Outer Person in the 21th Century; Inner Person in the Stone Ages
What if a man in the Stone Ages visits the core of Manhattan? Something similar has been happening in tribal villages in tribes Asia Pacific(AP). People there have lived in an old way; yet suddenly they started being exposed to the technology of the 21th century. Modern civilization has transformed their outer person; it cannot reach their inner person. Thus, they are still under bondage of animism, superstition, and ignorance. We have visited one of those kind of villages during 4.17-19.
Originally, we were planning to leave on the 6th of April. We got up at 4 a.m. to get ready for the trip on that day. We got to the airport to load our baggage. While waiting for our flight, we were told that it had been canceled due to the sickness of the pilot. At the very moment, Proverbs 16:9 came to my mind: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps”. Thankfully, 11 days later, we were able to go on our way to M** Tribe.
(Photo Left: A Plane Transporting us Somyong sat next to the Pilot and had a chance to drive the
plane. What a fun experience!
Photo Right: A Peaceful View of the Village near the Sunset In contrast, their lives are filled with pain and desperation.)
The Taste of a Tropical Jungle
Tribal villages in AP are usually located in one of these three areas -mountainous areas, swamps, or coasts. The M** village is in a mountainous area. The people plant ubi (which is their staple food, similar to sweet potatoes), bananas and pineapples in a small garden. They also keep a fire burning in the wooden house to use it for cooking and heating, since there is no electricity or gas.
Seowon and Somyong played in a river where the tribal kids were swimming. Haejung and Somyong were also bitten by leeches.
The Spiritual Reality
Materialism has been rapidly perpervading into tribal communities as well. Men’s love of money seems to be the same everywhere.
Besides, their spiritual darknesses and chaos are indescribable due to the syncretism of animism and false teachings. They can never escape from the darkness and chaos unless someone tells them the good news in their language. There are still hundreds of tribes in AP waiting to be reached.
Join Us Through Prayers!
- Team Formation: Due to their health issue, Our potential team mates are pondering whether they should go into a tribe. If they decide not to go, we lack teammates. Pray for them as they make a crucial decision.
- Ministry Location: There are few workers although there are a lot of crops to harvest. For now,about two tribes seem open to us. Pray for us as we choose our ministry location
- Kids’ Break: The school break will begin near the end of May. We are going to focus on teaching our kids Korean just like the last break. Pray for them to improve their Korean and spend a healthy, meaningful break.
If you want to have a communication with us, feel free to email us.
Email Address: mygodmyall@naver.com