Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Book review of Davey and Marie Jank's 'Our Witchdoctors Are Too Weak'


Davey Jank watched as the airplane roared past him down the grass runway before lifting off into the sky. That was it. His new residence was now the Amazon jungle, and he was on his own, one of a handful of missionaries committed to learning the Wilo tribe's language and culture so that they could translate the Bible for them. At the moment, he felt abandoned as he watched the little plane disappear from view. Would this remote people accept him? Would he ever learn their language well enough to come up with a written form for it and share the Gospel message?

Having grown up with missionary parents, Davey knew some of what he was facing at that moment, but he didn't turn back. Armed with a sense of humor and a smile, he would eventually come to know and appreciate this friendly jungle tribe which had invited him to tell them about God's Talk. In the process, he would eat grubs, battle persistent rats, and go fish-spearing with crocodiles. It would be all in a day's work for this Amazon missionary as he carried a notebook and pen, trying to discover what the Wilo's were saying to each other and to him.

Our Witchdoctors Are Too Weak is a humorous view into the lives of Davey Jank and his wife Marie. Follow their adventure as they discover that the challenges of jungle life go far beyond living without telephones or computers. The real pitfalls are those produced by living closely with a people whose language and culture are a mystery to you.

No comments:

Post a Comment