Through Further Still Ministries, Southeast Christian
Church, and Hope Alive Initiatives, Kurt and I had another great DC ministry trip
to Burkina Faso (BF) in late July 2018. Compared to Ghana in 2015 and 2016, we
were in a more urban setting in a poorer country where the dominant language
was not English. These differences led to a substantially different experience
for us and our team.
Kurt and I want to take new people on each trip. We
want to expose more people to such opportunities, giving them a chance to see
God move in radically different ways and empowering them to go “further still”—to
do a range of other things, from everyday life to international missions. And
we want the locals to be inspired by laypeople doing ministry. This year, Clay
and Marie went with us. (Clay is an attorney; Marie works in manufacturing.) Marie
is fluent in French, which we knew would be immensely helpful (although we
still underestimated it). And Clay had volunteered to learn French, although
that amounted to wishful thinking. Still, this got him on our list and onto the
trip.
The timing of the trip was interesting. We didn’t go
back to Africa in 2017. Kurt’s family situation was up in the air—with a new
marriage and his last child going off to college. Also, we needed our materials
translated into French and we weren’t sure that it would be done by Summer
2017. (It was, but we didn’t know that until it would have been too late to
plan the trip.) It turns out that 2018 allowed us to get Marie on the trip, as she
got aspects of her work and personal life in order—again, important. All in
all, we saw the delay to 2018 as God’s providence to get us to BF with Marie on
our team.
BF has had some terrorist activity and our
government rated it a Level-3 threat. The threats have been quite sporadic and
the larger threats of kidnapping were hours north of the capital city.
Southeast Christian (our sponsoring church) never seemed worried—whether they
saw the threats as minor or were relying on the information they acquire “on
the ground” through other sources. Still, we had a bit of fear going into the
trip.
Early-on, we lost another team member to these
concerns. And we had hoped one of Kurt’s daughters would go, since she’s
relatively strong in French. So, we only had four people when we’d rather take
five or six. If one more had dropped, we might have been stuck. But all of us
felt led by God to go and despite some modest spiritual warfare, none of us had
huge doubts.
Even so, it was good to get some encouragement from
the Lord. Clay ran into someone from BF at work. But the biggest providence was
what the Lord did with Marie’s vacation. She works for a manufacturing company
that dictates all vacation time for line workers through scheduled furloughs to
regulate production. Furloughs have been in May for decades, but this time, the
furlough was scheduled for…wait for it…late July. Perfect timing! This
providence was a big deal—again, for Marie to go at all, but also to signal
that God was in control of the trip.
The location of the trip was certainly not random.
DC and the underlying work of our ministry partner (Hope Alive Initiatives)
both involve empowerment and multiplication. We describe it in light of a
popular metaphor: don’t give a man a fish; teach him how to fish. But our goals
are grander: we want to teach the man how to teach others to fish. In discipleship terms, we would point to the four
generations of II Tim 2:2 (Paul, Timothy, faithful people, who can teach
others). Addition is fine, but we’re aiming for multiplication.
Hope Alive’s work from 2013-2015 had multiplied from
Northern Ghana into the capital city of BF, about 250 miles north. So, Hope
Alive formalized the training with their three-year program, working with ten
different churches. As before, DC was one of the modules that Hope Alive uses
to empower locals. (They also do medical, vision, dental, businesses, and
schools.)
The primary Western language in BF is French, so language
was a key. Going into the trip, we had to deal with getting materials
translated and it dramatically impacted our team member selection. On the trip,
we had to use interpreters and faced difficulties in having casual
conversations—both of which were compounded by cultural differences. I had
worked with interpreters in relatively static settings and that was relatively
easy. I say X; they translate it; and in most cases (presumably) we catch
wrinkles and problems. In this context, we had a more dynamic setting with
discussion. The free flow of dialogue made the translation efforts—and our
sense of whether it was accurate—more challenging.
Fortunately, we had four excellent translators for
the week: Cephas, Jehojakim (the primary leader), Daouda (David), and
Theophilus (a local pastor). But this is where I didn’t fully anticipate
Marie’s value. She could catch problems on both ends, in a way that was not
possible for us or even the native translators at times.
I took French for five years (8th-12th
grade) and got to shake some of the rust off. It came in handy. I was able to
bump through casual conversations, especially with a dictionary in hand. I was
able to do some stuff in French if it was written out (memorizing the two DC
verses, reading the Bible, and leading a responsive reading in my sermon).
Especially when I knew the context (common given the topics at hand), I was
able to read well and speak/listen ok.
Kurt and Clay were mostly lost, but they picked up a
few phrases as the week progressed. And it was some good comic relief too,
hearing them try to pronounce French words. I persuaded Kurt to read Ephesians
4:2 in French after I wrote it down phonetically. When he read it successfully
to his small group, “the crowd went wild”.
The DC training was standard fare for us. On Monday,
Marie led off with “Identity in Christ”. In addition to her fluency, she was
amazingly comfortable for someone who had not spoken in an upfront role. Then
Kurt taught on Spiritual Warfare. On Tuesday, Kurt finished and then handed off
to Marie who led the group through Neil Anderson’s “Steps to Freedom in Christ”
booklet for most of the day. (Clay provided an opening testimony on its
effectiveness.) She did a bit more on Wednesday before Kurt and I finished the
morning with teaching on discipleship. On Thursday AM, Clay taught on
principles of hermeneutics and I taught through Genesis 3. We had some
miscellaneous teachings on Friday and Saturday AM, but the bulk of the other
times were for small group discussions.
We had four small group sessions led by each of us. In
terms of material, we use questions from DC material on
unity/conflict/fellowship, leadership, marriage, and stewardship. The plan is
always to model an effective small group with avid participation, facilitating
more than teaching, striving to empower rather than teach at folks. As the week
continues, we look to move from modeling to shepherding—having them lead the
groups while we provide counsel. This was especially important given the
language barriers: having them lead (with little or no translation) was far
more efficient.
Interesting details from the small group discussions:
1.) As in Ghana, there was a lot of interest (and trouble) with “leave and cleave”.
In Ghana, it was driven largely by tribal/cultural influences; in BF, it had a
big chunk of (limited) personal finance driving young people to remain too
connected to family.
2.) Going through our “warm-up questions”, I was
struck by how often they (and we) use basic definitions without being able to
explain the terms. Sometimes, this works well enough: we know what unity and
stewardship mean and can operate without formal definitions. Other times, the
lack of definition leads to a lack of specificity—and sloppy thinking which
leads to various errors. A bigger problem: terms can reduce to jargon for
newcomers who are left to infer the meaning (hopefully well, but good luck). We
encouraged them to define their terms carefully and then to use small groups to
discuss the intricacies and applications of important concepts.
3.) In discussing Moses at age 40 (kill an Egyptian)
and 80 (after 40 years in the Wilderness), I noticed that fear and humility can
look the same, even though they’re driven by wildly different priors. And I was
led to ask folks whether they struggled in their approach to leadership in
terms of the brashness of young Moses or the tentativeness of old Moses.
4.) The most memorable moment was Clay speaking
during a rain storm. We experienced three levels of rain—light, medium, and
cats/dogs. Thursday opened with a mix of medium and Biblical—as in, it was time
to look around for Noah. With the metal roof and a large concrete building with
few people in it, the noise of the rain ranged from a nuisance to hilarious.
Clay opened the training in these conditions—and alternated between talking
loudly into the mic to taking a break when it was too much. It was bad enough
where we took video to remember it. And it was so bad that it was actually
funny. We were joking afterwards about Clay as Job—and wondering if we should
play the role of Job’s friends.
Two observations came out of this session. First,
our numbers were lower, since they were mostly coming by bike, scooter and
motorcycle. But most of them eventually got there, showing a resolve that few Americans
would have matched. They came in sopping wet many times. Second, Clay’s
struggles informed my approach to the next session, as I was going to teach
through Genesis 3. Already concerned about relying on translators—and wanting far
more interaction than in Clay’s session—I decided to move to a small group
format. So, we huddled in two semi-circles of French speakers around me and the
English speakers on a third row—and we were able to get through it well.
The small group move was also helpful in that it
modeled something different and probably better for them. Instead of the expert
teaching up front from the stage, I was sitting with them and we were piled
together as we studied God’s word. It was also an occasion to bring the men and
women together in one tight group. They seemed comfortable and equal
throughout, but it was a different level to have us all crammed together. (The
women also enjoyed my teaching on Genesis 3:6 about the “sin of Adam”—in
particular, his sins of omission!)
BF was similar to and different from Ghana. But it
was difficult to tell where the differences arose: A poor country (BF) vs. a less-poor
country (G). A capital city (Ouagadougou in BF) vs. villages near a large city
(Tamale in G). Differences from tribal or cultural influences. A different mix
of denominations (this time, largely Christian Missionary Alliance
which hosted). BF is poorer, but the capital city seemed to put us in a more
prosperous and cosmopolitan setting. The BF’ers didn’t dance nearly as much. Perhaps
BF’ers dressed a bit better and were a bit busier, coming and going more often.
BF had a nicer church building, but we were told it had been built by outsiders
and its non-church buildings were not as nice. The airport in Ouaga was about
the same size as the airport in Tamale, indicating a trade-off between the
country and the cities.
It seemed like there was less spiritual warfare in
BF, but there was still plenty. Likewise, we still heard many testimonies about
miracles. One of the challenging theological questions is how God deals with
“those who haven’t heard” the Gospel. If one is only saved by Jesus, how can I
be justly judged if I never hear about Jesus? There are various answers to this
question. For example, the “inclusivist” view observes that one can only be
saved by God’s grace—and that all who are saved by faith in God’s grace will be
saved through the work of Jesus, whether they’ve heard of Him. John 14:6 says
that nobody comes to the Father except through Jesus, but does this require
knowledge about the bearded God-Man from Galilee?
Another answer is that God will give everyone a fair
opportunity. And one way this could occur is through miracles, visions and
dreams. We heard testimony about many of these in Africa. Where God might move
through His word and His people in the “Christian” West, He might be more
likely to use supernatural means in a non-Christian context. At the worship
service, six visitors stood to introduce themselves during the appointed time to
give their life to Christ. In the West, we often go to church and then become a
Christian; in Africa, people often come to Christ and then go to church. If
this is how God works, I think the African has the advantage: I’d rather have
one clean shot at hearing and accepting the Gospel, than trying to get past the
baggage of having Christianity all around me, especially if I imagine that I’m
a Christian already.
Some of the miracles were done in the life of a
former imam—from an opening vision to some miraculous deliverances from
persecution. Very cool stuff! Another interesting modern technological miracle:
Google Translate (which I used to prep for this trip) and Word (which allows
entire documents to be translated). How close is the translation? Of course, I
don’t know. Google Translate is reasonably effective. If Word is equally so,
I’ll have a good draft of an Arabic version of DC28:20 in about five minutes. Crazy!
(Stay tuned!)
For now, we’re excited about having a good translation
of DC28:20 in French—and we’re hoping that it will be used in France and
French-speaking countries. Since Christianity struggles in France and since
French is relatively minor among Western languages, there are few Christian
resources in French. We’re hoping that this effort will be multiplied—as ministries
across the world use DC as a discipleship resource.
Worship was excellent. A little over three hours
long, including tons of music and four choirs in three languages (French, Moore
and Dyula). I preached on the Holy Spirit for a little under an hour, wrapping
up with a responsive reading in French that I was able to do reasonably well. (Kurt
deferred on preaching, allowing Marie and Clay to preach/teach.) They observe
Communion once per month, so that lengthened the service more than normal.
Bread was taken together; a cup of hibiscus juice was taken one at a time.
Miscellaneous
things:
On Saturday afternoon, after the last training
session, we went to a market—or at least, a large set of shops. I got to do
some bargaining as I picked up souvenirs for the fam. I bought a wonderful
bronze sculpture for Tonia. Most of the bronzes were of women, but I found a
piece with a man and a woman reading a book together. It’s on our mantle now.
Travel was easy this time: no delays/hassles with
airplanes. In town, our van had AC and we enjoyed short little trips around the
city with Saul as our driver. In Louisville, we had two interesting little
providences: a French women checked us in at the Delta counter and we got to
see the Marcums at our gate (just back from leading a month of family VBS in Beirut).
On the way back, I was just trying to survive early-on, but that was my illness
not the airlines. (Note to self: start the Cipro much sooner next time and pack
powdered Gatorade for the trip.) We did have a strange little moment with the
customs officer in Oauga—where he slowed us down and might have been asking for
a bribe—but it worked out without an incident.
On the way to Africa, I sat next to a young German who
was between jobs and relationships—and wanted to visit his father in Ghana and
get entrepreneurial. He said his customs
officer increased the assessed value of his goods by threefold, leading to a
tariff that would have been three times higher. After some negotiation and a
bribe, he was able to get the rate down to 70% of the original assessed value.
Not good for economic development, but a terrific story to use in the
classroom. We also talked about Christianity and he was under the mistaken
impression that it is “religious”. I told him that Jesus was anti-religious in
the same way he was and asked if he had read the Gospels. He said no. I laughed
and said you can’t critique something/someone unless you’re willing to give them
a good-faith reading. I encouraged him to read Luke and/or John—and will
prayerfully hope to see him in Heaven.
The food was good—at least in terms of taste. (That
said, I got quite ill on something, so who knows?) Breakfast was solid—mostly PBJ
on French bread, but also mixing in some yogurt, eggs, and bananas with nutella.
Lunch was at the training site—very hot and tasty, always with a bit of meat.
We had cassava one day—heavy compared to the lighter couscous they would serve
at dinner. We had half of a fish one day: heads (as mine) or tails. The lunch conversations
were always good. I got along relatively well with my broken French, their
broken English, and my dictionary. Dinner was back at the Guest House with Tina
as our cook. She took both style and substance seriously, with great
presentation and a nice effort at a variety of dishes. Some were a stretch—like
tacos. Her potato/ham soup was delicious and her beef bourguignon was a nice
little taste of France. We had salad with most meals (that might have caused my
intestinal troubles) and fresh mango for a few meals.
We had lunch out on Sunday and I vomited after my ham/papaya
pizza. It may have been the accumulation of trouble plus a rich lunch, but more
likely, it was just the lunch. For eight hours, from mid-afternoon until we got
on the plane, I was in rough shape. I had struggled with diarrhea for two days,
followed by the eight hours of this very rough business, and then two more days
of diarrhea. I’m still not sure I’m back to full strength/stamina. But once I
was on the Cipro, I felt better quickly.
The bugs were only a minor issue again. After the rains
we experienced, I’m guessing that the bugs were worse the next week. They were
fortunate to have two days of heavy rain; we were fortunate since it drove the
temperatures down! The weather was quite similar to Louisville. The day of the
heaviest rain will probably be their coolest day of the year—with a high in the
mid-70s. The weather was like Louisville—a bit warmer without rain and cooler
with rain. It was awesome to see the big clouds rolling in and the rain storm
preceded by a tremendous dust storm. It was funny/amazing to see people biking
and scootering home, many with goods they were selling on the streets.
The CMA Guest House was small, lovely and
utilitarian—comfy with A/C, hot water, and functional beds. After each
evening’s debrief session, we played quite a few games—mostly Splendor, but also
some Love Letter, Double or Nothing, and Star Realms. We missed having Sampson
and Zak with us. In particular, I was hoping to hear Zak and Kurt yell at each
other again over games of Star Realms. But it was certainly good to be with Elolo
and Francis again. And God willing, it’ll be good to see them again in Africa
and/or America in the near future!
