June 2018 Summary

Praise God for answered prayers!

On May 28, the Monday after the school year ended, I flew north to Manila for medical testing at St. Lukes Medical Center (SLMC) in Quezon City - part of the Mayo Clinic Network. I am grateful for the SIL Guesthouse only 10-15 minutes from SLMC - comfortable facilities and good cooking, great fellowship around meal tables with SIL (Wycliffe) and missionaries from various ministry groups. I was always intrigued with conversations about progress and various challenges in Bible translation.

My Davao oncology surgeon had wanted to do a lumpectomy (and mastectomy if needed) in late March or April after my spring ultrasound showed a solid mass (but smaller in 2 of 3 dimensions than December ultrasound). Second opinions from two doctors considered was that it was probably safe to wait until the school year was over for retesting.


My May 29th ultrasound indicated no discrete mass lesion this time. PRAISE GOD!!! There were symptoms similar to my 2015 cancer journey, but my Manila oncology assured me that certain symptoms are normal for a year after my several biopsies in 2017.

Other tests indicate that I have some irregularities with my heart and two abdominal organs, but nothing that requires meds or even further testing at this time. 

Chest discomfort continued often, but not the sporadic sharp shooting stuff that was cause for concern with my family history.  One chest x-ray in Manila mentioned a hiatial hernia  (aware of for more than two decades). I revisited a gastrointestinal doc in Davao, who will monitor my progress with medication for reflux...as home remedies are just not adequate.

Praising God that no life threatening issues are showing up.  Am tightening up on healthy habits as advised. Forward! 

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Connecting with My Roots

SMALL world!!! On the second Sunday of June I connected with my roots in a planned way and in a surprise way. What a BLESSING to my heart that misses my family members and my home church!

First Church of God Philippines - street view. In case anyone
wants to visit this friendly church,  the address is 89 Jasmin Street,
St. Constantino Village Marulas, Valenzuela City, Philippines.

First Church of God Philippines - church front

 For the first time in 6.5 years as a full-time missionary via Wycliffe Bible Translators, I had the privilege of attending a church abroad connected to the Church of God, Anderson IN - my cherished roots. There were none in Cameroon, but thanks to Facebook, I found First Church of God Philippines located in Valenzuela City (Manila) - 8448 miles from my hometown of Winchester KY. While still in Manila for medical matters, I planned a visit one Sunday and received a warm friendly welcome.  

A visual history of First Church of God
 Philippines  1959-Present is on
 a back wall of the church.

Grandpa and Grandma Snowden

Pastor and Mrs. Rolando Bacani

The surprise came in discovering that Pastor and Mrs. Rolando Bacani (who planted the Church of God in the Philippines) knew my maternal grandparents, Rev. Charles I. and Bertie Snowden from Kentucky State Camp Meetings, Winchester Pastors' Fellowship, and Anderson Camp meetings.

My Grandpa and Grandma Snowden were a huge part of my life, living well past the homegoing of both my parents in their 50's. My grandparents have been gone around three decades and it so warms my heart when I talk with people who knew them...sure didn't expect this in the Philippines.

Rev. Bacani attended Gulf Coast Bible College in the U.S., was mentored by Dr. Max Gaulke, and founded the First Church of God Philippines in 1959. Pastor Bacani asked me to mail his greetings to Grandpa Snowden, but I don't have a postal address for heaven. This dear man is 91 and does Facebook/email.


The warm welcome from the adult Sunday School class (right photo) and also from folks during and after the worship service was much appreciated.

I enjoyed great fellowship that afternoon and evening with Ivy (Rev. Bacani's daughter) and her husband, Rev. Ed So who currently pastors First Church of God Philippines. They lived many years in the U.S.  They also both serve in leadership at Valenzuela Christian School.

BTW, when I looked at the worship bulletin, I was taken back by the realization that the date on which I made new connections to my roots the birthday of my dear mother - June 10th. Happy 98th in heaven Mom!

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Return to Davao City   

PTL - no more termites were found in the Elementary - Middle School Library! It was determined that they had gotten into the breaker box via underground wiring and the ground was sprayed. No more inside spraying and headache-causing odor.  I am very thankful that white vinegar and baking soda in bowls on different days/nights plus lots of Lysol Neutrair spray ( or other spray that eliminates odor rather than masks it) did a good job for us. It also worked for a teacher friend with a preschooler and a newborn whose house had to be treated for termites - only two nights in our local guesthouse for his family. So grateful for the internet...he learned that if you boil the vinegar and set steaming bowls around, the steam is even more potent for removing odors. Just can't stand to stick around with all that steaming vinegar, but that  vinegar odor dissipates so much faster than pesticide odor.

We are able to open the Elementary - Middle School Library for checkout on Wednesdays, June 20--July 25. On July 4 and following after inventory is done by the Seidlitz family (THANK YOU!!!), the High School Library will have Wednesday early afternoon checkout. I offered a storytime on June 20 with another scheduled for July 18.

June 20 Storytime - Pigs. I love props and
bought the two smaller ones during my Manila 
trip, so had to plan a storytime to use them.
 The  center pig oinks when squeezed and blinks
 two colors  of lights when shook + very economical.

The McCoy missionary homeschool family
gets their weekly ten books checked out.

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David, Dorothy, and Grandma Gracie

Big mouth grasshopper,
cat, dog, sheep

Preparation for 2018-2019 School Year

During my summer break from regular weekly library classes and other duties, the task I most enjoy is researching materials to use with my people and animal puppet friends...especially to use in elementary chapel and outreach ministry. When I got the pig toys, I researched scriptures about  pigs, Bible object  pig lessons. I remoted into our library catalog to make a list of pig books for storytimes and elementary fiction and nonfiction titles for compare/contrast lessons next year. 

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            As one ages with the body and mind slowing down, one's opportunities and calling to ministry, responsibilities, and deadlines are still there. It is sooooo easy to procrastinate as the bones are dragging. The key IMHO is to prioritize in prayer. Confession...it's not just in later years that procrastination has been a challenge to reckon with...I found this title in my Kindle. Time to revisit, continue reading and go back to applying it.

           My biggest area of procrastination is with tasks (especially electronic ones) I don't fully understand how to do. This book has been helpful in my tackling learning inventory procedures with current software and Curriculum Track. I need to ask for help, read available instructions, and grab that frog tight, figure out how the process, and DO IT (plus teach others in some cases). 

                                                                                                                                                                  Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time.  Brian Tracy.  

From Amazon.com: Stop Procrastinating. Get More of the Important Things Done—Today!

There just isn’t enough time for everything on our to-do list—and there never will be. Successful people don’t try to do everything. They learn to focus on the most important tasks and make sure those get done. They eat their frogs.

There’s an old saying that if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re done with the worst thing you’ll have to do all day. For Tracy, eating a frog is a metaphor for tackling your most challenging task—but also the one that can have the greatest positive impact on your life. Eat That Frog! shows you how to organize each day so you can zero in on these critical tasks and accomplish them efficiently and effectively. 

 Brian Tracy cuts to the core of what is vital to effective time management: decision, discipline, and determination.