On to the Sanumás

Thomas J. Sorkness, Editor

Reviewed by: Thomas J. Sorkness

On to the Sanumás: The Missionary Lives of Donald M. and Barbara H. Borgman and the Translation of the Sanumá New Testament, by Thomas J. Sorkness. Resource, 2024. Paperback, 428 pages, $45.59. Reviewed by OP member Josh Currie.

In 1958 Donald Borgman left his home in the United States on a mission to make contact with a remote tribe in Brazil, to learn their language, and translate Scripture for them. By the time Borgman’s mission was completed, he’d shared the gospel, seen tribespeople converted, and planted an indigenous church, witnessing firsthand worship of God in a language that had never before spoken his name.

To tell this story, OP elder Tom Sorkness, who plays a small role himself in the story of the Borgmans, was given access to private journals, diaries, update letters, and personal correspondence. The narrative he’s assembled with these documents is remarkable, not just for the unique glimpse behind the veil of missionary obscurity it provides, but for how deeply the reader is able to experience a faithful missionary calling. It’s a story that will inspire others to go, and their sending churches to consider more deeply how to prepare them.

The earliest parts of the story are adventurous and tense. Embarking on numerous expeditions through the remote northern portions of Brazil, Borgman meditates on Scripture daily, but has little opportunity to share the gospel. How can he without knowing the language? But eventually a base is found, the language is acquired, and he gets to work on a decades-long project of translating a complete Bible. Eventually Don marries, and he and his wife, Barbara, raise their family as the fledgling indigenous church is established.

The joy that the Borgmans experienced in Brazil is paralleled by unbelievable suffering in their ministry—losing their eldest son to a venomous snake bite, surviving a bus crash, enduring constant bouts of malaria and other illnesses, and losing their closest friend to murderous gold miners. Yet, as dramatic as the Borgmans’ story is, On to the Sanumás isn’t simply an adventure story.

By relying on Donald Borgman’s voice, Sorkness allows a compelling portrait to develop that will reward readers who are considering missions themselves, or those who are sending missionaries. It’s a patient perspective that, over the years, shows Borgman’s own missiology maturing through experience. Especially toward the end of the book, as Borgman splits his time between Florida and Brazil to concentrate on completing his translation, his thoughts turn to the organization of the church there, of its leadership, and to the problem of communicating sound doctrine.

This book’s great strength is in bringing to life the principles of biblical missions that are easy to abstract, and which much of the church has lost touch with. Following Don and Barbara, readers will understand how critical it is for missionaries to acquire the heart language of the people they’re ministering to, to commit to translate the complete text of the Bible for them, and, ultimately, to plant an indigenously led church.

Today, the situation in Brazil is unfriendly to tribal churches. Fewer missionaries are being sent. Influential secular organizations have incentivized apostasy. But the Sanumá now possess everything they need for their faith to survive. The story of how it happened is well worth the read.