A few days ago I met Eitaro and Tamae originally from Osaka. Common friends Boon and Cheryl Lim brought me over to their apartment to bid them good bye. Eitaro and Tamae have been living in Singapore enriching lives through their artistic gifts. After several years, they are now relocating to Okinawa. Back in 2001, […]
Dr. Carlos Bravo knew what fate awaited him. Sebin (Venezuelan Secret Service) had been harassing him for broadcasting videos and commenting on the situation at the University Hospital, one of many hospitals whose capacity to serve patients has effectively been stripped by a government who does not care for the needs of its people. The […]
Yesterday on my flight out of Athens, I was asked what was I doing there. I had a chance to tell this local expat about the work Philemon and the StreetLights team is doing serving refugees. She was surprised to hear that refugees were being cared for by locals! Once again, I found that there […]
Growing up in Venezuela I was accustomed to abundance. Caracas, the capital city had everything one could want. This prosperity, unfortunately resulted on general “careless” mindset. There were abuses at every level and at the highest levels of governments the abuses were greater. Everything has changed in the last 40 years. The resulting abuses and […]
Last July while visiting our partners in Denpasar, Bali, I met three ladies who had been infected by HIV-AIDS through their husbands; they found themselves ostracized and with no way to care for themselves or their children. Fortunately, they met Andy and his wife Chika who run Gerasa, a community serving people in need. They […]
As Mount Agung in Bali rumbles, 91,000 villagers living in the vicinity of the mountain have been displaced leaving their homes and their simple belongings under the threat of imminent destruction. The famous island of Bali, located right on the “ring of fire” is an idilic place and the most visited tourist destination in 2017 […]
From the most remote regions of Indonesia, they have come to the USA to prepare themselves to bring change to their communities. Populated by tribal groups, Papua is home to around 312 different tribes, including some un-contacted peoples. The ancient cultures of Papua have remained disconnected from all forms of modern progress. This isolation has […]
Today Rev. Dr. Moody Yap turns 85, on the same day he celebrates his 60th wedding anniversary. Today he should be having a party but instead he has spent the last few days sitting next to Jean, his beloved wife as convalesces in a hospital bed. However, as I talked to him I was amazed with his […]
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it […]
Ten years ago, this week, I was getting ready to go to Banda Aceh, Indonesia to evaluate how our team could contribute to the recovery of that city after the devastation of the 9.2 earthquake and ensuing Tsunami which took the lives of over 170,000 people and displacing another 150,000 in this region alone. On […]
