Arrows of His Bow by Sanna Morrison Barlow (1966)

Posted on 2019-05-08 by thelittleman
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Another book saved from an old church library’s dustbin! My copy of this book literally fell to pieces as I read it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It’s the story of one Don Richter who, under the umbrella of Gospel Recordings Incorporated, help record Gospel stories into roughly 400 languages in Australia, Dutch New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands from 1954-1957. The introduction to this short book calls it just one chapter of the story of G.R.I.’s work from 1952-1958, and it certainly is an interesting one.

It appears that Sanna Marrison Barlow gleaned most of her info from Richter’s own journals (a man who was still alive and serving at the time of publication), sharing some quotations but mostly summaries with a journalistic flair. Occasionally her writing sounds archaic, transitioning with such phrases as “And it came to pass…” but the writing was engaging enough. I wonder whether the theme of arrows, war, and “men of valor” (1Chron 12:30, 32) were her choice or his. I also wonder why Barlow didn’t include any maps of Richter’s travels, since most American readers know nothing of the Australian Outback or the Solomon Islands. Knowing where in the world Richter was serving would have been an added benefit to the reader.

Richter’s story, in short, is that he served in the Armed Forces during World War II, training in the Solomon Islands and fighting in the volcanic hills of Okinawa. In fact, during his time in Japan, he writes that “every ridge and hill, every cave and pillbox, nearly every individual hole and rock had to be taken by assault,” (11) reminding my immediately of Clint Eastwood’s films, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. During his time in the Solomon Islands, Don Richter came to faith in Jesus Christ. It was also during those years of witnessing the destruction of war that he felt a call upon his life: “I don’t want to spend my life building material things.” (12) He went to Bible school both in Canada and at Biola, where he became friends with Ed McCully, who later gave his life for Auca Indians of Ecuador (Through Gates of Splendor).

Eventually Don found his place in G.R.I. and moved to Australia for training and his first field of service. He learned how to edit and cut audio recordings and soon moved to the Outback where he met many different aborigine tribes who had never heard the Gospel in their own tongue. By the end of his service time there, he had helped record Gospel stories into 75 aborigine languages, and he was just getting started.

He then moved to Dutch New Guinea, where he risked his life on several occasions (though these accounts are very minimally described). In this new location, he helped record Gospel stories into 175 different languages, which is pretty remarkable, given the fact that he himself spoke none of them. Following this massive undertaking, he finally got a call to move to The Solomon Islands, where he had first accepted Christ, and help translate the Good News into a further 150 languages. It was at one of these island stops where a hardened missionary challenged Richter’s and G.R.I.’s methods of simply handing out a disc to a village and then leaving, suggesting that the record and record-player “is a dead instrument.” Don responded, “Yes, so is the Bible—a dead Book but it has the words of life inside. The Holy Spirit can bless the Word if the truth is therein—radio, Bibles, records. When God blesses, they can all be used in bringing salvation to many.” (88) The missionary was finally convinced and the two men became fast friends.

It was this aspect of the story that made me wonder the most, Richter’s methods of leaving the seed and then moving on to the next location. For most of the 400 language groups he visited and helped contact, there were no missionaries or mature local believers to remain and continue the work. How did they maintain contact with these groups? Who returned for follow-up? Did anyone engage these new believers in discipleship? Does that fact that another Dutch New Guinea missionary book of later years, Lords of the Earth, introduces us to tribes that still don’t know Christ suggest that Richter’s work had no lasting effect? Finally, I wonder if the recordings he made 55 years ago are still in use today, digitally or in some other form.

Regarding Richter’s methods of “changing the jungle languages to the talk of God”, there’s very little direct info other than that he would listen to daily conversations, get a sense of overall worldview, and then find an “informant” who could bridge the gap from one popular language to the far-lesser known dialect. The methods likely remain the same today, especially for groups like Gospel Recordings Network and Wycliffe Bible Translators. But something I really appreciated about this book was that Barlow included the scripts of two stories, giving us readers insight into the old-school storying method. In “The True Light Now Shineth” (quoted below), Richter shared the Gospel with a group of Australian aborigines, sentence by sentence, in a way that involved both their own personal setting and their own way of processing information.

I really enjoyed this book and am glad I saved it from the garbage pail. Sadly, it’s just loose leaves of papers on my desk now, so that’s where it’s finally destined to rest.

©2019 E.T.

“The True Light Now Shineth”

Men and women, listen! For a long time we have listened to the stories of the Dreamtime. We have danced many corroborees. We have kept our laws. We have been afraid of the devils too. We wailed when our friends died. We did not know God. Now God has sent a message to us. He is calling us to Himself. He is saying, “Come, and we will talk together.”

Who is God? God made the earth and the sky. God made the fire and the water. God made the trees and rocks. God made the sun, the moon, and the stars. God made the goanna, the possum, and the emu. God made the brown kangaroo, the wallaby, and the owl. God always is. God made all spirits. God made man and woman. God made all things. God is the Father of all.

God has shown this to us. In the beginning all things were good. Afterward one spirit became proud. He turned against God. Many spirits followed this one. He became the Devil. His name is Satan. Satan is always fighting against God. God is good and true. This devil is wicked. He is a liar. God cast him down to earth. He deceived man. Satan is still tricking man. He will snatch away God’s Word from you. Listen carefully! Hide God’s Word in your heart.

God said to man, “Keep my Word. If you do not listen to my Word you will die.” Satan said to man, “You will not die.” Satan always tells lies. Man listened to Satan. Man broke God’s Word. God says, “Today everyone has broken my Word. All people have done wrong. Not one stays good.” God is always right. We listen to Satan. And we die.

Listen, God is loving. He was sorry for us. He sent His only Son to this earth from Heaven. God’s Son, named Jesus, took on a human body. He came to die for us. Jesus kept God’s Word. He was always good. He did no evil. Afterward, He died for us. He died for you, for me. Why did Jesus die? God put our sins on Him. When God was hitting the bad, Jesus stood in front of us. God did not want us to go to that Satan place. Jesus died for us. After three days, Jesus arose from the dead. He went back to Heaven. He always lives. Jesus’ good life became available for your. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” When we come to Jesus, He gives us God’s Holy Spirit.

We did not know this before. We were afraid to die. We were walking in darkness. Now God has given us a great Light. This is true. Jesus will give us a new life. If we reject Jesus, we will be lost forever. Only Jesus can take us to Heaven when we die.

We cannot walk on two roads. You must choose yourself which way you will go. Are you going to walk in the darkness, or will you follow God? Which way will you go? (Arrows for His Bow, 42-43)

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