Pioneering in - Far Eastern Bible College

Chapter 6“Rivers in the Desert”“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth, shall ye notknow it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in thedesert. The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls:because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to givedrink to my people, my chosen.” (Isa. 43:19,20)“America! America!” This was the Dyaks’ siren-cry twenty tothirty years ago. I do not know who told them, but “America” hadbecome a synonym for “Christian” However, anyone clad in whiteshirt and donning white topee would be considered “American”.The first time we made our way into the mountain villages inwhite shirt and topee, we were accosted by the siren-cry“America! America!”, from one who first spotted us. At this, therest of the people scrambled to their homes and slammed thedoors. Should you not seek out the village headman or chieftain,you simply had no standing ground in that village, for no onewould dare come near you. Hence we learned this lesson: –1. We must imitate Paul, to be “all things to all men”. In orderto save the Dyaks we must needs become Dyaks. And that,not only as Dyaks in our daily living, but in dress as well –changing over was a must.2. We discovered in this well-ordered kingdom of nature thatthe chieftain exercised full authority over his subjects, while108