Question/Answer - Numero 6

7. Using the five senses, describe through the eyes of Sawi Child. How would they perceive the arrival of the Tuans?

The odor of the sago filled the hut as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. I flung the sago angrily at Rayen, my father’s fifth wife and the youngest, declaring that I wasn’t hungry. “What a waste”, I thought, “I could spend this time training to become a warrior”. With that, I grabbed my bow and arrows and strode out of the hut to practice shooting.

About twenty steps away from the tree, I stopped and in one swift motion, fitted the arrow on to the bow. Feeling the misty, cool air settling on my skin, I focused only on the tree and erased my surroundings. Taking a deep breath, I released. The arrow seemed to split through the air as it whizzed forward and struck the tree – dead center. Whooping with glee, I fitted another arrow and took a step back to try again. As my eyes narrowed onto the tree, I sensed something moving beyond the tree on the river. It was a canoe. Squinting, I saw that there were Tunas heading this way.

“They’re here!” I shouted as loud as I could towards the inner part our tribe. My fateful message seemed to travel through the air, rushing into every hut and bringing out every single inhabitant outside. I saw my friends darting out just like everyone else with dirt flying behind them. Approaching closer to the riverbank with the rest of the people, I saw the canoe with the Tuans clearly growing bigger as it glided slowly towards us. The canoe finally reached the shore and came to a gentle halt. My heart hammered like war drums as the Tuans stepped out of the canoe. It was the first time I had seen them this close; I had caught a glimpse of the Tuan man who had come for the past few days to build his hut here. I could see that their skin was all white unlike the rest of us and they were wearing pieces of… something that I had never seen before.

As night grew on, the Tuans began to make their way to their new hut as we surrounded them and followed them. Together with a few of the tribesmen, my father brought out drums to celebrate their arrival. As the Tuans disappeared inside their hut, the drums grew louder and my heart thumped more widely as all of us savored this moment of pride that the Tuans had chosen our tribe to live with.

Suddenly, light exploded from the hut as if it was ablaze. The light hit our eyes and pandemonium broke out. Everyone tried to run towards the opposite direction, away from the dazzling hut. Shielding my eyes from the blinding light, I roughly pushed through the mayhem, shoving those who were doing the same but were blocking my way. Then, the Tuan man came out and shouted, pouring instant silence over the havoc. He tried to reassure us, which brought back the people who had succeeded in putting a distance between them and the hut. His voice had strength, like a warrior, but it was not harsh forceful. His eyes seem to hold power and authority like our chief did. I sank into my thoughts about the Tuan, recalling the eavesdropping of the chief and several tribesmen, including my dad, had been saying about the Tuans living with us and wondered what could possibly bring these Tuans to our tribe.



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Question/Answer - Numero 5

10. How different is your modern culture from the sawi tenants?

Chapter after chapter, I began to realize how unusual yet fascinating the life lead by the Sawi people was, in the context that our culture and their culture is on utterly opposite ends on a magnet. The contrast between this peculiar Sawi culture and our culture is so extreme that I find myself feeling eerie and amazed simultaneously.

Right from the first few chapters of the book, I realized that the Sawi people thought treachery as a value and considered “fattening with friendship for slaughter” as the most honorable act one could do. Also, by devouring the flesh of the person who was “slaughtered” signifies the power that the eater now has because he/she has taken in the dead person’s spirit that is now utterly under their control. In our culture however, one does not kill a person for the purpose of eating that person for power and respect. On the other hand, treachery, robbery, trickery, and murder are far from being held as respectable. They are considered as despicable and disgraceful acts and are trained from early childhood not to lie, steal, or hurt other people.

The previous sentence leads to another difference - child behavior. “The Sawi child is trained to obtain his will by sheer force of violence and temper” (p.157 – Peace Child). Also, the children are, “…goaded constantly to take revenge every time he is hurt or insulted” (p.157). Furthermore, “Every Sawi Child knows that if he throws a violent enough tantrum, he will get his way” (p. 156). On the rare occasion when a parent actually strikes a child with intent to punish them, “…the child will often strike back, or at least throw himself into convulsive rage to bend the parent’s will. The parent will accept this reaction, thus encouraging a similar response next time. Generally punishing a child is frowned upon, and the reason given is “in case you break his spirit”.” As Don Richardson says, we can “Call it discipline-in-reverse” (p. 156).

The condition that the Sawis live in is also appalling. The hygienic level of the Sawi culture is settled at the lowest possible level. A part of the book described two girls who were walking off the trail and occasionally pulled off leeches from their feet and ankle while not breaking the conversation. As a modern culture with medication and resources, what they consider as “normal” is utterly shocking for us.

“Lord, in all of time and space has Your message ever encountered a world view more opposite than this one? Could there be a world view more opposite to the gospel?” (p. 154).


33% of the world population is considered as Christians and Christianity stands as the religion with the largest percentage of believers. God’s words and His gospel are studied while the Sawi people are on a wholly different thinking level as depicted in the quote above. They are not only cruel, they honor the act of cruelty; “Their highest pleasure depended upon the misery and despair of others” (p. 153). Beyond their pleasure in cruelty, the situation that really struck gold of being the opposite from the gospel was the Sawi people’s reaction to the story of Judas and his betrayal to Jesus. For them, Judas was the hero; he was considered as a “Super – Sawi”.

I realized that the differences that lie between our modern culture and the Sawi culture are extreme. It will be interesting to see how Don Richardson overcomes these differences and obstacles in order to teach the Sawi people about the word of God.

Question/Answer - Numero 4

2. How does faith relate to the world in which we live in?

Faith is having complete trust in something for which there is no proof. There are those who live without faith, without purpose, and without intentions while there are those who have unfaltering faith and know who they live for. In my opinion, everybody should have someone or something that they believe in.

There are all kinds of beliefs that people from different cultures believe in. For the Sawi, they believe in legends and cannibalism. Betraying friends from other tribes is thought to be an honorable and great act. They also eat the human flesh and believe that eating another person will make you eternally dominant since you have devoured the person's spirit. Also, the only way to earn respect is to eat human flesh. Although this is quite sickening and although I cannot comprehend their culture,it is a culture all too natural for the Sawis since they have grown up with it. People in each culture are so used their religion that they frequently fail to try and comprehend other religions or cultures besides their own. We should therefore, open-up our minds and recognize other types of faith in order to be open to the world.

I believe that faith is the foundation of a human and is what leads them to live life with a purpose. For some people who do not have faith, they don’t seem to realize the true meaning of their existence and the fact that their presence is significant for people around them. For example, there are times when celebrities who are under an intense level of stress commit suicide. They might have thought about their family, friends, and those who love them, however, one of the main reasons that they choose to commit suicide involves loosing their will to live. When in a preidcament and without knowing why they live, they seem to lose their determination to try to change the circumstances they are in. Of course, there are those who do not have faith but still become successful and I respect that. As a Christian however, God comes to me as one of the motivators of my life.

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Question/Answer - Numero 3

8. What do mission organizations do for these people?
“We risk our lives to get to them first because we believe we are more sympathetic agents of change than profit-hungry commercialists”.

Missionaries who venture out into the wilderness have some kind of motivation that connects with the message of Christ. Their attempts to reach those who have been “untouched” such as the primitives and native tribes are led with the purpose displayed in the quote above: to deliver the message of God before the commercialists make contact with the undeveloped tribes first.

Some might ask that wouldn’t the missionaries be destroying the cultures themselves in order for the conversion in religion. However, as Don Richardson states, “It’s true that we destroy certain things in cultures, just as doctors sometimes must destroy certain things in a human body if a patient is to live.” Missionaries do not have the intention to tear down the culture – they just feel the need to save the people by spreading the word of God. In another way, however, it sounds as if we are pushing Christianity into the arms of people who do not require it. It seems as if the unique culture and religion of that specific group of people is being muddled.

Don Richardson however, points out that missionaries do more than introduce a new religion and try to persuade them to believe it. In the article, he pointed out the question of “Should anyone go in?” (in tribes where people are not aware of the message of God) is obsolete, since someone will eventually. Missionaries strive to teach the tribes not only spiritual truth, but physical survival as well. The missionaries try to teach the people about money, language, medication, trading, and other skills to survive before they make contact with outsiders.


By reading Don Richardson’s article, I felt that sympathy is the key to all doors of missionary missions. Don Richardson says, “…part of my task was to give the Sawi a rational basis for voluntarily renouncing cannibalism before the guns of the police decided the issue”. This quote reveals that since the Sawi are part of the people under a government – a government that does not allow cannibalism, the Sawi need to stop killing and eating people. Essentially, Don Richardson is persuading the Sawi to stop their belief in cannibalism before they are forced to do so while being concerned with their future encounter with commercialists.

As messengers of God’s word, I believe the motivation that missionaries have that gives them the courage to confront the wilderness is sympathy. Underneath sympathy, there would be teaching them about their own language, culture, and medication while naturally teaching the word of Christ. It is also par to their safety because the missionaries are, in a sense, preparing for their encounter with commercialists.

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Question/Answer - Numero 2

3. What should we do when we are confronted with other cultures?

Most students that attend TCIS have lived in more than one country, or have encountered another culture by making friends from different ethnic backgrounds. I myself had the fortunate opportunity to travel to different countries and experience other cultures beside Korean. Personally, I feel that having the opportunity to go to different countries and going to schools in various parts of the world, as well as coming to TCIS has been a blessing given by God. Without God’s meticulous planning for me as an individual, I would never have been able to be confronted by cultures other than Korean.

Going to schools in the States, Canada, and Korea has been somewhat intimidating at first, but as I gained experience, I learned to always have an open mind. Almost three years ago, I was in Canada, about to experience my first day of school in an unfamiliar country. The youngest daughter of a friend of my dad’s was also going to the same middle school I was to go, so on the first day, the two of us walked and entered through the front gates of the school together. The two of us talked about every subject that one could possibly talk about except about what our first day was going to be like. Although I had attended American school, I felt that this time, it would be different because this was middle school. Once my friend and I separated and went to our own classrooms, I was beginning to feel a bit more nervous. However, I was not the only new student to the school, and I was quickly able to make friends with a new girl from India. Later, I discovered there were students from India, USA, Japan, China, and Russia. Evidently, they came from different countries and different cultural backgrounds that I was unfamiliar with. However, the girl from India and I, we became tight friends as we learned about each other. Besides her, I found that having an open mindset helps accepting the circumstances as they are and be able to avoid discrimination.

As time went on, I realized again and again how vital having the ability to have an open mind-set. Without broadening one’s viewpoint on cultures, he or she will not be able to comprehend another person coming from another cultural background. For example, one of my friends celebrated Hanukkah. Although as a Christian, I had felt strange that my friend celebrated Hanukkah, it was still genuinely fascinating to hear about a holiday celebrated in a different culture. Therefore, I feel that an open-mind is essential for interaction between people who come from different cultural backgrounds.


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Question/Answer - Numero 1

What factors of your native culture have informed your religious world view? Explain the impact of these factors.

I grew up accepting God as someone who has a purpose with my existence and has His plans for me to follow. I believe that because of God, I was able to have the experience of living in different parts of the world and encounter various types of cultures. I believe that because of God, I am able to be who I am right now.

I was born in the States and was there until pre-school and came to Korea in kindergarten. For most of my elementary years, I went to a Korean school, and later lived in Canada for about a year and a half during middle school. In elementary, my friends and I would go to the catholic-church nearby every Saturday. It was the stage where I learned about God, who He was, and what He did for us. When I was in sixth grade, which was the first time I came to TCIS, I had the chance to learn more about God through school activities such as Chapel, Bible classes, and Spiritual Emphasis Week.

However, after completing sixth grade, I went to Canada. This time in life was when I stepped further away from God. Although most of my Korean friends around me went to church, some of them seemed to just go out of habit. I occasionally found some of them smoking, drinking, and taking actions that were supposed to be contrary to followers of Christ. .What was ironic was that I found that some friends who did not go to church every Sunday also believed in God and seemed to have more sincere and honest mind-set. Seeing hypocrisy in them, I decided not to join in such a dishonest act. Moreover, I did not experience major hardships while adjusting to a new life. Always feeling that an open-mind is necessary, I had decided to accept the situation as they were and therefore, found the new culture not difficult to follow. Feeling that I could do well without relying on someone else, I didn’t feel the urgent need to lean on God. God became a hazy and distant figure.

Coming back to Korea and to TCIS brought me back a step closer to God. Although I am still learning more about God, I can now rely on Him when I feel stressed or when I feel that I cannot confide my secrets to others. I also realize that the experience I have had: traveling and living in different countries is what makes me and students in TCIS, unique and privileged compared to others. As a Korean who has experienced three different cultures, and a mix of them as well, I thank God for the opportunities that He has given me. I am aware of the fact that I might not be as strong in my faith in God than other Christians, but I am in the process of learning, and I intend to steadily discover more about Him throughout my life.


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