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ix This book would not have been possible without the love, dedication, and support of many people. First and foremost I owe a great debt of gratitude to the Filipino Americans in Houston whom I surveyed and interviewed. I am thankful to all the individuals and families who graciously welcomed me into their churches, prayer groups, and homes, and took the time out of their busy schedules to share their lives with me.They inspired me with their words and stories and fed me well along the way.Although the majority of them remain anonymous and unnamed, this book is about them and would ultimately not have been possible without them. Of those named, I am especially grateful to two people in particular, Elena Salazar and Norma Benzon (1948–2010). I owe a special debt to Elena. She knows why. Sadly, Norma died after a long battle with cancer during the writing of this book. It is my hope that the spirit of this book honors her and her tremendous commitment to serving the Filipino American community. Research for this book started when I was a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. Long before I started my dissertation, however, Steve Warner’s guest lecture on the de-Europeanization of American religion at a university brown bag series made me realize just how understudied the Filipino American community was. I am forever grateful to Steve for pushing me to pursue my interest in the role of Catholicism in the community. From the beginning of my research for the dissertation, I knew that the study had the potential to be a book. Towards the end, however, I also came to realize that it was missing something that would require me to take the project into new directions. I would like to thank all the members of my dissertation committee—Chris Ellison, David Leal, Sharmila Rudrappa, Steve Warner, Bob Woodberry, and Michael Young—for their suggestions and sage advice in shaping the project beyond the dissertation. They all, in some way or another, encouraged me to reenter the field to collect more data or rethink some of my underlying theoretical assumptions about the A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S x Acknowledgments project. Sharmila in particular pushed me to rethink everything from a more Asian American Studies perspective. Both Chris Ellison and Michael Young, my co-chairs, also encouraged me to reexamine my use of culture and ground it in terms that were more accessible. I took all of these suggestions to heart and the results are in this book. Beyond the dissertation and the shaping of new research for this book, I am indebted to Chris Ellison and Michael Young for their continued support and mentoring. Always a phone call or email away, their advice has continually aided my growth as a scholar. I am also thankful for the support of Helen Rose Ebaugh. Although she was not a member of my original dissertation committee, she took a keen interest in my work while I was in graduate school and has been a true colleague, friend, and mentor ever since. A number of other people helped to shape this book. I benefitted greatly from the anonymous reviewers solicited by Rutgers University Press as well as from the encouraging feedback and suggestions of Peter Mickulas. Peter was a champion of the book from the beginning, and a first-time author could not have asked for a better guide and editor. Graduate students Kody Allred and Angela Miller commented on early drafts of the book and also provided invaluable help with several aspects of data management throughout the project. Angela in particular continued to bring fresh eyes to the editing of these early drafts when I no longer could see the trees in the forest. I am equally grateful to Mike Roemer and Bryan Shepherd for providing an invaluable sounding board for my arguments both while we were in graduate school and after. Bryan, in particular, helped shape many of my thoughts on the eventual direction I took on the survey analysis. He also made key suggestions on the visual appearance of the charts in the book. More than this, however, the friendship of both Mike and Bryan has been more valuable to me and the project than I can put into words. Beyond all those that I have acknowledged, this book ultimately would not have been possible without my wife, Emily...

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