People are watching everything you do this Christmas season.
Missionaries spend their entire careers carefully observing the people they work among. They listen to the words people use, and how they use them. They hear and record the people’s stories and tales. They watch them plant and harvest, hunt and cook, build and clean. All so they can be sure that they are able to clearly communicate God’s Word to them.
That’s why Hans and Marion Jensen recently went to a baby-naming ceremony in the Nalu village in Guinea where they live and serve. Early in the morning they observed who was seated where, and listened carefully to the religious leader’s speech. They chuckled good-naturedly along with the villagers at the excitement of the man after whom the baby was named.
And the Jensens are very much aware that the Nalus, like tribal people everywhere, are watching the missionaries. Boy, are they watching. In a lot of cases, going over and watching the missionaries seems as entertaining as a trip to the movies. Sometimes the people are amused. Other times they’re confused.
That’s why the Jensens are gearing up not only for Christmas, but for the questions that will come.
“Once again we’ll have the task of explaining to our friends why we have a plastic tree set up in our living room,” Marion wrote. “The Nalus aren’t the only ones with unusual traditions.”
Don’t forget that people are watching you this Christmas season as well. Are they going to see that someone who follows Jesus is different?
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