1,000 people have visited the Isnag house we built for children attending Summer Hummer, Westwood Baptist Church’s summer camp. Each child was given a souvenir picture of the Isnag house and an invitation to visit our blog and learn more about how and why we made an Isnag house in the woods in Olympia.
The Bamford family moved into the village in 1999 and began learning the Isnag language and culture with the goal of being able to show God’s love to our Isnag friends and teach them Bible truth.
One of the first things we noticed was that Isnag men don’t build houses the way we do in the United States. We had a lot to learn.
Many churches in Washington and other parts of the USA faithfully support us and the Isnag ministry. One of these churches is Westwood Baptist church in Olympia. When we came home for home assignment last year, Bob Barnes, the missions pastor at this church in Olympia, Washington had an idea. He said, “Why don’t you guys build an Isnag house for the Summer Hummer kids?”
Thanks to watching the Isnag men and visiting many Isnag homes, I had some idea of how to build a house, so we said, “Yes, we will try.” The first step was to gather wood for the frame. Many people donated wood and Pastor Bruce helped me gather it.
We ordered the bamboo floor, siding, and grass roof online. When we had all the parts, it was time for construction. The grounds crew cleared a trail to the building site and Carrie, Thomas, Bob Johnston, and I started building.
The first step was to build the frame.
Then we put on siding and made a fireplace.
When the house was finished lots of kids came for a visit.
Inside the house, Heidi taught them how the Isnag live.
Outside, Kyle taught the kids about hunting and gathering useful things in the jungle.
And I taught the children how to make a rice fields and showed them Isnag tools.
We want to say a big thank you to our “trail guides” Megan and Jamin. They kept the campers moving in the right direction and made the trips between stations interesting.
Our building days aren’t finished. The children at camp have generously given money to build a covered play area for the Isnag children. We look forward to blessing the Isnag children with this generous gift and we look forward to reporting on what we are doing in the Philippines.
So, please come back and visit our blog again or sign up to receive our email updates.