise God that this past Sunday, since we were to be online for the 1.5 hour-long missions presentation with Canandaigua, NY, we also were able to enjoy other worship services online. My 91-yr-old dad (our kids’ grandpa) shared communion with me in the living room. One glitch though…after the bread, he couldn’t take the cup, since it takes so long for him to chew. Praise God too that Tina, the nurse who cares for Dad each morning, is growing in her newfound faith in Jesus. Each morning we have a devotional time & she also memorizes the title of a new book of the Bible. She already can recite from #1-27 (Genesis to Daniel)! “…until I come back…” Doris led our Filipino orphan children in their daily Bible study. From Luke 19, the story focused on the noble who was planning a trip & gave direction for projects to be done in his absence. When he returned, he was upset that one of the tenants did not follow orders. Doris considered the irony of this story, as she had been on the mainland, & had come out to the island to check-up on the kids as well as to join the local school’s parent-teacher meeting, on “the grading system in the new normal”. Doris illustrated the Bible study. “Last month when I left, what were my rules for you to follow?” The girls smilingly replied, “…that we keep the place clean, & ourselves, too!” The boys were not so chipper. Doris made eye contact with each of the guys & quipped, “I noticed a particularly boy’s-locker fragrance when I arrived. Guys, did you follow my orders?” Rhetorical question, of course. The rest of the day was spent hosing down the guys (before their baths) & also scrubbing their clothes, as well as repairing one of the fences that was beginning to sag. After riding the barge back to Davao’s mainland, Doris rode with a BCA bus driver to retrieve completed modules from the students & also to release the new blank ones for week #8. Both were accomplished with gingerly-careful social distancing, as one of the villages was in a VHA (very High-risk Area), due to a covid outbreak. Then, back on campus she assisted the BCA staff in welding the wide space to cover the back of the gym’s 2 wall fans where rain had bene coming in. Doris actually had made a deal with the boys at the orphanage to be sure they would be better prepared for her next month’s visit. When Doris got home to her tiny place, she asked her daughter Redred, “The boys & I made a deal. They agreed to follow their chores as long as we help them along with their lessons. You graduated from BCA & have an excellent education. Much better than mine. Do you think you could get online & help them out a bit?” ever the able assistant, Redred grasped the assignment with delight. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $3,635. Present Need: $300 for (installment #24 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $39,300 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $4,206.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 12/10/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: December 6: Canandaigua, NY. December 13: Fulton, NY. Praise God that the Philippines is now tracking travelers via TRAZE, a digital contact-tracing app that will automatically notify its users if they have had contact with a traveler who tested positive for COVID-19. This is in prep for when the vaccine is administered, so that immigration can tell who has and who has not yet been vaccinated. Praise God too that Davao City is building the Philippines’ first-ever long-distance mountain tunnel, to be 50 miles long, as a bypass road to avoid flooded areas. While the project is over a billion dollars, it is entirely funded by Japanese businessmen to get farm trucks to market and to the wharf. “Can you say, pakikisama?” Before preaching (relating Naaman’s servant girl as a missionary) in Andover, NY this past weekend, I was teaching Cebuano & Tagalog words, along with a challenge from 2 Timothy during Sunday School time. Pakikisama means togetherness & fellowship. “Okay, no typhoons today, but what about the dampness throughout the building?” Upon arriving at BCA, Hazel brought her teaching projects upstairs. But rather than being damp up there, it was hot. Very hot. So, she turned on a fan. And of course, her stacks of thousands of papers which already had begun printing, began to fly all over the place. A few hours later her online class began. “Today we will divide fractions. Students, first, find the reciprocal of the second fraction.” Noticing some puzzled looks, she explained, “we have to reverse the numerator & denominator.” Oh, that made sense. Yet when one of her students, Zena, still looked confused, Hazel referred to an illustration from the previous week. “Zena, remember the video you did last week for Foundation Day?” Zena remembered it very well. In the middle of the song that Zena had been signing, her pet chicken in the backyard had started “singing” along, even in beat with the intended song! Both Hazel & Zena had been laughing so hard that they had to stop the lesson three or four times in the next half hour. “Zena,” Hazel continued, “remember what song you were singing? GIVE THANKS”. Zena remembered it very well. Especially with her “backup singer”, with those adlibs, from the chicken. Reversing numerator and denominator, is looking at something entirely differently, knowing that the answer is right there. You just have to look at it right. Your song was going great, and the melody was still there, even with the distraction of the chicken. “Oh, I get it now…” quipped Zena…still a tad bit unsure, yet confident in her inquisitiveness. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! Present Need: $219 for government fees & Notarization (DepEd Requirements), School beautification (flaglettes, flags, hanging plants), Repair of BCA signage, Repair of fire exit stairs, Faucet & water line parts, Repair of doors (materials), & Repair and maintenance of Buses: Bus C & M & Fi. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $4,206.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 12/3/2020 | Happy American Thanksgiving! (11/26) Happy Philippine Bonifacio Day! (11/30) BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: November 29: Andover, NY // December 6: Canandaigua, NY. Please pray for decisions of Philippine officials who have targeted 60 million Filipinos for vaccination against the coronavirus next year at a cost of nearly $1.5 billion to develop Filipino immunity. Negotiations are underway with four pharmaceutical companies to secure the vaccines in early 2021. One company will supply 20 million vaccines. They have targeted the most vulnerable & poorest communities in areas that were affected. The Health Secretary said the country needs to have 60-70% of the 107 million Filipinos inoculated to attain “herd immunity.” Praise God that, after our speaking at a church in Upstate New York, not only did the church donate part of its library to BCA, but also the members of both the host morning church & Spanish afternoon service assisted in transferring the 150 books to the car. Also, when we got a flat tire in the minivan for the 130-mile trip home, the serviceman was able to dig thru the books in the back seat (without damaging them) to get to the tire which needed replacing. Praise God too that, while Elvie & I volunteered this past week for Operation Christmas Child (OCC), Elvie was able to share with her co-worker about our Philippine ministry & also to pray with her. Also, an elderly couple donated food which PJ delivered to a needy family & also to the city rescue mission. “Streets must be empty from 7pm until 5am, or you will be fined.” Davao City’s mayor Sara modified the city’s curfew hours due to an increase in covid infections this week. Out of Davao City’s 5,520 covid cases, 1,874 are active, 3,401 recoveries, & 245 deaths. Meanwhile, BCA’s staff is working around these curfews & quarantines to get to & from the campus to keep the students busy in their distance learning. “Here are the next fifty updated files, which you requested,” noted Secretary Faith in her biweekly report, via the “Wetransfer” App. On the other side of the planet in NY, I (Paul) downloaded each file & adjusted them for clarity before printing & mailing them to the respective sponsors for Jewel, Jakiza, Jeff & the other BCA students from nine different grade levels. While the files were uploading & transferring via a pretty slow internet connection, Faith multi-tasked by filing Enrollment Forms with their respective attachments for the fulfilling of the annual report requirements, to the Department of Education (DepEd). Faith added another feature to her already-full “multi-tasking” list as she, while uploading files to transfer & filing enrollment forms, watched & listened to my weekly sermon, given at a church in Valley Cottage, NY. “Identify with the three women who broke alabaster boxes of expensive spikenard perfume on Jesus’ feet. They painted with their hair a portrait of their love for Jesus, as the intoxicating aroma filled the house. With what do you paint your deep love & appreciation for Jesus?” Faith looked down at her work & answered the question. “I guess I paint my love for Jesus with a laptop & a mouse…oh, & also with a Xerox machine.” As Minmin came into the room with a can of bleach, requesting help to re-sanitize the 4th-grade classroom after the typhoon’s humidity had left mildew on it, Faith added one more item to her list of “Jesus-anointing” tools. “…oh, & also I paint Jesus’ feet with a rag dipped in bleach.” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $2,525. Present Need: $419 to Reformat computer CPU & purchase & installation of RAM, plus Renewal of Bus Registration for BCA Buses “C & N”, plus repair & Maintenance of Buses “Fi & Ph & M” # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $4,006.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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Support us through Amazon Smile! Go to smile.amazon.com and type "Paul M Barner Ministries Inc" as the charitable organization you want to support. That's all you have to do! Now when you shop, 0.5% of the purchase price will be automatically donated to our ministry, at no additional cost to you. Thank you! PayPal Merchant ID for Paul M Barner Ministries (Barner Christian Academy) is Z89E34M2ZBQM6 OUR ACTIVE MINISTRIES: Abby- Youth Group President, Church Music team, High School Varsity Volleyball team PJ- University of Albany Student Elvie- National Board of Trustees for CAMACOP, Principal at BCA, Sunday School teacher Paul- Senior Pastor at FAF church, Board of Trustees Recording Secretary & Professor at FIA Missionary School, Spiritual Aims Chairman at Kiwanis Club, Vice President at DCL Prayer Foundation, President at BCA, Honorary Member of PI Eagles FOE, President of PMBMI, Half-Ironman Triathlete Paul & Elvie- Founders & Directors of 25 churches & FHF orphanage, Kiwanis members, DCLFI Community Prayer team members & vice president, Professors at DABC College, Board members at FAF church. Rev. Paul, Elvie, PJ and Abigail Barner BCA Landline: 011-63-82-234-4000 Home address: 18 Eileen Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144 PLEASE NOTE: OUR PJLILTIM@SKYINET.NET ADDRESS IS DISCONTINUED. PLEASE INSTEAD USE BLCKIDS@YAHOO.COM THANKS! |
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| 11/26/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: November 22: Valley Cottage, NY// November 29: Andover, NY Please pray for those in Davao City who have been evacuated after Typhoon Ulysses overflowed the banks of the Talomo River & preemptive evacuations have stranded hundreds of families. Rescuers from the Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Center have been dispatched to assist. Please also pray for the survivors of 67 Filipinos killed in Typhoon Vamco (Ulysses), which has caused the worst flooding in 45 years. Many areas remain submerged in northern regions. When a dam was compromised, thousands of families fled to their rooftops to escape two-story deep muddy floodwaters. Six tropical cyclones (not to be confused with tornadoes) added their wrath to the fray over the past 30 days. Praise God that during Typhoon Ulysses, under which the President placed Luzon (1/3 of the country) under a State of Calamity, swift relief & rehabilitation efforts have been facilitated. 3 million people, representing ¾ million families, were displaced from 8 badly-hit regions, according to the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development). Even the popular 10-passenger “Swan” boats, the fiberglass, pedal-powered swan lagoon-pontoons used for tourism during better days, are being borrowed for relief & rescue efforts. They were transported Sunday night onboard a boat trailer from the Pangasinan Police Marine Office. “…in spite of the pandemic…” Dan is one of the leaders of our Davao church while we are away in the USA. “Greetings! God is always faithful! He will always make a way…even when there seems to be no way!” Dan runs a late-night curbside food stand & often serves barbecued chicken feet. He names the scrumptious, crunchy delicacy...adidas! Due to the current pandemic, the church leaders have had to be creative in still providing an ongoing worship experience for the congregation. They call their neighborhood fellowship “Sim-Balay” which is a concentrated form of “SIMBAHAN” (church) & “BALAY” (home), or “Home Fellowship Church”. Some of these home fellowships actually even have both morning & evening Sunday services, & also communicate with other “sister-simbalays” via the internet! Wanna have a fellowship dinner? No cost to the church, just use your own food, in your own living room! Manong Boy’s small hut is the Zone 4 church, while Ate Nenita’s rented house is used for Zone 1. The local neighborhood counselors follow the quarantine guidelines set by the village captains & city mayor. Some “Zone Simbalays” have been able to squeeze representatives from ten families into their homes while still maintaining social distancing, number maximums & mask/shield government guidelines. The representatives from each of these homes then go back & bring the message with them to preach in their evening worship, where neighbors have no access to internet. Most use the message that I have preached ahead of time & sent to them via Facebook. These, along with fifty other locations, still represent the church. They actually are even more effective in evangelizing their neighbors. It is easier for them to just cross the street to go to church than to have to pay for a ride to cross town. Sunday services are supplemented by Tuesday prayer meetings & Thursday Bible Studies, when they pray for each other & also research more deeply the truths that were brought from the Bible the previous Sunday. To perfect their musical prowess, all the churches have musicians who practice during the week & perform together via Zoom on Saturdays, along with the kids’ singing. Their music coaches are the 2 Rs- Rjay & Rodel. The quality is incredible, with keyboards, Bible sharing, tambourines & choreography to boot. Over the past few years, I had trained the choir in singing “SATB parts” (although my lack of rhythm required Abby to intervene & direct). Now, they are using what they learned to train the younger ones. “Y’know,” added Dan in the final sentences of his report, “every day the excitement builds, even amidst this pandemic, for God ALWAYS makes a way…even when there seems to be no way!” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $2,525. Present Need: $300 for (installment #23 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $39,600 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $4,006.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 11/19/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: November 15: Albany, NY// November 22: Valley Cottage, NY Please pray for the new CVOID vaccine to be proven & produced, and distributed to the Philippines. While the over 360,000 Filipinos have recovered from COVID, still 9% of those infected have died, according to the Philippines Department of Health (DOH). The Philippine government already has plans for the January, 2021 acquisition, distribution, implementation, assessment, and monitoring of the new vaccine. When the vaccine comes, it will be an entirely new operation apart from the hospitalization of those who have been infected by the virus. Vaccination will be for those who have not been infected so far, and they make up a far greater number of the population. Praise God that $190 was donated for the needs of children at Barner Christian Academy this week thorough the Facebook Foundation, in honor of my 59th birthday Monday. Also, a friend in Massachusetts raised over $600 for BCA’s much-needed new school buses. Praise God for an American friend’s generosity as leaves began to fall. After she voted, Masked, gloved, and socially distanced, she was a bit worried about the outcome. So, she raked all the leaves in her yard for stress relief. ALL of them. Including quite a few of her neighbors’. A neighbor on Facebook said, “If you are still stressed, there are some leaves in my yard” Okay WHAT leaves? I’m, like, standing in front of what I THINK is your house (the green one, right?) with my rake, but not seeing any leaves there... or next door either... Or across the street... ? Maybe in the back yard then? “in the back” ahhh, too late. Guess you’re off the hook for those cookies then. But I do love raking, so perhaps another day!” “1…2…3…4…Roasted pig!” BCA’s Teacher Angel grabbed her paper plate & loaded it with rice, pancit & slabs of crispy, salty, buttery roasted pig skin, which crunched between her teeth & melted in her mouth…mmmm! She also was counting in her mind the items she placed on her plate. During October & November, Angel is teaching her students how to count & write numbers from one to one thousand. This was a triple celebration: mine & Abby’s birthdays & also BCA school’s 23rd Foundation Day. Dozens of students sent videos of themselves singing choreographed songs they’d either heard or made up. Angel counted the videos…5…6…7… Off course, not being on-site, the kids did miss out on the pig. But that left oh, so much more for the teachers! 8 helpings…9…10… Meanwhile in New York, our family was speaking & singing this past Sunday at a church. The title of the message was, “What Type of Missionary are You? Are you a pig, herder or disciple?” (Mark 5). In closing, Pastor Will assured the congregation he would not “pig out” during lunch! One of my birthday gifts was a large cast iron skillet, since I make homemade pancakes each day for my aged Dad, & often the pancakes burn. Maybe, since this skillet is black, the pancakes will just think they are already burned, & won’t get so “hot under the collar”. I often burn stuff. Especially food. And back across the ocean to Teacher Angel, she was preparing her work for her students & wondering, “I wonder if all this time in front of the computer is feeding radiation into my face?” How many gamma rays are frying my eyeballs right now? 899…900…901… She was making a PowerPoint lesson for Science class, on materials that undergo decay, & other materials impervious to decay. “Okay, Lord. I trust in You. I am sure that, since I am serving You, you will make me impervious to decay…from my laptop computer!” Just then, the internet stopped working. “Oops, Lord, guess I should have included the server in my prayer too, huh?” Back in the USA, I (Paul) was participating online as the guest speaker for a college class in Pennsylvania. “How can I help poor people overseas with my interest in making clothes?” one student asked. I assured her that we have talents that can shine as we use them for others. Just be creative. Go to Madagascar and train the people how to make & sell their own clothes. “But,” I cautioned, “Make sure your project is sustainable. Let them own the idea & run it themselves.” In a way, even this project can be impervious to decay! Like any good ministry, we can begin to count the lives that are changed…998…999…1000! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $2,245. Present Need: $420 for Fire Drill Fee & Materials for musical instruments & sound system room & Faucets & Renewal of bus registration for Bus “Fo” & insurance for Bus C # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $4,006.24 received of $20,000 needed.' A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 11/12/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: November 8: South Westerlo, NY// November 15: Albany, NY Please pray for Cameron, a 13 yr old girl in New York who, after our speaking at her church, felt led by God to become a missionary! She agreed to become involved with her church Bible studies, kids ministries and evangelistic outreaches as she focuses on how God will eventually lead her overseas. Pray also for the Filipinos who have not been able to visit the graves of their loved ones this past weekend, due to threats of COVID. Some cemeteries, to assist families who traditionally camp out on their relatives’ graves over All Saints Day “Undas” weekend, provided instead video coverage of their tombstones so they can keep their laptops or cellphones open 24/7 and virtually camp out on the graves with tents, buffet tables and picnic sets. A government advisory closed all cemeteries from Oct 28-Nov 4, with 20,000 policemen deployed to prevent anyone sneaking in. Please pray for the Filipino coconut farmers. They are the poorest of the nation’s farmers, according to the Dept. of Agrarian Reform. The global copra (coconut meat) prices have continued a downward plunge since 2018. 8.6 million acres grow coconut trees, yet these farmers have less income than they did 30 years ago, in 1990. Please also pray for the families of hundreds of thousands of adult and child Filipinos who are either dead, relocated or cleaning up from the recent slough of tropical storms: Super-typhoon Rolly (also called Goni: 173 mph) & Sioni (also called Atsani: 40 mph). Goni was deemed the strongest storm in the world in 2020, by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph Praise God that a New York church, while thinning out their library, donated over a hundred theology books (along with 5 card catalogue shelves too!) to Barner Christian Academy, for the pastors and pastors-in-training whom Elvie & I teach at a local Bible college. Praise God too that, for the first time ever, I was able to vote in the American Presidential Elections with my 19 yr old daughter Abby. “Bye, Dibbie!” As BCA’s regular 5th grade teacher left for greener pastures, she provided (as per her pre-agreed contract agreement) for her own replacement. Dibbie walked Janice through the process of checking the last four modules before printing them & delivering them to the homes through BCA’s bus drivers. Next, it was on to the PowerPoint presentation for the virtual class. Meanwhile, fellow Teacher GH created & administered her 2nd graders’ Summative Examination, online. “Teacher GH,” asked 2nd grade Charlie, “I see the Word Document in our Private Group, but why is there also a picture of the same exam in Messenger?” Before GH could respond, another student, Azalea, interjected, “That is for students like me who can’t get Word programs on our parents’ cell phones, Charlie.” One by one, the subjects were administered under the heading MAPEH (Music, Art, P.E. & Health). Gym (at home) was a challenge, but the parents were a great help. In order to get interaction from all the students, they came online in shifts: Shift A (15 kids): Tuesday & Thursday. Shift B (the other 15 kids): M-W-F. Next week it is the other way around. For GH to get everything accomplished required bringing work home over the weekend. Parents who can, will drop off & pick up the notebooks & assignments from week to week. In Science class, the internet kept cutting off, due to the typhoon. However, GH was able to use the weather as a learning tool. “What is causing the internet challenges? The weather. And how is the weather affecting it?” Sure, it took a while to get a response (due to the intermittent internet), but it was a lesson that the kids would not soon forget. Especially as muddy water made its way into their tiny bamboo hovels. Back to Janice, Dibbie’s replacement…she built her own chart to determine, “If the exam is in two weeks, & the lesson is in one week, then the prep is today & the distribution will be…nope, that won’t work…” Science again. Finds its way into everything, huh? “Ok, let’s take a different approach. Encrypted documents cannot be changed by the students. So that is what I will make the tests in.” Teacher GH was closing out her day and opened her Bible to Malachi 3:6, “I am the Lord. I do not change.” Well, thought GH. Praise God that during the “new normal” as we adjust to all of these changes, at least one thing will never change. That is You, Lord. Thanks for being my stability in life! Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $1,545. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses August, 2020 # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,346.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 11/5/2020 | Happy 20th Birthday, Abby! (11/9) Happy 59th Birthday, Paul! (11/9) Happy 23rd Birthday, Barner Christian Academy! (11/9) Happy Armistice Day, USA! (11/11) Daylight Savings Time, USA (11/1) USA Election Day (11/3) BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: November 1: Greene, NY// November 8: South Westerlo, NY Please pray for the replacement of BCA’s 6th grade teacher. Her earlier replacement backed out due to needs from her 5-month old. Praise God that, even amidst the pandemic, Davao life is starting to regain a sense of normalcy, albeit amidst social distancing and masking-up. The 2nd Mindanao Art Fair opened this past week with tribal exhibits & conferences, to keep people reminiscent of their colorful tribal heritage, at the Malayan Colleges Mindanao campus. “New changes…” BCA’s Teacher Janice carried her fourth (of eleven) completed teaching module over to the door of the computer room of the school’s second floor. From there the bus drivers came up the stairs and collated the stacks, portioning them out for the bus routes to the respective students. Last week it was different. Some parents would actually come to the school to get the papers & even ask questions of their instructors. However, since Davao City had a recent spike in covid cases, borderline lockdown is in effect in specific areas. The air is cleaner with the filters of the air conditioners working upstairs in the school, so less likely to have dangerously “stagnant air” resting in a confined place. “Blessed be the Name of the Lord!!!” quoted Janice, from BCA’s weekly staff devotional. “I thank God for the new day He has given to us. Encouraging words always remind us of our victorious Christian walk!” According to the Oct 27 Philippine Star Newspaper, The Philippines has the second-highest number of COVID-19 infections & deaths in Southeast Asia, behind Indonesia. Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet in New York, the four of us (Paul, Elvie, PJ & Abby) were speaking & singing at a church in Jamestown. “Hi mom!” Abby said cheerfully in our introductory skit (arm-in-arm with PJ)... “I want to introduce you to my friend Jesus!” Just as Janice at BCA had had inspiration from Jesus even in troubling times, we in New York were reminding others not to hoard Jesus to ourselves, but to share Him with those we meet each day. Let’s not make people wait to get Jesus “pre-packaged” like the new teaching modules. Let’s personally introduce them to Him…and then they will be able to be the ones to introduce Him to others! Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $1,210. Present Need: $406 for Aircon Spare Parts, Floormat for BCA stairs (rugby, putty knife & brush), Circuit Breaker, Painting Materials, Padlock for Nursery Room, Materials for repair of gym roof, Repair and maintenance of Buses Fo, Ph, N, M & Fi. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 10/29/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing:
Please pray for thousands of Filipinos who are knee-deep in muddy floodwater, cleaning the mess left behind by Typhoon Pepito this week. Please also pray for wisdom on the part of the Philippine government’s pandemic task force, as it decides when to reopen the country’s borders for missionaries & other nonessential international travelers. They are considering prioritizing countries with low to medium coronavirus transmission as well as applying the principle of reciprocity (being nice to those who were kind to them). The task force will also look into whether the country’s healthcare capacity will be adequate. Foreign visitors have been restricted from entering the country since March as a precaution against the coronavirus outbreak. Praise God that an American sponsor this past week not only sent enough funds for their two BCA students’ Christmas gifts, but also for 31 other kids as well! “Thank you, Lord, for a well-built life!” BCA’s Teacher Shela absorbed Hazel’s weekly faculty Bible lesson like a sponge. Hazel continued, “Like an architect, let Jesus design your life’s sturdy foundation upon the Bible for all the upcoming storms of life.” Shela’s “storms” began just a few minutes later, as parents began to message her about their kids’ modular-lesson questions. Each Monday brings papers to correct from the previous week (collected that morning by BCA’s bus drivers) & new lessons that have just been delivered. “My boy Marco cannot read the Filipino language yet. Oh, he’s been speaking it for eight years, but he reads only English!” Marco’s mathematical skills are exceptional. However, word-questions (like the distance to Manila in a car as contrasted with a boat) are challenging when you can only read the numbers. So, during Shela’s preparation of the modules for next week (#6), she included MAS (Math Activity Sheets) whose words & numbers were also accompanied by pictures & charts. “Lord, I can see that just like the well-built worksheets for my students, I value a well-built personal life, & it’ll make much better sense!” Meanwhile on the other side of the ocean in Pennsylvania, USA, PJ, Abby, Elvie & I had arrived (after a six-hour southern drive) at my cousin Bruce’s cabin in the woods, surrounded by dozens of wild turkeys, as well as other assorted wildlife. On Saturday morning, Elvie called to me, “There’s soldiers outside, dragging two bodies with them!” rushing out to the porch, I greeted the hunters who were dragging their early morning’s kill of whitetail deer. Next day was Sunday & before PJ & Abby’s mini-concert, the church’s children traipsed up to the stage with blue cardboard fishing poles, & colored paper fish of oranges & greens, attached with bright red yarn. They sang “I Will Make You Fishers of Men,” which of course fit in perfectly with my Bible missions challenge. One lumberjack even came up to me afterwards expressing his intent to sponsor two kids at BCA! A well-built life. Yes, Teacher Shela, the Master-Builder Himself has an incredible plan for our lives, which extends far beyond the measurement of kilometers from Davao to Manila by boat. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $1,210. Present Need: $300 for (installment #22 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $39,900 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 10/22/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: October 25: Jamestown, NY Please pray for Paul’s older sister Ginger who fell off her bicycle & broke her elbow. She is one of the major caregivers for our 91-yr old dad, but Ginger is mostly bedridden now for the next week at least. Please also pray for the “learning curve” for BCA’s teachers, staff & parents as they experiment with teaching online & via papers. Please pray too for safety as “Typhoon Ofel” has caused a “signal 1 storm warning” Wednesday night, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), causing heavy flood-bearing rains throughout the nation. Praise God that a friend in Florida mailed to me (Paul) her computer tablet which I now can use for my weekly messages (once I figure out how to use it). Praise God for understanding on the part of the NY preschool where Elvie works. Since schools were closed for Monday’s Columbus Day, she was with me 3 hours north in Plattsburgh, visiting a church. But the preschool hadn’t been cancelled! So, the next day at work they had cake to celebrate “Elvie Day” which is the holiday that they joked she had made up to skip work. “Yay! I finished typing & printing 72 sets of modules today: TLE, Math & Gym!”. BCA’s Teacher Hazel had burned the midnight oil to get ahead with the daily teaching requirements for her 30 6th grade students. The school nurse Lucy, along with Doris, the government -associate for our orphanage, helped edit, collate & staple the lessons. She had to take a break however when 4th-grade teacher Angel’s printer stopped printing black. Hazel cleaned the printer-head with a Q-tip & alcohol & then it was good to go. Yet although the printer was now fine, the heavy typhoon rains outside caused humidity so the pages started to stick together & jam…always something. Just a few days previous, school cook Nitz was the Bible study teacher. How appropriate that her topic was, “During the big storms of life, how deep is your faith?” Though troubles plunge us deep into the unknown, Prayer always buoys us up for a breath for fresh air. Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet in New York, my 91-yr-old dad was being prepared for the day by his nurse Tina. Since I had led Tina to Christ a few months ago, I opened the Bible this morning & shared from James 1: to be happy when troubles come, for they make us stronger! Strength. Every day requires its own power-areas. Back in BCA, Hazel was not able to get modules delivered to 5 of her 30 students, as their place is on lockdown due to a covid-positive patient in their area. A parent in the lockdown area texted Hazel “We are “makawerla”. (kind of going crazy)!” Yet another parent texted, “Yay! My son Rueben had been lethargic doing his work for 3 years now, but since I am helping him at home, he is really, really eager to learn! PTL!” Reuben also studies & reads while helping his grandmother by running her tiny corner store, while she accompanies Grandpa in his dialysis treatments. “Yep,” Hazel muttered while preparing the PowerPoint (on fractions & regrouping mixed numbers) for tomorrow’s Zoom meeting, “When the challenges plunge us deep, God’s provision & strength is even deeper still! Blessed be the Name of the Lord!” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: "Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $635. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses July, 2020 # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 10/15/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: October 18: Davao, Philippines {Postponed} Praise God as well for a friend in Utah who, while recovering from a case of COVID, had a birthday: “Hi Paul, I wanted to let you know that I did a Facebook Fundraiser for BCA’s Christmas Campaign for my birthday…$65 has already come in so far!” “I almost spit out my tea…LOL!” Our friend Lorraine had mentioned on Facebook that, as a kid she used to think that the song PJ & Abby sang online this past Thursday, “Bringing in the Sheaves,” was actually “Bringing Indian Chiefs!” Her friend Olympia in Syracuse made the mistake of holding a hot & steaming mug of freshly-brewed tea when she read it. Meanwhile on the other side of the planet in the Philippines, BCA’s Teacher Jessa Mae (JM) was also reminiscing about BCA’s pre-COVID years. It was her first day teaching at Barner Christian Academy, and JM was both nervously fearful & excitingly fulfilled. JM had started mid-year, just in time for the school’s October International Day. This had always been a very special celebration, and these past few years especially, as a delightful team of young professionals had annually come from Arizona, USA to assist in the celebration. Like the finale of a musical, other “actors” from various ministries of BCA were on the stage performing, such as the orphan kids at BCA’s “Father’s House” & pastors & students’ parents who represented each of BCA’s 26 churches. Yet now in 2020, the costumes & fanfare is just a fond memory. Instead, BCA’s entire faculty & staff is busy typing & printing & stapling the teaching modules to be hand- delivered to hundreds of students. Some of these modules (for social studies) do give pictures of flags & costumes form various countries, but nothing like seeing little kids of multiple grades, garbed in colorful outfits & singing in foreign languages their praises to God. for them, “Bringing in the Saheaves” might very well be translated from a language that sounds like “Bring Indian Chiefs!” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $635. Present Need: $420 for Fire Drill Annual Fee & Materials for musical instruments & sound system room & Faucets & Renewal of bus registration for Bus “Fo” & insurance for Bus C. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 10/8/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking / singing / visiting & / or sharing: October 11: Davao, Philippines {Postponed} 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $80. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed.
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| 10/1/2020 | Jewish Sukkot (10/2-9) Now, as with before, teachers would instruct their students to introduce themselves & also express their expectations for the year. They will write about their summertime experiences & read them in front of their neighborhood “class centers” in one of our 26 church buildings. As with before, some will have had joyful experiences but also some will have experienced not-so-good situations. “How about music class?” inquired one parent. “How will we do music at home?” Minmin, the director for the day, shared the stage with Faith, one of BCA’s secretaries. They acknowledged the importance of music in everyone’s life, reminding the parents of when Techer Neil’s heart was touched when Jorjon had sung while crying, since he missed his deceased grandfather who often had sung “One call Away,” the very song that they were singing in class. “While schooling at home,” Faith continued, “you will have shared experiences, which everyone can relate to.” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $50. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 9/24/2020 | Jewish Year 5781, Rosh Hashanah (9/18-20) Yom Kippur (9/27-28} BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: September 27: Guam {Postponed} Please pray for the Filipino people as they make plans for next month. The 500-yr-old Undas Tradition requires families to camp out with candles & cards for a day or a week at the graves of loved ones during Halloween, All Saints Day & All Souls Day. However, leaders have ordered some cities’ cemeteries to be closed from October 21 to November 3, since COVID-19 records recently revealed 4,000 new infections, bringing total cases to 257,863. 186 died of Covid last Saturday, bringing the death toll to 4,292. However, the number of recoveries also jumped to 187,116, representing a 72.5% recovery rate. Praise God that, during a neighborhood yard sale, a doctor from a Canadian university felt led to give $20 to help us pay the $9,000 for the BCA kids’ Christmas gifts this year! Praise God also that the Philippine National Security Advisor called last week for the construction of 50,000 cell towers nationwide to ensure a strong internet connection for large sections of the country, so that schools can shift to online classes. At present, the entire country only has 19,000 cell towers. “When we are discouraged,” started BCA’s Teacher Shelamae (during the weekly Monday devotional), “focus on God’s PRESENCE, PROMISES and PROVISION.” Minmin, BCA’s bill-payer, was listening carefully, trying to focus on God’s PROVISION even though half a year of global COVID has resulted in the peso-to-dollar exchange rate to fall (48.42/1). But Minmin is an expert in stretching a peso to get all of the bills paid with ample extra for the teachers’ salaries. Besides paying bills, Minmin was busy stapling thousands of school papers, by classroom-days. She took a break to give cash to one of the BCA bus drivers to buy cement to lay another level on the sidewalk along the canal’s edge sidewalk which borders the school’s fourth grade classroom. When driver Ben justified the number of needed bags by the number of square meters of sidewalk, God put an idea into Minmin’s head: She quickly jotted down on a scrap piece of paper the names of all the teachers. Then one-by-one she approached each of them to count the pages in the modules for weeks #1 and #2. Minmin then estimated how many thousands of pieces of paper the school prints each week. She then numbered the nine printers so that all could be used alternately, without jamming up from heat & moisture in the tropical humidity. The school’s old copier machine then is used minimally, since the $750 we’ve saved up so far is not yet enough to purchase a new copier. God then placed another idea into Minmin’s head. She called the bus drivers into her office & planned out the distribution route for each to drive, delivering the pages to each neighborhood leader, while picking up the completed pages. By planning the routes, she was able to eliminate overlap by determining the grade levels of the 600 BCA students spread out across thirty different neighborhoods. BCA’s computer lab, teacher’s lounge & secretaries’ office resemble a printing firm, for when a teacher finishes developing & printing a module, she calls out to one of the secretaries to get completed pages from the printer & bring them to the copier, making the scheduled # of prints. Then when the secretary gets done with a lesson, they call the drivers to come & collate by page & date, then to staple them & bundle them into routes to be distributed by day and by week. Crunching of staplers filled the air, the sound only broken occasionally by one whose blisters had been pinched yet again. Suddenly, Secretary Faith called out to Minmin, “Quick! Call a doctor!” Minmin grabbed the phone & called back up the stairs, “Who got hurt?” To which Faith gigglingly responded, “Not WHO, but WHAT! Printer number six is spitting out black ink all over the tabletop!” So Minmin called back out to the drivers to go downtown with the printer (wrapped in a plastic garbage bag) to the “printer-doctor”. Just in time, that evening the “doctor” had finished his work & the third-grade teacher had a printer to print her very-long daily modules for the full class of 34 students. Other teachers set aside their work to assist the third-grade teacher’s burdensome task. Oh, for the pre-Covid days when the kids could come to class & learn, instead of having to send the work out to their homes! However, as Mininn mused, Teacher Shelamae’s Bible analysis had been accurate: God truly has come through once again, the all-time expert in PRESENCE, PROMISES and PROVISION. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $50. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses for June, 2020 # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 9/17/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: September 20: Albany, NY{Postponed}
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| 9/10/2020 | 9/10/2020 Happy 53rd Birthday, Elvie! (9/9/67) USA Patriot Day (9/11/01) USA Labor Day (9/7) Please pray for the homeless Filipino residents of sixty Davao homes which burned down this week. Please also pray for me (Paul) as I am interacting with the Philippine Department of Immigration to process the brand-new visas required before I return to Davao. Some of the Philippine consulates in the USA are not open due to COVID. Before driving to a consulate, I need to check both Boston & NYC by phone, since their websites are not user-friendly. Praise God that PJ, Abby & Ruth are enjoying the beginning of their final year of college. Praise God as well that the pastors of our 26 church plants in the Philippines have begun working on the monthly reports which I required of them. This data will itemize the tribes reached as well as the people groups yet unreached in their particular areas of ministry, before we start our tribal campus in 2021-22. “Six more days…or twenty-six?” BCA’s Teacher Hazel, along with the rest of BCA’s teachers & staff, are burning the midnight oil to start classes in the new “blended” format next week. It has been a long three months since the Department of Education (DepEd) set the new parameters for teaching: COVID-style: #1: online & with #2: daily papers delivered house-to-house in bundles weekly. BCA’s printers are running constantly as teachers print hundreds of pages & copy thousands of them for their students. Our secretary hitched a ride with a BCA bus to pick up 24 cases (60,000 pages) of paper for just this quarter (Oct-Nov-Dec) alone. Support staff (school cook, driver, etc) checked & counted the number of pages for each module. Hazel helped the other teachers clean their printer-heads & also downloaded drivers to be compatible with their various personal units. She giggled when she saw a cartoon of a teacher cuddling her printer (her best buddy) as she dozed off to sleep. The caption, in Filipino, translated “All is well when you are not alone”. The clincher is…one day the government says “open up the private schools whenever you are ready” and then the next day they counter with… “on second thought, there was a COVID outbreak, so wait another 2 weeks.” So, while BCA’s “opening day” is set for next week, it may not happen until Oct. 5. Our teachers have to re-write a Lesson Plan (LP) for every single subject for every single class for every single day. It is a monumental task. Teacher Hazel had just finished- up the 7 subjects of her MELCs (Most ESSENTIAL learning Competencies) for the first quarter. Now for the eighth subject; AP: Advanced-Placement assorted elective subjects. Opening her Bible to Psalm 37, Hazel read, “Be still in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” Yes, just like with the author King David, whatever trials come, we still delight in God & give our worries to Him. David fought Goliath. David was successful over the Philistines. David got his strength & confidence from his friendship with God. Nothing is too small for our Almighty God. We will overcome this battle too & will soon shout for victory. Checking her government- supplied manual, Hazel couldn’t figure out one aspect of their plan, so she switched her laptop computer to YouTube, on how to transfer problems of estimating sums of fractions & mixed numbers. Once successful, she sent the files out to Elvie here in New York for correction & approval. Once Elvie sent back her corrected copy, Hazel looked up again on YouTube how to create PowerPoint presentations to convert the files, which will walk her students through each class at their own speed. That same morning, an explosion rocked one corner of our island, but the terrorists had not targeted the Davao area, so Hazel was not hindered in her project to meet the deadline. Thursday morning came, & since the rain finally took a day off, Hazel glanced into the mirror. “Ah, Mr. Sun. So, you have decided to come to class today, huh? Finally, after how many months of dampness, I can get powder & lipstick to stick to my face!” Getting to school to produce, collate 7 print more modules, Hazel had to pop back to “Mr YouTube” to see how to fix a paper jam. Then another type of jam which YouTube couldn’t help: ignoring spellcheck in the “Mother- Tongue” language subjects, by analyzing each individual letter of every word. Now Hazel is averaging completing 25 pages of print copy per day. Now multiply that by 30 students…e-hem, King David, here is my own Philistine battle! And our Almighty God is just as powerful to conquer this Goliath task as well. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! 2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $50. Present Need: $223 for Repair of buses M, Ph, N & C. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 9/6/2020 | Philippine Barners’ Prayer Diary 9/6/2020: Centennial of American ratification of 19th Amendment (8/26/1920) Granting Women the right to vote. Philippine Indigenous People’s Day (8/24) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: September 6: Sherrill, NY{Postponed} Please pray for this year’s “2020 BCA Kids’ Christmas: Stay Strong & Safe for 2021!” Project. Each Christmas you gave gifts to the 600 students at Barner Christian Academy. In 2020 your $15 will give each child a face shield, face mask, Christmas BCA t-shirt, stuffed animal & food. NEEDED: $15 x 600 = $9,000. Received: $50. Praise God that our son PJ began courses for his senior year at Albany University Monday (8/24), while Abby & Ruth start their senior (2-year school) year on Monday (8/31). Praise God as well that a longtime American family friend recently gave a generous gift of $3,000 to help with our purchase of return tickets to the Philippines, since tickets have skyrocketed substantially due to COVID-related social distancing regulations onboard. Another dear friend gave $319 for the recent repairs to BCA’s buses. These vehicles are being used to distribute both new & corrected classroom papers to dozens of neighborhoods of BCA students. “Happy, happy, happy- just be Happy! Thank you, Lord, for letting us smile though the schedule is hectic, but you are the God who controls everything… Indeed!” BCA’s Teacher Juvy has been prepping herself up for the upcoming classes for 2020-2021, to begin just around the corner. The Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) has successively pushed the startup date for “blended” COVID-cautious elementary & preschool classes from June to August… and then yet again to October. Thankfully, since Barner Christian Academy is a licensed, free, private Christian school, we have the freedom, once all inspections have been completed, to open whenever we wish. The last required inspection (a costly structural earthquake-proof examination) was approved just a few days ago. So, BCA’s teachers will be at their computers & printers on campus while their students will be learning at home. Teachers will carefully scrutinize their kids’ lessons using our unique teacher/parent network…on September 15. Teacher Juvy’s class is appropriately entitled, “Second Grade Psalms.” Every classroom has a Book of the Bible attached to its identifying name. As Juvy prepared her lesson plans, she opened her Bible to her “chosen” book, the Psalms. Reading Psalm 46:1, “God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, I will not fear! Though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…” Well, with the new earthquake-proof permit posted at the entry gate, at least the BCA campus shouldn’t fall into the heart of the Davao Gulf! Meanwhile on the other side of the planet in New York, Elvie was finalizing many of the lessons for the teachers’ curriculum & also evaluating their suggestions for revisions. As soon as Elvie finished the last class’ plans, we were ready to take a family break. So, on Saturday we headed off to Northern NY, & put up a few tents among the tall evergreen trees alongside gorgeous Lake George. We did scoot off to participate in worship services Saturday & Sunday at nearby Glens Falls, & also preached a Bible message along the shores of the lake, with calming mountain water lapping against the shore. Yes, Juvy. Not only is God our strength in times of trouble, but He is also our refuge, to whom we can go to just rest up a bit & gather our thoughts toward Him. Back in the Philippines at Juvy’s Zoom-cubicle, she was decorating her corner so that her students could envision actually being there in the classroom, with number lines & the cursive alphabet visible behind her, on camera. As per the latest count, she will have 30 students this school year. “Thank you, Lord,” Juvy prayed, “for putting into my heart this love & passion for my surely very active kids.” She then set-up her plans to guide the kids as they will elect officers to be her “right hand” in the class…just two weeks more to go, before we begin! She giggled at remembering last year’s class. On the first day she had the kids copy from the blackboard an introduction about themselves. “My name is Teacher Juvy. I have black hair and…” When she listened to the kids’ reading their papers, they had never filled in their own names, but just all wrote that they were “Teacher Juvy!” When she explained to the kids why she was laughing so hard, they all broke up into hysterics. Okay, so we’ll not make that mistake this time around… Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $15,255 received of $25,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 8/27/2020 | Happy Kadayawan! (Annual Davao Harvest festival) (8/17)
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| 8/20/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: August 23 Delhi, NY{Postponed} “God said I love & He sent a sunny day…” As Teacher Rea was leading this song with her class last year, one of her students raised his hand to inquire, “But Teacher Rea, today is cloudy!” Without skipping a beat, Rea responded with, “Pedro, just because we sometimes have cloudy days does not mean that a sunny day isn’t just around the corner. In fact, sometimes the storm is there to clean out the dark clouds from the sky!” Pedro’s response was quick. “Oh good, ‘cuz my dad is taking me fishing this weekend!” Now with BCA classes starting “blended online” a few weeks from now, Rea’s interaction with her kindergarten students is taking on a new form. Instead of students all being in the same classroom, they will communicate with her from their own homes, likely with even a few live interviews with kids’ parents…on just how huge that fish actually was that got away…& counting from one-to-ten the slimy critters that are still in the bucket! She even made some origami butterflies & fish in preparation, to show the kids for them to try at home, shaping these pliable young minds daily, until the end of 2020, with a possible extension (of home-based classes) until graduation next April. Rea considered this new approach in her daily prayer time… “I need to take this challenge positively, Lord. As you promised me, I can do all things through You who give me strength, as well as wisdom, patience & above all else the love of teaching...I can do this.” And they can do it, following guidelines set by the Philippine President & also Davao Mayor Duterte in Executive Order #47- itemizing MGCQ: Modified General Community Quarantine for the first half of August. Staying home, wearing masks. distancing & washing hands are just the beginnings of careful guidelines that also apply to BCA. BCA-age students can’t go out of their homes, as with the elderly & pregnant. For those aged 21-59 who can go out of their homes, they can’t gamble or drink or squash into public transportation, & when they go to an indoor or outdoor farmer’s meat/veggie/fruit market, they walk one-way (without loitering) during only specific hours & with lots of electric fans. If they get sick, they must go to the hospital. The government hospital has been converted to be the designated COVID hospital, so those really poor who get sick with something else must be allowed for free at private hospitals. Churches stay at 50% capacity & only immediate families are allowed at weddings & funerals. Outdoor events are fine, if following covid protocols. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $15,145 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses May, 2020 # of students sponsored at BCA: 512 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,146.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 8/13/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: August 16 Ohio, NY{Postponed} “I woke up this morning, and…” Irish is a twelve-year-old at BCA’s “Father’s House” (FHF) orphanage/safe-house for street children. She & her younger two siblings had been brought to us about four years ago after their mother abandoned them. Even though COVID has hit the planet, FHF’s fourteen kids enjoy each day on the farm’s five-acre property, filled with adventure & responsibility. “After brushing my teeth & cleaning up, I also scrubbed my clothes by hand. Then the chores began. It was my turn to sweep the floors in all the cabins. Everybody was done with their chores in time for lunch, so we watched the Christian movie, ‘War Room’. It was AWESOME!” Irish had a toothache, so she was given medicine & slept-off the hot hours of the afternoon, until dinner. Her companions prayed for her (while putting a puzzle together) & Irish slept. During the evening group Bible study, Irish gave her testimony. “Thank you so very much, everybody, for…” suddenly the lights went out (Power outages happen many times each day on this island). In the dark, Irish couldn’t be seen, but her voice carried her smile as she exclaimed, “…your prayers, & the medicine worked! I am all better now!” Before hitting her pillow again, Irish washed the dinner dishes by candlelight. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $15,040 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #19 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $40,800 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,046.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 8/6/2020 | Happy 60th Birthday to My Brother Phil (8/8) “Arf!” Little Mateo is BCA’s new puppy, & in dog language, he said “Happy July Birthday” to three of our teachers, Janice, Dibbie & Shelamay. Due to COVID-restricted travel bans, five of BCA’s female teachers have converted the classrooms in BCA’s Home Economics building into living quarters. But only Shelamay is in on the weekends, & she gets pretty lonely. So now Mateo is her companion & “younger brother”. The little guy barks at strangers like a good watchpuppy, but mums-up when bigger dogs wander nearby. BCA’s cashier (bill-payer) Minmin, when she heard of Shelamay’s loneliness plight, got the animal from her cousin in nearby Malagamot. Since Mateo (Mathew in English) has been so faithful & cherished, he successfully scrounged leftovers from just about every plate as the faculty & staff had a big shindig for the joint-birthday (closed to outsiders) party. Minmin had also just blessed a jungle-school campus with a $40 benevolent offering to for their small teachers’-cottage that they are building. These “live-in” faculty are becoming more commonplace now, due to travel bans. Minmin occasionally has to send our bus drivers out on errands to update bus inspection certificates, etc, so she then takes over their jobs as security guard. Yet now Mateo is her helper & companion. All of our staff wear uniforms, but Mateo is exempt. As Minmin waited at the gate, she’d hum Christian hymns to herself. Just a few weeks ago, she was with the teachers, up in BCA’s 3rd-floor library, dusting & wiping-off the books that had been unused for half a year due to students being home, during COVID lockdown. Every time the cleaners would take a book off the shelf, if it was a hymnal, they’d hand it to Minmin, who’d serenade them with one stanza of one of her favorite hymns. Since BCA has nearly a hundred old hymnals, Minmin’s “background music” lasted all week long! The younger teachers were delighted, as they had never before heard many of these classic “tried-and-true” hymns, & they wanted to borrow the hymnals to learn some of the catchy tunes (Like “Blessed Be the Name” and “To The Regions Beyond We Must Go”) at home. As the week came to a close, with a new month (August) about to begin, Techer Helen gave the Friday evening faculty Bible study. “Hope in God,” Helen began. “Psalm 27 tells us that fear fades away for believers, since God is our light, salvation & our stronghold.” Hmm, tell that to Mateo when the big dogs come around! Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $15,035 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses April, 2020 # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,046.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH: |
| 7/30/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: August 2 Anchorage, AK {Postponed} Please pray for stamina and creativity for BCA’s teachers, as they prepare lessons for all 230 required days of class, all to be submitted before classes begin August 24. Praise God that a couple in Sherrill, New York this week shipped a large box to the Philippines, filled with children’s books and school supplies. “Do I look like a bird?” With feathers on her clothes & in her hair, BCA’s 6th-Grade Teacher Hazel, along with other faculty, had been cleaning off bird droppings and feathers from books in the library, after some birds made their way in. By the time the job was finished, they were sneezing feathers. By the end of the week, the staff started sounding like birds, too. Government-required online training modules introduced words like: Kotobee (how to create a module)/ Moodle (an online curriculum resource) and Stream Yard (another teaching tool for COVID-times). This week was Hazel’s turn to lead staff devotions. Today’s message was entitled “Isaiah: Surviving Uncertainties in life”. One uncertainty Hazel had yet to overcome was the uniqueness of online teaching: since our teachers all are in the computer lab on their laptops at the same time, they exercise social distancing: This means the air must be kept cool to keep the computers from overheating, even though they are six feet apart from each other. So, the air conditioner has to keep the be cranked-up to its maximum strength. “My hands are turning blue!” exclaimed Hazel. “Okay for me to turn it down?” They readily agreed, & her fingers rapidly wandered back, from blue to their original hue. On Thursday the faculty took a field trip…to the book store. There was a whole new set of books that needed to be purchased, which are written with the TLE “COVID- age” of online teaching in mind. The whole staff could enter the store at once, since they are used to being together in the school anyway. Lugging the new curriculum back to the school, they cut heavy-gauge plastic cellophane sheets to tape onto the books as protectors. Then, with the new books in hand, the super-huge chore began: designing worksheets for every single module-lesson for every single subject, including MAPEH (Music, Arts, Physical Education & Health), for every single school day of the year. Whew! By the time Friday arrived, the blue-fingered BCA teachers were ready for a restful weekend, with a brand new vocabulary: “IQ-Moodle-EQ-MAPEH-RQ-Katobee in the Stream Yard!” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $15,025 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #18 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $41,100 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,046.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 7/23/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: July 26 Rogue River, OR {Postponed} Please pray for the Philippine police as they are deployed while virus cases forced many more citizens into quarantine this week. Police are checking homes to be sure that Filipinos who tested positive for coronavirus & cannot isolate at home are taken to state-run quarantine centers. Dozens more of quarantine centers are being built to isolate patients with mild symptoms. Spokesmen claimed, "It's a paid-for vacation in an airconditioned facility. It's not as if they are going to... the gulag & to the jails." The Philippines already has more than 8,300 quarantine centers with over 73,000 beds. Please also pray for the children in BCA’s orphanage. Trish, the American retiree who was assisting as chaplain for the kids, has returned to the USA, as her own Arizona family needs her. Praise God that churches are re-opening, & we already have re-confirmations for some speaking engagements in the upcoming months. Praise God also that PJ, Abby & their Aunt Ginger sang a trio of “When the Roll is Called up Yonder” at the funeral of our good friend Karen, this week. Praise God also that, a friend in SC whose mom died sent $100 to BCA. Another NY friend gave $100 for the new campus and $100 for the new buses. Praise God too that our college students, PJ, Abby & ruth, helped us rebuild and paint my dad’s back porch, to comply with the insurance company’s request. “This is BCA’s 38-page Learning Competency Plan (LCP)” Elvie finally, after a month of long nights of webinars, seminars, research & faculty interaction, submitted the completed “Phase One” of BCA’s LCP; essential for the school to open on the nationally-approved date of August 24. In it also were itemized renovations to the campus to make it safe with thermal scanners, extra sanitizing stations & teachers’ computer cubicles. But what does it mean to open? Open for the faculty & staff, but not for the students. “BCA believes that every child has the right to education” was the introductory statement on our LCP’s first page. Off-campus education is complex. Zoom meetings, work-at-home papers, etc. are the norm. “Providing free quality education not only reaps benefits on the individual level, but also on the increasingly macroscopic levels of family, community, nation, & global, especially amidst the threat of COVID-19.” Thus, we have shifted delivery mode of learning from solely traditional face-to-face to online (homeschool) and/or blended. Meanwhile Inday, BCA’s communications secretary, has her hands full. During Monday’s Group Teacher & Staff Devotional, they studied the Lord’s Prayer. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name…” Hallowed means holy. God is holy. We are unclean & prone to disease. But God is holy. And He declares us also to be holy, through Him. Wow. So, as Inday faced computer glitches, file changes & letters to send to the sponsors (once the mail service starts functioning again, likely in January 2021), Inday thought out loud, “At least God is holy. But as for these daily challenges, it is more like a holy mess…” Faith, BCA’s administrative secretary, loaned Inday her computer. As files were transferred to be used, she then erased all the data on her own computer, reformatted it & then began transferring the files back. Wala, it worked smoothly and efficiently! Truly, just what God does with us. We give Him our all, then He reformats us, gives it back & it all works well. It is a great thing that our God is holy! Success. Glory to God for all the things He has done. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $15,025 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses March, 2020 # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/29/2021): $3,046.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH: |
| 7/16/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: July 18 Mahaffey, PA {Postponed} Please pray for Elvie as she completes her government-required paperwork towards a COVID- friendly “Online Distance learning” certification for BCA. Please pray- as the Philippines categorizes sections of the country as 1. Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), or 2. General Community Quarantine (GCQ), or 3. Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ). Davao City is in the middle area (GCQ), which is about to be revised, with strict curfews enforced, due to recent deaths in its urban areas. Praise God that I (Paul) enjoyed a long 57-mile bicycle ride to Hudson, New York. Also praise God that PJ is thankful for his online birthday fund raising of $450 for BCA. He and I, on his birthday, drove to Massachusetts (MA) so that Abby and Ruth could secretly prepare a scrumptious meal for the whole neighborhood. En route to MA, we stopped at a Used Book Shop and the owner donated many children’s books for BCA. Praise God as well that thousands of the Philippines’ iconic jeepneys are back on the road (flamboyantly decorated jeeps that serve as cheap public transport). This has brought relief to companies and commuters who have struggled with coronavirus travel. In pre-pandemic times, jeepneys routinely carried 15-30 passengers who sat knee-to-knee on twin benches and in the aisle in the open-aired vehicles, choked by exhaust fumes. Under the new rules, passengers must undergo temperature checks before boarding and shield themselves from one another with face masks and plastic sheets. Jeepney fare is typically about 18 cents. “As Christians & believers of Christ we should be united because we serve one God, happy in His presence, protected from the evil one, sanctified by the truth and a living testimony of our faith in our God, so that others will be blessed because we reflect God’s image.” BCA’s Teacher Anajean, listening to the devotional leader this past Monday, was preparing for next month when the school will reopen, via “distance learning”. She’ll still be handling, just like last year, a total of 42 different and active kids. However, instead of divided into three classes, they’ll be taught in five separate 2-hour sessions, via cellphone and computer group video calls. Anajean (AJ), an avid cartoon-groupie, considered what Supergirl would do in a similar situation. “Hmm, controlling these kids…well my five superpowers are, 1. Unity, 2. Happy 3. Protected, 4. Sanctified, & 5. Faithful. So, how can these powers be used to confront the challenges of COVID-era teaching?”
The five of us are beautifying Dad’s house. The driveway was paved for the first tome in the house’s 160-year existence. Yet, while rebuilding the side porch, Paul discovered a bees’ nest…or maybe the bees discovered him! Five bee stings later (on hands and feet), Paul was happy to inspect a solid porch where previously it had rotted away. PJ sent lots of pictures around the world, resulting in over 200 well-wishers for his birthday and his parents’ wedding anniversary. I diligently copied many pictures, and also diligently deleted 34 pages of pictures by mistake! We had a cancellation and an addition for our schedule of speaking engagements: Governor Wolf of PA has just come down with a heavy list of mandates for July and August for nursing homes, so we had to cancel out on our appointment there. But a New York church, now in services once again, has approved our coming to share this August. So Teacher Anajean, we are all like superheroes during this time of pandemic! Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,920 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #17 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $41,400 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/30/2020): $2,946.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 7/9/2020 | Happy USA Independence Day (7/4) Happy 24th Anniversary, Paul & Elvie! (7/6) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: July 11 Albany, NY {Postponed} Please pray for the BCA staff as they examine contents of the sixty boxes that we have sent them over the past twelve months. Due to the delay in our return flight, we will not be there to sort through the boxes. The faculty’s computers, due to the new online requirements, have been exhausted. Some replacement computers are waiting for them in the boxes. Praise God that we’ve just hit the one-year mark of being in the USA. One thing we have learned in the American culture is that recycling is the norm. Everything that goes into the garbage has to be categorized. Likewise, my 70-mile triathlon race continues to be recycled! At first, I was to be in the May Ironman race in Connecticut. Then it was moved to Maine in August. Now, in response to COVID-19 threats, Maine’s Governor Janet Mills has postponed the race until 2021. This is a new concept: as I still continue training, we have recycled the races! Not only that, but we have also learned to recycle cake! Elvie & the kids got me a nice Father’s Day cake. But after only one piece was eaten, I covered the decorated vanilla frosting with chocolate frosting, adding peanuts to say “PJ 23” for our son’s birthday. To avoid it being re-recycled for our 24th anniversary next week, the leftover cake (missing yet another piece) was given to Dad’s daily nurse for her family to enjoy. "Oooh, how I do miss my students!” BCA’s Teacher Angel was reminiscing as she sat side-by-side with her fellow teachers & staff in the BCA library cleaning books from the residue that birds had left behind (the doves had found a way to squeeze in above a window). It was just a few months ago that Teacher Angel’s 4th grade students sat listening to her spiritual challenge. “Learning to obey God will always lead to a successful life…and peace in your mind!” That afternoon her kids were concerned about the virus, so Angel balanced sanitizing with learning. After every half-hour of studies, at the sound of Angel’s tinkling bell, the students reached under their desks to get the cleaning buckets & sponges to start re-wiping everything down: desks, walls, floor & textbooks. Now, a few months later, the DepEd (Philippine Department of Education) Has established guidelines for reopening campuses in late August: “Learners [the new Philippine term for students] need to operate under the new normal.” With this bleak introduction, their explanation of what this “new normal” was to be, was itemized. “There will be no returning to the pre-COVID learning environment, ever. Order #013-2020 requires permanent alternative delivery modes when face-to-face is not possible.” A checklist (quite an extensive & expensive one, at that) followed, including computers, cell phones, servers & parent-training for home schooling. At first glance, ODL (Online Distance Learning) in blended learning with LMS (Learning Material Solutions) development & teacher training seemed ludicrously out-of-range financially for a free Christian school like ours. However, as with any upcoming expenditure, I began to tabulate the cost, not knowing where the funds would come from, except that God would provide. Then it happened. “Paul,” a friend told me, from out of the blue, “my cousin died & gave me an inheritance. Have any special needs at BCA?” Oh woah. Sure enough, God came through again. We will use this gift to help hook up (& operate) the internet server for BCA’s new COVID-friendly student portal. Should I be surprised? But then, God wasn’t yet finished with surprises. He touched Philippine President Duterte to make an additional proclamation, clarifying the DepEd ODL mandate. “Any rural villages, which have had zero cases of COVID, are exempt from the strictest interpretation of the ODL mandate, especially since they have no access to electricity.” Whew, is God good, or what? Also, with BCA’s new buses to be purchased in September, to be used to “fetch” the students’ parents for training, we will have a new garage to put these vehicles into. An American couple gave $50 to help with the building, which is being designed by one of BCA’s alumni, who is now an architect. Teacher Angel was right. Trusting in God does give peace of mind. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,920 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $396 to ship (to the Philippines) 10 boxes of children’s books which were donated by a kind bookstore owner on PJ’s birthday. # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/30/2020): $2,946.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 7/2/2020 | Happy USA Independence Day (7/4) Happy 23RD Birthday, PJ! (6/29) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: June 28 Carlisle, PA {Postponed until July 26} Please pray for Elvie, me & the faculty of Barner Christian Academy. As the anticipated effects & duration of COVID change daily, we are complying with the government’s requirements & restrictions for online & in-classroom teaching sessions, on how to train for distance learning to students who have no access to electricity. Please also pray for Filipino jeepney drivers, during the lockdowns of COVID. Touting signs like "Sorry, we're not yet in operation," the pieced-together public utility jeeps which can carry thirty to seventy passengers, are outlawed (since April) unless their capacity exceeds no more than eight. Some drivers sleep in their jeepneys until someone is willing to charter the vehicle to make the fuel expenditure worthwhile. "We get mosquito bites when we sleep at night but you get used to it" Some passenger-less drivers are begging in the streets. They squeeze into their little busses; cooking stoves, a few spare clothes, cellphone chargers & electric fans to fight off the tropical heat & mosquitoes. The jeepneys evolved from U.S. military jeeps that American forces had left behind after World War II. Pray also for over 20,000 Philippine villagers (up to a seven-mile radius) in the foothills of the Kanlaon volcano. Possible evacuations to crowded refugee centers may be ignored due to physical distancing requirements. Plumes of steam have reached up to 980 feet in the air. Gradually-increasing hydrothermal or magmatic activity has been occurring beneath the edifice since March. Praise God that a family from Maryland drove five hours up to New York to drop-off computers for BCA (which we are shipping to Davao). The family even stayed to sing worship songs and also joined a few hilarious dramas & games as well. Praise God also that I (Paul) was finally able to bicycle 56 miles (the distance for the cycling portion of my 70.3-mile August Triathlon) to Massachusetts & back. While biking, my cell phone crashed onto the pavement & broke. PJ got it to work again until I could replace it. Praise God for those who were able to participate in the New York primary elections this week. “You are a mayor in the global village…” Sunday’s Father’s Day message from Joshua 24 explained that we need to live by the promise, “as for me and myself, we will serve the Lord.” When we do so, our kids (or virtual kids) spread this priority to the entire planet. Meanwhile on the other side of the planet, BCA’s Chaplain for Students’ Fathers (Alex) was sanitizing the walls of his office. Down came the posters with inspiring messages, like “You are the only Bible that some people will ever read.” and “Where God Guides, He Provides.” It was quite the project, as these posters had been glued-on, & needed a razor to remove them. Alex then painted the walls & cleaned & rearranged his bookshelf of theology books, followed by the drawers of his desk. Then Alex took a day off to prepare for his son’s 30th birthday. When Joshua had said “as for me and my house,” I’ll bet the house he was referring to was more than those who lived under the roof of his family, but also the under the roof of his workplace! Meanwhile, our own kids, PJ & Abby, had lots of surprises for me, their dad. They made a puzzle-composite of pictures of Elvie & I, gluing them to cardboard. We then pieced it together on the kitchen table. Elvie bought me a theology book, online. Also, all six remaining siblings in my family were present (online or in person) Sunday for a cookout celebrating our 91-yr-old dad at my brother’s house. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,900 received of $25,000 needed. # of students sponsored at BCA: 511
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| 6/25/2020 | HAPPY FATHERS’ DAY (6/21) HAPPY 23RD BIRTHDAY, PJ! (6/29) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: June 21 ELIZABETH, ARKANSAS (#2 of 2) [postponed] Please pray for the short-term missions work team from Arizona which has decided to postpone their trip until 2021 instead of this September. Just too many unknowns right now. Also pray for Tina, Dad’s New York nurse who is a new believer in Jesus, & is spiritually growing in a Bible Study. She needs a new place to live as her landlord is selling her rental place. Praise God that a neighbor of my sister left behind 16 garbage bags filled with nearly 1200 empty beer cans to recycle & donate the funds to BCA. Unfortunately, the car smelled nasty for the next week. Praise God too that Melvin, a former BCA preschooler who is now a Bible college student, during recuperation from a tragic van accident was able to videocall us in New York to assure us that he is regaining his strength. Praise God also that, when we return to Davao in September, we’ll be building a Raised Garage to keep BCA’s school buses safe from floods, & a generous donor gave $300 in April for this project! Thank God that our son PJ successfully directed elementary students online in the musical “Alice in Wonderland” last week, as well as performing online, an entire three-hour play with a European Shakespearian troupe. Praise God that our daughter Abby made the “Dean’s List” in her grades for the college spring semester! Also, I finally reached my 2,020-mile cycling goal for 2020 & plan to double this distance by 2021. And, I was approved for the next three months to be a part-time USA- Census taker. “Free speech is no longer free.” Philippine President Duterte evaluated a draconian (harsh) anti-terrorism bill to stay off the global anti-terrorism "grey list," including money-laundering rules. Human rights activists fear it could be used to suppress free speech & harass those who challenge the government. Regulators include close scrutiny of emails, cell phones & even public gatherings like church services. At this time, BCA’s library is even more crucial, where children can come in, get books & read the ideas of thousands of years of deep godly thinkers. Yet when the COVID lockdowns were softened enough to allow a skeleton staff to come to the campus to cleanup, the library had some very strange smells. Musty. With a side of bird dung. Seems that, over the past two months, doves found their way into the library & built nests on the top shelves. Bird dung & feathers were on hundreds of books & dust & mold had settled on thousands of others. BCA’s cashier Minmin took a break from tabulating payroll & paying bills in her office, long enough to lug a bucket of hot water & a bottle of bleach up to the third-floor library. Minmin, being in her early 70s, is restricted by the Philippine president to do much of anything in public, to protect from the virus. So after a few hours of chatting with other ladies while scrubbing books (& also picked some malunggay leaves from the rooftop garden, along with coconut milk & lemon grass to make soup, over a cookfire, for the workers), she headed back to her office to prepare for the upcoming BIR (Bureau of International Revenue) annual audit, prefaced by the evaluating of her reports by BCA’s CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Miinmin was especially busy, as there is yet another report that she needed to submit…to me. This one, unlike the BIR/CPA ones, must categorically include all purchase orders, actual paper receipts & alignment evaluation with the budget, as well as detailed expenses for each school bus. As each employee came in for his or her salary on the 15th, Minmin chatted with the recipients. Being a pastor’s wife, she prayed with each for their families & was happy that nobody had covid. In the afternoon she made phone calls to students’ mothers to help them study the Bible. On Wednesday she joined the faculty in evaluating two new teachers, as make-believe students. Both teachers did well. Two other regular teachers (Thria & Shelamay) had not yet arrived, as COVID doesn’t allow anyone to come to the city from the mountains unless they have a certificate of proof of employment there. Quickly Minmin got the BCA secretaries busy printing up the stuff & sent the papers via courier up the dusty, rutted 150 miles to the tribal huts of our teachers. Ahhh, finally they could escape the confines of their 2 months’ confinement. Before heading home in the evening, the BCA nurse, very fragile right now due to advanced stages of cancer, was incredibly paranoid that everybody hated her. Minmin, always the peacemaker, got the staff together to assure the nurse that she was the best (& only) nurse that we have. Sighing with relief, they all headed home, glad that we still have freedom of speech…for now. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! Present Need: $73 for a digital infrared “no-touch” thermal scanner from local medical representatives.
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| 6/18/2020 | HAPPY FATHERS’ DAY (6/21) Day of Normandy (D-Day) 6/6/44 BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: June 14 ELIZABETH, ARKANSAS (#1 of 2) [postponed]< Please pray for wisdom for the Philippine government as they determine when to allow BCA to reopen its campus for this school year, as well as their setting guidelines for 2020 graduation ceremonies. Praise God that over $300 was given from BCA teachers and also our 26 churches to Davao Alliance Bible College for aid for funeral and hospital bills after last week’s tragic van accident. Please NOTE: for any donations for DABC benevolence/hospital bills, please designate your check: “DABC benevolence” Praise God as well that a friend in the USA sent $500 to go toward the purchase of BCA’s 2 new buses, this upcoming September! “The brakes just gave out!” As Melvin drove his four passengers carefully up the steep cement Philippine mountain road in Baracatan, the 3 other Bible college students, as well as the wife of the college president prayed. “O Lord, please bring us home safely!” As the school van spun out of control & flipped over into an open cement drainage canal, two of the students did return home…to heaven. The others were hospitalized. Melvin, Ricardo, Emery & Judgie were all “Pastoral Training” students of mine in 2019. One of the research projects I had given was to design an outreach to solve the poverty dilemma, hypothetically locate funding, & also volunteers for follow-up. Ricardo and Judgie had great ideas, which they shared with their classmates. But the churches they were headed to for their internships would never see the fulfillment of these plans, as their authors were now already in Glory. Previous students of mine, in my past quarter-century of teaching at the college, have died, but not so close to the time that they have been in my classes. I can still see their faces in my mind. I can watch each half-full ballpoint pen complete the exams & quizzes I’d given in classes. I’d baked brownies that they scarfed-up, as only a college student can do, during the mid-class breaks. I can still see the smiles of these bright kids. I’ll miss them. The college is scheduling speakers for the two-week double funeral. But at the same time they also need to put into place the training for the new, incoming students. A professor, in frustration, might throw up his arms in frustration, asking, “Why bother training these new pastors, here in the Third World? The life span is fifteen years shorter here. Terrorists will claim the life of at least one of my students. Disease will claim another few, there in the tiny jungle chapels. Some will drop out. Others will…well, end up like these 2…” But then…we keep on. Ricardo & Judgie…16 months ago (during class time) I had brought them & their classmates on a walking field trip to the mall. For three hours, they had passed-out nearly a thousand Gospel tracts. They shared their faith. People responded. New believers were born. Although the lives of these two students were shorter than most, their effectiveness in sharing the precious salvation message was greater than many are successful in completing in their whole lifetimes. Meanwhile in one of BCA’s preschool classrooms on the other side of the city, Teacher Hazel was scraping bubble gum off the bottom of a preschooler’s chair (gum is not allowed in the Barner Christian Academy, by the way), as well as disinfecting the first & second- grade classrooms. Other staff were sorting out the storage bodegas (closets), re-organizing the bulletin board & decorating the stage. Very dried-on mud from floods a half year ago (before COVID had restricted travel) was finally scraped off the windows. On their way home, one of BCA’s six school buses was used. But it broke down, so Driver Gilbo called Driver Boy & switched to a better one. Thankfully the brakes work fine, & also there are no mountains on their regular routes to pick up students, when school reopens in August. But praise God that, after my next Ironman triathlon (in Maine) in late August, BCA will have raised enough funds to permanently replace 2 of its most worn-out buses. Our kids will be safe. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,880 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #16 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $41,700 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/30/2020): $2,946.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 6/11/2020 | Pentecost Sunday (May 31)// HAPPY FATHERS’ DAY (6/21) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: June 7 BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA [postponed] Please pray for Elvie as she interviews online the teacher replacements for those who have resigned to work for government schools. She has already replaced two of the six who have transferred. Also, wisdom as she, to comply with government requirements, participates in licensing updates every evening at 2am (Philippine time: 2pm). Praise God that our Philippine staff has maintained one-on-one discipleship Bible training with the students’ parents during this COVID lockdown. Also, I (Paul) was able to begin my 75th reading thru of the Bible. Also praise God that, in this COVID time, while financial gifts for BCA have dropped 15%, friends in Maryland & New York have given extra. One family gave $100 in memory of their neighbor who died recently. Communication is made via this weekly diary & also monthly (paper) prayer letters which are also available at www.barner.org. “Tear gas! I found six empty cans of tear gas in downtown Albany!” My older brother Bud had storage uses for the empty containers. The tear gas had been used by police a few days ago to stop local retaliatory riots due to an incident of police brutality in Minnesota. Holly, a friend of our son PJ (who also has asthma), had difficulty breathing after inhaling some of the gas when she went out of her house to give milk to some of the residents who’d gotten the stuff in their eyes. Since Holly was the narrator for an online drama which she is directing with PJ, Holly asked Abby to take her place. As the production was finishing, PJ received a delightful surprise when a delivery van from “Edible Delights” arrived with fruits & chocolate carved in the shapes of a floral bouquet! The enclosed card had names from some of the many children who acted in PJ & Holly’s drama. Since a local curfew restricted travel, the local Target & Walmart department stores taped & boarded up their stores for a couple days. Many windows in both businesses & homes were broken by looters in other parts of the city. Curfews restricted evening & early morning travel. However, on Sunday when Dad’s nurse came by to give him his daily medications, I was tasked to drive her home. Being Pentecost Sunday, while driving I shared with her the meaning of Pentecost. After which time she agreed to pray to become a Christian! A few hours later I was on an online ZOOM call with Jews for Jesus in Jerusalem. When I shared about the nurse’s decision, they were ecstatic &, together with dozens of participants from many different continents, prayed for this newborn child of God! Meanwhile in the Philippines, BCA’s Teacher Dibbie was responding to the government’s ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine). Dibbie had finally finished finalizing the grades of her students, complete with those tender, endearing “Teacher’s remarks” which all parents cherish, showing the uniqueness of their son or daughter with, “a pleasure to have in class” or “needs improvement”. “O Lord, what if you were one of my students? What could I possibly teach you?” thought Teacher Dibbie. “My comment would be, ‘Ever faithful, & always, always, always worthy of praise & honor.’ Yup, that just about sums it up!” Not all the students were as commendable. Yet not wanting to criticize one particularly rebellious student on her permanent record, Dibbie just placed the words, “Please see me in August after the ECQ is over”. Dibbie had never held a student back a grade before, but this particular child had refused to do most of her work. Making a list of tutorial methods which could be used to catch-up to her classmates, Dibbie felt as if she was grading the parents as well as the student! Hmmm, I wonder if, when the riots and COVID have diminished, what “tutorials” we will need to follow so that they will finally be done, never to return, causing no more tears? Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,880 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses January, 2020 # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund (NEXT RACE: 8/30/2020): $2,446.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 5/28/2020 | HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, USA (5/25) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: May 31 CARLISLE, PA [postponed] Please pray for the Philippine Government, which announced their MECQ (Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine) which will transition from COVID-19 quarantines, curfews, & abbreviated activities & travel regulations. They continue to enforce anti-virus safety protocols of frequent hand washing & social distancing. Praise God that, through Resolution #20-136, The Philippine Water District is not charging for water from March, April or May until June through December, when the previous three months’ bills will be divided evenly & included in the succeeding months, since those early months had been put under ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine). Also, praise God that a friend in Massachusettes set up a table outside of Walmart to raise funds for our Philippine orphanage. Another dear friend, from one heavily-hit COVID area in upstate New York, received our quarterly prayer letters in the mail recently, & called to give funds also for the orphanage. Thank You Lord! “Thank you for your prayers!” Trish reported on the BCA orphans’ health status during the global COVID outbreaks. Barner Christian Academy had started an orphanage 14 years ago, naming it the “Father’s House”. It is on nearby Samal Island, requiring a barge-ride to get there. To protect the residents of Samal from COVID-19, all children are home quarantined. “I just turned 70 recently, which places me firmly in the same susceptible category as the kids. So we’re in this boat together.” Trish was relaying the local mayor’s declaration that people aged18 yrs old & below, as well as 60 yrs old & above must stay at home. “We are not allowed in the streets fearing for our health, so we are catching-up on our Bible verse memorization & also planting the gardens!” We had planned for an American construction team to fly out to Samal & build stables for horses, but that may defer to 2021, and even if they come in 2020 to build, the kids could really use the distraction of the horses to love and ride right now. Meanwhile, on the mainland the BCA campus is empty. Yet the teachers & staff are busy working form home. They are in “modular” teacher-training sessions on the internet, as well as calling parents for enrollment stats & guideline (orientation) information for when classes resume on August 24 (subject to revision). 13,000 miles across the ocean in New York, we also are under COVID restrictions. Nevertheless PJ, Elissa, Abby & Ruth have finished their 2019-20 college courses & are enjoying the warmer weather by planting the garden, singing, fishing, mowing the lawn & volunteering locally with kids’ ministries (mostly online). Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,840 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses during December, 2019. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 5/21/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: May 24: ROCHESTER, NY [postponed] It also affected the WiFi internet connection. Yet Faith really, really had to get scanned copies of “Students’ Form #137 days of completion” forms sent here to New York so that Elvie could sign them & send them back. The forms carried the number of school days accomplished, which is allowed at a smaller number this year due to COVID. Turning on the news while she evaluated dozens of 5th & 6th grade students’ records one-by-one, Faith was thankful that she lives close to the school. In another nearby village, a COVID outbreak caused a “RED ALERT” Hotspot lockdown, with nobody allowed to enter or leave the village for any reason whatsoever. As Faith tabulated the character traits of the students, she daydreamed about COVID. “Hmmm, if I have claimed that little Sienna is a clever student, I would also claim that COVID is not-so-clever, since it hits everybody, haphazardly.” Carlos was a fast worker, and so is COVID, reaching the entire planet in a matter of weeks. Erika is diligent in all her studies, while COVID is not. It hits some, but misses others right nearby. Finally, Savanna is respectful to her teachers, but COVID is not, & even hurts health care workers. “So,” Faith finally summarized, “All the students pass, but COVID fails. Send it back where it came from!” Meanwhile in New York, Elvie & I are emailing churches with potential dates for us the come share about missions. Although the reopening of the churches & other businesses is continually delayed, more and more places in America are recategorized to be included in the “essential” business category, & to resume their work. Still, we are cautious & keep wearing face masks & washing our hands when we must go out in public. And we have now, since COVID began, watched 74 worship services from around the world, not including the ones that we ourselves have broadcast, for viewing by our congregations back in the Philippines (and other interested fellow humans on this awesome planet). On her nightly calls to Davao (it is nighttime here when it is daytime there) Elvie joked with Faith, “Typhoon Ambo can’t travel to Davao, since it cannot get a Quarantine Pass.” Her response was, “Is it raining yet in Davao? What is today's lockdown weather? Room temperature, of course!” BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,820 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #14 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $42,300 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 512
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| 5/14/2020 | Happy Mother’s Day (5/10), V-E Day 75th anniversary (WWII Nazis surrender in Europe) (5/6/45), PENTECOST (5/31), Meet you at the flagpole/National Day of Prayer (5/7), Cinco De Mayo (Mexico) (5/5), Flores De Mayo (Philippines: MAY) Memorial Day (5/25). BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: May 17: QUEENS, NYC NY [postponed] Please pray for an end to COVID-19. The U.S. death toll has reached 70,000, & worldwide cases passed 3.5 million. Please also pray for the 11,000 unemployed former crews of the 25-yr-old Philippine ABS-CBN television network. It was the biggest Philippine TV network & its license was not allowed to renew on May 5. Yet without a license, ABS-CBN can still have minimal coverage on cable & social media. Please also pray for the families of 10,000 Filipino inmates who have been freed from jails to ease the COVID threat. Praise God that a friend still had over $300 in her April food budget, which she had not used. So, she donated the food to our family, & we in turn sent $400 to BCA to cover some of the $1,790 which was lacking for BCA employees’ COVID food relief. In the words of our friend, “It was a giving-domino-effect”. Praise God too that, since one of our Filipino orphans has no birth certificate, a doctor from a Davao civic club agreed to help us process it after COVID is gone. “Gilbo & the 3 B’s (Ben, Bobong &Boy), the Bible passage we read today tells about Jesus & the woman at the well. Give me some feedback.” Pastor Alex, BCA’s chaplain for male staff & for student’s fathers was on a conference-cellphone-call/weekly devotional with BCA’s male staff. Gilbo was the first to respond. “Well, Mother’s Day is just around the corner, & I see that this lady was concerned about her family’s water needs.” Ben was next. “Yes, & with COVID now, we as husbands can appreciate our wives for ‘taking up the slack’ since we are all stuck together at home as families.” Alex then referred to the 2 quiet men… “What about you, Boy? Any input?” Boy is kind of a quiet man, being the eldest. “Well, Jesus came to the woman while she was working. Jesus didn’t expect her to leave her work.” “Very interesting,” quipped Alex. “While church is important, sometimes (like now with quarantine, or midweek) we can’t make it out. Still, we can pray & worship at home or during our daily tasks. So, who hasn’t said anything yet? Oh yeah, Bobong. Anything?” “Nope.” “Okay, well then we can see from your response that sometimes we can be like the woman at the well & just be quiet while we listen to Jesus.” Alex then ended their Monday devotional with prayer. They gave prayer requests & prayed in unison, with Alex closing in prayer, praying for the men one by one. Alex has been busy preaching & performing communion at our churches while we are gone, as well as 5 funerals, 3 baptisms, & visiting various patients in the hospital. On Tuesday Alex calls & disciples CJ, a factory worker (unemployed now). Wednesday is Rob, who has been discipled for 2 years & last fall was, with his wife, baptized by Alex, with the entire BCA staff present, along with the church elders, who took pictures, led in singing & prayer. Thursday is Alexis, who delivers for a soap factory (also unemployed). Friday is Oman, a security guard, who is still working. So, although Alex misses being on the BCA campus as part-time librarian & seeing the kids every day, he has nonetheless been used greatly by God in people’s lives as one of BCA’s on-campus chaplains. The government says the staff may be allowed back on campus next month to begin cleanup & preparations, & the 2020-21 school year will be abbreviated by 2 months, starting in August instead of June. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 5/7/2020 | Happy Philippine Labor Day (5/1) Arbor Day(4/24) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: May 10: Carlisle, PA [postponed] Please pray for BCA’s Philippine teachers & staff as they approach the Philippine Summer with creative ways to communicate with and train online nearly a thousand students who have no computers at home. This next 6 weeks includes VBS and Summer School. Please pray for our college students, PJ, Abby, Ruth and Elissa, as final exams and research paper are due in the upcoming days. Praise God again that our son PJ fixed our family’s internet connection (on my laptop) with help (over the phone) from friend in Utah. This is the same friend who will be coming with the Utah work team to Davao this fall. Praise God again as well that my (Paul’s) Ironman 70.3-mile triathlon race May 31 in Connecticut is changed to August 30 in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. Praise God that a friend In Washington not only sent half a year of payments for her sponsored child, but also $70 to help cover the $2,100 we spent in fulfilling the mayor’s request to give a month of food to all of BCA’s employees. Praise God too that Trish, our orphans’ American “Grandmother” at BCA’s “Father’s House” Orphanage, now has been granted a government-issued quarantine pass! She can now shop for supplies at the supermarket in town. They check ID, scan the pass while entering & leaving the store as well as check for a fever & have you wipe your feet on a sanitizing pad, get your hands spritzed, too! Masks are required. So far, there are no cases of COVID-19 there on Samal Island. The orphanage has over 3 acres, so the kids are not confined indoors. Praise God that Elvie has been “beefing up” on Philippine-Government-required school-administrators’ online “webinar” training courses for 2 hours every day over the past 2 weeks. “Students, due to COVID, today is the last day of the school year, even though it is a month early.” A month ago, BCA’s Teacher Diane’s announcement received cheers from her 30 fourth-graders. But the rowdy cheers transformed into sighs when she continued with, “…and so I will continue working with you on your parents’ or on your neighbors’ cell phones!” Diane was deeply concerned for her students, especially for little Sally (not her real name). Sally does not get follow-up from her parents’ in reading at home, so focus is severely lacking in class. She often forgets what she has read. So, Diane was looking forward to her first communication with Sally. “Sally? How goes it?” Fine, Teacher Diane. “Are your parents helping you out with your reading skills like Long-O & Short-O?” Yes, Teacher. And we even made an acrostic to help out my memory. Wanna hear it? “YES!” Diane beamed. L.O.C.K.D.O.W.N.-with the letter “O”: L- Listen to GOD (short O)// O- OBEY His Word (long O)// C- Call ON Jesus (short O)// K- KNOW the purpose (long O)// D- DO well (I don’t know)// O- OFFER a prayer (short O)// W- Wait ON Jesus (short O)// N- Nurture RELATIONSHIP (short O). “THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! YOU GET AN A, SALLY!” Both teacher & student (and parents) cheered. As Diane hung up the phone, she spoke to God in prayer, as Sally’s acrostic had suggested. “Lord, in First Corinthians 13 You said that Your love always protects & perseveres. Thanks so very much for doing just that for my kids. Amen” Not only was protection needed for Diane’s students, but also sustenance. The government tried to deliver food (a few cans per family per week), since the president’s ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) was extended to May 15. “I will again declare Martial Law in Davao City,” he said, “if Communist rebels disrupt the flow of relief goods for those impacted by the coronavirus lockdown restrictions.” Meanwhile on the other side of the planet in New York, we read in the newspaper that the epicenter of the virus is right in this state! So, PJ & Abby had to figure out a creative way to wish one of her classmates a happy “Sweet Seventeenth” birthday. They donned the family car with colorful balloons & posters & drove a few miles away to the celebrant’s house, honking their horn along with nearly a dozen other vehicles in a makeshift, festive parade. While they were gone, Elvie & I stayed home to take care of my dad & also to do projects: Elvie signed graduation forms for each of the BCA graduates. Our secretary had scanned the diplomas & emailed them to us, then I printed them, Elvie signed them, & then Elvie scanned them & then emailed them back to the other side of the globe. I was also downloading & streaming nearly 2 dozen worship services from churches in different cities, states, countries & denominations, especially analyzing their worship teams’ performances. I plan to design a “Manual of Conduct” to present to our own music team at BCA, as well as our 26-churches, to determine who is & who is not qualified to perform on stage during worship services. When we return to Davao four months from now in September, we’ll review, revise & enact it. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,780 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #13 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $42,600 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 512 Triathlon bus fund: $2,446.24 received of $20,000 needed. A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 4/30/2020 | Happy Golden [50th] Earth Day (4/22/2020) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: May 3: Delhi, NY [postponed] Please pray for the grieving families of eleven Philippine soldiers who died in a clash with Muslim Abu Sayyaf militants last week, in Mindanao. 14 other soldiers were wounded. The army scout rangers were maneuvering for an assault when they engaged about 40 Abu Sayyaf fighters (terrorists who are known for kidnapping & beheading civilians) for nearly an hour in the mountain forest of Sulu Archipelago. Please also pray for the Filipinos in Davao (Dabawenos), as their quarantine is extended. Davao’s mayor has blocked all the major thoroughfares with military amphibian tanks and heavy equipment construction vehicles to keep people from getting out of their homes. Please pray for Filipino prison inmates, as there was a Coronavirus outbreak in Cebu and Manila, Philippine jails with 6,710 infections and 446 deaths, & with contagion risks growing exponentially. 70% of the cases are in Manila. Due to lack of space, prisoners are squashed in like sardines, with an average of 2 sq. feet of space assigned for each of the 3,000 inmates. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for inmates held for minor, non-violent offences, or those with health conditions, to be freed from Philippine prisons to create more space. The Philippine president prefers annihilation for many of the nation’s 90,000 inmates, since 71% are drug-related. Praise God that a delightful couple in Upstate New York, this week gave $500 for the new, elevated garage which BCA will be building early next year to keep BCA’s new buses out of the flood-prone lowland! Praise God as well that, while one of BCA’s staff members had a “virtual” discipleship one-on-one call with a student’s mom (whose own mother was bedridden), the BCA staff member prayed for the sick grandmother. Within minutes of hanging up, the mom called back, notifying our staff member that the grandmother suddenly breathed her last & is now healed, in heaven! “Gift-giving is the Christian way!” Minmin is the bill-payer at Barner Christian Academy (BCA). Back at Christmastime, she had released the thousands of dollars which we had sent to buy 600 pair of jogging pants, personalized BCA t-shirts, food, toys & other gifts. Every week there are “perks” for our 600 students, even during the present lockdown. This is including, yet not limited to, online tutorial classes via cell phone, between the students & their teachers. Then the perks in succeeding months included free food, rubbing alcohol & soap to wash hands when COVID caused increased hygienic needs, & then, in April, delivering food to the staff at their doors. Minmin is now doing her work from home, yet still paying BCA’s bills like electricity, salaries, food for the orphans, etc. Also, she keeps up to date on BCA’s accounts-ledgers which she’s been submitted to me, her boss, via email, regularly. Since Minmin has three family members employed at BCA (herself, her husband & her daughter), each receiving food, she had more than enough. So, she started gift-giving on her own, reaching out to neighbors and relatives to keep their tummies full. In Minmin’s journal, she told of the headaches in trying to find enough food for all of the employees. “There is no more rice available at stores (most stores are closed) & the rice warehouse required us to submit a letter (on company letterhead) from our employer, to avoid hoarding. We finally found a place with enough rice in stock!” They squeaked by just in time before the government shut down the entire city in ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine). Meanwhile on the New York side of the planet, I (Paul) was using the groceries we had by making homemade bread, maple syrup-flavored homemade ice cream & oatmeal/peanut butter cookies, as well as juicing 5 lbs of carrots & planting radishes. We share with our family & we also daily give stuff we’ve made to my dad’s nurse, who makes her daily visits to check-up on this nonagenarian (90+-yr-old). So, on both sides of the planet, people are blessed. Back in Davao, nine families were blessed by Minmin’s family. Why? Because Christians love to give. When we give to others, it is like giving to Jesus. And the more we give to Him, the more He gives to us in return. You can never out-give God! Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,760 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses October, 2019 # of students sponsored at BCA: 512 A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 4/23/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: APRIL 18 & 19: Glens Falls, NY [postponed] Also please pray, as it looks like I will have to replace my laptop computer. The sound stopped working, as well as one of the USB ports, and a corner was also "crunched" & is taped- up from a trip last summer, visiting churches. I gave my newly-purchased laptop to Abby for her college courses since hers was inadequate & damaged as well. Praise God that the Philippines increased coronavirus testing when they found 15,000 previously-unknown infections recently. While cases in the USA have increased steadily by 50,000 every day over the past month, unused Filipino sports-stadiums are turned into temporary quarantine facilities. The Philippines has implemented some of Asia's strictest & earliest lockdown measures. Yet still, they have Southeast Asia's highest number of coronavirus infections & nearly 40% of its known fatalities. The government tests 8,000 citizens daily, and is in possession of 1 million test kits. “I need the report cards & government-issued grade-completion forms for my students.” BCA’s Teacher Angel prepared for the long haul as I’d informed all 20 staff & faculty, “no work, no pay”, even while they are homebound due to government community lockdown i.e.: COVID. To justify their work, every day a journal is submitted via email to Elvie & I in New York, ledgering what they did that day. Some of the teachers are pretty creative, practicing online tutoring for their destitute students who have access to email through a neighbor’s cell phone. Angel’s recent journal entries: Thursday: awoke at 9am, cooked, ate, read Bible, emailed, ate, worked on forms, sang with family, watched video, cleaned, studied, prayed, slept, repeated Friday, Monday & Tuesday…I think I am getting BIGGER! Thank God because in our community we do not have positive COVID-19 even we do not have PUI (patient-under-investigation//and patient-under-monitoring) PUM. Meanwhile in New York, our kids are taking their college courses online while Elvie spends 3 hours each day & night in required online courses or conference “ZOOM” calls with staff at various preschools (in various countries) & also for BCA’s various ministries: school, 26 churches & orphanage. One of Elvie’s global courses had 2,000 registered participants, all online simultaneously! But even though it is still snowing in New York, we got out to plow & plant my Dad’s garden, with radishes, lettuce, beans & flowers, fixing the gate & fence as well to keep any deer away from nibbling on the sprouts. Alongside the yard, we helped my brother chop down a few trees, & also removed grape vines, branches & weeds, preparing for the grass to grow next month. Plus, we went on ZOOM for the 3-Ps of “Preaching, Praying & Participating” with other believers. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,740 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #12 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $42,900 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 512 A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH: A. My home church had an online worship service Easter Sunday B. PJ & Abby’s singalong: https://www.facebook.com/pj.the.barner/videos/10213246746483591/ |
| 4/16/2020 | Good Friday (4/10), Resurrection (Easter) Sunday (4/12/20) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: APRIL 12: Albany, NY [postponed] Please pray for steady internet connections for BCA’s teachers and staff, as well as the pastors of the 26 churches we have planted, and also our orphanage houseparents, who are homebound and still working, submitting their reports to Elvie and I online. Please pray for the Filipino doctors, nurses, medics & other healthcare workers whose visas abroad have been revoked so that they can care for their own Filipino people. To date, the country has 4,195 cases of coronavirus, with 221 deaths. The government has also suspended negotiations for bilateral labor agreements covering government-to-government deployment of health workers. Praise God that, even though the Easter Cantata “The Day He Wore My Crown” which we had practiced was cancelled due to the COVID lockdown, our family performed it in my 91-yr-old dad’s living room, along with his accompaniment. Praise God as well that the Ironman Corporation transferred my COVID-cancelled May registration for the Connecticut race to the Maine race in August. Praise God too that our son PJ was able to fix the broken internet hookup on my laptop computer with help from a family friend in Utah. “Students, bring a storybook tomorrow.” BCA’s Teacher Hazel was reminiscing in her mind the final week of classes she had had with her students before the COVID-19 lockdown “stay-in-place” order had taken effect. Hazel, as with all of BCA’s teachers, was tabulating the students’ final grades and also preparing for Summer school, which will be taught virtually if the lockdown is still in effect next month. Students are borrowing neighbors’ cell pones to be in classes while at home. “From the book in your lap, find an interjection.” Hazel was piecing together how to convert the classroom experience to people’s homes. It suddenly dawned on Hazel, “This is really do-able!” Oh, but now was a bigger challenge than literature and grammar: 5th -grade performance routines in Gym and Music. “How does a 5th-grader dance online, without his or her partner, the Filipino Itik-Itik to the proper meter, & how in the world will I grade it?” Hazel is incredibly gifted at problem-solving. Suddenly her creative juices began kicking-in. One particular lesson that she’d given just a few weeks ago was the identification of students’ tribal affiliations. “Wait! Since the Itik-Itik is a tribal dance, I will make a 6th-grade project for the students to approach their tribal chieftains, or even their parents, & ask them to teach what their local dances & songs are!” Having satisfactorily solved one of the potential glitches in one of next year’s class lessons, she went back to finishing her end-of-year reports. Since her Master files and Gradebook were back at the school, she had to start from scratch to tabulate hundreds of papers, quizzes and tests that the students had completed since the beginning of the school year, and which she had brought home to file in her own cabinets. Meanwhile on the other side of the planet in New York, Elvie, PJ, Abby, Ruth and I were performing songs & Bible messages commemorating Christ’s Passion Week, which you can find at the following links: 1. SINGALONG, INCLUDING THE OLD RUGGED CROSS: https://www.facebook.com/MattyGAllen/posts/10158487803605774 2. PALM SUNDAY MESSAGE, JOHN 12:12-15: https://www.facebook.com/paul.barner.5/videos/10221696411228582/ 3. GOOD FRIDAY MESSAGE, MATTHEW 27:43-54: https://www.facebook.com/paul.barner.5/videos/10221745449534509/ 4. EASTER SUNDAY MESSAGE, JOHN 20:1-8: https://www.facebook.com/paul.barner.5/videos/10221769641899303 A FEW TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Incredibly, we were actually able to watch on our cellphones the churches back in the Philippines, who were in the process of watching us at that very moment! In essence, the message of Christ circumnavigated the entire globe! Seeing the faces of our Philippine church leaders, and hearing their expressions of delight, I started to have a “Hazel moment” and came up with a concept for our return to Davao this coming September. I will call it “SLED” (maybe the snow today was part of the inspiration for this) The four letters stand for S-SERVANT L-LEADER E-EDUCATIONAL D-DISCIPLESHIP. Each Sunday after church we can have a potluck luncheon, followed by a deep Bible training for our leaders, a study deeper than most regular congregants could understand. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,720 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #12 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $42,900 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 512 Triathlon bus fund: $2,446.24 received of $20,000 needed. |
| 4/9/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: APRIL 5: Lafayette, NY [postponed] Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte proclaimed the order just two days before the ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) was to take effect, with face masks required (store-bought or improvised, such as a handkerchief or small towel covering the nose & mouth). Since mid-March, Over 17,000 Filipinos have been arrested for violations of the lockdown & curfew. Some were locked-up outdoors in sweaty dog cages for days in the blistering hot tropical sun as punishment. However, God was already at work. Davao City’s Mayor Sara had sent to business owners a request that all employers hand-deliver food to their employees. Elvie & I acted on it immediately & released $2200 from BCA’s “Calamity Fund” to have our bus drivers bring a 120-pound sack of rice, 12 packets of noodles, plastic bags, 20 cans of meat & assorted vinegar, soy sauce, spices, etc to each of our 20 staff. Also, we delivered this “aid package” to the church’s 3 elders for them to distribute to their communities. When they delivered the “rescue-packs” to their neighbors, they carefully passed the food hanging from sticks through the bars that surround peoples’ homes. "Wow, praise God for the food!” exclaimed many of the recipients."How were we to find 2 weeks' worth of food when the stores all had limits on how much their customers could buy? Then, when the BCA bus came to the door, I just lifted up my arms in praise to God! He truly is Jehovah-Jireh, My Provider!" BCA's Secretary Faith had had to sneak over to the school campus to submit her reports (taxes, salaries, medical aid, etc), as well as editing students’ photos for the school yearbook, and encoding the 250 students’ final grades in all subjects, a total of over 2,000 grades (with comments) since she does not have dependable internet access at home. She carries a special “essential citizen” permit which must always be on her person when travelling. Even this was a “stretch” since a neighbor had seen her near a person who’d arrived from Manila (which is in lockdown) & therefore had placed Faith on 7-day SQ (Self-Quarantine). So Faith brought papers home to work with from there. “Lord, please help me to love my neighbors, even though it sometimes seems like rumors spread quicker than the virus itself!” Meanwhile in New York, our college students are daily on-line with their teachers & classmates, fulfilling their course requirements. Elvie & I are communicating with the BCA students’ sponsors & teachers via the internet & also through bulk mailings. Fortunately, as we stay with my dad, a very safe hundred-acre-wood lies behind the property, where we all can take long walks & also get in our exercise to avoid “cabin fever”. We rarely "go out" for groceries, but when we do, we have learned yet another new language. “stay home” has become "shelter in place” & "personal space" or “elbow room” has now become "social distancing”. BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,740 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $1,960 lacking in BCA’s Calamity fund to provide food for hungry Filipinos who are in quarantine, due to COVID-19. # of students sponsored at BCA: 512 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8wMu60NWHM&fbclid=IwAR1uWL97saFaaGhKLjJHP5b9dNKzvUnA6hr3x_RSLLjnCMPez1jsLZ2Dq4s |
| 4/2/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: MARCH 29: Latham, NY [postponed] Please pray for the Philippines, which reported 73 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 380, & 6 more deaths on March 22, bringing total fatalities to 25. Wearing face masks, health workers use disinfection booths that mist ethyl alcohol to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Praise God that many of the churches in which we were scheduled to speak, which subsequently cancelled services because of social distancing, have requested that, when the travel ban is lifted, we will reschedule our visits. Praise God also that we were able to tune-in to worship services on the internet this past Sunday. “His name is Victor… for victory!” Just half a week after the first day of Spring, it snowed three inches here in Upstate New York. It was very moist snow, so I built a snowman. Peeping around in the barn for coal for the eyes, I found instead a hubcap for the hat, copper wire to be bent for glasses, & an old broken crutch, to go with the white sneaker which had no mate. After a couple of branches for the arms, pine needles for the buttons & a carrot nose, Victor received lugnuts for eyes & the crowning touch; part of a broken broomhandle for a mouth, held on with an old curved candy cane. Victor’s imagined victory over insurmountable odds were reflected by the one foot & a broken crutch, held high in his branch-arm. In the evening, with Victor weathering the cold outside, PJ, Abby & Ruth were inside, singing, “God Will Make a Way” & “How Firm a Foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord.” (which you can sing along with at their link: https://www.facebook.com/pj.the.barner/posts/10213181811820265?from_close_friend=1 ). Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet in the Philippines, BCA’s teacher Bonna was celebrating her Monday at home, wondering which was harder: to work 8 hours teaching students in school or to try & prepare for next year’s classes while surrounded by all the distractions of being cooped-up in her tiny little one-room bamboo house. “O Lord, all the Glory must go to You! You are gracious to give me my job, when so many have none. You have protected me from harm.” Bonna then opened her Bible to Psalm 91: “He will cover me with His feathers…He will save me… from the deadly pestilence. If I say, ‘The Lord is my refuge.’… no disaster will come near my tent. He will command His angels concerning me, to guard me.’ Please hear my prayer for Your safety during this unsure time.” Teacher Bonna began cutting out shapes from the colorful construction paper. One particular remnant of recycled paper was just a tad larger than her cellphone. So, she opened to her file of pictures of her students from this school year. Laying the phone on the paper as a frame, she opened the file from BCA’s 2019 International Day. The kids were dressed up in cute & colorful costumes from around the world. As each student’s picture appeared, she prayed by name for that child. One partularly naughty boy was graced with an idea from Bonna...she laid it on the background of a pumpkin & giggled before lifting the little guy up in prayer. Yes, “God Will Make a Way” even when there is no immunity nor antidote in sight. Our God is a miracle-working God. We keep talking with Him in prayer. We will never let our surroundings distract us from God’s provident rescue. Like Victor the snowman, may we lift the crutch in one hand & keep our good foot on the ground, doing the will of the Master. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,720 received of $25,000 needed. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund: $2,313.19 received of $20,000 needed. |
| 3/26/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: MARCH 22: Mt Pleasant Mills, PA [postponed] Please pray for Davao City Mayor Sara’s ongoing decisions responding to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Health care facilities in Davao City have limitations & cannot possibly carry hundreds of sick individuals all at the same time, so she cancelled festive annual events like the city’s anniversary parade. Also, all welcome & send-off groups at airports, seaports, bus terminals, & other transportation hubs are permanently banned. She froze retail prices to avoid gouging. Praise God that PJ, Abby & Ruth have started semi-weekly evenings of singing online, this week highlighting hymns like “It is well with my soul” for those homebound worldwide who desire to listen in. The link is https://www.facebook.com/pj.the.barner/videos/10213127500822524/?comment_id=10213130033605842 "Even MORE balloons?" Occasionally a balloon would pop, stepped-on by one of the ten of us. Yet now was the time for chocolate cake & brownies. Sure enough, 91 candles, too. I even decorated the brownies with a whole pint of fresh blackberries on the chocolate fudge frosting. Fortunately, the flames did not set off the smoke alarm. But they MELTED the cake. The inferno boiled the fudge frosting & cooked the berries. Since they were sealed in the melted wax from the candles, the brownies could likely be framed & put into a museum for 91 more years without getting moldy! Added to the excitement were videos from kids, grandkids & great-grandkids from miles away. We sang, prayed & granted birthday wishes. Meanwhile on the other side of the planet in Davao, BCA’s Teacher Dibbie was doing prep-work for the next school year, since school is cancelled for the next month, due to the Philippine government’s Corona shutdown of all schools. “Primary & secondary colors in the color wheel...” Dibbie considered who the younger students were, that will be moving-up to her class this next June in the beginning of the next school year. “I will have them prepare Art projects using a variety of colors.” Revising her lesson to include more hands-on crafts will overcome some of the challenges that this past year’s students had. Back in the USA, Dibbie’s “primary & secondary color scheme” relates well to the flexibility we have developed in cancelling speaking engagements due to group restrictions for social distancing. I have laid-out four different schedules for dozens of speaking engagements across the USA for “if the travel ban is lifted by April 1” & then another for each succeeding month of May 1, June 1 & July 1. Meanwhile, we are feasting on waxy, fudgy birthday brownies, as we trip over nearly a hundred colorful balloons! Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,700 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #11 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $43,200 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund: $2,308.19 received of $20,000 needed. |
| 3/19/2020 | Happy St Patrick’s Day (3/17), Happy 91st Birthday, Dad! (3/20) Happy 1st Day of Spring (3/19). BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: MARCH 15: Jamestown, NY Please pray for the local churches where we will be visiting to share about missions in April. Due to the corona outbreak we will not be speaking at any church more than 50 miles away during the four weeks of April. Also Paul & Abby will have solos in the upcoming (Good Friday) Easter Cantata in Albany. Please also pray for our Philippine ministry. Churches there have been authorized to refrain from meeting in large group settings for the next few months. Still, a few families did join together for Bible Study on Sunday morning for worship at the main church we started, since they could not imagine a Sunday without church. Please pray for Senator Zubiri in the Philippines, & the First Lady of Canada, both with the corona virus, & both of whom are on self-imposed quarantine to protect their populace from COVID-19 over the next 10 days. Praise God that, after a lifetime friend passed away recently, his family donated $500 from his estate for BCA’s new buildings on its tribal campus, to be built this Fall. Also praise God that our arrival at the speaking engagement this past weekend corresponded with a tri-city Men’s “Iron Sharpens Iron-Point Man” Conference. PJ & I enjoyed it immensely. “For such a time as this…” I asked the congregation in Greene, New York (this past Sunday), from Esther 4:12-14 if they would be #1-a Mordecai (encourager) or #2-a Queen Esther, or #3-a Defender, or all three, in their response to better their world’s condition during this corona outbreak. A few of Pastor Jeff’s twelve kids asked what they’d be doing if they come for a missions trip to our ministry in the Philippines this fall. If so, then they’ll be helping re-plant the garden at our orphanage, as well as teach piano to the orphans, and also to teach at BCA. Meanwhile in Davao, the BCA Faculty & church youth group were responding to my mandate that they go door-to-door giving-out freely 1,000 plastic bags filled with rubbing alcohol, Gospel tracts & sealed sachets of Vitamin C pills. No recipient should receive more than a one-week supply, for all members of their families. The funds for these came from BCA’s Emergency Medical Fund (EMF) & Calamity Fund. Due to declarations from both Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte & also from his daughter the Davao City Mayor Sara, all schools are required to end their classes in early March instead of April. Graduation exercises are cancelled this year, although diplomas will still be distributed. Even Monday-morning Government flag raising was cancelled so that workers could clean & disinfect their offices before citizens arrive with their needs. Religious ceremonies for both Catholics (Lenten 2/26-4/9) & Muslims (Ramadan 4/23-5/23) will require priests & imams to carefully disinfect any locations, especially on frequently- touched surfaces, to avoid spread of the virus. 2 Dabaweno (Davao) government officers are hospitalized with corona symptoms. BCA’s Teacher Jeza was in her daily time of prayer (usually before the students would arrive in her classroom). “Dear Jesus, I cannot see my students. But you can. Please build a hedge of protection around each & every one of them, even as Job prayed for his own family.” She continued, “God, you are gracious, faithful & compassionate. In my life, you never tire of protecting me. I KNOW you love me. After all, in Your incredible love for me, you sent Your Son Jesus to pay my debt. Please teach me how to show that same type of sacrificial love to others” She then opened her Bible to Colossians 3:12, “As God’s chosen people…clothe yourselves with compassionate kindness, humility, gentleness & patience.” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,650 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses August, 2019 # of students sponsored at BCA: 513 Triathlon bus fund: $2,308.19 received of $20,000 needed. |
| 3/12/2020 | Happy Feast of Purim (3/9,10) BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: MARCH 15: Greene, NY Please pray for Barner Christian Academy in the upcoming weeks. Elvie had purchased tickets to fly back for 6 wks to interview prospective families, hire new teachers, issue diplomas, sign the land title for BCA’s new campus & also assist in other church ministries (like VBS) & conventions. However, there may be a travel ban for international flights to Asia, which will restrict her from making the trip. Considering 132,536 cases worldwide, from 123 countries with nearly 5,000 deaths, the United States government has prohibited non-US citizens who are from the 26 countries that make up the European Union’s Schengen Area from entering the United States (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland). Please pray also for Pastor Denes at one of the churches where we spoke a few months ago. A fire started in their gym, making the church temporarily unusable for worship. Friendly area churches are offering space to them. Praise God that after we shared about global missions in a church this past week, the pastor brought us to their thrift store where we were able to get free items to send to the children overseas. Praise God that a family in Arizona this week gave $500 sponsorship for BCA’s “new bus” (triathlon) fund. “Ellen, what are the names of your classmates?” As I (Paul) was substitute teaching special-needs kids in a New York public school, I tried to memorize the names of each student as he or she came into the classroom. I thought I had it down pat, until I asked one student & she told me the names were all different than I had suspected. Then, as I peeped over the shoulders of the kids & noticed the names at the tops of their papers, I had been right all along. It was Ellen who had tried to play a trick on me! Meanwhile our two college-aged kids, PJ & Abby have had surprises on their respective campuses: Hudson Valley College will extend their spring break to two weeks & Albany University will only provide online courses, until the corona (COVID-19) scare is over. Also pray, as Philippine soldiers have struck down 14 Muslim Ampatuan Bangsamoro militants in heavy fighting with air strikes in a mountainous area of our island (Mindanao), with 2 main ISIS sources launching attacks. The country is also being bombarded by its “Code Red” presidentially- declared health emergency after the first 52 coronavirus COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) incidents initiated by Chinese tourists. There will be no domestic land, air, or sea travel to or from Metro Manila from March 15 - April 14. “Here is an update on the COVID-19 Pandemic…” BCA's 5th and 6th grade social studies Teacher Jesa May decided the best way to prepare her students for the announcement of cancellation of classes for the rest of the school year was to put them in the offensive, rather than the defensive. She made them the make-believe television reporters, to present all the needed information. After their newsreel, other students used their special abilities to also present the situation. Dancers presented how to avoid those who sneeze. Singers made up songs about staying home with a loving family instead of going out in public. Finally, those gifted in mathematics presented best-case and worst-case scenarios of the play-out of when the virus would have run its course. One student, especially gifted in memorizing scripture, quoted from memory 1 Corinthians 13:13 “these three remain: faith, hope and love; and the greatest of these is love.” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,150 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $561 for paint rollers, towels, disinfectant, masks & 20 gallons of bleach to scrub-down the walls, floors & desks of the BCA campus to keep it virus-free. # of students sponsored at BCA: 512 Triathlon bus fund: $2,308.19 received of $20,000 needed. |
| 3/5/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: MARCH 8: Williamsport, PA (#2 of 2 weeks) Praise God that, after a disgruntled security guard shot one person and took more than 30 others hostage this past Monday (3/2) in a day-long siege at a Manila shopping mall, SWAT teams were able to free the hostages. “Jesus promised to be with us as we tell the world about Him!” This weekend, the four of us (PJ, Abby, Elvie & I) drove over 600 miles, speaking & singing at 6 events: 1-a school, 2-a college composite of multiple Christian groups, 3-a youth group (where Elvie cooked Filipino foods), 4-a fellowship luncheon, & 5&6-at 2 church worship services, the challenge of global missions. I (Paul) also finished a 10k road race (entitled, “A Race for Cookies!”) as snow was falling & blowing cold air…fun! Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet in the Philippines, BCA’s Teacher Mae Rose was teaching her students about cleanliness. “Develop clean habits while you are young, & when you get older, good habits will come more naturally!” One of her students, Diana, quipped, “Like an artist, we are sculpting our future self!” Mae Rose was astounded at the precocious statement from her student. Thinking this through, she tried to figure out a project which could bring out this truth. Mae Rose lined up her students single-file & traipsed them on a field trip throughout the school. They toured downstairs to the school medical clinic, upstairs to the library, offices & labs, even outdoors to where the buses were parked. They especially loved the library, as they had never, ever seen so many thousands of books in one place before. They also took notes on what was clean & what was dirty. Then, when they returned to the classroom, paired off with partners & each designed a room out of construction paper, with stand-up paper furniture inside, all in the right places. “Now students, I want you to write on each piece of furniture which you have “built” some factor or stage of your life in the future: your job, family, home, church, etc.” The kids had a blast organizing their “home-lives” & then described them to the rest of the class. BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,100 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #10 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $43,500 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund: $1,808.19 received of $20,000 needed. |
| 2/27/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing/visiting &/or sharing: MARCH 1: Williamsport, PA (#1 of 2 weeks) Please pray for the next two weekends of speaking engagements in Pennsylvania. There will be exciting opportunities in colleges, churches of various denominations, with families & even at an outdoor road race (where Paul will compete) to challenge people toward global missions. Praise God that those who gave to this ministry through Amazon Smile in January resulted in Amazon donating $44.32 to Barner Christian Academy this past Thursday! Praise God too that, when my cell phone stopped working recently, Abby was able to transfer its “innards” to an old one without losing any important info stored there. Also, praise God that a friend in a church where we spoke recently helped BCA’s emergency Medical Fund by giving $200 for children in life-&-death situations whose families cannot afford hospital care. “How much did BCA raise for all 600 of its students to have gym outfits & Christmas gifts?” While speaking at a Christian School recently, I quizzed the 2nd graders on their mathematical abilities. “It’s a simple equation. 600 students x $15 per student…” Suddenly an 8-yr-old voice peeped up, “But sir, we haven’t learned multiplication yet!” They may not know how to multiply, but have now learned how to respond to Christ’s Great Commission of multiplying their faith my sharing the Gospel throughout the planet. After all, our miracle-working God provided $9,000 so that every single BCA student had gifts for Christmas. The New York school principal also asked our family to return to The King’s School for a full assembly later this week as part of this year's CULTURAL/HISTORY FAIR. The second graders will also present a native Filipino dance that they have learned! Meanwhile on the other side of the planet in the Philippines, during the students’ devotional, they were learning about “God’s Excellence”, which is especially seen in the cross of Calvary, where the ultimate sacrifice was made for through our One & Only Savior, Jesus. Faith, the BCA secretary, had this lesson in mind as she headed downtown that afternoon to the government Department of Education office to follow-up on the release of Curriculum Grade Certification, since the school year will end in just over a month form now. “Pursuing Excellence” is what Christians do best, as we follow our excellent, perfect Lord. When Faith found that the government representative she was to see was not in, she thought of the Name above every name: Jesus, who is even more important than government officials, So, there in the government waiting room, she prayed for the Government rep to return so that the required documents could be submitted. As she looked up from her seat, there was the rep, returning for something he had left in his office. Faith kindly handed him the forms she’d brought for submission, & he set them on his desk before heading out on his way. Truly, we do have a God who is in control of all! With this in mind, Faith headed off to the CSSDO (City Social Services Development Office) in response to an invitational letter by the reps there to follow-up with the upcoming, scheduled Consultative Assembly of Private Preschools. With yet another meeting confronting her, as she entered the public jeepney to head off to that side of town, she had the same confident assurance as that of Paul & Abby before the 2nd graders of New York…that even though we may not understand the computation, God declares the results! Faith returned to her office at BCA & set the papers down on her desk. Then, as she opened her top drawer, sighed & smiled while praying a quick prayer, “Oh Lord, you are in control of the lives & schedules of all, from the smallest BCA student to the highest government official. But Lord, I have a very difficult task now for the two of us. See the clutter in my desk? How about we dive into an OSD: Operation Steel Drawer cleanup today?” Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,050 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses July, 2019 # of students sponsored at BCA: 511 Triathlon bus fund: $1,808.19 received of $20,000 needed. |
| 2/17/2020 | Happy President’s Day USA (2/17) When Joshua had said, “me and my house,” I’ll bet he referred to both his immediate household, & also his extended household…all who follow Jesus are our family! Now THAT is the kind of infectious love that is healthy to spread around the globe. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $14,000 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #9 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $43,800 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 510 Triathlon bus fund: $1,808.19 received of $20,000 needed. |
| 2/13/2020 | Happy Valentine’s Day (2/14) Praise God that this past Sunday we spoke, taught & sang at Schodack, New York. One member agreed to sponsor a child, after I had mentioned that, of the 4,000+ BCA students who have been sponsored over the past quarter-century, 40 of them were sponsored by people in this church. That means 1%, or 1 out of every hundred students was sponsored from Schodack! “Twenty-three years!” Jairus was ecstatic, & the excitement in his voice spread throughout the faces of the hundreds in our Philippine congregation. Combining many of our 26 church plants for the occasion, each group presented songs, Bible verse recitations &/or dance numbers to commemorate our church’s starting or adopting their church sometime in the past, during this 23rd church anniversary. Meanwhile on the other side of the globe in New York, I (Paul) was substitute teaching special needs kids in a public high school. “In algebra, begin with a LET statement. For example, LET X= something. Then, every time you see X, you will place that into the formula to get your answer. If you LET X=2, then 8X=16.” After class ended, I considered how this relates to God. God is in everything. He is Sovereign. Thus, life can be even more exciting as we look for His “fingerprint” in all circumstances. LET X=GOD. Although in Davao, Teacher Jessa was not teaching her 4th Graders algebra, she too presented the converse of this idea to her students. Routine is not always the same. Since the kids had just finished their end-of-quarter exams, & since she’d just passed back their graded test papers, she introduced the next Science topic, differentiating/ classifying the different types of soil. “Students, we are about to study different kinds of soils. However, what do you know that is always the same in every single type of soil that you can find?” Immediately a fourth-grade hand shot up. “Yes, Carlo?” He then stood up & said, “God made all the sand, soil & rocks there are, all over the universe!” Yup, Carlo Successfully identified the soil’s “Let” statement! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $13,950 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $700 for fuel for BCA buses # of students sponsored at BCA: 509 My home church (Albany, NY) needs a Youth Pastor. Faith International Academy (Davao, Philippines) needs teachers. Pls email alastair.walker@fia.edu.ph |
| 2/6/2020 | Happy Valentine’s Day (2/14) BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $13,900 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #8 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $44,100 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 508 Triathlon bus fund: $1,808.19 received of $20,000 needed. My home church (Albany, NY) needs a Youth Pastor. Job descrip. at file:///C:/Users/Iron%20Doc/Downloads/Job-Description-Youth-Pastor.pdf Faith International Academy (Davao, Philippines) needs teachers. Pls email alastair.walker@fia.edu.ph |
| 1/30/2020 | BARNERS’ speaking/singing &/or sharing: FEBRUARY 2: Colonie, NY My home church (Albany, NY) needs a Youth Pastor. Job descrip. at file:///C:/Users/Iron%20Doc/Downloads/Job-Description-Youth-Pastor.pdf Faith International Academy (Davao, Philippines) needs teachers. Pls email alastair.walker@fia.edu.ph |
| 1/26/2020 | Happy Chinese New Year (1/25/20) BARNERS’ speaking/singing &/or sharing: JANUARY 26: Auburn, NY 2019 BCA CHRISTMAS “Gym Outfit” PROJECT: $8,905 received of $9,000 needed. Please pray for the BCA students who are taking their monthly exams this week. Please pray for Merritt, one of our prayer warriors in New York. He is in hospice now with pneumonia. Praise God that, this Sunday our newest church plant (Communal) is celebrating their second anniversary! Praise God that our son PJ was able to think fast when he was working at a Bridal shop. When he asked a woman when her wedding was to be, she responded, “Tomorrow, I think.” Then she explained that her fiancé was to be deployed in a few days for Iran, & the wedding was to happen before his departure. “At last, you are here!” At Poughkeepsie, New York last Sunday, just before church began, a white-haired woman (Blanche) approached me, leaning her head on my shoulder. “I pray for you every day,” she explained. “I’ve been tired & sick lately, so this morning my care giver asked if I felt strong enough to come to church. But I said, ‘every day I pray for these missionaries; the Barner family. Every week I look forward to their emails so that I can read an update on how best to pray. Now, finally, they are here. I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” Praise God for all the “Blanches” who are daily praying! During the worship service, Elvie & I shared some incredible things that God has been doing in Davao, & PJ & Abby also sang 2 duets. You can access the service at https://livestream.com/newbeginningscma/events/2528880/videos/200923213 Meanwhile on the other side of the planet in the Philippines, BCA’s Teacher Angel was teaching her 4th graders art. “Nina, please come up to the chalk board.” Nina is a confident and studious girl. “Yes, Teacher Angel!” Together at the front of the class, Angel had Nina draw a series of objects, in the form of a rebus (combination of pictures & letters to form an idea). Because Nina is such a good artist, the other students could immediately identify the forms taking shapes form Nina’s chalk. This was what they saw: KNEE + NA // KISS - K // R // BEE + VEST – V // R + TEST. Shireen was the first to guess the puzzle. “Oh, I know! NINA IS OUR BEST ARTIST!” Since the class could see Nina’s great artwork right there on the board, nobody argued. Instead they gave her a standing ovation! Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $13,800 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $250 for (installment #6 of 6) $1,500 overhaul of BCA’s Bus “M” which broke down during a run in November. $0 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 508 My home church (Albany, NY) needs a Youth Pastor. Job descrip. at file:///C:/Users/Iron%20Doc/Downloads/Job-Description-Youth-Pastor.pdf Faith International Academy (Davao, Philippines) needs teachers. Pls email alastair.walker@fia.edu.ph |
| 1/16/2020 | Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (USA) 1/20/20). BARNERS’ speaking/singing: JANUARY 19: Poughkeepsie, NY 2019 BCA CHRISTMAS “Gym Outfit” PROJECT: $8,905 received of $9,000 needed. Please pray for the Filipinos stranded by the eruption of Taal Volcano this week. Ashfall has caused 40,000 (donning face masks) to be evacuated from the island which is centered in the crater-lake which is centered in the mountain. Fountains of lava gushed from its the crater. Please pray for Deb, Maria & Shemiah who came to the altar (to dedicate their lives to mission work), after my message this past Sunday in Rensselaer, NY. Shemiah wants to be a fashion designer for Jesus! Praise God that, as a result of many who have prayed for PJ, Abby, Ruth & Elissa to have Christians college-age friends to meet with, three groups have begun, on Mondays, Thursdays (at our place) & Fridays! Also, Abby & Elissa both achieved president’s list grade point average! Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet in Davao, Philippines, BCA’s Teacher Hazel had a sore throat. She gave students assignments that did not require her to talk a long time, or to strain her voice. “Which musical instrument is this?” Hazel pointed to a picture of a drum on the wall. “DRUM!” was the unanimous chorus from the class. Making it a little more difficult, she pointed to a French Horn. “A SNAKE? A HOSE?” This one she had to tell them. As she had them classify them woodwinds, brass, strings, percussion, etc., they were perfectly accurate. Her next day did not require much voice, as Hazel waited in line all day to renew her teacher’s license with the government. Waiting & waiting gets a person’s dander up, yet Hazel remembered her devotions that morning: as Christians, others look up to us. Thus, we must control our temper when things do not run smoothly. She pled in prayer for strength from the Holy Spirit. Suddenly dark clouds outside turned white, & gloomy weather turned bright. By the time she left, she had the renewed documents in hand. Meanwhile at school, the students were able to get their annual pictures taken outside for the graduation program coming up in March. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! |
| 1/9/2020 | Happy March for Life (1/24/20) |
| 1/2/2020 | HAPPY HANUKKAH (12/22-12/30) HAPPY NEW YEAR & NEW DECADE (1/1/2020) BARNERS’ speaking/singing: JANUARY 5: Sherrill, NY 2019 BCA CHRISTMAS “Gym Outfit” PROJECT: $8,615 received of $9,000 needed. Please pray for the hundreds of BCA students who will be returning to classes next week, that they will knuckle-down with their studies for the next few months before graduation in early April. Praise God for our Christmas with relatives. We played round-robin ping pong, Bible Trivia, & tons of other games, as well as singing Christmas carols & reading the Christmas Story from the book of Luke. But Elvie was a tad homesick for the noisy type of Filipino holidays, with fireworks & lots of noisemakers past midnight. “I guess I am your Christmas angel, huh?” While washing our family’s clothes at the laundromat, by the time I had filled the last washer, the first two loads surprised me by already being completely washed! As I transferred the clothes to the drier, I noticed the clothes did not look familiar. Yet considering that they might be clothes donated to BCA to send to the Philippines, I started up the machines. An African lady then filled the now-empty washers with her clothes. Ten minutes later a Spanish lady came in & curiously watched the foreign clothes in those two washers. “Excuse me ma’am, were your clothes in those washers?” Yup, sure enough. “Sorry, I thought they were mine & I dried them for you. Merry Christmas!” Meanwhile on the other side of the planet in the Philippines, on Christmas Day Typhoon Phanfone brought a wet, miserable & terrifying holiday to millions, with six people missing as the typhoon leapt from one small island to another, crumpling houses, toppling trees & blacking out cities & towns, including in popular beach resorts. One father, his three children & two other relatives were missing after their hut was swept away early Wednesday when heavy rains caused a creek to overflow. Coconut trees & banana plants were shredded by ferocious winds gusting 121 miles per hour. Many spent Christmas night at evacuation centers. The Philippines is the first major landmass facing the Pacific cyclone belt. It is hit by about 20 storms & typhoons each year. On the BCA campus, although the students were out for the vacation, Teacher Dibbie was in her classroom making last-minute preparations for when the classes would resume the 2nd day of 2020. Upon each desk she placed a sheet of lined paper, & on the blackboard she wtote the words, “Ang Aking Bakasyon” (My Vacation). Next, listing “SCIENCE” she asked for samples of kinds of soils: sand, gravel, clay, peat & loam. Then, after straightening up the chairs & before heading out for the last time this year, she knelt down next to her desk & spoke to her Lord, “Thank you for everything you have done in 2019, & for the entire decade in my life. You likely have even more exciting things in store for this new decade than thru this past one, as You remain in the center of my life!” While I was mistaking which laundry was ours in New York, BCA’s Teacher Dibbie was properly communicating with her Lord that He is the source of her desires for 2020. Until next time…Let the islands rejoice! BCA’S New Campus Construction Fund (Phases D): $13,650 received of $25,000 needed. Present Need: $300 for (installment #6 of 155) $46,500 flood-proof (4-foot-high backfill) raised garage next to BCA’s present building, to protect our school buses. $44,700 remaining. # of students sponsored at BCA: 508 Triathlon bus fund: $1,473.19 received of $20,000 needed. |
| Archived news from 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 Last edited
February 2, 2021
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