How A Peace Child Overcame Cannibalism

Imagine a group of people who honor treachery as an ideal, the way we honor friendship, sacrifice and loyalty. Imagine telling stories to your children about the heros of old but instead of men like Daniel or David or George Washington, the stories are about "men who formed friendships with the express purpose of later betraying the befriended one to be killed and eaten...'to fatten with friendship for the slaughter.'" Now imagine that it is your husband or your father or your son who has been not only killed by his enemies, but then roasted, eaten and that his skull is used as a pillow by his murderer. Can we even begin to imagine such horror?

Now imagine that you are a missionary, sent to tell these headhunting, cannibalistic tribes that Jesus loves them. That God sent His Son to die for them and that His desire is that they spend eternity with Him in Heaven. But there is no response to your stories from the Bible. They have no concept of God, only demons. The only person in any Bible story they relate to is Judas. In fact, they admire Judas because of his betrayal of Jesus...he fattened Jesus with friendship for the slaughter!

This isn't fiction and it's not even ancient history. This describes many of the tribes living in the former Netherlands New Guinea, now part of Indonesia, known as Irian Jaya. And this took place in the 1960s!

But God did not leave these people alone, no matter how barbaric and scary their lifestyle was. No one is lost to Him and there is no darkness too dark for the Gospel to penetrate. God sent Don and Carol Richardson to the Sawi people. And the message the Richardsons shared with them drastically changed every part of their lives.

"It had taken nearly two thousand years for the message of that new value system to range from Galilee to the miasmal swamps of southwest New Guinea. On its way, that message had already challenged, engaged and conquered barbarity in many forms in the minds of millions of people, for it was an extremely mettlesome message. It was not cowed by earthly obstacles, for its strength was supernatural. It could not be intimidated, for it was itself the ultimate antidote to fear.

The message would not back away from any form of darkness, for it was light itself! It was not embarrassed if its bearers were sometimes plain, homely or even untaught - in fact it was fond of executing its most subtle strategies through such! To the consternation of its enemies, it could triumph even when its adherents were being decimated by sword or spear.

That message was the gospel of Jesus Christ. Its purpose was nonnegotiable - to persuade men from 'every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation' to repent and be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. That message was now about to invade the Sawi world, about to confront their idealization of treachery eye to eye in a relentless spiritual struggle for the souls of men, women and children. It would match prayer and preaching against spear and barbed arrow; faith and hope against systematized barbarity; love and compassion against entrenched fear and evil," (Don Richardson).

But how to reach these people with the Gospel? What would they understand? Had God left any witness of Himself in their culture which could give a clue to the Richardsons as to how to penetrate this darkness? Yes!!!!

To this people who would betray even their own families, there was one act that they would never betray...the giving of a peace child. The only way to ensure a lasting peace between tribes was if the two tribes exchanged children...a son from one tribe for a son from another tribe. As long as these peace children lived, there would be peace between the two tribes. Once Don Richardson witnessed this sad exchange (tragic for the parents who had to relinquish their children forever), the Lord showed him how this was an example of the ultimate peace child...Jesus Christ. So it was through this cultural window, and a few others, that the Richardsons were able to share of God's great love for the Sawi people. The light had penetrated the darkness and the darkness could not overcome it. Jesus had indeed brought peace to the Sawi!

Don Richardson's prayer so aptly expressed the wonder that I continue to feel as I read of such encounters: "I thank You, my Father, for laying the groundwork for our ministry to these people. The Sawi were strangers to our Judeo-Christian heritage, yet You so providentially ordained these redemptive analogies within their culture ages ago, so that one day we would find and use them for Your glory. You were concerned, not only to send messengers, but also to prepare a culture to receive their message.

As You prepared the Hebrews and the Greeks, so also the Sawi were not too insignificant or too pagan to receive this much of Your providence...I see now more than ever why You are called the God of wisdom and the God of love and the God of power. I praise You!"

To read more about this incredible story of how the Sawi came to know Jesus, read Peace Child by Don Richardson!