Palawano

  • Pre-Entry
  • Pre-Evangelism
  • Evangelism
  • Discipleship
  • Phase-Out
  • Completed

About the People

The Palawano are a tribal group inhabiting the mountains in the south of Palawan. They are cultivators, forest-foragers, and hunters who somewhat resemble Malaysians. The Palawano language varies from region to region but seems to have similarities to Malay. Palawanos live in huts that they make from materials found in the jungle surrounding them. They live in family groups instead of typical villages and tend to live with the wife’s family group rather than the husband’s. These animistic people are controlled by their fear of the spirits, and the children are taught to fear them from their youngest days. Mainly illiterate but bright people, their youngsters have a yearning to learn. On the other hand, the adults have a fear of change and cling tenaciously to the ways of their forefathers.

Frontier Stories

First Palawano High School

As 14 students from our mission school and adult school wound their way down the mountains and through the river, their hearts beat faster with nervous excitement.

By: Leonda George
November 01 2009, 5:52 pm | Comments 0

Face Your Fears

Turning around to view the coast and the ocean that lay below me, I was astonished to see that the sun shone brightly there. Where I stood, the rain was coming down in bucket loads, and what a relief it was!

By: Leonda George
October 01 2009, 5:04 pm | Comments 0

She’s Family

We stood anxiously scanning the exiting passengers. “They should be here by now. What is taking them so long?” I wondered out loud to my equally excited husband.

By: Leonda George
September 01 2009, 4:41 pm | Comments 0

Travels in Mindanao

We finally went to Mindanao! For the last 14 years, we have wanted to visit Mountain View College (MVC). But due to many reasons, including sporadic rebel uprisings in the province, it just hadn’t worked out.

By: Kent George
August 01 2009, 4:55 pm | Comments 0

Field News: July 2009

We are in the process of adopting Jilin, a Palawano girl we have known since she was very young. Both her parents died when she was only a baby.

By: Kent George
July 01 2009, 5:01 pm | Comments 0

Moving Forward

At our Kamantian church, many members are conspicuously absent. Usually that is bad news, but we take it as a good sign.

By: Kent George
June 01 2009, 5:06 pm | Comments 0

Growing up in the Lord

Our first Palawano believers were baptized into the faith of Jesus as teenagers. They were babies in the faith and needed to be bottle-fed for many years as they grappled with how to apply the principles of the Christian walk to their lives and culture.

By: Leonda George
May 01 2009, 5:09 pm | Comments 0

Some Days are Like That

I woke up that morning with high hopes. I was almost finished with my work in the lowlands and was looking forward to an early departure so I could get home in time for my daughter Jilin’s fifteenth birthday party.

By: Kent George
April 01 2009, 5:13 pm | Comments 0

Field News: March 2009

This last Sabbath, I had the privilege of being back in the mountains and attending church in Kamantian. It was nice to be barefoot, sitting on the hard bamboo floor with little children crawling all over me.

By: Kent George
March 01 2009, 6:18 pm | Comments 0

The Good Race

This is the story of two everyday Virginia girls who lead normal lives and thought they might be able to do something to help someone else while they were at it. It’s a simple story, but it’s mine. My name is Christina.

By: Christina George
February 01 2009, 6:30 pm | Comments 0

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