It was June 3, 2001 when my family settled in our new village, Sulong Ipil. Located in the outskirts of Mamburao, the Katutubo living in their village are different in many ways from the two other villages where we served before. Mae Celestre and her housband Boying - Missionaries for LMP in Sulong Ipil Challenge number 1: There are at least three Christian denominations of different churches that exist in the village. They all have worship on Sundays and most of the villagers attend one of them. It will cost some money for my family to attend Sabbath worship in...
Most natives of Mindoro (called Mangyans) are very reserved and shy. Being one of their teachers, I have an opportunity to observe them and how they treat their parents. They don’t express their emotions like others do. They do not hug, they do not kiss, and they do not even say “I love you” to their parents. If someone comes into their house, they rather hide than accommodate them. After seven months with them, I just noticed that they are now different. Some of them hug all their teachers. They show up when someone comes and greet them with a...
Another belief of the natives of Mindoro that I recently discovered is that when a woman does not tell her husband that the child she bears is not his, the woman will die because the baby will never come out. This belief, though erroneous, helps the woman to avoid adultery because of the fear of death. At least it frightens them to be repentant, and then face the husband’s wrath. I learned about this when we visited the Sulong-Ipil village and met Lina. We asked her how many children they have. She said seven. With their situation, seven is a...
Men may doubt what I say, but they will believe what I do. This first year of service here in Sulong Ipil I have felt different. People here were not respectful. They did not greet me even when I greeted them first. Then, school days came. The children were of the same attitude as their parents. They just looked at me and had nothing to say. Even a smile from them was unusual. My co-workers and I decided to make some activities to build closeness with our students. God performed a miracle and opened the closed minds of our students. ...
Moment by moment God invites us to be on His side, always contemplating His words and imagining His goodness. The way we act, move, speak, and work with God reflects His character and plants the precious seeds everyday in our fellow men. Every day in our Bible/Values class, I am teaching my students about the life of a true Christian, the Sabbath, a healthful diet, and some instructions about how to love God. Some students ask questions. Even when we discussed specifically unclean meat, I told my students that I am not who will answer your questions, but the Bible....