Michael’s Story (Part II)

Although I led a busy ministerial life, I did not neglect the needs of my family. I built a swing set for my kids out of logs and bamboo with nylon ropes attached to bamboo seats. Prior to the building of the swing set I spent a lot of time digging up all the trash buried in the backyard. V&G did not have trash disposal services and so trash was burned and buried or taken out to a surrounding field where rats and other pestilence found a home. We kept our area as clean as possible. The Philippine beaches are always relaxing, some more so than others, the beach at MacArthur Park Hotel was okay but was not a pristine clear water beach. The kids needed the pool more than the beach so they spent most of their time in the pool. I also make a habit of taking them out for Halo Halo, a type of Filipino Sundae.

My kids were always happy and busy, well dressed, clean and excelled in school. I had taught both Gregg and Trinity to read before they entered kindergarten. I was concerned for Michael because he had not been circumcised. Knowing that in the U.S. he would one day shower with all the boys after gym class, I wanted to get him circumcised before he became any older. Because most Filipino males at this time were circumcised (turi in samarenyo) at puberty. Our helpers Ining and Lynlyn knew it was best to bring a skirt along for Michael to wear in the jeepnee on the way home. He was not happy about wearing that skirt or the circumcision. Unfortunately, the doctor did a poor job and Mike had to go again to get it corrected! I felt so bad for him but knew he would be better off circumcised when living in the U.S.

In order to prove that Nympha was Michael’s mother, and did not belong to Teresita I brought her sister to a doctor who confirmed she had never had a child. She also affirmed the story of how his birth certificate was drawn up due to the deception of names used at his birth. The doctor’s eventual testimony and notarized statement also enabled us to change his birth certificate, and for me to adopt him. However, his aunt Teresita decided to sue me in court for the years she cared for Michael. I argued before Judge Artique that her claim was not supportable because she voluntarily broke the law to change Mike’s birth certificate and that I had been supporting her and Michael for a year prior to our arrival. I also stated how I had supported the entire family for over seven years. Nonetheless, he required I pay her a settlement of $500, stating, “You’re an American you can get $500.

I didn’t know when we would leave the Philippines, all was well until Gregg became pale, lethargic, and didn’t want to eat. We were not making any progress on seeing him get better so I decided we needed to get back to the U.S. I came to add a son to our family not lose one.

With the corrected birth certificate and the adoption completed I obtained Mike a Philippine passport and hired a local lawyer to fill out the U.S. Visa forms. My friend Robert Yao purchased all of our furniture we had acquired, my little truck, and old motorcycle. It was enough money for plane tickets. I used our last months budget to pay for other expenses as we left the country.

When I arrived at the U.S. embassy, I knew that one of the requirements was that Michael live in our home with us for two years after the adoption by myself was complete. This fact troubled me but I was determined. After all when I appeared at the U.S. embassy for his mother’s visa the earth shook (in God’s gracious favor to us). Nonetheless I had a back up plan. We went to the embassy with a rather large stack of papers. We were sent to the room of an embassy person, a young American man. I scouted out the area and decided if he refused Michael’s visa I would place a chair in a blocking position against the doorknob and hold him in a chokehold (like I was taught in the USMC) and make the news. My thought was I would embarrass the U.S. for its failure to address the rights of all the children born to U.S. military personnel throughout the decades.

To my surprise the young man behind his desk looked at my lovely, well dressed family, all five of us, and said, “That is quite a stack of papers you have there. You want to tell me your story so we can get you out of here?” It was late 1985 and the Marcos regime was in trouble. Marcos would be ousted at the end of February 1986. I expect this was part of the reason the embassy official was so congenial to help us. The other is God’s grace. I’m so happy God has helped me when I would have had a mess if I had to respond in my own power.

Curiously, I had already bought plane tickets for all of us! I was happy, we were on our way out. We were through customs and walking an airport hall headed for our gate. There was a small money collection station. It was some type of environmental fee. I did not have a single peso in my pocket, we had spent our last pesos on food and a couple small souvenirs there at the airport. So, I explained to the men at the collection station. They told me to go back and go to the bank and get the money. I was angered, I broke their sign and told them we were going through their blockade anyhow. Suddenly security guards showed up and I apologized and explained to the guards. The guards let me through; God’s grace again, in spite of my tendency to take matters into my own hands.

Michael married a Japanese girl while in the Air Force. He is still married to her, her name is Erina and together they heave three lovely daughters.