The missionary wiped the sweat That formed small beads on his sunburnt brow. Never had he thought that learning A language would be so hard till now.
But learning a language and studying a culture So very different from his own, Deep in the Amazonian jungle-- A damp and brutal climate zone--
Were challenges that he was eager Because of his Christian faith to accept, Even though he had to watch out For poisonous creatures wherever he stepped.
His goal: to learn the language there In order to translate the Holy Bible So he could teach the truth as he knew it To various peoples, godless and tribal.
His dual role as a servant of God And graduate student studying linguistics Opened his mind and heart to embrace The people's diverse characteristics.
Constant threats were jaguars, insects, And anacondas in the river, Along with shifty river pilots Transporting goods to trade or deliver.
After years of being there And putting up with a bare subsistence, He pondered why his ideas among The people were met with such resistance.
Occurring to him suddenly As an epiphany, he had to face The fact that maybe he had been Peddling his goods in the wrong place.
Why did he need to fix the people? They were fine just as they were. If he tried to change their beautiful Way of life, what would occur?
They had faith in themselves and lived Without worry, fear, or despair. He was imposing his own concept Of truth on them. How unfair!
Questioning his own ideas, He clarified his own confusion And saw that life without absolutes Was one way to see through delusion.
How ironic! He'd gone to Brazil With good intentions, though smug and prim, To try to convert the people there; They, however, converted him.