Pedrito and Violet's 2009 annual letter

As usual December 2008 began with Pedrito attending the Evangelistic and Pastoral Conference at Oakwood University. This time he was invited to be part of a plenary session and seminar panel to address the topic of “The Growing Ethnic Diversity in the North American Church.” He is on the panel again this year for Part 2. Christmas 2008 saw the worst snow storm in the Northwest in over 30 years. Yet Natasha, Pedrito II and their families (including Pedrito II’s in-laws from China), and Vie’s sister, Janice from Canada all made it – with their many presents. Lorraine, who was to join us couldn’t make it through the Gorge because of the snow and ice; but she was part of the hours of presents-opening via Skype – cyberspace celebration!

Some may remember that Vie had this terrible heart condition last summer, and had to cancel her trip to spend some quality time with our newly born granddaughter. In January, at her check-up, the doctor could not believe that she was the same person he saw 7 months earlier. Her echocardiogram was very normal. She was back to her vibrant energetic self – insomuch that she was able to go and spend some time with Natasha and Mayamiko in Florida, while Evans visited his family in Zimbabwe – his first trip back home in many years. When she returned we went to our first basketball game, ever. The Portland Trail Blazers whopped the team from California.

Pedrito is still learning the ropes as Assistant to the President for Diversity. To help bring him up to speed, he attended a fantastic conference during the Spring Break on Diversity in Memphis, Tennessee. And immediately after that attended another Conference of West Coast Black Seventh-day Adventist Administrators, where he promoted our University’s further foray into Diversity.

An event we look forward to in the 20 years that we have been in Walla Walla is the meeting of the West Coast Religion Teachers. This year it was at Pacific Union College in April. The big disappointment was that one of Pedrito’s best friend, Angel Hernandez and his wife Francis were out of town that weekend. But having one of Pedrito’s best teaching assistants ever, as his host, was absolutely delightful. Natasha came to Portland for a Conference and brought Mayamiko with her. Vie was delighted to go and baby-sit in the hotel while Natasha attended meetings. Pedrito joined them for the final day. Later that month he also kicked off a Preach-out at Emerald City Community SDA church with a sermon/plenary address on African-American Preaching. What a high day it was listening to six great young SDA black preachers! The month ended with a great dinner at the home of the University President for the fledging BAWWU (the Black Alumni Association of the University).

It is so wonderful when Pedrito receives a speaking invitation and Vie is also invited – all expenses paid. That’s what his former student, Steve Constantine, the pastor of the Palo Alto church did when he invited us to his church in May. And what a marvelous and blessed time we had at that church, in the shadow of Stanford University (the University where Pedrito II obtained his Ph.D. in computer science). It was a delight to do a weekend seminar on Wholistic Evangelism, with emphasis on Jesus’ model of social outreach – scratching where it is itching! The month ended with the annual visit to Milo Academy in beautiful southern Oregon, to give out thousands of dollars in scholarship to their graduates, in the hope that they will join us at our university in the Fall.

It has been two years, but our extension of the house was completed in June. Vie drew the plans, was the general contractor, and did lots of the work including sheet-rocking, flooring, painting, etc. We have space now for Pedrito’s many books, storage, and loads of family and visitors! Now she needed a break. And you know where she went: to Florida to spend time with Mayamiko (and her mother and father, of course). But she got stung by a scorpion; and her foot was swollen like an elephant. Not enjoyable at all. Last year the heart; this year the foot! We are going to break the jinx. This month Pedrito had two big engagements: First, he was the preacher for the daily 11:00am meetings in Wales for the South England Conference of SDA. What a super time, with nearly 5,000 persons attending on Sabbath. A special treat was the visit to the campmeeting, of his friend and colleague the new Governor General of Jamaica, who was knighted by the Queen the day before – Sir Patrick Allen. The second event was an invitation from his former student, Pastor Robert Vassell, to be the main speaker for the annual Men’s Convention in Montego Bay, Jamaica. His Sabbath sermon was not only heard by the 5,000 present in the auditorium, but it was broadcast via TV across the island. He had a blast! Jamaican people know how to WORSHIP!

July began with our annual 4^th of July celebration with our dear friends Larry and Ellie Veverka at the fair in Pioneer Park and the fireworks to end the day. The month, however, was dominated by Pedrito’s annual mission trip to Thailand with students and friends of the university. We helped the invalid man on his farm again – picking sweet sop (custard apple they call it there), and weeding the pepper plantation. We also conducted English Camps at the public high school and at the language center in the evenings. The fun outings included visiting wildlife sanctuaries, riding elephants, touring the Grand Palace, taking a boat ride through Bangkok, and shopping, shopping, shopping! You should join us next year (Aug. 25 – Sept. 14).

Vie didn’t make it to Thailand this year, but as soon as I returned, we headed to Jamaica for our annual “vacation” to look for her parents. Daddy turned 101, and Mama is 87. This was the first time in many years that Pedrito could spend time at the homestead and not be otherwise occupied driving up and down the island being a tourist guide to family and friends – though he LOVES doing that. He spent a lot of time at his former university and stomping ground for almost 20 years, which is right next to Vie’s home. Vie and Pedrito also celebrated their 39^th wedding anniversary at a delightful restaurant at Port Royal overlooking the gorgeous southern Caribbean Sea. Immediately on our return we joined the university’s President’s Cabinet for our annual retreat at Rosario Beach in the lovely Puget Sound. The retreat included a ferry ride to Victoria Island in Canada and a visit to the stunning Butchart Gardens.

In September the traveling continued: We joined Lorraine on the trip of her lifetime to Washington DC (she is a history buff, and gave us some great lessons in American history). Our hosts were our dearest friends Mayra and Dalton Malcolm. It was great to visit with lots of former (and still) friends, colleagues, and family, like Joan, Olive, Leondra and Brian. But the tours of the White House, Houses of Congress, Library of Congress, Justice Department (where both my niece and her husband are lawyers), Smithsonian, the Supreme Court, numerous monuments, etc., etc., were out of this world. And yes, we did see President Barack Obama. His motorcade passed within 20 feet of us.

This term Pedrito taught at the Nursing School in Portland, flying down every Monday. Also at the beginning of October he accepted an invitation from Fidel Perez (a former member of the Junior church he founded at WIC in 1976) to be the main speaker at a Youth Congress in the Dominican Republic. It was held at the out-of-this-world Barcelo Resort on the north coast. He was on a “high” after worshiping and fellowshipping with those Hispanic young people. His sermons were also broadcast throughout the country. We could not believe this: but in October we received a copy of the 8^th printing of Pedrito’s book, “Diverse Worship.” It is doing well in the world of academia and church. The month ended with Pedrito II’s family and Lorraine coming to WW to do our annual apple-juicing. If you every stop by our home, let’s share with you some of the 40 gallons we have in the freezer.

The celebration in November was Lorraine passing the Washington State Bar. She and our friends, Solange and Jared, came up from Portland to witness her swearing-in at the WW County Courthouse, and to have a super reception at our home with awesome Jamaican food and fellowship with close friends like the Dybdahls, Dickinsons, Emmersons, etc. This month Vie is on a high, because for the 3^rd time this year she is back in Florida with her Mayamiko! And the baby is walking and talking, and loving Grandma. We’ll have Christmas down there with all the family, so Pedrito and everybody will get a taste of Vie’s enjoyment. November ended with Pedrito at his annual scholars’ meeting in New Orleans. Preservation Hall jazz sessions were a highlight and a blast!
For Thanksgiving we covered the bases: Vie spent it with the Maynard-Pemba’s and Pedrito with the Maynard-Zhang’s.

Thanks for your love and prayers. If you wish to see numerous photos of this year’s events, please visit our photo site:
http://www.wallawalla.edu/campus-life/spiritual-life/gallery; and visit Pedrito’s blog as well: http://blessingsfrompedrito.blogspot.com/.

Blessings

Vie and Pedrito

Trip to the Dominican Republic

This past weekend I was invited to be the main speaker for the Sabbath service and conduct a missiological seminar in the afternoon for the 3^rd annual Youth Congress of the Central Dominican Conference of Seventh-day Adventist. When I arrived I got a lovely tour of the old historic section of Santo Domingo, including Christopher Columbus’s son’s palace. Also did an impromptu segment on the Conference’s radio station. The hour we arrived was the peak hour for youth listenership. So we hit the jackpot. This was my fifth or sixth visit to the country (the last being over 20 years ago). But it was the first that I wasn’t popping-in and popping-out. Rather I had some time to absorb the people, the culture, and the country.

I was recommended by Fidel Perez. He and his brother Raul were in High School at West Indies College, Jamaica, and were members and teenage deacons of the Junior Church that I founded in 1976. I heard for the first time how God miraculously led their deeply politically minded parents (they were named after the Cuban leader and his brother) to pick WIC out of thin air and send them to Jamaica to learn English (not knowing anything about the country, the school, or the Adventist church). They got English, and they got Jesus, and are still vibrant members and patrons of the Church. I went to the Dominican Republic this past weekend to share Jesus with a new generation of Adventist DR youth, -- because of the miracles of WIC and Junior Church! Hallelujah!

Wow! The place where the Congress was held (Barceló resorts in Bavaro) is a fabulous resort on the northeast coast of the Dominican Republic. It is an all-inclusive resort, and they had me in an extraordinary room. There were 200 – 300 energetic young adults (18-35 years old) participating. The other invited speaker was Dr. Felix Cortes from Montemoreles University. And the guest singer was Maribel Soto from Puerto Rico. What a blessing they both were.

The drive to the resort was gorgeous. We passed through the town (San Pedro?) that is famous for producing great baseball stars like Sammy Sosa. And before we left Santo Domingo for the four-hour drive, we stopped to visit my former student, Julio Figuereo. He is now the CEO at the Adventist hospital there. In the 2 years that he is there he is transforming the hospital from an 18-bed hospital to a 90-bed one (from 2 floors to 8). It has a special room for the President of the country if he gets sick, with special rooms for his bodyguards, etc. The hospital overlooks the fabulous botanical gardens and the city in the distance. I just so love and admire leaders with super-vision – and especially when they are young!

Sabbath was a great day. As I told the attendees at the end, I was brought here to give a blessing; but I received a greater one instead. This was especially true during the concert. It was more a “worship service” than a traditional concert, where the artist performs and the audience listens and applauds. These young people were totally engaged – singing along and being emotive throughout. I was so moved and blessed. Their energy, and their love for and expressions of that love for Christ, religion, and spirituality were enormously contagious. When we from the north hang around these kids, we obtain a glimpse of why the church is growing in the global south.

As always, I prayed for the Spirit to lead, and I spoke for the main service in the morning and closed the Congress with a brief workshop/seminar/sermon on wholistic evangelism – evangelism that goes beyond proclamation of propositional truths; rather evangelism as a missiological enterprise that brings wholeness to the body, mind, and “spirit” – that reaches the cognitive, the emotive, the physical, and the social of both the individual and the society. Fun stuff!!

Click on the following link to see pics of my time there: http://www.wallawalla.edu/campus-life/spiritual-life/gallery/youth_congress%2C_dominican_republic%2C_2009

Trip to Washington D.C.

I have traveled to the nation’s capital a few times in the 20 years that we have been in Walla Walla. The purpose has only been for professional meetings and speaking appointments. It has always been in-and-out. There has not been enough time (and to be truthful, not much interest) to see the sights/sites. Maybe, not making the time was due to the fact that I never studied American history (remember I’m from Jamaica – I know British history very well!), and there was not much in the traditional American history to tug at my heart strings. As you might imagine, for many African Americans and immigrants with roots in the Global South, much of the traditional history of the Global North is imperialistic and laced with servitude and its subsequent effects. But some things are changing, including the worldview of the “millennial” generation (my present University students), which has awakened appreciation for all the roots of my adopted home. One of the stimuli of this “awakening” was the election of an American President that broke the multi-century pattern. That election said to many of us, “this land is OUR land” – this history (all of it) is OUR history. The capital is not only represented by the slaves who built the structures, but by a President who lives in the chief structure.

Thus when our dear Caucasian friend, and history buff (both in traditional American as well as African American history), Lorraine Jacobs, desired to have one more thing checked off her “bucket list,” my wife, Violet, and I just had to join her – a decision that was one of the greatest in my 20-plus years in these United States. It was enhanced by being able to stay with our dear friends, Mayra and Dalton Malcolm, to visit with many former colleagues and friends, and to get a personal tour of the Justice Department by my niece and her husband, both of whom are in significant legal positions there.

The four days spent over the Labor Day weekend saw us walking an average of 10 miles daily. Thanks to my Congresswoman and one of the Senators from Maryland we were able to receive special passes to tour places such as the Houses of Congress, the Library of Congress, a concert at the Kennedy Center, and the White House. It was the day that President Obama made his famous speech to the school children in Virginia. We had just left his residence when he was returning. He and his motorcade passed within feet of us. We also that same day missed Justice Sotomayor’s appearance on the steps of the Supreme Court after her swearing in (we were next door on a tour of the Library of Congress). Other great moments during our sojourn there were our tours of the many Smithsonian museums, the Mall and its many monuments (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, etc.), and Arlington Cemetery (especially seeing the graves of the Kennedys, including the recently interred Teddy, and the breath-taking view of the city from the top of this memorial gardens). Yes, Labor Day weekend 2009, will be inscribed in my memoirs as unforgettable.

If you wish to have a pictorial view of our trip, click on this site: http://www.wallawalla.edu/campus-life/spiritual-life/gallery/trip_to_washington_d_c_2009

2009 Jamaica Vacation

We are just completing 10 days of a marvelous vacation in Jamaica. Usually, most of my vacation is spent touring the island with guests and family, But this time most of my time was spent at the Thompson’s homestead with my in-laws, or at Northern Caribbean University using their high-speed internet facilities and visiting with former colleagues and students. The President’s Office was kind enough to provide for me a space in the Presidential suite (the oldest and most historic building on campus) for the week.

We usually plan our annual trip to Jamaica to coincide with my wife’s (Violet) dad’s birthday. We celebrated his 101^st on the 22^nd of August. We also celebrated our 39^th wedding anniversary the following day. We took a trip to the capital, Kingston, and had a lovely meal on the beach of the famous old city of Port Royal. On that trip we were able to visit the gravesite of my mother, who passed on a year and a half ago. Also special was a visit to my first major music teacher, Mrs. Theodore. What a surprise to find out that she also was born in Panama like my mother; but more than that, she was born 2 days after my mother on March 22, 1918. It was a delight to play for her on the very piano that she taught me.

The more professional highlights of this trip were my courtesy visits to many former students, colleagues, and other faculty and staff of NCU. This is one of the largest Seventh-day Adventist Universities in the world. There are about 6000 students. The incoming freshman class has over 1000. Those of you who are from my era (I graduated in 1970, and was on the faculty from 1970-1985), and have not returned, will be happily surprised at the remarkable changes from those days. Dr. Herbert Thompson and his team have transformed this academic institution into a place that can compete with the best internationally.

Of the many significant visits, one that stands out was with the newly appointed VP for Spiritual Life here at NCU. Within the last couple months, the Boards of both of our Universities in Jamaica and Puerto Rico have appointed 2 of my former students in this position. I’m excited to see that our Universities are moving in that direction. I was one of the first Adventist VP in that position, and Walla Walla College/University was one of the first to recognize its importance. I was honored to have these 2 gentlemen (from the 2 Universities where I chaired the Schools of Religion and Theology and was heavily involved in leading their Spiritual Life) call and pick my brain for ideas. Here at NCU they have a marvelous wholistic program: Under the VP comes the following: 1) The University Church (it is not under the Conference. When I was the College pastor and religious life director here 25+ years ago, we had the church under the school as well); 2) Campus Ministries (and the Chaplain); 3) Student Missions; 4) Chapels; 5) All religious clubs (and there are many); 6) A close working relationship with the School of Religion and Theology (I’m not sure how this works administratively); 7) All community outreach. This last portfolio is most important. Included in his responsibilities is the overseeing of a Counseling Center in the city of Mandeville (they gave free service to over 1000 clients last year); a center for entrepreneurs (they trained and graduated 50 policemen recently in a software program developed by the University); a Center for Restorative Justice (with the crime and violence at a significant height in Jamaica, the University plays an important role in dealing structurally with the problem). Also all other outreach activities is overseen by Vice President, Dr. Terrance Milford. How wonderful to see faith and service and academics tightly intertwined in the Seventh-day Adventist educational enterprise. Today in a phone conversation with the university president, I was humbled by his appreciation to me for planting the seed in his mind, many years ago. I had forgotten. But I suppose I’m an evangelist at heart – I’ll spread good news wherever I go. Thus this blog!

Thai ’09 Journal 24

Our 2009 sojourn in Thailand has ended. God blessed abundantly! The response by the Thai people again this year was an enthusiastic invitation for us to return next summer. Incidentally, the dates might change to the period from the end to August to the beginning of September. The University will be moving to the Asian school year system; thus classes will be in full session in July/August. Besides Loma Linda will be there offering the Masters in Nursing at that same period. If anyone is interested in the trip next year, please contact me in a few months regarding the dates.
The full impact of our efforts cannot be known by us in this life. This is not traditional evangelism -- the success of which is normally judged by baptisms. Yet some indicators belie any suggestions that we did not make significant impact on the spiritual (which wholistically includes the social, physical, emotional, and academic) lives of all those who were involved in this mission and ministry.
The appreciation by the injured farmer of the “what” and “why” of our assistance on the farm, seems clear to us (he is part of our faith fellowship). It is not very clear how philosophically we impacted his Buddhist wife and family – language being a major barrier. But at our final goodbyes, the tears in her eyes, the hugs for everyone (a very un-Thai-like action of affection for visitors), the sincere thank-you, and the invitation to return, made us acutely aware that God worked through us in that small homestead of His world field. Next year we will expand to working with the villagers which include many of the wife’s relatives.
At the Language Center and the Public High School, there were a number of students who were so caught up in learning and worship that we thought that they were Christians. When we saw them at the University Church on Sabbath (in their WWU t-shirts), we were surprised to find out that they were not Christians, and it was possibly their first time in our church and on the campus. The latter being significant, seeing that from our interviews in town, and my talk with the University President, APIU is not well known by the towns-peoples. The Language Center is making a difference in this regards.
Reaching Asia for Christ through academics (English language learning), health outreach, and community service, is the way I believe Jesus would work today. We were happy and excited to be a small part of this wholistic evangelistic enterprise.
Blessings
pedrito

Thai ’09 Journal 23

The bus will be here in 3 hours; and I’ll be home in a day and a half from then! Today I worked on my expense report, and the account with the finance people here; worked on team members photos; got ice cream for our final celebration; went briefly to the Monday market; took the team out to one of the great food joints for dinner. The bill of approximately $30.00 covered the meal for the 11 of us, some exotic drinks, tip, and a whole lotta food left over! Oh, I had a great chat with the University President. We have similar visions for missions in the 10/40 window, and among non-christians.

Thai ’09 Journal 22

It is after midnight, Monday morning. In 24 hours we will be leaving for the airport. We just got in from a full day in Bangkok. The photos tell the stories: They experienced Bangkok traffic – possibly the worst in the world; and it wasn’t even peak hour! A great visit to the Grand Palace; a sumptuous lunch at my regular spot behind the Palace; a fascinating boat ride through Bangkok down the Chao Phraya river; and a power shopping trip at the Suan Lum Night Market. ‘Twas a great day!