We’ve been living in Brooke’s Point, the southernmost point of the island of Palawan, since 2018. We retired from our jobs in the States and are here because this is where God has called us to start TEMI Bible School. TEMI (Telos Euarestos Ministries, Inc.) is the ministry which God gave to our son Justin in 2015. TEMI’s mission is to “train, strengthen and develop” the local church leaders so that they will have the necessary tools and biblical knowledge to do the work which God has given them to do in this part of the Philippines.
At least twice a month, Dan and I would take an 8 hour round trip drive from Brooke’s Point to Puerto Princesa to do our banking, buy groceries that we can’t get in Brooke’s, and/or just get away for a few hours. The highway from Brooke’s to Puerto is filled with many unexpected twists and turns and sometimes that “bend in the road” catches us by surprise with either a sharp turn, oncoming traffic unexpectedly in our lane, or a breathtaking view.
As
I thought about those unexpected twists on the road, I started to remember some
“bends in the road” of my life that caught me by surprise and even made the difference
in how my life turned out.
The first and most significant personal "bend in the road" for me happened in 1972-1973. I was 17, a junior at Faith Academy in Cainta, Rizal (Philippines) and I had fallen in love with the proverbial "boy next door."
He was 19 and already in college. He
lived at the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) compound where his parents
worked which was next door to FEBIAS (college) where I lived and where my Dad
was president at the time. Although very busy with school and my
extra-curricular activities, namely Madrigals and Guys (high school singing
group), softball, National Honor Society events, my life at home revolved around this boy who literally
made my heart skip a beat every time I saw him. I guess you could say he was my
first serious boyfriend and I believe I was his first serious girlfriend.
Every night after dinner when my parents
would return to their offices to do more work, I would leave the house to spend
a few hours with him. We would just walk around FEBC compound and talk or hang
out with our friends. Those were such fun, carefree days!! I would need to
return home before 9, however, when my parents would also return from their
offices. That was also the time when the gate that separates our two compounds would be locked. There
were a few times, though, when I was late and would have to climb over the gate.
The FEBIAS security guard would whistle at me to stop until he realized it was
the President’s daughter!
During this time, as a junior in high school, I was preparing myself for college. My ONLY choice was Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois. We had lived in Deerfield from 1965 to 1969 when my parents were studying at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) working on their Master of Theology (Dad) and Master of Christian Education (Mom) degrees. Deerfield and the campus of Trinity College and TEDS was a wonderful place in which to grow up and I had made it my singular goal to return there for college.
All this time, however, I kept my relationship with this boy a secret from my parents, although my siblings knew about us. For awhile they kept my secret, until one night at dinner, my brother blurted out that I had a boyfriend! My dad was very angry and he offered me an ultimatum: If I wanted to attend Trinity College, I would have to give up my boyfriend. If I didn't give him up, my Dad would make me study at FEBIAS. Now, FEBIAS is a good school and it would probably have been good for me to study there, but I had had my heart set on going to Trinity since... forever and I just couldn't give up that dream? With a heavy heart, I decided to choose Trinity over the boy I loved...
I waited until after Valentine's Day -- and before my 18th birthday which was in March -- to break up with him. I don't remember if I told him about the ultimatum my Dad had given me -- I don't think I did. By this time, I had heard rumors about him and other girls that he might have been seeing while he was at school, so I used that as my reason for breaking up with him. To this day, he denies that he was cheating on me, but I will never know. He was understandably angry at me and for YEARS, he refused to have anything to do with me. I totally understand his reaction and missed him a lot, but I just couldn't let go of my dream. So, at that particular "bend in the road," I chose my college dream over my dream guy.
That, however, would not be the end of our story...
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