Work With the Poor

“Do not let the oppressed be put to shame; may the poor and needy praise Your name.”

(Psalms 74:21)

 

Nothing comes even close to putting God in the center of the lives of His people. Thus, Couples for Christ Foundation for Family and Life (CFC-FFL) was called to be evangelistic and missionary. Its resolve to introduce Christ and the good news to indigenous people also lie at the very core of this evangelization. And this is what the CFC-FFL brethren from Occidental Mindoro and Batangas set out to do in mission.  Led by Bro Bert De Ocampo (who took the lead role in the project), Engelbert Manalo (Indigenous People's Coordinator for Occ. Mindoro), Bro Danny Bagon (Occ. Mindoro Provincial Area Head), and Bro Cesar Ramirez (Batangas District Head), they were supported by the Work with the Poor (WWP) team from Metro Manila, led by Bro Rene Evidente and Bro Frank Padilla.

 

On the 20^th of December 2008, a concrete chapel, built as a result of donations from and efforts of both CFC-FFL Occ. Mindoro and CFC-FFL Batangas, was turned over to the Iraya tribe (composed of 54 families, and the only remaining Catholic-leaning tribe among the Mangyan people). Modest in design and though still rough in finish, this chapel now provides the Iraya tribe with an appropriate venue to celebrate Mass – a venue for them to worship and praise His name!

 

The eventful day began with a two-and-a-half hour RORO (Roll-On-Roll-Off) boat ride from the Port of Batangas in Batangas City to the pier at Abra de Ilog, Mindoro Occidental. The CFC-FFL mission team (34 persons from CFC and family ministries) expectantly boarded the RORO vessel at 4:00 a.m., complete with food and provisions, and was advised to prepare for a knee-deep river crossing in order to reach the Iraya ancestral land in Barangay Atipan.

 

Concerns regarding the river crossing were eliminated when the Irayas surprisingly greeted the delegation with a newly-constructed bamboo foot bridge that crossed the 30-meter-wide shallow river. God indeed works in the hearts of men! And certainly, the Irayas exhibited their love of neighbor with this hospitable welcome gesture.

 

Fellowship activities then filled the entire morning. CFC-FFL organized basketball and fun games for the Irayas and set up an ukay-ukay that provided the tribe with usable clothing. The Irayas, for their part, gave their visitors tour around their picturesque hilly land and their properties – showing how their residences were clustered per extended family group; they also sampled off their staple food – kamoteng kahoy (yellow variety) and buko (meat and juice).

 

Fr. Vic Cisneros, SVD, parish priest of St. Rafael Parish where the ancestral land belonged, arrived late in the morning and celebrated the Holy Mass at the new Iraya chapel. Conveying his joy at the work that has been started, he expressed his anticipation for a mass Baptism for the Irayas in the near future.

 

A sumptuous lunch hosted by CFC-FFL followed the Mass. Brothers and sisters shared food with the tribal folk in a joyful fiesta atmosphere.

 

Worship was then held after lunch (with the Iraya men, women and children also participating), punctuated by joyful songs of praise led by the Youth (YFL).

 

Before the mission team departed, messages were given by the CFC-FFL Occ. Mindoro and Batangas leaders, Bro Rene, and Bro Frank - extolling the work of the Lord and the hospitality of the Iraya tribe. In response, the tribal chieftain Pepe Manalo (called “mayor” by the tribal folk) acknowledged and thanked CFC-FFL for their support - and for providing the tribe with a chapel that it can finally call its own. The mayor also expressed his happiness that at last his tribe will now be a truly Christian one.

 

Plans are now being mapped out to provide for other useful physical structures and implement programs that benefit the Iraya tribe.

 

God certainly will not allow His people to be put to shame; blessed with the new chapel, the Irayas will long be praising His name!

 

 

 

 

 

Contributed by Jett Reyes

Photos courtesy of Robert Lim

 

Note from WWP:

 

Turning this mission area into a Restoration Village is under final stage of review. Priority projects for the village include:

 

1. Completion of the chapel
2. A school for young and adult education.
3. Piping of water from a source up in the mountain to each extended family cluster of houses.
4. Communal toilets and bath for each cluster of houses.
5. Training in farming of vegetable and livestock for food sufficiency.
6. Mass baptism and mass wedding

 

To support these projects, please contact us through our website: www.cfcfflwwp.org. 

 

                      

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