I met Durman five years ago on my first excursion into Taw’t Deram tribal territory. His brother, Dulpi, was our guide into the Kendewaga Valley where we hoped to set up a new mission post. We discovered it was not a suitable location for a base of operations, but we left a Palawano teacher there to help however he could. Durman and his wife hiked several hours to invite the teacher to come and serve his village, Kebgen, promising that the village would build a school and a house, which they did.
Other native missionaries came to Kebgen, and Durman became a steady friend and faithful listener to the Bible stories they told. Though Durman is illiterate, he has a good mind and is able to remember and retell Bible stories. It wasn’t long before he expressed an interest in following Jesus. However, his wife Gining was skeptical and kept her distance.
Through a series of unfortunate events culminating in a scandal, one by one our native missionaries left Kebgen. Discouraged but not ready to give up, we kept sending groups to hike 12 hours to Kebgen to spend a weekend, continuing to nurture and grow the church there. We were impressed that the people of Kebgen didn’t give up. Even though their leaders had fallen and disappointed them, they didn’t turn their back on their fledgling faith. And it was consistently Durman who led in the church. There were two young ladies in the church who had learned to read, so they read the Bible to those who gathered for worship. As the church continued to meet and grow in faith, one day Gining joined them! She is now a believer and a joyful and enthusiastic worshiper of God.
In August of this year, Durman and Gining, along with Kalbu and his wife Nirun, joined us for our leadership training event where they learned biblical principles of leadership and how to apply them. They are now enthusiastic and tireless in their efforts to serve the people in the Kebgen area, hiking long distances to speak with people about Jesus.
When Durman received an audio player loaded with the Palawano Bible and a gospel presentation, he carried it with him wherever he went, even down to the jungle market where he would gather a group of more than 25 people to listen to the story of salvation. Now, whenever he goes to the market, people eagerly gather to hear more.
Durman, with his ready smile and gentle, soft-spoken bearing, is becoming a warrior for Christ!
