A Hungry Heart: From a Desert Road to the Mangyan Road

Recently, during my devotions, I found myself in Acts chapter 8—the beautiful and powerful story of Philip and the Ethiopian official.

Philip hears the man reading from the prophet Isaiah and asks him a simple but profound question:“Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replies, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” And he invites Philip to sit with him.

A hungry heart. An open Scripture. And a servant of God, led by the Spirit, arriving at exactly the right time.

As I lingered on this passage, something stirred deeply in me. This encounter captures the very heartbeat of ministry—God preparing hearts, and God sending His people to walk alongside those who are seeking truth.

This is what we are witnessing through TRIBE Mission International.

Right now, God is moving among the Mangyan tribal people of the Philippines. The Holy Spirit is already at work in these remote communities—awakening hearts, raising up leaders, and drawing people to Himself. Our role is not to manufacture the work, but to join what God is already doing: walking alongside emerging pastors, opening the Scriptures together, grounding them in the Gospel, and equipping them to return to their own people to teach, disciple, and establish the Church.

This past year has been a testimony of God’s grace - through our inaugural class of 5 students. Four new churches were established in rural tribal communities—places where worship is now rising, Scripture is being taught, and communities are being shaped by the love and truth of Christ. In the coming weeks, a new group of 15 students will begin their journey through the TMI Training Institute—men and women answering God’s call to bring the hope of Jesus back to their villages.

Lives are being transformed. Families are being restored. Communities are being changed.

Not through human strength or strategy, but through the power of God’s Word and the work of His Spirit.

The Ethiopian man’s question still echoes today: “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” Across the world, in tribal communities and unreached places, there are hearts reading, listening, wondering, and searching. And God is still sending Philips—ordinary servants, empowered by the Spirit, to walk the road with them.

May we never lose sight of the privilege it is to open the Scriptures, to walk with those who are seeking, and to witness what God alone can do when the Gospel takes root.

— Marcel deregt

TRIBE Mission International

Mangyan Tribal Community: Katapos.