Datu’s Dream



     Datu (“Chief”) Mangol was the illiterate but respected chief of a little village in the Philippines.  He believed in the gods of the mountains, the rocks, the trees, the sun, the harvest; but he did not believe in the God of the universe.  He would laugh at his three wives when he caught them praying, and often tried to pry their eyes open in an attempt to stop their prayers.

     One night Datu Mangol had a dream.  He saw a narrow path with boiling water on one side and fire on the other. He heard a voice instructing him to walk on the narrow path.  Frightened, he hesitated, but the voice urged him to walk in faith, for the God of the universe would keep him from falling.  Still frightened, Datu Mangol decided to go home and prepare for his journey, but the voice compelled him to begin his journey at once.

     He began to walk, and soon found himself standing on a crossroad, where road stretched out in every direction.  On one road he could see a church.  The voice asked him which road he should take, and Datu Mangol said, “The road to the church.”  The voice assured him that was the way God wanted him to go.

     In Datu Mangol’s society dreams have great significance.  Datu Mangol studied his dream carefully to determine the meaning.  He decided God wanted him to attend church.

     A few days later word came that a baptism was scheduled in a town several hours away.  Datu resolved to attend the baptism.  He hiked for three hours to the nearest town, and then joined other believers for the six-hour jeepney ride to the place where the baptism was to be held.  He asked for baptism, and enrolled in an adult literary class being offered by student missionaries, so that one day he could read the Bible for himself.  In the meantime he studies the Bible with church members in his village.

     Pray for the missionaries in the Philippines as they seek to lead others out of spiritual darkness to the light of the world.





Norma Lachica