In this reading, what stuck out to me the most was the perseverance of Bruce to reach out and perform the mission that he felt he was called to do. He was constantly let down and had numerous obstacles that were placed in his path but he refused to be stopped. This kind of perseverance could be dangerous if his intentions had been in the wrong place. Other people that are usually trying to reach out to uncivilized people are looking to exploit them. Some of them just want to convert them but in the process leave no room for their own culture to take root in the new religion. However Bruce kept a steady pace and learned how their religion worked. This had to take time because these people are not simply throwing their culture around for everyone to witness and study. Through this patience, Bruce was able to find a way that Christianity could be related to their religion. In my opinion, this is no different from learning a different language and attempting to communicate with someone. The message is still the same but it is impossible to just repeat in your own language over and over until finally the message is received. It works much better when you use words and concepts that the people already know. While there are still the obstacles of the message being misunderstood because you don't really understand their tradition fully, I think it is because of that aspect that such perseverance and patience are important lessons to learn even if you aren't trying to convert an entire people.
Devin
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