One hot afternoon in eastern Namibia, I sat on the ground with a group of !Kung people to talk about sharing Bible stories using their storytelling traditions. They watched me scatter five sticks and a rock on the ground. I asked them what they thought the objects represented. They looked and wondered, but didn 't have an idea. Then I pulled the sticks toward one another and placed the rock at the top. When I asked again, one eager man said right away, “It’s a person!” Everybody normally always answers that this now looks like a person. Then I ask if it is a man or a woman and most of the time they say that they don’t know. Then I ask if it represents an old or young person and they also answer that they don’t know.
After that I ask if they think that it represents them or another ethnicity but they also answer that they do not know. When I ask why they don’t know, they usually reply that there is too little information or detail. They confirm always that it clearly represents a basic picture of a person. My representing a person in this way demonstrates a simple foundation for communicating new ideas. For this web-site I will start with a set of assumptions that are like my demonstration on the ground. Based on these assumptions I invite you to ponder my musings and simply ask God what your response should be. Even though my invitation is for anybody, it is especially for those worldwide that work among people cross culturally as practitioners, as well as any worker in ministry.
A stone and five sticks scattered on the ground
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