Angry and hurt, wanting to forget her heritage, her people and her language, Bubit left the mountains to look for a place where she could belong, where she could support herself and her baby sister. She was only about 14 years old, and yet she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. Orphaned, she wandered from one home to another, from one job to another. Finally, she was able to go to school. She accelerated through high school and then on to a college sponsorship that went sour after one year. All the while she ardently denied that she was Palawano. She dressed like a lowlander, and adopted their mannerisms and language. When she was 13, she had been baptized into the Adventist church and was very zealous about her faith, but now she bounced from church to church, even joining one that denied Jesus was God.

We never ceased to pray for Bubit. Through the years of her wandering, we and her church family continued to pray that she would come back to the mountains and return to her faith. She experienced many trials and setbacks, but always it seemed God’s protecting hand was over her.
Then one day, out of the blue, Bubit was back. We spent much time talking with her and listening to her story. She was really ready to come home to the mountains and her native Palawano culture, ready to forgive those that had wronged and neglected her. Over the ensuing weeks, she stayed in our home almost every Sabbath. We talked her through the many emotional issues for which she was seeking healing. It was exciting to see her growth week by week as she started returning to her spiritual roots, keeping the Sabbath and honoring her Lord.

Her last living situation had been terrible. She had basically been enslaved, and she finally ran away. She very much wanted to finish her college education. She wanted to become a teacher so she could help her people. Over time, she demonstrated great sincerity, and our trust in her grew. Finally, we offered to sponsor her return to college so she could finish her teaching degree. She agreed, but she wanted to go to a public college since she didn’t think an Adventist college would offer the quality of education she was seeking. We reluctantly agreed. But, after one semester in a public college, she was eager to try out the Adventist college. So we sent her off to Mountain View College in Mindanao. She has been there a year and a half now, and she is blossoming. She no longer feels the need to hide her heritage. She gladly tells anyone who will listen that she is a jungle girl and proud of it.

We consider Bubit our daughter (we adopted her little sister, Jilin). Bubit finally has the family she has always prayed for.

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