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Olson Family Newsletter Update Serving the Lord and the Palawano people in the Philippines with New Tribes Mission Issue #27, December 2010 |
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Click on any picture to enlarge!
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great
light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. ~Isaiah 9:2
Our prayer is that this verse will soon be something the Menti Palawano can claim for themselves! To make a Christmas/end of the year
donation to support the Gospel going to the Palawano, please send checks to
the following address: New Tribes Mission 1000 E. First St. Sanford, FL 32771-1487 Include a notation that says “for the
ministry of George & Ginny Olson” You can also donate on-line. For
more information, please click on the following link: www.reachthetribes.com/page5.html.
One of these leaves is used
to wrap food for roasting in a fire. The other is highly toxic, and if you
wrap your food in it, you will get very very sick.
Can you tell the difference? Palawanos can!
Gathering grubs to eat out
of the trunk of a fallen coconut tree
Viewing the swollen river
after a small flood. During rainy season the floods come about once a week on
average.
Inspecting the harvest of
fish
language assessment
Sarah
with a tribal kid at the swimming hole
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Jesus,
Light of the World, hope for the future, and a certainty in uncertain times. In the land of the Palawano… They were convinced that one of the evil spirits from
the forest was coming every night to take possession of him. He had already
tried to run away twice, and during the last episode of possession he had
tried to grab at the children and eat them. One of the village ladies
approaches me. Egsa, can we please
bring our kids into the playhouse you built for Abby and sleep with them
there tonight? If we don’t, he will kill and eat us! Back at home in
America… Having just recently been laid off because his company
can no longer make a profit, having no savings, he buys groceries on the
credit card to survive while he looks for a job. He is confronted by his
teenage daughter. Daddy, all my friends have an ipod, and I am the only one who doesn’t have one!
Christmas is coming! She doesn’t know about their financial
situation, because as long as he and his wife both worked, they could make
the payments on their credit cards and house every month to stay afloat. Now
it seems that the cost of groceries is going up and up, and the job prospects
look pretty grim. Stress leads to tension and arguments in the family, and he
doesn’t know where to turn. Now to compare... Two radically different worlds perhaps? Let me ask you
a question – are the people in the above 2 scenarios any more or less in need
of Christ than the other? I would say no – they both have a sense of
hopelessness that is the result of wrong actions after years of wrong
thinking. Our neighbors continue to live and experience the first scenario;
perhaps many of your neighbors are living and experiencing the second
scenario. In a rather ironic way, the solution is the same for
both sets of lost and needy people – they both need to face the truth about
their situation. The Palawano needs to understand the truth about this world,
the way God made it, the real causes of sickness and disease, and to know God
through Jesus Christ. The American needs to understand the truth about this
world, the way God made it, the principles of living within your financial
means and staying away from debt (even if that means not buying all the new
gadgets), and to know God through Jesus Christ. The only way the Palawano
will have the strength to stand against the teaching of his ancestors and
face the truth about what causes sickness will be by trusting in Christ. In the same way, the only way the American will have
the strength to face his situation, share the truth with his family, and
begin living in a way that is sound and stable, is by trusting in Christ.
Jesus Christ, Light of the World, and hope for the future, is the only one
who can save us from our iniquities, the only one who can give us the
strength to face the truth, and the only one who can give us the wisdom to do
what is right for the future. There is one difference, though. The American does
have the opportunity to hear and understand the Gospel in his own language,
while the Menti Palawano does not – at least not
yet. The time is coming when the Gospel will be presented to the Menti Palawano. Keep praying for that! And if you are
faced with a neighbor, friend, or co-worker in need of Christ, trust God to
give you the right words to say as you help him or her confront the truth and
come to know our blessed Christ! This is the Christmas season, when we are
reminded of why Jesus came into the world! Events since our
August newsletter… We have been very busy since we
last sent out a newsletter in August. Here is a summary of things that have
happened... ‒
Getting back into language after a
summer in Texas – it took a week or so to get settled back in our jungle
house and get our tongues and brains loosened up to be speaking Palawano
again! ‒
A language check – a language
consultant flew out from Florida to advise us and help us be on the right
track for learning the Palawano language. We are doing well and we still have
a lot to learn! ‒
Helping out with a language check
on another island – I was able to go out with the consultant to assist in the
language assessment on another island. Crossing the open ocean on a small
boat, walking through a fishing village (very different from the mountainous
jungles where I live), and spending time there assessing how they are
progressing in language! ‒
The end of the rice harvest – the Palawanos
had a better harvest this year – some even had enough rice to make a small
amount of rice wine! This was the first time in about 4 years! ‒
Amoeba – I contracted amoebic
dysentery, and that was a real cultural experience! ‒
2 weddings – 2 young couples that
had betrothed themselves in the wrong way, had to put up resources for a
sacrifice, a fine, and for each to have a proper wedding, or the gods would
have great disfavor and cause some disaster like crop failure. ‒
A child with meningitis – a family
from far off in the mountains brought their child to us who had an advanced
case of meningitis. We sent them on to the hospital, but sadly, the child
died within an hour’s walk from leaving our house. ‒
Fishing event – the whole village
got together multiple times when the fish were plentiful, and this time they
strung a net across the creek to trap the fish before spearing them! ‒
Cerebral malaria, demonic
possession, or some combination of both? See left. ‒
The loss of Ginny’s cell phone –
Ginny’s cell phone was stolen 2 hours after we came out of the tribe. I had
the number of the tricycle she rode in when she lost it and was able to
report it to the police and baranggay officials,
but nobody could prove if it was the driver or another passenger who took the
phone. Alas for the loss of a good phone! Thank you so much to you all for your prayers, and we
wish you all a blessed and merry Christmas! We would love to hear from you if
you have time to email! Blessings to you all in Christ, George & Ginny Isaac, Sarah, & Abby
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This picture is at the thank offering made
to God and the spirits for healing from cerebral malaria, or “memulpug” in Palawano. This
young man on the left began having strange episodes at night in which he
would go stiff, then run off into the jungle, and then return and try
to grab at people to eat them. I was able to observe one of the episodes in
which it took about 10 or more people to hold him down because he became so
strong during the seizure. He had a very high fever, so we diagnosed cerebral
malaria and began treating him. After 2 full courses of the medicine, he recovered. The
word went out to everyone that the recovery was because the local shaman had
come down and fought against the spirit. They said he chased the spirit off
into the jungle and sliced it up with his machete. Everyone was certain that
God and the good spirits had helped, so they made the thank offering in which
they sacrificed several chickens. |
