Askim klin (pronounced: askim clean)
'Daddy, can we go weed around that tree at the church today?', Noah asked. Wondering what would prompt my son to want to go and do something that lost all flavor for him after the first five minutes, we chatted about it a bit more. It turned out that he thought that he would be paid the princely sum of a new matchbox car. (sound familiar?)
Things aren't much different in Papua New Guinea. Tribal folks are coming into mission bases or writing letters all of the time, asking for missionaries. When it come right down to it, they are not asking with the purest of motives. There is nearly a universal belief in Papua New Guinea that the white man has access to great magic that allows him to summon great quatities of cargo at will. For a missionary to come and to teach them 'God's talk' in their minds often is equivalent to having someone come in and to teach them thr correct prayers, chants, or magic, that will unlock the floodgates of providence. (Note that NTM missionaries always are very up-front with what we will do and what we will not do in a tribe - more on that next time.)
There are hundred of thousands of people clinging to this myth. I heard that just recently a tribal man - thought to be a leader of the cargo cult in his area - held a meeting which attracted 4,000 tribal men, women, and children to a remote mountain. For destitute people, this kind of thinking has an incredible draw. Imagine waking up hungry everyday, experiencing sickness without the attention of a doctor, and saving for a month for your one pair of shorts - would you cling to any hope (even if it were not true)? Pray for those who are confused by and caught up in the cargo cult. Pray that they will be soon offered a true hope - and practical care. Pray with us for more laborers for tribal people.
Now for the askim klin part:
As universal as the cargo cult is in PNG, it was a bit shocking for our partners to receive word of a tribe that has asked for a missionary - klin. That is, they are not asking for money, for things, or anything other than teaching from the Word of God. They have been confused by the many rumors from tribes around them. They want the truth. Pray with us that either we can be a part of sharing it with them, or that God would raise up others to go and give them the truth in their own language.
Things aren't much different in Papua New Guinea. Tribal folks are coming into mission bases or writing letters all of the time, asking for missionaries. When it come right down to it, they are not asking with the purest of motives. There is nearly a universal belief in Papua New Guinea that the white man has access to great magic that allows him to summon great quatities of cargo at will. For a missionary to come and to teach them 'God's talk' in their minds often is equivalent to having someone come in and to teach them thr correct prayers, chants, or magic, that will unlock the floodgates of providence. (Note that NTM missionaries always are very up-front with what we will do and what we will not do in a tribe - more on that next time.)
There are hundred of thousands of people clinging to this myth. I heard that just recently a tribal man - thought to be a leader of the cargo cult in his area - held a meeting which attracted 4,000 tribal men, women, and children to a remote mountain. For destitute people, this kind of thinking has an incredible draw. Imagine waking up hungry everyday, experiencing sickness without the attention of a doctor, and saving for a month for your one pair of shorts - would you cling to any hope (even if it were not true)? Pray for those who are confused by and caught up in the cargo cult. Pray that they will be soon offered a true hope - and practical care. Pray with us for more laborers for tribal people.
Now for the askim klin part:
As universal as the cargo cult is in PNG, it was a bit shocking for our partners to receive word of a tribe that has asked for a missionary - klin. That is, they are not asking for money, for things, or anything other than teaching from the Word of God. They have been confused by the many rumors from tribes around them. They want the truth. Pray with us that either we can be a part of sharing it with them, or that God would raise up others to go and give them the truth in their own language.
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