“Words are playthings to him,” one of Ian Fallis’ co-workers is fond of saying. After earning a journalism degree from Northwestern University, he spent fifteen years at daily newspapers in Southern California, in almost every editorial role: reporter, photographer, copy editor, assignment editor, features editor and night managing editor. From there he went into New Tribes Mission, learning about languages and linguistics and culture and worldview. In his subsequent fifteen years with NTM, he has been to tiny hamlets and villages across the Asia-Pacific region and in Latin America, gathering stories, taking photos and helping film documentaries.