Is all this effort worth it?

You’d think there’s an easier way to do this.

Three motorcycle rides, a bus ride and three hours of hiking was just the warm-up for missionaries Jareb McClain, Scott Flaugher and Kevin Miles.

Then they spent two days trying to find a guide. When they found one, he led them on a ten-hour hike through dense jungle, over hills and across streams.

Why? you might ask. You might even wonder if he was misleading them. But he was doing exactly what they asked him to do – take them to where the Elseng people live in isolation from the world around them, in small, dirt-floor huts without walls, gathering sago and other plants and hunting wild game.

Their lives are a constant struggle for survival, but their real struggle is not as obvious. They live in fear of spirits that they believe control everything around them, and in special fear of the vicious “dog spirit.”

The Elsengs were open to missionaries moving in among them.

But … is it worth it?

Missionaries will need to build houses and bring food in – not only so they do not impact the tribe’s food supply, but so they can supplement it in lean times. They’ll likely have to rely on expensive helicopter service for transportation, supply and more. It’ll take them years to understand the Elseng culture and language, more years to get ready before they can make a clear presentation of the Gospel, and more years before a mature church can be established.

Is taking the Gospel to the Elseng people worth that kind of dedication and sacrifice and expense?

I think so, but don’t take my word for it. Take God’s Word for it.