Tribal Visit

Kids' Club kids singing and doing the actions!

I am so grateful I had the opportunity to visit a tribal church planting team on the first island I visited!

While there, I got to meet the missionary team, hear stories of their experiences, learn about Bible translation, sit in on several church-type meetings, and try harvesting bamboo shoots from the jungle.



Peeling bark off the bamboo shoot.

I was hosted by a couple and their adult daughter. It was very good to get the daughter's perspective on singleness in the tribe and on working with and without another single girl as partner. We had some good talks and I feel like I really got to know her pretty well in six days.

 

While I was there, I got to attend a Sunday morning church service, Saturday night church service, ladies' prayer meeting, kids' club program, and an outreach service (read more about that trip in a later post). I shared my testimony in church, and a few of the other ladies shared their testimonies with me at the ladies' prayer meeting (through a translator). One lady talked about how happy she is that Jesus paid the debt for our sin when we were helpless to pay it. She also shared her gladness that her parents and her young daughters believe in Jesus, but she wiped tears from her eyes when she told us that she wasn't sure if her husband believed.

Note the basket she's using, and how she's carrying it.

This same lady, who is a good friend of the missionary ladies, took my friend & I out to hunt for bamboo shoots. We walked jungle paths bordered by rubber trees, vines, ferns, and other exotic foliage. We crossed the shallow stream to an area with fewer paths & more undergrowth, where we searched for young-ish bamboo stalks to chop down and peel with our large knives. While we were at it, we also gathered some large, edible flowers and some clusters of small, sour fruit.

The next day, we ate bamboo and rice for supper! Yum!