Estávamos dispostos a morrer, se preciso fosse, mas entendíamos que era com as nossas vidas e não com a morte que Deus iria nos usar para alcançá-los. Qualquer choque que porventura ocorresse em um primeiro encontro, certamente seria uma marca negativa no relacionamento entre as duas sociedades, que estava prestes a se iniciar. Era preciso muita cautela para que tudo tivesse um final verdadeiramente feliz.
Depois de algumas horas de caminhada por baixo de imensa selva, encontramos um acampamento recentemente abandonado… É impossível descrever a emoção daquele momento. Era como se estivéssemos frente a frente com o povo para o qual as boas novas de salvação estavam chegando. Com os olhos espirituais antevíamos o momento de estarmos ensinando a eles o Evangelho de Jesus Cristo e isso era o que mais desejávamos. Todo o esforço de nove meses viajando por rios e matas e de separação dos familiares estava sendo coroado com a primeira vitória que aos poucos ia sendo conquistada.
Seguindo o procedimento normal de uma frente de atração, deixamos alguns brindes no local (facões, espelhos, etc.) em demonstração de que estávamos ali com fins pacíficos e propúnhamos a eles a nossa amizade. Depois disso, voltamos para o nosso acampamento e prosseguimos no trabalho de construção da base de apoio. De dois em dois dias, voltávamos ao local para verificar se havia aparecido alguém e recebido os presentes. Caso positivo, seria o sinal de que estariam aceitando a nossa aproximação. Do contrário, novos cuidados deveriam ser tomados e novas estratégias teriam que ser adotadas para que eles percebessem que não éramos pessoas nocivas a eles. Se no passado tivessem passado por experiências desagradáveis em contatos ocasionais com outras pessoas não indígenas, teríamos que lhes mostrar, de alguma forma, que não éramos como os demais. Mas tudo isso era uma questão de tempo e, na dependência de Deus, aguardávamos o desfecho dos acontecimentos.
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Naquele dia coube ao Edu e Gerani ir verificar os presentes, que até então não haviam sido levados. Mas, ainda a caminho, enquanto limpavam um porco que fora abatido por eles, ouviram vozes humanas ali por perto e qual não foi a surpresa! Estavam frente a frente com dois homens e uma mulher que tremiam e falavam em uma língua totalmente desconhecida. Embora os missionários estivessem preparados para aquele momento, não tremiam menos do que os indígenas. Afinal de contas, nem um nem outro sabia o que iria acontecer, pois era o primeiro encontro de pessoas pertencentes a etnias distintas e de costumes totalmente diferentes. Só o tempo revelaria tudo o que se passava em suas mentes e corações naquele momento. | We were willing to die, if needed; though, we knew it would be with our lives and not our death that God would use us to reach them. Any impact that might have occurred in a first meeting, would certainly leave a negative mark on the relationship that was about to start between the two societies. A lot of cautious was needed for everything to have a truly happy ending. After a few hours of walking through immense jungle, we found a camp recently abandoned… It’s impossible to describe the emotion we felt on that moment. It was like we were face to face with the people for whom the good news of salvation was arriving. With spiritual eyes, we could see the moment we would be teaching them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that’s what we wanted the most. All the effort of nine months traveling through rivers and forests and the separation from family members, was being crowned with the first victory that was slowly being conquered. To get the indigenous people’s attention, we left some gifts like for instance, cutlasses and mirrors, on the site; our intention was to demonstrate that we were there with peaceful purposes, and that we wanted to be their friends. After that, we returned to our camp and continued the work towards building a support location. Every two days, we would walk back to where we left the presents to check if anyone had appeared and received the gifts. If they did, it would be a sign that they would be accepting our approximation. Otherwise, new strategies would have to be adopted in order for them to notice that we were not harmful people to them. In case they had gone through unpleasant experiences during past encounters with other non-indigenous people, then we would have to show them, in some way, that we were not like the others. Nevertheless, it was all a matter of time; and based on God’s wish, we waited for the outcome of the events. … On that day was Edu and Gerani’s turn to go check on the gifts, which until then had not been taken. However, still on the path to the site, while they cleaned up a pig which had been killed by them, they heard human voices nearby and it wasn't at all a surprise. They were face to face with two men and one woman who trembled and spoke in an unknown language. Although the missionaries were prepared for that moment, they didn't tremble less than the indigenous people. After all, neither one nor the other knew what was going to happen, because it was the first encounter between people belonging to distinct ethnic groups and with totally different traditions. Only time would reveal everything that was happening in their minds and hearts at that moment. |