I feel a bit like a Numbers 13 spy just back from reconnaissance. The aim of these three months, as you know, was to get a feel for the land, the people and the potential for long-term mission there. I have to report that the land is not exactly flowing with milk, although our cow usually spared us a drop or two for our morning coffee. Neither is there much by way of honey. However, there is lots of millet, and the odd cabbage. The landscape is pretty barren - I suspect TS Eliot had the north of Burkina in mind when he wrote ’the Wasteland’.

Besides myself, there are not many literal giants in the land. The real giants are social, economic and above all spiritual, but they are no less daunting for that. As the Sahel becomes more desolate and its climate more inhospitable, it is an increasing struggle for the Fulani to preserve their pastoral way of life. Na tiidi sanne (“It’s very difficult”) - a phrase I heard countless times from Fulani men and women. According to pulaaku, the Fulani code of behaviour, to talk of your problems in a neutral tone of voice, without emotion or self-pity, is in some way to master them. People I met talked in this matter-of-fact, deadpan way about their illnesses or the sickness of their animals, or the spectre of drought, the theft of camels, the death of children. Ayyo, na tiidi sanne .

Coming from a VSO background, it is tempting to suggest that ‘development’ is the answer to the problems of the Fulani. What is needed is obviously primary health-care, secondary education, irrigation, law and order. Indeed, ten years ago, when Keith first came to Gorom-Gorom, the town was filling up with development workers, both African and European. A Dutch project set about surfacing the roads, but found it impossible to make headway due to a lack of people willing to work; road-building, unlike cattle-herding, is not seen as ‘honourable’ work for a Fulani. A French project wanted to vaccinate babies against common, preventable diseases, but found it hard to convince people of the need for it, because of the prevalent and insidious Fulani view of ‘Fate’ - everything that happens is Allah jabi (the will of ‘God’) so there is little point in preventative measures like vaccination. Formal education is typically viewed with suspicion or disinterest - in a class I taught at the lycée in Gorom, there were hardly any Fulani students.

All but one of the foreign development workers have left, and Gorom-Gorom has become a graveyard of these well-intentioned projects, their compounds crumbling and their brightly-painted acronyms fading and peeling in the hot sun. One German development worker said to Keith just before he left, “Your work [Christian witness] needs to go forward before ours can make any impact.”

I am convinced that the best hope for the Fulani is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s a gospel which has the power to effect salvation on every level - a restoration of our relationship with God, with each other and with the land. It means liberation from self-destructive ways of thinking and acting. It’s God’s take on ‘development’!

And the good news is that restoration has already started: there is a small community of Fulani men and women in Gorom-Gorom who are following Christ and meeting together to encourage one another. The birth of this group over a period of ten years was fairly arduous by the sounds of it, and I’m not entirely sorry not to have been in on it from the start. But it’s good to see now - Hammadou, the first man in Gorom to be baptised, is going on well - his testimony and lifestyle continue to perplex and intrigue his friends and neighbours. Jeneba is a Fulani woman who is salt and light in her family and the wider community - she is in the process of setting up a project to care for widows and orphans. There are five or six others who have come to faith and another ten or so hovering around the edges, recognising that laawol Issa na woodi sanne (the Way of Jesus is very good) yet not daring to follow it.

In Djibo, a hundred kilometres or so to the west of Gorom, there is a similar situation: a community of Fulani Christians is coming into being - a few women and children, an old man with leprosy, a couple younger men. It’s a very fragile church, but visiting it I got the impression that it represents a genuine work of God. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.

Gorom-Gorom and Djibo are two strategic towns in the north of Burkina Faso. Their weekly markets in particular attract people from villages far and wide, and Christian communities there would potentially impact a very large region. But there is also a need for Christians to go directly to the Fulani villages, of which there are thousands. Some of the most significant times for me personally over the last few weeks have been evenings spent in Fulani encampments, with small groups of herders and their families. Hours sitting together on mats under the stars, surrounded by the chomping silhouettes of their beloved cattle. Passing around a calabash of milk and talking about laawol Issa. Time well spent, I believe.

Language was often a barrier - in Gorom some people speak French, but in the villages Fulfulde is a must. I’ve picked up a little, and have returned home armed with books and cassettes for learning a bit more. You’ll gather from that that I do intend to go back, for a time. I want to get a good enough understanding of Fulani culture and language to be able to communicate the gospel effectively to the Fulani.

It’s true that there are giants in the land - poverty and disease, violence, oppression, magic (and there’s also Islam, of course - I shall save discussion of that for another letter, as there is a lot to be said about it). But ultimately the land is God’s. We believe that Jesus will build his church amongst the Fulani. Would you pray for this? Would you pray for the Fulani Christians in Gorom-Gorom and Djibo, and for Keith who is continuing to work with them. Pray also for Hammadou, who is increasingly taking on a leadership role. And please pray for me, as I prepare to go back there for a longer period .

I’m looking at July to go, but there are a lot of variables as you can imagine. In the coming months I will be working in England and joining a mission organisation (possibly World Horizons). Please pray with me that God provides the financial resources for me to return to Burkina Faso longterm.

Here are some of my photos from the trip. There is also an excellent video about the Fulani made just last year by the Caleb Project. They did lots of filming in and around Gorom-Gorom and Djibo, and interviewed Keith and Hammadou and others. The video gives a better impression of life in the north of Burkina Faso than I could ever do in a letter.

Thank you for your prayer and support. If you have specific questions or comments, don’t hesitate to email or ring me. Thanks also for letters and Christmas cards I got in Gorom-Gorom. Although the post took a while, it was very reliable, and letters from home were like gold-dust - when culture-shock kicks in, it’s nice to read something familiar!

God bless you and your families.

Steve