At AFM's Summer Institute of Frontier Missions, we have learned that God
wants to completely bond us with the Ama people so we can be His message
to them. In order to bond with our people, we must first let go of what
feels familiar and immerse ourselves in their lives. Research in
missions suggests several ideas we are considering.
First, missionaries need to be willing to live with a local family. In
some cases, missionaries simply arrive and begin asking the people they
meet if they know a family who would host them. Others arrange to stay
with a local family for a time. In either case immersion in the lives of
their people allows a much deeper and more intimate understanding.
Second, missionaries need to limit personal belongings to about 30 lbs.
per person. An adult Ama may have only twenty possessions, so 30 lbs. of
belongings seems like incredible amount of wealth. We must be careful
not to let our belongings become a barrier.
Third, missionaries should use common modes of transportation. Along the
upper stretches of the Sepik River, this will happen naturally since
dugout canoes and walking are the only means of transportation.
Finally, missionaries need to learn language in the context of
relationships that they develop and maintain. This approach not only
produces fluency but also builds a large number of close friendships
into which the seeds of the Gospel can be sown.
In all of this, our example is Christ, “Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made
himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Please pray that
we, like Christ, will not cling to our old culture but will instead
communicate God’s love to our new culture in a way the people can
understand.—John Lello
