SULADS STORIES

PHILIPPINE MILITARY HELPS THE SULADS!

By Jurlyn Patalinghug

Kamansi Mission School

December 1999

For many years, the tribal rebels fought with the Philippine Military.  Finally, they tired of this fighting and were given amnesty upon surrender.  They settled in Kamansi for a better, more peaceful life.  Kamansi today, however,  still is under suspicion from the bloody and bitter experience of the past.  They are still suspected of being active supporters of the rebels.  This is the situation when the SULADS came to Kamansi.   

Scarface, the most hunted rebel commander, is the new village leader.  When the SULADS missionaries came to Kamansi, he encouraged the people to unit and support the SULADS program.  Soon classes started using the old house of a village chief which can only accommodate thirty children.  Enrollment swelled to sixty and more were still coming from nearby villages.  Adult classes were organized and many parents came to learn also. 

Meanwhile, the lowlanders and much more the government troops assigned in a nearby military detachment learned of the SULADS program in Kamansi.  They suspected that SULADS must be a part of the rebel movement. 

One day, we were going home to Kamansi from a seminar at Mountain View College.  We were on a passenger jeepney with food supplies we had purchased.  “Where are you going?” one of the passengers queried.

“We are going to Kamansi,” we replied. 

“What!  What in the world are you doing in Kamansi?”

 

“We are the new teachers assigned there by the SULADS.  Is smething wrong?” I wanted to know.

“That is a critical place!  A nest of rebels!”  All eyes turned to us with an investigating look.  “Who are these brave lady teachers?” their eyes seemed to say.

Soon military elements often visited our village.  They saw our new Philippine flag flying.  They saw us having classes.  They saw the children squeezing elbow to elbow in an old house turned into a school room.  They saw the villagers busy planting for their living.

 

One lunch time, the soldiers saw us eating root crops with the children.  (Educated Filipinos usually eat rice)  “Is this really your situation here, Ma’am?” one of them asked.

“Yes, we eat what they eat here—root crops, vegetables, and some fruits.”

“What a sacrifice!” they commented.

On another occasion, two private elements of the government troops ran away with their issued weapons and ammunition.  They, incidentally, were natives of Kamansi.  Their captain, angry at what they did as traitors, ordered a manhunt and gave a “shoot to kill” order for the two.  They suspected again that Scarface, our village leader, had something to do with this evil.

Now and then, squads of soldiers are dispatched to our village.  Our village leaders advised us to not open our doors to strangers, especially at night.

Then people started pouring into our village.  Everyday, they came by families from other villages.  We learned that the military were combing the forest in search of the two defectors.  They declared all the villages to be “no man’s land” except Kamansi and Lantad.  The people are afraid this clash will kindle again the fire between them and the military. 

People come to our cottage.  “Are you not afraid, Ma’am?” they asked.

“Afraid of what?”  I pretended to be strong.

“Don’t you know that we are in a critical situation here?”

 

“There is no safe place in this world,” I commented.  “Wherever we go, there is death.  The best for us to do is to prepare ourselves.”

“You mean to say, Ma’am, that you are prepared?”

“Yes!  I, along with my partner, were already prepared before we came here.”

 “But you don’t even have a weapon, Ma’am,” they chorused.

“Yes we have.”  Showing them my Bible, I said, “This is my weapon.  My partner has hers, too.  This we call our 66 caliber, sharper than any two-edged sword.  This is more powerful than any new brand of weapon.  We don’t have any plans of leaving you here.  Whatever happens, we will stay here with you.” 

“We don’t understand you, Ma’am.  You’re kidding,” they surprisingly said.   

“No.  I mean it,” I assured them.  Showing my hymnbook, I said, “This is another weapon I have.  With this I can win an enemy’s heart if he will only listen as I sing from this book. 

I asked my partner to sing with me.  “There’s a Land that is Fairer Than Day.”  We sang in the vernacular so they could understand.  “Oh, safe to the Rock that is higher than I.”  They were speechless as we sang more songs.

“We need not to worry if we are ready,” I started to preach.  “If I die here with my partner, we don’t worry because, ‘There’s a Land that is Fairer Than Day’ where we will live with our Savior forever.”  They had big question marks in their eyebrows.

“Please tell us some more, Ma’am, they said.  Every night they came and they learned to sing the songs.  After some songs, we studied the Bible.  Thus started our Bible study group.

How they have leaned to sing the songs heartily.  “What lovely songs,” they said.  “They can erase our fears.”  The people are now asking for more song books with doctrinal Bible Study Guides (Lagda) and Bibles.

We are thankful that the military helped us gather the people to our village so timely to prepare them for the harvest.  Wouldn’t you like to be a part of this SULADS program?