Choose a representative passage from this novel that holds particular significence to you.

A representative passage from this novel that holds significance to me is in chapter 11, page 118 when Don and Carol Richardson arrive to their destination and meet the Sawi people for the first time. Naming it the "Baptism of Strangeness," the experience that Don Richardson faces made a powerful impact on me:
"...a Presence stronger than the presence of the multitude enveloped us. The same presenece that had first drawn us to trust in Christ ,and then wooed us across continents and oceans to this very jungle clearing. Before that Presence, every superficial thought and feeling fled away, and I felt a deep probe go through my motives.
"Missionary," he was asking, "why are you here?"
It was a question I had often fielded from the lips of unbelievers. Now my Lord was asking it, and there was no escape from the question...Then I breathed the answer:
"Lord Jesus, it is for You we stand here, immersed not in water but in Sawi humanity. This is our baptism into the work You anticipated for us before creation. Keep us faithful. Empower us with Your Spirit."
"May Your will be done among these people as it is in heaven. And if any good comes to them through us, the honor is Yours!" And He replied,
"The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall garrison your hearts and minds through Christ." "
This passage holds a significance to my heart because it reminds me that the same power that saved me from my sinful nature lives me right now. Also, as it reminded Don Richardson of his purpose of moving to a Sawi community, the question "Missionary, why are you here?" resonates in my mind as well.

What reflections and connections can you make with this novel?

This novel instigated some thoughts that sank deep into my heart. At many points throughout the novel I felt like I could relate to this book at a very personal level. As I grew up as a missionary kid ever since I was five years old, the concept of evangelism has been a familiar topic for me. However, I did not understand the significance of it until I truly met God. When I met God, I realized that I was not merely a "missionary's kid", but in fact a missionary myself. Wherever I went and whatever I did, I was called to be a witness of Christ, and this was a mission in itself. Obviously in today's community I do not face as severe, life threatening obstacles as Don Richardson and his wife, but turning to God in the midst of all the distress and franticness could be directly applicable in my life. In page 156 of the book, Don Richardson expresses his troubling over the idea that the Sawi may in actual fact "be fattening us friendship for a slaughter," yet his wife Carol reassuringly remarks that "God always has a way." This, it seems, is an utterly hackneyed phrase used in today's time. However, this phrase in fact holds a truth and a promise from God Himself. Don Richardson later claims that they were "reduced to utter dependence upon God" and their only hope for the Sawi were to be found in the promises of God. At times I feel as there is no hope for those in my mission field. But, as Don and Carol Richardson believed, God always does have a way and hope if always found in the promises of His word.

What concepts in the Sawi culture intrigued / reviled / saddened / angered / surprised you?

Reading the "Peace Child" gave me a general scope of the Sawi culture. The most intriguing concept was in chapter 14, when Yakub announces his marriage with Fasaha as his third wife but Nair decides against this, and for this reason a fight breaks out between the two sides. Yakub and his two friends Mavu and Sinar against Nair and his brother Paha. When Don Richardson enters this scene and seeing how serious the injuries are, he calls Carol to bring bandages and penicillin while Don stays at the scene, trying to deter Mavu from taking further advantage of his opponents in their weakened condition. When Carol returns, they together bandage up their wounds and by the time they are done with treating the lesions and injecting penicillin, their hands are bloody. Don mentions that he was "burning with desire to say something to him," but assumed that if he reprimanded Mavu for nearly killing killing two men, "he would only shrug his shoulders as if to say, "So what?"" Because Don thought that chastising Mavu would be futile, he says instead, "You have made my wife's hands bloody." The response to this is intriguing:
"The remark took him by surprise He glanced quickly at Carol's hands and a sudden realization of the inappropriateness of the scene he had helped to create seemed to startle him. Mavu winced, fearing he had unwittingly committed some dark impropriety of cosmic consequence."
The reason why I found this so captivating was because it seems, according to the implication of this passage, that Mavu never got to realize the damage that follows his actions, chiefly because no one ever told him. So when Don points out the consequence of his actions, Mavu is surprised and fears that he has "unwittingly committed some dark impropriety of cosmic consequence." I can extrapolate from this observation that the reason for the Sawi culture being the way it is is because they have never been exposed to anything else besides it.

What does Jesus want us to do for the Sawi?

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, the last words He spoke were: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). This command is known as the Great Commission, in which numerous mission organizations base their ideals upon. Even though these words were spoken more than 2,000 years ago, it is still applied today. Jesus wants Christians to "go and make" (active) "disciples of all nations," therefore including New Guinea. Although Don Richardson was able to make Sawi disciples, we should continue to pursue after those who still have not been exposed to Christian principles. And the beginning of this mission should start with prayer: "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people...This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1Timothy 2:1-4).

What should we do when we are confronted with other cultures?

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do." This was my initial response. But when doing so, our motivation should be out of love. When we are confronted with other cultures, the key to keeping a good relationship is to think, say, and do everything through love. And when we do so, we will learn to respect and furthermore learn about the people and their culture. Leo Tolstoy once said, "All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love." Through love, we can open ourselves up to different cultures, even though certain aspects of the cultures may seem extremely bizarre or even "uncivilized." According to 1 Corinthians 13, when confronted with other cultures, even if we learn to speak without flaw to the people in their language, but do not speak to them in love, then we are nothing. If we know everything there is to know about other cultures, but do not have love, we are nothing. If we have a faith that can move mountains, but are without love, we are nothing. And even if we give everything we have to the poor and surrender our bodies to the flames, but have not love, we gain nothing. Ephesians 3:19 claims that the love of God surpasses all knowledge. Understanding even just an infinitesimal measure of the love of God can enable us to accomplish the impossible by loving people from other cultures, ultimately drawing us closer to them through a bond that is stronger than anything. Don Richardson portrays this remarkable concept in the "Peace Child." Just before Don Richardson starts building his home in page 102, he asks himself, "would Sawi culture and the Scriptures prove so opposite in their basic premises as to render this two-way loyalty impossible?" The answer to this question is clearly revealed at the end of the book, but it is the process that makes this possible. His faith in God and love for the Sawi people was what compelled him to persevere even when situations were not held in his favor.

How do I relate to faith? How did Don Richardson relate to Faith? How do the Sawi relate to faith?

Faith, according to what I consider as the Truth, is "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." My life relates this this faith in every way possible because my existence wholly depends on this faith. Even though I cannot physically see God, I trust and know with all my heart that there is a Creator of this universe, and that this Creator is also my Father. This is the faith that Don Richardson, just as all other Christians, relates to. Specifically in his book "The Peace Child," there are several instances which manifest Don Richardson's faith in God. The most obvious example is that he was convicted God wanted him to move with his family to the land of the Sawi, and as a result of this faith ended up becoming a missionary to Papa New Guinea, turning the Sawi people to God. The Sawi people also relate to a faith, but in the beginning of the story this faith is not the same faith as Don Richardson. However, the definition still applies. They are confident in what they hope for (in betraying of their own Sawi brothers and sisters) and assurance about what they do not see (that this act of betrayal is the honorable thing to do). I believe that it is safe to say that most humans who posses a developed brain to some extent has faith in one thing or another, whether it be gravity, God, or the concept of betrayal.

What factors of your native culture have informed your world view?

To begin answering this question, I will briefly explain where I am coming from. Born in Seoul, my first language was Korean, and I was raised in a Christian home. I grew up in Korea until I was five years old, and after my parents got a calling to be missionaries in Mongolia, we left our home country and moved to the Gobi Desert. We lived there for two years, and then moved to the capital city, Ulaanbator, and stayed there for three years. After that, we moved to China and my parents have been living there ever since. Until I came to TCIS, I did not consider Korea to be my home country. I learned that kids like me were considered a "third culture kid" (TCK), and I faced a time of an identity crisis. Although I am technically a Korean, I cannot say what my true native culture is. I believe I have grown up in a culture that cannot be strictly named, but a term that would best describe it would be "multi-cultural." My world view has largely been shaped by my unique background, and I believe that in some ways, I have an advantage over most average students.