What reflections and connections can you make with this novel?

I still remember when I was only in second grade and my dad told me that we were going to move to China. He said that we had to go to China because of "God's calling". Of course, at that time I had no idea what that meant or what a China even was! All I knew was that I was going somewhere because my dad was. It wasn't until much later that I figured out why I was there. It was because just like the Sawi tribe, the Chinese people don't have much of an opportunity to hear about Jesus. The Chinese government is against missionaries coming into their country and sharing the gospel and would kick out anybody with that intention. However, my parents were still faithful and willing to do whatever the Lord wanted them to do. As I began to mature, I began to realize that the world didn't revolve around me and I had to start caring and show love towards people so that they could see the love of God in me. I began to realize that even though I was just a kid, that I had a big part in all of this. I felt a great connection with this novel because of the fact that I, myself was a missionary kid and had similar experiences. It made me reflect on my past experiences as a missionary kid and taught me much about sacrificing my wants to help those around me in need. 

How different is your modern culture from the Sawi tenants?

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, people must have certain needs met before moving on to the next level of needs. There are five different levels in Maslow's hierarchy of needs starting with the basic to the highest level:

1. Physiological: These are the fundamental needs in which people must meet in order to survive such as water, food, sleep, and air.

2. Security: In order to be able to move up to the next level, a person must be able to have a sense of security and not feeling threatened. Security includes things such as a safe place to live and job security.

3. Social: Once the "lower" level needs have been met, the motivation for "higher" level needs start to occur. The first level of higher levels is social needs, which is feeling the need to belong in a group, making friends, and sharing love.

4. Esteem: After exchanging love with people or having a group he/she belongs to, the person then moves on to feel the need of importance such as social status, accomplishment, self-esteem, and recognition.

5. Self-actualization: This is the defined by Maslow as "the full use and exploitation of talents, capacities, potentialities, etc." However, this can never be satisfied because peoples' potential are always growing.

Most people of our modern culture today have the potential to reach the self-actualization level. Some do and some don't. However, the people of the Sawi tribe are so deprived that all they live for may not even pass the second level. In a community where treachery is held in the highest value, how can any one of them be able to make trustworthy relationships? How can they be able to know whether the "friend" that they had grown up with for years might actually turn out to be the one that would one day slaughter him and eat his flesh? The Sawi people are not that much different from us. They just need direction and the guidance that will lead them to the right path. As a matter of fact, that is what we all need in order to live the fulfilling life that God wants us to live. We shouldn't judge the Sawi people as being an evil tribe that likes to practice deceit and cannibalism. Sure, those two are quite evil concepts. However, we are all fallen and any kind of sin is still sin. The only difference is whether we continue to live sinful lives or we strive to live the life that brings glory to God.

What does Jesus want us to do for the Sawi?

Jesus loves everyone on this earth unconditionally because we are His unique creation. He only wants to be able to have an intimate relationship with each and everyone one of us. However, this is not possible due to the fall in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve made their own choice and this choice has lead to the evil and pain that we experience everyday. And because of this fall, only the believers of Christ can enter the kingdom of Heaven once our time on earth has passed. The rest must suffer eternal punishment in hell. Some may have had rejected God and others may not have even heard of God and must still bear the punishment. Such are the Sawi tribe who have been isolated from the rest of the world and have had no chance of experiencing God's love for them. This is the exact reason why Don Richardson has sacrificed so much and even risked his life to reach out to this particular tribe. He knew God's calling was for him to spread God's love to this tribe. He could have made his life a bit more comfortable by preaching in a more developed nation such as China or Russia. Yet, he chose to do what God wanted up to the extreme. That was by leaving everything behind to face an unknown cannibalistic tribe and try and spread the Gospel there. Don Richardson has already set an example for what we must do for the Sawi. 

                   

                       "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28: 19-20

What should society do for "uncivilized cultures" like the Sawi?

Six million Jews. Slaughtered heartlessly. The Holocaust was an atrocious genocide lead by Hitler in attempts to wipe out any race "inferior" to their own. Hitler surely must have been a psychotic, blood-thirsty killer sent from the devil. However, if we think about it, we may also not be too different from Hitler. Uncivilized cultures like the Sawi can seem so evil and abhorrent in our eyes because of their wicked practices such as cannibalism and deceit. Some people may think that it would be best just to wipe these tribes off the face of the earth and prevent anymore wicked cultures to form. If we allow this to happen, not only are we any different from the German "psycho", but we are also taking away their chance for redemption which has not yet even been offered. Tribes like the Sawi have not been given a chance to know what the concept of redemption even means. If we allow them to continue on with their wicked culture, nothing will ever change. So it is up to us to bring the change. It is up to us to reach out to them and teach them, based on God's Word, on the correct way of living. It is up to us to shine God's love through our own actions. Without God's Word, they are hopeless. We have to be the ones to share that hope.

What does God expect us to do for other cultures and faiths?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I said that we should be accepting and open towards other cultures. This is what we should do in order for others to accept us in return. However, for most of us, trying to accept new cultures instantly and reaching out to others may not be a natural behavior and we may also feel unwilling. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 says, "And now these three remain: faith, hope, love. But the greatest of these is love." If we are unwilling to love on our own will, then followers of Christ should remember these words of the Bible to motivate them. Not only does God say that the greatest is love, however He directly commands us to love as He has given us a commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself." If we don't feel the desire to love, then we should remember that loving others is actually an obligation for Christians and a commandment that we should follow to glorify God. My parents have been called by God to be missionaries in China and the only way that they will be successful as missionaries to spread God's love is to spread the love from their own heart first. That way, people will accept them as well and start to wonder where this love comes from and they will soon know that this love comes from the Almighty God. Not only will you make God happy, but you yourself can find lasting joy if you make the simple decision to love.

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

I have had the privilege of growing up as a Third Culture Kid and am very grateful for that. Born in America, yet being raised by pure Korean parents had a bit of an impact on my cultural perspective. Not to mention having to move to China as a seven year old due to God's calling for my parents to preach and spread the Gospel to the unreached Chinese citizens. Throughout my inter cultural life until now, I have had the chance to experience what it was like to be a student at home, international schools, American public schools, and a Chinese national school. All of these experiences have had a profound impact on my world-view and have allowed me to accept other cultures at ease. Throughout the course of these years, I have learned that people of other cultures may be cautious and even unwilling to accept people who do not share the same culture as them. I have realized that we shouldn't be the ones standing back and hoping that others will eventually accept us because it normally doesn't turn out to be too successful. We should be the ones reaching out and embracing them and their cultures no matter how different it is to ours. There is not one culture that is "right" or "standard". Each culture is just simply unique and that is what brings the color and spice into this world that we all share. That is what we must all understand so that we can live in peace, free from judgment and hatred. Acceptance and love brings the warm path to peace and friendship.

How does Faith relate to the world in which we live?

"You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" These were the words of Jesus when His disciples were found screaming out of fear that the storm would swallow them in their own boat. Jesus' twelve disciples had nothing to be afraid of, considering the fact that Jesus Himself was right beside them. Yet, they still decided to panic and not entirely trust in their Savior. As funny as it may sound, this is in fact quite applicable to the world in which we live today, although much more in a metaphysical sense. In this world, as we face hardships such as natural disasters, poverty, war, and crime, we have more and more of the need to have faith in God and allowing Him to calm the storm in our lives. Sure, the disciples were surrounded with crashing waves and screaming winds however, they also had Jesus in His physical form. People today NEED faith in order to live peaceful lives especially with all of the wickedness and tragedies that surround us. Without faith, we cannot have God. Without God, our lives will be empty. Trusting in God with your life, even if we cannot see Him. That is faith.