Tuesday 3 November 2015

Hill tribe

On our way to reach a hill-tribe.

We crossed rivers, climbed the mountain.

It was raining.

One river-crossing was on a narrow log, high above a fast-flowing river.

I was told I was the first foreigner ever to set foot on those mountains. So I was expecting that when we finally arrived in the village, the people would look surprised.

But when we arrived, the chief gathered the village-folk together - half an hour went by - and still no-one looked surprised.

So I asked my interpreter to ask the chief if it was really true that I was the first foreigner they'd seen - and if so, why didn't anyone look surprised.

The chief answered:

"Way back in ’79, we used to worship the spirits. Our men used to spear each other. We had as many wives as we liked. We were all afraid of the witchdoctor.

Then one day I had a dream. Someone dressed in white appeared to me and said, ‘You better repent of what you’re doing, and start worshipping the one true God in heaven.'

So I repented and began worshiping the one true God in heaven.

Then I was told in another dream to gather the whole village together and tell them all to repent and start worshipping the one true God in heaven.

So I gathered the whole village together and told them the dream. The whole village repented and started worshipping the one true God in heaven.

Then I was told in another dream to write down certain laws which the tribe should live by.

I was also told in a dream to build a building where the whole village could gather to worship God together.

The behavior of our village became so good. Of all tribes we gained the reputation of causing the least trouble to the government. So much so that my name was changed to Datu Malinaw [peacemaking chief].

Then one day I got sick," the chief continued, "I had to go down to the low lands to find a doctor. But the first person I met happened to be a Pastor.

He took me in, and showed me the Bible. I was amazed to discover that almost word-for-word what was written in that Bible was what had been told me in the dreams.

So I knew that the God who wrote that Bible was the same God who had been appearing to me in the dreams. So I invited the pastor to come and live in our village, learn our language, and teach us about God.

Finally I was told in another dream that one day white people will come from a far away country and tell us more about what God wants us to do.

So no-one’s surprised to see you, we’ve been waiting for you since ‘79," the chief said.

They probably wondered why it took us so long to get there!

I asked the chief whether he had ever heard about Christianity before he met the pastor. He answered, No.

The chief put on traditional head dress and performed a tribal dance of welcome.

He said they knew I had a message from God for them, and the whole village was eager to hear it.

So I preached to them about God's plan of salvation; water baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit.

"When God first made the world," I said, "everything was good. There was no sickness, no death, no violence. God walked with man and talked with man every day.

But man disobeyed God - and it brought death into the world. Man's disobedience separated man from God. All have disobeyed; all faced death and punishment.

But God loved the world so much, He did not leave us in that situation. He sent His only Son to reveal the Father to the world, and to die for our disobedience. His Son healed the sick. He did no wrong.

But He was killed. God gave Him as a sacrifice - a substitute - for the disobedience of us all. He was buried. And on the third day God raised Him up from the dead.

Now whoever repents of his disobedience and believes in Jesus, will be saved - and God will raise him up from the dead on the last day when Jesus comes again."

When I finished speaking, the chief dismissed us and all the people from his house. Only the elders stayed inside. A short while later we were all invited back inside. The spokesman for the village announced:

"As Elders we have discussed the message which we all just heard, and we have unanimously agreed that it is truly a message from God. Therefore as of now we all accept it."

But the chief didn't give permission for the people to be baptised.

"But if you'll help us build a new building," he said, "then I'll allow the people to be baptized." (He explained that the building they'd built for worship, in obedience to a dream, had become quite old and run down.)

At first I thought that if the chief's obedience to God was sincere, he should be willing to be bapised whether or not we help him build a new building. But straightaway God softened my heart. It was like the Lord was impressing on my heart:

"These people don't have legal title to the land they're on; they have little formal education; the chief feels that by submitting his people to baptism, he would be bringing his people into covenant with you. All he needs to see is a small sign of your sincerity - so he knows he's not putting his people at risk of being exploited and driven of their land - then he will gladly submit to baptism."

I told one of the pastors with me what I felt in my heart. The pastor immediately gave the chief 100 pesos (which at the time was equivalent to about only five dollars). Immediately the chief gave permission for the whole village to be baptised!

I decided however to come good on our promise to help them first, before baptising them.

We stayed overnight in the chief's house. They fed us wholeheartedly with the most delicious rice which they grow on the mountain slopes, and meat and vegetables. The chief called me by an affectionate (and humourous) nickname.

Next morning we met in the worship building. The chief and his family, and the spokesman for the Elders and his family, sat at a table at the front; the heads of each family sat at tables along both sides of the building, with their family seated behind them.

I saw the rules written down which were given to the chief in a dream, displayed in a central place for all to see. I asked for a translation - it was almost exactly the same as some of the Ten Commandments.
The children had learned to sing in English a song which for years has been my favourite song: Jesus how lovely you are

You are so gentle, so loving and kind.

You shine like the bright morning star

Jesus how lovely you are
We stayed three days. I visited the tribe a total of three times. One time we ministered about the Holy Spirit - they were eager to receive.

A pastor calculated the cost of building a church for them on the mountaintop. They could hire a chain saw to cut wood from the jungle - the only cost would be corrugated roofing iron and cement. The cost would be around only $2,500.

When I got back to Australia I told a church about it.

"That's a small price, to see a whole village get baptised," I said.

While I was still speaking, the pastor jumped up and grabbed the microphone off me.

"Let's take-up an offering on that straightaway," he told his congregation, "And whatever you give in the offering, we'll match it dollar-for-dollar from existing funds."

In one meeting, in a single offering, almost the whole amount was given.

The money was sent overseas. Youth trekked up the mountain carrying heavy bags of cement on their shoulders. The whole building was built from beautiful Philippine Mahogany. At the dedication/thanksgiving service, 1,300 people were in attendance from neighbouring villages.
And the chief came true to his word - he and his whole village got baptised - in one day.

And they've been having church ever since. At the time approximately 25,000 people belonged to their language-group, scattered in villages across hilltops of the region.

Since then a number of their young people have graduated from Bible College; several have become pastors, and more churches have been planted; and a single-room school-building was built.

Sadly a couple of years ago their churches and many of their homes and livelihood were destroyed in a cyclone. But almost straightaway they began rebuilding the church. They soon began holding church services again, even though the rebuilding isn't finished yet.


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