Heros of Peace

Overview

Heroes of Peace

Communicating across cultures is hard. Words can be exchanged, yet meaning is missed entirely. That challenge sits at the heart of the missionary calling—and at the heart of two stories worth holding together: the modern story of Don Richardson among the Sawi people of Netherlands New Guinea, and the biblical story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10.

A Gospel That Found Its Way Through a Foreign Culture

Don Richardson, a Canadian who answered God's call to missions, took his wife Carol and their infant son to live among the Sawi in 1962—a tribal people who practiced cannibalism, head-hunting, and treachery as a celebrated virtue. They prized "tuwi asonai makaerin"—fattening someone with friendship in order to betray them. When Richardson finally had enough of the language to tell the story of Jesus, his hearers cheered for Judas. Betrayal was their hero's craft.

After months of failed peacemaking between warring villages, Richardson announced his family would leave. In response, the tribes performed an astonishing ritual: each chief gave one of his own infant sons to his enemies. As long as that "peace child" lived, peace held. Suddenly Richardson had his bridge. He could explain that the Greatest Spirit had given His own Son—not a temporary peace child, but an eternal one—and that Judas, far from being a hero, had committed tuwi asonai makaerin against the Peace Child of God. The gospel clicked. Conversions followed. The point: God had been preparing a redemptive analogy in that culture long before any missionary arrived.

Cornelius and Peter: Two Hearts Already Prepared

The same pattern shines in Acts 10:1-8. Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile centurion, prayed and gave alms before he ever heard of Jesus. God sent an angel to direct him to Peter. Meanwhile, Peter received his own vision on a rooftop Acts 10:9-16: "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." When Cornelius fell at his feet, Peter lifted him up: "Stand up; I am only a mortal" Acts 10:26. Then Peter preached plainly: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" Acts 10:34-35. The Holy Spirit fell on the whole household, and they were baptized Acts 10:44-48. Two cultures did not collide—they met, because God had prepared both messenger and hearer.

Pastoral Application: Everyday Missionaries

We never know exactly whom God has prepared for us to reach—a coworker, a barista, a neighbor, another parent at a child's game, a family in Chicago, on the Navajo Nation, or in Costa Rica. But three convictions should shape how we go:

• God prepares the way before us. If He could open an entry point among a cannibal people, He has already opened one wherever He sends you. His Word will not return void.
• Learn the people you are sent to. Richardson's aim was "faithfulness to God and the Scriptures with respect for the Sawi and their culture." We don't become them, and we don't worship their gods—but we listen, learn, and look for the redemptive bridges God has placed there.
• Remember who the Savior is. We are messengers, not rescuers. Jesus has already saved us; we carry the news so others may be saved too.

God gave us His Peace Child. That is very good news—and good news worth carrying across every barrier of language, culture, and fear.

Transcript

Have you ever tried to communicate with someone that just does not seem to communicate in the same way? 0s

Were you talk past each other, no pointing at yourself? 7s

Were you talk past each other or they speak a different language even? 11s

And you've been in a situation where you're trying to get a point across or share something or gain information. 18s

And there is just, there's no communication or it's very difficult to communicate. 25s

So share one of those moments with your neighbor. You have about one minute, two minutes. 31s

Talk. Talk. 38s

So did everyone kind of have one of those times where they've at least tried to talk with someone of a different culture or different language? 41s

Your pet? No, just a time where the communication was very difficult at best, right? 50s

I think we've all kind of experienced that. 58s

And today we're talking about heroes of peace, heroes of peace. 60s

And our regular guy, regular person we're going to hear the story of is Don Richardson. 66s

And I'm going to read quite a few excerpts out of his book, Peace Child. 75s

He went into an area that had not been inhabited by the Western world. 80s

It was, it was Netherlands, New Guinea. 89s

So it was when the Netherlands had gone into New Guinea and and started landing there, started a post there. 92s

And there were tribes in that region that were warring and that had no formal written language. 101s

They communicated with one another, but they also ward within the other tribes. 110s

And he went to be with the Sawie, Sawie, SAWI people. 117s

So I'm going to just start. This is a regular guy, Don Richardson. 123s

He's from Canada. He's a regular guy. He meets Jesus in his life. 128s

Someone introduces him to Jesus. And he realizes, I want to do something about this. 135s

I want to go and learn more and do something about this and share Jesus with other people. 141s

And so he goes to Bible college and at Bible college, there's an appeal made for for going and being a missionary. 147s

And and part of the appeal or part of the reaching out that the professor had said, he said, you must learn to make yourself and your message understood in the medium of language is never before learned by an outsider. 158s

You will encounter customs and beliefs, which will back you, but which must be understood if you are to succeed. 174s

And then he found out who he was going to be working with. And this is where it gets really fun. 184s

The area is anything but hospitable. Many of the tribes in that region are still practicing. And this is 1960. 190s

Still practicing both cannibalism and head hunting and are generally not to be trusted. And the climate is hot, humid and unhealthy as it can possibly be. 197s

We realize you may have apprehensions about taking little Stephen, his one year old child, to a place like that. And if you'd rather work somewhere else, feel free to say so. 207s

And he and his wife, Don and Carol, prayed about it. And they realized they had a lot of peace about going into this scary region. 217s

They knew that the people that they would be meeting, eight other people. They knew that these were a primitive, very primitive people that they would be amongst. 230s

And they had their infant, their baby, that they were taking and they prayed over it. They had an easy out. 243s

The man that was sending them said, you can go, you don't have to go here. We can find somewhere else if this seems too much for you. And he and Carol prayed about it. 251s

And they realized they have the piece of God and they said, we're going. We're going for. And so I'm going to read you a little bit about their, about their first meetings with these people. 261s

They're in these boats, these little gifts. 273s

And all of the native people have their handmade hollowed out little canoes that they stand on to get up and down the river. 278s

And so they're coming along in the river. And it says, drawing our skip alongside one of the canoes, we touched fingertips with the nearest warriors using the Sawi greeting, Kunahario. 289s

So they would say hello by touching fingertips. And then I'm going to continue a little scattered here. 300s

A meeting of culturally similar strangers is one thing, but a meeting of culturally dissimilar strangers is something else. 309s

Representing opposite ends of humanity's wide ranging cultural spectrum, we faced each other. And the very air between us seemed to crackle with tension. 318s

I think that's amazing. These people, these primitive people who had never seen the white man, they actually heard news of these white men, they were called two on and they heard of these white men that they thought were spirits. 329s

They'd never seen anything like it. And here they were. And so they were a little scared, a little nervous, but also very intrigued because they also heard that these two on had great gifts and amazing things. 347s

These are, these tribes were completely primitive. They still had handmade stone axes. 360s

They had hollowed out their canoes from wood. They used handmade spears to fight and to hunt. So they were for all intents and purposes, what we would consider back in the stone age. 369s

They would have to light their fires by hand. They were amazed by these little sticks, maps stick. They were amazed by these steel blades that the two on's brought with them. 384s

So they were, they were intrigued, but they were also very scared. And the other thing that was really surprising to these Salvi people was that these two on these white spirits did not show themselves as they are. 398s

But they cloaked themselves in fabric. It was very confusing to the tribal people because they ran around as themselves. So they were really, really surprised. 413s

So here you've got these two completely cultural opposite on canoes and a skiff standing there, touching fingers with a greeting that the tribal people knew. 426s

And they were all a little interested, a little scared and that air of tension just hung there. 443s

He wrote that those who advocate that the world's remaining tribal groups should be left to themselves do not realize how naive their notion is. The world just isn't big enough anymore for anyone to be left alone. 451s

This is 1960 and these people were still primitive. And that's right the time where everyone is kind of getting to know everyone. 464s

Doesn't it seem like the world is getting smaller and smaller and smaller. And so he says we can't just leave these tribes alone because they will be reached. 472s

They will be reached by someone. It's a foregone conclusion that even if missionaries do not go in to give lumbermen, crocodile hunters, prospectors or farmers will still go in to take. 482s

The issue is not then should anyone go in because obviously someone will. The issue is rather will the most sympathetic person get there first. 494s

And here we get to Don's whole goal, his whole purpose in going it. It was my aim to combine faithfulness to God and the scriptures with respect for the solid end their culture. 506s

And I think that this is really really impressive and important for us especially as we are. 520s

We're going to start sending our congregation with missionaries. We're going to send you to some remote places from grapevine, right to Chicago. 529s

I know. To the Navajo Indians were really even in Chicago there are it is a culture within a culture. 542s

This is in a neighborhood that has you know sometimes some scary things happen. A completely different upbringing than what those of us here in grapevine Texas have experienced. 556s

And it's mixing with people that have a completely different life of bringing than we do the Navajo nation that we're going to go and visit. 571s

They have a completely different language, completely different culture and custom even though they're nestled within the United States or Costa Rica to hear David and the kids that went in the adults that went last year come back and talk of going into these homes where the 581s

kids that the floor is dirt and they've got their newborn babies just you know there. I mean we would never put a newborn on a dirty floor. 599s

Never maybe the third or fourth kid but never never the first. 611s

So it's just he really hits at that key of getting to know the people he has a heart for the people he's going to witness to and he wants to know them he's not becoming one of them. 619s

He's still going to wear his clothing. He's still going to try to figure a way to proclaim the news of Jesus Christ he's not worshipping their God or taking on their culture for himself. 634s

But he wants to learn where they're coming from he wants to learn about them and who they are. 646s

And it's interesting because all of these primitive people are also very intrigued about these two aren't and learning about them these white spirits they didn't think the white people died he had to correct that for them. 651s

They really thought that they were these spirits and so I love this story just gives a little glimpse of where they're coming from the cluster of curious swallie boy sawy boys crept slowly closer to the lighted window venturing where formally only elders of the tribe had dared to approach. 664s

At first the two on lamp both blinded them with its glare and unnerved them with its hissing but gradually their eyes became accustomed their courage steady they looked inside only the saggo frond walls were familiar everything else from the lamp itself to the glowing yellow curtains could hardly seen more alien counters a table chairs tablecloth plates and bowls knives forks and spoons pictures on the wall. 680s

A carousine burning stove were all strangely puzzling to the inquisitive swamp merchants clinging together for moral support they watched the two on and the neonia that his wife with their baby they observed closely as the two on lifted a steaming bowl of food and began serving some of it onto his plate their eyes growing wide with mingle fascination and horror they glanced at each other and trembled then one of them put into words what they were all thinking 707s

a semmol hap ke maken these were a cannibal people they ate other humans but they never ate the brain they never ate the brain and so they ran out into the tribe and they were telling everyone about this to on who was eating brains it's true one of them exclaimed in words unintelligible to us 736s

it's true indeed the two on his eating brains wondering what the excitement was all about i lifted another fork full of macaroni to my lips it's a different world two world colliding how how was he going to be able to share the gospel of jesus christ with these people it was very very difficult the the warring villages of the sawi people had come together 765s

there were three tribes that had come together in the excitement of the two on and his family being there these three tribes that stayed at a distance from one another at all times unless they were hunting one another or seeking revenge because they were bound to war with one another if they got in close proximity but all of them wanted to be close to this white spirit all of them wanted to 795s

figure out what was happening all of them wanted the steel act and the match stick and the razors and the tin cups they were so excited about these tin cups because they would hold water otherwise they would go to the river throw up water into the air and try to catch it in their mouth because that was the same way to drink their water 825s

so they all wanted to be there and so dawn is trying to figure out how to speak to these people that are constantly warring with each other constantly fighting with each other he's trying to learn a language that had no written form he's just picking up what he can and making his many notes and writing everything he can to figure out how this language works 850s

and he's supposed to take this and communicate Jesus how is that going to happen and not with a very peaceful people though they were kind to him and his wife at that point so he gets to the point of trying to share Jesus trying to share the good news I spoke of God creating man in the midst of a beauty is some 877s

of the world the advent of evil into the human community the age old promise of a deliverer and finally the wondrous appearance of that deliverer I was approaching the climax of my narrative describing the ministry of Jesus among the Jewish people when suddenly my own yawned out loud and reached for his knife in a piece of split vine lying on the map beside him he was bored he didn't care about the story he didn't care about what he was hearing only once did my presentation win a ringing response from the 903s

them I was describing Judas is scary it's the trail of the son of God about halfway through the description I noticed they were all listening intently they noted the details for three years Judas had kept close company with Jesus sharing the same food traveling the same road at the climax of the story 933s

Maum who had whistle or who had yawned earlier whistled a bird called admiration Connie and several others touched their fingertips to their chest and off still others chuckled at first I sat there confused then the realization broke through they were claiming Judas as the hero of the story yes Judas the one whom I had portrayed as the satanically motivated enemy of truth and goodness 956s

and Connie leaned forward and exclaimed that was real to a son I man to a son I means to do with a man as one would do with a pig to fatten him with friendship for an unsuspected slaughter 985s

I saw now that the saw we were not only cruel but honored cruelty their highest pleasure depended upon the misery and despair of others overt killing no longer held real pleasure for them they would even risk letting an intended victim escape in order to pursue the more sophisticated ideal expressed in to a son I man that was why the story of Judas is scary it had aroused them it had touched the cold 1007s

for of their psyche awakening a deep almost the blimminal response Judas was a super saw and Christ the object of Judas's treachery meant nothing to the men in the man house 1034s

they honored the cruelty they honored the betrayal and the treachery they thought that was an ideal they lived to find the greatest treachery they could they lived to kill their enemy by tricking him first by inviting him in befriending him fattening him with friendship 1052s

in order to betray him and kill him and eat him it was great honor in that culture so dawn was kind of stuck he's finally at a point where he can share Jesus and they hear about Jesus and they're cheering for Judas he knows the word he can speak with the saw he tribes 1080s

but it doesn't matter because there is no hope for peace among these people there is no hope for them to understand Jesus in the words that he's using because even when someone is befriended in these tribes there is no guarantee that it's real there's no guarantee that these relationships these feelings these good 1108s

vibes with these other tribes is real there's no trust there at all and so dawn is stuck because he's got three tribes of the sawi people living near him fighting with one another every single day no one had been killed at that point but he knew it was coming there was bloodshed every day over minor things 1138s

in dawn's perspective and so he finally realized and announced Carol and Stephen and I need to leave you need to be able to live bar a part because there will be no peace amongst you if we stay you need to be in distance from each other so he announced that they were leaving and quickly the tribal leaders had meetings in each of their tribes and all my life 1165s

long they were talking and they dawn and his wife could hear talking all night from these different tribal camps and in the morning they met together in a scene where the tribes were coming together the women were wailing and clawing at the men the men were carrying their children and don't 1194s

know what was going on and so he watched and he saw two leaders kio and maehore they stood face to face maehore kio challenged will you plead the words of kimura among your people yes maehore responded I will plead the words of kimura among my people then I give you my son and with him my name and kio held for his son and maehore received him gently into his arms and then maehang held a lot one of his baby sons and cried kio will you 1218s

plead the words of him and among your people yes then I give you my son and with him my name I give you my son and with him my name and don't watch as each of these men carried the other man's baby to his respective tribe 1248s

and don't couldn't decide if he should stop this if they were going to kill these baby what was going on he didn't know what to do but he was also extremely curious at what was taking place he announced that he was going to leave because there could be no peace and all of the sudden these men are giving each other their babies and walking away and he didn't know what was happening 1274s

and so he asked he asked a young man and the man said kio had given his son to him as a tarot tim a peace child and the hand in return has given a tarot tim to us why is this necessary I asked to on you have been urging us to make peace don't you know it's impossible to have peace without a peace child 1296s

among the sawi demonstration of friendship with suspect except one if a man would actually give his own son to two his enemies that man could be trusted 1322s

so they had a peace child and of course dawn Richard's in realized there's a way there's a way to communicate this there's a way to communicate after all when dawn had given up all hope when dawn thought there was absolutely no way to reach these people with the gospel of Jesus Christ 1336s

right there in their own culture prepared way before dawn had ever heard of the sawi tried prepared for him for that moment to bring the gospel they had something within their culture within their culture of hate and cruelty they had something that was the peace child 1365s

because my okodon this is dawn talking and he had named god in the sawi language he said my okodon it's the greatest spirit that's how he could explain who god is because my my okodon wants men to find peace with him and with each other he decided to choose a once for all tarot child good enough and strong enough to establish peace not just for a while but forever 1391s

because all of the peace children that these warring tribes would give to each other eventually that that child would die because we all die as human beings and so then that war would pick up again until another peace child was offered 1421s

and so he explained that Jesus because none of man's peace children were good enough that god had to send his own son to establish that peace forever for among all human children there was no son good enough or strong enough to be an eternal tarot 1440s

I paused and searched their faces the curiosity level was rising whoever did he choose asked Mahane toasting a stick of beetle grubs over his cooking fire I answered with another question did kio give another man's son or his own he gave his own son they replied did you make him give another man's son or your own I gave my own he replied remembering the agony so did god 1461s

they all it's that it clicked with them it made sense they heard it may have looked at me and asked if he the one you've been telling us about Jesus he's the very one I replied but you said a friend betrayed him if Jesus was a tarot it was very wrong to betray him we have a name for that we call it tarot gummon it's the worst thing 1490s

anyone could do you're right again I said looking at me and in the eye despising the tarot child of god is the worst thing anyone can do I'm used inwardly before this moment jude jude has been a super saw me now now he was a villain tell us more man said laying aside his stick of toasted beetle grubs finally it made sense finally dawn had broken through 1518s

with their own customs that still were not enough but Jesus Jesus the great spirit gave his son Jesus and all of a sudden it clicked and from there he started to be able to open up more and more of the gospel in this culture and language and try 1548s

tried that had otherwise been closed at best and he was able to get the gospel into their lives and they started converting and he had some of the elders in the tribes who converted to Christianity and the peace children those two boys they grew up one died a young man that he was a Christian and the other one ended up 1577s

getting getting educated and coming back to teach and he also lived a Christian life and think within those tribes how many they were able to save of that indigenous people just incredible I love that story so not only not only did dawn need the words of peace he needed that to click that 1607s

message of peace through Jesus Christ he also needed the people to be of peace and open to receiving that word and that's nothing that dawn had done that was prepared beforehand by the grace of God that there would be a moment in their heart and hearts where they would be open they would be people of peace to hear that word 1637s

and to receive that joy and that forgiveness so I wanted to share that story with you and if any of you ever want to read this you're welcome to borrow it it's a it's a fascinating fascinating story 1668s

I'm still reading about cannibals who was twisted so our our gospel or our scriptural person of peace or experience of peace we're going to open up to act the 10th chapter it's the story of Peter and Cornelius 1683s

and they spoke the same language they could understand each other but Peter was he was a Christian that at that point you know in Acts he was you know sharing the news of Jesus but he was sharing with other Jews 1709s

and Cornelius was you the Gentile so it was still two cultures that were colliding still two cultures that could easily talk past one another but Cornelius Cornelius had been prepared by God he knew he knew that there was something and so it says if we pick up in verse 1 in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius a centurion of the Italian 1723s

co-hort as it was called he was a devout man who feared God with all his household he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God that interesting he had not heard of Jesus at this point or Jesus Christ as the Savior who did not have that belief in Jesus 1753s

but he was praying to God and giving alms he was starting his heart was warmed he was ready to receive and one afternoon at about three o'clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him Cornelius 1771s

he stared at him in terror and said what is it Lord he answered your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God now send men to Jafa for a certain Simon who is called Peter he is lodging with Simon and Tanner whose house is by the seas seaside and when the angel who spoke to him had left he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him and after telling them everything he sent them to Jafa we continue with Peters side 1788s

about noon the next day as they were on their journey and approaching the city Peter went up to the roof to pray he became hungry and wanted something to eat and while it was being prepared he fell into a trance he saw the heaven opened in something like a large sheet coming down being lowered to the ground by its four corners in it were all kinds of for footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air then he heard a voice saying get up Peter kill and eat but Peter said by no means Lord for I have never eaten anything that is good 1817s

but he was a profane or unclean the voice said to him again a second time what God has made clean you must not call profane this happened three times and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven 1847s

now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had had or had seen suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared they invite him they tell him to come he goes to Cornelius 1861s

and we're going to pick up we're going to pick up just a couple verses later in verse 23 the second part the next day he got up and went with them 1876s

and some of the believers from Japa accompanied them the following day they came to Cessaria Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends 1888s

on Peter's arrival Cornelius met him and falling at his feet worshipped him but Peter made him get up saying stand up I'm only immortal like the two on 1897s

the two on the saw we people thought that Don Richardson was a spirit that he was a God of thought and Don had to correct them and say no no no no no 1908s

get up just as Cornelius had to be told get up don't worship me I am not God and as he talked with him he went in and found that many had assembled and he said to them you 1921s

yourself know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean 1933s

so when I was sent for I came without objection now may I ask why you sent for me he was making it clear we have different cultures 1943s

we are a different people but God has shown to me that you are not profane why am I here right we've got two cultures meeting not colliding meeting 1956s

two people had been prepared for this Cornelius had been prepared Peter had been prepared for this and Peter picking up down in verse 34 Peter began to speak to them I truly understand that God shows no partiality 1973s

but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him you know the message he sent to the people of Israel preaching peace by Jesus Christ he is Lord of all 1989s

that message spread throughout Judea beginning in Galilee after the baptism and John announced how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power 2000s

how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him we are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem 2010s

they put him to death by hanging him on a tree but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead 2019s

he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead 2034s

all the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name he had the opening from Cornelius 2041s

you have a word for me Peter what is this word the saw we tried they wanted to hear what Dawn had to say they didn't know what he had to say and it didn't click Cornelius knew he wanted to hear what Peter had to say and what does Peter tell him 2053s

he tells him exactly who Jesus was exactly what happened to Jesus and exactly who Jesus is picking up in 44 while Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word 2071s

the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles 2089s

for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God then Peter said can anyone withhold water for baptising these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have 2098s

so he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ then they invited him to stay for several days 2109s

good news good news shared and think when this when this word of the gospel when the good news of Jesus Christ was opened to the Gentiles it continued to spread out and out and out 2116s

that is how we have this word because Cornelius was open to it Peter was told by God that the Gentiles were not profane take this word to them Cornelius heard it his family heard it his household heard it they were filled with the Holy Spirit 2134s

they were baptized and they took that message out to their whole household was baptized their whole household was converted these tribes the men of the tribes the others of the tribes heard the word of the Lord and they were baptized and they took it out God's word is promised to reach the ends of the earth 2159s

and it does God's word is performative it does what it says and that's where this is so exciting to see these real people from scripture and from real today history that they took this word of the Lord and they reached out and they reached across barriers 2188s

and they've reached across language barriers and they've reached across other cultures and they've shared Jesus and Jesus as the word of God does what he said and he forgives sin and he brings and calls them calls us as sinners to himself 2212s

so what this means I guess for us today is that we don't quite know always who God is calling us to be amongst and sometimes there are these absolutely impossible situations like dawn where I got to wash my hands of this I need to leave because this isn't working I'm not getting through 2237s

we don't ever know who God is calling us to be amongst but he is always preparing a way for us he's always preparing people preparing their hearts to hear the word of the Lord and if God was open an entry point with a savage and cannibalistic people certainly he has opened an entry point for you and for I 2264s

to share our faith with someone maybe our favorite barista at the coffee shop maybe our children the other parents at our children's sports events maybe a coworker maybe someone in Chicago or Navajo New Mexico or Costa Rica or Dove Elementary we never know who God is preparing for us to share that word with 2293s

but we know he's preparing it and we know we have that word so even when we're called out of our comfort zone even when we called into a new culture we have the word and we will be given that moment that in like the peace child will have that connecting moment with whom we're supposed to be sharing the gospel 2322s

so learn the people learn the people that you interact with learn about who they are where they come from that's the beauty of being everyday missionaries as we are we get to learn our neighbors we get to learn the different cultures 2347s

and what makes people tick and then we get to share the word and we need to remember that we're not the savior Jesus is we're not swooping in to save anyone Jesus has already saved us we get to deliver that news so that other people may be saved as well we are the messengers Jesus is the savior and God has prepared for us 2367s

the peace child whatever that may be because God gave us his peace child I feel like I have to end saying that's really good news it's just incredible so I really I really do encourage you to to go out this week and keep in mind who God is putting in your lives 2396s

and the different cultures even if it's someone from the Northeast if that's the different culture then why is God putting that person in your life and how can you connect and how can you share Jesus 2421s

you 2453s