The first thing they all asked us when we had all sat down in the living room was, "Is it ok to sacrifice to our ancestors?" At first, we did not know quite what to say. The question had a testing feeling to it, as if they were making sure we gave them the same answer as they had heard elsewhere.

Paul did not just tell the Gentiles to not be circumcised. He wrote long and hard as to why they did not need to. And when the Jews had issue with the idea, he had to work through the topic quite clearly with Peter, the other apostles, and leaders of the Church. That was a cultural issue, something which carried a different meaning in different cultures, and which required discussion by the Church.

And actually, Paul has much to say about this issue of sacrificing to ancestors as well, because the issue of eating food sacrificed to idols is almost identically the same. The problem was, I had the distinct impression from the way they spoke and tested us on the topic that, had we not encouraged discussion of what the Bible says on the topic, they were going to go home and ignore the teaching as unnecessary.

So, after an hour or so of reading what the Bible had to say and talking through what we all felt it instructed us to do, these Dong believers came to the same conclusion, but it was their own conclusion, not some enforced rule.

What the Dong believers need most is Bible study. Without instruction by example of how to study the Bible, these Dong people return home ill equipped to answer the questions that come up in daily life, daily Dong life.

• Pray for solid Bible teaching among the Dong people.