Entry 9

Do missionaries destroy cultures?

It was Don Richardson’s will to reach to the Sawis before the society inundate the environment with myriad of businesses, buildings, and foreigners. The Sawis would have definitely been perplexed by its rapid change than the change Don Richardson wanted to introduce. Because Sawis were already under the government’s eyes, who probably would have forced the Sawis to change their lifestyles with guns and other weapons in their hands, it was Richardson’s task to convince the Sawis in a peaceful manner before the government come upon the natives. However, this wasn’t the only goal Richardson strived for. His main purpose was to approach the Sawis to interact with the people to help them be familiar with God and eventually acknowledge God’s love. It is not abnormal to see missionaries in places where not a lot of people visit. Places are usually where people are not aware of the notion of Christianity or are strongly devoted to other beliefs. Many missionaries attempt to make connections (even if it’s shallow) with the people who are considered isolated from the modern society. Missionaries also help these people medically and educate them to alleviate the standard of living of the people. In the book, Richardson’s wife Carol helped cure many diseases that triggered many people’s lives for years providing different kinds of medications.
However what missionaries and organizations really do is to lead these corrupted and uneducated people from digression to the right way to live with an eternal salvation. Introducing the real Peace Child to the primitives, Richardson also guaranteed an eternal peace among the tribes and eradicated cannibalism from the culture.