The Crocodiles at Sabou

                         

In Burkina, there are several places where you can go to visit, pet, set on crocodiles. To me, this doesn't really sound very entertaining, but it does draw tourists. So, we took one of the groups who came recently to visit the crocodiles at Sabou.

In animistic religions, the people believe that spirits inhabit animals, trees, rocks, and many other things, thus those objects become sacred. The lake at Sabou houses around 100 crocodiles of varying sizes and the men who tend to the crocodiles can call them up out of the lake so that the tourists can see them and touch them. Every so often, the villages make sacrifices to the crocodiles (and the spirits) to keep them happy.  This keeps the spirits close enough to protect the village, but also far enough away that the villagers haven't brought the wrath of the spirit on their village. 

There is always a balance in animism on having a relationship with a god to provide protection, but not having an intimate relationship with a god.  Their gods are always distant (in relationship), not close, and always wrathful, never loving or gentle.  They live in constant fear of their god, never at peace.

   

These practices are common throughout West Africa.  In Benin, there are villages where pythons are considered holy.  They have temples where the pythons live and men who serve the pythons.  They let them out at night to feed and they return to the temple to be taken care of.  They are considered the protectors of the village, just as the crocodiles are in Burkina.  When you visit the python temples in Benin, they place the pythons around your neck to have your pictures taken with them.  No thank you!  I am glad that we just have crocodiles to deal with here.

Because animisim has such a powerful traditional hold here, these practices often get mixed with other religions.  It can be difficult to get people to understand how those traditions are not fruitful and that there is a way that is better.  Please pray for strongholds to be broken and for animists to move from the bondage of fear into the peace that comes from trusting in Christ alone.

Engagement Team

Many of you know that I joined a team called the Engagement Team and often I am asked, "So, what is your job?" I thought it might be good today to explain a bit about what I do now.

A simplified explanation is this--Our job as the Engagement Team is to research the people groups in our 9 country cluster in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Niger, Nigeria, N. Cameroon, and S. Chad). We have to know where each of the groups are located, whether they have any missionaries working with them, what their religion is, population, demographics, etc. Basically, we collect as much info about them as possible. In this way, we know which groups of people have yet to hear the gospel and what those groups are like.

The second part of our job is to publicize this information and begin working with churches in America to get them to come and bring the gospel to the people here who have never heard. We also work with national churches here who want to develop and send out their own missionaries.

Our goal in all of this is not just to get churches to come one time, or even churches here to make one trip to a village, but instead, it is to see a church planting movement started among the people groups. This requires years of work and much, much dedication. I always say, "Everything takes longer in Africa."

So, the question is.....are you and your church up for the challenge? Does your church want to make an impact on a people group that has never heard the gospel? Do want to see folks from every people group, nation, family, and tongue surrounding the throne of God? If so, contact me and I'll be happy to help you get started working in our area of the world.

In the next few weeks, I will begin to show different people groups that we have visited recently that have little to no gospel influence. Hopefully, this will put faces with names of groups for you. Even if you can't come, you can pray for these peoples to have the gospel reach them and even from your home, you can make an impact on eternity.

A few of my favorite things....

So often the news broadcasts in America tell about the wars, famines, diseases and atrocities of Africa. Images on tv screens and newspapers show violence, death, hunger and starvation. People with AIDS and their imaciated bodies, orphans, machine guns, and more. Rarely, if ever, do you see the beauty of Africa displayed across the screen or in the paper. Headlines are generally not positive or encouraging, and travel companies almost never advertise to come and spend a week or two in Africa as a get away.

While these situations are true, I want to display some of the beauty of Africa to you. I hope that you see a small glimpse of what is here to be loved and cherished, and why my heart has fallen in love with this continent. Many people say that once you have come here, Africa gets in your blood. Let me show you why....

Vacation 2010

The Mara

Trip to Bobo-Dioulasso...

Several people have complained that I keep moving to places that they cannot possibly pronounce. First, Bamako, then Ouagadougou, and now, possibly, Bobo-Dioulasso or Niamey or Cotonou. I guess you can take your pick figuring out which one is more difficult to say.

The purpose of my trip last week was to view the work that the Engagement team is doing in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso. I spent the week with the team leaders, David and Cindy Pope, who were not only wonderful hosts, but also have become wonderful friends. They took the week to show me around Bobo, and much of the surrounding area, introducing me to pastors, pastors wives, villages and explaining much of the work to me.

So far, since moving to Africa last October, I have lived in a city of 2 million people and now a city of 1.5 million. Visiting a city of 500,000 was a refreshing change. I have always enjoyed living in smaller towns and definitely enjoy working in villages. Bobo has a small town feel. Friendly people, fewer roads to learn and navigate, less traffic, and it is much more relaxed than the city. It's streets are tree lined which provides a great deal of shade and greenery. The temperature is about 5 degrees cooler than Ouaga, which makes the climate a bit better. They receive more rainfall so the landscape is pretty lush even in the villages. There are also lots of hills, small ponds, and streams. Overall, I would definitely say that it is an extremely inviting town for lots of reasons.

I have created an album from my trip and posted it on the side of the blog. If you'd like to see more of the town, villages and my trip please enjoy the album. I will be traveling to Niger next week and will post pics of that trip and my experiences there as well. Then, hopefully the week after that, I'll be posting the name of my new home!

Mali Neighborhood (20 photos), by Alice Jenkins

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Men and Women...Husbands and Wives

A while back, I had a conversation with my language teacher about the relationship between a husband and wife here. My language teacher also helps me learn about the culture here, and often asks questions about culture in the US. Of course, all of this conversing is done in French, which helps with my language acquisition.

Let me explain a little about the way an African household works, or maybe I should say a Muslim African household. The man takes care of the woman by providing for her physical needs--a place to live, clothes to wear, gives her money to buy the food she will prepare, and if they have children he provides for the children as well. It is the woman's responsibility to raise the children completely. They are to see that the children are educated and disciplined. Most of their time is spent taking care of the house and taking care of the children. The man does not spend time with the children (in general) nor does he get involved in disciplining them unless they are annoying him. It is the man's responsibility, however, to teach the boys how to be a man. This, of course, occurs a little later, as the boy grows up and is becoming a man.

This is also one of the main reasons that women are not formally educated here. The parents believe that because the woman will stay at home and raise the children and clean the house, she has no need to be able to read at all or speak various languages. Most of the women in the market here only speak Bambara because of their lack of education, while the men usually speak 3 languages and sometimes more.

In this particular conversation that I had with my teacher, about how husbands and wives relate to one another here, I learned some very interesting things. My question that started the discussion was, "Why is it ok for husbands to hit their wives here?"

My teacher explained that in African culture, the man takes a wife understanding that it is his responsibility to "train" her to behave appropriately in the home and in society. In general, most men here marry women who are much younger than them. It is not uncommon for a 17 year old girl to be living with, but not married to, a man who is 10+ years older than her. She does this, to be taken care of, but also to be "trained". Mind you, he is not teaching her how to clean the house or prepare food, that should have been done by her mother, but he is teaching her how to relate to him appropriately and how to make him look good in society.

So, if the woman does not do what is appropriate in the house, it is the man's responsibility to "train" her somewhat like a child. Here when children are disciplined, it is done through yelling and hitting. Not spanking...hitting. There is a very big difference between the two things. This idea of hitting for the purpose of "training" is carried over from African culture before Islam, but is condoned/encouraged by Islam in the Koran as well, according to my teacher who is Muslim.

Yesterday, as I taught my Bible study, a women came in who had a black eye. I found out during prayer time that it was her husband who had given it to her. Although, that situation is not common here, at least I haven't seen huge bruising and such, the thinking behind it is acceptable. There are many problems with marriages in the US, even in the church, although different than here, they have the same solution.

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. (ESV)

My only hope, and the hope of the world

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17)

The past several weeks have been filled with lots of sharing of the gospel, and much disappointment and frustration. It has been difficult at times to not just give up and decide to walk away. Last year, a year ago last month to be exact, I sold my house in America, then my car and many of my earthly possessions and made various moves to come to a place where I knew many had never heard the gospel before. I did all of that because I truly believe that without faith in Christ, the punishment after death will be one of torment and anguish that I cannot begin to fathom, and I want to know that those who have never had the opportunity to believe at least have a chance to hear the good news.

I have become friends with a group of people in a neighborhood near my home. Truly these people have become my family and are very dear to me. One person in particular has always seemed to be very close to accepting Christ, but recently he told me that he cannot follow the Isa (Jesus) way because he would lose all of his family.

Many here eagerly listen to stories about Isa, and love the stories from God's Word. In fact, the people I speak with are always eager to hear more. However, when asked what they think about the Isa way or about Isa, they generally say, "He is a very good teacher, and a wonderful prophet, but really you just choose a path and follow it sincerely and you will be fine." Another woman in her 60's recently told me, "Christianity and Islam are the same. We serve the same God. It is all ok."

Hearing these words and seeing the faces of people that I love turning away has been increasingly painful and at times I have wanted to shake them and make them believe. At other times, I have wanted to throw up my hands, agreeing with the disciples when they said to Jesus, "Who then can be saved?" as the rich young ruler turned away from Christ. Jesus' response was very simple, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt. 19:25-26) I have been reminded by the Word, over and over again, that this has nothing to do with me. I cannot change a man's heart; I can't even change my own heart. It is all by grace, from first to last.

Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe...This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." (John 6:63-65) Jesus said of the Spirit, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

At times, I want to control the Spirit, tell Him where to go, when to move, how to respond, but He cannot be controlled by me (which is a good thing by the way) and you never know when He might move in a mighty way. I do not know how this all works, it is a great mystery, but one thing is sure, I fully believe and stake my life on the fact that the gospel of Christ is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Without that, there is no hope.

One more scripture that I have been reminded of vividly recently is, "Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him." (Ps. 126:5-6) As you pray for the people here, pray for the work of the Spirit, and for diligence in sowing, trusting that God will do all He says He will do.