Early Protestant mission work in Capiz (2)
In the previous article in this column, it was pointed out that the Baptist mission work in Capiz started in August 1903 with the arrival of the American couple, Dr. & Mrs. Peter H. J. Lerrigo. The Lerrigos laid the foundation for the evangelical and medical mission in the town and province of Capiz.
In the latter part of 1903, Miss Celia Sainz, an American woman missionary, arrived in Capiz (Meyer, 2003). Ms. Sainz had spent some time in Spain and she spoke Spanish fluently. This made her effective in establishing contacts with well-to-do Filipinos whose second language was Spanish. Ms. Sainz immediately conducted a bible class for women and took charge of the Christian Endeavor Society. Later, she moved to the nearby town of Pontevedra to concentrate her efforts there until her return home to the United States in 1906 because of ill health.
After the Lerrigos had left Capiz in February 1904 on their first furlough in the United States, Dr. & Mrs. Raphael Thomas came to assist in the medical work stated by the former there. The Thomases first worked in Iloilo City in what later became the Iloilo Mission Hospital (founded in 1901). They spent some time in Capiz and returned to Iloilo when the Lerrigos came back and resumed their posts in November 1905.
In July 1904, Rev. & Mrs. Joseph Robbins, after two years stint in Iloilo came to Capiz to do full-time evangelical work. The Robbins were credited for having accidentally established the Capiz “Home School” for orphaned girls (This was the beginning of the school that later became known as the Filamer Christian Institute). One day in August 1904, it is said that Rev. Robbins received a note from the local constabulary commandant who had captured a bandit chief with three children: two boys and seven-year old girl. The mother was dead and the father was sentenced to life imprisonment. What happened to the boys is not known, but the Robbins adopted the girl whom they named Regina for the duration of their stay in Capiz. The Robbins were touched by the hapless situation of poor and neglected children and so they established the “Home School” (Meyer, 2003). When the Robbins went home to the United States, Regina and many other little children, aged six to twelve years, were left behind in the “Home School”.
In 1905, another American woman missionary arrived in Capiz, Miss Margaret Suman. She took over the incipient “Home School” that had been established earlier by the Robbins. In about five months in 1905 alone, the school grew spectacularly from thirty to fifty-three orphaned children.
By the end of 1905, mission work in Capiz can be considered as a success (Beaver, 1988). The medical dispensary grew in patronage and medical missions helped break down barriers of understanding between Catholics and Protestants. Baptist churches numbered 3, with 121 members. Despite opposition from the Roman Catholics, the mother Capiz Baptist church was growing in membership thereby requiring the construction of a permanent structure. Filipino women church workers, known as “Bible women” and their male counterparts referred to as “native preachers” were also increasing in numbers and were very active in spreading the Gospel. The Protestant-oriented Boys' Club in the dormitory for out-of-town high school boys started earlier by the Lerrigos was flourishing. The women missionaries, particularly Miss Sainz and Miss Suman had widened evangelism work among the Filipino women and had strengthened the foundations of the home school, respectively. In effect, the Baptist Mission in Capiz had already taken roots.