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:"Their intellectual faculties were so poorly developed, that it seems as though they cannot feel the soul in themselves; and the range of their thoughts and desires, their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, is limited to bodily needs. What is the missionary to do with them? Is he to be satisfied with spreading the faith alone? But not many from among them are in agreement with it; and fewer still who can understand it. Should one begin to speak to them about heaven? They think only about bread, and after sermons they engage in conversation only about how they have nothing from which to make bread for themselves. How should one approach a sick man? Should one speak to him about the soul, about eternal torment, about paradise? In response to this he points to the wounds on his body and, looking at the preacher with a languishing gaze, asks "''Em'-bar-ba?''" Do you have no medicine? And so, what is one to do with him?"<ref> AMG:FAM p. 110. </ref>
On translation:
:"The collection of Tatar words and sayings we have accumulated is like a beggar's sack in which there are all kinds of bread scraps, soft and hard, wheat and rye, fresh and stale--and when put together make a heavy load. These were our achievements through becoming acquainted with the different dialects used in the different native tribes. Here there was information from different sources we came across in our travel. Here there were Kumandin, Chern' Tatar, Teleut, and Altai words. It was so much of a mishmash heaped together that it was not easy to bring this chaotic mixture into any kind of harmonious order. I thought, what could one possibly get out of all this except remarkable nonsense? Among all these dialects--which were all related, but different from one another--it was necessary to adopt the most widely-used; to compile a dictionary of the dialect in the usual order; to note down, as far as possible, especially, the peculiarities of other districts; and, in such a manner, learn one and become acquainted little by little with another. We were already able to present to the natives the essential teachings of the faith and welcome them into the church of Christ in the Chern' Tatar and Altai dialects; but in transposing the Holy Scriptures to that or another dialact, it was not possible to take even a single step without an interpreter."<ref> AMG:FAM pp. 120-121. </ref>
On the importance of consistent long-term policies in the mission field:
