/"~..3 ~NITED \.
MISSIONARY CHURCH
552 EMMETT STREET
' JATl'Lll: CREEK. MICHIGAN
Missionary Stories from the Philippines
By G. LOUISE
LYNIP
WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Grand Rapids
Michigan
Ii 13JYI
ON GOOD GROUND BY
G.
LOUISE LYNIP
Copyright, 1946, by Wm.. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company All rights in this book a re r~served. No part may be reproduced in any manner without permission in writing from the publisher, except brief quotations used in connection with a review ill a magazine or newspaper.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERTCA
FOREWORD THE AUTHOR of this book has been a missionary in the Philippine Islands, serving under the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, and has rendered most effective work among the primitive mountain peoples of Bukidnon Province in the interior of Mindanao. Caught by the war and cut off from all contact with the homeland, Miss Louise Lynip and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kohler made their way farther into the hills and were successful in hiding out from the Japanese for over two years, learning many lessons of faith, trust, and complete dependence upon their Lord which would not have been possible in any other way. The stories in this book are true accounts of some of the many experiences with the mountain folk of Bukidnon, and the simple narrative style of the author without any attempt to build artificial climaxes is refreshing. Throughout these pages the reader will find a demonstration of practical Christianity in a primitive setting, showing very well how a missionary finds opportunities to show the love, compassion, and power of Christ just by being faithful from day to day. Many times we have been asked for missionary literature for Young People's Societies, Missionary Societies, Sunday Schools, and Church Libraries. Here is a book which will fill a real need and will be a blessing to many. HAROLD T. COMMONS OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT ASSOCIATION OF BAPTISTS FOR WORLD EVANGELISM PHILADELPHIA, PA.
PREFACE IT IS indeed presumptuous for the least-experienced Bukidnon missionary to attempt to introduce the Bukidnon people of Mindanao. It is only with the fullest dependence upon the Lord that I have dared to do so. Bukidnon's pioneer missionaries, Henry and Gladys deVries, have labored there for many years. The first Protestant missionaries to enter that dark, unpromising, interior province in 1925, they were for many years the only ones. They established Bethel Mission in Malaybalay and were later joined by Miss Rhoda Little, a registered nurse, whose medical skill, added to other qualifications, helped to open many doors to the Gospel. In 1938 the Bethel Mission Group became a part of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, which was already long-established in the Philippines. Under the A. B. W. E. new missionaries, Rev. and Mrs. Robert P. Kohler, were sent out to join the others. The Kohlers, greatly needed in Malaybalay, served there two years and were then "spared" to the new Talakag station where there was no missionary at all. The author's acquaintance with Bukidnon was made just a year before war was declared. Two years during the war were spent with Mr. and Mrs. Kohler and their two daughters, Lou-Anne and Joyce, in the forests of Miarayon. It has been a great privilege to live and work with all of these missionaries, any of whom are better able to write these stories of the Lord's work in Bukidnon than I am. They are identified for their friends in the chapters that follow, al-
though the missionaries' names have been omitted in the stories. This is primarily a presentation of the Bukidnon people; the Lord's instrument is incidental. These are true stories of the Lord's dealing with the people of Bukidnon, told as the author heard them or as they were observed. There is one exception in the story of josefa, which is accurate up until the time she fled from Malaybalay. From then on nothing is known of her except that she died. The ending is imaginative. The story is told in tribute to her friendship. Wherever possible I have tried to reproduce ¡ the peculiar "Filipino English" which the missionary soon adopts in order to make himself understood. Especial thanks are due to the A. B. W. E. Executive Committee for allotting time for the writing to be done; to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Fuller of Milwaukee and to my own family, who persuaded me to write down what they had heard; to the Sunday School Times for permission to reproduce Chapters II, IV, X and XI, which first appeared in that publication; and to many other friends whose kind encouragement has been so great a help. It is with the hope that our Bukidnons shall find a place in the hearts of Christians everywhere that will result in fervent, effectual prayer for them that this book is written. G.
LOUISE LYNIP
CONTENTS I. Bukidnon : "Place of Mountains" ________________________________ 17 II. "No More Now" __________________________ _____ _________ ____________________ 23 III. Marcella: "Child of the Forest" ________________________________ 35 IV. Bahi: "As Plants Grown Up" ____________________________________ 49 V. Josefa: "Upon Whom the Light Shined" ________________ 61 VI. Linda: "A Little Child Shall Lead Them" ____________ 81 VII. Susanna: "Handmaiden of the Lord" ________________________ 97 VIII. Pido: "Of the Earth, Earthy" ____________________________________ 105 IX. "Pray Ye Therefore . . ." ____________________________________________ 119 X. "First the Blade . .. " ____________________________________________________ 129 XI. "Is Thy God Able ... ?" ____________________________________________ 139
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