God Gave Me a Song: Memoirs and Poems

By Ruth Bumanlag and Roberto Bumanlag

God Gave Me a Song is the family history of Rev. Roberto Bert Bumanlag and his wife, Ruth, combined with poems composed at his keyboard as worship songs during retirement. Rev. Wayne and Virginia Wright, former Wesleyan missionaries to the Philippines, wrote this tribute for his funeral that best describes his life:

Roberto became a part of our lives more than sixty years ago. There are some important words that we think of at this time that characterized his life.

The first big word is grace. Roberto did not become who he was because of money or any of the benefits that most people think are important. God chose Roberto out of what could have been a negative early beginning and brought him into his family through grace. We have no way of knowing what Robertos life might have been without that wonderful grace of God to make a life meaningful that otherwise might have been wasted. Roberto Bumanlags life is a testimony of what God can do through grace.

The next big word is giftedness. There are not many things anyone can do, but what Roberto could do better. God not only changed him through grace, he gifted him with abilities to do almost anything and do them well. His hands were gifted with the ability to make things beautiful. His voice was gifted to sing well for his Lord. He had an impressive mind to think and speak in God-honoring ways. Many years ago, when Roberto was a young student at Bible school and sometimes living with us in our home, there wasnt much that needed to be done that he could not do. We still have some things he made that we will remember him by. Throughout his long life, he gave himself to live faithfully using and expressing the many gifts God gave him.

Another big word is love. We will not remember Roberto so much for all the things he didwe will remember him because he was loving toward all he shared life with. He leaves behind him memories and evidences of his love for Ruth, for the children, and for all of us to whom he so often spoke words and did deeds of kindness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503542112

Ruth Bumanlag

Rev. Roberto “Bert” Bumanlag worked every day for many years at his keyboard composing worship songs. Most of his poems are about salvation, heaven, the Holy Spirit, life, and God’s creation. After he died in 2013, his wife, Ruth, arranged to have them published. She also wrote the family history, going back to her father, Cornelio T. Bolayog, who was part of a group of young Filipino farm workers in Southern California who were converted to Christ. Most of them went back to the Philippines to share the gospel and start churches and Bible schools. They pioneered the Wesleyan Church of the Philippines denomination. Nancy Jelinek, editor, attends the Emmanuel Hope of Glory Wesleyan Church in Portland, Oregon, where Ruth Bumanlag and her sons, Bob and Gerry, attend. Many in the congregation are Filipino American. Nancy works as an administrative assistant for an information technology firm. She has helped several authors prepare books for publication, including Saved from Death to Save Life, 2010, by Rev. Emilio Baliton. She resides in Gladstone, Oregon.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 by Roberto Bumanlag; Ruth Bumanlag.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5035-4210-5

                eBook           978-1-5035-4211-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 04/15/2015

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

663380

Contents

Foreword

Tribute

1 -    Family History

Cornelio T. Bolayog – Sept. 14, 1906 to April 27, 1968

First Pilgrim Missionaries from the United States –

The R. K. Storey Family

The War Years

Francisca Angway – March 1908 to May 1951

Roberto’s Youth

How Roberto and Ruth Met

Susana Alejo Lipaoen

Ministry in the Philippines

Southern California, USA

Missionaries to the Philippines

Helping Churches in the Philippines

Our Children

2 -    God Gave Me a Song - Roberto Bumanlag’s

Collection of Songs

Ruth Bumanlag’s Introduction

By Roberto (Bert) Bumanlag

Poem Collection Index

Dedication

This book of poems is dedicated to my loving husband, Bert Bumanlag, who composed them for publishing, but never saw them in final form, as the Lord has taken him to his heavenly home.

Thank you to my children and grandchildren, who listened to him each day as he played his songs on the keyboard and recited them whenever he could get their attention.

Thank you to my friends and loved ones who surrounded me with love and support after the loss of my dear one. I will forever be grateful.

Thank you to Nancy Jelinek, who encouraged me to write our family history and patiently took time out of her busy schedule to edit, arrange and put each occurrence in proper order.

Lastly, to all who read this memoir, I ask your patience for omissions due to my memory.

FOREWORD

R oberto became a part of our lives more than sixty years ago. There are some important words that we think of at this time that characterized his life.

The first big word is GRACE. Roberto did not become who he was because of money or any of the benefits that most people think are important. God chose Roberto out of what could have been a negative early beginning and brought him into His family through grace. We have no way of knowing what Roberto’s life might have been without that wonderful grace of God to make a life meaningful that otherwise might have been wasted. Roberto Bumanlag’s life is a testimony of what God can do through grace.

The next big word is GIFTEDNESS. There are not many things anyone can do, but what Roberto could do better. God not only changed him through grace, He gifted him with abilities to do almost anything, and do them well. His hands were gifted with the ability to make things beautiful. His voice was gifted to sing well for his Lord. He had an impressive mind to think and speak in God-honoring ways. Many years ago, when Roberto was a young student at Bible School and sometimes living with us in our home, there wasn’t much that needed to be done that he could not do. We still have some things he made that we will remember him by. Throughout his long life, he gave himself to live faithfully using and expressing the many gifts God gave him.

Another big word is LOVE. We will not remember Roberto so much for all the things he did – we will remember him because he was loving toward all he shared life with. He leaves behind him memories and evidences of his love for Ruth, for the children, and for all of us to whom he so often spoke words and did deeds of kindness.

Rev. Wayne and Virginia Wright

Wesleyan Missionaries to the Philippines

Image%201.jpg

Rev. Wayne and Virginia Wright, Wesleyan Missionaries to the Philippines

TRIBUTE

O ur memories and fellowship with Bert go back 48 years. On June 1, 1965, our family arrived in Manila to begin our first term as missionaries. Bert was pastoring the La Loma Church, and came with the Wrights, Smiths, and Mother Slater to meet us at the airport.

We spent our first five years in Mindanao and only went up to Luzon for some Missionary Council meetings, so we didn’t see much of him until we went on furlough in 1970. We stayed with the Smalleys in San Dimas, California, that year and had occasion to be with Bert several times. Orval Butcher was pastoring at Skyline Church then and asked us to come down for a missionary service. We took Bert with us and I asked him to sing a special song, which he agreed to. However, Skyline had many great singing groups and several sang before turning the service over to me. Bert looked at me and said, No way am I going to sing after hearing all those! But I persisted, so he submitted and did a great job with much applause.

Several times when we would come home on furlough we would visit Bert and Ruth in California. In 1985 we were in Cebu and took a short three-month furlough. We stopped and talked with them and told them they were needed in the Philippines. They came back in 1986 and stayed until 1990. Bert served as President of the Bible School in Rosales and was influential in seeing the Library/Administration building completed.

Down through the later years they assisted the work by supporting students, giving aid to projects in the national church and at the Bible school.

Bert always had a song in his heart, wrote many songs, and joyfully sang them each time they came to visit. He will long be remembered with fond memories throughout the Wesleyan Church of the Philippines.

Dr. Paul L. Walborn

Wesleyan Missionary to the Philippines

Image%202.jpg

Dr. Paul and Jean Walborn

Siquijor%20Map.jpg

The Province of Siquijor in the Philippines

FAMILY HISTORY

Ruth Bumanlag’s Parents

Cornelio T. Bolayog – Sept. 14, 1906 to April 27, 1968

C ornelio Bolayog, my father, was born on September 14, 1906 in a fishing village in Ponong Larena, a province of Siquijor, a small island southeast of Cebu in the Central Visayas group in the Philippines.

According to legend, this little island came about because of a strong earthquake. Volcanic rocks and shells are seen so much as you walk around their yards and roads that maybe the legend is true. Some history says a man by the name of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi discovered the island. Besides fishing, the people have coconut plantations for income. The byproducts of coconuts are oil, soap, perfume, lumber, juices, food, and many others.

In the late 1920’s he and his brother Julian made their way to the United States by boat. They stopped in Hawaii and worked at the pineapple plantations. About three years later they migrated to California and worked at the lemon and orange groves in Alta Loma.

A group of Pilipinos (Filipinos) worked in the lemon and orange groves. They were Cornelio Bolayog, Moises Alejo, Stanislao Albano, Ludivico Ganibe, Enrique Caindec, and Antonio Campos. Others that were included in the start of the work were Miguel Zambrano, Max Attractivo, Aurelio Sabado, and Ponciano Asuncion. All were converted to the Lord.

According to my husband’s story, he met Rev. Miner when he first arrived in California in 1970. Rev. Canary invited Bert to the Cogsell Wesleyan Church, and Rev. Miner related how he was able to win these Pilipinos to Christ. My father, Cornelio Bolayog, was good at playing the Hawaiian guitar. After a day’s work in the groves, these Pinoys (short for Pilipinos) gathered to sing their homesickness away. Rev. Miner was passing by and heard their playing and asked if he could join them (he played the guitar and violin). He introduced himself and befriended them. He slowly won their confidence and persuaded them to accept Christ. He invited them to the Riverside Pilgrim Holiness Church. Their pastor was Rev. Garnett Palmer. He took care of their spiritual needs.

Much interesting information has been recorded concerning my father and his fellow Pilipino workers in the book Days of Our Pilgrimage, so I will quote some of it here, combined with my own recollections.

Will Chambers of Pomona, California, had a leading part in reaching those men and carried a special burden for that work. Through him the Garnett Palmers came into contact with the work and were so concerned that they gave several years entirely to special evangelistic effort among the Filipinos. They took up the pastorate at Alta Loma, California, which became the important Filipino center from which the work spread to the Philippine Islands. There were others who took part, including Mrs. Anne Eisenhower, an aunt of the famous general and president, Dwight D. Eisenhower. She was a real old-fashioned holiness saint with a love for souls, and a member of the Brethren in Christ church.

Brother and Sister Garnett Palmer loved the Filipinos and were loved in return. They gave themselves to the building up of the work in Alta Loma, California, and to the extension services in the