« January 2007 | Main | March 2007 »
February 26, 2007
Cheering for Jesus
It's not often I have been clapped for preaching Jesus - let alone had Muslims enthusiastically applauding. Yet this is exactly what happened last week.
A Full Church
I was about to leave to return to Britain for a while, and the 31 houses for the flood victims were just about finished. A ceremony was proposed for "handing over the keys". I wasn't keen, but the rest of the team thought it was a good idea, so I went with the flow. We also decided that after the ceremony we would surprise the beneficiaries with a sack of millet each so they had food to put in their new homes.
On the day, the church was packed. Half of it was filled with 30 of the beneficiaries - elderly and vulnerable local Muslim folk who had lost their homes in the flood and had no-one to help them. The other half was filled with local dignitaries including the Mayor, the Provincial High Commisioner, the Prefect, the Regional heads of the Army and Police, and various other notables.
On such occasions it is normal just to say a few polite words...
Pah.
A God that welcomes the homeless
I spoke first in Fulfulde, and then in French:
"The God who had provided you with houses is a compassionate God, and it is because of Jesus Christ that you have received his compassion. One day, whether we are ruler or poor, black or white, we will leave our houses. But because of Jesus, God has also provided you with a house in heaven, and he invites you to come to Christ to receive the keys."
"Before Jesus went back to heaven, he said he is going to prepare a place for us. When he comes back, if we belong to him, he will take us to be with him before God in heaven."
It was at this point that - while many of the dignitaries appeared somewhat uncomfortable - the less "respectable" half of the congregation started applauding. Of course, they were not really clapping me, but rejoicing in the a God who had seen their suffering and provided an answer. Maybe they were beginning to glimpse "the good news preached to the poor" - the good news that in Jesus God has thrown wide the doors of the kingdom of heaven to welcome them into his family.
The poor often seem to enjoy Jesus' good news more than the rulers, or than we smart, rich and religious folk who are not happy for Jesus to say that just anyone can come in. After all, there are standards, you know.
Great, isn't it?
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina flood building gorom sahel emergency housing aid gorom-gorom jesus kingdom of god
February 14, 2007
Spit on me!
“Adama, spit on me!” came Ousseini’s faint cry behind me just as I was leaving.
Since Adama is my name here, I turned back to Ousseini’s hospital room to respond to the call to spit.
Ousseini
I had been visiting my friends at one of the “tent camps” for the flood victims, some of the people we are building houses for. They had a visitor from Tasmakat, Ousseini, who was lying on a mat on the ground in obvious pain with swollen feet and a very distended stomach. They of course had nothing with which to pay for treatment, so I took him to the hospital, paid for the few pounds of his prescription, and prayed for healing for him in the name of Jesus.
The next day I went to see him. It was then, as I turned to leave the room, that he called me back: “Adama, tuutam!” - “Adama, spit on me!”
Spit and Mission
Islamic religious teachers here are regarded as having healing as part of their role, which usually involves reciting certain Quranic verses, accompanied by light spitting on the ill part of the body (for example see here). So Ousseini was asking me to pray for him again.
I prayed again for healing in the name of Jesus, laying my hand gently on his head. (And not actually spitting in case you were wondering…) And each time I visited him he would hold out his hands and – day by day with slightly more strength – ask me to spit on him.
Today at Gorom-Gorom Hospital
Today I was woken from a well-earned siesta to come and see Ousseini. Gorom-Gorom medical centre was unable to do all needed to help him, and he had to be evacuated to Dori. I came to the hospital and sorted out the ambulance and gave him a bit of money for his treatment when he got there. And prayed for him of course.
The hospital was an emotionally challenging place today. In the next room to Ousseini was a young man crying out in pain, who had apparently been bitten by a rabid dog. Aisha, a Bella lady whose uncle had a distressing-looking fungal growth over a large part of the side of his head called on me to come and look at him. And Amadu, an old man with what looked and sounded suspiciously like TB, also called me in with the now familiar “Adama, come and spit on me!”
Jesus the Healer
The Quran acknowledges that Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead, and Muslims here know that he rose alive into heaven. So it is unremarkable to them that healing should be asked for in the name of Jesus.
Please pray for healing for my friends, and that our Lord would stretch out his hand more to heal in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And please pray that people would see and meet the God of love who is revealed in Jesus, and come to him for fullness of life. Thank you.
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina gorom-gorom gorom spitting sahel healing Jesus mission spit
February 04, 2007
Friends and Partners
The team from my church, Glenwood in Cardiff, has just returned to Wales. We had an excellent time – it was so encouraging, and a huge personal blessing to have them here. But more than that, it was the next step as we explore the possibilities of a partnership between the two communities – Glenwood and Gorom-Gorom.
The Team
First, meet the excellent people on our team –
1. Becks, who works in community development in Wales, with one of the families in the tent camps in Gorom.
2. Jacqui, a zoologist who spent 5 years in Kenya, visiting the women at a Fulani village.
3. Pete, an engineer, measuring something very clever to do with the dam that burst causing the flood in August.
4. Tal, a paediatric doctor with a new friend.
5. Maggie, a teacher, visiting one of the local schools.
6. And Pete, Maggie’s husband, an evangelist, playing with some of the local children.
The whole time was great - as well as spending time with friends, the team were able to visit the hospital, a school, families in one of the tent camps, and take part in the stone-laying ceremony for the houses we are building. We finished with a camel trek to visit one of my good Fulani friends, where we spent the night under the stars at his village on the sand dunes.
Exploring Partnership
We are praying for God to lead us forward however he will, but there are some key principles that we want to establish from the start. Firstly we want it to be based on relationship rather than on projects. Jesus’ approach to us was not some development project, but to come and share in our lives. It has been awesome spending time with some of the wonderful pastors, Christians, and other friends, building friendships and sharing our hearts together with people like Pascal and Grace, and Adama.
Jesus’ model was also to bring freedom by serving and honouring us, rather than by imposing himself. Whatever we have to offer, whether it be the good news of Christ, or partnership in socio-economic development, we need to learn to serve rather than to come with our ready-made judgements and solutions.
We also recognise that we have at least as much to receive as we have to give – this is undoubtedly a striking experience of anyone who comes to Burkina with an open heart. James said God has chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom. How much we, who are so caught up in the sterility of material prosperity, have to learn about generosity, community, faith, joy and the real meaning of life…
Please pray for us as we seek the Lord’s way forward in this partnership. Thank you.
