Runiliyu

One of the kids here in Palawano land is called Runiliyu (not his real name). He is one of the first kids that was open and friendly to us. He is about 10 years old (we think – nobody really knows how old anybody is). When we first moved in, he showed our kids where the swimming hole was and how to jump off the rocks into the deep part of the water so they wouldn’t get hurt. He is always helpful, and is one of the few people that seems to give to others without expecting anything in return. He seems to have some kind of natural noble character.

One of the early incidents with him was when our kids were all swimming together and he slipped on a rock by the swimming hole and hit his head, causing a big gash. All the other tribal kids looked at him and pointed and laughed, calling him “stupid” for falling and hitting his head. That is what they do when other kids get hurt. Our son gave him a piggy back ride up from the swimming hole back to the medical clinic where we stitched him up.

Even though there was that one incident, the other tribal kids do respect him. There are not really a lot of kids around, because the Palawanos live in such a scattered lifestyle. Each family lives out at their own farm, although sometimes 2 or 3 extended families choose to live close to each other, making what seems to be almost a small village. Runiliyu lives in a family of 7. Several of his brothers and sisters died when they were babies, before the missionaries came here and started giving out malaria medicine. His father died about 4 years ago due to complications from malaria and a liver destroyed by alcohol. Since then his mother re-married and added one baby to the family. His older brother is deaf and has a hard time getting along with people, so Runiliyu has sort of taken over the role of being the respectable oldest son of the family.

The other day I went with him to the jungle where he climbed up a 50+ foot tall tree to get some natural fruit, which he later shared with our family. It was amazing to see him scale up this vertical tree with ease to get the fruit up at the top of the tree.

This morning I needed someone light to climb up on my solar panels and clean them off. I am heavy enough to possibly cause damage to the panels or the supports if I try and clean them off myself (and I am pretty light by American standards). Runiliyu is a very diligent kid, and since I have seen him climb those very tall trees without a problem, he is perfect for helping me out with this job. He was more than willing to do it, so we went up to the roof and he cleaned the panels while I stood by holding the safety rope. He is probably pretty excited about this too, because he can now brag to his friends that the missionary chose him to climb on the roof and clean the solar panels. He is not a bragging type, but if he wanted to brag about this particular incident nobody would fault him for it. Besides that, he was happy to earn a little extra money, and I was happy to pay him, since I am not able to do the job alone.

We interact with the Palawanos like this all the time. We go to their houses and visit; they come to our house and visit. We help them with medicine, and they help us get things done that we cannot do by ourselves. With this type of interaction, we have developed a closeness with the people around us, and our relationships are growing. And since they don’t know English or Tagalog, we have to use the Palawano language to communicate with them.

This kid is someone we would really like prayer for. We see in him, and in other Palawano kids like him, the future leaders of the church. As we talk with people during this time of pre-evangelism, please pray that the Lord will open the heart of Runiliyu and his family to the Gospel.

Runiliyo 2 years ago with a big catch of river fish

climbing to the top of the tree to harvest the fruit