Homeschool Review: Walking with the Waodani by Homeschool Adventure Co.

I have heard of the story of how the gospel was brought to the Auca Indians from one of our pastors in church a few years ago, except that I didn’t know what the tribe was called. All I knew was that they were Indians and that they killed the five missionaries who dared to go near them so they can tell them about Jesus; and how one of the wives, instead of fearing for her life or thinking of avenging her husband, courageously continued the mission to bring the gospel to these people.

When I had the opportunity to review Homeschool Adventure Co.‘s Walking with the Waodani  with my son, Pablo, I was happy to learn the other pieces of the story and be able to discuss them with him. You see, one of the things I am praying for is for my sons to have the heart for the mission field. Walking with the Waodani is a great tool to help kindle the passion in young people to bring the gospel to those who need to hear it.

What is a unit study?

Walking with the Waodani is designed for unit study. Unit study means means studying a topic in-depth and exploring a particular theme from different angles.

Although Walking with the Waodani talks about the adventures of a young man, Russel Winter, in Ecuador and his experiences, including meeting one of the remaining Auca warriors, Mincaye, and learning their ways of life, author Stacy Farrell also delved into Geography, environment, food & culture, and worldviews surrounding Mincaye’s people group.

She also touched a little on politics and Science discoveries. Did you know that a flying car was invented so human aid can reach the people living in places difficult to reach with traditional transportation? Amazing, right? (My son says so too!)

And it isn’t the invention that takes center here, but the heart behind the invention.

Cooking Locro de Papa, Creative Writing and so forth

Pablo is pretty much an independent learner. I can just dump him books and a list of activities to do on his own and he’d do it and we can just discuss it later on once I’ve logged off from work.

So he did the worksheets included, like marking maps, creative writing or drawing the animals he’s read about in the chapters, and we talked about what he’s read and done casually over dinner.

I helped him in cooking Locro de Papa (loh-kroh de pah-pah), a potato-based soup served with Avocado which is popular to people living along the Andes mountain range. Personally, I think that food has a lot to teach about people and their culture, and even their history.

We don’t really know how the dish tastes so we don’t have a point of comparison except for the pictures we saw on Instagram and the recipe included in the material.

We didn’t use 15 Idaho potatoes as the recipe listed because we we don’t have those here and 15 potatoes seemed too much to cook.  Instead, we used 4 potatoes and adjusted the rest of the proportions.

Pablo’s soup turned out okay. I thought it tasted a bit bland? My husband also accidentally threw away the Avocado wedges we prepared to go with it, so I’m not sure if that was supposed to add to the taste, haha!

For what it’s worth, here’s how my son’s Lacro de Papa looks like:

Not bad for a first timer, right?

Preparation tool for Immersion

The killing of the 5 missionaries made my son a bit hesitant about going to tribes to share the gospel, but based on his answer on whether he would eat grub offered him by a local, he seems to understand that bringing the gospel to these types of people groups may sometimes require adjusting to their lifestyle in order to connect with them and establish trust.I guess a little cautiousness won’t hurt.

In case you’re curious, his answer was that he would accept the grub and eat it. He also added, “instead of getting killed.” Hahaha!

I love that he excitedly told us that a son of one of the missionaries was baptized by one of the Auca warriors that killed his father over dinner. I love that what resonated with him the most in the material is the real-life story that teaches about forgiveness and love, and the power of the gospel.

We only had the opportunity to read the first three chapters of the book – Shell Mera (then), Shell Mera (Now) and Ecuador where we studied about Pacahuti and their gods, Inti and Viracocha. (Pablo strongly felt against the masses not being told that they were worshiping a false god and thought the reason behind it was a bit strange. I guess he has yet to understand the gravity of the masses turning on their leaders.)

The only matter for consideration about this material is that you need to allot some time to read it with your child so you can discuss it further. Depending on the child’s learning ability, I think discussions can better facilitate his comprehension of the topics in the material.

On the other hand, if your son is used to independent study, the guide questions and activities at the end of each chapter will help him process what he has read before you discuss it with him.

As I’ve mentioned several times in my previous blogs that I pray to bring my children to meet people of different cultures and nationalities, and for them to have the heart to share about what Jesus has done on the cross for all of us to other nations. I find that Homeschool Adventure Co.’s Walking with the Waodani is great for critical analysis and an exciting preparation tool for immersion and missions.

To know more about Walking with the Waodani and sign up for the waiting list, visit Homeschool Adventure Co.’s official website.