Dare to Share

For four decades Eunice Pike was a missionary to the Mazatecs, an aboriginal people in southwestern Mexico. She had not lived long among them when she noticed that no one in their villages ever sent anyone else well wishes.

It was a strange cultural anomaly: The Mazatec people, though living together, shared extremely little with one another. Oh, there might be the occasional lending of a farm tool or cooking utensil, but words of kindness or instruction about any given subject were rarely exchanged.

For example, if Eunice asked someone after dinner, “Who taught you how to cook?” The answer was always, “I just know.” And if she offered a follow-up question such as, “Would you teach me how to cook like that?” she would be stonewalled again. The answer was always, “No.”

Eunice Pike came to understand that the Mazatec believed there was only so much good and knowledge…