One night in a province in Central Luzon, in the Philippines, I asked our driver a quiet question as to the possibility of members of the Communist New People’s Army being present in our open air meeting. The NPA was very active at the time.
My question was: “Do you think there could be some NPA here?” “Oh yes, Pastor,” he said, “They are here.” After a pause I asked: “What would they do if I were to preach against communism?” His answer was typically casual. “Oh, they kill you.”
Well, that settled that. I was there to preach the message of Jesus Christ, not to speak against communism. Which I did and things went without incident. The villagers referred to the NPA as Nice People Around to avoid offending them. That’s how it was out there in the provinces, where people had little or no protection.
Members of the NPA were likely present in most meetings out in the provinces, but we were out to help the people, not to take advantage of them. We paid our own way and provided ample food for the families with whom we stayed (in bamboo-floored nipa palm roofed and suwali walled huts on tall poles). Ah, those were the days! Authentic, village-based, Cross Cultural Evangelism — carried out with sensible caution.