Elijah and Moira Hall TRIBAL MISSIONS - Reaching the unreached Cultural shift = open to the Gospel?
Many indigenous people, such as this young ranch hand, are coming face to face with massive changes.
There is a shift occurring in many tribal groups across the world. Technology and “civilization” is fast changing life for many peoples across the globe, and Paraguayan unreached people groups are no exception.
Cellphones are owned by some in even remote areas here, as they work on ranches or keep in touch with family (this doesn’t necessarily change the rest of their life, such as sleeping on the ground and cooking over open fires!). Battery-powered radios blare popular music until the batteries run out, and the people sing along although they hardly know a word of Spanish. Pants and other western-type clothing are often worn instead of traditional costumes.
Underneath all this change is a massive shift. The people see the prosperity of their Paraguayan or foreign neighbors and begin to doubt what their forefathers have told them, such as that following certain chants and taboos will bring them success, and begin to quickly forget the reasons and stories behind the traditions. Many of them, disillusioned, turn to drugs or alcohol to escape a life they see as empty. They are on the brink, in some ways, of entering the world of today.
It’s a window of opportunity that should not be missed! Research has proven that groups in this type of transition are some of the most open to hearing and receiving the Gospel message. They have many times already seen the futility of their old belief system and are ready to listen to the Truth. These are exciting times here and across the world among many unreached groups, and we delight to see the Lord working among them! Won’t you join us in prayer that He will reap a great harvest among the remaining tribal groups in Paraguay?
Tags: cultural shift, Gospel, open, technology
Death by witchcraft?
A young girl serves terere, the cold tea drink that is so popular in Paraguay
The day we arrived in the tribal village we were met by some grave news. An eight year old girl had died in school that day; she had complained of a headache and a while later began screaming hysterically before she suddenly became unable to talk and later died. All the parents were summoned to the school with these words: “Did you send a child to school today? Come quickly, someone has died!” No one knew the exact cause of her death, but already the rumors attributing it to witchcraft were circulating heavily. This was what one of the chiefs told Luci, the single missionary with whom we were traveling.
“What will they do when someone is accused of witchcraft?” we asked Luci.
“Oh, it’s a very serious charge,” she replied. “If they think there is enough evidence, the person could be put to death. Usually the person they blame it on is old, or a woman, someone who cannot do much to defend themselves. Normally they run away, to another colony, before the punishment can be carried out. Most people here still attribute sickness, bad crops and many other things to witchcraft.”
We knew that this chief was a Christian, one of the elders in the tribal church we had come to visit. So we asked Luci what he would do about this situation.
“Oh, he will try to protect the person even though he faces so much pressure!” she told us. “I am always amazed at how the Lord gives him so much wisdom to deal with these kind of situations. First he will ask if she was taken to the doctor, and what the autopsy said, and then he will tell the others we have no proof of witchcraft. Also he will say that he could not punish an innocent person, if there was not enough proof, and he will drag his feet if nothing else works, and somehow he will find a way to avoid punishing them.”
She also told us that probably the unbelievers would keep their children home from school for a long time out of fear of witchcraft, but that the believers are not afraid of this anymore and their children will continue to go.
It was amazing to hear of this one man, a small and lightly built older man, leading his people according to his new conscience as a believer! What wonderful things the Lord is doing in the lives of the people of this colony! There is a church packed full every Sunday, five elders to shepherd the flock, and a room full of materials to the believers who teach their neighbors, once a week, to read and write and share the truth with them from beginning to end of the Scriptures!
“There is so much to do, so many ways the believers need to mature,” said Luci who worked among them for 10 years, “but God has done so much in their lives and He is working through them to change so much, even in their weakest points!”
Tags: chief, girl, mature church, witchcraft
Varmints and vermin vanquished…or not
Someone recently asked us about the bugs down here in Paraguay. It’s a frequent question – missionaries and bugs just seem to go together! This is intended to be a true, but humorous collection of the tales of various pests we have encountered in our 1 ½ years in Paraguay so far. Enjoy the countdown!
5. Ants
Smoke, not steam, began to rise from the iron as I ironed clothes one morning for church. A slight odor, like that of toast, filled the room. When I depressed the steam button, out shot a small pile of wiggling, roasting sugar ants with all their eggs – then more, and more, and more…hence the toasting smell. After a couple of weeks of this, the ants apparently decided to move their colony.
Look Dad, it's my pet!
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Take a Walk – or Give a Walk?
Israel recently fell asleep - or went to sleep - or put himself to sleep - during a meeting.
We all know about figures of speech: the obvious ones, such as “It’s raining cats and dogs”, immediately come to mind. But what about everyday expressions? They’re all literal, right? Or does it depend on how you look at it?
In English, we “take a walk”. In Spanish, you “give a walk” (dar un paseo)! In English, we “fall asleep”. In Spanish, you “put oneself to sleep” (dormirse) – the word form indicates that you are both performing and receiving the action.
In English, we “are” cold, and we “are” so many years old. In Spanish, we “have” cold (to be cold: tener frio) and we also “have” so many years (tener años). To think about it is a little mind-bending: we don’t actually “have cold” (as in tangible possession) but can we really say that we “are” cold? Will we be that way forever? Suffice it to say that each expression makes perfect sense in its context.
Does it matter how we say things? Or is the meaning the important thing? Yes, and…yes.
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You Know You’re in Paraguay when…
A pesebre, or manger scene, with watermelon and coco flower for decoration.
1. Horse carts can be heard clipping by on the road almost any hour of the day or night: their drivers selling produce, stopping to pick through trash, collecting old batteries and scrap metal…how does the traffic handle it? In very scary ways sometimes!
2. People decorate their manger scenes at Christmas with watermelons and coco flowers while they sweat in 110 degree heat.
3. Your kids say, “Oh mom, can we please get apples instead of pineapples this week? We almost never get apples because they’re so expensive.”
4. You kiss someone on both cheeks to greet them. Except, of course, man to man! (We’ve heard that’s only something they do in Argentina).
5. Soccer is more important than almost anything. Tereré (the national drink made with dry yerba mate leaves and cold water) is more important than everything! Except maybe your friends, but drinking tereré is what you do with friends, so…
6. Milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, olives etc. come in bags at the grocery store. Juice, tomato paste, etc. all come in boxes!
7. Everyone is happy to pass the tereré around to their friends and drink off the same bombilla (strainer straw). But to be polite, one should always drink their soda with a straw and use a knife and fork to eat their hamburger! One doesn’t “eat” their breakfast, one “drinks” it, because the drink is what’s important, not the bread. A sandwich isn’t considered a meal, a “meal” is meat, rice, pasta, etc. – always hot!
8. Clean tennis shoes are considered a must.
9. There are no limits to how many people you can squish into a car. Just hope you’re not on the bottom!
10. “Late” depends…for some occasions, it could be more than two hours after the scheduled time. Don’t worry, everyone is happy to wait for you, so what’s the problem?
Bottom Line: In this culture that often seems so strange to us, there are 5 tribes still waiting to hear the true Gospel preached in their own language!
Teach What I Don’t Know?
Kids in class with "Tía Cony" (Aunt Cony), learning the days of the week in Spanish via puzzle.
So you’re the mother of 4 small children all still at home – your new home, that is: a foreign country where most things are new and strange and you are all spending most of your time learning how to talk to the people you want to minister to.
The months go by and your hours studying the language begin to pile up; you can understand more Spanish and handle common situations, but you realize that your children are still looking blank and confused when people greet them and are struggling to have good attitudes about spending so much time with other people when they hardly understand anything. It begins to worry you a little when they burst into tears at the very thought of visiting someone. Oh, what’s a mother to do?
How can I teach my children something I don’t know well myself?
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Tags: confidence, teach
Dark Days in Paraguay’s History
Panteon de los Héroes, a memorial to the historic persons of Paraguay
What war?
March 1st in Paraguay is “Día de los Heroes” – “Day of the Heroes” – and commemorates one of the bloodiest wars ever fought in the Western hemisphere. Fought between 1864 and 1870 (about the same time as the Civil War in the States), the Triple Alliance War had complex beginnings but resulted in Paraguay fighting against the neighboring countries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Many in Paraguay felt their national sovereignty was threatened. After some early Paraguayan victories, the war became a national disaster. Paraguayans fought fanatically under their leader Francisco S. López, who conscripted all Paraguayan males over the age of 10. When the war ended in the battle of Acosta Ñu, most of the Paraguayan soldiers were children, some as young as 8, who lost the battle while their mothers reportedly watched from a nearby forest. Afterward, cholera and starvation took further tolls as over half of the population of Paraguay ended up dying, including a loss of up to 90% of the males in the country.
The struggle left Paraguay in an economic, social and political ruin, and its recovery was slow. The war’s effects on the culture still linger, according to some of our language helpers: for example, the mother is often regarded as the cornerstone of the family to this day and promiscuity is often overlooked, as the custom of one man having many women was actually encouraged in order to repopulate the country after the war.
History is important as a means to understanding the people we live among, so that we can more effectively witness to them. As we are learning more about the people we are here to minister to, there are many sobering reminders of the desperate need for the Gospel. This need exists through all generations, but this is the generation we can help reach!
Tags: history
6 Cures for Homesickness
Elijah drinks tereré with our neighbor and brother in the Lord, Lucho
Homesickness: an almost daily reality in the life of every new missionary. Perhaps we will never be completely cured (perhaps we don’t even want to be) – but here are a few remedies we’ve found that help. The best is last!
- THANKFULNESS
Taking every homesick thought (“Oh, I miss my family so much today!”) and turning it into a thankful thought somehow! Yes, at times this means doing some mental gymnastics, but it is possible (“I’m so glad I have a family that is lovable enough to miss! Besides, I know they miss me too, and it’s much better to be missed than not.”) We thank the Lord for our families and friends and enjoy remembering all the wonderful time spent with them. Of course, it always helps to recieve letters from home and we enjoy the wonderful blessing of Skype!
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Tags: homesickness, thankfulness
NTM Statement of Faith
We believe…
- in the word-by-word inspiration and divine authority of the Holy Scriptures.
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What We’re About
Moira and the kids by the roots of a banyan tree
We are working as tribal church planters, and there are many things involved in this job description. New Tribes Mission goes into a tribal location only with the permission of the people. When missionaries finally arrive, they follow these steps…
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Tags: big picture, goal, mature church
