Tiny Feet, Big Faith

Our missionary journey continued in the mountainous area of Guibo, Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte, where many families belonged to the Subanen tribe. Every mission field had its own challenges, but this experience became one of the moments that deeply changed my perspective about faith and service.

Together with my partner and two local missionaries, we visited a sitio called Lacnapan. We went from house to house offering gospel songs and prayers. As we spent time with the families, I could not ignore the reality around us. The children wore worn-out clothes, and many lived with very little. Seeing their situation broke our hearts.

At one point, my partner looked at me and said, “Ate Meg, the kids here are in such a difficult situation. What if we conduct a feeding program?” I thought it was a beautiful idea, but there was one obvious problem—we did not have enough money. Still, I remembered saying, “Where there is initiative, God will provide.”

We started raising funds with faith, even though we had no clear idea how everything would come together. Little by little, God opened doors. Before we knew it, enough support came in, and the feeding program finally happened. Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces and the joy of the villagers reminded me that sometimes God simply waits for us to take the first step.

But the story did not end there.

During the outreach, one of our fellow missionaries noticed that many of the children did not even have slippers to protect their feet. Their little feet walked on rough ground every day. We told the villagers that we would come back and help them.

By God’s grace, missionaries and local workers joined hands and raised enough support not only for slippers, but also hygiene kits and food supplies.

Reaching the area again was far from easy. We traveled for hours by motorcycle and then hiked through difficult terrain. Rain poured heavily that day, leaving us soaked. The river ahead had become dangerous because of the strong current. We waited and hoped the water would go down, but it never did. As darkness slowly approached, we had no choice but to cross carefully while holding onto each other.

Then we continued hiking through slippery paths with only one flashlight guiding us in the dark.

When we finally arrived safely, I realized something that stayed with me long after the trip ended: mission was never about comfort. It was about choosing compassion even when it was inconvenient. I learned that God did not always remove the difficult roads, but He faithfully walked through them with us—one muddy step at a time.

-Miguela N. Abraham I 65th Batch 1000MM