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Tell It Again and Again

A.S., Southeast Asia

Last year, fifteen tribal students occupied a bamboo dorm in the middle of our hospital compound in Southeast Asia. After a year of training in community health, they are now being sent to many far-flung villages to train whole communities in health practices.

During their year of training, they learned how to take care of teeth, get rid of worms, teach the benefits of not smoking, and many other practical medical topics. Twice a week their evening devotions became an expanded Bible story training class.

Some dragged their feet. “This class is more than an hour! The normal devotions are only a half hour.”

“We have to tell the stories in front of others?”

“That story is too long, I’ll never remember it.”

 “Can’t we just watch the video?”

I made my own share of mistakes as I learned how to lead the storytelling class and how to tell a story from memory in a foreign language. Finally, the class was able to tell four stories well enough for each of the students to tell the stories on their own.

We simulated a visit to an outlying village. Half of the team were the hosts, the other half the guests. The hosts greeted the guests (or “weary travelers”), seated them, and chatted about village life. Gradually, the guests offered to tell Bible stories: how God created man, how God tested Abraham, how God rescued his people from slavery, and how God forgave King David’s sin.

As if it were a Bible marathon, we listened to all four stories twice in one hour. After hearing over and over again of God’s forgiveness toward King David, one student said, “Man, it makes you so you don’t even want to sin, doesn’t it?”

The repeated stories of how God deals with man spiritually impacted many of the students. Some, however, remained less than excited. They spoke mechanically when it was their turn, getting the details right, but missing the heart of truth.

Nevertheless, the teams returned from their first hill trip excited about the receptivity of their real village hosts. One team was in a village where there was just one very old Bible and hardly any literacy among the people. This team came back grateful they were being trained in oral storytelling, because they were equipped to minister effectively to their non-literate hosts.

In one village, where many admitted they weren’t really true believers, the tribal people listened to the four core stories, keeping the students storytelling for four hours. The next night they listened to more stories, and requested that someone bring the film on our Lord’s life so they can learn more.

Please pray for these community health workers as they work out in the field this year. May God grace the telling and re-telling of the best stories ever given to this world—those from His word and containing His truth.