Page 113 - Heros of the Faith - Textbook w videos short

Joanne graduated high school and headed to Biola to get a Bible degree. She decided to take a linguistics class
that would help her learn languages, a necessary skill for any missionary. While studying at the Summer
Institute of Linguistics she began to see the necessity of translating scripture, while not yet understanding what
missionaries really do. Translation seemed to be very definable and even very attractive to a girl who cold so
easily be carried away by daydreaming. She didn’t know what she had to give to any people group, but she
knew that she could translate and watch to see what God’s Word could do.

Part of Joanne’s training involved jungle camp, a training course in the jungles of Mexico in which participants
must hike in with few supplies and set up shelter, cook their meals by fire and learn what it takes to survive on
the land. She was assigned a partner named Anne. They had a quick rapport and were like-minded; however it
seemed that they were headed in different directions. After jungle camp Joanne left to visit the highlands of
Guatemala and shadow a couple translating the scriptures there. It was at that time that Joanne began to
dream again about living in a nearby people group in this beautiful mountainous region. However, her jungle
partner Anne wrote to ask Joanne to be her partner, a partner to a people group in the Philippines. The decision
was tough for Joanne, but finally she realized that like-mindedness was much more important than location.
Once again she surrendered her dream to God.

Despite the perils of inaccessibility, Anne & Joanne were allocated into a very remote village called Balangao,
two days hike from the furthest road. After trekking for two days, carrying their gear with guides, they arrived
in Balangao. The Balangao people desired translators to come and write their scriptures, but they never
imagined that two towering white women would come. Despite the surprise and dismay, one elder from the
village came forward and offered to feed them dinner, which was a pledge that he would protect his guests.
That night he offered to adopt them as his own children, knowing that it was the only way to provide for and
protect these single women. Soon they began to learn the language. As they were able to hold conversations,
the Balagaos continued to ask them why they had come. Joanne and Anne always answered, “We’ve come to
translate God’s Word into your language, and teach you to read it, so that you can know God.” The Balangaos
always responded by asking “Yes, but why have you come?” The Balangaos were under the impression that
they came to take the language back to America to sell it or to find husbands.

This people group had a terribly high infant mortality rate. During childbirth women would deliver with no help
from anyone, often killing both the woman and child. The people also depended on appeasing evil spirits.
Anything could trigger the wrath of these spirits. They had to make blood sacrifices of pigs and other animals to
ward off their anger. Spiritists in the village were possessed by these spirits and would communicate to the
people how to appease them. Anne and Joanne could see how much these people needed the one true God to
liberate them. Soon, their new friend in the village, Tekla, told them that she wished she could know God. Tekla
had always known that she shouldn’t sacrifice to the spirits and she was waiting for the news of God. Anne &
Joanne began to share the Gospel with her, but the village people began to harass Tekla because of it. Despite
the opposition, Tekla continued to meet with them and soon became a believer. She even helped them to start
translating the scriptures. Anne & Joanne also began to assist the women of the village in childbirth and trained
Tekla to help. Slowly people came into contact with God’s word and began to be saved. God was transforming
this people group.

Soon Anne received a marriage proposal from an old friend in the US. Despite the disapproval of the mission
agency, Joanne knew that she had to stay in the village to translate the scriptures for these people who were
beginning to so desperately crave God’s truth. Soon, several spiritists who were tormented by the evil spirits
became desperate for life change. They came to Joanne and asked for help. She led them in prayers asking for
forgiveness and asking Jesus to be their God, pledging to give up their spirit appeasement. The spirits
tormented them to the edge of life, but the spirits were defeated. The power of the one true God had been

112