November novem, 2017 MISSION LINK -...

Dr. David Upp’s monthly Letter on Global Missions November novem, 2017

MISSION LINK My Fifth Manobo Mission “Beyond the Next Mountain” to Kalinawan Village

For the Fifth Time, I traveled

with Caleb Byerly to Iglugsad,

Buikidnon, to encourage the

Christian Tigwahanon Manobo;

but this time we went West past

Kibungkog to Kalinawan, a

nearly one-hour Hike, over a

brand new Bridge [next picture

to the upper LEFT], to a brand

NEW Elementary School (built

at Eddie Payaron’s initiative, in

a red shirt as he translated my

Children’s Sermon). You see half

of the packed house. I taught on

Luke 13:6-9… but since none of the

kids had ever picked a FIG, it

became Jesus’ “Parable of the UN-

fruitful GUAVA Tree”. No, there

has never been a Church in that

village, so everyone was invited &

our team served them in many

different ways (Games, Women’s

Bead project, and Men’s Coffee

project) a remote job-less Village.

I’ll be teaching New Testament Greek and

Homiletics I to 15 Juniors [First Year

students in three-year M.Div. program] and

World-Religions to 9 Middlers. It’s also called

“Asian Religions” since all major religions

began “here” in Asia [SW-Asia for Judaism,

Christianity, & Islam; South-Asia Hindus,

Jains, Sikhs & Buddhists; East-Asia Shinto,

Caodai, Taoism, & Confucianism. Since they’ve

already taken “Phenomenology”--I’ll teach the

actual/factual dimensions of all non-Biblical

Religions (along with ideas for Evangelizing

adherents of those traditions), as well as this

region’s rich variety of Ethno-Religious Paths!

November 6: 2nd Semester at Bishop Han Theological Seminary

MISSIONS During October to Two GIANT Islands: #3 [Borneo] & #19 [Mindanao]

NOVEMBER Features:

MANOBO Missions! in Bukidnon & North Cotabato Provinces: Caleb Byerly’s TEAM

BRUNEI & Sarawak Visits across Borneo, Worshipping with Polyglot Peoples!

NEW Semester Beginning on Nov. 6 at Bishop HAN Theological Seminary… my Three New Classes

Continuing Prayers and Searches for my Daughter, Hannah Upp, disappeared September 14 … 55 days!

Plus … TRIVIA QUESTIONS & Insights into Global Missiology

Dr. David Upp’s monthly Letter on Global Missions

November novem, 2017

2

On October 18, I finally made

it to Kidapawan, capital of

North Cotabato (& main United

Methodist center on Mindanao),

but to a gathering of Tinananon

Manobos rather than the SPM

College or Spottswood Center

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_

Kidapawan_protests] (I’ll go there

in February). Top photo shows

the new Datu [son of Supreme

Datu Lipatuan Veloso] between

me & Caleb, with as top aide &

an M.D. for their new “Save the

Children” Project. Lower photo is

at ECOFI {Evangelical Christian

Outreach Foundation, Inc. or

“E-Coffee’!} an independent con-

gregation in Arakan where I

again shared about God’s Love.

There we also got to meet with

the two young adult translators

for a Tinananon New Testament.

These two “Baby-Christians” lost

the primary supporter when the

Supreme Datu died, & since they

are both women, they lacked

“status” to retain control of this

Project. They’re now married (by

Tribal Customs, but not by the

non-tribal laws… & are thus dis-

qualified from working for TAP

[“Translators Association of the

Philippines”]. Caleb is working

to mend this breach & get the NT

Translation moving again! Pray!

The other new development is a

discovery that OTHER Manobos

also remember the Salminbaa

Event from 13 centuries ago… so

a Tinananon Team may share the

Gospel more widely some day…

with Subanen & W.-Bukidnon

Manobo Tribes [& maybe more]!

Encouraging Tinananon Manobo in Kidapawan and Arakan

there was a new report that she had been sighted [www.Facebook

.com/pg/FindHannahUppUSVI/posts]… November First, near

the Seaborne parking-lot in Charlotte Amalie. When I first took

Hannah to the US Virgin Islands, we both enjoyed watching the

sea-planes take-off & land (from our hotel window). In February

2016 and 2017, we flew on Seaborne down to the Contra-Dance

events on St. Croix. Since Hannah was last seen September 14th,

nearly two months have passed without any word. Hannah

disappeared 1 week after Hurricane Irma and 1 week before

Hurricane Maria (both Super-Typhoons, classified “Category 5”).

She e-mailed me after Irma, but we do not know IF she had found

any shelter from Maria. The most-likely explanation for her dis-

appearance is her third “Dissociative Fugue” [her mother may have

experienced such a Fugue on her “missing day” in Summer 2000].

Please, pray for Hannah to “re-awaken” soon. She is a marvelous

person of many talents: Montessori Teacher, Chef, singer, dancer….

Hannah Upp, my daughter, has still not been Found, however…

In Miri, Sarawak, I found Scriptures in

7 more Languages of Borneo, bringing

my Professional Library up to c. 440.



3

There is NO Democracy in Brunei. The

Sultan is an Absolute Ruler and whatever

he wants to do he does, without permission

from anybody. Fortunately, he is quite civic-

minded in improving Life for "his people."

October brought his Golden Jubilee as a

monarch [1967--2017], Prince Charles &

Camilla dropped by to congratulate him

November 2nd. It is an Islamic State, but I

was able to worship joyfully with several

congregations in a registered church building

[Protestants]; Catholics worship across the

street. I joined worship in English, Chinese,

“Borneo-an”, Tamil, Tagalog & [Tribal] Iban!

Negara Brunei Darussalam is the

country's Official Name which reflects its

polyglot/cosmopolitan nature: Negara is

'nation' in Malay, Brunei may come from the

Sanskrit [Varuna, Vedic God of the

Sea/seafarers] & Darussalam is Arabic

A Glimpse of Brunei… “One Man, One Vote” [Abode of Peace = Tanzanian capital, too].

In USA, "One man, one vote" means

that each Congressional district should have

approximately the same number of people [re-

set by our decennial census}; here it means

only the Sultan's view ["vote"] counts. Who

IS the Sultan? The media doesn't use any

nicknames {He's not a "Sully"}. Each time he

is referred to his full 25-word name, with

titles, as printed: "His Majesty Sultan Haji

Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni

Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien

Sa'adul Khairi Waddien Sultan and Yang Di-

Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam" [Haji = one who has

made a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, ibni = son-of

(so you can see that his father was also the Sultan &

also a Haji)]. His father abdicated in his favor, upon

his 21st Birthday. His picture & his wife's picture

are displayed, by law, in every single place of

business. World Bank rated Brunei “most improved

economy” for each of the last 3 years! It also has a

relatively huge Rain-Forest Park: “Ulu Temburong”!



4

Cœnobitic Life of Seminary Campuses

The Deeper Spiritual Life of Christians has traditionally

followed one of two patterns: Eremitic (practiced by solitary

Hermits) and Cœnobitic (Communal Life). The Eremitic Path looks back to John & Baptist & Jesus's Temptation in a Judean

Desert/Wilderness [eremos in Greek]. The Cœnobitic Path harks

back the School of the Prophets in the days of Elijah/Elisha & to

Jesus travelling with His Discplies [koinos + bios in Greek = Life-

in-Common]. Between college & seminary I lived in an Intentional

Commune in Houston for two full years: 75 people in extended-

family households: incredibly close, & deeply spiritual! But for

most pastors, Seminary was the closest they have ever come to

experiencing traditional Cœnobitic Christian Life.

I have made Spiritual Retreats in Catholic & Protestant

Monasteries (& I use them for the new UM Clegy Continuing

Education requirement in Spiritual Growth) for fifteen years while I

pastored local churches. I have THRIVED on their shared-life of

communal worship & meals. So I was very pleased that the Bishop Han Theological Seminary decided to make a retreat to the local

Benedictine Monastery.

For the same reason, I always choose, as a Missionary, to

live On-Campus (though in Kiribati, I shared a Hostel at the Church HQ). But not many Christians recognize that our

Seminaries, especially those in Rural Settings, are in fact

Cœnobitic: far from the bustle/distraction of cities, we share daily prayer, worship services, & meals within our same consecrated

Company (+ all of our chores, laundry, classes, and library-study).

Perkins School of Theology [at SMU, with our 450

seminarians amid 9,000 university students was a Neighborhood

of a CITY, within the DFW "Metroplex"] was not a Monastery!

Now I am again living more of a Cœnobitic Life at Bishop Han Theological Seminary, in a rural setting near Laguitas Village.

This continues my pattern at Tangintebu on Tarawa [Kiribati],

PTC in Veiuto [Fiji], GST on the Gbarnga Mission Station

[Liberia], and Shalom Bible College in Imugan, of the I-Kalahan

Tribe [on Luzon, The Philippines]. I have lived the Cœnobitic

[Spiritual-Communal] Life for about eight years now (which is

approximately one-eighth of my life). I have been powerfully Blest.

And so I recommend that you seek this life-style, not only for short-term

Retreats, but for more extended terms, for your own Spiritual Maturation!

My Trivia

Questions

October TQ: The word "Host" has several meanings in

Christianity: Guest-master or

Communion Wafer, and is

found in a majestic Title of God:

"Yahweh Tseba'oth" / "LORD

of HOSTS" (meaning Armies).

God's Armies include Armies of

Men and of Angels. But... Can

you identify a Verse mentioning

HOSTS/Tseba'oth of their

WOMEN? (Clue: it's in the

same chapter as a mention of the number of MEN in Israel's Host when they were first

counted by an official census.)

Furthermore, Can you tell What

those Hosts of Women DID

(which violates OUR Silly

Stereotype of Women) ?!

OCTOBER TRIVIA ANSWER:

Exodus 38:8 TSeba'oth of

WOMEN, who gave up their

MIRRORS for the "SEA of

Bronze"! That is, they valued the

LORD higher than their personal

appearance (long before any

“looking-glass” mirrors existed).

____________________________ November TRIVIA QUESTION:

Which nation now sends the

Largest Number of Tourists

to The Philippines?

_____________________________

November BONUS TRIVIA

QUESTION: Which Airline flies to

the greatest number of destinations?

[Yes, there is an interesting

Religious Dimension here]



5

Are the Peoples of The Philippines...

ASIANS? There is a skinny little isthmus between

North America & South America, now cut by

the Panama Canal: so those are two

Continents. Africa is linked to the rest of the

"Old World" by a skinny little isthmus, now

cut by the Suez Canal: so Africa is a

separate Continent. Australia is usually

classed as a continent (alternatively, it is the

Largest Island). Antarctica is also listed as a

continent, although it's not a single land-

mass IF you strip off its Glaciers. That

leaves Eurasia as the world's largest land-

mass and population area: 55 Million square

kilometers, 5 Billion people (70% of earth's

people). Obviously, there is no isthmus/gap

between Europe & Asia, though for non-

geographic reasons you will sometimes see a

dotted-line down the Ural & Caucusus

Mountain crests. So, before we can consider

whether Filipinos are Asians, we have to see

IF any "Continent of Asia" really exists. …

I would submit to you that Asia doesn’t exist.

IF ASIA did exist, What would be

its unique characteristics? An "Asian

Rural Institute" speaker suggested:

Bamboo, Rice, & Broken-English... but

seriously, all those are frequently found

beyond Asia. You may refer to

characteristics of East Asia / South

Asia / South-west Asia, but it is much

harder to imagine anything distinctly

& exclusively Asian (besides, we would

again have strayed away from our

Geographical criteria). The name

"Asia" was first applied to a small

province around Ephesus, then was

extended to "Asia Minor" [today's

Western Turkey], then, awkwardly, to

include Everything East clear to the

Pacific Ocean's shores! There's no one

Asian language, script, physiognomy,

political system, nation, or economy.

Siberia & Arabia... Bhutan &

Bahrain... Khmer/Korea/ Kazakhstan...

differ! Which facet of which dimension

of "Asian Identity" would be decisive?

Pacific Islanders often claim

Oceania ["The Liquid Continent"] as

their home... but continents are the

lagest category of Land-Masses. NO

ISLAND is part of any Continent,

although I would bend that rule for

"ayots" located within continental

lakes/rivers. There are thousands of

times more islands than continents, and

they exhibit all types of lands: forests,

jungles, grasslands, deserts, swamps,

live-volcanos, & ice-caps! Many are

un-inhabited, others very heavily

populated (Java, Honshu, Luzon, Great

Britain; Singapore, Hong Kong,

Manhattan, and more). You know,

Islands are ever-so-much more

attractive than Continents!

IF Filipinos were to classify

themselves as Pacific Islanders, they

would climb to the very top of that list,

with a population far higher than any

Pacific nation (currently 105 Million,

or triple the total population of all

Oceania)! Maybe they’re NOT Asians!

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