Our family safely arrived in the Philippines! It is so good to be back in motion as a family. We spent our first 4 days in Cagayan de Oro where our kids went to school before we returned to Canada. We arrived feeling like jello and exhausted from two straight days of travel. Thankfully military and terrorist tensions have subsided in that area. This is Makana’s first time back here since leaving a year and a half ago. The nerves were quickly settled with the warm welcome of cultural familiarities and the gathering of friends excited to catch up.
From there we traveled by land to Surigao City and then hopped on a boat over to Siargao where Hope is located. The balance of our family time in the Philippines will be spent at Hope for the Island. Connecting face to face with our team whom we miss dearly is the highlight! Today we join the grand celebration as Jing (long standing Hope leader) and Randy get married!!!
Jenn and I will be traveling by motorcycle to Hope for the Island farm as much as possible. Thankfully we will still be here to speak at the closing program for the agriculture training / work immersion program we have conducted yearly for nearby local high schools. Overall there is much to do in the short period of time we are there. We will pick up where we left off when we return in August to lead a team of 24 from our new home in Kelowna, B.C!
After I see Jenn and the kids off to the airport for their flight back to Canada, I will be venturing back into Borneo. To say I have been anticipating my time with the Penan, would be an understatement.
These trips away from the developed world feed my soul in a way too difficult to put into words. It’s an honour to be able to come alongside the Penan as they journey to rediscover their God given identity and purpose as a people. Their world was turned upside down when their home in the forest was invaded by logging companies. For 40 plus years the Penan have struggled under the tension of settled living conditions forced on them.
These once nomadic hunter-gatherers absolutely thrived. It reminds me of the immeasurable offence our First Nations encountered when their way of life and freedom was also stripped from them. The missionary reports from the 1940’s revealed how unique the Penan were from other tribes in Borneo. They readily received the gospel because of their deep spiritual connection with creation. They lived in peaceful harmony with their Creator and His good creation. As bleak as the circumstances have been for the Penan, a story of redemption is unfolding. God is famous for reconciling that which is broken.
During our last trip into the Sarawak Borneo two years ago, Jenn and I spent time teaching the Penan how to grow healthy organic food. Their desire was to learn farming in order to supplement valuable nutrition wiped out along with 90 percent of the forest.
We also taught English so they can better converse with visitors. I spent time with those who have long struggled under settled living conditions. I also spent valuable time listening and praying with Penan brothers who have refused to settle and who have held on in faith in the forest, trusting God to restore His good purposes.
I too choose to agree with that position of faith, confident that God will accomplish His good purpose in His way and time! Psalm 8 reveals that mankind is crowned with glory and honour and made rulers over the works of God’s hand. What a joy it will be to someday see the Penan return to their rightful place walking out their identity as a people!
They have faced incredible adversity and struggle, lost in a world that has provided no answers or solutions to their needs. They share about losing hope after repeated failed promises from government agencies. They are in a place of limbo between two worlds.
Settled living has been a slow death to culture and seems to have negatively impacted in some way almost every aspect of life. I found the majority of Penan struggle with a deep sense of loss.
Those settled now encounter food scarcity, diseases, stress, anxiety and depression. They have faced incredible injustice and extensive abuse through the years. Then came modernization and with it, a capitalistic economic system that counters the deepest core value of togetherness and unity. In their once egalitarian society jealousy and dissension were unfamiliar problems.
A Biblical based culture is in grave danger of being a faint memory. Very few elders remain alive within each village and most suffer depression and escalating health concerns stemming from settled living. If the voice of the aging elders ceases, so will a culture that at the moment lies dormant for the most part.
Local and international agencies have and continue to fight for the home of the Penan. This is a great and worthy fight with a number of successes. With the singular focus on forest preservation, there has been little to no attention given to help them preserve and retain their rich cultural heritage.
The Ulan family who graciously adopted me into the community and gave me my Penan name have a son Franklyn who was educated and works in Kuching City. He has a driven purpose to help his people. The organization Franklyn works for connected with Cornell University a few years ago. Franklyn has guided Cornell research teams into the village of Long Lamai a number of times.
They have interviewed the elders with the intention of documenting the culture while the elders are living. They did well to gather critical information. This is a big step in the right direction and one I hope to build upon. Franklyn hopes to arrange his schedule for us to trek into 3 villages deep in the rain forest to meet with the headsman and elders. I am trusting God to go before us preparing the soil of each heart. Please pray that God would stir the hearts of the Penan to not lose hope. I have faith that our good Father will do far more than we can ever conceive or imagine.
