Mission Link 10/17. Vivamus aliquet semper velit. A MOTH bigger than my HAND. Roast Suckling PIG for our Feast after INTRAMURALS

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Lizbeth Reeves
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1 Dr. David Upp s Mission Link 10/17 Our Creator s Stunning Variety of Tropical Critters! A MOTH bigger than my HAND Amazing! Roast Suckling PIG for our Feast after INTRAMURALS Vivamus aliquet semper velit. And There was a SNAKE in Dr. Josie s Printer! Snakes don t like HOT WATER, so some cups of Boiling Water were poured into her Printer NO snake crawled out Was it Poached while Inside?!

Dr. David Upp, Missionary Professor October 2017 MISSION LINK Reporting from Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Mindanao Island, The Philippines October brings Final Examinations, Term Papers, & then Semestral

2 Dr. David Upp, Missionary Professor October 2017 MISSION LINK Reporting from Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Mindanao Island, The Philippines October brings Final Examinations, Term Papers, & then Semestral Break for Bishop Han Theological Seminary Founded and Sponsored by The Jooan Methodist Church, Incheon, South Korea A three-year Master of Divinity course for Ecumenical Ministers-in-Training! More INFO inside this Issue: Tigwahanon Manobos Bring Life of Indigenous Peoples into the Forefront at BHTS Search for David s Daughter Made Extremely Difficult by Back-to-Back Hurricanes My FIFTH Manobo Mission, LED by Caleb Byerly, will happen during October ETHNO-ARTS will be introduced at BHTS by Summer Institute of Linguistics [IP styles & Ethno-Musicology] Planning for 2nd Semester; November 6, 2017 April 2, 2018 (Graduation Day for BHTS Seventh Batch ) September [Rainiest month in our Year] has been difficult: first I had transitions back from Europe, then Intramurals interrupted Academics, & News came of Hannah s disappearance. The PEAK was a visit to campus by Christian Tigwahanon Manobos, a full afternoon for the entire campus as they sang & danced & shared in great detail about their Culture and how the Gospel is strengthening them. This was followed by a quick trip up to Cagayan de Oro for a visa extension (I am now OFFICIALLY an Alien ), & then our Faculty/Staff Retreat in Davao. One disappointment was needing to drop-out as a Bible Professor for Lahore College of Theology in Pakistan due to abysmal wi-fi connections (not even 2-G was reliable here). But the year I DID teach there coincided with a severe illness of their main OT Prof Perfect Timing for them! My BHTS Senior Students in Missiology gave Oral Presentations on different Indigenous Peoples of The Philippines, following their research papers & as a prelude to writing Evangelization Strategies! A National Protest Day was planned by Pres. Duterte, but Bukidnon Holiday [Sept.1] was a better event! I finished Exodus {Hebrew}, Matthew and Mark {Greek}.

October 2017 Dr. David Upp, Missionary Professor Irma and then Maria slam into the Virgin Islands 80% of Buildings Damaged, Airports Closed, and Most Communications Disrupted [Long Term!] Sept.

I m very thankful & deeply impressed by the self-less dedication of SO many people in the Virgin Islands for their efforts to Find Hannah Upp [a Facebook Page].

3 October 2017 Dr. David Upp, Missionary Professor Irma and then Maria slam into the Virgin Islands 80% of Buildings Damaged, Airports Closed, and Most Communications Disrupted [Long Term!] Sept. 14: My Daughter, Hannah, Disappeared In-Between TWO Category 5 Hurricanes! I m very thankful & deeply impressed by the self-less dedication of SO many people in the Virgin Islands for their efforts to Find Hannah Upp [a Facebook Page]. This includes careful surveys of many beaches and coves, looking for any clues that could help to locate her. You may have seen articles in The Virgin Islands Daily-News, Newsweek, or The NY Times, but VITEMA & the US Coast Guard have also been engaged. In Dissociative Fugue [this is her third] she remains the brilliant & delightful person she s always been, but is (mysteriously) detached from awareness of her own Identity. Her scrupulous honesty & high ethics are seen as she carefully lays aside what she thinks are someone else s belongings: heading out without any of our usual necessities like phones/keys/car/cash/id/bags, & yet she is guided by creative & in-the-moment acts of caring. She survived the onslaught of Hurricane IRMA on Sept. 6-7 by hiding in a laundry room with her house-mates, and was hard at work daily getting her school ready to re-open. Hannah managed to find wi-fi on St. Thomas Northside & send me a message. While I was still worried about Hurricane José, & before I d heard about Hurricane Maria: Hannah disappeared after snorkeling at Sapphire Beach (to see if Irma had damaged the reef). We do not know IF she found shelter from Maria. Have you EVER heard of two supertyphoons hitting the same islands only two weeks apart?! Irma is tied for the 2nd Strongest Hurricane Ever Title. I picture Hannah smiling & handing out relief supplies to people whose homes were destroyed [or vacations ruined] in USVI. It reminds me of Our Return from Dominica delayed by Gonzalo, October Pray! Matt. 10:29: Not a sparrow falleth to the ground apart from thy Father s knowledge.

Dr. David Upp, Missionary Professor October 2017 As my daughter-in-law realized, the combination of both the Manobo Tribes and Bishop Han Theological Seminary is what has drawn me to Bukidnon: This

An entire troupe of Manobos gave their Self-Presentation [Vaka Vuku Vessel of Knowing = Pacific Epistemology!] with Traditional Instruments, Dance, Chanting, and Song.

Part of the JOY was triggered by Ethnomusicology/Ethno- Doxology, as Filipino Christians who ve only experienced foreign worship style (obnoxiously loud rock-n-roll music)!

4 Dr. David Upp, Missionary Professor October 2017 As my daughter-in-law realized, the combination of both the Manobo Tribes and Bishop Han Theological Seminary is what has drawn me to Bukidnon: This is why God has placed me in Malaybalay now. For the first time, these two concerns were brought together on September 21 st. An entire troupe of Manobos gave their Self-Presentation [Vaka Vuku Vessel of Knowing = Pacific Epistemology!] with Traditional Instruments, Dance, Chanting, and Song. They were enthusiastically received & a field trip for the Seniors is already being arranged by our Dean for October! Part of the JOY was triggered by Ethnomusicology/Ethno- Doxology, as Filipino Christians who ve only experienced foreign worship style (obnoxiously loud rock-n-roll music)! Tano Emboc, a Matigsalug Manobo staff-member of SIL Ethno-Arts Team, will come to introduce our Seminarians to the deep resonance felt when a person s OWN culture is accepted as a vehicle for worshipping our Creator God (possibly this month, in Rev. Nebran s Worship Class). We hope to expand this into a full Symposium in TRIVIA Q s: October TQ: The word "Host" has several meaning in Christianity: such as a Guestmaster & a Communion Wafer. It s 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. Can you identify a Verse mentioning HOSTS / Tseba'oth of WOMEN? (Clue: it's in the same chapter as a mention of the number of MEN in Israel's Hosts when they were first counted.) Furthermore, Can you tell What those Hosts of Women DID (which breaks our Feminine Stereotypes)?! September TQ: John 3:16 via Orality ê Eddie Payaron spent another couple of hours with our faculty & students, helping them to understand the Life of the Manobos, their traditional religion, how these Manobo have become Christians [beginning with his father in the 1970 s], and how they work to preserve and strengthen their Manobo Culture and Tribal Identity now.

October 2017 Dr. David Upp, Missionary Professor (Continued) Eddie serves as a Teacher in the lowest grades, where their children learn to read and write in their Mother Tongue.

5 October 2017 Dr. David Upp, Missionary Professor (Continued) Eddie serves as a Teacher in the lowest grades, where their children learn to read and write in their Mother Tongue. This may be the single most important step in their education, because it bestows Recognition & Authority to their Identity by the Government of The Philippines. Eddie has been awarded a Teacher of the Year status here in Bukidnon, and named Most Outstanding IP Teacher [Indigenous Peoples], as well as completing a Master s Degree in Educational Administration! He is now involved in opening a school in another Tigwahanon village with 120 kids which has never had a school of its own. It is expensive, but the villagers have donated land and labor! IF such a school were to undermine the Tribe and their Culture, it would be awful, but instead it lays a Solid Foundation for their growth and strength! Caleb [holding infant son] & Gladys [front row, dark blue blouse] Byerly will be returning to The Philippines October & I will join them for our FIFTH MISSION with/to the Manobo Tribes of Mindanao! We will be at two Tigwahanon Villages (including the one with the NEW School) & my Third Visit with the Tinananon Manobo. The secret of our successful evangelism continues to be the Door-Opening Salimbaa Dream, the approval of all FIFTY Datu [Chiefs] of the Tribe, and the fact that most of our Team are themselves Christian Manobos! We ll check in with the two New Testament Translators OF this Tribe: to encourage them & perhaps give assistance for their work in Literacy & Bible. We ll also visit leaders in Davao. No, it has not yet been decided which Seminary Courses I will be teaching next Semester (although English Plus might be a year-long course: IF it is, I will restructure it for individual attention, not a large class at various levels in English). Yes, I will plan to be back in the USA over Christmas Break (with a possible stopover to see friends living in North Africa). This year s BHTS Graduation is planned for April 2nd then comes our Double Summer Vacation as we shift from an Asian to a US Academic Year. We won t resume classes till August 13, Those 4.5 months will allow me ample opportunity to Preach in YOUR Congregations & engage in more Global Mission Work & Projects. When I return to Malaybalay, it may be to cover Hebrew/Greek class (if Dr. Josie finally gets a Sabbatical). I have a new wi-fi-gizmo [October 4 th ] that I am trying out, that should allow me to resume teaching in Pakistan AND/OR taking the last couple classes at Hutch Juco for my Education degree! Yes, I am 66, so I should be figuring out how some form of Retirement might fit into my Future no word on THAT yet! The Great Commission has been shoved aside for far too long, & it DOES come with a Deadline!

MISSION LINK Dr. David Upp, January 2018

MISSION LINK Dr. David Upp, January 2018 SITIO ANGEL UMC and a Cooperative founded by United Methodists near Malaybalay in a Umayamnon Manobo township & its 80-y-o Retired UM Elder! Angel-Site UM Church