Those tribal people are very happy in their "jungle paradise", aren’t they? Why are you going there to wreck it for them?
"The best answer to this folly comes from the lips of one of these tribal people, a man named Dejabi who is from the Ayore tribe in Paraguay. He said in a recent interview:
Dejabi: ‘…It was hard and most times miserable. Day after day we just existed. We were controlled by fear. We were fightened of everything, so many things: things we could see and other things we were not sure even existed.‘
‘In the woods we did not know God. We didn’t know our need. We didn’t know we had a choice. We are glad God looked for us because we didn’t look for God. The missionaries brought us God’s Truth, and I am happy to be a Christian.‘
Interviewer: ‘What message would you relay to those who say your people are happy the way they are, so missionaries should leave them alone?‘
Dejabi: ‘I would say, let them take off their shoes and clothes and go out and live in the woods. Let them wander the Chaco and search for food and water. Let them learn to fight and defend themselves from other marauding tribes. Tell these people we have dignity and want to determine our own destiny. If they want to give us respect, don’t try to paint a false picture of our former life.‘
‘…Missionaries have lifted our pride; we are not animals, we are people. Some have chosen to follow the Christian message, some have not. But none of us that I know wants to return to the woods. If these people think that it is such a great place, then let them go and live there.‘"
Of the earth’s 7,000 ethnic groups, 3,000 are still unreached. Our vision is for every tribe to have the opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel.
– Interview taken from By Him and For Him. Published by NTM in 1992.