We knew that we had much to learn about Mahafaly culture and language. We understood the Mahafaly to be suspicious of outsiders, and we hoped that we could win their trust with an intentional focus on language, culture, and relationship-building.

 

I began visiting Mahafaly villages--always with a Mahafaly friend or one from another local tribe. I asked question after question about culture and language, expanding the official Malagasy I had learned to reflect the distinctive dialect of Mahafaly. The more I learned, the more I knew I didn’t know! How did this people view death, or eternity? What did they perceive as their greatest need, that the Gospel would meet? How should I communicate words like sin, salvation, forgiveness? Would they ever trust me enough to hear a story from me and believe it was from God, for them?

 

On my first visits, I explained (with the help of my Mahafaly friend to translate), that I had a message of good news for the villagers from God, but I needed their help to understand their language and culture to be able to share it. The villagers were open to this beginning of a learning relationship. They patiently answered my questions and, little by little, allowed me into their lives.

 

I faced a dilemma, though. Was it wrong for me to not share the full Gospel with them on that first trip, even through a translator? I couldn’t even understand enough to share a very simple Gospel, much less answer any questions. And what would I do if they accepted? I had no tools or competency for discipleship yet in the language and culture. How could I help them grow? Or would it be enough to hope that they had truly accepted Christ and now were sealed, and not worry about the rest?

 

But then, when would I be ready? How long should my preparation take? What about those dying as I learned and prepared? What if I never had a chance to share?

 

As I struggled through these questions, I continued to feel that the burden of understanding fell to me--that I was responsible not only for sharing, but for how I shared. I continued to learn and study.

 

A year into my relationships with the villages, I asked them for an opportunity to share my good news with them. I spent a week with two villages, sharing the stories we had created in Mahafaly. At the end of this, many stood in both villages, stating that they wanted to leave their ancestral worship and follow Christ alone. Since then, these villages have continued to grow in their relationship with Christ. I’m thankful for the solid relationships I believe gave me a hearing in these villages that I could not have had otherwise.