All In: New Bible Workers in East Mindoro, Philippines
By Jonalyn Martino and Hannah Jobe
Over the last couple months, by the grace of God, we have approved requests to sponsor over 50 new Bible Workers in two countries. Today we want to share the story of one of our new Bible Worker units who have been serving as missionaries in the Philippines for the last six years.In 2015, Daryl Famisaran, who helped restart the SULADS program in the 1990s, left his home of 26 years, and his position training SULADS missionaries, to serve the Mangyans in East Mindoro.
Who are the Mangyans?
The Mangyans are a group of eight tribes indigenous to the island of Mindoro. They are mostly animists, with strong superstitions and beliefs in the spirits. Jesus for Asia has been working in West Mindoro with Pete and Jessica Barolo of Mindoro Outreach for six years to share the Gospel and provide education and material needs to the Mangyan tribes there.Daryl, along with several relatives and other missionaries have been working with the Tao-Buhid tribe. The missionaries found that the Tao-Buhid people are much easier to reach than some other Mangyan tribes. They are approachable, fun, and very hospitable, though some are still afraid of non-Mangyans.
The missionaries teach basic education, treat the sick, and help the villagers with their daily work. They help to nurture the churches in the villages that have them, and plant seeds of the Gospel in those that do not.When the missionaries first started serving in East Mindoro, they were working with a foundation. Unfortunate circumstances led to their separation from the foundation, but they did not want to give up on the Tao-Buhid people. They restarted their ministry from scratch.
On Their Own
Without the foundation, the missionaries had no solid income. Some received a small amount of support from family members or facebook friends. One young man, who quit his job as a public school teacher to become a missionary, worked part time at a gas station to afford fuel for the missionaries’ motorbikes and other needs, but most of them did not have enough money to even buy food.
Rather than seeking higher paying jobs to support themselves, they chose to continue God’s work. They live and work with the Mangyans, and the Mangyans share their food. While in West Mindoro the missionaries are well provided for and the natives are poor, in East Mindoro it is the other way around.
Moving Forward
Despite these challenges the missionaries are continuing to move forward. This year their goal is to reach the Bangon tribe. This is one of the hardest tribes to reach. The people are steeped in witchcraft practices and keep themselves isolated from others. Other Mangyans fear them and rarely enter their villages, while lowlanders are not permitted at all.
For this reason, Daryl has asked some of the Tao-Buhid church members to work with them to reach the Bangon tribe. Ten have already committed, and more have expressed interest in serving the Bangons.Daryl and the other missionaries plan to conduct a month-long training session starting next week (the third week in April) for these new workers. They were donated a piece of land they are planning to use for this training but they still need around $1,000 to purchase food for 20 people for the month. Click here to support this Bible Worker training.We are inspired by the dedication of these missionaries to the calling God has placed on their lives. They have chosen humble, hard lives over comfortable ones because they love the Mangyan people. They desire to show the Mangyans how much they are loved, not just by them, but by the God who gave everything to live and die for their salvation.We pray that God will put that kind of love for lost souls in the hearts of each person reading this, so that we will be willing to do whatever He calls us to do for those lost souls.Jesus for Asia has hired 19 of these missionaries as Bible Workers and will be providing them $100 a month each to help take care of their basic needs and to expand their ministry. We praise God for the work He is doing and will do in the lives of these Bible Workers and the Mangyan people.Please pray for these new Bible Workers and for their ministry to the Mangyans, especially the Bangon tribe. If God is leading you to support their ministry financially, please click the button below.