Door to Door

Beautiful, God-honoring melodies drift across the early morning jungle, coming from the schoolhouse where Banwaon youth meet for worship before school starts. At her house down the hill, missionary Lynne Castelijn listens in awe.

A couple of decades ago, Lynne and her husband, Albert, and their 2-year-old daughter moved into this isolated jungle location of the Banwaon people group in the Philippines. The people had no written language, no books, and no Bible.

Painstakingly, Albert and Lynne learned the language and culture, created an alphabet, and taught the people to read and write – all in keeping with the Philippine government’s desire to preserve the languages of their nation. Then Castelijns went a step further and translated enough Scripture portions to teach the gospel message from start to finish.

Today, with the help of the Philippine government — and the flight service of the Ethnos360 Aviation helicopter and pilots — the Banwaon have constructed an elementary and high school for their children and youth to learn in their own language, with free reign to teach the scriptures.

The meager existence of the Banwaon hardly allows them to buy groceries and medical supplies, much less sustain schools and teachers. And how will they have funds to support outreach to other Banwaon villages? Seeing the need, Albert and Lynne have looked for ways for the Banwaon to make some income.

So, a few years ago, Albert and German missionary Boris Bergen, both skilled carpenters, started teaching the Banwaon believers to make finely crafted doors from the beautiful timber in their location. With funds from generous individuals, Albert and Boris worked with the believers to build a well-equipped shop. Using reliable tools, the men can produce doors of standard, uniform quality.

“What a joy,” wrote Boris, “to see how they used their training and got better in it with every door. So now, they make very good doors and get to sell them to provide an income for their family and support for their church.”

Last year, when the mission guesthouse on Mindanao needed eight new doors, they ordered them from the Banwaon believers’ workshop. “We were thrilled to have those tribal believers work on them,” wrote Boris. “But getting the doors into town presented us a challenge. It is a very hard, muddy and long ride on a motorbike into town. We are not sure if the doors would have made it without damage.”

Picture it! Carrying a full-size wooden door for a day or so on a motorbike while slipping through deep pits of mud on the so-called road. And doing that eight times! Not a viable solution to get the doors to the buyer undamaged.

Near that time, pilot Brian Schaadt, who flies on Luzon Island in the north, planned to come south to Mindanao Island. While there, he planned to work with pilot Alex Minium on external load (“sling load”) procedures. The doors would be just the real-life scenario they needed to practice on.

The pilots were more than happy to sling-load the doors, helping the Banwaon church in the process. Boris, with the help of Banwaon men, secured the doors into the cargo net that would be hung by a rope beneath the helicopter.

“Instead of a long day’s motorbike ride with potential damages, it took thirty minutes in the helicopter,” wrote Boris. “And the doors arrived safe and sound in town, ready to be installed in our Ethnos360 Guesthouse.”

Boris concludes: “It’s the Body of Christ working together, helping each other, everyone doing his part, that God might be glorified. ‘So we, being many, are one body in Christ (Romans 12:5).’”

When you donate to Missionary Flight Sponsorship, you ensure that believers like the Banwaon can have affordable flight to continue ministry to their own children and to neighboring villages. Pray that the gospel will prosper, just as the Banwaon people have prospered in their faith and in their lives. Thank you for working with these precious members of the Body of Christ.