during WWII the Australians arrived here and would occasionally radio for more supplies. Soon supplies (aka cargo) would be dropped to them, and the folks living here saw that.
This is only one of the many ways that the Cargo Cult was born.
The link above is a nice concise definition of a Cargo Cult. But basically it is the idea that Stuff comes from God, who is yet another god to be appeased through saying the right things.
The white skins know the right things to say, and the missionary white skins will tell us the right things to say to get the stuff. The right things might even be in this Bible.
Well all that to say, that occasionally a translator will find himself in a position where the people they have been serving start demanding Stuff from them.
It is a hard thing to take. The idea that someone values your stuff more than you and is very open about saying so. It is one of the many challenges that a translator faces.
Imagine not only translating the Word of God to people who need it, but teaching them to read it, AND.. teaching them that it isn't about STUFF, it's about a relationship with Christ.
I have heard stories of people being upset when they can't find the magic words, and I have been asked in the past "what is the way to make it rich?" by a man on a PMV before. (public motor vehicle.. aka public transit).
It is an interesting development that derives from their culture meeting with our culture, and it is a development that the Word of God can address.
