Churches of Christ in Mindanao-3a - The Christian Mission · Ed Maquiling/ History of the Churches of Christ in Mindanao (3)/ September 27, 2010 36 far this was, from Pinaring in

Ed Maquiling/ History of the Churches of Christ in Mindanao (3)/ September 27, 2010

34

Churches of Christ in Mindanao: A History

Third in the Series

THE FRONTIER CHURCHES: 1937 TO 1946. The church of Pinaring in the beginning of its existence (1937, reckoned with the coming of the Villanuevas) was a congregation trying to tame the wilds of Mindanao. It too was a refugee church, seeking comfort and protection wherever these may be found. They met in homes or in places that afforded them space and a few moments to meditate on the greatness of their God.

During the war, it was a church that sought to avoid being caught in the crossfire. When they moved close to Muslim communities, they avoided clashes with the Muslims. They allowed themselves to be defrauded of their properties by Muslim and Japanese bandits, leaving everything to God who protected their lives and limbs and blessed them a hundredfold later. They were generally pacifist. That word does not mean that they shunned duty to country, for one Camaganacan son, whom I met in Butuan in 1993, was a soldier. They were peacemakers, as witnessed by the attitude of some of their great leaders; Laureano Belo, for instance, would go to all lengths to help resolve disagreements among brothers (in Butuan, for example, and in Bacolod).

In 1939, they came to own a small building. But, as in other times when they had no meeting hall, their worship remained simple. A preacher with a knowledge of the Word and a fire in his heart could take them to new heights of service. One or two men (on some occasions, three) would speak on different topics. Or, one of these men

would teach a class, and the other would preach a sermon. Even now, Churches of Christ meetings are notable for shunning the complexities of rituals common among Protestants. Church services would last two hours.


35

Three or four leaders to lead prayers were customary. Their prayers were characterized to be wordy and emotion-filled. When petitioning their God, names of men and women they were praying for were mentioned. Some prayers contained a line or two from memorized biblical texts.

In those days they had no Sunday school literature. Their “Bible study was a one-class method,” says brother Jack Belo, with “adults and children combined. They studied their Bibles without the aid of commentaries. They examined the Bible verse by verse and most of them even memorized the verses” (Jack Belo, The Preacher, Oct.-Nov.-Dec. 1966, p. 10).

The brethren knew the importance of partaking the Lord’s Supper each Lord’s day, for they must have heard that subject taught by brothers Cassel and Asada in 1939. But Philippines from 1941 till 1945 was a war front. So they wrestled between doing the Lord’s will with its unwanted options, or abandoning the Lord’s Supper altogether. They chose the first. Their bread was “cassava or rice flour, baked crispy hard between banana leaves,” pressed under hot coal flatiron (“plantsa”) (Ibid., p. 10). They gathered the fruits of a bushy plant they called “rosel,” boiled these until it produced a syrup that looked like grape juice (Ibid.). And, according to brother Jack, they were one-cuppers!

Brother Jack remembers that the Christians had their first Lord’s Supper, with complete emblems, at San Felipe, Tantangan church only after the war (Interview with Jack, Oct. 10, 2010).

Although the Pinaring church owed its origins to a Disciples of Christ evangelist, brother Jack Belo says they never made use of instruments of music. Economic conditions dictated it. When their number increased, nobody from among them pushed for its use. Pedro Asada and Henry G. Cassel came and lectured to them on the subject in 1939, and in a sense that probably sealed the fate of the musical instruments in their worship.

MOVING TO ALIP. Restless. In a word, that characterizes the immigrant members of Pinaring church. Pinaring did not seem to offer opportunities for many of them to own lands. So they set their sights on Alip, in the center of Cotabato hinterlands, near Buluan Lake. Populous Muslim communities surrounded the Lake, but in the place where they would be going there was land so large and so wide that awaited claimants. If you cannot visualize how


36

far this was, from Pinaring in Cotabato town to Buluan town, go get a Mindanao map. If you cannot imagine how difficult the trip would be on foot, think about walking over a vast expanse of nowhere where you see only grasslands and thick jungles and no roads, where you have to blaze your own trails, or tread on meandering footpaths where bandits await you. When highways were built in the 1960s that connected Cotabato town to Buluan town, it took three hours by bus to make the trip, says brother Jack Belo. To a two year old child, that distance is farther than far and longer than long.

Some homesteaders’ dreams saw fulfillment in Mindanao; some did not.

Rufino Belo had married a rich man’s daughter, Juana Nicolas. They had five children: Laureano (married to Cecilia Sadulang), Elena (married to Eugenio Fernando), Francisca, Onofre and another son, Florencio, who remained in Muñoz. (It is

worth noting here that the Belos who migrated to Mindanao became Churches of Christ; the Belo who stayed in Muñoz, remained a Methodist; one of his sons became a bishop of the Methodist church).

Laureano had three children of his own: Dominador “Jack” (the eldest, two years old), and the twins who were both named Samuel (one year old). (Left photo: Laureano and Cecilia Belo).

Rufino with his family and his wife’s relatives that included the De la Torres, the Alegres and the Fernandos, left Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, in 1936, a year ahead of the Villanuevas. He dreamed

dreams not only for himself but for his whole family, dreams that began with


37

Remigio de la Torre. How could Rufino be deaf to his call? “Let’s go to Mindanao! Life there will be better!” Remigio said. He had just retired early from the US Navy, saved his money and set his sights on Mindanao. Rufino Belo did not want to be left behind.

Juana, Rufino Belo’s wife, was the daughter of a Balaoing who married a Nicolas. Cornelio Alegre, Fabian Bruno and Remigio de la Torre were grandsons of another Balaoing who married an Alegre, who was presumably a Spanish mestizo. Both Balaoings were sisters. The Alegres and the Brunos, like the Belos and the De la Torres, too wanted to strike it rich in Mindanao. But they got religion first before they got riches. After his baptism, Laureano taught his own relatives— parents, brother, sister, cousins— and baptized them.

The wildness of Mindanao had been exacting its toll. But that wildness God had wanted to tame as He opened its frontiers. Men and women hewn out of the rock of adversity, with bravery as their badges and with the evangel of peace as their driving force, became tamers of the land. They suffered on the way. And some dreams got snuffed out by the winds of circumstance. Or replaced by something much better. Rufino Belo, ancestor of the Belos of Mindanao, had dreamed of a homestead but got heaven’s riches instead. Minnie’s account of him was as simple as any epitaph: “He passed away while in Pinaring.” His death must have been too hard on the family, especially on Juana.

MIDSAYAP CHURCH. The brethren must have stayed 3 to 4 years in Pinaring, says Minnie Belo. As they were making plans to leave for another place, one of them went ahead and put that plan to action. By this time (1940) Fabian Bruno had finished schooling at Central Luzon Agricultural College (CLAC) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. Every one of those graduates (8 of them) was given 5 hectares of land in Mindanao, where they could put into practice what they learned in the classroom.

Brother Jack Belo says Fabian Bruno took the offer and went to Salunayan, in Midsayap, and started a church there. “At first [the church in Midsayap was] made up of Bruno, who was yet single, and visiting brethren who went to harvest corn at his farm” (The Preacher, April-May-June, 1966, p. 21). Fabian Bruno was an agriculture graduate and, in those days, was not so familiar with the tenets of Christianity, and therefore needed the guidance of


38

knowledgeable brethren. Jack says “older brethren from Pinaring visited him constantly. The church grew” (Ibid.). Ilonggos, Cebuanos and Ilocanos settled in Midsayap and a number of these people became Christians. A few of these conversions is worth noting:

The Gesulgas of Pikit (a town that is close to Midsayap) were intensely devoted to the Catholic Church but left it because of an immoral priest. Their search for truth led them to the doorstep of Midsayap church of Christ. They were converted in the 1960s.

A son of brother Gesulga, named Cyrus, studied at Fabian Bruno’s Bible school; that school closed after a semester. Cyrus proceeded to Philippine Bible College in Baguio City (1970s); although he did not graduate, he was supported by brother Laureano Belo and by sister Telly O’Donell of Clark church of Christ to preach. He labored in Cagayan de Oro, and in Davao City. In Davao City he embraced premillenialism. Many Gesulgas however still remain members of Midsayap church.

In 1989, one Cebuano-speaking lady, a Christian from Midsayap, placed membership with the church of Christ in Tondo, whose minister was Rolly Abaga. I was then working with Felipe Cariaga, teaching at Manila School of Evangelism and preaching Wednesday nights in Tondo, and would often meet her at church. She was employed as secretary to the poet Rolando Carbonell. Her conversion was out of the ordinary: In 1987, she had been asked by Fabian Bruno to translate Perry Cotham tracts into Cebuano, and she did. She had translated many, which Fabian published. A few months later, she visited Fabian, and said she wanted him to baptize her.

Another notable conversion of later years was that of Manuel Villanueva, chief moderator of the Northern Mindanao UCCP churches, and a graduate of Silliman University. While with UCCP, this man had converted many. Brother Fabian Bruno befriended him and would give him Gospel Advocate magazines and other literature to read. Months later, Manuel asked Fabian some questions. At the end of the study, he asked Fabian to baptize him. Manuel Villanueva became a fruitful asset to the kingdom. He established churches in Tampikan, Pagalungan, and in Bitaugan, Gov. Generoso, Davao Oriental. Brethren cooperated with brother Manuel to strengthen the church in Bitaugan. For example, The Preacher magazine, October-November-December 1966 issue carried the news of a gospel meeting on December 23-25,


39

1966, in Bitaugan in which 17 souls were baptized. Speakers in that meeting were Rafael Aguilar, Dominador Belo, Manuel Villanueva, Paulino Garlitos, Marciano Manubag, and Ramon Bagonoc. When brother Manuel moved on to other places, he left Bitaugan church in the care of brothers Magno Dacillo and William Bueno.

Moving to Manila, brother Manuel began a work in Claro M. Recto, which resulted to the conversion of a certain brother Lucio Legaspi, a businessman. He also started a work in the squatter settlements at the reclamation site near Tondo. Jack says he has visited all these churches (Interview with Jack, Oct. 10, 2010). Manuel Villanueva (a Cebuano) is not related to the Villanuevas who came from Muñoz (they are Tagalogs), nor to the Villanuevas of Lambayong (they are Ilocanos), nor to the Villanuevas of Mindoro (who presumably were Tagalogs too).

In the 1960s, Batsell Barrett Baxter donated funds for the Midsayap church to buy property and build a meeting place.

THE CHURCH THAT’S LEFT BEHIND IN PINARING. When twelve families moved to Alip, the Pinaring church of 1940 consisted only of those who remained: the Camaganacans, the Calonzos, and the De la Torres who already owned homesteads and other properties. Their number was increased by the conversion of some Ilonggo immigrants. The church’s meeting place was on the property of the De la Torres.

How these brethren grew in number without the presence of evangelists like Belo, Villanueva and Alegre in their midst was possible only through the providence of the Almighty. God raised leaders to take over the work. Thus, with the departure of twelve families to Alip, the mantle of leadership of the church in Pinaring fell on Esperidion Camaganacan, the educated surveyor from Cavite who married an Ilongga.

By this time, Mrs. Calonzo’s daughter Sampaguita had married a native of Cotabato named Aurelio Ebita. Aurelio Ebita, after he was converted, assisted brother Camaganacan in the work.

Later, in the 1950s, the de la Torres moved to Midsayap. Their family added to the number of those who had joined this church begun by his half-brother Fabian Bruno in the 1940s.


40

COTABATO CITY CHURCH. As we would hear in later years, some of those from Pinaring moved to the city of Cotabato, and established another congregation. The leaders were still the Ebitas and the Camaganacans. Now the Cotabato City church of Christ is flourishing there.

Later, in the 1990s, some Ebita children from Cotabato City moved to Quezon City, having found jobs in the metropolis and married some people from Luzon. These Ebitas became members of Samar Avenue church in Diliman, Quezon City. The church on Samar Avenue, now known as Metro Manila Church of Christ, began with the work of the late Douglas Gunselman in the 1960s.

Also, a Camaganacan family went to Batangas and helped Moises Gonzales in the work in Lipa City.

Sister Minnie also mentioned an Ilonggo lawyer, a brother of Mrs. Camag-anacan, who converted many Ilonggos to the faith. This lawyer— who he was, and what happened to him in later years— is still a mystery to me.

UP THE RIO GRANDE DE MINDANAO. Those who left for Alip were (1) the Villanueva family (Antonio, Binay his wife, their seven children including his father Simprosio), (2) Gregorio Aquino (Binay’s brother), (3) the Cornelio Alegres, (4) the Juana Belos (Juana, her daughter Francisca, and her son Onofre), (5) the Laureano Belos (with his wife Cecilia, and sons Dominador/Jack, Samuel 1 and Samuel 2), (6) the Eugenio Fernandos (his wife Elena was a daughter of Rufino and Juana Belo); (7) the Alberto Fernandos, (8) the Roman Ultiveroses, (9) the Felix Ismaels (his wife was a sister of Fabian Bruno), (10) the Toribio Traspes, (11) the Anastacio Salditos, and (12) the Alfredo Tamayos. The majority were Ilocanos (nine families); the rest Tagalogs (two families). Only the Tamayos were Ilonggos.

They made their journey one morning in early 1940 while the sun was about to break into light, walking the distance of 15 kilometers from Pinaring community to the makeshift port on the banks of the Rio Grande. To hasten their journey they must have borrowed some neighbors’ carabaos and carts to transport their worldly belongings. Or they must have carried these on their heads, or on their shoulders, with their children in tow. Mothers held their suckling infants close to their breasts. On the Rio, a big pump boat, which they called “lantsa,” was waiting to carry them to Buluan.


41

Their trip upstream on the Rio Grande de Mindanao (“great river of Mindanao”) was so painfully slow; they were not the only passengers, and with a load this heavy, speed should be sacrificed for safety. They also were made aware of the dangers that might be waiting for them— bandits hiding behind the shrubs and trees, crocodiles lurking on the banks of the Rio, or

runaway timbers floating aimlessly. But they were men and women of faith, so their lips keep uttering prayers and petitions to the God of might and mercy. Then they reached Buluan. How long? It did not matter.

It was perhaps a Sunday when they set foot on the soils of Buluan. Finding a spot that offered them some privacy, probably under the shade of some big acacia tree, they put down their burdens, and gathered their families. One of the men offered a prayer of thanks, one led them in singing songs in praise of their God (they had no songbooks, so they must have learned these songs by heart). One offered words of exhortation, then a few songs, and another offered a prayer to close their simple worship service.

Alip is about 18 kilometers from Buluan town. Their walk was perhaps unhurried because they had little children with them. The men were sweating profusely with the burdens. Younger brothers helped carry older women’s load. Once in a while they would rest under some shade so the mothers could suckle their babies. Then some young men would go find dead bamboos or dead trees for firewood so the older ladies could kindle fire and cook their meals. Then they moved on. Their clock was the sun’s rays; they reckoned their afternoons with it.

They must have reached Alip by noon of the second day.


42

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN ALIP. In Alip, their goal of getting a homestead went hand in hand with their goal of harvesting souls. Picture them as Puritans. Their Mayflower had just landed. Their Plymouth Colony was this vast expanse of territory in the heart of Buluan. They had no Constitution but their Bibles. And in the name of their God who now reigned in their hearts as He has reigned in the world and moved men and events to achieve His purpose, they were out to conquer this place for Him.

A few settlers from Luzon and Visayas had already staked their claims, and huts and cottages had mushroomed on some clearings in the jungle or on open fields. From one cottage you could see the smoke of simple dinners being prepared. From a rustic hut you could smell the aroma of root crops (cassava or camote) ready for serving, the poor man’s version of decent meals. Someone was planting; another was harvesting. Everyone here seemed to be surviving in his own way.

Nobody lied to them when he said Buluan is scenic in its beauty and serene in its temper. They had mountains on one side, thick forests surrounded them, and Muslim communities dotted the territory like sentries waiting to be called to duty. If peace means the absence of war, they didn’t have war here. Some settlers had guns in their homes, the better to protect their persons and their interests, but no one seemed to be challenging anyone’s claims to a slice of Buluan.

The twelve Christian families from Pinaring too staked their claims. 1941, those were not paperless days but documents simply didn’t come in handy to support ownership. This was Muslimland in a time when the Japanese too were trying to stake a claim over the whole Philippines, remember? Pres. Quezon had fled to the US, and heading an RP government in-exile was the next best thing he could do, an option that functions best only on paper and in political dreams. In short, there were really no government offices working in the Islands. It was only in 1943 when Laurel became president of a government that supplanted Quezon’s, pro-Japanese and very unpopular. Because government was absent in Mindanao, there was rampant lawlessness.

The Christians had begun raising animals this time— chickens, for example, and a few carabaos. They must have bought these from their fellow settlers who had extra animals to spare. I am not sure if they used Japanese currency


43

as their medium of exchange in Buluan, but I presume the barter style was the mode. Your camotes, for example, for my chicken.

THE SAINTS GO MARCHING OUT. And so in times when they were not hoeing and plowing and cutting trees and shrubs and planting crops that they could harvest on short notice, the five Christian evangelists— Laureano Belo, Cornelio Alegre, Antonio Villanueva, Anastacio Saldito, and Roman Ultiveros — served notice to the people around them of the coming of the evangel of peace. They were inspired by the spirit of concern for the least of God’s people; they were moved by a higher goal of bringing to these people the riches of heaven. The theme of their message was that Jesus alone is the hope of the world. Love for God was their only inspiration, love exemplified by His dying, extended to all, from the least of them to the greatest of them. Fear of God was their motivation, for He who died for all men shall also be the Judge of all men; what if on the last day you were found without a Savior?

These preachers supported themselves by farming to be able to proclaim that message. Money and food were hard to come by; they could survive without the first but not without the second. Who needs Japanese money anyway?

They knew too that they were risking their lives in the process— risks of trails that lead to the unknown, of canopied jungles so dark that make you lose your direction, of rivers infested by crocodiles, of Muslim fanatics out to sow terror. Yet they went. And kept on going. As one group they would go. Other times by two. Sometimes

Laureano Belo alone would.


44

A CHURCH THAT PRODUCES CHURCHES. Alip in 1941 now became the center of their Movement, where they also put up a worship hall, like they did in Pinaring, from which the worship and service of God radiated, which resulted to the establishment of home churches in Malingon, Central Mangilala, Mlang, and Lambayong. In those days, these were settlers’ villages that sprouted either because of serendipity if not proximity to Lake Buluan. The Lake is a rich source of fish. I visited it in 1969; it was there that I saw mudfish as big as a man’s thigh.

These are the churches that resulted from the work of the five evangelists of Alep church, whom I give the acronym BAVSU, from 1941 till 1942.

MALINGON CHURCH. In Malingon, they baptized Eustaquio Abubo and his family. I had struck a friendship with a son of Eustaquio, whose name is Paulino Abubo. He had married an Igorot lady named Alice. Paulino preached some and taught some when I was in Baguio. I am wondering where this brother is today.

The BAVSU evangelists baptized the Gabriel Bravos. The wife of Gabriel was a sister of Eustaquio, whom in Butuan (in 1990) we fondly called “Inang” (“mother”). The Bravo family later produced preachers (Felipe and Gabriel Jr.), a head of a Bible college (Felix Bravo), and a missionary in Canada (Henry Bravo, son of Felix).

Brother Felix, while with PBC-Baguio, was the prime mover for the establishment of the Midtown Church of Christ in 1983 which at first met at Baguio YMCA building. A year later, the David Stathopoulos came with three other American missionaries, established a Bible Study Center and joined in the effort to strengthen the work. The Daniel Olivas, the Simeon Reyeses, and the Santiago


45

Sameon II’s came too and helped in expanding the kingdom’s reach. Because of their growing number, Midtown church moved to Puso ng Baguio building, then to Marbay (Maharlika Center). With the conversion of Mirelle Bayating, his family, coworkers and friends, Midtown saw the need for a much bigger space at a minimum rental they could afford. In answer to this need, brother Bayating offered the use of his spacious Marlette’s Building along Marcos Highway. The present Midtown Church of Christ meets there. Their membership has reached 250. They are assisting the mission work in Cabanatuan City, in Bokod, Benguet, and in Asin Road, Nangalisan, Tuba, Benguet. They have elders and deacons and two ministers attending to the needs of the brethren.

After leaving Philippine Bible College in 1985, brother Felix established a flourishing work in Urdaneta, Pangasinan. His latest mission work is in Tarlac City.

The Bravos also produced preachers’ wives (Avelina, married to Roman Cariaga; Phoebe, married to Juan Arciaga; Magdalena, married to Elmer Emperado; and Rosalina, married to Nick Lobino). Elmer was my classmate at Zamboanga Bible College; Nick, my student at PBC-Baguio.

CENTRAL MANGILALA CHURCH. In 1941, Cornelio Alegre and his fellow evangelists also immersed the Fontanilla family in Central Mangilala, headed by Melchor. Melchor, having bought a piece of land in Gansa in the 1950s, moved to Tacurong, and put up a house next to Cornelio Alegre’s. When he left for Tacurong, the leadership of the Central Mangilala church fell on a certain brother Valdez. Two of brother Valdez’s sons, Gabriel and Isaac, studied in Bible schools. Gabriel Valdez once ministered in Baliwasan church, in Zamboanga, then in Kabacan, North Cotabato; now he teaches at Sunrise Christian College in Butuan. Isaac preaches in a church in South Cotabato.

In 1969 I had the chance to work with Melchor for two months in the church which he had established in Sambulawan, a village of Buluan that later became the town of Pres. Quirino. Melchor was a preacher whose industry is admirable. Mornings and afternoons he and I would go visiting the Ilocano communities. Evenings you would find him reading his Bible and his commentaries. Whatever extra hours he had, he spent composing articles for his Ilocano church bulletin, which he would print on Saturdays and distribute to church on Sundays.


46

Melchor’s indefatigable energy, together with that of his bosom buddies’, Cornelio Alegre and Gabriel Bravo Sr., was instrumental in establishing and building up churches in other parts of Cotabato. Our trips to Rajah Buayan and to the mountain communities where they had established a Manobo church is one of my fondest memories. Buayan was founded in 1939 by General Paulino Santos. In 1968 it became General Santos City.

Melchor’s wife is Adelina Balagot. You must have heard of Tony Balagot who owns Le Reve Resort in Makilala, North Cotabato, and at one time ran for public office in his town. Le Reve means “The Dream.” The Southern Mindanao Bible College is housed on the Le Reve property of brother Balagot. I had visited SMBC in the 1990s. Gideon Rodriquez, Steve Byrne, Dale Sellers (deceased), Ronnie de los Santos, Norberto Onez (deceased), Sammy Facun and Gabriel Valdez had been its teachers. Ferdinand Guillermo is the present director of SMBC.

Now some info about some of SMBC’s former teachers: Gideon Rodriguez, our former student at PBC-Baguio, later became a translator of the Tagalog Bible published by Philippine Bible Society. A flourishing congregation and a Bible school on Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City owed their origins to the work of Gideon. Steve Byrne, who had married Ruth Gamer of Zambales, did mission for a while in Davao City, became missionary to Europe, then to Hawaii. Ronnie de los Santos now preaches at Talamban church, in Cebu City.

MLANG CHURCH. In Mlang, the BAVSU evangelists baptized a brother Flores and a brother Sacayanan as well as their wives. A son of brother Sacayanan, Cristino, is now one of the elders of Baguio church of Christ.

In the late 1950s, Romulo Agduma was converted in Mlang, and married Ramona Sadulang, a sister of Cecilia, Laureano Belo’s wife. Agduma later became the leader of the non-institutionalist movement in Mindanao, causing much division in the work of the Lord in the 1960s. I had met Romulo in the summer of 1969, when Bob Buchanan confronted him of the things he wrote about the Americans and PBC. Prior to meeting Romulo, I already heard of these issues in 1968, through Larry Agduma, my classmate at ZBC and a relative of his. Proof texting was their style in convincing men, but their logic was pure sophistry. I have met some good men from the NI group, but


47

generally it is the factionalists among that are doing much harm to the brotherhood.

In the 1970s, Hermenio Araque, a Baptist preacher converted by Eduardo Montoyo Sr., turned to Agduma for support. Araque then established two small groups in Bacolod City. In the 1980s I persuaded his group on Gonzaga Street, and Ed Montoyo Jr. convinced his group on Burgos Street, to merge with the YMCA church that meets on Lacson Street, and by the help of God we succeeded! Araque is now in the US, and is still supported by the non-institutionalist churches of Christ. Occasionally he visits Negros and Capiz to promote the NI doctrines.

When Romulo Agduma died in the 1980s, we thought anti-ism in the Philippines would die with him. It did not. In 1990s, Ron Holbroke came and converted 12 Baptist preachers in Bacolod. When Holbroke left, men of the YMCA church sought these twelve and convinced them to leave anti-ism. Six of these are now preaching in cooperation with the YMCA church; the others returned to the Baptists.

LAMBAYONG CHURCH. In Lambayong, the BAVSU preachers converted Juan Villanueva and his brother. Both were Ilocanos. Two daughters of Juan became preachers’ wives. Clarita became the wife of Kidapawan church minister Magno Bruno (deceased). Marieta is the wife of Alfredo Belen, my former classmate at Zamboanga Bible College. Brother Belen is now one of the leaders of Lambayong church. His son was my student at Cebu Bible College in 1999.

In the 1960s, the church of Lambayong too was engulfed in a controversy. Juan Villanueva and his brother divided over institutionalism. Juan’s brother cast his lot with the institutionalist group. That division still remains even after the Villanueva siblings died. Witness here the presence of two churches of Christ in Lambayong that still could not see eye to eye on issues, now led by Villanueva cousins.

THE COURTSHIP THAT GOES PFFFT. As their manner was, the evangelists would make an appointment to conduct Bible sharing classes in some


48

settlers’ homes. Every soul matters. And Antonio would bear witness of his belief in the Lord who died for all by suggesting that man’s only hope is the blood of the Lord who died and lived again.

There was a ranch near their settlement. Antonio Villanueva must have visited it too. The young man, son of the ranch owner, came one day. Antonio’s eyes were on his soul; the young man’s eyes, however, were on Minnie. Minnie at that time was already 18 years old, and very pretty. The gospel that Antonio proclaimed made the young man uneasy. “We are true Romanists,” he said. In vernacular, “Romanista kami.”

The young man must have tried to prove that, yes, his intentions are pure and holy, untried maybe, but true. My guess is that brother Antonio did not try to put the young man to shame, but he was firm. That must have ended one young rancher boy’s attempt to win the Villanueva lass.

THE LEADER WHO LOSES HIS WAY. The BAVSU preachers were bound for Mlang one day, typical of any day when they would be out proclaiming the Word, says Jack Belo. Antonio Villanueva’s hernia problem was getting worse, and even if he was suffering, he did not show it (Photo at left: Brother Villanueva in his later years). Their path from Alip opened to a wide expanse of grassland, then toward a jungle so thick, with branches of the trees

outstretching, their ends touching like connecting trains, forming great canopies that hid the sun.

They were conversing, and that conversation would be endless if the topic was about the passages of the Scripture which they had just read, or studied at church that Sunday. Conversation too was a way to vanish one’s fears, and to comfort those who could not make sense of their adversities. One of them with his bolo would go ahead, clearing the way for the group. Another would be asking some questions, Belo would explain, and Alegre would give his comments too. They had walked three hours over grasslands and under the canopy of trees and crossed some small streams, and they noticed that Antonio Villanueva was missing!


49

They retraced their way, shouting for his name, and for “almost an hour they searched for him in the woods” (Jack Belo, The Preacher, April-May-June 1966, p. 22). They found their ailing leader resting, sitting quietly on a stump. He had been following them but ventured into the wrong path!

They helped him get up. Remember that the gray-haired Villanueva was much older than the rest of them. You would imagine Belo and Alegre, in their gentlest way possible, making some comments about lost sheep and lost coins (traits that I noticed they had when I met them in the 1970s, and I would smile hearing their remarks). Perhaps Villanueva would give out a smile. His amiability is remarkable, as his grandson Marvin would attest.

Recalling that incident a year later, Belo (left photo) and Alegre became determined to correct what they saw was wrong with the group. The group needed to be cleansed; its theology needed to be reset that the body of Christ may be restored to the ancient path. Remember that this was 1941; the lectures of Azada and Cassel had left a fresh imprint in their minds. They believed “their leader Villanueva had stayed behind and got lost in the path of the Samahan”

(Ibid.). Villanueva, on the other hand, thought his disciples are just making the most of minor issues. But while he did not wholeheartedly agree with their logic, he never showed it. It seems as if the group had some unspoken agreement to co-exist in peace.

Not until they put him on the spot and made him sign a letter to inform the Christian Church/ Church of Christ’s Samahang Tagapalaganap office in Manila, severing his connection with them forever. (To be continued…)

Documents

Churches of Christ in Mindanao-3a - The Christian Mission · Ed Maquiling/ History of the Churches of Christ in Mindanao (3)/ September 27, 2010 36 far this was, from Pinaring in