Tales from the Tribe: A missions-focused devotional from the jungle to your home

By Aaron Luse and Kary Oberbrunner

Tales from the Tribe is a missions-focused devotional book that will inspire, challenge, and educate you through incredible true stories that come to life from the jungle to your home. Get ready to see, feel, and even taste what it’s like to be a missionary living in a tribal village with stories like:

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Author Academy Elite
• Release date: Dec 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781640851016

Aaron Luse

Aaron Luse and his family moved from their home in the Heartland of America to the tropical jungle of Papua New Guinea in 2001 to work among the Patpatar people. He and his wife, Lori, have been involved in doing Bible translation, developing literacy programs and Bible curriculums, planting churches, and equipping leaders. Aaron's B.A in intercultural Ministry, along with his passion for tribal missions and church development, have enabled him to be involved in helping missionaries that work among different people groups all over the world. He is a cross-cultural consultant and trainer and has also had the opportunity to lead workshops and speak at conferences in 7 different countries. He and his wife, along with their four beautiful daughters, continue to serve on the mission field with Ethnos360. Now, as an author and speaker, Aaron is bringing his stories from the jungle to your home. He desires to make an impact worldwide by inspiring missionaries, pastors, and churches today.

Book preview

Prologue

When I was a young boy, I wanted to become a carpenter when I grew up. As a kindergartener, I watched in awe as a construction crew built my parents’ home. I saw the crew scale the scaffolding and climb onto the rafters of the roof, nearly three stories off the ground. I secretly hoped that they would drop a tool or need some nails—anything so that I could scurry up the scaffolding and hang precariously from the top of the world.

Later, for a short time, my desire to swing a hammer was replaced by the possibility of swinging an ax. My career ambition was to be a fireman who would climb ladders, break down doors, brave the flames, and rescue people. Yet, as I climbed into a red wagon to drive my fire engine to the next imaginary scene, this idea of rescuing people began to expand beyond the physical sense. I started to think in terms of spiritual rescue.

I had grown up going to church with my parents who had faithfully raised me in the instruction of the Lord. Missionaries were often in our home, and conversations about the need for other people to hear about Jesus were ever before me. So with the spirit of adventure and a desire to serve God, by late elementary, I had decided that I would like to be a missionary in some deep, dark jungle.

I had seen a carpenter and a fireman doing their jobs in real life; however, I had never seen a missionary in the jungle doing his or her job. So, somewhere in the mix of hearing missionary stories, going on church visitation, and becoming familiar with Tarzan tales (and possibly a little bit of Indiana Jones), my vision was born. I could picture myself swinging on vines through the jungle and passing out tracts. This was going to be great!

* * *

Thirty years later, I have fulfilled my dream of being a missionary in a remote jungle location. It has been an adventure involving the rescue of souls, but swinging on vines and passing out tracts were never really part of the gig. Those ideas from my childhood were formed because I’d never had the opportunity to see a tribal missionary in action and hadn’t fully understood the many details of what living in a village was actually like.

This book will bring tribal missions into your living room. As the stories unfold, the village and its people will come to life in your mind. Like the fireman in full gear who brings the fire engine to school for all the students to climb on and look inside, I will be giving you a peek inside village life. In a sense, you are being invited to scale the scaffolding to join me, my wife, and our four girls who grew up in a tribe in Papua New Guinea, and become part of the crew on this great journey.

The 16 years we spent in Papua New Guinea, with its 800-plus people groups (each with its own distinct language and culture), taught us more than we could have imagined. The majority of our time was spent among the Patpatar people, enabling us to learn their language and culture and build relationships. We were able to create vernacular literacy programs so they could be taught to read and write. We were also able to translate portions of God’s Word, teach the Bible, plant a church, and begin discipling them toward spiritual maturity. But throughout this process, the Patpatar were not the only ones who were challenged and taught truths. I realized early on that, oftentimes, the person whom God was really trying to teach was me, the missionary.

Tales from the Tribe is not merely a fascinating collection of strange customs, exotic animals, and humorous situations. It is a journey of learning more about the life of tribal missionaries. Moreover, these daily devotions take a close look at the lessons, insights, and challenges found in God’s Word and their relevance for each of us today.

In addition to fun village facts and tidbits of science, each chapter contains four sections:

From the Tribe – a real-life story that took place while we lived in the village

To Your Home – a lesson that can be learned from the story

In the Word – a passage of Scripture to read with three questions for further study

On Your Journey – a thought to take with you as go out on your own journey

Jump on the wagon with us and get pulled along for the ride because we are going tribal! Whether you take this journey curled up in a comfy chair, gathered around the kitchen table with your family, or in a group study format, I hope you enjoy the journey. There are no literal vines for you to swing on, but it will be an adventure. And by God’s grace and through His Word, you will be challenged along the way!

To the ends of the earth,

Aaron Luse

- Part 1 -

Going Worldwide

Making a Move and Adjusting to a New Life

Going Worldwide:

The Introduction

The slides of the projector changed with each click-click showing an unfamiliar setting of people, a funny-looking animal, or a strange food that captivated my curiosity as a sixth grader. Later, during the church service, I remember a sentence that the missionary standing behind the pulpit said. To be honest, I don’t remember who that missionary was or anything else he said that night, but the sentence that seared into my mind was this: God may not be calling you to the deep, dark corners of Africa, but you should be a missionary wherever you are. From that statement, the thought I couldn’t shake from my mind was, Maybe He is calling me to the deep, dark corners of Africa.

A few years later, during high school, I had the opportunity to go on a missions program in Papua New Guinea called Interface. The program consisted of six weeks of intensive classes introducing tribal missions and all the facets involved in cross-cultural church planting. We had assignments given to us to do in the actual villages of the Papua New Guinea people, sitting around their huts with them. That summer confirmed in my mind that it was worth giving my life for the purpose of making Christ known and glorified in some of the least reached people groups of the world.

My wife, Lori, had a similar story growing up. When we got married, we wasted no time getting equipped to become missionaries to remote people groups. We were excited and dedicated. Our first email address was go-n-tribal@.... Our first daughter was named Avalon Evangelique, meaning Island Witness, because we were heading to the islands of Papua New Guinea. Nothing could stop us.

But then we had to go.

Stepping onto the plane while dozens of family members and friends waved goodbye from the windows of the airport was difficult. Holding my daughter who had just turned one and not knowing for sure what lay ahead for her was scary. Lori and I sat on that plane as it took off, unable to talk. We just held hands tightly as tears filled our eyes.

Going was hard, but it was necessary.

Early in Jesus’ ministry, He sent out the 12 disciples to do His work, warning them it would be difficult and hard.¹ Later on, Jesus sent out 72 additional followers.

These were his instructions to them: ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.’

Luke 10:2-3

Some of His last words on earth were, …Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

Mark 16:15

Jesus was intentional about sending out His disciples. His heartbeat continues today. He wants the world to hear, and those who have heard to be willing to go. Missionaries aren’t anything special; they’re just His sent ones who agree to go. Going wasn’t easy for us, and some of the adjustments and lessons along the way have been even harder.

First we had to be willing to go.

Then we also had to learn to be content to stay where God had placed us.

We sometimes needed reminded of the lesson to consider others while living among the very people we had come to reach with the Gospel.

We had to be willing to give without getting in return.

Going to another people group with a different culture and language than our own forced us to become humble learners.

We had to make many adjustments moving into the Patpatar Tribe. The following stories illustrate some of those adjustments, but it all started with being willing to go.

- 1 -

Going Tribal

If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?

—David Livingstone, Missionary to Africa

From the Tribe

We’re not the only ones scared to go to the mission field. Not the only ones who find it difficult to step out in faith and follow God by leaving our comfort zone to go to the unknown. Not the only ones who think they could never go overseas as missionaries. Not the only ones afraid of becoming diseased or meeting tragedy. It is not just us Westerners. I discovered this reality after several years of living in the Patpatar Tribe.

The Patpatar people live on the skinny part of a long, narrow island that’s only about six miles across. The population of about 10,000 lives in traditional villages dotted along either coast. A small mountain range divides the two coasts, running down the middle of the island. In these mountains the people garden, hunt, collect and dry coconuts as a cash crop, and gather materials for their homes.

The stereotypical home in a Patpatar village is not a two-story house with a nice yard, a white picket fence, a pet dog, and 2.5 kids. Not quite. Rather, one would find two bamboo huts—one for sleeping and one for cooking. The small, bare dirt yard is raked every morning to keep it clear of grass, weeds, and leaves and is lined with some plants and flowers to mark the boundary lines between the neighbors’ huts a few feet away. It is populated by chickens, pigs, and lots of kids—6 or more children on average with some families having as many as 14 children.

It’s simple. It’s rustic. It’s what they know. Of course, they want to improve. Desiring more permanent houses, some have started to build with jungle timber cut into planks with the local chainsaw. They love the convenience of using a small battery lamp (charged by placing a little solar panel in the sun all day) instead of a kerosene lamp made of discarded glass jars. Just living day-to-day for the Patpatar people is a full-time task. It’s hard, but familiar because, for them, it’s home.

That familiarity is what made it so difficult for a dark-skinned man named Tokiung to leave it all behind.

He was one of the first Patpatar men that I had the opportunity to lead to the Lord. For the first time in his life, he heard the gospel message of salvation presented clearly in his own language and trusted in Christ as his Savior. From that time on, his life changed.

He no longer desired his former way of life as a village sorcerer doing black magic for people who wanted to attack others or take revenge through the power of the spirits. Neither was he interested in the formal religious activity he had been involved in, trying to follow all the laws and rules laid out in order for him to get to heaven. Instead, he wanted to follow Jesus.

As a young believer, Tokiung hungered for God’s Word and soaked in every lesson that I taught him. He began to read the Bible and came to me time after time with questions and discoveries. As he grew spiritually, he began to help me more and more and eventually became one of the Bible teachers reaching out and teaching others in the village. He wanted to do whatever he could to serve God and jumped at every opportunity. That is, until I asked him to go overseas with me.

I probably need to clarify just a little bit what I mean by overseas. The other tribes living around the Patpatar people group and those tribes located on other islands speak different languages than Patpatar. The missionaries in those places have had the task of learning those unique languages just as my wife and I had to learn Patpatar. I have had the opportunity to travel as a consultant to help missionaries in some of those other tribes by giving them tips and tools for learning an unwritten language and an unknown culture with the goal of planting churches.

I had a week scheduled for my family and me to travel into one of those other locations. It was only about 60 miles from Patpatar as the bird flies, but it was remote and hard to get to. It would require a two to three-hour boat ride across open seas and a ride in the back of a four-wheel-drive vehicle for nearly two hours. We needed to go into the jungle as far as the road took us and then endure another four to five hours of tough hiking up and down steep hills and across rivers further into the jungle.

I thought it would be a great idea to take Tokiung with me. He could see another place, encourage the missionaries there with the task that lay before them, and meet the people in that village. I was stoked to have him tag along, so one day, after a casual visit, I threw out the invitation.

He froze.

His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Then his shoulders dropped, and he looked down at the ground. Finally, after a few moments, he looked up at me and quietly said, I’ll pray about it.

That was not the answer I’d expected. Sure, I was glad Tokiung wanted to pray, but he had never hesitated before about helping me or getting involved. From my perspective, the trip was no big deal. It was to another people group in Papua New Guinea. Yeah, they were more remote, and there were differences between the tribes, but in my mind, they were close enough. They were both people groups in