NEW TRIBES MISSION  |  planting tribal churches

LANGUAGE WORKS, BUT CULTURE IS VITAL

LANGUAGE WORKS, BUT CULTURE IS VITAL

How do you explain a roller coaster to someone who`s never seen one before?

August 12, 2008

by Jackie Fallis

Learning culture helps missionaries understand how to convey the message of the Bible.

Missionaries Dave and Lisa Schilling are in the culture and language acquisition phase, learning the national language of Senegal -- French -- so they have a way to communicate with tribal people while learning their tribe's language.

Recently Dave was at a Bible study with a Senegalese Christian friend, reading out of a popular Christian book in French.

"The book was describing faith using an illustration of riding a roller coaster," Dave wrote. "After reading the passage my friend asked me to further explain the illustration for the group and it became clear to me that no one in the room, except me, even knew what a roller coaster was. This illustration which works fine in France and the USA didn't make any sense to my friends."

Please pray for Dave and Lisa to recognize situations like this and understand how to work through them as they work on learning and adapting to new surroundings.

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