In 1956, Dick Roe boarded a freighter and began his journey to the Philippines. He had joined Wycliffe Bible Translators and was being sent to learn the Isnag language. He landed in the Philippines and arrived by canoe to the village of Dibagat a week and a half later. Nard was seven years old when Dick Roe arrived, and he remembers how the people of his village were suspicious of this stranger. As they began to communicate with him, they asked him why he was there. Dick Roe explained that he had come to give them God’s Word in their language. Weary of living in fear under animism, the Isnag people were interested to hear what the missionary had to say about this good and powerful God.
Philippine Mountains
Dick Roe Camp Week
In 1949, 18-year-old Dick Roe sat by the campfire at Word of Life Island and listened as Jack Wyrtzen preached. During the message, God challenged this young camper to dedicate his life to serving the Lord through missionary work. After Jack finished speaking, Dick Roe got up from his seat and threw a stick in the campfire. It was a seemingly insignificant act that symbolized a life- altering decision, a small seed that would grow beyond what Dick Roe could imagine as a teenager at camp. Thousands of miles away, a baby boy named Nard Pugyao was born in a hut in the jungle. Nard and his family lived in the village of Dibagat and were part of the Isnag people group in the northern region of the Philippines. The Isnag people followed an animistic worship system, making sacrifices to appease the spirits and living in bondage to omens and witch doctors. Little did they know God would intertwine the stories of Dick Roe and Nard Pugyao, using them to shine the light of the gospel into their mountain village.
Luke Isnag Translation
While Nard recalls hearing the missionary share about God, it wasn’t until reading from the Gospel of Mark in his heart language that he truly understood the gospel. “It was Christmas Day in 1963 when I received the Gospel of Mark translated in Isnag,” Nard shares. “I was sitting on top of a rock below my village. As I was reading, it was as if God removed the veil from my eyes. I could see who the Son of God was for the first time.” As Nard read the crucifixion account, he began to grow angry at God. He couldn’t understand why this powerful God allowed His Son to be killed by cruel men. “I remember throwing my Gospel of Mark down onto the rocks and saying, ‘I’ll never believe in a God like that!’ As I started walking back to the village, God reached into my little heart, saying, ‘Nard, don’t you realize this is how much I love you, that I gave my Son for you?’ For the very first time, I understood His grace.”
Dick Roe and Nard
Village Huts in the Isnag Area
21 The Word of Life Experience
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