NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Today marked the first official day of the festival. Hundreds of people will remember it as the day they experienced tribal missions for the first time. Some came back three times, eager to learn more.

Josiah, who grew up in Papua New Guinea, is my partner. Because he is acting like a tribal person he has to wake up early and endure over an hour of makeup and costume prep before he’s ready for visitors. My job is to act as a guide as people visit him in his hut, which we’ve set up inside our tent at the festival. Josiah speaks only a New Guinean language called Kaulong inside the hut.

I model culturally appropriate behavior and help the guests with words and phrases if they get stuck. The visitors have the simple objective of getting four words in Kaulong: hammock, banana, tree, and pot. I try to push each small group of visitors that comes through to get outside their comfort zone and to engage Josiah in a conversation. Some groups need a lot of help to overcome shyness and some are so eager they offend Josiah’s tribal sensibilities. People leave completely different, amazed that 2500 people groups have yet to hear the Good News. It’s cool. Please pray for clarity, unity on our team, and changed lives.