Tribe & Island
About 10,000 people from the tribe of the Calamian Tagbanwa live scattered in the northern part of Palawan. Marked by great poverty, they live a simple life, gathering their main livelihood from fishing and harvesting mountain rice on little patches of land.
They live in fear and spiritual darkness, held captive by animistic beliefs that demand they worship spirits, pray to their ancestors and sacrifice animals.
Konrad & Betty Binder and Nate & Megan Ingvoldstad are preparing to move with their families to live with these people. Initially they will be studying culture and language so they can effectively present the good news of Jesus Christ. They want to see churches established among the Calamian Tagbanwa that will thrive and function according to New Testament principles.
The island was a beautiful place and the people made us very welcome. As is often the case, the children enjoyed the activity and attention and always wanted to pose for photos.
About 10,000 people from the tribe of the Calamian Tagbanwa live scattered in the northern part of Palawan. Marked by great poverty, they live a simple life, gathering their main livelihood from fishing and harvesting mountain rice on little patches of land.
They live in fear and spiritual darkness, held captive by animistic beliefs that demand they worship spirits, pray to their ancestors and sacrifice animals.
Konrad & Betty Binder and Nate & Megan Ingvoldstad are preparing to move with their families to live with these people. Initially they will be studying culture and language so they can effectively present the good news of Jesus Christ. They want to see churches established among the Calamian Tagbanwa that will thrive and function according to New Testament principles.
The island was a beautiful place and the people made us very welcome. As is often the case, the children enjoyed the activity and attention and always wanted to pose for photos.
Our Project
Our first project this year in the Philippines was to help Konrad with the construction of his house. Another group of men had been working on the house prior to our arrival, so at least there was a ‘roof over our heads’ while we worked in the heat on this remote little island. Facilities were minimal and our cooking, eating and general living area was a simple tribal style field house. We had an excellent cook with us who worked wonders in the ‘kitchen’ and an excellent team who took all the inconveniences in their stride. There was always something going on to liven up our days – and nights! We had to move our mosquito nets during thunder storms depending on the direction of the rain, and those downpours rendered the ‘comfort room’ out of action as it only had plastic walls and no roof! Then there were various little creatures that came to visit including a monkey who became a regular. One of his favourite places to sit was on the end of our clothes line. I don’t know if he didn’t like the coloured towel that was often drying there or if he just threw the towel down to make room for himself. Our work included erecting walls and a frame for solar panels, fitting doors and windows, painting and various other smaller jobs.
Home from Home
Shower House
Work on the House
And in the 'Kitchen'
Although we had just a small team with us there were others from the Philippines who joined to help with the project including Paul & Cathy Wright from N Ireland. They have been in the Philippines since the beginning of the year and are making good progress in language study in Manila. I think they were glad to get a break from language for a while and we certainly enjoyed having them with us.
Our Team
Paul & Cathy Wright
1 comment:
thanks for talking a bit about the assist trip. my college pastor is going to start looking at regular trips with summit assist teams for our college group. very exciting to see how the Lord is working and helping the saints abroad.
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