Methodists No Longer on the Menu
I couldn’t resist this story. Although it is not specific to Christian women, I am a member of the United Methodist Church and found this article intriguing.
Apparently, a tribe in Papua New Guinea has apologized for eating four Methodist missionaries in the 1800’s. According to Telegraph.co.uk, thousands of villagers attended a reconciliation ceremony during which the formal apology was given. The Tolai tribe was just one of many on the island that engaged in cannibalism, and certainly not the only one to dispose of missionaries in this fashion. As a Methodist, I do find it a bit ridiculous that a formal apology should be required.
From the first days of the Apostles, mission work has often been very dangerous and deadly. Missionaries have also been responsible for some of the great discoveries in new lands. Although their methods for “winning over” the native peoples were not always acceptable, the hard work and dedication to what they believed was right cannot be denied.
If you have never read up on the stories of missionaries and explorers around the world, I encourage you to do so. Ruth Bell Graham’s family were missionaries in China and her father’s book “Red Devil in China” is fascinating. Other good reads include “In Search of the Primitive,” a book which discusses some the earliest exploration into Papua New Guinea. It is probably out of print now, but you may come across it in a thrift store or used book store. Medical missions also make for fascinating reads. The book “Fever!” by John G. Fuller discusses the first deaths in a missionary hospital from the emergence of Lassa fever in Africa.
The calling by God that these people have felt have led them into some of the remotest, most primitive areas of the globe and opened the eyes of the rest of the world on the great diversity of our Lord’s creation.
religion, christian, missions, ministry, Methodist, Papua New Guinea, exploration
May 26th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
I couldn’t resist this story. Although it is not specific to Christian women, I am a member of the United Methodist Church and found this article intriguing.