Having had a tremendously fruitful pioneering ministry to the south of us in a number of villages, Miss Helen Boydstun later came up to assist with the translation. She has continued on with us through all these years as editor of all our publications and a teacher at the Bible School.
Some twelve years and sixteen thousand hours after our arrival in the Philippines, the Palawano New Testament was completed. It was printed and distribution begun among the some sixty churches that God had raised up as the Gospel was preached in the jungle-covered mountains of Palawan.
An open door
As we prepared to return for our third term in the Philippines we were faced with what appeared to be quite a set back. The bodies of all the missionaries had been ravaged by malaria and other tropical diseases. It soon became apparent that it would be impossible for us to return and live permanently in the jungle area. We knew that it was well within the power of the Almighty God to heal us but He did not. Instead He used this physical problem to point us to another open door.
We moved to the City of Manila and were invited by some of the local churches to assist in their teaching program. The pastors were very zealous in evangelism but there had been very little training. The Bible School struggled along with four to six full time students and the staff was made up of whoever would teach, teaching whatever they could.
First most of our time continued to be devoted to the translation but gradually we began to spend more and more time preaching and teaching in the lowlands. Through the years the enrolment of the Bible School grew to more than sixty students and we witnessed a real maturing in the fellowship. Our hearts were thrilled with the fruit that resulted from the teaching of the Word, showing once again God's faithfulness.
In the meantime our children had grown up and gone off to America for university training.
Before long our oldest son, Dan IV, with his wife Sue and two children, returned to the Philippines as missionaries. Despite having grown up in the jungle with his early years of schooling being in the home, by God's grace he was able to complete his university training with honors. As this young couple arrived on the field, a new phase in the training program began. The Bible School curriculum was upgraded and entrance requirements were tightened. A few years later our second son, Bill with his wife Darla, also joined us. His jungle schooling did not hinder him from also graduating from the university with honors.
It was not long after this that these two jungle-raised men founded the Centre for Biblical Studies. The purpose of this school was to offer men who wished to be teachers and leaders in the church a level of graduate training that previously was only available overseas. The Lord blessed in a miraculous way. The school has had a tremendous effect both on the fellowship and on the undergraduate program.
The Lord blessed
The Lord not only blessed the two sons who returned as missionaries but also our two daughters. "DJ" the oldest daughter is now married with two sons. Her husband, Dan Amiot, who supports himself with two secular professions, is adviser for the mission's computer program, and has provided much of our computer equipment. Our youngest child, Ethel, who was such a celebrity in the Village of Many Waterfalls, is married to Rev Gene Bradley and has four children. They minister in a church and Christian school in North Carolina. (To be continued)
Lovingly in the Lord
Dr SH Tow, Senior Pastor