Five years ago after running for a city council seat in Santa Barbara and losing to more experienced politicians, I agreed to come to the Philippines as a missionary to try to ease the poverty.
In the past, I have written letters to Noozhawk to condemn those Filipinos who have more children than they can properly support and now the government of my homeland has determined that I have reproduced myself into poverty. The U.S. National Visa Center tells me that my income is insufficient for a family of four to sponsor my own wife for a visa.
I am not worried as I like it here in the Philippines. At our home on Samal Island near Davao City in southern Mindanao, I can swim in a warm sea daily, garden with adequate rainfall and enjoy my two babies, the nearly 2-year-old Lee and the nearly 4-month-old Michael. Fatherhood in retirement is better than it was 30 years ago when I had to work two jobs to support my then family of four in California.
Now I have lots of time to follow my big boy around and explore the world through his eyes, and plenty of time to play games with my little boy. So while I would welcome a supplemental sponsor for my wife’s visa, for her sake so she can see the USA and try her skills working there, I am content here and my pension is sufficient for a good life here. Our sons will already be U.S. citizens with U.S. passports.
Rowland Lane Anderson
Samal Island, Mindanao