GRATEFUL TO THE GREAT CREATOR FOR OUR FAMILY
In the past decades, we have seen how the Great Creator has shaped our lives and guided our family through both hardship and joy. When we look back to our wedding day in June 1979, we remember how poor we were. Ours was a poor couple’s wedding—simple, unadorned, yet filled with love. I was only 23, and Joji was 19. We had nothing much in terms of material possessions, but we had each other, and we had faith that the Creator would walk with us.
The first five years of our marriage tested us in every way. We faced financial struggles in the Philippines and wrestled with the limitations of our youth and inexperience. On top of this, we welcomed three children within those first five years of being together. By the time we turned 25 and 21, we were already parents of three little ones—Jojie Alethea in June 1980, L’Nielle Joy in April 1982, and Daniel Byron in June 1983. We often wondered how we would manage. There were days of uncertainty, nights of worry, and seasons when we felt stretched beyond our strength. And yet, the Creator sustained us. Somehow, there was always enough love, enough courage, enough daily bread to carry us forward.
In February 1986, we made a big leap of faith. With our young children, we moved to Winnipeg, Canada. Nothing could have prepared us for that first winter. The cold was so harsh that it felt traumatic. The snow, the isolation, the strange new culture—it was overwhelming. From 1986 to 1989, we struggled economically, culturally, and socially as immigrants. There were moments when we questioned if we had made the right decision. But slowly, step by step, we learned. We endured. And the Creator’s hand was upon us.
In 1990, we moved west to Vancouver, British Columbia. For the first time, we began to feel at home in Canada. From 1990 to 2006, we found ourselves adjusting well, not just economically, but also culturally and socially. We found a rhythm as a family, and Vancouver became a place of growth, stability, and blessing for us. Those years were a season of flourishing after many years of struggle.
Then, in 2006, Joji and I, together with our son Byron, returned to the Philippines—this time to Davao City in Mindanao. The adjustment from life in Vancouver to life in Davao was another great challenge. We exchanged the comfort and predictability of Canada for the uncertainties of a society marked by armed conflict, poverty, and systemic injustice. We were stepping into a new calling, a new context, and a very different reality. But once again, the Creator’s waves of grace carried us.
In Davao, we were confronted with realities that broke our hearts and reshaped our faith. We witnessed first-hand the struggles of Indigenous Peoples, smallholder farmers, and communities caught in the crossfire of conflict. But in those same places, we also witnessed resilience, hospitality, and hope. From those encounters, PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. was born, alongside Coffee for Peace, Inc.—initiatives that combined our faith, our vision of peace, and the gifts of the people we serve. Through them, we sought to live out the Creator’s vision of justice-based peacebuilding, walking alongside communities as learners, companions, and partners.
The transition from Vancouver to Davao was not easy, but it became the most transformative chapter of our lives. We have seen the Creator’s hand in the growth of local leaders, in the building of friendships across cultures and faiths, and in the creation of spaces for dialogue and reconciliation.
Now, decades later, as we reflect on this journey, our hearts overflow with gratitude. We thank the Creator for our children—Alethea, L’Nielle, and Byron—each of whom has grown into their own life and calling. We are especially grateful that they have built families of their own, multiplying the blessings entrusted to us. And we are humbled and overjoyed to be grandparents to eight beautiful grandchildren: Kiana Gabrielle, Elia Lynn, Eyna Crimson, Kaya Sydelle, Eve Librada, Emelia Leonila, Zylie Estrella, and Zenaliyah Daye. Each one is a reminder that the Creator’s faithfulness continues from generation to generation.
Through poverty and hardship, through immigration and dislocation, through cultural adjustment and new beginnings, the Great Creator has been our constant guide. Our family’s story is not one of our own strength, but of divine grace carrying us like waves—lifting us when we were weary, refreshing us when we were dry, and propelling us toward lives of purpose and peace.
This is our testimony as Joji “Bai Kasunayan” and as Dann “Datu Pugawang”: that despite the struggles of our youth, the difficulties of immigration, and the challenges of cross-cultural transitions, the Creator has been faithful. Our marriage, our children, our grandchildren, and our peacebuilding journey in Mindanao stand as witnesses to the enduring waves of love, mercy, and hope.
For all this, we give thanks with all our hearts.
As a family
We seek to
:: submit our creativity
to the creativity
of the Creator;
:: continually experience both
the transcendent and
the immanent
salaam-peace
of the Christ;
:: be consistently energized
by the ultimate energy
of the Comforter.
We are plowshares,
and pruning hooks;
transformed and
re-shaped from the
best spear and
sword materials.
We love the beauty of God’s creation;
We’re curious and amazed by the
human imagination and creativity.
We dream of a socio-political transformation where,
through active non-violent means, our people can–
:: assert our national sovereignty
and independence
from foreign domination
and control;
:: promote a self-reliant and sustainable
socio-economic development through—
genuine land reform,
nation-building industrialization, and
protection of the environment;
:: uphold the social and economic welfare
of workers, peasants and other
marginalized sectors;
:: guarantee the right to self-determination
of the Bangsamoro, Cordillera and other
indigenous peoples; and,
:: advance a comprehensive policy on
peace negotiations.
We love discussing issues on
justice,
environmental care, and
conflict transformation
with close friends over
pure arabica coffee,
or red wine,
or light beer,
or fresh fruit juices.
We feel so proud being the parents of
Alethea,
L’nielle Joy,
and
Byron.
We’re sooo in-loved with our grandchildren–
Kiana Gabrielle,
Elia Lynn,
Eyna Crimson,
Kaya Sydelle,
Eve Librada,
Emelia Leonila,
Zylie Estrella, and
Zenaliyah Daye.
