Go West Africa Stories

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:56:52 -0500

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:8-9, NIV)

I was reminded of these verses recently when I was sitting in a worship service. Seven years ago when I was working in a village, two men there decided to follow Jesus. We began meeting on Sundays - just four of us (there was already one man who was a follower). Two women would sit in the compound, but away from where we were. The children were not present.

Now, seven years later, I sit in a grass hanger in one of the men's courtyards and a child begins the service in prayer. There are at least a dozen children and two women sitting on a mat. The men are on benches. Songs are sung from memory and then one of the men reads scripture and expounds on it. These same men that heard the truth of the Gospel just seven years ago are now leading a service each week. On this day after the service, they discussed a brother in town who was discouraged because of the persecution he was facing and decided to go encourage him.

The Lord is not slow about His promises. He is being patient for our sake. There are still so many people who need to hear the truth of Jesus. My neighbors. Your neighbors. There are entire people groups around the world with no one to share the truth with them. May we be faithful to do our part of "The Task" that God has given us.

- Multiple People Groups of Niger

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:24:40 -0500

“What has Jesus done for me?” Andrew exclaimed, laughing. ‘Oh, there is so much.” He proceeded to tell us about his life before he became a follower of Jesus. “I needed money. I needed a job. Whenever I needed anything, I would go to the owner of the fetish. I would give him money and he could tell me where to go to find a job. He could tell me if I should go on the trip or not. The fetishers would tell me to bring them shells and then they would read them. After that I would have to sacrifice a chicken or some other animal for the fetish and the fetish would help me to get money. If I did not go to the fetish, then I could not know if something bad would happen to me on my trip. I had to go to the fetisher all the time. I was poor and I needed help to know what I needed to do to get money. That is how it is for many people here. But Jesus freed me from that. I do not have to go to the fetish now. I am not afraid to go on a trip because I know that God loves me and can protect me. I go to God now when I need to know what to do. He guides me and helps me.” The OneStory Malinké (Maninka) team members are encouraging Andrew to share what Jesus has done with his people who also need to know that Jesus can free them from their dependency on the fetishes. Pray for Andrew as he learns how to share Jesus with his family members and neighbors. Pray that many more Malinké people will hear and understand how Jesus wants to set them free.

- Maninka of Mali

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:09:19 -0500

A Muslim-background believer recently told a missionary the story of his grandmother who is very near the end of her life, yet still hanging on to darkness. The last time he visited her, she told him that the only thing she has against his belief is that Christians do not face the east (toward Mecca) when they pray. His last words to her before returning to the city were in the form of a story. He said, “If there is no water in a village for kilometers around, and the people are dying, will not at least one man travel to find water? And when he finds this water source, should he not return to his village to share it with his people? That’s what I have done. I have found the true Water, and I have come to share this with you.” His grandmother remains in the dark, still in need of Living Water. Pray that she will recognize and receive the true Source of Living Water before it is too late. Ask God to give Muslim-background believers in West Africa passion and courage to share the Living Water with their family members.

- Mali

Fri, 30 May 2008 13:28:16 -0500

Twenty-five students from the School of Theology and Ministry in Ghana recently spent a Saturday morning ministering at the local community health center. Changing their school attire for work clothes, and leaving their books at school, the students took up mop buckets, scrub brushes, brooms and plenty of soap for the work at hand. The students went into action scrubbing the halls and walkways as well as cleaning the latrines and washroom facilities. After the clean-up exercise was completed, the nurses asked the people who were patiently waiting to see the doctor to give Rev. Robert (President of the Students Representative Council) their attention. At the conclusion of a brief evangelistic message, several patients indicated that they wanted to give their lives to Christ, and almost everyone present asked for prayer to be healed of their illnesses. The pastoral students talked one-on-one with patients who wanted to receive Christ as their Saviour and prayed for them. Pray that those who accepted Christ that day will be discipled and trained to bring others into the kingdom.

- Baptist Convention of Ghana

Mon, 19 May 2008 10:36:56 -0500

"Sign up for the great adventure of faith; I can promise you'll never get bored."* I thought it sounded pretty great. Fresh out of college, I was contemplating law school, but I wasn't really sure if that was the right path. So, I started doing a study about faith and really asking the Father for direction in my life. And I wound up asking the Father to let me sign up for the great adventure of faith.

Now, about a year and a half later, I know the Father heard my prayer. Never has life felt so fulfilling; I can certainly say I have never felt more blessed. When people ask about life here, I simply say, "Everyday is an adventure."

My teammates and I recently took a sunset camel ride into the desert and had a worship service on the Sahara dunes. The next day we took a boat up the river to search for hippos (and saw 11 hippos!). I felt like I was a National Geographic explorer. The whole visit was such a blessing to us and perfectly timed to give us some much needed encouragement. Our Father never overlooks the smallest of details.

The weather is definitely warm here. Some days have hit 115+ degrees. We are now sleeping on the roof of our mud hut. It is great! I really love it. Every morning we awake to a beautiful Saharan sunrise. It is there that I spend time with the Father. It couldn't be sweeter. But not only are we awakened by the sunrise, sometimes it is to the village children who think it's fun to run around our hut yelling our names until we get up to greet everyone! Talk about a new way of life!

A few weeks ago the Muslim community celebrated the birth and naming of their prophet. Everyone had new outfits made, and the night they celebrated the naming, the religious leaders went to the mosque to study the Koran and pray all night, until early in the morning. This event gave me a picture of how deep the roots of their religion run here. It makes our task seem more and more impossible everyday. However, we have begun to parallel ourselves to the story of Gideon and the Midianites. It looked like such an impossible task, but the Father had purpose in it all. He had a perfect plan then, and we know He does even now.

*Believing God by Beth Moore. Published by LifeWay Press, 2007.

- Songhai of West Africa

Fri, 16 May 2008 13:51:18 -0500

As the Hispanic Team sat in a large circle beneath the shade of a big tree in a Senegal village, a large group of both Catholic and Muslim men, women, and children gathered to hear the stories that they had come to tell. They listened intently as each member of the team took turns sharing various stories from the Bible. At the end of each story, time was given for questions and discussion. An elderly man sat quietly, soaking in all that was being said. As the end of the storying time drew near, many people were expressing their thanks and appreciation for the time that the Hispanic team from the United States had spent teaching them more about God. Sitting quietly, the elderly man continued to listen. At the end of the discussion, the elderly man decided to share a thought. He said that as an eight-year-old boy, he had been taught (by his Catholic father) the same stories that he had heard from this team today. He said, "These stories must be true because both the Mexican and the American people that come here to our villages are teaching the same stories that I was taught." What a great testimony for this "mixed" group of people to hear! God's Word is the same – everywhere!

- Multiple People Groups of Senegal

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:01:37 -0500

All of our seminary students are expected to take a leadership role in a local church while in school, but as you can imagine they minister in various ways. One example is Rev. K, a student from Sierra Leone, who is leaving his mark on campus, as well as in a local church and the community where he and his family live near campus. This young man, a real leader among his peers, can sometimes be seen nailing roofing sheets back on the dorms after a big storm has tried to rip them off or cleaning out the gutters or painting the washrooms with paint left over from some other job. He is resourceful and not afraid of work. In addition to leading the youth of a nearby church, Rev. K assists the senior pastor in evangelistic ministries. When his landlady’s teenage son accidentally drowned, Rev. K was on hand to minister to the bereaved family. It is a joy to see God using our students and see them growing in their faith. God has put a burning desire in Rev. K’s heart to return to Sierra Leone to evangelize the lost after he completes his studies here next year, and we believe he will do it!

- Baptist Convention of Ghana

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:59:59 -0500

Standing knee deep in a small pool of brown water, our village brother stood with his African brother. He answered the question, “Yes, I believe Jesus is God’s Son” as he was then immersed in the water. Praise God! We sang a song, “Jesus came to save lives.” Jesus came to our village to save the life of our brother. Reflecting back, sitting under our shade covering, we told our brother (who has been our faithful language helper since day one) a story of one of Jesus’ disciples, Philip, and an African man. After telling this story, we discussed what we liked about this story. I liked the part where God’s angel tells Philip to go to the road, knowing that the African man was coming. Just like today, God’s Spirit tells us where to go as He has told my teammate Krystal and me to be here now. Our brother’s eyes lit up as he answered, “Yes, just like God told me to come back from the city and be here in the village. God knew we would be here together, in this moment, studying His Word and telling His Story.” We then asked, “What does this story tell you to do?” He answered, “If I believe in Jesus, I should be baptized.” As the weeks progressed, God was amazing in the way He painted the picture of our brother’s baptism in a way that His glory just burst out. All within one week, we traveled with our brother to a nearby village to share in the joy of a friend’s baptism. This reinforced our brother’s desire to also show the world the new life he’d been given. He wanted to be baptized. As complications arose, it seemed that it might have to be postponed. We told him to go home, pray about it and God would show him when he would be baptized. He called. “I want to be baptized now.” It didn’t matter that some people couldn’t come. God would provide the water and would put His perfect plan in place. We praise the Lord for our brother’s faith and boldness, and for working out plans that allowed Christian brothers and sisters to come from town to celebrate with him. More than 30 of his family and friends in the village also came to witness this day. After a twenty-minute walk in 100+ degree temperatures to a small pool of brown water that the cows drink from, he stood in front of his family, a family who may ridicule him, not understanding what he’s doing or why. Having told his Muslim father that he has chosen a different road, his own father was not there this day. But the knowledge of where this other road leads and the joy it brings in walking down it, led our brother to take this new road, the Jesus road, which he knows leads to eternal life with God. After singing praises until reaching the creek, a story was told of how Jesus has the power to change lives. He offers us new life, a life spent with Him, a life spent going out and telling others of what He has done. Our brother then boldly told the story of Philip and the African man. After finishing the story, he said, “I believe that Jesus is God’s Son. Now I am this African man. I will be baptized, like him.”

- Senufo, Supyire of Mali

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:59:56 -0500

"The compost pile is Heaven!" I heard my children call out as they worked on their Saturday chore of picking up leaves in the yard. Of course I was curious, wondering if their composting dad had anything to do with this. As I got more into hearing range, I began to understand better what they were doing. They had decided to make a game out of picking up leaves and were pretending to be missionaries all over the world and the leaves they picked up were the people God redeemed because of their work. I was fascinated to hear Paul say he was in a hard place where folks were persecuted for their faith, when he was gathering leaves out from under the rose bush. Rebekah compared picking up leaves where there were not many leaves and where it was a little more difficult, like under bushes, to language learning, and she insisted that everyone had to do some "language learning" before they moved to a different country, or area of the yard. Soon I heard Sarah Catherine call from the other side of the yard for someone to come help her in Asia. How poignant that call was! That is the call of every missionary I know. The work seems so daunting at times. So many people are without Christ, dying all around us. How can we ever make a difference in such a place? I wish it was as easy as picking up leaves. Our children realize that it is not, but in this game they can see the whole world redeemed. When my husband Robert told them they could stop because they had pretty much picked up all the leaves, they did not want to stop because there were still some "people" in hard to get to places that needed saved. May we have such perseverance in our work. Andrew said it was hard work, and he is right, but it is not without its rewards. Just like the leaves had to die to be "saved" and taken to "Heaven" or the compost pile, we also must die to self. We can be thankful though that Jesus raises us from the dead to bring glory to His name, and these leaves will be resurrected again as they provide wonderful nutrients for new plants.
- Missionary Kids of Guinea

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:26:55 -0500

On March 2, 2008 Roland Asabrim, one of our young pastoral students, had a divine appointment to be with Jesus. We did not expect it. It was divine. God worked out a message in me about the importance of being what God wants you to be, where He wants you to be, when He wants you to be. I used Roland and his "divine appointment" as an illustration. I preached it the Sunday after Roland's death, and God moved in the hearts of many people. Two weeks later, after our team meeting near Accra, Jeff and Barbara Singerman (IMB missionaries who live in Benin) kept their appointment with us, and we took them shopping for cloth and souvenirs at the Tamale Culture Center. There, Barbara meet a young Muslim man who was curious about Jesus. She made an appointment for me to talk to him after Easter (the next Sunday). My appointments continued to increase. One of our students had shared my message with his pastor in a village 30 miles away, so my next appointment was to preach it there, at Yong Baptist Church. Meanwhile, back at the culture center, I had an appointment. I went to find the young Muslim, but he was traveling. I was met by his younger brother who said, "Tell me what you would tell my brother." I did. I shared "Creation to Christ" with him. "Creation to Christ" tells, in story form, many of the events from Creation to the Resurrection, in 15 minutes. I made an appointment to see him again, and the next day I took him his first Bible. I encouraged him to read the Gospel of John, and promised to visit him again. On Wednesday when I was shopping in Tamale town, the young man appeared unexpectedly. He asked, "Are you coming?" I told him, "Friday I will come." When I met with him a few days later, he had read John's Gospel, and several other books in the Bible. On Tuesday night he had found a believer in the area where he lived, and from that appointment, he found Jesus. Watch for your divine appointments.
- Multiple People Groups of Ghana

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:58:50 -0500

Our week started out with my husband, Pat, preaching at a village church on Sunday. The church was Yong Baptist Church. The building is about the size of our living/dining room area. Many young families were there, with a total of more than 50 children. The building was full. Many of the children and some of the youth had to stand outside. The choir marched in singing a song in Dagbani, their "heart language." The only instruments they had were a set of rusted, ancient drums, two sticks of wood which they struck together, and a gourd covered with small shells that made a musical sound when shaken. The choir’s specials were sung in beautiful, harmony. The service was all spoken in Dagbani, so when Pat preached, the pastor translated for him. When the offering was taken, everyone came forward and placed small coins in the plate. These people are farmers, and they have little, but they gave their coins with smiles of joy. When I left, I knew I had been in the presence of the Lord. I had worshipped Him, even though I did not understand the words to the music, the announcements, or the prayers. My Spirit was at peace with their spirits and God’s Spirit as well - Ghana

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:41:40 -0500

When I think about how great our God is and how His power overcomes all we face, his strength lifts me when I feel like lying on the floor. How faithful He is to answer our prayers! Not long ago we were blessed as we saw God’s hand working in our "village dad." Two of our friends from the United States came to see us and meet our village family. This was a wonderful time; they were able to meet our closest friends, family, and people of influence in our village. We were able to joke, laugh and have a good time! Most importantly, through all of this, our village dad stayed around just to meet and greet our friends. Our dad is one of the few practicing Muslims in our village who truly prays and follows the Islamic practices. He was leaving for a different village, but decided to stay for our friends. After a little while we were able to share with our friends how important our dad is to us. They then turned and thanked him and shared with him how important our Father in Heaven is to us and then shared with our dad, our “village brother,” and another villager the “Creation to Christ” story. Our village dad agreed that Jesus is only one way to God, and our "brother" admitted that he believed and was following the "Jesus Road." Through this time that God gave us with our friends, a door was opened to share a story. We were able to explain that the reason we have come to Mali is to learn the Supyire language so that we can share stories from the Bible. After a slight pause, our dad turned and told us that we are welcome to pray for him and share stories with him as the Lord leads us! Wow! This is huge for us because from the very first day we tried to begin chronological Bible storying in our village, he has openly walked away. We truly believe that he is the gatekeeper to the Muslim faith in our family and possibly our animistic village since he is so influential. However, our dad, (“A”) is still fasting, praying, and following Islamic practices. Pray that our Lord will show Himself to our dad in a dream or vision. Pray that the Bible stories he has heard will deeply impact his heart and life and that our Lord will draw A to his Son like only he can!
- Senufo, Supyire of Mali

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:58:45 -0500

I led three men from a team sent by First Baptist Church of California, Missouri to a village where we had the opportunity to share the Gospel with many, many people. On our first night there, I gave a gospel presentation to several elders who came by to visit us. The next evening we were able to show the “JESUS” film. The following morning, we went to visit the chief and talk about the film. With him were many of the village elders, as well as several other people. They asked many questions about Jesus, based on what they saw in the film. Sadly, they said their religion was the same as ours except that they believed the way into heaven was to follow their prophet. This allowed me to give another Gospel presentation and to clearly show in Scripture where Jesus revealed Himself as the only way. As we left that meeting, I was very discouraged because it did not seem that the villagers were willing to change their ways and follow the One True God. However, a little bit later, one of the young men who had seen the film and listened to our Gospel presentations was able to go aside and talk privately with the volunteer team leader. Afterwards, this young man committed his life to Christ! One of our Jula lay leaders and I later talked with this young man and prayed with him for a while. Later that night, another young man also decided to become a follower of Jesus! One of the men had commented that several years ago, some Christians had come into the village and wanted to tell people about Jesus, but the chief would not give them permission. Yet here we were doing just that! He was amazed that the chief and the others actually let us do this and that they also sat there and listened with the others. Praise God for giving us this opportunity! What had started out as a very disappointing day ended with seeing two brand new Jula men enter the Kingdom of God. That very morning I had been reading in Isaiah 55 the verses where God declared that His ways are higher than our ways and that His Word would accomplish what He desired, in the manner that He sent it. What an accurate description of what we witnessed that day. All along we had focused on the chief and the elders of that village; yet, God in His sovereignty chose to save two young men whom He brought to hear the Message that was being given. Praise God for these two new believers! Ask Him to bring them together so they can start to pray and worship as one body. Pray that they will quickly grow in their new faith.
- Jula of Burkina Faso

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:21:14 -0500

In recent months Pastor S has been BUSY! He has continued to share the gospel in several villages on the outskirts of Ghana’s second largest city. As he shared Jesus with his people, those from Northern Ghana working in her large cities, several came to know the Lord as their personal Savior.

This pastor also asked his church members to invite friends to come and watch the soccer games during the Cup of Africa Nations tournament which took place in February. Church members and their friends enjoyed watching the game together, and during half-time the television was turned off so that Pastor S could give a gospel presentation. Many accepted Christ during those times of invitation.

Pray for this pastor as he works to disciple those who have come to Jesus. This pastor is attending seminary, pastoring his church, and has family responsibilities – his schedule is already full, but he is committed to discipling these new believers. - Multiple People Groups of Ghana

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:03:54 -0500

After being in Senegal for two months without getting a consistent language instructor, I was willing to try anything. An English teacher at a local high school suggested that I register for a free Wolof class that was being taught at an elementary school in our village. He assured me that the class would start at the beginning. Boy, he wasn’t kidding. During the first lesson the teacher spent an hour going over ‘a’ versus ‘aa’. Unlike English vowel sounds, which can be long or short, there is no distinction between the “A”s in Wolof - the best way I can describe the audible difference is Morse Code ("beep" versus "beeeeeeeep"). The next hour we spent writing numbers 0-3, tracing what the teacher wrote as she went around from desk to desk to admire our work. Obviously this class is intended to teach people how to read and write what they can already speak. Although I could not keep up with the conversations, I could easily do the written work that this group struggled to do. This lesson reminded me of the blessing of an education that I received as an American. I will never take that for granted.

This lesson reminded me not only of my academic knowledge, but my spiritual knowledge as well. While in seminary, my fellow classmates and I were often scratching our heads as the instructor left us pondering points that theologians have debated for years. Even with all that knowledge, I felt as a child would feel, not knowing the answers. Here in a foreign country I feel like a child trying to communicate in a foreign tongue. And quite often I feel as though I cannot answer all the theological questions that may come my way when I do get the chance to share Bible stories with others. I’ll never have all the theological answers and I’ll never fully master the Wolof language. The greatness in God’s story is that as complex as it may seem to a theological student, it can be understood by a child. I can share a simple story and let God’s Spirit do the hard part. As I continue to learn the Wolof language, I will strive to remember that it’s not how much I know, but what I know and what I can share that will impact the hearts and lives of others.
- Wolof of Senegal