Zion Bible College

My friend Levis Montes was the person who began Zion Bible College on the island of Samar with the help of James. These two guys were pioneers of the AG group in Leyte and Samar. The U.S. AG missionary James Curtis brought needed finances into the life of these Filipino Pastors. James took me to the Cebu district to obtain ministerial license with the Visnomian District of the AG. He helped me obtain my drivers license and introduced me to traveling on a regular basis. James was the presbyter of the churches in Leyte.

Zion had been built in a swamp, the school’s property was all raised via loads of dirt from dump trucks. One of the rules was to never step into the swampy water surrounding the school because the area was filled with the parasite that causes schistosomiasis. Nearby was a center for studying the parasite, and the disease in hopes of curing infected persons.

The chapel building at ZBI was the only concrete building at the time. Early each Sunday morning I would drive out in my small passenger truck to pick up ZBI students to teach Sunday School classes at our growing church, Living Word Christian Center located in Leyte Colleges. James was the president of Zion Bible Institute (at the time it was an institute) and invited me to teach at the school. I taught for a semester but enjoyed traveling and preaching more and did not continue once the semester was over.

I was writing on a small chalk board and teaching a class at Zion when a cobra made its way across the dirt floor. One of the male students jumped up, grabbed a stick and beat the cobra to death. While I was teaching I built a 4 foot by 8 foot chalk board. I literally bought a piece of thick plywood and framed it in a stand and bought ‘chalk board paint’ to put the green coating on the board. When I returned to visit Zion 20 years later the chalk board was still in use; I must say I was surprised.