Missionaries gain cultural insights
Last week, missionaries Chris Lujan and Lane Sanford gained some significant cultural insights in the lives of the Siar people of Papua New Guinea when they attended a death ceremony.
"It was a great opportunity for us to see this very significant event and talk with many older men that explained a lot of the meaning and purpose of the ceremony to us," Lane wrote. "The basic importance of the feast is to satisfy the dead so that everyone will be OK. It is a time to settle all debts and hard feelings between the living and the dead."
Preparing for the ceremony is a long process that requires the building of a special meeting house for men and planning a feast.
During the ceremony people screaming and crying in the nearby jungle represented the spirits of the dead. The children actually believe they are spirits.
The feast required the killing of 26 pigs to feed the large crowd that was gathered.
"It was a good time for us to learn and see this part of their belief system lived out," Lane wrote.
Please pray for Chris and Lane and their wives, Erin and Karrie, as they learn the culture and language of the people so they can present the Gospel to the Siar people in a culturally relevant way.
"It was a great opportunity for us to see this very significant event and talk with many older men that explained a lot of the meaning and purpose of the ceremony to us," Lane wrote. "The basic importance of the feast is to satisfy the dead so that everyone will be OK. It is a time to settle all debts and hard feelings between the living and the dead."
Preparing for the ceremony is a long process that requires the building of a special meeting house for men and planning a feast.
During the ceremony people screaming and crying in the nearby jungle represented the spirits of the dead. The children actually believe they are spirits.
The feast required the killing of 26 pigs to feed the large crowd that was gathered.
"It was a good time for us to learn and see this part of their belief system lived out," Lane wrote.
Please pray for Chris and Lane and their wives, Erin and Karrie, as they learn the culture and language of the people so they can present the Gospel to the Siar people in a culturally relevant way.