Mission Moment: Philippines - The bridge

Be the bridge to the mountain people of the Philippines

• Update: The first 10 Kankanaey Bibles have been received (see photos at bottom of story)

By Ace Concordia
Climbing For Christ Philippines coordinator

When we trek the trails of the mountains of Kibungan we pass by many hanging bridges. Some are small and go over small streams and canals. There are also some that are long and high like the Bacayawan foot bridge over the Amburayan River, which is 400 feet long and 200 feet in height.

Roads and bridges are a sign that progress is coming to a community. But there are no roads that can be built to go to the villages of Tacadang, Dalipey or Badeo – only mountain trails. So progress in those villages depends solely on foot trails and bridges. The bridges provide a means to easily cross obstacles on the terrain that usually would be difficult to deal with.

Much of the needed school and medical supplies we bring on our mission climbs pass through these bridges. These bridges are also a means to provide livelihood to the local Kankanaey people who must travel through the mountains to bring their farm produce to the lowland trading posts.  The bridges of Kibungan are literally the links that connect the Kankanaey to the outside world.

What happens when the bridges are down? On a few occasions mission teams have had to cross the Amburayan River using bamboo rafts because the bridges were undergoing repair. To cross the great Amburayan on a raft is a risky venture. Instead of having people move swiftly across by bridge, we had to ferry one person at a time using the raft. On one occasion we did this in the darkness of night. You could hear the river raging, but you could not see it, and you could only pray that the raft did not turn over in the water because that would throw its passengers at the mercy of the strong currents. Everything is slow and more dangerous when the bridges are not accessible. It affects the Kankanaey people greatly, and progress once more is brought to a crawling pace.

But damaged bridges are not the only thing that slows down the progress of the Kankanaey. They have more than just physical and material needs. They have spiritual poverty as well. On the recent survey made by C4C Philippines in the village of Badeo, we learned it has been more than a decade since the Kankanaey people have had a Bible in their own language.

The pastors and church leaders in this mountainous land use Bibles in the Ilocano language to compensate for the lack of a Bible in their own mother tongue. Their common cry: “It would be wonderful to have a Bible in our Kankanaey language. There are words in Ilocano that are difficult to translate to Kankanaey. The people would understand the word of God more if it was in Kankanaey.”

Local teachers also worry about the next generation of Kankanaey, because most of their material is in other languages such as English and Ilocano. They fear the loss of the local language if this continues.

Why is there no Kankanaey Bible in Kibungan? Because it has not been reprinted in recent years, and no one has made an effort to bring it to the Kankanaey.

Only the Word of God can bring hope and change in a person’s life.  The Word of God is the bridge between God and man. Without the Word of God there is no life change, nowhere to draw hope from, and no fuel to fire the hearts of the people for Christ.

This year, it is the goal of Climbing For Christ to become the bridge that will bring the Kankanaey Bible back to the churches and communities of Kibungan. Last year, God provided C4C with a ministry partner in this endeavour.  SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) is an international ministry that translates the Bible into local languages. Their missionaries are responsible for the original translation of the Bible into the Kankanaey language.

Spencer Ng (left to right), Ace Concordia, Arlene Bolante, Joel Sayyap, Dalmas Binwag, and Sue McQuay.

On Jan. 24, C4C Philippines met for a second time with SIL Publications coordinator Sue McQuay, her husband Ian, and Dalmas Binwag, the Scripture Engagement Team Luzon Coordinator. This meeting is part of the on-going plans to re-distribute the Kankanaey Bible in Kibungan. SIL will grant C4C permission to print the Kankanaey Bible. C4C aims to raise funds for the reprinting of at least 500 Bibles and organize mission climbs to transport them to villages in Kibungan.  We praise God for the men and women of SIL who have partnered with us to become the bridges to bring God’s Word to Kibungan.

In the 1978 film Superman, a train was headed for disaster because a part of the tracks was damaged and would cause the train to fall into a huge gap. To save the passengers of the train, Superman laid in the gap in the tracks and became the bridge for the train to run over safely. The Kankanaey need people to stand in the gap and become the bridges that will bring them the Word of God in their own language. C4C Philippines, in partnership with SIL, hopes to become this bridge. This way Kankanaey people can experience the blessed life that God has prepared for them, and revival and evangelism and be sparked in their churches.

A bridge is only made strong because it is reinforced with strong material. You can help build this bridge by supporting C4C Philippines’ project to reprint the Kankanaey Bible.

Jesus became the bridge that led to our salvation. The Kankanaey need people willing to become a bridge so that they could also experience the blessed life that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Would you lay down on the tracks with us?

The Word

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6 (NIV)

Update

The first 10 copies of the Kankanaey Bible have been printed and received by C4C Philippines! Praise God!

Through the generosity of Albert See, a businessman friend, C4C Philippines coordinator Ace Concordia went along with Climbing For Christ members Gutch Guttierez, Joel Sayyap and Spencer Ng to Forms International on Feb. 8 to pick up the Bibles.

“This, I believe, is a great start that the Bibles are manifesting literally,” Ace said. “Ten down, 990 to go.”

Albert See, left, the president of Forms International, with C4C Philippines coordinator Ace Concordia and the first reprinted Kankanaey Bible.

The first 10 Bibles. Ace called this photo, “Thirst no more.”