The Secret

by Debbie Burgett

One by one, the handful of Saluan men slipped quietly out of the darkness and joined Malongi around the flickering fire. There was no talking or laughing or enjoyment of each other's company. This must be kept a secret.

So, just above a whisper, Malongi began the Bible lesson.Twenty years earlier, this isolated tribal village high in the Indonesian mountains had refused to have missionaries come. Even now they still clung to their traditional ways. Some of the Saluan men had not bathed in a year because they believe it makes machetes powerless to hurt them.

But then Malongi showed up and asked if he could teach them. His village had welcomed the same missionaries that this village had rejected. He said his message was so important that he would be willing to hike the long distance between his village and theirs to make sure they heard it.

And since he was one of their own, some of the men agreed to listen -- but only if it was kept a secret. They couldn't risk angering the spirits. If the spirits found out what they were up to, it could mean sickness and death for the whole village.

So Malongi built a house there and for the last year has traveled back and forth with his wife to whisper the wonderful secrets of God.And as he spoke that evening, truth came and danced gently around the fire. Spirits were forgotten as the men listened intently about Moses and the giving of the Ten Commandments.

Afterward, the seven Saluans melted silently back into the darkness. No comments, no goodbyes. The spirits must never know.But Malongi will keep on coming. He will keep on coming until those same men begin shouting the very secret they so desperately want to keep.

---This is a story that was sent to me in an email from "Tribal Beat", a newletter from New Tribes Mission. These are great, because they are stories of how God's Word is working in very dark places around the world.

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