Several years later, on Christmas day, hundreds of Sawi from every tribe - tribes that had warred and cannibalized each other for many. Eventually, droves of Sawi became followers of Christ. The next time he spoke to the Sawi elders he told them of the perfect Peace Child, Jesus. While this amazing scene unfolded before him, Don suddenly realized that this was the analogy he needed to communicate Christ. If they died, then literally all hell would break loose-cannibalism, murder, civil war. Richardson found out later that as long as those two children remained alive, the tribes were bound to peace. Moments later, someone from that tribe performed the same agonizing sacrifice with the same intensity and passion. I give you my son, and I give you my name,' he said. He ran over to the other tribe and presented the boy to them. The autobiography was a key which unlocked the existing value systems which had been there for many generations. His wife ran after him, screaming and begging him to give the baby back to her.īut her husband wouldn’t stop. Peace Child by Don Richardson is an unforgettable story about how Don and his wife Carol shared the gospel in New Guinea with the Sawi people. Finally, one man dashed into his hut, grabbed his newborn son, and began to run across the meadow towards the other tribe. The two tribes were lined up outside their houses, on either side of the clearing. The next morning the Richardsons awoke to see the most amazing ritual they had ever witnessed.

However, the Sawi response surprised them: 'If you’ll stay, we promise we’ll make peace in the morning.' Eventually, the Richardsons decided to leave. He was also discouraged by the 14 civil wars he had already counted right outside his front door now that the two tribes lived side by side. In fact, two rival Sawi tribes, fascinated by the Richardsons, moved their villages right around the missionaries’ jungle home.īut Don became frustrated by his inability to find a point of contact. Their culture could not be more different from that of Don and Carol Richardson, and yet this missionary couple attempted to share Christ with them. In 1962, the Sawi people of New Guinea still lived in relative isolation.