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| 7/18/2024 | Pennsylvania Work Team arrives! (7/18/24) THIS WEEK (7/18-25): 7/18-28: Pennsylvania missions team visit, Paul & Elvie fly to USA for 39-state speaking tour July 31. Please pray for the incoming American work team, arriving today (July 18) from Pennsylvania. In the ten days they are here, we plan to have special outings with the orphans, listen to the visitors share at church, and work together on projects at the orphanage. Please pray for good weather and safe travels. There'll be 6 of them. Praise God that Pastor Jeremiah, who successfully planted a thriving church for us about four years ago in a village named Tacunan, planted 2 more churches a few hundred miles away. And now he is coming back to Tacunan to plant another daughter church for us! Praise God too that there were 35 pastors who attended the Corinthians 2 Prayer fellowship which we hosted at our church this week. "Ouch!" that was definitely a pulled muscle in my back. I should've worn the brace before digging…I shoulddah…I shoulddah…I shoulddah…now I'll be wearing this brace for at least a week! Last month, Elvie & I had hosted a full-day pastors' prayer meeting at BCA's "Father's House" orphanage on nearby Samal Island. After I'd mentioned in one of my prayers the need to build a church at the orphanage, many of the pastors agreed, "When you start, tell us, and we'll get our people to come over to help out!" So, we set a date and started digging. And sure enough, they showed up! The church is an open-air design we made ourselves. Stage #1 is to build the stage, with a slanted roof over it. Stage #2 will be a storage room in back, and Stage #3 will be a high roof without walls. That way we can have very large groups worshipping together out on the lawn, all at the same time. Last Monday I spent 8 hours baking: brownies, cookies, cake, biscuits, granola bars & cornbread muffins. It took a while, since everything (except the biscuits & brownies) were baked from scratch. Every day is different. The high number was forty in one day! All volunteers! One lady doesn't mind getting dirty, and when everybody else is using the shovels, she gets down on her hands and knees to scoop the dirt up with her fingers! One gutsy young couple works nights as security guards for a beach resort, and volunteers during the day, every day, for 10 hours a shot, to help us dig, mix cement, lay block & weld trusses to build the church! I love being a part of God's incredible, giving family! BCA's orphans, when they are not busy with their chores on the farm, prepare meals for the multitude! Meanwhile, back on the mainland in Davao, BCA's 1st Grade teacher Krystal has been teaching Summer School. It is a new batch of kids, and she'll be seeing this same group in 2 weeks when the new school year officially begins. Krystal's eye automatically tried to focus on one particular student; Justin. But then she remembered: "oh yeah., he graduated into 2nd grade last month. He's not 'mine' anymore." Well, the kids are gone. She still sees them in the hallways & they'll greet her with a smile. But they have new instructors now, & she also must focus upon & cherish her newest "batch". However, the clay figures, she guessed who might have made them. There was a robot. That HAD to be from Jacob. It was so PERFECT. Nothing Jacob did was anything less than perfect, even for a 1st grader. Then there was an incredibly colorful butterfly painting. Maybe, just maybe that was from Jaya. Jaya ALWAYS wore very colorful clothes to school. Then, right there in the middle of the shelf, she saw it…two rolled pieces of clay, different colors, and intertwined together in a hug. "I wonder…" Yup, it was almost as if Krystal could feel Justin's hug right then. And then the little, 2nd grade voice piped up… "did you miss me?" Ahhhhh…. Until next time… Let the islands…rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for: (installment #3 of 9) $2,700 for 5 (2hp Carrier brand) air conditioners for Barner Christian Academy: #1: 7th Grade classroom, #2: Library, #3: Home Economics classroom, #4: Men's chaplain's office, #5: 3rd Grade classroom. $1,800 remaining. 3 Ongoing Construction Projects:
Upcoming (General) Schedule:
Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing/Visiting Tour: AUG- IL/NY/ SEP-NY,PA/VA/GA/ OCT-FL,SC/MD/NJ / NOV-NY,IL,MO,IN/ DEC-NY,TORONTO,KY/ JAN '25-NC,AL,SC,TX/ FEB '25-MEXICO,AZ,CA/ MAR '25- CA,UT,KS,OH,NY/ APR '25 NY/ MAY '25 WA,AK,OH,Saskatchewan/ JUN-AUG '25 PA,VT,NY,CT/ SEP '25 WI,NM,MO,AR,TN,NY/ OCT '25 NY,NJ/ NOV '25 NY,IL,Guam,Davao. BCA students' 2024 Christmas backpacks: This Christmas, 600 BCA kids will receive joy-filled* BCA Backpacks! NEEDED: $20 x 600 = $12,000. Received: $60. *joy-filled: Christmas t-shirts, stuffed animals, school supplies, Gospel tracts & scrumptious holiday food! Preaching themes by month for Davao Church: July: WORK, August: EVANGELISM, September: STEWARDSHIP, October: MISSIONS, November: ESCHATOLOGY, December: ADVENT/CHRISTMAS Churches, Schools & "Safe House" (orphanage): Barner Christian Academy: PHILS: PO Box 82,224 Davao City, Philippines 8000. USA: 18 (or #5) Eileen Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144 QUIPS:
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Churches, Schools & "Safe House" (orphanage): Barner Christian Academy: PHILS: PO Box 82,224 Davao City, Philippines 8000. USA: 18 (or #5) Eileen Drive, Rensselaer, NY 12144 OUR ACTIVE MINISTRIES: Abby- Student Moody Bible Institute PJ- Minister of Music Auburn Alliance Church (NY) Elvie- DEXCOM for CAMACOP MDD, Senior Principal at BCA, Sunday School teacher Paul- Senior Pastor at FAF church, President at BCA, President of PMBMI, 70.3-Ironman Triathlete Paul & Elvie- Paul & Elvie- Founders & Directors of FHF orphanage, Board members at FAF church. Rev. Paul, Elvie, PJ and Briana, & Abigail Barner Philippine cell# (977) 735-8714 PAUL; (838) 202-9437- ELVIE |
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| 7/11/2024 | THIS WEEK (7/11-18): Monday-Saturday 7/18-28: Pennsylvania missions team visit, Paul & Elvie fly to USA for 39-state speaking tour July 31. Please pray for the newest crops we are experimenting at BCA's orphanage: peanuts & corn! (cracker jacks?) If successful, these will not be just for the orphans, but also for the farm animals. Please also pray for the Pennsylvania missions team, arriving this next Thursday (July 18) for ten days. We plan to enjoy time working alongside the orphans on building the stage, and also having a few fun outings with them (including jumping off waterfalls!) Praise God that Elvie's team of ladies have thoroughly enjoyed their national women's conference in Iloilo City. Her host had a car left by a relative, but didn't know how to drive it. Elvie to the rescue! Praise God too that, after 3 days of no power, the electricity finally came back on at the BCA campus, and summer school is in full swing! "YAY!!! The pastors are here!" After a church in New York gave funds for us to start building a church at BCA's orphanage, Elvie & I made plans. Since funds are limited, and the need is great, we decided to make it an open-air stage with a covered outdoor gymnasium, dedicating the completed stage on July 27, just before we head back to the USA at the end of this month. When we had a pastors' prayer time at the orphanage last month, 6 of the 10 local pastors who were present asked, "Can we help?" Of course! Filipinos have a term, "bayanihan" which means to help each other out in a community. Often it means everybody putting bamboo poles under a house and picking it up to move it. We dug a foot deep for the large rectangular lawn area (40'x26') designated for the stage, and 2 ft deep for the 5 pillars. Every week, the pastors have been coming (once or twice a week), and it has been exciting to watch the conversion of the area, taking shape. The pastors bring their families and we make a day of it. We all get really sweaty and dirty. Ages range from 4 to 72! One pastor brought his three teenagers, and boy, were they hard workers! I spent half a day during the weekend, baking homemade granola bars (my own recipe, w/ oatmeal, coconut, peanut butter, raisins & choco chips) and cornbread muffins. I couldn't find any corn meal in the stores, so I ground down into flour some corn grits (manufactured for the chickens). I used the coffee grinder, & it worked! But for some reason, they didn't rise. Yet they tasted like "rice puto" (a traditional Filipino snack), so everybody loved them! Even though bayanihan is typically a free, goodwill gesture, Elvie and I agreed to give the pastor from the farthest away, $20 to help him pay for gas. He had driven 7 people for two hours across the island (& back), and over the mountain which is in its center. All this on a motorbike with 12-inch wheels & with a side car attached! Talk about commitment! Meanwhile Teacher Violy, who has transferred from our BCA school to teach instead at a public school, was preparing her start-of-year lessons for her kindergarten class. She'll be recycling many ideas that the kids really loved during Violy's years at BCA. One of these ideas was the use of clay. Tables had been set up around the classroom, with various assorted colors of clay hunks in the middle of each table. Then they gathered around the tables to shape their memories into tangible forms. The room had buzzed with excitement as tiny fingers began to knead & roll the clay. "Yeah!" exclaimed Leah, as her hands were already forming a small ball. "I made a dinosaur!" Looking at the hunk from all different angles, Violy just couldn't see a dinosaur there. But hey, imagination, right? The kids caught on that they'd have to narrate their work, so Karina exclaimed, "This is cool! I made a bunny!" as her eyes sparkled with excitement. She then looked a little shyly and whispered, "Can you please help me make it its ears stand up? They are just not co-o…co-oper…co-operating!" As the months went by, Teacher Violy every once in awhile put out the clay again. The kids blossomed in confidence as they learned from their previous experiences. By the end of the school year, they were like little Rembrandts! Mother's Day especially was very special. After they made clay pots for their moms, Dwayne, his voice soft, but clear, told Violy, "My mom loved it so much! She still uses it to keep her rings in." When they made animals, Brandon's fingers skillfully shaped a miniature elephant. The classroom looked like Noah's Ark: a miniature zoo. But as Violy glanced over all the creations, she looked questioningly at a big red heart. Shada explained, as she held up her creation, "It's for you because you are the best teacher!" As Violy thought back of the instance, tears welled up in her eyes as she had accepted the small, clay heart (and also realized that Shada was not calling her beloved kindergarten teacher an animal) "Oh Shada!" She cried out, "This is beyond beautiful!" The kids molded clay, while God molded hearts through the love of Teacher Violy. Until next time… Let the islands…rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH: A. PJ's Late Night Worship Master list - PJ Barner: actor · singer · director. YouTube: #300-201: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26FzOhEZ3k41BCzNbiSZ-qw2 B. #400-301: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26EAnhq36C3vdyKCuYefKUop Present Need: $337 for: $5 for blind rivets for roof & hose for clogged pvc pipe, Building Maintenance: $53 for signage (materials) & $3 for Faucet & $14 for Materials for fixing electrical line & lentils & $15 for Repair & cleaning Grade 1 Aircon, $140 for Bus Maintenance -Philips -gasoline & $26 for repair of alternator & $29 for replace TC & check up of wirings, horn, wire & switch, Bus Maintenance Fields -$52 for gasoline. |
| 7/4/2024 | Happy 248th American Independence Day (4th of July, 1776). Happy 28th Wedding Anniversary, Elvie & Paul! (7/6/1996). THIS WEEK (7/4-11): Monday-Saturday 7/1-6: National Christian Women's Convention in Iloilo (Elvie is flying with 8 ladies from the church to attend). [LOOKING AHEAD: Pennsylvania missions team visit: July 18-28, Paul & Elvie fly to USA for 39-state speaking tour July 31]. Please pray for safety for the construction workers at BCA's orphanage. This past week, a few workers faced minor injuries: one with the jackhammer, and the other when he lost his grip on an iron bar, which scraped his stomach. Both have recuperated and are back at work. Three projects are in progress simultaneously at this time: 1) a planter/fence around property's perimeter, 2) a 2-story guest house, 3) A stage/open-air church building. Number 2 & #3 are destined to be completed this month. Praise God that VBS is finished and Summer School has begun at BCA. The 1st three days of classes were cancelled however, due to an interruption of electricity. "Today is God's gift!" Doris (one of BCA's secretaries) prepared for her day with a checklist. #1 was a reminder that, since every day is a gift from God, it is to be cherished, no matter what it brings. Doris' elderly mom is very sick, & her husband died last year from cancer. Yet Doris' very talented 3 daughters are getting highest honors in school & college, and are active in the church youth group. Summer school started on Monday, and the bus drivers brought the hundreds of students onto the campus. However, only a few hours later, Doris was calling Elvie, since there was no electricity. No electricity means no air conditioners. This week promises record high temperatures. Also, no electricity means no lights for the students to read by, and none for the computers in BCA's internet laboratory. Elvie & half a dozen of the school's female staff are home packing their bags, preparing for their flight to Iloilo, an hour away, for a weeklong national women's convention themed, "Faithfully Flourishing: a reminder of God's abundant grace and the growth He brings into our lives." So, while these ladies are away for the week, Doris and the others are behind, "holding the fort" with hundreds of students in classrooms day after day…except Monday thru Wednesday this week, that is, as the kids got a break and were brought back home until the electricity comes back on. While Elvie was packing for her trip, she & I discussed what to do about the power outage. "Yup. Postpone classes," we decided. Later, after dropping off the lady-delegates at the airport, I popped into the school offices to see how the teachers were doing. We discussed how to help the kids catch-up from the three-day "power-outage" break. They are pretty sharp, these teachers. And they truly are concerned about the welfare of their students. Dona Mae spoke for the rest as she explained, "We teach 4 core-subjects during Summer School. Typically it is just a half-day. But to make up for the 3 off-days, we'll just make this Thursday & Friday, as well as next Monday, to be full days, just like during the regular school year." Brilliant. Yes Doris, just like in your goals: "Today, everything that comes… is from God's hand, and thus …cherish it, for it is God's gift!" Until next time… Let the islands…rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH: A. PJ's Late Night Worship Master list - PJ Barner: actor · singer · director. YouTube: #300-201: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26FzOhEZ3k41BCzNbiSZ-qw2 · B. #400-301: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26EAnhq36C3vdyKCuYefKUop C. Pastors' prayer meeting at BCA orphanage June 28, 2024. https://www.messenger.com/e2ee/t/8293339187363093 D. (Delta Lake Campgrounds is where, in 1971, God called me at 10 yrs old to one day become a missionary to the Philippines). Delta Lake Family Camp 2024, Rome, NY. Centennial (100 years). Worship singing. 2 minutes, 43 seconds. Day #1, June 29, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/deltalakecamp/videos/394014420349435/ E. Delta Lake Family Camp 2024, Rome, NY. Centennial (100 years). Worship singing. 27 seconds. Day #2, June 30, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/deltalakecamp/videos/813678264073823 F. Delta Lake Family Camp 2024, Rome, NY. Centennial (100 years). Opening weekend. Family Camp 2024 Opening Weekend, celebrating our Centennial! ?? | Delta Lake Bible Conference Center | Delta Lake Bible Conference Center https://www.facebook.com/reel/799972582200336 Present Need: $446 for: & $2 for chain for reserve tire & $3 for vulcate & $2 for fuel filter, Vehicle Maintenance: Bus "M": $362 for Diesel gas & $13 for diesel oil & $2 for vulcate & $2 for bulb & $2 for end cups & $56 for pull out & installation of starter, repair & replace of carbon brushholder, replacedof armature & solenoid switch & $2 for hose clip. |
| 6/27/2024 | Happy 248th American Independence Day (4th of July, 1776). Summer Solstice (June 21, 2024). NOTE: Due to a recent glitch, any donations given to this ministry through tithe.ly.com between May 20 & June 19 did not go through, which means that, based on past giving trends, this ministry has forfeited over a thousand dollars. However, any recurring gifts will pick up again June 20. According to the tithely rep, "…your account is now fully verified. Your donations and deposits are functioning normally. All of the recurring donations are still in place. The only thing your donors would have to do is initiate a one time donation to cover the donations that might have been missed…". THIS WEEK (6/27-7/4): Thursday 27: Samal Island "IGACOS Pastors' Conference" (Paul is the Bible Teacher). Saturday 29: PJ's 27th B-day. Church Women's group in full-day event at BCA Campus (to prepare for upcoming conference). Monday-Saturday 7/1-6: National Christian Women's Convention in Iloilo (Elvie is flying with 8 ladies from the church to attend). [LOOKING AHEAD: Pennsylvania missions team visit: July 18-28, Paul & Elvie fly to USA for 39-state speaking tour July 31]. Please pray for the new teachers arriving on BCA's campus this week for their "Teaching Demos". New staff are arriving to "Teach the Teachers" & are evaluated on their teaching styles. These demos are not job-threatening, for incoming teachers have already been hired by this time. The demos are to give pointers to new teachers, by the seasoned faculty, for BCA's unique learning environment. BCA guides students, by combining hand-in-hand 1) their intellectual prowess & 2) Biblical truths. Praise God that BCA's eleven orphans were front-&-center on stage at church this past Sunday. Performing 20 minutes of music & Scripture reading, they also gave-way for 15-yr-old Leah's stirring solo. After worship was ended, they joined the youth from half a dozen sister churches, as we hosted a basketball (for the boys) & volleyball (for the girls) tournament. Not 1st place, but lots of fun! On our way back to the barge for their trip back to BCA's orphanage on nearby Samal Island, we celebrated by stopping at a few roadside kiosks, for a progressive dinner of: 1) roasted chicken, 2) watermelon, 3) soda, & 4) rice. Then we pulled over to the curb for an evening picnic! "We've a story to tell to the Nations…a story of Jesus…" BCA's 2024 month-long series of 31 VBSes celebrated their grand finale this week. The teachers had paired-up to complete 16 locations of 2-day events, with many venues featuring a combination of churches at one Worship Center. By now the songs & their adjacent Bible lessons were memorized, yet not rote. The excitement & endurance was only broken-up by a 4-day Spiritual Retreat for the staff at a faraway beach. Then they came back rested-up with vim & vigor for the last hundred kids in 5 final churches in three locations of Ulas, Bangkal & Matina Pangi. No matter how tired the leadership team may have been, to hear the precious words repeated by many children during the closing prayer, "Dear Jesus, I am a sinner, please wash-away my sins…" stirred up emotions of everlasting joy in the hearts & minds & souls of BCA's staff. As BCA's teachers, pastors, chaplains, administrators & bus drivers were busy "out in the field" with the kids, some staff stayed behind to keep things rolling on the BCA campus itself. Just around the corner on the calendar will be BCA's annual Summer School, followed-up by the start of BCA's 2024-25 school year… with our brand-new seventh grade class! Secretary Orbina typed-away on the computer in her office, "Dear sponsor, thank you for loving & praying for me, your BCA student, this year…" Since annually, around 15% of BCA's 600 students graduate out of the sponsorship program, Orbina (nicknamed "Inday" by the staff) is covering for Doris to interview prospective new poverty-stricken students. Meanwhile, Doris is away helping the VBS & also often at-home to care for her very sick & aged mother. As "chief cook & bottle washer" while the staff is busy elsewhere, Inday fields the visitors to the campus. She gets out her cell phone to take pictures. Inday also distributes crayons for the new kids to color pictures of thanks for their new sponsors, while collecting from the parents, data for the DepEd (Department of Education), collecting the kids' personal school records as well. Inday has a huge task ahead of her, as Elvie & I will be leaving next month (for a year and a half) to find more sponsors in the USA, & we need to place prospective kids on the waiting list so that we can give choices to inquirers stateside, as we visit 92 churches in five countries & 39 states. As the day came to a close, Inday said goodbye to that last family, locking the gate from the inside. Ah, finally she could concentrate on the next 20 letters (for the 3rd-quarter mailing), which Pastor Paul & Madam Elvie would be bringing in their suitcases to mail from New York on August 1. It was a joy, after seeing so many poor children during the day, to get home to her own son & daughter, & to prepare a meal for their family of four. "Did you see more kids today mom?" asked her daughter Charina. "Yes, anak" [nickname for "my dear child"]. "Do they look smart?" asked her son Charvin. "They will all be just as smart as you, with their BCA education, palangga" [another nickname for "my beloved child"] After the family got up from dinner an hour or so later, they all went outside together under the stars to scrub their clothes. The water pressure is stronger in the evenings, & it is also cooler. As they joked & splashed each other, Inday considered the faces of the poor kids she had interviewed today. Did they also have food to eat? Clothes to wear? Did they even have 2 parents to share their day with? Well, from now on, each & every one of them would have loving teachers, bus drivers and staff to greet them each day with a smile & ride on the love & prayers from their sponsors. Along with Inday's husband Richard (one of the church's elders, as well as a teacher himself in a different school) they tucked their son & daughter into bed, leading them in their evening prayers. "Dear Jesus, thank You that in our own small way, we are bringing…. "a story to tell to the Nations…a story of Jesus…" Until next time… Let the islands…rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for (installment #136 of 400) $120,000 3-story, flood-proof (9-foot-high backfill) raised parking garage/ school chapel & teachers' apartments next to BCA's present building. $49,200 remaining. 3 Ongoing Construction Projects:
Upcoming (General) Schedule:
Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing/Visiting Tour: AUG- IL/NY/ SEP-NY,PA/VA/GA/ OCT-FL,SC/MD/NJ / NOV-NY,IL,MO,IN/ DEC-NY,TORONTO,KY/ JAN '25-NC,AL,SC,TX/ FEB '25-MEXICO,AZ,CA/ MAR '25- CA,UT,KS,OH,NY/ APR '25 NY/ MAY '25 WA,AK,OH,Saskatchewan/ JUN-AUG '25 PA,VT,NY,CT/ SEP '25 WI,NM,MO,AR,TN,NY/ OCT '25 NY,NJ/ NOV '25 NY,IL,Guam,Davao. BAC students' 2024 Christmas backpacks: This Christmas, 600 BCA kids will receive joy-filled* BCA Backpacks! NEEDED: $20 x 600 = $12,000. Received: $60. *joy-filled: Christmas t-shirts, stuffed animals, school supplies, Gospel tracts & scrumptious holiday food! BCA church MPM: "Midweek Prayer Meeting" speakers (9:30 & 10:30am): June: Spkr: Mr. Viray/ Music: Mrs. Viray. Preaching themes by month for Davao Church: June: PETER, July: WORK, August: EVANGELISM, September: STEWARDSHIP, October: MISSIONS, November: ESCHATOLOGY, December: ADVENT/CHRISTMAS |
| 6/20/2024 | "Double-Day*" (6/12/24) THIS WEEK (6/20-27): Monday-Thursday 17-20: BCA Teachers & Staff on annual 4-day Spiritual outing/retreat. Monday-Tuesday 24-25: looking ahead: final 2024 VBSes in Ulas, Bangkal & Matina Pangi churches. [Looking ahead: Elvie with 7 ladies from church flying to Iloilo for National Christian Women's conference, July 1-7// Pennsylvania missions team visit: July 18-28] Please pray for the spiritual growth of 300 newly-baptized believers, who were baptized in the Pacific Ocean, Davao Gulf, at last week's "Araw Ng Metro Dabaw" event, at Valles Beach, Toril, Davao. Elvie had done the planning for the event, & did a great job leading over 1000 church people at the beach on Philippine Independence Day June 12. Please also pray for healing for BCA's Bus Driver Ben. After cooking food at his home for BCA's Annual 4-day teachers' retreat, he crashed his motorcycle in a rainstorm, while bringing the food to the school for the team's departure. He is ok, but scraped-up his hands & knee pretty bad. And the food was destroyed. He & BCA's other three bus drivers drove the ten-hour trip to their retreat's destination in Cateel, Eastern Mindanao. Sometimes the trip together is just as much fun as arriving at the destination. Praise God that during a "Tribute to Parents" at the recent Libuak Elementary School Graduation exercises, many grads handed flowers to their parents, but it looked like our 12-yr-old orphan CJ had nothing in his hands as he walked up to the stage to shake the hands & "bless" Elvie & me. He then reached his hands into his pockets & pulled out two colorful, crumpled, 3-D hand-made paper roses! These kids are so precious to us. Praise God for the 9 Americans (of the 17-member missions team) from Texas, USA who visited us for 2 days this past week. After visiting BCA's orphanage & praying for the kids & construction projects there, the Texas pastor (Jim) preached in our church on Father's Day & also led an evangelism seminar. Then, 20 people from the church, along with some from the youth group, went door-to-door to share our faith with neighbors who live near the BCA campus. "Chicken of the Sea? Is there a chicken in the sea?" While I was preparing my lunch, Dodong, who is one of the cement workers at a building project on BCA's orphanage-campus, picked up my can of tunafish & was curious about its label. Grinning, I answered back, "No, the chicken are not in the sea, but in the can!" Meanwhile, BCA's teachers & staff were 10 hours away in Cateel City, at their annual "Spiritual Staff Retreat". The last time Elvie had been to Cateel a dozen years ago (Nov/Dec 2012), was after Typhoon Pablo had killed over a thousand residents, wiping-out crops, homes & entire villages. At that time, the 6th-grade classroom of our BCA school was the central processing unit to re-bag into smaller units for families, tons & tons of rice, noodles & canned meat, which she had delivered, along with toys, clothes & Bibles, in a convoy of trucks & school buses, to distribute among the survivors. Now, the city is fully recovered, & our staff had been planning this retreat/location for a few months. They didn't realize until their arrival that a government teacher-training seminar was taking place the very same date as their retreat! So, they joined-in, with academic training in the afternoons & spiritual training in the mornings & evenings. They also slept on the floors & pews of churches in the area. After they return from the retreat, we will be saying goodbye to a few of our teachers who are transferring to public school. One of those exiting is Romnick. As he moves on, we will miss him in church as well, for he had been one of our Sunday school teachers. During the Retreat's spiritual training however, Romnick was one of the leaders. He began his devotional with, "The beauty of each day is not that IT is NEW, but that WE are being MADE NEW." He mentioned in his exhortation, about incidents that had occurred in his 6th-Grade classroom this past school year. Looking around him, he stated, "Just 12 years ago, this place was a wreck. Mud was everywhere, trees were down & hundreds of corpses lined the gullies. But remember the Bible verse in Psalm 19, 'The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul…', Just as this place of devastation is now a vibrant city again, even so, when our lives have low spots, remember, God is with you in the high times and the low times and promises He'll revive us!" Romnick then recalled back when he had asked his Science class to name some calamities. They suggested earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons & tsunamis. "Each of these," continued Romnick, "make changes in the earth's surface. Problems in life also leave scars. But even though the scars often remain, we get used to them & move on." He then had shown pictures & let them identify what kind of calamity had caused the devastation in each. For instance, one city was buried in lava. That was of course, a volcano. Sometimes a calamity is the result of ongoing hardship over a long time. Earthquakes occur along fault lines; cracks in the Earth's crust where tectonic plates meet. They occur where plates are subducting, spreading, slipping, or colliding. As the plates grind together, they get stuck & pressure builds up. Finally, the pressure between the plates is so great that they break loose. Even so, in life we have friction every day. Thus, every day we need to bring these things to Jesus before a major calamity happens. "When I was a child, we often had no money for food. I would bring a little container of rice to school for lunch, & inside I had no meat, just a little salt to flavor the rice. But I survived." He asked the students what kind of challenges they had. Ashley spoke up to tell of family hardships, & suddenly burst into tears. The girl sitting next to her placed a hand on Ashley's shoulder & the crying stopped. Next was Ivan. "I have not seen my dad in five years, since I was very small. He started another family with a lady in Manila, & my mom is with another guy, whom I call my stepdad, even though divorce is illegal in the Philippines." Romnick had purposefully delved into personal tidbits as a form of "narrative psychology". He explained to his kids that the stories we tell about ourselves are the key to our well-being: the maps we use to find our way through life. Once they are examined and accepted, we can look calmly at the future. Back to the present, Romnick closed his devotional with, "What is the relationship between the volume of 3-D figures such as a rectangular prism & a pyramid? Pour water into both, & they can have the same amount that each one holds, but they look oh, so different. Likewise, I cannot totally grasp the length, width & depth of your rejoicing nor of your suffering, but I do know that the God who is with me in my life's experiences is also with you in yours & thus we both have equal cause to…REJOICE!" The next morning's devotional by Teacher Jerry-Ann, entitled "From overthinker to overcomer" tied in so well with Romnick's: "Remember, Philippians 4:6-7 says, 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts & your minds in Christ Jesus." Until next time… Let the islands…rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH: A. PJ's ?? Late Night Worship Master list - PJ Barner: actor · singer · director. YouTube: #300-201: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26FzOhEZ3k41BCzNbiSZ-qw2 B. #400-301:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26EAnhq36C3vdyKCuYefKUop C. Our son PJ on music team Praise & Healing Service at Auburn (NY) Alliance Church, Sunday, June 16, 2024. 1 hr, 55 min, 22 sec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekVA867a43U (PJ's quote from Frances Chan: "Most people would like to take a selfie with Moses, but don't they know they can go up to the mountain themselves to see God?) D. Our daughter Abigail on music team at Albany (NY) Alliance Church, Sunday, June 16, 2024. 1 hr, 1 min, 38 sec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjySqyl8IAI E. Calypso-style "I Worship You" song during offertory at Faith Fellowship Church, Davao City Philippines. Sunday, June 16, 2024. F. Faith Fellowship Church, Davao City Philippines. Sunday, June 16, 2024. Responses from evangelistic outreach. Input from Melvin Siawan. G. VBS at BCA Tuesday June 11, 2024 54 sec. The BIBLE. Davao City, Philippines. H. VBS at BCA Tuesday June 11, 2024 1 min 49 sec. Be strong & Courageous. Davao City, Philippines. https://www.facebook.com/1504076525/videos/pcb.10231993127800061/1651148022325317 I. Closing prayer and benediction Sunday, June 9 at Faith Fellowship Church Laverna Hills, Buhangin Davao City, Philippines (I messed up a little in the first note of the 3-fold Amen). 5 min 36 sec. https://www.facebook.com/1504076525/videos/pcb.10231993127800061/1669624880439983 J. Praying for birthday celebrants and visitors on Sunday, June 9 at Faith Fellowship Church Laverna Hills, Buhangin Davao City, Philippines 12 min, 24 sec. https://www.facebook.com/paul.barner.5/videos/787957600142356 K. Jairus Alvarado preaches on Sunday, June 9 at Faith Fellowship Church Laverna Hills, Buhangin Davao City, Philippines. 53 min 1 sec. https://www.facebook.com/paul.barner.5/videos/769977925319380 L. Elvie gives the announcements on Sunday, June 9 at Faith Fellowship Church Laverna Hills, Buhangin Davao City, Philippines. 5 min 66 sec. https://www.facebook.com/1504076525/videos/pcb.10231993127800061/1017671153220128 M. VBS at BCA Tuesday June 11, 2024 1 min 28 sec. Davao City, Philippines. You are Faithful. https://www.facebook.com/paul.barner.5/videos/1116569992763528 Present Need: $306 for: Vehicle Maintenance: Bus "Fi": $50 for gasoline, Bus "L": $210 for diesel gas & $15 for "vulcating" brand new tube & change of tire & $2 for rubber boots & $3 for Devcom & $10 for Brake fluid & $1 for fuse pin & $15 for rubber cups. |
| 6/13/2024 | Happy Fathers' Day! (6/16/2024). 80th Anniversary of WWII's D-Day* (6/6/1944). *On this date, more than 150,000 troops from the United States, Britain & Canada landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, beginning a months-long battle that eventually liberated Europe from Nazi Germany. Codenamed "Operation Neptune" & "Operation Overlord", D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. THIS WEEK (6/13-20): THURSDAY-FRIDAY: 2-day VBS at "Session H" at Oceanview & Lasang churches. SATURDAY: A. Wedding of Ella, former BCA teacher. B. Texas missions team visits BCA Orphanage. SUNDAY: Father's Day. Texas Pastor Jim is guest preacher. MONDAY-FRIDAY: BCA Teachers & Staff on annual 5-day Spiritual outing/retreat. (looking ahead: final 2024 VBSes in Ulas, Bangkal & Matina Pangi churches) Please pray for the 60 or so children & young teens who made decisions for Christ during VBS this 2 past weeks: some who made 1st-time decisions for salvation, while others rededicated their lives to Jesus Christ. Please also pray for two of BCA's orphanage high school graduates, Oliver and Melody, who have (this recent week) passed the SICC (Samal Island City College) Guidance Testing Center entrance exams! Praise God that Trish, a member of the Arizona missions team, spent 2 weeks with BCA's orphans, including a day-out at the beach, & also assisted during BCA's recent cluster of Vacation Bible Schools. Praise God also that about a dozen pastors & dedicated members from a few local churches came to the orphanage to help digging, in preparation for the new church/stage/basketball court which we are building. They moved about 2 tons of topsoil from the location of the church's future foundation, 100 feet away to a rocky area next to the fishpond, which will be named "Mommy Elvie's Flower Garden". Praise God too that the Philippine Department of Fisheries donated 1000 tilapia minnow fish to the orphanage for the kids to grow, & eventually to harvest & eat. "Think about Joseph…" After BCA's Chaplain Melvin interviewed dozens of boys regarding their spiritual growth, he filled-out BCAs unique "CDEs: Child Development Evaluation" forms. It was Friday afternoon: time to counsel the fathers of some of these boys. Frank (not his real name) expressed his own frustrations to BCA's chaplain. "I don't know what to do. I am angry at my brothers who have ganged up on me & really treated me like dirt." Chaplain Melvin was seated in his new, comfortable Chaplain's Office: a large, former storage room on the BCA campus, which he had cleaned out & also had begun painting. This was after he had steamed the mildew off the walls. "Frank, you are not the first. Around 5,000 years ago, a guy in the Bible named Jospeh was super talented, but his brothers treated him like dirt. Just as they were about to kill him, they changed their minds & instead sold him into slavery!" Suddenly Frank's face was not so downtrodden. "Whoah. Compared to Joe's family, my brothers are saints!" Melvin went on the share how God protected Joseph, even guiding the mighty Pharoah of Egypt to make Jospeh prime minister of the country! When Melvin told how Jospeh's brothers had come to get grain during a famine, Frank waited in anticipation to see how Jospeh would exterminate the ne'er-do-wells. But Melvin stated, "Joseph forgave his brothers! And they lived happily-ever-after together in the land of Egypt!" In Melvin's counseling sessions, he has noticed that some people who feel sad figure that nobody has ever experienced anything as awful as what THEY are experiencing. But Frank saw here that he was not alone, & that the same Sovereign God who guided Jospeh also guides Frank. Frank promised that he would forgive his brothers & act as if they had never done him wrong, while also taking precautionary measures to protecting himself from his brothers harming him again in that same way. Fort the rest of the workday, Melvin was busy rearranging the music equipment storage closet, & also preparing sound equipment & microphones for an upcoming wedding. Delighted in the privilege of touching lives like Frank's, Melvin thought back 2 days to Wednesday's morning prayer meeting with the parents of students in the school. When BCA's chaplains & parents began praying, Melvin suddenly felt an incredible boost as God's Holy Spirit overwhelmed him, to clearly understand the depth of truth in the scriptures which the school secretary had presented. Melvin peeped through his formerly closed eyelids to see if others had experienced the same rush. Sure enough, like a wave, around the circle of parents, standing side by side & holding hands & praying, it was as if a wave of the sea was washing over the group, & each was noticeably spontaneously breathing deeper & smiled. In basketball practice a few hours later, there seemed to be an extra spring in Melvin's step, as he thought back to that incredible surge of power he had felt in the morning prayer meeting with the parents. Until next time… Let the islands…rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH: A. PJ's Late Night Worship Master list - PJ Barner: actor · singer · director. YouTube: #300-201: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26FzOhEZ3k41BCzNbiSZ-qw2 B. #400-301: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26EAnhq36C3vdyKCuYefKUo C. Trish, our guest from Arizona, USA, giving gifts from her American church to BCA's orphans. Saturday 6/8/24. Present Need: $300 for: (installment #2 of 9) $2,700 for 5 (2hp Carrier brand) air conditioners for Barner Christian Academy: #1: 7th Grade classroom, #2: Library, #3: Home Economics classroom, #4: Men's chaplain's office, #5: 3rd Grade classroom. $2,100 remaining. 3 Ongoing Construction Projects: 1- SUBASTA Tribal campus ($250,000): $78,697. Still needed: $171,303 |
| 6/6/2024 | Philippine Independence Day (6/12) THIS WEEK (6/6-13): THURSDAY: (today) CJ's 13th birthday celebration at orphanage. Also closing-exercises of 2-day "Camp Joshua" VBS at "Session B" in 4 Samal Island locations: Penaplata-Limao-Babak & San Vicente. FRIDAY-SATURDAY: 2-day VBS at "Session C" in BCA's orphanage, with closing bonfire. MONDAY-TUESDAY: 2-day VBS at "Session D" in 5 "mainland" locations: Lasang, Oceanview, Ulas, Matina & Bangkal WEDNESDAY: Citywide mass baptismal service (Elvie is the planner)…nearly a hundred are expected to be baptized at the beach that day, with bands, drama, & Biblical preaching…and lots of food. THURSDAY-FRIDAY: 2-day VBS at "Session E" on the campus of Barner Christian Academy. Please pray for these 2 weeks of Vacation Bible School, as the students sponsored by Barner Christian Academy invite their unsaved friends to hear about Jesus during their exciting 2-day event of games, Bible lessons, songs and dances. Three 2-day sessions are each arranged in 4 various locations, totaling 6 VBSes, with each week sponsoring the complete staff. Then, at Sessions 4 & 5, at the orphanage and the BCA school campus. Please also pray for the construction of a stage/church at BCA's orphanage. The church youth group has already requested future use of the stage for a week-long Bible camp/training event, and we've only just completed digging up the topsoil to reveal the rock underneath, which will be dug through to install its cement foundation! Please also pray for BCA's media team, as they take video footage of nearly 1,000 kids in BCA's 16 VBSes, and combine the songs into a mosaic, 4-minute presentation which Elvie & I can show in nearly one hundred churches we visit on tour in USA/Guam/Canada & Mexico over 2024-2025. Praise God that McKelvin, a ten-yr-old boy who broke his leg last week, received money from BCA's "EMF: Emergency Medical Fund" to pay his hospital bill. Also, praise God that a church in the western USA gave over $700 for to replace the refrigerator which has a broken motor at BCA's orphanage. That church's missions committee also gave funds to stock- up the orphanage on plates, pans, utensils & other much-needed kitchen supplies. Praise God that Pastor Jim, from a Filipino church in Texas, is arriving this month with a work team to Mindanao. On Father's Day (6/16), Pastor Jim will be preaching at our church! With Jesus, we are strong & courageous!" Hundreds of VBS kids flexed their muscled as they sang the theme song for this year's "Camp Joshua" Vacation Bible School. We chose the farthest-flung location to begin our 31-church VBS series…after an hour-long wait to drive onto the cross-channel barge, then another 3-hour drive on mostly dirt roads to the fishing village of Tucanga, Samal Island. All the teachers & staff of BCA, plus some volunteers from the church, & also an international visitor, Trish, from Arizona, USA. While this fishing village-church is by far not the biggest, it definitely in in the running for the biggest heart! Just these last 2 weeks, members of the church have brought their motorcycles over to our side of the island to help 3 separate times, at our orphanage, harvesting coconuts, trimming the banana plants, and working alongside our orphans to spruce up the orphanage's 5-acre Campus. While climbing up a coconut tree, one worker nudged a bees' nest & scooted, shinnying down the tree at breakneck speed, receiving only 6 beestings before running off at the ground level, to cake mud on the throbbing bumps to withdraw the stingers. These families just want to show in some small way that they are extremely appreciative that their children are receiving free schooling through BCA's international student sponsorship program. Also, this past Sunday, our church youth group on the mainland invited half a dozen other church youth groups for a sports fest: nearly 80 teens, who competed here at BCA in basketball and volleyball. Watching the games, you'd think the boys were angels, as they seemed to be "flying" in the air more than on the ground! Especially when the basketball got stuck between the hoop & backboard, and one Filipino kid leapt up into the air & with one fell swoop, knocking it back down into play! While the 2023-24 school year at BCA is now over, & kids are looking forward to when their new 2024-25 year will start, they do not get much of a break. No, we require VBS & Summer School attendance, so in essence, they have 12 months of schooling. Our teachers also do not get much of a Summer break. The nursery school teacher Jerry Ann entered into her daily journal, "Today dawned with the promise of a fresh start, brimming with excitement as I entered the familiar halls of our beloved institution: BCA. Anticipation danced in the air, setting the stage for a day filled with bustling activity & cheerful interactions." Hmmm, how can this be the case, when the students were absent on their "in-between-events" day? Jerry-Ann's stated "Administrative tasks" included calculating the final report cards & grades to be submitted to the parents, sponsors & also to the Department of Education. Partway through the day, I (Paul) arrived at the school with cookies & muffins I had baked for our incredible staff. Elvie also provided a full lunch that she had cooked-up. As the teams were assigned to various churches for VBS, the training began to build excitement: 2-days, followed by 2-more-days & then even 2-more, each at different locations. They'd be camping out, staying in churches & also, the closer they got to the orphanage, staying there as well. "As the day ended," continued Jerry Ann in her journal, "I could not help but reflect on the camaraderie & sense of purpose that permeated our interactions. It was a reminder of the joy that comes from working together towards a common goal. With renewed energy & enthusiasm, I looked forward to the adventures that awaited us in the days to come…" She then opened her Bible to read her verse for the day, "Let all that you do be done with love." 1 CORINTHIANS 16:14 At church Sunday, between the Friday training & the Monday VBS, I preached form Matthew 26, when Peter had denied Jesus 3 times before his Savior was crucified. "Do NOT Kidnap Christ!" I challenged. "When we refuse to tell people about our Jesus, it is like we are locking Jesus into a jailcell & keeping him all to ourselves." Requesting that the congregation take an imaginary, invisible key out of their pockets & holding those keys into the air, I said, "Put your key in the lock & open the door to let your testimony be told to your friends…& now into the lock again, to tell your family & co-workers…& one more time, to tell your classmates!" This week the teachers are doing just that: opening the door of their testimony by telling hundreds of BCA students about Joshua's victory at Jericho, & also about our own victory through Jesus' salvation at the cross! Bright and early at 4:30am Monday morning, the teachers loaded into the BCA school buses to head off to the island to tell poor children of fishermen & farmers that blessings abundant are provided for life by our Savior Jesus Christ. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give?c=6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $324 for: Vehicle Maintenance: Bus "L": $1 for sand paper & $10 for Bash relay & $81 for repair of gear box, stop light seal, steering wheel pump & dragging & $6 for Fuel filter, Vehicle Maintenance: Bus "Ph": $226 for gasoline. 3 Ongoing Construction Projects:
Upcoming (General) Schedule: American short-term work teams:
Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing/Visiting Tour: AUG- IL/NY/ SEP-NY,PA/VA/GA/ OCT-FL,SC/MD/NJ / NOV-NY,IL,MO,IN/ DEC-NY,TORONTO,KY/ JAN '25-NC,AL,SC,TX/ FEB '25-MEXICO,AZ,CA/ MAR '25- CA,UT,KS,OH,NY/ APR '25 NY/ MAY '25 WA,AK,OH,Saskatchewan/ JUN-AUG '25 PA,VT,NY,CT/ SEP '25 WI,NM,MO,AR,TN,NY/ OCT '25 NY,NJ/ NOV '25 NY,IL,Guam,Davao. BCA church MPM: "Midweek Prayer Meeting" speakers (9:30 & 10:30am): June: Spkr: Mr. Viray/ Music: Mrs. Viray. Preaching themes by month for Davao Church: June: PETER, July: WORK, August: EVANGELISM, September: STEWARDSHIP, October: MISSIONS, November: ESCHATOLOGY, December: ADVENT/CHRISTMAS |
| 5/30/2024 | THIS WEEK (5/30-6/6): THURSDAY: (today) Arizona missions team arrives for 2 wks. BCA Orphans' Elementary Graduation Presentation (CJ moving-up to Jr High: 7th gd). FRIDAY: Jonas' 15th birthday celebration at orphanage. SUNDAY: Communion Sunday. My Bible message: "Kidnapping Jesus". MONDAY-TUESDAY: 2024 VBS begins: locations "A": Day #1 & 2: Island Village Churches: TUCANGA-KAUSWAGAN-KAPUTIAN-SION-BANDERA. WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY: 2024 VBS: locations "B": Day #3 & 4: Island Village Churches: PENAPLATA-LIMAO-BABAK-SAN VICENTE. Thursday: CJ's 13th birthday celebration at orphanage. Please pray for the twin baby goats ("kids") who were born at BCA's orphanage this past Tuesday afternoon: a boy & a girl. Last year when the mamma goat had twins, one was much weaker & died within the week. Please pray that both kids remain strong, to help us increase the herd. While we have 4 goats now, we'd like to make it a dozen. Of course, sometimes toward the end of the month when the food budget gets thin, we butcher an animal or two. But being bigger, the goats are usually a last resort, after chickens, fish & other critters on the farm. Praise God that 3 American friends from various states, this past week gave a combined total of over $1500 for the following: Bibles, Triathlon fund for BCA's new chapel, BCA's EMF (Emergency Medical Fund), & food for the orphans. Praise God also that this week I (Paul) finished reading the Bible cover-to-cover again, for my 85th time. Now for #86…today already nearly halfway through Genessis…Hi again, Abraham, Isaac & Jacob! Long time no see. I miss you guys… Praise God for Elvie. She was the speaker at a church-wide ladies' event this past Sunday afternoon. Afterward there were sack races, Bible charades, Bible quiz questions, relay races, other games, food & fun for all. The orphans (only half of them female) couldn't resist & begged to stay for all the fun. Praise God also for BCA's orphans. They ran the music time Sunday, along with scripture reading, prayer, etc. BCA's Chaplain Melvin was the preacher. Since Pastor Melvin is extremely gifted at music, he trained the kids for their Sunday presentations on Saturday night, riding his motorcycle onto the barge to the orphanage, ten miles away. On his way, Melvin almost wiped out when his tire was flattened by not one, but three nails scattered on the road in front of him. He pushed his bike to a place that could fix his tire. However, before heading back to the mainland (after training the kids at the orphanage), he confided in me that since he had used his barge-fare to fix the tire, he had no way to get back. Instead of just handing him the funds, I presented the need to the kids. "Let's take an offering to pay the $3 (150 pesos) that Pastor Melvin needs!" I wasn't sure if the kids would give or not. After all the kids went back to their rooms to get money, Johnjohn went from one to another of his siblings (plus myself) with his hands cupped in front of him. Then, pouring out the collection onto the tabletop, I was amazed when he counted the love-gift for Melvin…nearly THREE TIMES what he needed! Praise God for the sacrificial giving of these kids! Where did the kids get this money? We give them fare to get to school each day, and also we give them lunch money. But they have carefully saved, & with moist eyes I reminded Melvin that these kids truly have sacrificed & gone without, so they could give these gifts. After the rumble of Melvin's motorcycle could be heard passing out the gate & onto the gravel road home, I looked at the kids, making eye contact with each precious child, one-by-one. With deep emotion, I exclaimed with a soft voice, "I am SO PROUD of you guys!" "As president of this institution, I now pronounce you GRADUATES of Barner Christian Academy, School year 2023-2024! Please move the tassel on your caps from the left to right side." Dozens of students in their white graduation togas watched as BCA's underclassmen, class-by-class sang, "We are the World," (links at the bottom of this page) & many Christian songs. A cute little 4-yr-old preschooler had also been ushered to the stage for his well-practiced solo. You could hear a pin drop. But he just stood there, all 3 ft high of him, alone in his brand-new school uniform, on a big stage with a microphone in his hand. He looked out on the audience, of 300 students & parents, teachers & staff, & immediately got stage-fright. He stood like a statue for a whole minute. People waited expectantly…especially his teacher & parents, who had practiced this solo with him for weeks. But when it came time for the presentation, he just stared. Then, wailing at the top of his lungs, he screamed, "WAAAHHH!" Kindly, his teacher & mom came out on both sides of him, removed his white-knuckle-tight grasp on the mic, & patiently walked him down the steps of the stage. Gotta hand it to the audience. Instead of laughing or judging, they gave him thunderous applause! One very touching song's lyrics sung later by the graduates included, "I have learned a lot of things, but I have one question for you, Mom & Dad: Are you PROUD of ME?" With hardly a dry eye in the place, hundreds of nodding heads confirmed, "Yes. YES! We are so VERY proud of you!" A few days later, Elvie & I attended the graduation & moving-up ceremonies of our orphans on nearby Samal (IGACOS: Island Garden City of Samal). Three days of ceremonies culminated in Melody receiving her diploma from 12th grade, & CJ receiving his from 6th. CJ is a bruiser of a 12 yr old. When his classmates gave bouquets to their parents, I didn't see anything in his hand. Then he came over & reached into his pocket, pulling 2 homemade flowers out: one for Elvie & one for me!). At one point, during the high school ceremony, Melody & her classmates in their white togas, stood up & looked at their parents. I remember when Melody's father had died of dengue fever over a decade ago. Relatives & neighbors had at that time threatened to split-up the 4 siblings & raise them in various villages, scattered miles apart throughout the jungle. But instead, since then, Elvie & I have been their parents. Today, a dozen years later, this little orphan child no longer has tears of grief in her eyes, but instead, tears of joy, singing to Elvie & me. "Dad & Mom, you are the reason I'm here today." I didn't see a 19-yr-old. No. I still saw that little 8-yr-old whose father I had just buried. And then last night, Melody introduced us to the young man whom she plans to attend college with (while she remains at the orphanage, commuting back & forth). We really grilled this guy, R-Jay. Elvie & I had tons of questions, yet he seems to be a strong Christian & is dedicated to accomplish his goals in life. Back on the mainland, BCA's teachers & staff are now busy finalizing their students' end-of-year grades for the Department of Education records. Elvie also is training the BCA faculty, staff, & also volunteers from the church, for Vacation Bible School (VBS) & BCA's 2024 Summer School, to begin next week. Upper classmen are especially thrilled to try out 3 of BCA's brand-new classrooms! This year, BCA once again is sending the teachers out 2x2 to the 31 various locations for VBS (where they will stay overnight, sleeping in the church sanctuaries). We are also shortening the number of days for each location, collecting the smaller groups into the larger areas, & increasing the length of each day's program to a full 8 hours in each church. The final event (of the 31 VBSes at 6 locations) will be at BCA's orphanage on nearby Samal island, with the entire VBS staff participating, including a bonfire & banquet. We expect over fifty kids, since our own 11 orphans are excitedly inviting their neighbors & buddies from school to come. American friends have also given funds so that we can feed all who arrive. Even though classes for School Year 2023-2024 are finished, BCA's Teacher Jovi was reminiscing about one of her 5th Grade classes back in March. She was evaluating the students' reading abilities via a theory called, "Learning By Doing". This approach promises to not only enhance understanding, but also retention & the ability to apply knowledge. Using project-based learning modules created uniquely by each teacher, it uses a hands-on learning style to transform educational experiences by making learning tangible & directly linked to real-world applications. Teacher Jovi, with a blank piece of paper on her desk in front of her, had pen in hand. Blank white sheet of paper. Lots of space but…no ideas. Huh? Was that a bird outside the window? No, Jovi, do not be distracted. Come on ideas, where are you? Think. Lots of paper, no ideas. Pen full of ink, but none of that ink on the paper…Hmmm… "Ok, let's put me in the place of the students. Do I want lots of repetitious, silly questions? No, of course not. Let's get right to the point and get it over with. Lots of questions would not help me measure the knowledge of the students effectively." If I was a student, completing this module, I'd…wish I was somewhere else! That's IT! Let's use the kids' imagination & move their minds OUT of the classroom and on-site! Suddenly ideas flowed like those of a dream. Jovi placed each student on-site, constructing a bridge across an expansive chasm. The first essay was to determine the need. In one paragraph, the learner was to describe the problem: build a bridge. Next paragraph: what it will be like when the bridge is completed. The ceremony opening of the bridge, the first vehicle across, the free-flow of products & people from one cluster of villages & cities to another. Next, what steps were taken to construct this massive edifice: funding, budgets, materials, workers, manufacture of specific enormous girders, security guards to keep materials from being stolen, secret agents to keep the guards from stealing their own materials, paving materials, traffic redirection signage, community awareness specialists, salaries & food. Fast-forward a few months to moving-up & graduation day at BCA. After reading carefully every single module of each student back in March, Teacher Jovi had been thrilled by the ingenuity of her kids. As they stood on stage, side by side, Jovi envisioned their future to come, as their present, right now: potential contractors, architects, city planners & surveyors, working together for a common goal…all wrapped up in 5th-Grade bodies! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH: A. PJ's Late Night Worship Master list - PJ Barner: actor · singer · director. YouTube: #300-201: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26FzOhEZ3k41BCzNbiSZ-qw2 B. #400-301: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLItygvjoq26EAnhq36C3vdyKCuYefKUop C. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #1 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12nFr6UnLM7ZX3h9scSZAp2S65vriyILX D. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #2 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/974705640647703 E. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #3 F. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #4 https://www.facebook.com/100001935800352/videos/pcb.25385470937767417/366659955915490 G. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #5 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/890600829495283 H. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #6 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/337735239340675 I. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #7 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/1108918680389580 J. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #8 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/1002522704820199 K. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #9 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/504457738573632 L. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #10 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/456917086739620 M. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #11 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/502092245479917 N. Barner Christian Academy Graduation Ceremonies, Part #12 https://www.facebook.com/bcadavaocity/videos/1147282916478723 |
| 5/23/2024 | Memorial Day, USA (May 27, 2024) Happy Graduation Day, BCA Batch of '24! (5/23/24) THIS WEEK (5/23-30): THURSDAY: BCA Graduation Presentation. SATURDAY & SUNDAY: Community-Wide ladies prayer mtg at our church. MONDAY: 1st day of 6-day BCA Teachers' Retreat. TUESDAY: Graduiation of high schoolers at BCA's orphanage. WDDNESDAY; Graduation of elementary students at BCA's orphanage. Please pray for Wayne & his 6-member missions work-team coming from Pennsylvania in July, half of whom are thrilling, God-centered teenagers. They have recently purchased their airplane tickets & are looking forward to coming: "working hard in serving the Lord & spending time with the children". Meanwhile, Elvie & I are planning-out the details for the eleven days they will be here. The timing is great, as they can assist in mixing & pouring cement for the new stage/basketball court/church at BCA's orphanage. Since this church youth group sponsors 2 children from BCA, the team is really looking forward to meeting them. They emailed, "We can't wait to come & serve & worship with brothers & sisters in Christ from half way around the world." Please also pray for Trish, a retiree from Arizona who is returning to the orphanage for a month to work with the kids. She helped supervise the kids pre-covid for a few years when they were much younger. Praise God that a friend in Virginia gave $320 this past week for tools at our orphanage. This was very timely, as we had just bought shovels, extension cords (for the jackhammer & grinder) & other tools for an ongoing construction project to build a guesthouse/houseparent residence at the compound. Praise God also for our daughter Abby's safe flight from Chicago to New York on Monday (due to a gate change, she had to run past 30 gates in five minutes!). She's finished the year of classes, but stayed on campus a few days to work for food service at an event. For the next few months in New York, she plans on working at a summer job to partially pay for her next semester at Moody Bible Institute. "ONE for ALL & ALL for ONE Purpose!" 80 young people, aged 8 to 28, along with 20 volunteer staff from the church, yelled out together the theme of this month's outreach event, the "Amazing Race". BCA's Chaplain Melvin, who is also my assistant pastor in charge of music & youth, led the devotional: "Working as a Team to Fulfill Christ's Great Commission". On Sunday afternoon at 2, the kids had come to BCA from multiple churches (including ten of BCA's orphans), in white t-shirts, for splashes of colored-powder to be thrown onto their hair, clothes & faces. But before arriving at the finish line, each of the six teams (red, orange, yellow, green, blue & purple) had to overcome a series of obstacles: 1: running a half-mile, 2: the spider web (one-by-one squeezing through a "web" of string without touching it), 3: flour transfer relay from face-to-face, 4: hopscotch in a 6-square cross-shape, 5: balloon relay. Everybody had a blast, laughing, yelling & singing…and sweating! And eating lots of spaghetti at the finale. The singing alone, with a live band & energetic Christian songs, took nearly an hour. Altogether, after the final awards ceremony, (everybody got something) they ended up heading home around 8pm. The next day at BCA, Teacher Espenosa was prepping his 2nd graders for BCA's annual Graduation & Moving-up Ceremony, which is scheduled for today, Thursday (5/23). After the Monday-morning teachers' group devotional, as well as the schoolwide flag raising, Christian Zumba, prayer & national anthem in the gym, Teacher Espe welcomed his 30 students to their seats. "Today's Bible verse is Romans 8:28, 'And we know that all things work together for good, for those who love God are the called according to His purpose." Together the class recited the verse. Then, one-by-one, each student did so as well. By the time student #30 recited it, the verse was firmly ingrained in their little heads. "Now, although we are finished with all the lessons & exams, & before we head back to the gym for practice of your songs, dances & marches, let's have some fun!" YEAH! Called out the kids. They earned this fun day by diligently doing all their lessons throughout the school year. However, Espenosa had a scheme up his sleeve: the kids, though having fun, were still going to learn a few more things! "We are going to be a barnyard!" They counted-off by 2s & lined-up in parallel lines. Then, pairing-off at the blackboard, #1 in each pair wrote the name of an animal on the board. #2 then made the sound of that animal! After 20 minutes of "baas & moos & grrrs & roars", Espe came to realize it was more of a zoo than a farm, Nonetheless, teamwork & identification, as well as spelling & reading, were accomplished. Next, still in the theme of game-oriented learning fun, Espe wrote ten numbers on the board, all the way from 5 to 5000. Pointing his ruler at the number 5, and then with his other hand at the animal name "bear", the students roared at the decibel 5 bears would sound. When he got to "chicken", he pointed to 5000! Those in other classrooms most likely were curious as to what all the deafening squawking was, coming from around the door of 2nd Grade! Congratulations, Class of '24! You made it! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for (installment #130 of 400) $120,000 3-story, flood-proof (9-foot-high backfill) raised parking garage/ school chapel & teachers' apartments next to BCA's present building. $51,000 remaining.
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| 4/11/2024 | Please pray for the process of transferring a ton (2,000 pounds) of cases of preschool items into the new storage building which we just finished building on the roof of our BCA school. This, combined with the tearing down of a few walls in one of our less-used storage rooms on the first floor, which will be used for home economics & 7TH Grade. We really need to finish beautifying, painting & preparing these 3 areas (complete with new doors & fire exits) before the government's surprise inspection which could happen at any time. Plus, the new classroom's bathroom needs a tad of work done to make it function again. Praise God that although the temperature went up to 115 degrees, & many schools had a half-day of classes, BCA's kids were fine all day in their air-conditioned classrooms. Praise God also that 2 new sponsored kids enrolled at BCA this week: their mom is a former 2nd grade student of ours & their dad is in jail. Praise God too that a friend tithed to us the profits from an investment he made, donating over $4,000 which we are using to build the new storage room for preschool supplies plus the following: gas for BCA's Bus "O": $55, gas & 11 plate battery for BCA Bus "C": $501, gas for BCA Bus "H": $383, 2 tires & 4 shocks & brake fluid & atf fluid & 12v horn for BCA Bus "L": $296, 4 Brake drums for BCA's Bus "Fi": $479, For the BCA guest house: $125 for an ironing board & 60kg hand truck (dolly), and we treated our twelve orphans to a fun afternoon at the mall, with dinner at a Chinese restaurant: $94. Also praise God that, while driving my pickup truck, I was following a large flatbed truck filled with iron beams. I decided to give it an extra car length of buffer space, just 2 minutes before it went over a bump & dumped the whole load onto the middle of the road…had I not moved, the iron beams would have gone through my windshield! "Dad, please take out your cell phone…" Our son PJ & his wife Briana (in NY) called on "Messenger" to Elvie & I (in Davao), & Abby (in Chicago). "Got it? Ok, go to your list of contacts, find your own phone number, & change the name from 'Dad' to 'Lolo!'" After a split second, it dawned on me…Elvie & I will be grandparents! Lolo means "Grandpa" in the Philippines! Yes, Briana is pregnant! Yay & congrats! Meanwhile in the Philippines, BCA's 5th Grade teacher Romnick was giving awards to his students. "Absolute" is a smart & creative student. She has a 95% average, so has top honors. "Mytha," a natural-born pioneer always in the classroom, was recognized with the Leadership Award. With this inspiration for others to aspire toward future awards, Romnick then showed the students a video, with a fill-in-the-blank (with missing words) worksheet to complete as they watched: "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?" followed-up by a second video (with corresponding worksheet) on "7 Steps in finding the right Career". "Rey, could you read your first answer?" Rey responded: "#1: Make a list of your hobbies. I like to read & to play basketball." "Ashley, you have #2." Ashley quipped: "#2: Discover what you're good at. I am really good at washing clothes & dancing." "Carlo, 3." Carlo explained, "#3: Identify your personality traits. I am an extrovert & ambitious." Heads nodded around the classroom, since Carlo is also a bully. "Cyan, you have 4." Cyan said, "#4: Determine what you want out of a career. I want to make money…LOTS & LOTS of money!" Chuckles again. "Geneford, 5." Geneford began, "#5: Talk to industry experts. Well, Teacher Romnick, since I want to become a teacher, I will ask you, what is your secret to being a great teacher?" Romnick was tongue-tied with this compliment, wondering if he was just being buttered-up, or not. So, he took the upper hand, quipping back, "Oh, it is not hard being a great teacher when you have such incredible students!" Applause, of course followed. "Jayiane, 6." Jayiane said, "#6: Research the job market. Okay, I want to be a housewife. But I am in only 6th grade & have no husband. Any offers?" "Last but not least, your turn, Kien, for #7." Kien quoted, "#7: Discover your core values… yeah. I like food….& there is also food, & then, did I tell you that one of my major core values is food?" Teacher Romnick was thankful that the students were having such a fun time on the project, & he then dove into the lesson on Career Development Skills, to equip individuals to take ownership in navigating their own career pathway. Career education is good for students! Not only that, but research shows that if students see the relevance & meaning in school, it results in improved interest in academic performance. Another student raised her hand. "Yes, Abby?" To which she responded, "I already have started earning money right here in class!" All heads turned to see what in the world she was talking about. Abby then went on to explain, "I am very excited about my great exam results because when I get a high score like these, I go home & sell my grades to my mom!" Romnick smiled. It seemed as though his students were teaching his class for him! He would have to fill-in some of the students with what they missed, since many were out with chicken pox. Huh, maybe they'd see this as a talent…raising chickens! Easter Sunday, a few days before, I had baptized a dozen new believers in the ocean…many were former BCA students. To each one I asked, "What will you do to help in the church?" Talents, gifts & skills…these are all things the Lord uses for His Glory. The greatest career path is to use our God-given gifts for the Glory of God. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need:$302 for: $200 for BCA guest house: 400 paving stones, key shaped Etruria & $32 for Danze Soft 19" White Toilet Seat, BCA school campus: $48 for 6 $22 for fluorescent lightbulbs, Luminaire Zigmz Akari Lightbulb (set) Ongoing Construction Projects:
Upcoming (General) Schedule:
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| 4/4/2024 | Total solar eclipse (4/8). Please pray for wisdom in the Philippines as congregants mull over the messages of preachers across the archipelago who have presented on Easter Sunday the complete salvation supplied by Jesus at the cross. An illustration of the confusion that cultic leaders have presented is seen by a Filipino villager who has been nailed to a cross as a plea for prayer for world peace, for the 35th time, every year (minus covid yrs,) since he was 25. The nails are carefully placed to avoid fatally puncturing major blood vessels. Praise God that, another Christian school, from the other side of Mindanao (700 miles away) in Zamboanga, brought 20 teachers & staff to visit BCA! Praise God too that our kids, PJ & Abby, sang together in church Palm Sunday morning just 6 hrs before Abby had to fly back to Chicago since Abby's classes begin again Monday morning, at the end of spring break. The next day (Good Friday), Elvie drove to the school a few hours before me, to help set-up chairs & to bring sugar & palm fruit (some of the ingredients for bnignit, a Filipino sweet pudding Easter delicacy). Unlike the busy holidays like Christmas & Easter, the Philippines is like a ghost town on Good Friday, since almost all the businesses are closed. So as Elvie was driving across a major thoroughfare, there was not a car in sight. She waited for a lone motorcycle to pass, while the next motorcycle was a quarter-mile down the road. She got halfway across the street, & BANG! The guy slammed his motorcycle into the rear quarter-panel of our newest BCA school bus. The other driver crawled out from under the van as Elvie stepped down from her driver's-seat. The cyclist's bent mirror & broken signal-light was worse than the small scratch on BCA's hearty van. The other driver, Erel (in his late 20s), apologized profusely, explaining that he was trying to catch up with his buddy who had a head start on him (actually racing each other). Elvie was more concerned with the eternal destiny of this daredevil. "Friend, suppose you had not lived through this incident. Would you be in Heaven?" There, in the middle of the deserted street, with not another vehicle in sight, she prayed with this man as he grappled with his eternal destiny! Meanwhile, on the BCA campus a few days before the Easter break, Kindergarten Teacher Violeta was in the teachers' lounge, setting up her computer. Heavy rains had caused the Davao City government to shift in-person classes to online virtual classroom settings. This was not possible before COVID. But now that most schools are set-up with the capacity to "live stream," it is a veritable option for times of calamity, of which the Philippine Archipelago is replete (volcanoes, floods, earthquakes, terrorist alerts…) as a "regular customer". All the kids were able to sign on, either via a neighbor's cellphone, or even with a few who were able to get out to internet cafes (those which were still open even during heavy rainstorms). After a while online, Violy gave the kids a break. Too much time on-screen can make their minds wander & also hurt their eyes. So, she gave breaks for exercises &/or snacks, every 20 minutes or so. "Parents?" Violy made sure that none of the kids were alone. After all, they were just kindergarteners. The parents often enjoyed the lessons as much as the kids did. "Tomorrow," Violy announced, "In-person classes will be back in session (if it doesn't rain again) & we'll celebrate by having a pajama party!" Fortunately, the streaming was online, as the volume could be turned down while the deafening cheers went up by all the students. Back in the classroom the next day, the kindergarteners traipsed into a classroom that had been transformed into a heavenly dreamlike setting, with colored paper, lights & hearts on the walls & desks. A few weeks ago, Teacher Violeta had begun planning this special day. After hours, she planned & cut & glued together the decorations. Last night, she stayed awake at the school until close to midnight adorning the walls with twinkling fairy lights, colorful streamers, & whimsical decorations that would transport the kids into a world of wonder as they entered. Then this day, the kids themselves also looked different, compared with the older students, in their full BCA school uniforms. In their pajamas, these kindergarteners still began the day with the regular routine of singing the national anthem, prayer & greeting their teacher & classmates. After lining up to receive their gummy vitamins (donated by American friends-thank you!), there was a short quiz, & the room echoed with the soft sounds of pencils scratching against paper: a symphony of concentration. When the final quiz paper was turned in, this was the time when the real fun began. Violy had replaced the desks with blankets & pillows. Large, comfy cushions were scattered around, providing the perfect spots for the kids to lounge & enjoy the festivities. The kids left the classroom, formed a line outside the door, & then walked back in, receiving a personalized invitation to the PAJAMA PARTY. The invitations were adorned with playful doodles & promised a day full of fun, games, & surprises. The excitement in their eyes as they received these special invitations was exhilarating. The day highlighted bedtime stories, snuggling in cozy blankets, & lively discussions of the stories' plot themes. Snacks included popcorn & cookies, along with a scrumptious treat: hot cocoa! There was a pillow fort-building contest, developing teamwork in transforming the classroom into a fairytale city with tunnels, towers, & secret hideaways emerging from a sea of pillows & blankets. The day was a magical break from routine & the kids loved it. "Thank you!" quipped Josiah as he & his classmates received treats in their goody-bags given as they left the classroom & headed for their school buses. Just 5 days later, Easter Sunday arrived. Due to it being a 4am early Sunrise Service, the normal Sunday Morning Prayer Time was laid aside as it was still dark when dozens filed in through the gate. My message was entitled, "Don't look for a Friend in a Cemetery: Why Seek Ye the Living Among the Dead?" It was followed by the eleven new converts who would be baptized just a few hours later at the beach, giving their personal testimonies of faith. A 19-yr-old, Bea, actually presented the prayer of salvation for any present whom God might be directing to receive the gift of eternal life themselves! The previous week, on Palm Sunday after church, during the baptismal training session, one of the church elders shared, "A few candidates for baptism are not quite ready yet." I said, "We can easily fix that." What I meant was that we could clearly present this act of obedience which is an "outward sign of an inward change" in their lives. One candidate even prayed again for assurance of salvation. But to catch their attention, I joked, "Ok, I can easily get you ready for baptism. I will hold you under water, then pull you up & say, 'Are you ready? not yet? Okay…' then hold you under even longer, til you are gasping for breath, bring you up and… 'are you ready? Almost?' Hold under once more, then back up and "Are you ready? Gulp…yes! I am ready!" By the end of training, they all assured me, "Nope. We've got this." Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give?c=6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for (installment #3 of 6) $1,800 to build a "bodega" reinforced room (on the roof over the central part of the school) to house over a ton of preschool toys & supplies, donated by other schools for BCA's future Preschool wing. |
| 3/28/2024 | Barners' Missionary Prayer Diary: March 28, 2024. St Patrick's Day (3/17). Easter, Resurrection Sunday (3/31/24). Please pray for me (Paul) as I speak to around 200 leading Christian men in Davao this Thursday (3/28). My theme is CHOOSE, with the points, CHOOSE THE PLAN & CHOOSE THE MAN (Joshua 24:14-15) "We will serve the Lord." Praise God that, while Elvie was entertaining an Australian visitor, they visited a park in the mountains surrounding Davao. The gardener let Elvie have some seeds form exotic flowers there, which our orphans helped Elvie to plant & beautify the orphanage. Praise God also that the government permits are almost ready for the groundbreaking of BCA;s new multipurpose building. We'd had a glitch when the former construction company got tired of waiting for the permits and therefore quit. So we checked two other companies. We finally settled on the one which would allow us to give a downpayment of only 20% of the expenses for the 1st floor, and we can save money by purchasing the materials ourselves. "And now, light the Unity Candle…" At the wedding of Hahrby & Jane last week, Pastor Callem led the couple in many of the traditional Philippine customs: the Veil, the Cord, the Coins, the Bible , the Rings, & now, the Candles. The idea was to take their individual candles & to light to the one main candle, to represent both how the two were to become one, & also how they were both joined to Jesus. Yet since the candles had been lit for a long time, the wax had gotten them stuck in their holders. So, the Maid of Honor & the Best Man faithfully grabbed a few other smaller candles from a nearby box. Suddenly they found out why these candles had not been lit…they were electric! Anyway, they finally got the other two candles unstuck & continued the ceremony. 20 years ago Hahrby & his little brother had come into BCA as preschoolers. Their parents, Rey & Lucy, were unbelievers at that time. However, one of the requirements to receive free schooling at BCA is to attend church & discipleship meetings. In these meetings both Rey & Lucy accepted Jesus into their hearts as their personal Savior. They became involved in the church, & eventually we hired Lucy as BCA's nurse. Families, friends, neighbors & relatives entered the program & also accepted Jesus. After awhile there were so many new believers from that neighborhood that we started a house-church there. Now, the group is making payments on a nearby property to build a church, maybe five or six years from now. Lucy is now in the last stages of cancer, & it was a miracle that she held on long enough to attend her son's wedding…with or without candles! Meanwhile at BCA, Chaplain Melvin was painting his new office. It was just a storage room for nearly a decade, but the dads helped him throw away the trash and rearrange the remaining items around in the school, scrubbing the walls of their mildew. He treated the walls with a chemical so they would be ready for painting. This is his 2nd coat of paint, then he'll be ready to move in…after we install and air conditioner/filter, that is, so the mildew doesn't return. Meanwhile, until his office is ready for occupancy, Melvin is sharing BCA's main office with the staff. But dads don't want to tell about confidential information when everybody can hear them. Instead, Melvin requests the dads to come back after hours or on Saturdays. Since Melvin leads Sunday's worship team, he is at the school for practice on Saturday afternoons already anyway. Marco is a dad who has a problem with forgiving his employer. Melvin prayed with him. Frederick is challenged with an inferiority complex. Melvin shared the Bible story of Joseph & his total dependence upon God in all situations. Since Jeff had a problem with being angry at his brother, Melvin was able to share about Joseph again. They prayed together for God to grant the blessing of forgiveness, as well as the understanding of what forgiveness really is. After Melvin led Sunday's worship, & then brought the church youth group to the home of BCA's Nurse Lucy whose cancer has made her bedridden, he headed over to the basketball court, since there is a church competition next month, & he is a star player. Monday morning Melvin was right on time (even though his motorcycle had been repossessed) for work. He was to preach at church the next week, & also had to finish the Spiritual Report cards of BCA's male students. He did not have to work on the girls' cards, since that is Chaplain Eunice's responsibility. Wednesday and Thursday brought a 2-day discipleship seminar called WIDER, which did not end until 10pm. So, since Melvin would miss BCA's Wednesday morning parents' prayer meeting, he asked for a sub to take notes. We are so very proud of Melvin. Although BCA has had over 4,000 students over the past 30 years, Melvin was BCA's very first sponsored child as a preschooler, way back in 1998. And now he is a pastor. We have known him so very long, through thick and thin, over the decades, that we almost feel like his parents. As he continues to mature in Christian leadership, I am sure that we will not be able to "hold a candle" to his abilities (neither electric candle nor wax…) Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for (installment #2 of 6) $1,800 to build a "bodega" reinforced room (on the roof over the central part of the school) to house over a ton of preschool toys & supplies, donated by other schools for BCA's future Preschool wing. |
| 3/21/2024 | Palm Sunday (3/24/24). Pi Day (3/14). Ides of March (Day Julius Caesar died: 3/15/44BC). European Discovery of Philippines (3/16/1521). Araw ng Dabaw Celebration (3/1-17/2024), Araw ng Dabaw Day, commemorating when Magellan landed in the Philippines and was beheaded by tribal chieftain, Chief Lapulapu (3/16/1521). Please pray for our nephew JP (Jesael Jr) this next Sunday, whom we will be joining in the city of Panano, with Elvie's nine other siblings, as he practices the Filipino custom of "pamalaje", when he asks the family if they agree to him marrying his sweetheart. Please also pray for me (Paul) during Easter week. I will both be preaching at the Sunrise Service & a few days before that (on Thursday), be preaching a different message for a few hundred men & their pastors from all across the city. The theme will be Joshua 24:15, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The BCA campus will be hosting the event. Praise God that this week, Elvie was able to bring some of the BCA staff to 8 of our daughter churches this week, to replace children who have graduated or moved away with new preschoolers, introduced into the BCA sponsorship program. Praise God as well that, when Dr. Francis, our Filipino dentist, broke his leg in a car accident the day before he was to pull Elvie's tooth & give me a crown, he was able to assign another dentist to do the work. Although I got a temporary crown, it only lasted 4 days before I broke it while chewing bacon. "I'll take off my training wheels just before the race!" Since bumpy, uneven Philippine roads are often "death" to bicycle tires, I requested the bike shop to fill the tubes with sealant to decrease the probability of flat tires. "…but not on my racing tires, as sealant is outlawed in many venues." So, removing the wheels from one of my old bikes, the "tube filler" will be in the "old tubes" while just air will be in the "new tubes": OLD for training, & NEW for racing. Hence, removing my "training wheels" just before the race…sounds like I just graduated from riding a tricycle, huh? My next 70.3-mile Ironman triathlon race is half a year from now, this next September. Meanwhile in the USA, our daughter Abigail's bus had just left Chicago. As a star member of the MBI (Moody Bible Institute) Spring music tour, she played her French horn & sang at 3 locations: Wheaton Bible Church (3 performances) in Chicago, Moody Theological Seminary in Lansing, Michigan, & Plymouth Christian Academy, near Detroit. Their music included "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus", King of Kings, In Christ Alone, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing", 10,000 Reasons, Emoji Suite, Hoedown, Star Wars (the director used a light saber instead of a baton), You Are Good. & Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me". The team also enjoyed hiking, visiting the Indiana Dunes, & sleeping on the bus, exhausted from completing their midterm research papers & exams. And on the other side of the world at the BCA campus in Davao, BCA's Teacher Jovi decided to help her 5th Graders by having a "Catch Up Friday" (C.O.F.) - a day carved out of the week solely dedicated to catching up on tasks, projects, & commitments that have fallen through the cracks. Today's 1st C.O.F. activity was entitled, "Drop everything and read". Jovi grouped the students into threes & asked them to form 3 lines. Every group must have their representative to get & paste what she asked them. The students had a lot of fun & became active because they wanted to be the winners in that particular game. In the first time around, Group 2 was the victor. The 2nd game was "Spelling with a Twist". They were to spell each word using their things they could find on-hand, such as pencils, school ID, shoelaces & everything in their surroundings, but not to write per se, rather to shape the items into letters. Jovi was amazed with their initiative, as they helped each other. A few students cried because they felt left out in their particular groups. Jovi sensed this as a teacher, & that it was up to her to keep her students calm. She asked Ashley, "What's the problem, Ash?" As soon as Jovi mentioned the student's name, the others in the group could see their error amidst the excitement, & immediately included her in the project. Tears disappeared & excitement was once again the modus operandi. For C.O.F. Activity #3, Jovi asked them to sit on the floor & let them read on their own to improve reading comprehension skills. Lunch, then in the afternoon, time for learning games again. This time, Activity #4, "Message Relay". Everyone was involved in this particular game, & their memories had to be quick & alert so that they would not forget the word. The person at the front of the line was given a message which they whispered to #2, & on down the line to the very last person, at the back of each line, who came to the front & wrote the word on the board. It was hilarious what some of the groups came up with. In Group #3, Matthew was at the beginning of the line, & quickly whispered the phrase to Jhon, & then from Jhon to Mhike, right on down the line to the very last: Febby. Febby ran up to the board. Grabbing a piece of chalk, Febby wrtote "Goliath was a mouse with COVID." Matthew signed & then everybody began to laugh hysterically. The original phrase was "Goliath was a giant killed by David." How a giant became a mouse was anybody's guess! C.O.F. Activity #5 was the game "Read & Spell". Asked to read the word first, they then spelled it through going up & writing it on the blackboard. This worked on their memories as well as their letter recognition. Everybody was a winner. After a nap & recess was the last game of the day, C.O.F. Activity #6, the "Bomb Game". Teacher Jovi put random words, written on papers of various sizes & colors, on the floor. She turned on some upbeat Praise music from her cell phone, & the kids danced (Filipinos LOVE to dance: That is why TicToc is so insanely popular here). When the music stopped, the students chose which words they wanted to go to. Jovi then said, "the BOMB is in the word…..", the kids who stepped onto the word that she uttered were out of the game, & sat to read short stories to the rest of the class. These 5th graders are learning skills at this tender age. Perhaps one day some will excel like Abby singing in Chicago, or maybe preach like PJ, the pastor in New York. Either way, they'll definitely be putting away those training wheels! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give?c=6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for (installment #1 of 6) $1,800 to build a "bodega" reinforced room (on the roof over the central part of the school) to house over a ton of preschool toys & supplies, donated by other schools for BCA's future Preschool wing. 3 Ongoing Construction Projects: Upcoming (General) Schedule: American short-term work teams: June, 2024: Texas, Arizona & Guam. July, 2024: Pennsylvania. August, 2024: Beginning of Paul & Elvie's 15-month, 28-state & 4 country, 2024/2025 USA Speaking tour. September, 2024: Paul's 16th 70.3-mile Davao Ironman Race (9/29/2024: Augusta, Georgia USA). This Spring, (between January & June, as the seamstresses complete them), BCA kids are receiving a 2nd uniform. They already get one a year, but now they'll have 2! NEEDED: $20 x 600 = $12,000. Received: $11,045. Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing/Visiting Tour: AUG- NY/ SEP-NY,GA/ OCT-FL,SC / NOV-NY,IL,MO,IN/ DEC-NY,TORONTO,KY/ JAN '25-NC,AL,TX,AZ/ FEB '25-MEXICO,CA/ MAR '25- UT,KS,OH,NY/ APR '25 NY/ MAY '25 WA,AK,Saskatchewan/ JUN-AUG '25 PA,VT,NY,CT/ SEP '25 WI,NM,AR,TN,NY/ OCT '25 NY,NJ/ NOV '25 NY,IL,Davao. BCA church MPM: "Midweek Prayer Meeting" speakers (9:30 & 10:30am): Mar: Spkr: Tabasa/ Music: Beter. Apr: Spkr: Paciente/ Music: Meneses. May: Spkr: DeJolde/ Music: Chung. June: Spkr: Mr. Viray/ Music: Mrs. Viray. Preaching themes by month for Davao Church: March: EASTER/RESURRECTION, April: FAMILY, May: KING DAVID, June: PETER, July: WORK, August: EVANGELISM, September: STEWARDSHIP, October: MISSIONS, November: ESCHATOLOGY, December: ADVENT/CHRISTMAS |
| 3/14/2024 | USA Daylight Savings Time (3/10/24). USA St Patrick's Day (3/17). BCA 4th Preliminary Exams (3/19-21, 2024) SPECIAL NOTE: ABBY'S SOLO AT Wheaton Bible Church in Chicago, Sunday March 10, 2024: ABBY's SOLO! 1:28:47-1:34:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab3sd7A0aYU blckids@yahoo.com, www.barner.org Please pray for BCA's Nurse Lucy. This past week her cancer hit hard & she is severely bedridden, with pain & difficulty breathing. However, she really wants to attend her son's wedding next Monday (3/18/24) Please pray too, for one of the work teams which had planned to come for a few weeks to help us in ministry here. There are four teams left this year: Arizona, Guam, Pennsylvania & Texas. Also, a college student from New York is considering a brief visit. The Arizona team was due to arrive this past week but postponed until June due to the late return of the passport for one of the team members. Please pray for the re-scheduling of the team for the revised arrival date in June. Please also pray for our Good Friday service this year. BCA's chaplains are choosing 7 relatively new believers, who have never preached before, to each preach a 3-5 minute message about one of the seven last phrases of Jesus while He had hung on the cross. Also please pray for next month's governmental inspection of the BCA school campus to allow it to open 7th grade. First howeer, we must clear out over a ton of boxed preschool supplies, which are in storage along the hallways for a few years until we raise the funds to build BCA's new, $60,000 2nd-floor preschool wing. These thousands of preschool items were donated by institutions that have either closed or are downsizing. We will only pass inspection if this ton of boxes are moved. We will be relocating the 100+ boxes of preschool supplies, toys, etc into a special storage room which we are building for just that purpose. We'll have to raise $1800 to build this reinforced room (on the roof over the central part of the school). Praise God that our daughter Abigail had three special musical performances at Bible College in Chicago this past week. First, she helped lead worship for the MBI (Moody Bible Institute) International Students Community Night, and then on Sunday morning she performed with the orchestra & singing team at Wheaton Bible Church (link at the top of this email)! Praise God too that, instead of a root canal, the dentist decided to pull the tooth that Elvie was having pain with. Unfortunately, he also determined that my (Paul's) rear molar needs a $400 crown. Praise God also that an Australian friend bought a much-needed air conditioner which we installed into BCA's new computer lab, to keep the 16 computer units cool. "Dear Jesus, please come into my heart as my personal Lord & Savior!" Adrian was just one of 4 BCA students who had prayed today with BCA's Chaplain Eunice to start their new lives as followers of Jesus, with all their sins washed away! Eunice gave each of these 4 new Christians a pin that says, "Today I became a Child of God!" She then spoke with the teachers about excusing each child for a 1-on-1 Bible study for 10 minutes each week for the next month. Chaplain Eunice also gave a mini lesson to the entire class on how to share their faith with others. They paired off, practicing the "EE3" Evangelism presentation, with "two diagnostic questions" which guide each person to consider his or her spiritual destiny. Together, the class sang "Bible Verse ABCs". It's one of the students' favorite songs, with a Bible verse for every letter of the alphabet. Since Eunice is trained in voice, she divided each class into parts (Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Bass), preparing them to sing in church after their parents on Sunday. The parents had practiced, during Wednesday morning prayer meetings with Melvin, Crelene & Hazel, the hymn, "God with Us… Emmanuel has Come" When she got back to her office downstairs, Eunice collated that class's SDPR (Spiritual Development Progress Report Assessment & Evaluation forms) & then headed back upstairs again to BCA's sponsorship secretary Orbina, to include these reports in the next letters to go to the students' sponsors. Back in her office again, Eunice texted the Sunday School teachers Cly, Michiko, Kathleen & Bea to give them a heads-up on the parallel of weekly lessons with weekend ones. Eunice then pulled out her cellphone to call her husband, Caleb. "Dad, what do you think of the idea of us conducting Family Home Bible studies, with women from the church?" Caleb responded, "Great idea. But what will we teach?" Eunice glanced at the book on the edge of her desk & read the title out loud, "What On Earth Am I Here For?' It was a perfect choice, for each of the parents had been studying this book with the group, making personal journals on each week's lesson. "We could also give certificates of completion every time a lesson has gone through each 10-week course!" Eunice gave a sigh, expressing a personal desuire she had. "Many of these families are so poor that they could never afford to have a Filipino wedding, so their kids are illegitimate. What if we train many at once, & ask Pastor Paul to host a group wedding, with half a dozen couples all at the same time, with al the trimmings, including lechon baboy [roast pig]?" She and Caleb brainstormed on follow up of these new married couples, with baby dedications & baptisms & church membership. Eunice was about to head home but 1st shut & locked the door to her office before getting on her knees, along with her prayer journal. She prayed for her counseling sessions: A mom had fits of depression due to misunderstandings she was having with her husband, Then there was an argument between a student & his parents. Finally, there was the last on the list, an older mom who had disagreements with her own mom, the kids' grandmother, on how kids should be raised. "Whew, Lord. They are all in your hands now." She peeked up at a poster on her wall that had a runner about to head up a very bug hill. The caption said, Isaiah 55:8-9… God's Plans for you are BIGGER than your plans for yourself. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 3/7/2024 | BCA Homeroom Meetings (3/1/24). Araw ng Dabaw citywide anniversary Celebration (3/1-17/24) Please pray for Augustine, "graduating" from BCA's orphanage. He now has a graveyard shift job at a mango juice processing plant, 4pm-1am, although he still is applying at local colleges. For the time being, he is now has his own apartment (in a boarding house), which is closer to his workplace. I asked him, "How was your first day at work?" Good, enjoys his coworkers. I paraphrased for him King Solomon's wisdom in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20: "If you enjoy your work, your work is play and you get paid to play." Please also pray, as BCA's engineer informed us that the construction crew designated for our multipurpose building backed out (fortunately no deposit was made), and now there is a new one firm willing to discuss the plans with us. Please pray for Doug, a retired missionary whose visa was compromised and thus cannot return to the USA until it is categorically renegotiated. Please also pray for the 3-person work team coming this weekend form Arizona. They will meet-up with another 3-person team from Northern Philippines for a 2-week join work crew, to work with our orphans. Praise God that our son PJ had the privilege of preaching on "God's Grace" this past Sunday at the Auburn Alliance Church in Auburn, NY. One very accurate statement he made during his message from Titus 2:11 was, "God gave you everything. Thus, He can ask you for anything." Praise God too that, one day this past week was Parents' Day at the high school & elementary school which our orphans attend. The theme was "Maskara," (Mask Festival). Of our 12 orphanage kids. 1 is in college, 1 has graduated & lives in a Davao dormitory & is working, 1 has graduated & is paid to work at the orphanage, and 9 are still in school. During the Parents' Day, we are thus parents of 9 kids. The kids performed in both boys' & girls' cheerleading contests, while the other parents competed in Zumba for each grade level. All were dressed in various colors and costumes for the parade. In many ways, it was like a New Orleans Mardi Gras festival. The Mindanao group focused on the tuna fish industry in Dadiangas, dressed in aqua colors and as fish, boats, coral & fishermen. Three of our kids came in 1st place for the 2nd year in a row! "In three days, I will rise…" Sunday was the 1st of our resurrection sermons for this year's Easter month of March. As an illustration for my John 2:13-22 message on "Easter Sunday Christians in a Good Friday World," I shared, "While driving from Samal Island where we introduced our orphans to our Australian visitor, the police gave me a traffic violation for Elvie not wearing a seatbelt." During the sermon, I explained the dilemma; that the officer demanded we present supporting documents within 72 hours in our defense. We drove half an hour to the other side of the island that afternoon to the motor vehicle office, but they had not yet processed the violation. Thus, Day #1 was already gone. That night I received a copy of the violation online and it included that our pickup truck had not been registered (a $200 fine!). But the papers I had showed the officer who had stopped me showed clearly that the registration was still good for another month and a half. Yet if I did not get the paperwork to the police station within (now only 48) hours, I'd lose my license. Added to this was the fact that Davao City's annual anniversary was to begin on March 1, and the LTO (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) would be closed Friday. Now my 72 hours was now less than 24. Could I make it? By now we were back on the mainland, and getting back to the barge required a 4-hour wait (2 over and 2 back). I asked some close friends to pray, and thankfully, our fine, instead of being nearly $250, was just $40. Lesson learned. In Sunday's message, on Jesus clearing the moneychangers out of the temple, I shared that, even when Jesus did raise form the dead, if He did it a little too early (maybe 2 days instead of 3) or a day later (4 days, as He did with Lazarus), then He would not fulfill prophecy & therefore not qualify to be our Savior. We live by the resurrection of Jesus. He is perfect in all His timing, whether we realize it at the time or not. God has His own sovereign timetable, which we may or may not appreciate. But His way is always best, so we re-align with Him instead. In short, we live as "Easter Sunday Christians in an unbelieving, Good Friday world." After church we filled the BCA bus with people from the church for the 6th anniversary of one of our church plants: Communal. Then the next day (Monday), BCA's Teacher Espenosa (who had led the prayer & sang a solo in church on Sunday) challenged his 2nd graders, "The greatest thing in life is to have Jesus. This is why every day, before I start my work, I always seek God first by reading his word and prayer." He then quoted for his students, Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you''. Right off the bat, Teacher Epse could see he was going to have problems today with 2 students, Jay & Jadael. It started when Espe began his English lesson. Espe really favored this particular lesson, since it focused on the creativity of the kids. "Real & made-up stories…how can you tell the difference?" Suddenly Jay burped. Not softly or discretely, but really, REALLY loud. The students giggled, and Jadiel, who was seated behind Jay, exclaimed, "Karabaw ka!" (You are a water ox!). To prove the point, Jay started burping the alphabet. Espe took the "bull by the horns" by calling both students to the front of the classroom. Ignoring the previous infraction, He gave the boys a situation: Noah's Ark. Jay was to make up a story about Noah, while Jadel was to reveal the real story. Fortunately, this particular saga was so familiar that all the kids knew of Noah's Ark. The approach was so effective that you could cut the attention of the students with a knife. After completing the lesson, Espe thanked the boys and brought the students up to the computer lab to review the story of Noah's Ark online with a movie. Then, since there is a book series in the library with enough copies for all the students to read one for themselves, they headed off to the library to read. To practice their vocabulary, Espe assigned each student to write a paragraph to test their capacity in reading. Heading back to the classroom, it was time for Art, and they drew pictures of Noah's Ark, with all the animals inside it. Espe was happy to see their faces, obviously enjoying being students with big dreams in life. He reflected on the lives of these very poor students within his charge. "They are like art without color. Through my teaching and their learning, lives will become…colorful! As their teacher it is my part to put color into the lives of my students!" Glad to see his learners continue believing in themselves, with foresight, he changed them: "Students, like Noah, YOU TOO can do the impossible!" The whole day was great and full of learnings not just for his students but, he learned also from them. Closing the class day, he prayed, "Yes, Lord. We will seek first Your kingdom, and also Your righteousness…because You, our Sovereign God, have determined and established already the future of every single student here...even if he or she sounds like a carabao!" Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 2/29/2024 | Leap Year Thursday (2/29/24) Please pray for the 12 kids at BCA's orphanage. As the school year is coming to a close in the next few months, they are catching-up with their classmates through working together on their studies. In the past, some kids did fine all year long, but then their grades dropped down when their final research reports were found lacking. Yet this past Sunday, Elvie & I rewarded them by bringing them from their island to the mainland to enjoy the festivities of our church's 27th anniversary. The kids even graced those in attendance with the song, "He Is Faithful". Before bringing the twelve kids back to the island in the evening, they came to BCA's guesthouse & played Skip-Bo over diner, ice cream & popcorn. We had to combine 2 desks to get everybody in the game, but the excitement built into a crescendo, with everybody egging him on, as CJ, one of the youngest of the kids, actually won! I also gave them each their Toblerone chocolate bars in reward for performing well in school. Elvie & I will be attending their PTC: Parent-Teacher Conferences this weekend. Praise God that during December & January, you gave through Christian Aid Mission the following gifts: $45 for BCA's Children's Emergency Medical Fund// $8,451 for BCA student sponsorships (teachers' salaries & school electric & water bills)// $27 for Birthday &/or Christmas gifts for students// $72 for BCA's Jericho Free-Lunch Program// $1,000 for classroom teaching materials & shipping// $2,500 for transportation// $500 for training food, transportation & materials for "Child Evangelism Evaluation Seminars" for the pastors in our ministry to fill-out the students' "Spiritual Progress Reports"// $1,275.80 for food, clothes, etc for BCA's orphans// Total: $13,870.80. Praise God too that I (Paul) finished reading the Bible this week, from cover-to-cover, my 84th time. My lifetime goals are: by age 75 (in 13 years): 150x; by age 100 (in 38 yrs): 300x & by age 120 (in 58 yrs): 500x. "God is transforming you!" This past Sunday Pastor Joy, from one of our church plants, was the guest speaker for the 27th anniversary of when Elvie & I started this 1st church in February of 1997. The church secretary had asked me a month or so ago, "What will be the theme of the message for this Church Anniversary Service?" Since last year's theme was "Jesus brings us Hope," I racked my brains to follow-up on what the hope of Christ means to us today. Yes, we have hope of Heaven. Yet because of that Heavenly surety, our everyday lives right here & now have confidence & direction & empowerment, beyond what temporary perks we might otherwise enjoy from day-to-day. Suddenly, the Bible verse from 2 Corinthians 5:17 burst into my mind, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" GOT IT! "When you get up for work in the morning, do you say, 'Good Lord! It's Monday!' or instead, do you say, 'It's Monday, Good Lord!'" Pastor Joy quipped. Place a victorious believer next to a hopeless unbeliever at work, & there is an obvious difference in their countenances. When an unbeliever stubs his toe in the warehouse, his whole day is ruined. When a believer does, he's thinking, "Well Lord, You have a purpose for everything. I am really, really curious as to what You are teaching me through this ouch-pain in my foot right now…but y'know what? Thanks anyway!" Then the next day at Barner Christian Academy, Monday morning in Teacher Donna's 3rd-grade classroom, the door opened & there were Elvie, me & a visitor from Australia, whom we had just picked up from the airport. In unison, the class rose & recited, "Good morning classmates. God morning, Pastor Paul, Madam Elvie & visitor. We are glad you are here today!" Hundreds of students & their teachers smiled as we visited classroom after classroom, taking lots of "selfie" pictures. After we left, Dona continued the lesson she had prepared for her 30 Third-Graders. Various prechosen objects had been placed on the floor, & the lights were turned off. A flashlight was shown through each object to evaluate the behavior of light through various materials. Students observed how light travels through different materials & investigated its behavior. They explored whether light travels in straight lines or exhibits other behaviors (like changing colors) when interacting with various substances. The students recorded their observations & findings, writing down what they observed, & then explained their observations in class, discussing the patterns & phenomena they observed during the experiments. The students developed their skills in observation, data collection, analysis, & communication while also deepening their understanding of the principles of light & its interactions with matter. To solidify their understanding, Dona assessed their comprehension & reinforced the practical application of punctuation rules in their writing through the next really fun adventure… Instructing her students to each grab a whole sheet of paper, this next activity brought a thrilling twist as she aimed to enhance their writing skills. The room buzzed with curiosity as Dona paired them up, & the inevitable question emerged: "Why did you pair us, Teacher Dona?" With a reassuring smile, she explained it was for a special activity, urging them to await further instructions. Once pairs were established, the day's task unfolded: crafting letters for their assigned partners, blending both formal & informal styles through emails, explaining what had transpired during the Science "light refraction experiments". The challenge was based on their developing abilities to infuse handwritten letters into email formats, later in the computer lab, where they would type their letters using Microsoft Word. Dona set a target of 150 words for each letter. She intentionally established this word count, understanding that some might opt for the bare minimum if left unrestricted. Without a standard, they might settle for writing only 20 or 50 words. By setting this word count, her aim was to stimulate their creativity & imagination, encouraging a more comprehensive & thoughtful expression in their letters. The activity not only became a writing exercise, but also a platform for them to explore & expand their ideas. After the students completed writing their letters, they typed them on the computers in the lab & then sent them to each other's addresses. Oh, the joy as each student heard the "Ping! Ping!" of the messages they received from their partners. Just as with the transformation that God makes in our lives, occasionally we notice the "Ping! Ping!" of understanding why our Sovereign God does-what-He-does every moment of every day of our lives. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give?c=6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $320 for 2 "weed eater" nylon-string, 4-stroke, gas powered grass cutters for the orphans to keep the grass down at BCA's 5-acre orphanage.
Upcoming (General) Schedule: American short-term work teams:
This Spring, (between January & June, as the seamstresses complete them), BCA kids are receiving a 2nd uniform. They already get one a year, but now they'll have 2! NEEDED: $20 x 600 = $12,000. Received: $8,730. Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing/Visiting Tour: AUG- NY/ SEP-NY,GA/ OCT-FL,SC / NOV-NY,IL,MO,IN/ DEC-NY,TORONTO,KY/ JAN '25-NC,AL,TX,AZ/ FEB '25-MEXICO,CA/ MAR '25- UT,KS,OH,NY/ APR '25 NY/ MAY '25 WA,AK,Saskatchewan/ JUN-AUG '25 PA,VT,NY,CT/ SEP '25 WI,NM,AR,TN,NY/ OCT '25 NY,NJ/ NOV '25 NY,IL,Davao. BCA church MPM: "Midweek Prayer Meeting" speakers (9:30 & 10:30am): Feb: Spkr:Budo/ Music: Praca. Mar: Spkr: Tabasa/ Music: Beter. Apr: Spkr: Paciente/ Music: Meneses. May: Spkr: DeJolde/ Music: Chung. June: Spkr: Mr. Viray/ Music: Mrs. Viray. Preaching themes by month for Davao Church: February: LOVE, March: EASTER/RESURRECTION, April: FAMILY, May: KING DAVID, June: PETER, July: WORK, August: EVANGELISM, September: STEWARDSHIP, October: MISSIONS, November: ESCHATOLOGY, December: ADVENT/CHRISTMAS |
| 2/22/2024 | 27TH Anniversary of Faith Fellowship Church (2/7/97- this Sunday's Davao celebration) Please pray for the Philippine Government to approve BCA's application to once again offer high school grades. While we taught all grades about 15 years ago, it became too overwhelming & we cut back to preschool & elementary. But now with our new principal, & also with added classroom space, (as well as the increased library size & computer lab), BCA is likely able to handle the larger student body once again. Praise God that this year's "Teacher Appreciation Day" (held on Valentine's Day) at BCA brought hundreds of students to the stage, one-by-one, to give gifts to their teachers & also to sing & dance for them, giving handmade cards with messages like, "I love you, Teacher Rosel!" The follow-up, four-day Teacher's Retreat will be in a few weeks, when we bring our staff into the mountains about five hours away for a time of spiritual encouragement & fun. "Could you please jump-start my truck?" When the battery died on our pickup truck, we realized to our dismay that we'd left our jumper cables back home. A little guy, must've been in his early twenties, offered to help. His friend took his own battery, carried it over to ours, & held two metal wrenches with his bare hands, against the terminals of both batteries. And it started up right away! I'd never heard of such a thing, where somebody jumps a car without cables but with their bare hands. Huh. I guess that would "preach": What we couldn't do because of our sin, Jesus did with His bare hands, when His hands were nailed to the cross for us. Meanwhile at BCA's Orphanage, our twelve kids were receiving awards in school for their performances in class this year. One however, was not really that advanced intellectually, just yet. So, the teacher, always wanting to encourage even the slower learners, gave this student an award that stated he was the "Bravest" student in the classroom! Maybe brave due to his willingness to try & give answers even when he knew they were likely not accurate? That evening, our oldest orphan, Juvy, was the one tasked to lead the Bible lesson "Family Devotions". Her passage was Hebrews 11:40; "God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." She said, "We are each far from perfect, but let's look at God's work in our lives & dream about what He might have in store for us. The best is yet to come!" Who wouldn't be brave with such an incredible, loving God like ours who has planned our lives?
TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 2/15/2024 | Chinese "Lunar" New Year (2/10/24). Brother-in-law John's Memorial Service (2/10/24). Valentine's Day (2/14/24). BCA Teacher Appreciation Day (2/14/24). USA Presidents' Day (2/19/24). BCA 3rd Periodical exams (2/19-21/24). Philippine EDSA Revolution Anniversary (2/25/1986). Faith Felllowship Church's 27th Anniversary Celebration (2/25/24…THEME: 2 Cor. 5:17… "God Is Transforming You!") Please pray for the survival of our orphanage's 1,050 new "fingerling" catfish, installed into our orphanage's new 10,000 gallon cement fishpond. We also installed a pump to circulate the water so the tiny fish could "breathe". About 2 dozen didn't survive the 80-mile trek (from the mountains) in plastic bags in the back of our pickup truck last week. BCA's fishpond flows down a raised manmade aqueduct stream to the duckpond & then into the garden. Please also pray for the hundreds of teens who heard the messaage of salvation last Sunday when BCA hosted a "Hearts Banquet" for Valentine's Day. Both believers & unbelievers invited their friends for the enjoyable formal evening. Even our twelve orphans were bussed-in from out on Samal Island, to participate in the event. BCA's church youth group music team had been practicing for this since January, & the adults at church pitched-in to prepare, cook & serve food for all the guests. Praise God that the youth group from a Baptist church in Guam is considering a short-term missions trip to assist our Davao ministries in June! Praise God also that our son PJ clearly presented the message of Christ's salvation during the memorial service for my sister Ginger's husband John. He both emceed the event & gave the Bible challenge. "Adidas? Yes. Wrangler? Size? Yes. Calvin Klein? Size? No…" Elvie's sister Anilyn was in BCA's used-clothing giveaway area, searching through hundreds of garments & announcing to Elvie the brand, etc. to ask if it was ok to give to the survivors of a devastating landslide & flood last week, near Tagum, just an hour outside of Davao. On the news, one child mentioned that he had gone down the street to the chapel to charge his cellphone, & suddenly saw huge trees swaying on the hillside. He ran & ran, while looking back, as the enormous mountainside just collapsed onto the village, burying his family alive. He was the only survivor, as his small home had collapsed under thousands of tons of gravel, dirt & mud. A father grabbed his 8-yr-old: one of his four daughters, but his wife & teenage daughter died. Miraculously, rescuers dug up his 3-yr-old, caked in mud yet alive, two days later! A woman was in a jeepney, after it stopped for people to use the bathroom. When the bus-like vehicle was flipped over by the landlside, she stayed inside, & then it was buried in the gravelly mud. She was the only survivor. Although the lady was buried for three days in dirt & mud & gravel, she wiggled her fingers to grab a small stone, & banged on the metal roof of jeepney (which was now under her) until a rescue party heard the noise & gingerly dug down to where she was. Amidst this devastation, Davao's mayor cancelled school until the heavy rains subsided. Back on the BCA campus when classes resumed, Teacher Rocel prepared the classroom for her twenty-two 4th Graders. It was good that she had arrived early, since the metal roof over the back chairs & desks had a leaked & standing water made the floor slick. Still, as her students arrived, they helped her with rags & pail & basin to sop up the water & mop the floor. A little while later, BCA's school nurse Lucy brought in gummy vitamins (which had been given by the Utah team) to distribute to the kids. Lucy's cancer causes her great pain, & since her legs are weak, she now uses a cane. But the woman is undaunted, desiring to serve God boldly until He grants her that last breath this side of Heaven. Even though the classes had been cancelled the day before, Rocel had online classes for her students, so that they could keep up. This year there will be virtually no Sumer vacation, since: #1, After the pandemic, the government changed the school year to be in sync with the USA, & #2, it didn't work, since the classrooms at that time of year are so hot. So, Philippine schools are reverting back to the former Philippine school calendar. So the day before yesterday, Rocel had taught her students through an online class using the "Google-Meet" platform. It was a tad choppy, as the internet connection was not strong during the storms. The 4th Graders were enjoying the follow-up research after a recent missions team had visited the school in January. One of the Utah team members, William, was a very tall man, & he grasped their attention while explaining the basic geography of the planet, opening the kids' eyes to God's vast handiwork which extends far beyond the boundaries of this Philippine archipelago. Teacher Rocel continually referred to the world map which William had given to the class as a gift. Another favorite activity during this school day was in Mathematics. She lined up the class in two lines & hosted a QUIZ BEE. First up was Ariana.
The kids were incredible sportsmen, & even helped each other along with hints for each other. No winners or loser today…or rather, EVERYBODY was a winner! At the end of the day, before dismissing her students, Teacher Rocel prepared homework for the healthy kids to bring to the sick kids who had stayed home due to fever, colds, cough, & flu from being outside in the heavy rains. Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give?c=6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for: (installment #4 of 5) to purchase and install a 2,000-gallon water tower for the orphanage to have enough water supply for the animals, fish, gardens, clothes washing, bathing, etc. $190 remaining. 3 Ongoing Construction Projects:
Upcoming (General) Schedule: American short-term work teams:
This Spring, (between January & June, as the seamstresses complete them), BCA kids are receiving a 2nd uniform. They already get one a year, but now they'll have 2! NEEDED: $20 x 600 = $12,000. Received: $8,703.34 Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing/Visiting Tour: AUG- NY/ SEP-NY,GA/ OCT-FL,SC / NOV-NY,IL,MO,IN/ DEC-NY,TORONTO,KY/ JAN '25-NC,AL,TX,AZ/ FEB '25-MEXICO,CA/ MAR '25- UT,KS,OH,NY/ APR '25 NY/ MAY '25 WA,AK,Saskatchewan/ JUN-AUG '25 PA,VT,NY,CT/ SEP '25 WI,NM,AR,TN,NY/ OCT '25 NY,NJ/ NOV '25 NY,IL,Davao. BCA church MPM: "Midweek Prayer Meeting" speakers (9:30 & 10:30am): Feb: Spkr:Budo/ Music: Praca. Mar: Spkr: Tabasa/ Music: Beter. Apr: Spkr: Paciente/ Music: Meneses. May: Spkr: DeJolde/ Music: Chung. June: Spkr: Mr. Viray/ Music: Mrs. Viray. Preaching themes by month for Davao Church: February: LOVE, March: EASTER/RESURRECTION, April: FAMILY, May: KING DAVID, June: PETER, July: WORK, August: EVANGELISM, September: STEWARDSHIP, October: MISSIONS, November: ESCHATOLOGY, December: ADVENT/CHRISTMAS |
| 2/8/2024 | NOTE: 2023 donation receipts for gifts to this ministry have been mailed out to you. If you prefer as well to receive a "soft copy" via email, I will send it to you asap. Just give me the email address you would like for it to be send to, at this address: blckids@yahoo.com. Also, if you notice any mistake I may have made, please also give me a heads-up & I'll send the corrected version. Thank you! Please pray for our Philippine FAF church youth group. It will be hosting the young adults from 20 different churches in a six-hour afternoon "Love Fellowship" Valentine's Day worship banquet, Biblical speaker & concert this next Sunday, February 11. Please also pray for the students in Davao & Davao del Norte. Due to constant, heavy rains this past week, students were not able to get out through the muddy paths around their homes to their school campuses. Some roads became small rivers, with boats carrying aid to stranded families. In one ten mile stretch of road, due to severe flooding, cars could move neither direction for 24 hours! In a mountain village, the paved highway could only be traversed by motorcycle, since the road itself dropped down 3 feet in a 20-ft section. And another area lost a bridge entirely. So, dozens of local mayors & governors agreed together to temporarily cancel classes in all 400 public & private, tertiary, secondary, graduate & postgraduate schools throughout the entire area of Central/Eastern Mindanao on Wed, Thu & Friday. Pray that the online classes will prove advantageous during this time. A few years ago during COVID, Parents complained that, without face-to-Face interactions between teachers, students & classmates, the students could not keep up in the ZOOM-type classes. This was often due to the unstructured distraction-filled home settings, where kids had challenges keeping up in their studies. Praise God that during PJ & Briana's return flight back to New York (after their 6-week missions trip to Davao), they left the airport in Taiwan to visit the park & many sights in that country during their 14 hour layover. They rode many miles through the country, even though they were kind of on their own, since everybody there spoke Chinese. Praise God as well that Dr Bill, an octogenarian friend in Pennsylvania, has offered to tutor a crash course online, for some of BCA's teachers in the Bible curriculum of his Christian Literacy Foundation. "A+!" What could be more exciting for a dad or mom than to see the bright red perfect score on the quiz of their little angel in preschool, elementary or high school? With yet another bright idea brewing in my mind, I visited the office of Orbina, BCA's sponsorship secretary, to evaluate how to enhance the communications between the students & their sponsors. "How about mailing out one of the kids' quizzes? It'd be in crayon or pencil or pen, depending on the grade level. The sponsor, in Canada or California or Kentucky, could post it proudly on their refrigerator door!" We still have to present the idea to the teachers, as BCA has hundreds of students, in various grade levels. Such a one-page-quiz would be a project which should represent a microcosm of the type of lessons taught in all subjects (at that grade level)… not an endeavor to take on lightly, yet adventuresome nonetheless! And speaking of various grade levels, Teacher Jannah, whom we'd hired as a substitute teacher, was teaching this past week in the nursery classroom (before the rains, that is!). She began with an "energizer song & dance" as the kids sang, "Lullalulaley". After the 2nd song, (which is their favorite Christian song) "Sing High & Low" she asked, "High & low. Are they the same, or different?" Matthan Raised his hand, "They are different, Ma'am!" Correct. And why are they different? Matthan answered matteroffactly, "Well….because high is high & low is…well, low is low." Teacher Jannah couldn't suppress a giggle, but since all the students considered this a totally obvious answer, Joannah didn't dwell on it & pressed onward with the day's lesson of things being the same or different. She passed out papers pre-printed with dotted lives, straight lines, curved lines & so forth. "These are different types of lines. Now please take your crayons & trace the lines, just like they are on the paper." As she drew each example on the board, she explained the line's name & description. This activity developed both their writing skills & their fine motor skills.She then called various students to the board to draw the lines as she evaluated & corrected how they grasped the chalk in their little fingers. After snack & nap "Quiet Time", was a ten-minute "Story Time". The story was entitled "Eli, the Elf" which introduced the short and long sounds for the letter Ee. They then colored the letter Ee on their papers & wrote (as a review) all the letters learned thus far from A to E (capital & small). They then recited in unison the long & short sounds for each letter. When they were to color the letters, the capital letters were to be traced with blue & the small with red crayons. "Now, what letter begins the word DOG?" Eunah responded, "Dog starts with the letter B!" Jannah did not want Eunah to feel bad, so she gave her another chance. "Class, please pronounce the sound that B makes." Bah. "And now, the sound that D makes." Dah. Immediately Eunah realized her mistake and corrected herself with "Oops Teacher, I mean D!" Jannah then showed pictures & had the class recite the first letter of each item. Jannah then had each student put a red crayon in their right hands & blue in their left, raising the red for short sounds & lower-case letters, while the blue was for long sounds & upper-case. More than identifying the sounds & shapes was the overall lesson in things being the same & different. So to close the lesson, Teacher Jannah challenged the preschoolers, "You all did very well memorizing your Bible verse today. Let's recite it again together…" Slowly & with clarity, they quoted from memory, "Matthew 5:8… Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Prompted to raise the red crayon in their right hands for the things that are the same & the blue in the left for what is different, Jannah asked, "These two things…a pure heart & a pure God… are they similar or different?" A sea of red crayons all over the classroom could be followed down to right arms from all 15 seated students in the midmorning session of class…& then one crayon shot higher in the air as Eunah stood up in victory & did a victory dance singing "Sing High & Low" & crying out, "No OOPS this time Teacher Jannah! I got it RIGHT!" Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
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| 2/1/2024 | Groundhog Day, USA (2/2) Please pray for a church in Schenectady, NY which is postponing their April, 2024 Philippine Missions Trip to 2026: that they will have God's foresight in the planning for this work team's visit. Praise God that, yesterday PJ & Briana got on the plane safely for their trip back to New York. These past 6 weeks have been extremely encouraging to PJ & Briana's "kababayan" (compatriots: fellow Filipinos), as they preached twice, sang, assisted in BCA's gift-giving for hundreds of students, & mixed cement at the orphanage (while meanwhile having lots of fun with the kids). Praise God as well that Elvie & I supported a civic club with their June-planned "Waste Clean Up" community outreach downtown near the city hall, as well as planting trees in barren areas outside the city. Praise God too that Trish, a friend in Arizona, represented BCA's Philippine ministry at her church last Sunday & a friend there paid for the re-digging of the well at BCA's orphanage! "WAKE UP!" Elvie drove the school van onto the "cross channel" barge, enroute to BCA's orphanage on nearby Samal Island for a few days, since the kids were on semestral break from school. But in the morning at 5am when the kids were supposed to be doing their daily chores, they were all fast asleep. So, Elvie their "mom" became their "alarm clock". Within minutes the kids were pulling weeds in the vegetable garden, feeding the animals, raking leaves, scrubbing their clothes, chopping wood for the cookfire & making their beds &/or breakfast. A half hour later before breakfast, Augustine (the 3rd-oldest of the orphans) led in the daily morning devotional from 1 John 4:8, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." Augustine explained, "Not only does God love, but love is part of God's essential nature. Love is who & what He is, forever & always. Since we follow God who is love, we also should make a point to reflect God's love." Elvie added, "and you showed your love this morning by helping your brothers & sisters at the orphanage." The next day at BCA, since the break was ended, school was back in session. Teacher Jerry-Ann began her class with, "What day is today?" Kiarah piped up with, "It's Tuesday, Teacher!" To which Jerry-Ann said, "Yes! And yet so much more, for TUESDAY is CHOOSE-Day!" A quizzical look crossed Kiarah's small, cherubic face as she thought out loud, "chewzday? We can chew gym in school today?" Teacher Jerry-Ann clarified, "It is choose-day. Today we CHOOSE to smile…we CHOOSE to be happy…we…" An unnamed voice perked up from near the back row with, "CHOOSE…" to which Jerry-Ann replied, "…to love…we…" And now the rest of the class joined in the chant, "CHOOSE…" Now again, "to be a blessing…we…" & lastly, a resounding kinder-response… CHOOSE…" to be kind. Since the class was alert now, Jerry-Ann led, "Good morning, Tuesday!" After the opening prayer & exercises, she then dove into her lessons for the day. "Today we will discover the vast universe: the Milky Way & particularly our very special solar system, which we call home: the 8 planets which revolve around our very own star, the Sun." The discussion took an unexpected turn when one curious student asked about life on the other planets. In a playful moment, the teacher jokingly mentioned aliens living on the 7th planet, which led to a mixture of surprise & fear among her students. It seemed that Jerry-Ann's attempt at humor had an unintended effect, as the Kindergarteners became reluctant to continue the discussion. Oops! TEACHING: 101. It's a reminder of the delicate balance between education & keeping things light in the classroom. So she then embarked on an interactive journey through space, exploring each planet's unique characteristics & discussing their significance in our universe. As the activity unfolded, they embarked on a creative endeavor, coloring preprinted images of the planets. There seemed to be a sense of connection & wonderment among the students. Jerry-Ann then ended the discussion & decided to let the stgduents play outside, because it was almost time for the class to end anyway. One of her students was looking down at her lap, wondering why her skirt was wet. Jerry-Ann suggested that maybe the girl had spilled water from her tumbler. Then the student's face got that "Oh yeah" look as she said matter-of-factly, "Oh I remember! I peed when you scared us about those man-eating aliens!" Well, Jerry-Ann had said nothing about aliens eating people, but the kids' active imaginations had filled in the blanks. What should she say now? "Ah, today we will CHOOSE to love everybody!" On her way out the door for exercise in the gym, Kiarah said, "aliens included!" And Jerry-Ann's response: "Psalm 143:8, 'Lord, I am trusting you…Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you…& next week is our pajama party!!!" Teacher J-A thought silently, "Ah Lord, 'Cast your cares upon the LORD & He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken…Psalm 55:22'; cast your CARES….& your SCARES" Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! |
| 1/25/2024 | Please pray for January 28 (this Sunday), which is Missions Sunday at a church in Arizona, where a representative from their congregation will share about God's ministries here in Davao. This church is sending a work team to assist at our orphanage for a few weeks in March. Please also pray for our Davao church's CMT (Church Ministry Team) as they carry-out the goals and plans for 2024, including evangelistic outreaches and benevolence and Bible training. The focus of messages are: January- Goals & Plans, February- Love, March- Easter, April- Family, May- King David, June- Peter, July- Work, August- Evangelism, September- Stewardship, October- Missions, November- Eschatology, December- Advent. Praise God that a high school friend (from 45 years ago) gave $70.30 ($1 per mile) for BCA's new multipurpose building/chapel (via my September Ironman race). The memo on his check said: "Go Ironman: Health for Paul: spirit, soul & body". Also a New York church thrift store which we had visited last year gave $100 for the BCA students' uniforms! Praise God also that Augustine, one of BCA's teenage orphans, when challenged by my triathlon competitions, trained and won 1st place in a 50-mile bicycle race on mountain trails, versus 50 competitors. "Raining? Again?" PJ, Briana, Elvie & I stayed out on the Island at BCA'S orphanage for just under a week, working on construction, painting & planting projects & training the kids to swim. Yet the rain hit so constantly & so hard that the mayor closed school on Tuesday. While the kids were indoors, Briana taught them to paint blue & purple shaded watercolor sunsets with mountain & palm tree silhouettes. Incredible artists, they are! We prayed that God would make it not rain, & yet it rained harder. Finally, the mayor of Samal Island closed school for the elementary students, but not the high schoolers. I told the kids, "The president is higher than the mayor, & I say, school is cancelled tomorrow!" Just joking, I did make the point that I am a president (of BCA). Yet sure enough, the mayor cancelled high school classes as well & also God stopped the rain! We all had a fun day together (after washing their clothes by hand) fine-tuning our swimming skills, at the beginning of this four-day weekend. After getting only a half night's sleep (due to the incredibly loud, baritone bullfrogs competing with the tenors all night long), on the way back to the mainland, we had just fixed the flat tire in the van, but the pickup truck's tire went flat. Since the spare tire was left back at the school on the mainland, we drove around the island & found a motorcycle repair shop that just happened to have a used tire that fit our pickup truck! Awesome. On Monday at BCA on the mainland, Teacher Romnick's 6th-Grade students were enjoying the brand-new computer lab that a recent mission team had installed. The day's hands-on computer activity was an online typing test. Romnick recorded all the details of those who still need to improve their typing skills. Some students type quickly, while others need more time to familiarize themselves with the keyboard. After the test, Geneford asked, "Can we stay here for the next period's lesson?" Teacher Romick replied, "Of course. Actually, since the lab is vacant the next hour, I have already prepared a fun project using both computers & Philippine History!" Romnick had the kids look up on their units a video designed to help them remember the events in the history of the Philippines. Ashley raised her hand to ask, "Why do so many foreigners want to conquer the Philippines?" Romnick said, "The Philippines was colonized by three countries: Spain, America, & Japan. They colonized the Philippines, because they wanted to become an empire, & to expand more. They wanted to expand to have more lands, power, resources, more production, & especially more money." Another question came from Abby, "What were the reasons countries wanted to colonize?" Their teacher replied, "Based on my research, historians generally recognize three motives for European exploration & colonization in the New World: God…Gold…& Glory." Rommel asked, "Teach, I thought you said we'd have a computer project?" Rightly so, agreed Romnick. He then assigned Kian & Carlo to pass out papers which Molly read to the class aloud. Parts were assigned to five students, as they enacted a play about conditions & situations of Filipinos during Spanish & American Colonialism. They recorded it & edited it as a classroom project, with videos & pictures from the internet dubbed in for effect. When a blackout destroyed the unsaved work, the kids didn't to mind, since it had been so much fun. Before heading back to class, Romnick had the students look up on Bible Gateway.com the Bible verse; Joshua 1:9. The class read it together in unison, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong & courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Abby quipped, "the Christian Filipinos must have relied upon that verse a lot during the hundreds of years of colonization!" When they arrived back in the classroom, to Romnick's surprise, Principal Pernes was there, giving an unannounced evaluation! He was downright nervous. But in his mind, over & over again he consoled himself with the verse,,, "Be strong & courageous!" The subject was Science. Stammering, Romnick instructed, "We now will st-tt-tudy Evvv…vapppp…vap…oration…evaporation." To Romnick's horror, he noticed that the oral recitation of the students was terrible. Even though they became participative during the discussion, he wasn't really satisfied, as he really expected perfection. However,Ma'am Pernes was still pleasantly amazed at what they were doing. Romnick counted off the entire class into 2 groups. Each group had its task. Group 1: observe why the water disappears when clothes are soaked in the sunlight. Group 2: mop the floor, & observe why the floor becomes dry after mopping. After 10 minutes, Ma'am Pernes left & the nervousness in Romnick's heart disappeared. He assessed the kids' performance with a quiz, which they all aced. Though stressed, Ronick stood before the class as they headed home & announced, "You guys are GREAT! A tad slow on catching up, but I can say that, you guys did your best this day." Then Kian & Carlo collected papers from their classmates which Romnick hadn't noticed before. As they handed the papers to Romnick they announced, "And Principal Pernes actually had us evaluate you too! YOU TOO, Teacher Romnick, have aced the day!" With a priceless look of shocked surprise on his face, Romnick was tongue-tied & that look on his face was so precious that suddenly he and the entire class burst out laughing! "Yup, Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Present Need: $350 for: (installment #2 of 2) to re-dig up the pump for the orphanage deep well, since the recent earthquake caused a fill-in and the kids were without water for a few weeks. They had to bathe in the stream, a mile away down a dirt road. We also reconnected to city water, which is sporadic. |
| 1/18/2024 | Paul & Elvie's 28th "Paper-versary" (1/15/96: 1st-signing of our marriage certificate) Please pray for the following medical challenges: BCA's Nurse Lucy: breast cancer// Juvy (college student at BCA's orphanage): goiter// Lasang students: extensive dental challenges (some missing ½ their teeth through root-rot). Already Elvie & I have contacted 2 dentists who are willing to join a dental team to the Lasang location. Please also pray: Once again, the groundbreaking for BCA's new Multipurpose Building has been delayed by Davao's Office of Government Engineers. Since Elvie signed the (once again revised) blueprints this week, the construction team prioritized an alternate project before ours. Thus, they cannot promise when the groundbreaking will actually take place. Pray that it be soon. Please pray too that our work at the orphanage on the boys' new cottage (painting the walls, building beds, installing tiles & ceiling, etc), will be done by Saturday so the kids can move in before we return to the mainland this weekend. Praise God for the Surprise! Late at night, before leaving the house for our daughter Abby's midnight Sunday/Monday flight back to Chicago (& college), 15 from the church youth group came to the house to serenade her with songs, prayers & well wishes…even a few games! Praise God too that the Layton Hills Baptist Church, upon completion of their 2-week missions trip to the Philippines, planned with us a continuance of their medical outreaches, by naming BCA's medical branch, the "Layton Hills Clinic," initiating annual checkups for each of BCA's 600 students (plus some of their siblings)! This will be a branch of PMBMI's DSO (Davao Strategic Outreach), whose main goal is the presentation of Christ's Gospel, encased in strategic empathy. Praise God as well that our daughter Abigail arrived safely, while traveling alone halfway around the world to Chicago, just 15 or so hours before her Tuesday morning class at Moody Bible Institute. Praise God as well that our daughter Abigail arrived safely, while traveling alone halfway around the world to Chicago, just 15 or so hours before her Tuesday morning class at Moody Bible Institute...from 95 degrees Fahrenheit to -6 in 2 days! "Say Cheese!" Last year we started an annual tradition of bringing our 12 orphans to the mainland from their village nearby on Samal Island, to take a professional style "Family Picture". This year was especially nice, as the 5 Barners (Paul, Elvie, PJ, Briana & Abby) were in the picture with them. It'll be posted on the orphanage wall when the studio is finished printing it next month. Abby flew back to Chicago for college Sunday night, & the other 4 of us are at the orphanage for the rest of the week, teaching swim lessons, doing cement work, Bible studies, painting, & spending quality time with the orphan kids. Meanwhile at BCA, Teacher Veoly began her Morning Greetings: responded by a Symphony of Smiles as she entered the kindergarten classroom. With giggles & morning greetings, the students, with backpacks almost as big as themselves, eagerly greeted each other & their teacher. The atmosphere was electric with anticipation; a promising start to a day of exploration: Circle Time…Songs, Stories, Subjects, & finally, hours later; Shared Moments of the Day As the Day was ending, one of her kindergarteners, Zeon, had a special request: "Teacher Veoly, we are finished early in our spelling lesson!" After Veoly congratulated them, Zeon continued, as a representative for his classmates, "Sooo……do we get a star?" Veoly could foresee this budding politician in her midst & responded, "Why yes, of COURSE, you ALL get Reward-Stars today!" YAY! As Veoly presented the students with their homework assignment, she reflectively & poetically considered, "Ah, the heart of the kindergarten classroom: where joy bubbles like a playful stream, & curiosity sparkles in eager eyes! Today I have embarked on a delightful journey: spending a day with the energetic & imaginative world of kindergarten students! Whimsical escapades & heartwarming moments have unfolded during this magical day…" She then quipped, "…and during gym period tomorrow, we will have a community outreach." YAY again. Then Flora asked the question on every kindergartener's minds that Monday morning: "What is an OUTREACH?" Teacher Veoly explained that Tuesday, the students & teachers, side-by-side, would be going outdoors with little plastic bags & plastic gloves, to pick up trash & better their community. "Acts of Kindness" showed God's hope through small gestures (like this) of goodwill. Violy watched Venz & Kishagen exit the classroom. They were excitedly chatting together about the fun outreach that tomorrow would bring. Through their smiles, they inspired one last reflective thought: "We are the teachers:the architects of our collective future!" Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give?c=6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for (installment #113 of 400) $120,000 3-story, flood-proof (9-foot-high backfill) raised parking garage/ school chapel & teachers' apartments next to BCA's present building. $56,000 remaining. 3 Ongoing Construction Projects: 1- SUBASTA Tribal campus ($250,000): $78,397. Still needed: $171,603 2- DAVAO Bus Garage/Chapel ($120,000): $64,000. Still needed: $56,000. 3- SAMAL ISLAND Orphanage Cottage & Chapel ($150,000): $18,000. Still needed: $132,000 Upcoming (General) Schedule: American short-term work teams: March, 2024: Arizona BCA library & pour cement orphanage driveway. April, 2024: New York (team #2) build orphanage church. July, 2024: Pennsylvania further church construction. August, 2024: Beginning of Paul & Elvie's 2024/2025 USA Speaking tour. September, 2024: Paul's 16th 70.3-mile Davao Ironman Race (9/29/2024: Augusta, Georgia USA). This Spring, (between January & June, as the seamstresses complete them), BCA kids are receiving a 2nd uniform. They already get one a year, but now they'll have 2! NEEDED: $20 x 600 = $12,000. Received: $4,483.34 Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing/Visiting Tour: AUG- NY/ SEP-NY,GA/ OCT-FL,SC / NOV-NY,IL,MO,IN/ DEC-NY,TORONTO,KY/ JAN '25-NC,AL,TX,AZ/ FEB '25-MEXICO,CA/ MAR '25- UT,KS,OH,NY/ APR '25 NY/ MAY '25 WA,AK,Saskatchewan/ JUN-AUG '25 PA,VT,NY,CT/ SEP '25 WI,NM,AR,TN,NY/ OCT '25 NY,NJ/ NOV '25 NY,IL,Davao. BCA church MPM: "Midweek Prayer Meeting" speakers (9:30 & 10:30am): Jan: Spkr: Embaan/ Music: Tamiana. Feb: Spkr:Budo/ Music: Praca. Mar: Spkr: Tabasa/ Music: Beter. Apr: Spkr: Paciente/ Music: Meneses. May: Spkr: DeJolde/ Music: Chung. June: Spkr: Mr. Viray/ Music: Mrs. Viray. |
| 1/11/2024 | Martin Luther King Jr Day (USA) 1/15/24. Abby & Utah team return to USA 1/14/24. Please pray for PJ & Briana, as we focus the last two weeks they are with us, on training the orphans in swimming & also helping them in cementing flower planters around the perimeter of the property. Please also pray, as the Utah team flies back to the USA, for the remaining three American work-teams arriving between now & July, from Pennsylvania, New York & Arizona. Please pray too for a seamless transition, as the BCA teachers utilize the brand-new 15-unit computer lab in a schedule that meshes with their lesson plans. Praise God that one of our youth group teens, who got pregnant with an unbeliever in her neighborhood during a time of spiritual uncertainty, delivered her baby boy this week, & was still welcomed by her church buddies with whom she grew up. Since the baby is a 7-month preemie, he's being incubated until he gains his strength. Praise God also that Christ's precious plan of salvation was clearly presented last week by many well-wishers who attended the 2nd wedding ceremony of PJ & Briana, & also at the second & third wedding receptions, here in Davao City, Philippines! "Computer savvy…" Brad, one of the seven Americans visiting from a Baptist church in Utah, came to the Philippines for a few weeks to set up a 15-unit computer lab & then hosted a three-hour internet & computer training seminar for our eight teachers at BCA. Multi-talented, Brad also donned makeup & a colorful outfit, along with a few other clowns to present the Gospel in a unique way for our orphans & the hundreds of other students from poor areas of Davao City. The team presented medical checkups, Geography & Bible lessons, revamped & disinfected the school clinic, & even cleaned out a storage room, transforming it into an annex for the ever-expanding library of Barner Christian Academy. That particular storage room had been filled with new & used clothing to give to the poor. While refolding, recategorizing & transferring these mountains of clothing to another room at BCA, our twelve orphans decided to make it fun by hosting a fashion show! Sweatpants from Alabama on Jonas, & a superman t-shirt from Florida on Jonjon, were competing against a pink knit winter cap from Alaska on Lycka &, with roaring laughter from the rest, a full camouflaged army outfit from Kentucky on Christine…accompanied by a cowboy hat (from friends in Texas, of course) …everybody won the contest! Watching our dear kids enjoying their project, I commented to Elvie, "While Jesus had His 3-12-500-5000: (3-Peter, James & John), 12 apostles, 500 & 5,000, we have our 3 kids: PJ, Briana & Abby; 12 orphans; our 600 students; & our dear 5,000 prayer warriors & sponsors for students from churches around the world!" A few days later in her BCA classroom of 5th graders, Teacher Juvy was preparing her 5th graders for an upcoming exam. Grouping the class of 30 students into 6 clusters of 5 each, they had brainstorming sessions, trying to remember the subjects taught in class & also imagine what questions might be asked on the test. Juvy then called each of the 6 groups of students up to the blackboard (one group at a time) to answer the practice questions which she had prepared. Group #1's topic was PLANTS. #2 was POLITICS. #3 was MUSIC. #4: ETHNICITY. #5: ART & #6: BIBLE. Group #1: "What are the parts of a plant?" The other five groups applauded their correct answer, as one-by-one, each of the 5 members took turns drawing & passing-on the chalk to the next, for the flower, stem, leaves, etc. Group #2: "What are the geographical divisions of Davao City?" This group also was applauded as they drew the city with its sections of de Oro, Del sur, & so forth. Group #3: "Give the hand signals for the respective musical notes". The rest of the class hummed along as Group #3 sang & signed "do-re-mi-fa…". Group #4: "Show how people of different occupations interact." A drama was created, where a housewife asked her businessman husband for money to pay the plumber who would come to fix their dripping sink. Tied into this, a second drama showed the ethnical grouping typical for each of these professions, with parents training their kids in skills they had themselves learned from their predecessors. Group #5: "Display & explain your color wheels." These 5 students held up the round pizza-like papers, with the primary colors in slivers of red, yellow & blue, with their blends in-between, forming secondary shades. You'd think that all the wheels would be identical, yet some used darker shades, while others used pastel or neon hues.Also, the tools were varied: markers, crayons, colored pencils & watercolor paints. Groups #1-4 had reps come to categorize Group #5 into an incredibly blended mosaic "Rainbow of Promise". Kian called out, "It's like we are the animals in Noah's ark, looking out the window at God's Rainbow!" Teacher Juvy held her tongue, though tempted to compare deeper the similarities of her students with animals: a nipping alligator here, & a chattering toucan there… Finally, Group #6: "Please recite yesterday's Bible memory verse, one-by-one." All were word-perfect…that was…until the last one, dear Brix. He just could not fit the memorized words together, &, stumbling & mumbling, finally burst into tears. Juvy quickly assigned another student, Mae Ann, to distribute a worksheet to the others to work on. Juvy kindly called Brix to a chair next to her desk. "I just can't do it," mourned Brix. "I get a few words together & forget the rest. I am such a failure!" Tears streaked down his 5th-grade cheek. Using the back of her sleeve to gently wipe away his tears, Juvy lovingly explained, "The purpose of making mistakes is to learn how it is not done, & then by process of elimination, to try another approach. Otherwise, you are just wasting good tears! I will now help you." She wiped away his newly formed tears & now with fresh, dry rosy cheeks, they worked on it together. Ten minutes later, to a resounding standing ovation, Brix recited the short Bible verse, almost word perfect. Juvy explained to her class, just before the bell rang & she collected papers from her students while they paraded out the door, "Quitters never win & winners never quit." And into Brix's ear so nobody else could hear, she whispered, "And you, my dear one, spoke God's very words today for the entire class. God is smiling upon you, for you are His palangga [dear, dear, loving child]." Brix came into the class that day an unsure 5th student & left as a prince! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give?c=6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $350 for: (installment #1 of 2) to re-dig up the pump for the orphanage deep well, since the recent earthquake caused a fill-in and the kids were without water for a few weeks. They had to bathe in the stream, a mile away down a dirt road. 3 Ongoing Construction Projects:
Upcoming (General) Schedule: American short-term work teams:
This Spring, (between January & June, as the seamstresses complete them), BCA kids are receiving a 2nd uniform. They already get one a year, but now they'll have 2! NEEDED: $20 x 600 = $12,000. Received: $4,019. Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing Tour: AUG- NY/ SEP-NY,GA/ OCT-FL,SC / NOV-NY,IL,MO,IN/ DEC-NY,TORONTO,KY/ JAN '25-NC,AL,TX,AZ/ FEB '25-MEXICO,CA/ MAR '25- UT,KS,OH,NY/ APR '25 NY/ MAY '25 WA,AK,Saskatchewan/ JUN-AUG '25 PA,VT,NY,CT/ SEP '25 WI,NM,AR,TN,NY/ OCT '25 NY,NJ/ NOV '25 NY,IL,Davao. BCA church MPM: "Midweek Prayer Meeting" speakers (9:30 & 10:30am): Jan: Spkr: Embaan/ Music: Tamiana. Feb: Spkr:Budo/ Music: Praca. Mar: Spkr: Tabasa/ Music: Beter. Apr: Spkr: Paciente/ Music: Meneses. May: Spkr: DeJolde/ Music: Chung. June: Spkr: Mr. Viray/ Music: Mrs. Viray.
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| 1/4/2024 | Happy New Year, 2024! Goodbye to 2023…Epiphany Sunday (1/6/24) blckids@yahoo.com MON 1/1/24- New Year's Day: Utah Work Team Arrives In Davao. PJ, Bri & Abby work team at orphanage, PJ & Briana's 2nd wedding 1/5/24. Please pray for the frequently-postponed groundbreaking ceremony to take place this next Monday (Jan 8) for BCA's new multipurpose building. While the permits' requirements have been submitted, the construction team will be meeting this weekend with the BCA administration to determine the details of road closures, etc. before they start digging for the cement & steel foundation. Praise God for the work team that is with us 2 weeks from the Layton Hills Baptist Church in Utah, USA. They are helping us distribute hundreds of Christmas gifts to poor children as well as presenting Christ's plan of salvation through drama & skits. They also are teaching & preaching, plus building a computer lab & a library annex for BCA. Also cementing with PJ, Bri & Abby at BCA's orphanage. Thank you Lord! Praise God too that PJ, Abby & Briana sang/signed for hundreds of youth at a multicity youth conference in Camp Kawayan, Davao, with over a thousand youth attending! "180 students today?" Our visiting Utah team was preparing the first series of 600 bags of Christmas gifts for the kids in 6 of our 31 churches. Some were very remote: on muddy, deep-puddled dirt roads, & scattered over about a hundred heavily trafficked miles, between hours of driving our BCA buses. In each church, after the children performed well-practiced Christmas songs, "Mr. Trouble & Grandma Cuddles" (two clowns) gave Bible-based skits & illusion tricks. One-by-one, the kids were taken aside by the nurses for cursory medical checkups. They were weighed, their heights measured, & teeth, eyes, noses, & ears were checked. Notations on index cards were made for regular future checkups, for the children, most of whom had never visited a doctor or hospital in their young lives. A few days before the team arrived, our family had visited BCA's orphanage, out on nearby Samal Island. I asked one of the girls, "Leah, I see the encyclopedia set & the CS Lewis series, Bibles, hymnals & six other series, but where are the Christian Amish romance novels?" Filipinos do not read books much. Libraries in the Philippines are almost nonexistent. Yet with our twelve orphans, as well as our 600 sponsored students, I really, really want them to start enjoying reading, & carrying books around with them every day. But it just doesn't happen much. A few days ago, we visited the orphanage to exchange Christmas presents, & when I asked Leah (top honors in her 8th grade class) about the missing series, she blushed a bit & led me to the girls' dorm. There, she reached under her pillow & pulled out not one, but three of the thick novels. Four of her "sisters" in the room also reached under their pillows to show the novels they are reading whenever they have some "downtime". I was so proud of these girls, that on their own, they already have expressed a love for reading! Meanwhile back on the mainland at BCA's main school campus, the boys' & girls' chaplains Melvin & Eunice planned the students' return to classes for the 2nd week of January. At each Wednesday morning & noon prayer meetings, different parents were scheduled to lead the songs, prayer & Bible reading. They also were thrilled to give their personal testimonies of God's blessings that week. Each day, the chaplains had hour-long noon Bible & prayer times with the students: Monday: preschool thru 1st Grade, T-2nd, W-3rd, R-4th. Friday-5th & 6th. They recited memorized Bible verses & books of the Bible & Bible characters. Throughout the week, Melvin & Eunice would take each student aside to evaluate spiritual aptitude for his or her semiannual CSDPR (Child Spiritual Progress Report Card). The two chaplains also interviewed the kids' parents one-on-one, in Bible & counseling sessions. The chaplains gave away over 100 Bibles in the parents' languages. Chaplain Eunice had confronted a Christian pharmacist who develops medicine from the delicious, tropical dark purple mangosteen fruit, and he considered it a privilege to donate funds for these Bibles, as well as another hundred to the Bible study leaders for their home groups. Using these books, they counseled couples, both married & not yet. Eunice, during her one-on-one counseling times, was thrilled to lead 3 of her pupils to accept Jesus into their hearts, at the rate of one each week! Even as I am thrilled that Leah & her sisters at the orphanage are reading of positive role models in Christian novels, I'm also ecstatic that our 600 students & their parents are reading and understanding their brand-new Bibles! Until next time… Let the islands rejoice! Link for credit card donations: https://tithe.ly/give?c=6118435 TOOLS FOR PERSONAL CHRISTIAN GROWTH:
Present Need: $300 for: (installment #3 of 5) to purchase and install a 2,000-gallon water tower for the orphanage to have enough water supply for the animals, fish, gardens, clothes washing, bathing, etc. $490 remaining.
Upcoming (General) Schedule: American short-term work teams:
This Christmas, BCA kids will receive a 2nd uniform. They already get one a year, but now they'll have 2! NEEDED: $20 x 600 = $12,000. Received: $3,364. Barner Family 2024-5 USA TENTATIVE Speaking/Singing Tour: AUG- NY/ SEP-NY,GA/ OCT-FL,SC / NOV-NY,PA/ DEC-NY,CANADA/ JAN '25-NC,AL,TX,MX/ FEB '25-CA,NY/ MAR '25- AK, UT/ APR '25 WA,AK,KY/ MAY '25 IN,KS,MO/ JUN-AUG '25 VT,NJ,NY,CT/ SEP '25 OR,NM/ OCT '25 WI, CANADA, IL/ NOV '25 FLY. BCA church MPM: "Midweek Prayer Meeting" speakers (9:30 & 10:30am): Dec: Spkr: Siawan/ Music:Rosal. Jan: Spkr: Embaan/ Music: Tamiana. Feb: Spkr:Budo/ Music: Praca. Mar: Spkr: Tabasa/ Music: Beter. Apr: Spkr: Paciente/ Music: Meneses. May: Spkr: DeJolde/ Music: Chung. June: Spkr: Mr. Viray/ Music: Mrs. Viray. |
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