When they came into contact with the Muslims, they learned about the teachings of Islam. Subanens of Lapuyan had early contact with the Spaniards who built a garrison in Margosatubig during the mid-19th century; a school for the natives was opened by Spanish priests but the Subanens misunderstood the message of Christianity. They were scared to see a stick (the cross) with a dead man (Jesus) on it. The cross, which they called "karehus", was interpreted differently; the early Catholic missionaries were thought of as cannibals. With the coming of the Americans, Protestant missionaries brought big picture rolls showing among others, the baby Jesus and the Mother Mary. The old folks associated these stories with their own tribal beliefs of a “Diwata” or God-child, a savior of mankind. With this understanding, Subanen elders now encouraged their children to go to the mission school run by these American missionaries. In 1912, Mr. & Mrs. David O. Lund opened a mission school in Sunglupa in the village of Thimuay Imbing, now a part of the Municipality of Lapuyan. Thimuay Imbing accepted the new religion, a Protestant denomination of the Christian and Missionary Alliance whose headquarters were located in Nyac, New York, in 1914; they constructed a semi-permanent-building called the Pampang Tabernacle where the Subanen worshipped. Next to the Tetuan Church in Zamboanga City, the Lapuyan Tabernacle became the first Alliance Church in Mindanao, if not the entire Philippines. There were further changes in the way of life of the Subanen in Lapuyan with the opening of government schools in 1919.