Randal was born and raised in a small town in southwest Virginia, USA and never imagined that he would travel to the Philippines, let alone make his home here. Graduating from Virginia Tech in 1981, Randal’s career path would lead him to establish, manage, and supervise various types of business lines throughout the USA. Randal earned his Master’s degree in International Finance, extending his professional career to Europe and Asia. In 2009, Randal would embark on his adventure in the Philippines, as he accepted a 2 year offer to manage a BPO office in Metro Manila. Within 6 months, he set out to establish a permanent home in the Philippines with his wife, Paula and twins, Cory and Randal. Working for 2 BPO’s during his 9 ½ years in the Philippines, Randal learned about the culture and made life-long friends.
It was during a trip with his family to explore Silliman University for the twins’ college experience that Randal first traveled to Dumaguete. The beauty of the city; quality of restaurants and shops; and the diversity and warmth of the City of Gentle people quickly convinced Randal and Paula that they would retire in Dumaguete. In 2018, that dream became a reality, and the couple relocated from Metro Manila to Dumaguete.
After looking at various “beach front” properties, Randal and Paula found the perfect place to build their forever home, Kalma Bukid. Every morning they are greeted by a stunning view of the sun rising over the Tanon Strait. The view only gets better as the day unfolds and ends with seeing the lights of Siquijor Island and Dumaguete City brightening the horizon and the flickering lights of the small boats as they make their trip home for the night.
Randal is an avid runner (his wife will tell you his obsession borders on the crazy side) and each morning he runs the provincial and National roads, greeting friends and strangers as they begin their day. Almost every weekend, Randal joins in a running event somewhere in Negros Oriental, or he travels somewhere else in the Philippines to combine his obsession for running with his passion for travel. In February, Randal competed in and completed his first marathon (42 kilometers) in Clark, Luzon. He is also planning other runs throughout the Philippines and Asia once the Corona quarantine ends.

Paula was born in Maryland, USA and explored many places in North America with her parents on vacation, leading to her love of travel and desire to learn about new cultures and meet new people. But even with this experience, she never imagined that she would one day move her family from Maryland to the Philippines, creating an amazing life-long adventure.

Paula was a preschool teacher and a youth group leader and was content to raise her twins with her husband Randal in their home in Maryland. When Randal was given the opportunity to spend 2 years in the Philippines, Paula jumped on board, believing it would give her family the ability to travel throughout Asia for a few years before returning to their home in Maryland. But as most best laid plans go, her plan would not lead back to Maryland, but would provide a path to a permanent home in the Philippines.

Ever the teacher, Paula established a Story Telling program in Santa Rosa, Laguna to facilitate the use of the public library among public school children in hopes of increasing reading comprehension and establish better reading habits.

It was during a trip with his family to explore Silliman University for the twins’ college experience that Paula first traveled to Dumaguete. The beauty of the city; quality of restaurants and shops; and the diversity and warmth of the City of Gentle people quickly convinced Randal and Paula that they would retire in Dumaguete. In 2018, that dream became a reality, and the couple relocated from Metro Manila to Dumaguete.

After looking at various “beach front” properties, Randal and Paula found the perfect place to build their forever home, Kalma Bukid. Every morning they are greeted by a stunning view of the sun rising over the Tanon Strait. The view only gets better as the day unfolds and ends with seeing the lights of Siquijor Island and Dumaguete City brightening the horizon and the flickering lights of the small boats as they make their trip home for the night.

In Dumaguete, Paula continues to work with children in a teaching mode. Every other Saturday, she partners with a church near a fisher folk community where she co-leads a program that uses drama, crafts and games to tell a Bible story, making it relevant to the children’s lives. On the alternate Saturdays, Paula spends the morning leading discussions and life learning for teens in the mountain province, also using dramas, games and crafts to reinforce the learning. The goals for each of these programs is for children from at risk communities to strive to better their current situation through education and to support the children and families on their journey.