Chicken Heart Transplant
My main language helper, Peter, told me that when his father, Kilapas, was a young man he became very sick and the clinic couldn’t help him. So he went to a witch doctor and the witch doctor was able to diagnose that someone had performed sorcery on him, stolen his heart, and put it on top of a tall tree, and that was the source of his ailment. The which doctor then instructed Kilapas to go get a live chicken and come back. He complied and returned with a live chicken. They were then able to kill the chicken and perform the necessary rituals to transplant the chicken’s heart into Kilapas’s body so that he would become well.
“You and I, We have the heart of a man, but He has a chicken heart,” Peter said. “He has a ‘spirit’ chicken heart?” I Replied, but Peter corrected me, “No, he truly has a real chicken heart within him.”
We had already heard stories of plants that can make you invincible and people shapeshifting into dogs or other animals to spy on you in the night, but this one took the cake for me. Peter goes to church and reads the Bible and yet I also hear the unwavering conviction he has when he says his father has a chicken heart beating inside of Him.
This is what we call syncretism: A mixing of beliefs.
Peter says he is Christian and likely believes that Jesus has ultimate power over demons and sorcery, but he also seems to believe that witchdoctors possess a similar power. This kind of mixing of beliefs is common throughout Papua New Guinea and that is why we will spend time learning their language and culture, to be able to adequately know what it is they believe so when we teach God’s Word, we can show the distinct differences between their beliefs and what the Bible teaches.
As this story might reveal, we have continued to be able to spend time at a nearby village learning language and culture. Our jaws drop to the floor with some of the things they tell us and we want them to be able to know the word of God better and trust in Jesus alone. Our time in the village has ben less frequent the past 3 weeks though, because the missionary kids on base are on summer break now and have a LOT more free time. We have been spending a lot of time with them, hosting fun events for them, and hosting a Bible study, in prayer that they may come to know Jesus more. It has been incredibly rewarding working our way through the book of Lamentations this summer with them. The Lord has been so good to us and we praise Him for the work we are able to do while we wait for our orientation at the beginning of August. Thanks so much for being a part of what God is doing here in PNG!
Prayer and praise:
Praise the Lord that we are learning the national language and culture of PNG and that we are adjusting well to life here so far. Please keep praying for our continued learning.
Praise God for his constant provision for us.
Please pray for the nation of Papua New Guinea. Not only are there many tribal bush locations with languages that don’t have the Bible, but in less rural areas there is often lots of confusion and syncretism surrounding the gospel.
Pray for safety for us and many other missionaries in our organization. Papua New Guinea is a dangerous country to begin with, but it is election season and crime skyrockets during these times.
Pray for our relationship with God and each other. We need to continually foster these most important relationship to remain effective for the Lord.
Please pray for team formation. We know it is really important who is on our team and we want God to guide us as we consider who to go into a tribe and plant a church with.