Manobos want to reach Manobos
Two Manobo Bible teachers, Piduy and Pulding, recently visited 30 Manobo villages to discern the people’s interest in hearing Firm Foundations Bible lessons. They motorcycled about 600 miles on mostly dirt roads – lots of mud and slippery trails.
In the villages close to the highway only the elderly spoke Manobo. The younger generations speak only Cebuano, the language of the non-tribal people that is taught in the area schools. Even most of the elderly who speak Manobo converse in Cebuano. The Manubus who live in the mountains where there are only trails going to their villages have retained their language.
The men found five villages where there is potential to teach. In those villages, older teenagers and up understand and can converse in Manobo even though they usually speak Cebuano. In the most promising village an elderly tribal leader and an elderly woman were very disappointed when Piduy and Pulding said that it would be months before they could possibly go there to teach.
All of the land where they visited is privately owned by Cebuanos. The Manobos are primarily impoverished people with no land for growing food, barely eking out an existence. It would be very difficult for Pulding and Piduy to live there with their families.
Piduy and Pulding are very concerned that these Manobos have the opportunity to hear the true Gospel of grace and all of the wonderful truths of God’s Word.
“There is no way, humanly speaking, that we could live there,” Piduy said. “Only God can plan this.”
Puduy’s wife, Lynlyn, and Pulding’s wife, Charlyn, have said they are willing to follow their husbands in whatever plan they come up with. The couples would like to plant their land where they now live with 500 or more rubber trees and coconut trees to provide income for the future and to help other Bible teachers do outreaches.
“These are exciting days as we look to God for His will about us relocating and for extension of outreach by Manobos to Manobos,” wrote missionaries Gene and Carol Trudeau.
Please pray for God’s direction and provision as plans are made concerning further ministry among the Manobos.