One of the very first situations I became involved with when I came here almost sixteen years ago now, was trying to get a surgery for a little girl who was born with a heart condition. The surgery came through just a few days before Deborah and I were married, almost two years after I arrived. Her name is Anna Pauline Ludovice (right), and she's now a senior in high school. Her mother, Agnes (second from the left) came to work at the little children's home some time after that. We met Agnes' mother today. She came for the wedding of her grand-daughter, Arlene. The two little girls are Aira, Arlene's daughter, and Eila, Agnes' youngest.

We went first to the Municipio, and then to a friend's house for the reception. Small-town Filipino culture was in full swing: narrow streets, decorated for fiesta. Look at the snarl of electrical wires curtaining the power pole over the reception cite.

You would have to utterly cynical not to enjoy the startling beauty created out of the simplest materials.

The kitchen.

The staff.

The rings.