Padens in the Philippines

Quick Check-In We are writing this update on the road... Our plan to travel is finally happening. Our goal was to visit our ministry partners and friends on the way to Florida. We have been driving from Tucson, AZ since September 29th. So far so good. We were able to connect with some long time friends and partners in ministry. Fun is also included. We are now in Wilmington, North Carolina and will soon be in Florida. Wilmington has a a lot of fun stuff. We were able to visit their beaches, the Battleship Museum and celebrate their fall festival with fireworks on their downtown riverwalk . We also had a great time connecting with our partner church and individuals here in the city. One of our challenges of this trip is the our kids schooling. Lord willing, our two kids will be able to find time to keep up with all their school work. It is a bit hard doing school in the car traveling. Our old car is doing well and we are all healthy. We will b...

Summer Update 2022 We made it Stateside!  Good things are happening! Obviously there are some not so good things that are happening too, but since we are commanded to look at things in an eternal perspective we will try to be positive. This is not so easy to do especially if we look around us today.  The beginning of the the journey of coming back to the States started years ago. We knew that Caleb (our second) was going back for college, so we decided to come back to the US for an early Home Service. The goal was to be in the US to help Caleb get situated for college and then travel the rest of the time to update our churches and supporters. (Coming into the US is always photo worthy!) Housing! A huge need for this home service was housing. This time we needed to keep our house in the Philippines, so we asked God to provide us someone to watch our house while we are gone. God provided us two missionaries who are living there now. We also nee...

Pressing on....   Isaiah 26:3-4 "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock."  (NLT) Life these last 2 years during covid have not been easy! This verse has been one that I have gone back to so many times. Now as things seem to be opening up and we get glimpses of life after covid,  we praise God for His peace and provision.  We keep pressing on and we thank you all for your prayers and support that have helped sustain us this far.  One of our big next steps will be a 6th month Home Service (furlough) starting this June.  So many details and plans will go into making this trip happen and honestly it feels overwhelming in our current situation. Like the verse above says, we will keep our thoughts fixed on the One we serve and why we are here. We pray for peace and provision but have confidence that God has always taken care o...

  Fall Update 2021 -Finally reunited! We were so happy to have our whole family together again after such a long time. -Our travel to the States looked so different this time. There was a lot of room on the plane going to LA though. Face shields and face masks the whole flight was very challenging.  -First stop is always a Tucson classic. Eegee's! Short Trip Back As you might recall, we traveled back to the States for 2 months last May. It was a whirlwind trip and we praise God we were able to do it.  Left just in time before Julie's visa expired.  Finally got to see Nhaya after WAY too long. (we missed so much- High School Graduation, her 18th Birthday, going to college for the first time) Able to spend time with Julie's family in the States. We even got to attend a family reunion.  Visited many of our supporting churches and friends even with limited time. Sent Caleb off to his first overseas short-term missions trip with Royal Servant...