The Red Karen used to have a book with all the truth. It was written on animal skins. And when it got wet one day, the man who was responsible for it laid it across some bushes to dry, so it would not get moldy.
When he came back from working in his field, the book was gone! Someone said the pig ate it, so he went and asked the pig. The pig said, “I ate it, and I pooped it out, and the dog ate it.” So the man went and asked the dog.
“I ate it,” the dog said, “and then I pooped it out and the chicken ate it.”
Well, the chicken is very stupid, and it did not know what the man was talking about. So he cut the chicken open. He looked in its innards, and all the way down to its bones, but he could not find the book. It was lost.
And that is why to this day, the Red Karen compare the length of chicken thigh bones for answers.
Peter Bangcong first approached the village to ask permission to live and work among the Red Karen people before he knew their language or culture. Speaking through an interpreter, unaware of their stories, Peter told them he had come to teach them from a book.
But this book was not like other books, he said. This book contained the truth. It existed from the beginning, and later was written on stone, and then on animal skins, and now is printed on paper.
He later found out that this traditional story about the book the Red Karens had, coupled with his explanation of why he had come, was a key reason many of the older people came and listened to the Bible teaching.
Although three of the older believers have gone on to Heaven, four other older men – and one who is still trying to decide whether to follow God or the spirits – still meet each week to study God’s Word and pray together.
I had the privilege to join that group, while Julie went to a ladies’ Bible study, Tuesday evening.
We’ve added several more photos to our Red Karen gallery >>
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