A few days ago I received a phone call from a friend. She told me about an American couple who are living in Davao, and have been doing missionary type work, but on a freelance basis. They are not connected to any Church, they just do their work on their own, primarily (I believe) mostly helping disadvantaged kids here in the Philippines. After my friend told me about this, I talked to the lady, her name is Betty Harter. She and her husband are moving back to the USA, but they have a house here in Davao that they need to sell before they can move. Mrs. Harter is a very nice lady, and I would really like to assist her if possible, so if any readers are interested in purchasing a lovely house in Davao City, please contact Mrs. Harter directly. Please don’t contact me about this, as I have no information other than what I am sharing here!
The house is located in a great neighborhood in Davao City, a good location. Here are some of the particulars about the place:
- 7-9 Bedrooms with built in desks and closets.
- 7 Bathrooms.
- Master Bedroom with Private Bathroom.
- 2 Private Office with bookcase that will hold 3,000 books! Includes private bathroom.
- Formal Dining Room seats 22 people.
- Oversized all-purpose room for music, meetings, exercise.
- 3 Exterior Patios.
- Living Room with vaulted 2 storey ceiling.
- Spiral Staircase.
- Formal 2nd Storey Gardens adjacent to Master Bedroom.
- Centralized Hot Water.
- Beautiful Recessed Lighting.
- Air Conditioners throughout house.
- Emergency lighting throughout house.
- Ceramic Tile and Narra Floors.
- Den with bookcases and desk.
- Intercom throughout.
- Piped-in music stereo in every room.
- Helper’s Quarters with Private Bathroom.
- Two kitchens with one automatic dishwasher.
- Gated Rear Entrance.
- Partially Furnished.
- Secue Guarded Community with Clubhouse, Swimming Pool, Tennis Court and Homeowner’s Association.
- Lot area is 671 Square Meters.
- House area is 570.15 Square Meters.
Shown by appointment. Please contact Betty at 0917-339-6797
About MindanaoBob
I know where this house is. This is in a very nice subdivision with mature trees. Most foreign diplomats lives in this subdivision. Houses there rents and sells like hotcakes. I’m sure your friend wont’s have any problem finding a buyer for it.
Hi Bobby – I don’t know the price tag, but being in that neighborhood is a plus! I hope they are successful in the sale!
Bob
This is not really on topic so please ignore me, it is just a general observation and one i would like to address really to american lola but the post is made here.
Just seems strange to me why missionaries of God and the Church would feel it is appropriate to live in such palatial settings
surely they are so far removed from people they are trying to “reach”
i have nothing against your friends but have come across this before, just seems like a contradiction to me between what they have come to do and how they go about it
Anyway, as i say off topic and its more an observation than anything else, but there we go
Rick,
I have to agree with your observations.
Last time we were in Davao we had lunch at the international buffet at the Marco Polo which I guess must be the most prestigious place to eat in the whole of Mindanao. Also dining were a group of about twenty immaculately dressed nuns. I felt very uncomfortable at the sight for some reason.
I commented to my wife that in Scotland you would never have seen such a thing as it would have set a poor example in public. The money would have been used for charity instead.
Still as the bible says it more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than a camel to pass through the eye of a needle !
Regards,
Scott
Hi Bob
Looks like a nice place, I know you said you have no more information but do you have their E mail address and what is the asking price? You can mail me seperately if you prefer
All the best
Malcolm
Hi Rick – These folks came here with their own money, did not accept money from any Church or donor. They helped kids with that money of theirs. I believe that she told me that they have adopted 11 kids which they will bring back to the States. For me, it is kind of hard to criticize them given this. You need a big house to hold that many children. I cannot fault them for that.
Hi Malcolm – The only information I have is what I have already shared. You can contact the owner at the phone number provided.
Did they advertise this house in the newspaper a few months ago? Or was it a few weeks ago? Complete with photos… If this is the same house, it’s BEAUTIFUL!
Hope someone snaps it up soon.
They adopted 11 kids? OMG! hehehe!
Hey Bob, they must have bought the only automatic dishwasher you ever saw here in Davao, LOL LOL! joke
Sigh… I better get back to brushing…
Hi Cheryll Ann – Yes, they have been advertising it in the newspapers too, so I am sure you saw it!
Hey, not only did they adopt 11 kids, but they are in their 60′s and did that! Can you imagine the sacrifice of a couple that age taking on 11 kids? Amazing!
Hi Rick, actually, I had the same thought when I read the description, so I am glad Bob clarified that they were spending thier own money helping these kids. More power to them! And sometimes, missionaries get a really good deal on ahouse because the seller wants to help them in their work. They may have ended up with way more house than they intended to have, and just made good use of it.
To be honest, there are missionaries whom I think live too high, but that is between them and the God they serve and will answer to. The same for the nuns. They nuns at Marco Polo may have been with a wealthy person who was giving them a treat. I was relieved when our pastor came to visit us and said, “I like your house. It is nice, but not too nice.” Whew!
Thanks Bob, Scott and American Lola for your comments, like you say Bob, difficult to criticise anybody who is prepared to help adopt 11 children, made my remarks about living too splendidly seem like a cheap shot and as you and American Lola says, there may be other factors and anyway as you say it is their money…….so its their choice. My goodness in their 60′s with 11 children, they must have plenty of energy as well as plenty of money
But like Scotts example about feeling uncomfortable seeing Nuns eating in the marco polo, this is how it would make me feel too, sure American Lola had it right tho and Nuns are entitled to be treated.
i will try not to be so judgemental in the future as in the examples above we may not be sure of all the facts
all the best to everyone
Hi American Lola,
Regarding the nuns, I asked my wife’s family about it and they said the same as you that most likely a wealthy person was picking up the tab. What I was experiencing was just another culture difference between the Philippines and my country.
When I was a young man I worked for a veterinary surgeon in Glasgow who was a prominent Roman Catholic. We had many religious people as clients, priests, convents etc. who had pets and farm animals sometimes as well. I had the rare opportunity to visit closed orders of nuns and see their way of life as well as other orders. They had all taken a vow of poverty and would avoid any show of wealth.
When I am in the Philippines we often meet religious people as well because my wife follows the way of Opus Dei. What I experience there is dinners with worldly priests who have drivers, maids and assistants and nuns who are as I write making arrangements to visit us here in the UK for a holiday paid for by their order.
I am not being critical in any way just sharing my observations and the likely cause of my discomfort in the Marco Polo.
Regards,
Scott
Hi Rick. Stand on your ground, man….just kidding.
Seriously, if they are in their 60′s adopting 11 kids….I hope Social Service in the Philippines investigate this and make sure the couple can really take care of these kids in the next 20 years. The U.S. Embassy in Manila will surely raise a red flag and make sure that the couple have the capability financially and socially. Otherwise. these kids will just end up as wards of the State paid for by U.S. taxpayers. It is hard to raise a kid in the U.S, let alone 11! The U.S Embassy will sort all these out of course.
Of course it’s a different story if the couple can afford three to four nannies here in the U.S. and be willing to spend some million$ for the “private” education of these kids. Then Uncle Sam has no say.
Again, we don’t have all the facts. I just want to lay out what some of us here are thinking but want to be polite not to state their concerns.
Honestly, guys… these folks just want to sell their house. Does that mean that a group of people who don’t even know them should put their life under a microscope? I mean, when you sell your house or car do you want a bunch of people that you don’t even know start investigating you, how you raise your kids, etc. For me, this is ridiculous.
Applause for Bob! Exactly what I was thinking!
What Bob said.
Thanks guys.
Bob,
I was enjoying all the banter but shocked with all the coments. A big Hurrah for you putting every in their place. I only wish I could afford a house like that.
Bob- I am shocked the way this people are criticizing the person that they don’t even know. I don’t think they have the right to be rude to this missionaries. If they want to have a big house and can very well afford it I believe it is no one’s business. All they want to do is sell their house for goodness sake!!!!!! GET A LIFE AND MIND YOUR OWN IF YOU HAVE ANY IF NOT FIND A HOBBY!!!
Hi Marilou – Amen to that!
I don’t know… If people will only be as openminded as American Lola, Marilou, and other regulars here, world would have been a better place to live. Unfortunately, the real world is not. There are people like … ok, I will not name names.
BTW, my aunt is a nun too (she’s over 60 now), but still “serving”.
She’s been anywhere the country – she’s been with people from all walks of life, and been to luxurious places in Luzon and to the remote places in Jolo. I have the utmost respect for her. If there’s heaven, she deserves it.
My point is, if we don’t know all the facts, let’s not judge. Why not make positive assumptions instead of negative ones. Let’s say the reason why those nuns were in Marco Polo, let’s assume – a wealthy family wanted to meet them, and the family will only dine in Marco Polo, and of course, they’ll pay for it. Does that sound impossible? The answer is no. Knowing Catholic Filipinos, we respect “religious” people, e.g. nuns, priests, etc. I know lots of rich people spend money for these types of gathering. Why do we have to be so critical? And please anybody, don’t reply if you’ll just start talking about abusive priests, missionaries etc, because I know they exist too. But that’s not the point here.
Yes, 11 adopted children sounded a lot, but hey!, if they’ve been legally approved, what’s wrong with it. Adoption rules in the Phils. are stricter than in the US. Someone here was talking about taking care of them in the next 20 yrs…. why you assume that they’ve adopted infants? See! I just hate to read assumptions/comments like these, just plainly ridiculous!
If you can’t help them sell their house, they don’t start criticizing!
Bottomline, if we don’t know the facts, let’s not judge. People… take a deep breath… world is a better place, if you want it to be.
Correction:
If you can’t help them sell their house, theN don’t start criticizing!
Lea, I agree with you that the world will be a better place if you want it to be. Sadly a lot of people would rather it be a miserable place and I feel sorry for them. Have a wonderful happy day!!! Marilou
Hi Lea and Marilou – I fully agree with your comments.
You know, I was thinking about this yesterday. If somebody (let’s call him “Jun”) went to Marco Polo and saw a group of Nuns dining there, and he felt this was bad, say he felt it was sinful…. wouldn’t it have also been sinful for Jun himself to be there too?
Hi Bob,
I could be wrong here and it is just a theory but maybe ” Jun ” does not feel sinful dining in the Marco Polo because unlike the nuns he did not take a vow of poverty?
Regards,
Scott
Hi Scott – Firstly, I am not sure if every order of nuns takes a vow of poverty. Secondly, As AmericanLola pointed out, just because the nuns ate at Marco Polo does not mean that they paid for their own meal. Maybe the nuns were even attending a seminar or conference that was held at Marco Polo and the meal was included with that. There are just too many variables that we don’t know the answer to. For me… it is also between each nun and her God to know what is right, and follow their hearts. I personally think that it is not much of “Jun’s” business to even worry about it.
Hi Scott. I agree. Nuns are tight-fisted ones and most likely somebody else paid for the buffet. All the more it (being paid for) make the meal really enjoyable.
Religious always enjoy fine dining and good food. Thanks for that. Otherwise we would never have the finest dishes and the finest wine in the world (European monks).
In the Philippines it’s cultural. In Fiestas, Priests and Nuns get the first table at the richest house in town. It’s not all a bad thing. These priests and nuns provide the best conversation and the best of jokes, even sometime the greenest ones. For me they earn their meals and their places at the table. They also provide the imprimatur that the richest man in town has ‘finally arrived’.
I get your drift though. As a group, priests and nuns have the highest prevalence of diabetes and hypertension. If they practise what they preach, it might actually be good for them.
All this over a house for sale
he he he
The main point here is that Bob is helping out his friends sell their house.
Tempting as it may be, let’s not over analyze every article posted in this site — especially regarding one’s chosen profession, when we do not even know the facts or the person.
it’s a “house for sale” post, people. simmer down, now.
Hi Jack and Macky – Yep! Quite amazing!
the world needs more people like this couple..kudos to them!
Hi rainboy ramos – I heartily agree!
hi scott..you’re a weirdo mate:::::::opppssss dont be cranky…
Scot just says what he thinks. As for me if the clergy have the means to enjoy their life, let them, who are we to judge. If those poor buggers who often eat only rice with salted fish are willing to donate, then this is their business.
Another thing I would like to say is that we really shouldn’t call those two americans who adopted 11 children – missionaries. Lets call them social workers or something else. In my mind (and many others I am sure) MISSIONARIES are CULTURAL TERRORISTS. Those christian zealots go to other countries and distroy the local people traditions, culture and spirituality, Philippines is one example and whole williges of Mormons or Jehover Witnesses in Brasilian jungle another.
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