How I Decided To Retire In The Philippines

Peter, a life-long fisherman, had fished all night with nothing to show for it. He had cleaned his net and was ready to go home to get some sleep. Jesus, who was a rabbi and a carpenter, not a fisherman, told him to go out and cast his net one more time. Peter objected mildly, but then agreed to obey the Lord. His net was suddenly filled with fish!

Peter did not do anything special or employ any wonderful technique; he merely obeyed the one who created the fish. The Lord also gave me some simple guidance years ago, and He has also done amazing things for me since I began to obey His leading. After the huge catch of fish, Jesus said that from that time on Peter would "catch" people. I believe that one day my "net" will be full of Filipino youth (but certainly not by my ability).

As I look back on the many years since I was introduced to the Lord in 1980, I can plainly see how He has been preparing me for this "mission". For example, I was in a bad marriage for about thirteen years before my first wife left me (she wanted someone to party with). Though she had been frequently abusive verbally and physically, I can honestly say that I'm thankful for that experience. I have a strength in my character that I didn't have before, and I have learned to lean on God when I'm not strong. As the sunlight makes clay harder and butter softer, tough times can make a man either bitter or better. I choose the latter. I forgive my ex-wife, and I have compassion for her.

As the divorce dragged on for three miserable years, I was there for my kids every minute possible. I knew they hurt, and they needed me. But when we went to church, they would go off to the kids' ministry, and I would go to the adult sanctuary. Just to be with them, I started volunteering for kids' church. I loved it! I had done everything else in church--playing drums, teaching adults, drama, clean-up, choir, church council--but this was the most fun and most fulfilling. And the kids liked me, too.

God began to set before me a series of clues--culminating in January & February 2004--that were so obvious, even a galoot like me couldn't miss the point. I don't have the space to mention all of them. It all started when I decided that I was sufficiently healed from the divorce and I wanted to marry again. Since I didn't know anyone I was interested in, I joined an online Christian singles' service. I determined to focus on meeting someone in my city--Chandler, AZ--or maybe within the metro Phoenix area. Long-distance dating seemed impractical for a very busy cheapskate like me. But I was also very picky--she had to be perfect for me, since I didn't want another mismatch marriage. I eventually had to broaden my horizons to neighboring states. Months later, I even exchanged some notes with women in distant states and Canada. But none of them seemed right for me. A year or so after I joined that website, I started to look to Mexico, South America, and even Europe for a mate. Still unsatisfied, I "cast my net" toward Asia. I met a nice young lady in the Philippines who seemed to have so much potential that I flew out to meet her. Though she also later proved to not be "the one", I did fall in love...with her church, and with the Filipino people.

As a mail carrier at that time, I bid on a new mail route in totally new area for me. I was startled to learn how many Filipinos and other Asians I suddenly had for customers--about 20% of my route was of Asian descent.

Soon afterward, I took my kids to see the first Spiderman movie. In the part were there's a toddler trapped in a burning building, obviously you feel compassion as you hear the kid crying. But whenSpiderma he opened the door and I saw that it was an Asian child, I noticed my heartstrings being pulled so much more.

I was in the children's ministry every Sunday morning. I only took two or three days off all year to sit with the adults. During the morning services, they would often show short video reports of what the denomination was doing around the US and the world. It was during one of my rare days off in early 2004 that they just happened to show a video of--what else?--a children's ministry in the Philippines. Of course, it brought tears to my eyes. I soon contacted the leader of that ministry in Davao City. Today, and I'm the editor of his email reports.

My first trip to the Philippines had a rocky start. I had spent many weeks organizing the trip, & it was departure day. The bags were packed, tickets in hand, passport...passport...where was my passport? We tore my house apart for six hours, to no avail. Devastated, I gave up when it was time for the flight to take off. I'm so glad that I knew absolutely that this is what I was supposed to do, because when a thought came to me that I should forget this Philippines stuff, and that God had forsaken me, I rejected the thought outright, and I got up to do something about it. And I experienced a stunning turn of events. Although it had taken weeks to prepare for the trip, in one day I was able to
--cancel my employee vacation time (we're supposed to give two weeks' notice to do that, but my boss and the union surprisingly waived that),
--obtain a new vacation time slot beginning only three weeks later,
--order a new passport, and
--get new tickets to coincide with my new vacation time.
In one day! The delay cost me a few hundred dollars, but it was worth it. I later found out that an American missionary/university president/author named Chuck Quinley, with whom I would begin an important relationship (I learned so much from him!), had been out of the Philippines when I was originally scheduled to be there, but because I went later, I got to spend much time with him. There are no accidents in God's plan.
(Incidentally, the old passport had slid under a false bottom in my carry-on bag.) 

I also got to know and love the "family" in the House of Light during the trip. "Mommy" Lourdes Reyes cares for several lovable children who have been removed from abusive homes. She's been doing this for decades. We are happy to help support the House.

Though I usually missed the morning services at church, I would go to the laid-back evening meetings. Once, after a time of singing & worship, the pastor asked us to wait quietly before the Lord and ask Him what He would say to us. I did, and I was surprised at how clearly He spoke to me. He said, "I am faithful". "Yes!", I thought, "You have done amazing things for me this week, Lord!" (the single-day trip planning) Then He said, "I will reward you." I had been really feeling God's presence, & when you're really sensing Him there, the last thing you think about is you deserving a reward. The prophet Isaiah, & the apostle Peter hundreds of years later, had remarkable experiences of God's closeness, & they each exclaimed how sinful they felt, though we would have called them holy. So I told the Lord that I wasn't worthy of His blessing, especially since I haven't led many people to know Him. Then the pastor asked for our attention, and he read the text--Genesis chapter 15. In that passage, God answered my objections! When Abraham told God that he wasn't fruitful, as I wasn't, God said that He would make him incredibly fruitful! God said that He himself was Abraham's reward. Then God promised him a home where various tribes lived, and I thought about the rural provinces in the Philippines. And because Abraham believed (as I believed) His promise, he counted that faith as righteousness!

Years before I began kids' ministry--probably around 1990--I was given a "word of knowledge" (an inspired insight) that even though I had been in many different kinds of ministry, nothing really fit me perfectly, but one day, I would find a ministry that really fits me, one that I was made for. The preacher (Brad Campbell) said that when I would get to Heaven, I'd find many people there who will thank me for teaching them about Jesus. Only now am I beginning to see this come to pass.

After I began thinking about the possibility of retiring in the Philippines in several years, Mark McGrath was speaking at a special meeting at our church. He told a story about his father-in-law, who retired from construction/contracting. He went to Haiti to devote his life to building homes, church buildings, and anything else they needed. He had retired in his early fifties, just like I will. When he died, at the funeral in Minnesota there were two men in shabby clothes whom no one else knew, sitting in the back. When greeted, they said that their village in Haiti had been so grateful to him that they took a collection to send two representatives to his funeral. At that part of the story, I suddenly broke down and started sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't get the picture out of my mind of two young Filipino men at my funeral saying the same thing. I hadn't sobbed like that since I was a kid! I'm glad I was sitting in the back--I don't know if anyone saw me. The "vision" was so moving that even now, writing this makes my eyes misty.

These things happened within the first several weeks of 2004. Since then, the Christian dating site had a Filipina member on a one-week free trial (she had no money for membership). I happened to be very impressed by her profile, so I sent off an email. I finally persuaded her to like me, and eventually I obtained her phone number. The first time I called her, we (expensively) talked for three hours! I had never talked that long to anyone before, phone or otherwise. I took my son Isaac (he was 10) to meet her six months later, and he gave me unsolicited advice to marry her ("She's so sweet!"). Gina Edrozo and I wed 8/26/2006. I'm so happy to not only have the Best Wife on Earth (as I tell her every day), but also one who shares my love for kids.

At the time I was considering marriage to Gina, I heard about a new Christian radio show on Saturday mornings, so I tuned in while at work. It just so happened that the first episode I heard was an interview with a doctor and his wife who are children's missionaries to the Philippines!

The next Saturday I was off work (every six weeks I'd get a Saturday off), and there happened to be a children's ministry workers' conference in Phoenix that day. I enjoyed the seminars, and at lunchtime, I wasn't hungry (a miracle), so I waited until everyone else got in line. A couple got in line at the same time, and I glanced at their name tags. I thought, "Hmm...Joel & Virginia Jacobson...where have I heard those names before?" It was the missionary couple on the radio! We began a very edifying friendship right there. They run "Child's Wish Ministries" in Cebu City. Gina and I sponsor several kids there.

Hindsight is 20/20--I can see clearly now why the Lord wants my wife and me to minister to Filipino kids. Because I'm 6'4" and American, the kids (especially those in rural areas) are very attracted to me. I can point their attention to Jesus. We won't need any personal support, because my small early-retirement pension will provide a decent living in that Third-World economy (though we may need ministry support). My youngest (Isaac) graduates from high school in 2013--when we will go--so he won't have to go with us (but I hope he and his older sister Tabitha will!). 

There is a tremendous need for children's ministry there--about half of the population is age 16 or younger. Most Filipinos speak some English, and many want to learn it better. I might teach English part-time there as an outreach.

The call of God to reach the nations with the gospel is not for a select few. Every Christian must do what he or she can to fulfill Mark 16--"Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the message of God's good news to one and all." If you don't go, you ought to help others go. 

This article explains the way that the Lord showed my wife and me how we will fulfill this call. Do you know how you will?