Moving into a tribe is done after surveys and an invitation from the tribal leaders. The first thing to do is to build a house on land provided by the tribal group. Often this is done with the help of work teams made up from the missionaries’ supporting churches and friends.
Relationship and discipleship are key from day one even when communication is only through the trade language. Missionaries’ lives are the “letter seen and read by all men”.
Once the families are moved in the task of formal culture and language acquisition begins which could take 2-3 years 8 hours a day minimum. Relationships again are key to gain trust and access to cultural stories that will give essential background for the presentation of the gospel later.
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