The children in the village of Penew gathered in a tight, giggling circle. Curious, I approached them, wondering what they were doing. Imagine my joy at finding them folding their hands and bowing their heads, preparing to pray. After their prayer, they all started singing songs of praise to Jesus. Their smiles of sheer happiness touched my heart. Can you imagine the joy there was in heaven that day?

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and I found it true today. Not necessarily a compliment to me as an individual, but to all of the team members who hiked across the river and over a steep mountain to finish building a church in Penew and to introduce unreached people to what it means to be friends with Jesus.

Penew overlooks the valley of Emrang, which is ringed with tall mountains, like fingers around a cupped palm. Outreach in Emrang began in earnest in 2009 when a second-year student missionary nurse named Brian Glass went to live there to establish a literacy school and begin consistently teaching the people about Jesus. Brian lived in a rickety hut at first, then he built himself a floorless Quonset-style hut. His first classroom was very small while he waited for the villagers to finish the school building they had promised. It took more than a year to actually get a decent building erected, and by then it was just about time for Brian to return to the States. After that, female student missionaries served the area by twos until political unrest made it inadvisable for them to live so far away from the rest of the missionary team. Maliling, a newly baptized convert, volunteered to go and teach in Emrang each Sabbath. He was faithful through rain or shine for a couple years before he moved on to other things. After that, the work in Emrang was sporadic, and the school building was dismantled.

In 2014 a few of our high school students and I started going over to Emrang on Sabbaths with the hopes that some of the students could continue on their own. But the most able and willing high school student at that time was a single female, and again it was inadvisable to send her alone. When I had to make a trip to the States, I asked Brenden Teal, just beginning his second year as a student missionary, if he would cover for me in Emrang while I was gone. Ever since then he has been going almost every Sabbath. The people appreciated the attention, and a handful of them attend the worship services quite consistently. But there was one who never missed a Sabbath—Kulipang.

Kulipang (coo-lee-pang) is an older lady who calls me “Ari,” (younger sister). (She says that surely I’m younger because I still have teeth, and she’s losing hers!) Through the years, she has been the most eager to learn, even joining in the singing, something many older people are reluctant to do. She is always ready to answer questions put forth by the teacher. I’m sure her heart brings a smile to Jesus’ face.

After worship in Penew one morning, Kulipang and I had an opportunity to talk, just the two of us. We chatted about her faith and hope in Jesus. She has a strong desire for her family to follow Jesus, but she fears they are not interested. I encouraged her to keep praying for them, to share with them what she already knows and invite them to worship in her home during the week. She wondered how she could lead a worship in her home because she doesn’t know much scripture and can’t read. I assured her that if she shared the little she knows, the Lord would help her and teach her. She set out to do that immediately. That evening there were many more people at the meeting because of her invitation.

The morning and evening meetings in Penew were taught by Timuk and Hilin, our two senior high school students. Timuk, a fine young man, is becoming a good speaker, earnestly preaching from his heart and appealing to his people to follow Jesus. Speaking with passion, he told them, “We Palawanos believe in many gods, but there is really only One that is true. The others only claim to be God, but they aren’t really. Jesus is the One True God.” Hilin, a sweet young lady, is also gaining skill as a speaker. She works hard to explain the lesson being taught in ways that the people can understand.

Following their presentations, Napthali, a longtime fellow missionary from the province of Mindanao, re-highlighted the themes and explained how they fit together in the whole picture of the plan of salvation, beginning with the creation of angels in heaven to Christ’s death and resurrection.

We met in the church building, which is under construction. During the day, people came to stare at the building and to examine and talk about the pictures we had posted portraying the story of the Bible. I was happy to answer their questions, but it was even more gratifying to see them discussing and sharing with each other about the deeper meanings of the pictures. They were really learning!
The second Sabbath of our stay in Penew was the “high” Sabbath. As people walked through the village during the week, they went right past the church/school we were building, so the invitation to come to church on Sabbath had reached many surrounding villages. We told them that this Sabbath would be an all-day affair starting with Sabbath School, then church, potluck, church dedication, the afternoon meeting and then a showing of the Jesus movie in Tagalog. There was a wonderful turnout that Sabbath, close to 100 people including many children. Everyone was enthusiastic and responsive.

On Sabbath afternoon, after Hilin and Napthali finished teaching the lesson about Christ’s death and resurrection, I stood and asked who was ready to let Jesus be the Lord of their life, their Savior and Friend. A swarm of children were right in front of me, and I felt a thrill as their hands shot up. I know that the Lord of the universe has a special spot in His heart for children, and He honors their love and devotion. I’d been praying there would also be adults who would surrender to Jesus—adults who could begin to build up the work in the area. When I saw that Kulipang was among those who eagerly raised their hands indicating their desire to follow Jesus, I was moved. There were others as well, among them Binyu and his wife Misi, a couple who have long been interested but not fully committed to following Jesus.

Because there had been a mission school in the area in previous years, there was excitement when I announced that each day we were in Penew we would hold “school” in the morning. The first day there were so many children that I realized I would need help. So I borrowed three of our high school girls from the construction jobs each morning, and we taught four levels of learners. A more eager bunch of students would be difficult to find. They carried their precious papers and crayons or pencils with them everywhere, carefully practicing and shyly bringing their work to me throughout the day, glowing under my attention and words of affirmation.
The first day, one young man had shyly stood nearby, not joining in. When I asked him if he would like to join us, he replied that his father had told him he couldn’t go to school because he had to help with the family’s work. After I assured him that he wasn’t actually enrolling in school, he joined our group with a big smile. He had been assigned to a lower level, but he clearly wanted to stay in my group, and I’m glad he did. I soon realized that he didn’t learn the same way the others did. They snickered at his attempts. Some even told me with knowing looks, “He’s simple,” meaning he couldn’t learn well. But I saw signs of intelligence in him and loved affirming him in the things he did well. He blossomed with the attention and proved to everyone that he could learn just fine!

On Sunday, my departure from Penew to return home was greatly delayed. I am learning not to chafe at delays, but to seek God’s timing in all things. The gift the delay brought me was time to sit on the church porch and chat with the ladies. One of the young ladies, who had not come to the literacy classes each day because she is married, still remembered quite a bit of what Brian and others had taught her. I asked her if she would be willing to meet with the students each day and teach them what she knows. I outlined a simple program, told her I would supply her with extra paper and pencils and encouraged her to be the teacher the students were longing for. I also encouraged her to lead the students in praying for a teacher for their school. “But I don’t know very much. How can I teach them?” she asked.

“You know more than they do. Teach them what you know, and your own knowledge and skill will grow. Then come over and visit me, and I’ll give you the next batch of things to teach the kids,” I encouraged her. She smiled, clearly pleased that I thought her worthy of this responsibility. I smiled, too, knowing that God is at work in the Emrang valley, even with limited staff. And I know there will be many, many children in the Emrang valley with smiles of joy on their faces when a dedicated teacher is found for them.

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