This is my story - 90 - Philippines

90 – Visiting the southern division

During the term of our service in the Philippines, the territory had three divisions – the Central, Northern and Southern Divisions, the latter comprise the Visayas and Mindanao, a very extensive area. Many of the Corps and Army centres were quite isolated.

The city of General Santos is the southernmost city in the archipelago. We would go there by plane and then travelled by road to visit other areas. The country roads were often rough and transportation poor. In many of the places where The Salvation Army was at work, there was only one jeepney per day, plying to and from the town. Our officers and comrades in these isolated areas seldom had visitors and everywhere we went we were warmly welcomed -expressed with the hugs and embrace!

Some of the places we visited were simply beautiful, for example Lake Sebu which is on high altitude, lovely and cool. In this visit we arrived in time for lunch after which there was a Home League meeting for the ladies. My wife was the speaker for the afternoon.

Immediately following this was an evangelistic meeting but it had to end before the curfew began at sun down. Lake Sebu at that time was a stronghold of rebel forces and no meeting could be held after dark. All had to remain indoors.

Water was a problem. The officers had to depend on rain water or fetch it from the river a few kilometres away. They would also do their washing there. Most of the time, they would have their bath in the river. We did not want to burden the officers, so we made our way to the river to have our bath before sundown. In our travels to these areas, we made sure we had our sarongs with us. We just had to learn to adapt to the Filipino way of doing things, as the saying goes, ‘when in Rome do as the Romans do.’

We stayed overnight at the Corps quarters which was a nipa hut. The bedrooms were on a higher level while the floors were made of split bamboo about three to five centimetres apart. We had to be extra careful not to drop anything or it would be lost between the gaps, through which the breeze came. It was natural air conditioning! Below us was the home of animals –goats, dogs, cats and even pigs! Well, Jesus was born in a manger and He and his earthly parents shared the stable with God’s creatures.

Because of our tight schedule, we could not stay longer, but had to leave early the next morning for another isolated Corps at a village called Lamsine in a remote area. We had considered closing down this little Corps because of opposition from a local church mission and our own shortage of officers. However a number of Salvationists pleaded with us to continue working despite the difficulties. Funding was made available to expand our social services to this area and also provide the village with a pump-well for the villagers.

I had a strange experience during our visit. While I was preaching a gecko fell on my head, then bounced on to the interpreter who screamed thinking it was a snake. The small hall was jam-packed with many standing outside the window participating in worship. That interruption did not in any way mar the spirit of the worshippers. At the conclusion there were many seekers at the altar.

Two days after we had left the area a French Catholic priest was kidnapped and being held for a ransom of 10 million pesos! This was one of the ways these rebels raised funds for their operations against the Government.

After lunch we left for General Santos to conduct the salvation meeting in the evening. The ride was not only bumpy but also the afternoon sun beating down was very strong. The corps was situated in a stronghold of another faith and work was extremely difficult and progress slow. We had been travelling and our uniforms needed to be washed. The officers’ daughter insisted on washing them for us and put it out to dry during the night.

In the early hours of the morning, we heard dogs barking incessantly. When daylight came we discovered that thieves had stolen my pair of trousers. Just before we left to continue with our journey, we discovered the pants some distance away. Dogs must have tussled with the thieves for the trousers and bitten holes. Fortunately the tear was near the waistline and my wife was able to mend it. The jacket was all right so the mended part was hidden under it.

The next Corps was Wali. The quarters was quite new and only been recently dedicated. We were privileged to be the first to stay in it for the night. Both of us slept on a single wooden bed without a mattress. Wow, for city people like us, the old bones did ache! The Divisional Commander, who drove us, had a bigger old bed, but it was broken. The Corps officers must have felt it could not take weight of two people.

Not too far from Wali was Lebe about 30 minutes ride in the jeep. My wife did the Home League while the Divisional Commander and I spent time discussing matters with the Corps Officer. In the afternoon we were on our journey again.

We then made our way by plane for Cebu where we did the Good Friday meeting. It was a big corps with a lovely brass band, good songster brigade and singing company. The hall was packed and at the end of the meeting there were many seekers. It was a well organised Corps under the direction of a single woman officer.

We moved from the city to visit a small Corps at Liloan the hall and quarters badly damaged by the recent typhoon. However the comrades were in good spirits. We assured them that there were funds available for repair. The Advisory board at Cebu also promised to raise funds for this small Corps. Most of the Advisory board members were ethnic Chinese businessmen and very supportive of the Army.

The next day we moved to Bayanihan for the dedication of a new hall and quarters. The old hall was destroyed by typhoon, but thank God funds came very quickly from USA to rebuild the new facilities. We rushed to Lapu Lapu for a women’s rally planned for the afternoon then the evening salvation meeting.

Then we had to be back to Cebu for the Easter Ecumenical Sunrise Service scheduled to start at 4.00 a.m! The Army band provided the music. The next day we had the graduation of the students of the skills training programme at this Corps. It was a packed week or so and we were glad to get on the plane to return home to Manila after more than a week away.

It was a very tiring time for us. We did thirteen meetings in ten days visiting a total of nine corps. From this experience, we learned not engage in such a tight and hectic schedule in future. Never mind, we got home safely. Nick was at the airport to meet us and it was Home sweet home again. The Lord always provides grace sufficient for our needs. “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” Deuteronomy 33:25.