(on assignment for Please Pass the Bread)
A HELPER IN TIME OF NEED
Experience of a Missionary Series
(Details / images have been left out for concerns of safety)
Driving into the Sierra Madre Mountains, military checkpoints manned by the Philippine Army attest to the region's uncertainty. Our drive through the barrier this day was met with a relaxed stance, which meant nothing alarming was defined for the day. Rebel activity is usually the concern.
I was on the way to our feeding center in one of the villages. Joining me on the journey was Pastor who oversees the community development in which we have established a feeding program. Although co-workers of sorts, Missionaries, Pastor and I travel together on these occasions as two friends concerned for the same group of people and their children.
The people living in the Sierra Madre’s are tribal in lifestyle but modernly flavored in dress and desires, unless you travel much deeper into the mountains. Access to the outside world is minimal but enough to have influenced them towards some relevance of today. But for the most part, life is simple, and life is without much of what many take for granted. No electricity either.
We feed over fifty children in the village, but many were with their parents deeper in the mountains harvesting resources or cultivating land for use in planting. We feed the children here because resources are minimal unless long travel on foot is embarked on. Malnutrition is a concern because any local food supply has been long depleted.
After announcing our arrival upon reaching the village, and visiting those in the immediate area, Pastor and I sat down under a tree. The small group of children who stayed behind for the day joined us. Ruby was among them and found a place to sit right next to us. She listened as we spoke.
I remember watching Ruby earlier as we walked around. She was friendly and had a smile to offer, but there was seriousness about her that had me curious.
Hanging out under that tree we talked about many things concerning the people here. Insight was exchanged about the ongoing ministry effort. We talked about the God given vision to build an even stronger community of Faith. Pastor reminded me that in the beginning of the ministry effort here, the concern was primarily towards the adults, but it was when we set up a program in this village did they realize the importance of ministering directly to the children.
While nodding to each other in agreement over the importance of Pastor’s statement I looked over at Ruby. I inquired of Pastor to simply ask Ruby how God has changed her life. He would have to translate the native tribal tongue of the Dumagat language. As soon as he asked Ruby the first question her tears began to fall and she buried her face in her hands.
Obviously it wasn’t the reaction I expected as I was prompting to bring about a big smile and words spoken in good pleasure. Ruby’s reaction caught us in an awkward moment and I was set on changing the subject, but then Ruby lifted her head, wiped her eyes, and told us as much of her story as she could manage. Her heart was heavy.
Being falsely accused of aiding the region's dominant rebel force, Ruby's mom was killed by a local group of vigilantes. It has been three years since she lost her mom in that ambush, and Ruby's heart is still full of pain.
With emotions yet tender, tears continued to flow as Ruby revealed how hard life has been without her mom. The emptiness of loss, the fear, life unpredictable, and the hardship of poverty, has given Ruby only days of sadness and struggle to lead her way.
Her dad is still emotionally numb to this day. He sat and stared off in the distance during our visit. He does what he can to support the family but there is very little opportunity this far from the city. They have to survive on what they can find or what is offered through the program and Pastor’s church outreach.
Ruby cried talking about replacing her mom and the endurance she had to find in caring for her younger bothers and sisters. But it wasn't until Ruby talked about us setting up a program in her village did her tears gain courage and she found the strength to speak with confidence. “I found peace and strength in the words of the Bible being spoken. The Lord started to speak to me”. Ruby said she found a comforter in the love of Jesus. “I tell Him all that I feel and I talk to Him about all I go through”; Ruby says knowing a healing has begun.
“It was painful for me to accept my mom’s death. I’m so sad. It is hard to find the kind of care my mom gave me. I love her so much. No one can replace her. The Lord has become my great helper. Jesus is the only one who knows all that has happened and is happening to me now. He is the only one I can hold on to. I trust Him for justice and peace in my life”.
In a moment that caught me off guard, Ruby revealed a presence of Jesus only experienced by those in deep distress and pain. My heart was touched, my heart ached, but joy was made complete, as the touch of God has begun a miracle of restoration in this young girls life.
Ruby and her siblings have been part of the program since it started. More important than the food they receive daily, is that “God has become their helper and the one who ultimately sustains Ruby’s life” – Psalm 54:4.
