Rescheduling our time in the Philippines
We have rescheduled our trip to the Philippines from September 11 to October 27, 2025. This will shorten up our time in the Philippines to about four months. We are still booked to return to the USA on February 23, 2026. The change is mostly due to life and ministry opportunities in the USA, especially at our home church. The beauty of fall/autumn colors and weather in the USA is a minor but real reason as well.
We think we can accomplish most of what we hope to do in the Philippines -- family, friends, colleagues, downsizing, mentoring, etc. -- in four months.
In the bigger picture, we are still working out the rhythms of Active Retirement in two countries. In our last annual cycle, we tried splitting our year into six months in the USA and six months in the Philippines. This worked, with its advantages and drawbacks. In this cycle, we will try eight months in the USA and four months in the Philippines, then evaluate it.
Here are a few of our ongoing prayer requests:
* Jay being a part-year member of our church’s Spiritual Life Committee (the elders). We are working hard to lead the church in becoming a multilingual, multiethnic, and multigenerational church -- though this needs a lot of prayer.
* Jay joining a work group from our church in a mission/work trip to a Navaho sister church in Arizona, USA on September 16-22.
* Amor participates with a group of IVCF Philippines supporters based in Colorado for follow-up from the retreat we spoke at in July (at which God answered many prayers) and plans for this group. She also speaks at a ladies' group in our church in October.
* Growing friendships in our apartment building with both believers and not-yet-believers
* Continued mentoring face-to-face in the USA and remotely in the Philippines (to be reversed for 4 months from October 27 to February 27, when we plan, Lord willing, to be in the Philippines, as we wrote above.
