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Mapun

Regional map of Mapun Island Mapun Island

	Miguel Blanco, Marian, and Cesar Fabian.

by Ed Brennan

 I received an email that Marian Laguno, a nursing professor at Loma Linda University, needed to fly a team to Mapun. Marian and her cousin Miguel Blanco were able to make it in on a Thursday night, and the third one, Cesar Fabian, showed up on Friday. To avoid a needless return trip, I planned to fly out with them and stay until their return. These plans seemed to be ok until we received word that it was not considered safe for Americans to stay overnight on Mapun. While the extremists were not necessarily on the island, they were known to show up. An American with an airplane may be too tempting a target to resist. So I could only stay a few hours but those few hours made a big impact on me.

Academy Choir

    While I was waiting for the team to show up, I had a chance to learn some of the background story of the island. It seems that various people from time to time have been going to this little island since the 1970’s. It started out as a medical mission with a couple of doctors and nurses. Some of them were from Adventist University of the Philippines (formerly called Philippine Union College), some from Mountain View College and others from the United States.

    This island is not really claimed under any particular district within the church. Sometimes a pastor shows up and then years go by without a visit. The number one reason is that getting there can be quite a challenge. This island is closer to Malaysia than to any other Philippine island. Most

	Ed Brennan speaks to the students.

people believe it falls under Mindanao, but even at the end of the Sulu Archipelago, it is actually closer to Palawan. The normal way of getting there is by boat, but that is a challenge in and of itself. First, one goes to the pier to sign up and get a ticket for the boat. The crew says that they will depart tomorrow. Back to the pier the next morning, the crew says that they will depart tomorrow. The same thing happens the next day and the next day and the nex t day. As frustrating as this sounds, the average wait is about two weeks. The captain will not leave the pier without a full load. To do so may very well mean a financial loss on the trip. The profit margin is so slim that the only way to make any money is to fill the boat before departure, which is more important than any time schedule to these boat crews. The other thing that makes this island difficult to work on is that it is completely Muslim. The original Adventist group went out to the islands to open up a medical clinic. For years this is what continued until they could not support it any more. Finally, a doctor said that what would really make a difference would be a school. The school started out pretty small. They recruited teachers where they could and they gathered books, desks,

The Philippine Air Force maintains the Mapun Airport.

supplies, even a single microscope and whatever else they could find. Today they even have a music program with brass instruments and marching.

    The academy has received full accreditation. In fact, it has become quite popular with the residents of the island. The school this year has enrolled 151 students, and this is a small island. The teachers are critically understaffed, but that has not stopped enrollment. They teach a complete Adventist curriculum, and the Muslims understand this. How is this possible? Simply, it is the best option on this small island for any of these students. There are no roads to the school, only a trail. Some students walk for hours or stay in the dormitory during the week. Even though it is a long walk, the parents still prefer that their students attend the school.

	Final approach.

    Since they have been operating here so long, the teachers were able to open the Mapun Adventist Center in the middle of their small town. Here they hold a simple Sabbath worship every week. Some of the wives of these Muslim men had a Christian background. They join in the weekly worship while the husbands wait outside until it is over. Afterward they join their wives and the Adventist teachers for potluck and fellowship. 

    When I saw this you could have knocked me over with a feather. I spent a lot of time in the Middle East. In those countries, most likely the wives, the teachers, and anyone with a hymnal would have been put to death. Once again God has proven me wrong and has shown how the Holy Spirit can lead. God has no limitations. He has demonstrated that it is possible to take His word to a people who were closed to it before. Once again I stand in amazement.