I was curious; this sounded like an unusual thing for a 19-year-old to do; not sure if I'd be happy about my own kids going on such an adventure . . . but I read the book as a read-aloud with my 13-yr-old son, and it is an amazing story.
Bruchko, by Bruce Olson, tells about a man (Bruce himself-- it is an autobiography) who lives nearly all of his adult life with a certain Indian tribe in South America-- the Motilones. There is danger and hardship-- but Bruce learns to know the Motilones, helps them with medical needs, and enters into their society. This was a tribe no westerner had ever been able to visit without losing his life, and Bruce had come close to being another statistic . . . but God had other plans.
This story describes the customs and beliefs of this native tribe in the Columbian jungle, and tells how "Bruchko" (their name for Bruce) learns to communicate. It tells the incredible story of how the Motilones also come to meet Christ himself-- not because Bruce has made them western, taking away their native culture and forcing his beliefs on them; he did none of those things. This is a story that instead demonstrates that the message of Christ is not a "western religion"-- it can be received and embraced by diverse people groups, even a remote and primitive tribe-- and expressed in unique cultural ways-- because it is for all people.
