Two Manobo Bible teachers, Piduy and Pulding, recently visited 30 Manobo villages to discern the people’s interest in hearing Firm Foundations Bible lessons. They motorcycled about 600 miles on mostly dirt roads – lots of mud and slippery trails.
In the villages close to the highway only the elderly spoke Manobo. The younger generations speak only Cebuano, the language of the non-tribal people that is taught in the area schools. Even most of the elderly who speak Manobo converse in Cebuano. The Manubus who live in the mountains where there are only trails going to their villages have retained their language.
The men found five villages where there is potential to teach.