MY FIRST VISIT
TO BASAK MISSION SCHOOL
by Nelita Janoyan
August 1996
It was Friday, August 23, 1996, at 1:00 p.m. when we left
the campus of Mountain View College with our two children. My husband,
“Boy”, drove the Honda 125 trail motorcycle while the children and I
rode on the back. We were going to
Sinuda, Kitaotao, Bukidnon. It is a
rugged, dusty, and winding road. Showers
of rain caught us before we reached Quezon.
I was praying that the motorcycle would take us safely to Sinuda.
Around 5:30 p.m. we arrived at the Semud Bridge where we
parked the motorcycle at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gebial, a Seventh-day
Adventist couple who own and operate a store beside the bridge. As we waited for some others to arrive from
Mountain View College, there was another group seeking shelter from the
downpour of rain falling at that time.
We had planned to proceed to the mission school but it was becoming
darker and the rain did not stop. It was
nearly 7 p.m. when the group from MVC arrived with Mr. Dyahan, a teacher at
MVC, and nine SULADS who are now studying at MVC.
The Gebials advised us to not proceed at that time since the
water would be high and dangerous to cross.
Besides, only Sir Boy new knew the way.
They said it was not safe since a river must be crossed seven times on
the trek up the mountain. We decided to
stay overnight with the Gebials.
Early morning at about 4 a.m., we awoke and had our morning
worship. By 4:30 a.m. we started on our
way passing along the muddy trail and wading the very cold river. My two children were enjoying the trip but
they couldn’t keep up with the rest of the group who walked faster. The group reached Basak at 6 a.m. but the
children and I arrived at 6:30. The
climb is not steep and the Student Missionaries take only 45 minutes to hike to
Basak.
The village is surrounded by mountain ranges. The village of Basak is composed of 28
houses. It is a clean village. I never saw even one pig, but there were many
dogs and goats. We were welcomed by the
Barangay Captain who is also the pastor of the General Baptist church in the
village and the head Datu of the village.
The people of the village are becoming educated by the Student
Missionaries.
The women came out of their houses and looked at us and we
shook hands and greeted them. They were
amazed to see the large group of us because they thought the SULADS program was
run by only a few people. We explained
the scope of the program with them. They
shared their concerns with us.
They like the program of the SULADS. In fact, the Baptist pastor--Barangay
Captain--said that if the two Student Missionaries did not return to the
village, the villagers would disperse from the village and not cooperate with
the assembly of the barangay. They said
they would send their children to MVC to get their education!
Now that the Student Missionaries returned to their place,
they were very happy because they want their children to read, write, and know
arithmetic. The chief Datu implemented a
rule that those parents who would not join the bayanihan (work bee) would not be allowed to send their children
to the school.
Every parent was present during the bayanihan! They continue to
join the bayanihan each Monday. They are building a classroom for their
children and will then build a bigger cottage for the Student Missionaries.
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