#9 Choose a representative passage from this novel that holds particular significance to you. Type it in and comment on its significance.

“Peace, however, requires assurance of sincere good will on both sides” (Richardson 161).

This quote reminded me of a “war” I had with a close friend of mine. Here is a peace I made with my dearest friend.

I once had a quiet fight with my friend. My friend told me she was angry at me but I didn’t know why. I took it as a joke and didn’t think serious of it. I was scared to ask and I simply ignored her feelings. I thought everything would get better tomorrow. Unfortunately, tomorrow didn’t solve anything. My friend didn’t talk to me or even say hello. I had no right to be angry at her but somehow I was angry at her too. My attitude was “If you are going to be that way so will I.” It was selfish of me. Now that I look back, I think I was scared to admit what I had done wrong. From then on there began an internal war between me and my friend. No smile. No talk. No expression. For about a month, we were basically strangers to each other. However, eventually, we ended up face to face in a coffee shop. We both felt it wasn’t right for us to shut our mouths and keep the angry fire growing in our hearts. My friend told me she was angry at me for not having more friend to friend time with her. I was walking away from her and I wasn’t being her friend at all. All she said was true. I was trying to focus on my studies and limit my leisure time. I was careless of my friend’s feelings and I was not worthy as a friend. In the coffee shop, we didn’t have a “peace child” but simply a peace talk. We shared our honest opinion about each other and we had no secrets. Once we spilled everything, there was a sudden tranquility in the atmosphere. We were at ease. So it seems “peace…requires assurance of sincere good will on both sides.”

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#8 What reflections and connections can you make with this novel?

In Peace Child, the primitives had a radical change in their life where they were introduced to a new culture and had a new focus in their life. The Sawi tribesmen had a life of violence and cannibalism where their life was about more power. The word “peace” was never to be found among the tribes. However, when Don Richardson and his wife, Carol, came, Sawi openly accepted them into their village. The tribes became so close to Richardson that when he said he was going to leave due to cantankerous quarrel between them, they were able to sacrifice their children’s lives to make peace. Gradually, the Sawi made an open relationship with God and even though they weren’t perfect Christians, they slowly changed their life style and focus to be on God.
When I compare myself to the novel, I think I’m like the primitives except for a few changes. Like the primitives, I’m very opened to new cultures. I enjoy the process of going to new places and getting to know new cultures. I simply think of new things as a new word I find in the dictionary. If I like the word I make sure I own that word while if I don’t like the word I let it go. When I first came to Taejon Christian International School, I felt like a primitive and thought of the school as Richardson and his wife. I was very opened to school’s belief and I was cool with it like the primitives. I found no reason to build hatred or dislike towards Christianity. I didn’t have a radical transformation like the Sawi did. I was convinced at times about what great things happen when one has faith in God but I came back to the same position. Observing different religion like Christianity and Buddhism, I simply decided to believe in nothing. I decided to be the balance between Buddhism and Christianity. This doesn’t mean I believe in nothingness but I’m just staying neutral for now.

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#7 How do I relate to faith? How did Don Richardson relate to Faith? How do the Sawi relate to faith?

Do I have a faith? Well, I suppose everyone has faith one way or another. Just focusing on my studies and school life, I never had a chance to sit down and think about my faith seriously. Actually, I never tried to ask myself what my faith is. Like others, I do have faith in my friends, family, and so on but what is the true faith that I believe in? My parents think that I have faith in Buddha because at youth, I liked to go to temple and talk to monks. I surely did enjoy going to the temple; however as I grew up, the whole thing about faith wasn’t as important as SATs or school work. Now that I have a chance to talk about it, I guess I can sit in my thinking chair. At this point, I don’t have one, specific religion that I have faith on. It’s not that I think all religions are false or anything, but I satisfied with myself. I am not trying to be egotistical but I temporally have faith in myself for my ability and my talent. I am very cognizant of the fact that I am an imperfect being, but I appreciate myself for who I am. So, how do I relate to faith? I have faith in myself.

Throughout Peace Child, Don Richardson clearly demonstrates his faith in God. There was no sign of hesitance in him when Richardson was faced with a decision whether to take his family to New Guinea or not. Personally, I wouldn’t even dare myself to take my family to a place where it is surrounded by cannibals and wild animals. Richardson’s faith in God was so sincere that he was able to let God lead his way.
I think Sawi didn’t have a religious faith; instead, the Sawi had faith in their culture of cannibalism and violence. To Sawi, living to gain more power by cannibalizing was their life. Once in a while spiritual practices were shown however, the belief in spirits didn’t seem as important as feasting over human flesh. The emphasis was on revenge, violence, and cannibalism throughout part one of Peace Child.
It’s interesting to see how everyone has distinct faith in someone or something. It’s as if we are flowers growing in a garden. Some people may be the same kind of flower however each has unique appearance and structure. What kind of a flower are you?

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#6 Yae's last moments from the killers' perspectives.

The following is three different thoughts from three distinct warriors who were involved in the murder of Yae. If you have heart problems, please don't read this post.

"A fine, tender meat nicely roasted over the fig wood fire. Oh how scared Yae must be. Too bad! Aha, look at those juicy eyes. The red veins in the eyes would definitely add favors, but with blood dressing it would be the best. I can imagine my son joyfully devouring the liver. Yae’s liver better be big because I didn’t hunt pig for nothing. Oh, how I thought about this moment from the day he arrived. Look at those succulent arms! For seven months, I swallowed sour saliva hoping for this glorious day to come. The indescribable taste that is like the greatest climax of a story only needs endurance to get the hang of it!"

"Aw, look at the pathetic life of Yae! Don’t shake you little munchkin! Born as a loser, die as a loser. Why bother to come to our land filled with warriors! Didn’t you realize from the day you came to our village that it was a no place for a coward like you? You must be insane! My wives would be happy to cook flesh. Our people deserve a nice meal of Yae. Oh, don’t get nervous you fool! You are just making your meat tougher for us to eat! Oh, I’m going to get you soon so don’t you worry about the pain."

"Oh Yae, Yae, Yae. What am I going to do with you? Your life is no better than a pig’s! How dare you come to our land and try to make peace. Well, good thing you came! I get to have a nice meal! Hold on still boy so I don’t have to cause any pain. Your plump intestine must be filled since you just ate. Look at yourself sweating! You are seasoning yourself! Just wait I’ll blow you out with one strike."

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#5 What concepts in the Sawi culture intrigued / reviled / saddened / angered / surprised you?

One becomes a legend maker by planning a treachery. How ridiculous can Sawi get when one is known for his great betrayal towards his relatives? I know I should respect Sawi’s culture, but from the country I come from, betrayal is not the solution to anything in any case. I wonder how cold one’s heart has to be in order to plan such inexplicably brilliant but malicious trap. Kani can be called as a “leader,” however having his own tribe man, Mahaen, to betray his relatives in another tribe are unrighteous. It is unacceptable in Miss Jean’s world.

“…feasted royally on the flesh of the four victims” (Richardson 38). I have always heard of cannibalism from television, books, and friends, but I never believed in it. After reading Peace Child and noticing that Peace Child is based on a true story, I was stunned and sad at the same time. The humans have always eaten pork, beef, chicken, and etcetera without having to think about them. It is right for us to eat animal meat in general. However, can one possibly eat human flesh? It is against our own nature to eat human. Our body rejects it causing serious vomiting or other symptoms that cause sickness. Then, why must Sawi’s “feast royally on the flesh of the four victims?” It’s the culture. I know that cannibalism is a part of Sawi’s culture but honestly when I place myself in Sawi’s society, I just can’t imagine eating human flesh. It’s disgusting! It is unacceptable in Miss Jean’s world.

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

When I was little, I didn’t know what to expect to live in America. I simply landed in New Jersey and I was voiceless for about a month at school. It wasn’t because I didn’t have a voice. I really wanted to make friends and be like the “Americans.” Only there was one gigantic obstacle: I didn’t know the language.

One way to confront a new culture is to learn the language. Well, that’s at least what I did when I moved to America. Learning the language really facilitated my life and eventually parts and bits of American culture came with it. When one knows the language, he or she can communicate and interact with other people to experience the “real” culture. By “real” culture I don’t mean the culture that we understand by reading information off of internet, but the culture that is described from a primary source. I believe that getting to know a new culture is an amazing experience that we don’t get too often. We should be open-minded and perhaps take a bold step to encounter the other side of our world.

I strongly object to those who have such negativism towards meeting new culture. How bad could it be to learn new things about different parts of the world we live in? Does it hurt to take a glance at a new culture? Well, I think each individual is too unique to be ignored. Everyone on this planet has his or her own culture that deserves respect. Thus what should we do when we are confronted with other cultures? We should nod and recognize the fact that there is such a thing. Don’t ignore it, but respect for its being.





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#3 What do mission organizations do for these people?

What mission organizations do for tribesman or uncivilized people really depends on the small fire of motivation in their hearts. While looking for the “cultural key” some missionaries tend to digress into different paths while some firmly stand to serve and glorify the Lord.

“It’s true that we [missionaries] destroy certain things in cultures, just as doctors sometimes must destroy certain things in a human body if a patient is to live.”
I don’t think missionaries have right to “destroy things in cultures” however, they have right to offer different options for people. I believe that missionaries are not terminators but messengers of God to share the gospel. From the bible studies I’ve had, I never read a single section in the Bible where it said people were to destroy certain things in cultures. Thus, mission organization may decide to change one whole culture or rightfully show a new path to primitives depending on what their motives are.

“We [missionaries] are out to destroy cannibalism...”
I personally think “destroying cannibalism” is disrespecting primitive’s culture. Like Koreans have their own culture so does primitives. I surely do think that cannibalism is disgusting and inhumane thing to do however, when people have been exposed to such culture from centuries ago, it is like their birthmark. I believe that true Christians should approach tribesman in a cordial manner and simply introduce them that there is such religion.

Don Richardson surely has right to speak of his own views however, he wrote the article in an extreme perspective that he created a negative image of Christianity. I believe that the word “destroy” doesn’t apply to any segment of missionary’s job. One’s motivation may suggest destruction but I believe missionary’s motivation is to spread the gospel through a peaceful communication.

*The quotes are taken from an article called "Do Missionaries Destroy Cultures?" by Don Richardson.

Citation

http://arkperspectives.com/ap/whatis.htm

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