[RR] Forgiveness

[Bob Simons]

This one really makes you think about why we don't forgive as easily as these people who could really hold a grudge with good reason.   Not in Vain        by Luis Palau        Five years ago, 34 university students from the state of        Washington embarked on a summer trip of a lifetime: an        anthropological trek to visit the Huaodani (pronounced        wow-DAH-nee) people deep in the Amazon jungles of South America.           When they left for the jungle, the students weren't aware of        three important facts:            First, the Huaodani had come to the world's attention more        than 40 years earlier when several of their tribesmen speared to        death five young missionaries.            Second, being from state universities and not young men and        women of faith, they had never heard the names of the five who        were killed: Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Pete Fleming, Ed McCulley,        and Roger Youderian.            Third, following that horrific event, many Huaodani came to        know Jesus Christ through the efforts of Nate Saint's sister,        Rachel.            To reach the Huaodani encampment, the students followed        Steve Saint, the son of one of the five martyrs. Steve had spent        time living with his aunt Rachel and the Huaodani while growing        up and could communicate in their language. Several Huaodani        acted as guides to walk the group along the eastern flanks of        the Andes Mountains in Ecuador and down into the virgin Amazon        basin. Their three-day trek along a jungle trail included        several downstream stretches in dugout canoes. Steve saw rapport        building between the students and their guides.            Finally, the students unloaded their bags at the Huaodani        campsite. As they settled around a campfire that evening, a        student asked Steve about the "savage Huaodani" they had read        about before leaving the United States.            Sitting on a log under a star-studded sky, Steve calmly        explained, "The very people you have been traveling, eating, and        sleeping with?your guides?are, in fact, those 'savages.'"            "That can't be true!" one student exclaimed, as others        murmured their agreement.            "But it is," Steve replied. "If you don't believe me, why        don't we ask some of these Huaodani where their fathers are."            Taking up the challenge, one student nodded toward a        Huaodani woman. Steve translated.            "Boto meampo doobae wendapa," she replied. "Having been        speared, he died a long time ago." Her tone of voice suggested        that any other cause would have been unusual.            Overhearing the conversation, four more Huaodani volunteered        that their fathers had also been speared and killed. One woman,        Ompodae, nodded toward an older man a few feet away who was        listening to their conversation. His name was Dabo.            "See him?" said Ompodae. "He killed my father and nearly the        rest of my family, too."            The students couldn't believe that a woman could talk so        calmly about a person?someone sitting a few feet away?who had        killed most of her family.            Dawa, another Huaodani woman, spoke up. Pointing to her        aging husband, Kimo, she said, "Hating us, Kimo speared my        father, my brothers, my mother, and my baby sister, whom my        mother was nursing in her hammock. Then he took me and made me        his wife."            The visitors were stunned. "How could she live with a man        who murdered her family?" one young woman asked.            Realizing that the students did not know about the        missionary slayings, he put his arm around Kimo's shoulders and        informed them, "Kimo killed my father, too."            This was too much to comprehend. "What changed these        people?" a student asked.            Steve knew the answer but wanted the group to hear it from        the lips of Dawa, Kimo, and the other Huaodani. They explained        how they used to kill inconvenient babies, and how mothers        strangled daughters to meet the demands of dying husbands, who        wanted their children to keep them company in the hereafter.            The Huaodani explained that evil spirits and witch doctors'        curses could kill as effectively as their warriors' spears. They        spoke of living in constant fear of being ambushed, even while        working in the gardens. Then they explained to these highly        educated young people how they learned that the "Man Maker" sent        His Son to die for people full of hate, fear, and desire for        revenge.            "We now follow God's trail," said Dawa. Then she asked Steve        to translate a question for the audience. "All people die, but        if you are following God's trail, then dying will lead you to        heaven. But only one trail leads there. Have you heard me well?        Which one of you wants to follow God's trail?"            There was silence again. A lone hand rose into the night        air. Dawa joyously clapped her hands and said, "We will see each        other in God's place some day."            Around a campfire in the Amazon, the dawn of the 21st        century came face to face with the Stone Age?and came up short.        In a fleeting but eternal moment, Steve Saint saw the Great        Commission of Jesus Christ?"tell people about me everywhere        [even] to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8)?come full circle.        Dawa's witness to the Gospel was living proof that his father's        blood truly had not been shed in vain.        Used with permission from It's a God Thing (Doubleday).        Copyright 2001 Luis Palau. All rights reserved. Bob Simons   For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11 [EMAIL PROTECTED]