Radio In Bukidnon to the Manobo Tribes
In his late teens, Romeo had the chance of high school education, when a sponsorship program was being offered by OMFers in Valencia City. But before long he started hanging out with the wrong crowd of boys. He was badly influenced by them and within the first year, started taking drugs. Soon he became a drug addict. He couldn't maintain his classes, and dropped out from his course. He went home to his village and laid paralyzed on the floor of his house for several months. Nothing could help and everyone seemed to think he would die. But God had other plans for him, and one day he began to feel sensation in his nerves again, and finally could get up. There was a church in the village, and some of the members had witnessed to him. He knew it must have been the God they talked about who had spared his life and restored his health. From that time on he became new in Christ.
Romeo has lots of natural talent as a guitarist and singer, and when he was converted, he dedicated his singing to God. It's been tremendous to have him record songs for the radio programs. Some songs are in the traditional cultural style, while others are modern worship songs that Romeo and others have translated into the dialect. He has a very strong voice that booms out and generates so much energy! He is one of about a dozen singers who have been helping us in this way. Every half hour program for the radio broadcasts includes about 5 songs,which can be around half the total time on air, so they play an important part in the radio ministry.
But are these radio programs being listened to?
Aye Dagon is a typical Manobo lady, living in a village that has no church as yet. Every day, every week she works in her fields, growing corn and sweet potatoes mostly. She also has bananas and peanuts and vegetables like egg plant on her piece of land on the hillside behind the village. When she has something to sell, she can buy the basic needs of her family - salt, soap, paraffin for the light at nighttime. These days, she makes a priority to buy batteries too, so that she can listen to her radio. Her children like listening too - they like to learn about the outside world, the world of the Catholic Filipinos. If you asked Aye, she would say that she doesn't have any religion at all, by which she means that she is not Catholic. Mambos are animists by religion, which means the spirit world is very real to them and they live in fear of it. But change is coming rapidly for many of them, and radio has a big influence. All the programs they can listen to on the radio are in Capuano, the trade language of Mindanao, or maybe in Tagalog, the national language of the country, but last year suddenly one Saturday noon, Aye was very excited to hear a program in her own Manobo language. Then she found out there was another too, on Sunday, late afternoon. She was really thrilled about this, but there was a problem. If her children listened to all sorts of programs on the radio during the weekdays, it meant the batteries would be all used up by the time the next weekend came around. Aye hit on a plan. She wraps the batteries in a plastic bag and hides it at the bottom of her workbasket. This way she can be sure that when its Saturday she won't miss that special program in her own language! She loves hearing the messages and songs! We can pray that God will use this means to move her and her family from darkness into Gods wonderful light
Of course, setting up and running a project like the radio ministry takes not just people and time, but also money! That's where partners like you, on the home side, come in too. It's been wonderful to be on the receiving end of some special gifts that have been sent for the radio ministry. I'd like to tell you the story of one very large gift that was forwarded to OMF last year especially for this work. When I thanked my friends for their extraordinary gift, they explained to me that neither of them might have much longer to live, and they had decided to distribute their life savings while they were still alive, and could at least get the pleasure of seeing how it would be used for Gods kingdom. They have always had a particular interest in radio ministry, FEB. and others around the world, and they were thrilled when they started to read in my letters about the new radio ministry to the Manobo. What a privilege to be given such a gift!
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