STUDENT MISSIONARIES ATTEND SUNDAY
CHURCH
by Daryl Famisaran
June, 1994
Basak Mission School in
Sinuda, Kitaotao, Bukidnon, is a newly opened village school for the Matigsalug
tribe of the Manobos. The program which
was initiated by the SULADS (Socio-economic Uplift Leading to Anthropological
and Developmental Services) of Mountain View College stirred the neighboring
Baptist territories. The Baptist
missionaries and their local pastors were opposed to the SULADS presence in the
area.
This didn’t bother our
missionaries because the Basak villagers welcomed them warmly. They were happy to have MVC missionaries
around because their village leader, who is a Baptist lay preacher himself, was
aware of the good results of the other mission schools operated by the
SULADS. He, himself, assured the people
that the SULADS missionaries won’t disturb their religion. “They are here to give our children an
education”, he stressed.
True! And this made them very supportive of the
program and love their new teachers.
Everything ran smoothly and in a short span of time they were happy for
the results they could see in their children.
The children learned fast from the many things their teachers teach
them.
There was not a single
Adventist yet in the village. All of
them worshipped on Sunday as good followers of their good Baptist lay
worker. The student missionaries just
spent their Sabbaths in their cottage, sometimes in the nearby cave, in the
woods, and taught the children who came to worship with them Christian songs
and told them Bible stories from picture rolls.
One Sunday morning, one of
the student missionaries, Neil Tagarao, was fixing a leaking pipe on the water
source. The village people were in their
best clothes going to their usual Sunday worship. The lay preacher, who happened to be his very
close friend, now invited him to join them in their worship. He thought for a while. “Should I join them?” he asked himself. He was hesitant at first, but later on he
said to himself, “Lord, I am a missionary
here and this is an opportunity.” So he
joined them.
The lay preacher was happy to
have their teachers joining them in their worship. While the lay preacher was expounding on a
topic from the Bible, Neil would supply him texts for more emphasis on the
topic and the lay preacher welcomed that gladly. During the second service, the student
missionary was given the time to expound in the study of the Word. He started with the topic, “The Scriptures,”
using the LAGDA. They received each
explanation approvingly. They were
hungry for truth. From then on, from
Sunday to Sunday, our student missionaries are the ones giving the study of the
Word during the worship service. They
are actually giving Bible studies from the twenty-seven Seventh-day Adventist
doctrines.
I happened to visit Basak one
time and helped in the explaining of many of their deep theological
questions. They also want to hear more
songs translated into their language.
Very soon, when the last
topic will be presented about the Sabbath , I am sure, by God’s help, that they
will suggest that they worship on Saturday instead of Sunday. I encouraged the missionaries to continue on
their good work because very soon this congregation will be their very own
congregation. They will be the pastors
of this new Seventh-day Adventist church.
Please send your help and
indicate it for the SULADS to:
Daryl Famisaran
Sulads Campus,Mountain View College
Valencia City, Bukidnon, Philippines 8709
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