We have had the opportunity to share the Look, Live, Listen recordings and books with several compounds over the course of the week. Included in those listening were the chief of village “B” and the president of the village. (We are all still trying to figure out the difference in these two offices, but suffice it to say that they are the two most important men in our area.) There are also several children who listen to both the LLL recordings and the Fulfulde worship music we have.
Cameron noted one night that as the children were blasting Jesus music, several men were in the distance doing their nightly prayers to Allah. In that, we are so thankful for the general openness of the community!
We are praying, though, that the people would see that the way of Jesus and the way of Muhammad are markedly different and that a person must choose to follow one or the other. As we begin our next week and split off from our supervisor to cover more ground, we are praying that more would be willing to listen and that they would hear, truly understand, and be willing to abandon the way of their upbringing.
Another issue we have been confronted with and are continually seeking wisdom in is cargoism. This term was mentioned in our required readings this week and is described as the pre-occupation of many tribal peoples with white people’s material possessions. We certainly do not want to be stingy but also do not want the people here to miss out on the more important thing that we are here to offer: Living Water, the Bread of Life, and the chance to have a permanently clean soul.
Though there is much for which we are praying, there is also much for which we are rejoicing! Our first rain in the bush occurred Wednesday night. First, we are thankful that the people in our compound shooed us back into our hut at midnight before the dust cloud that preceded the rain overtook us. Secondly, we are thrilled to see green fields where the landscape was solid brown only a week ago! The Lord is providing for His beloved people, and we are thankful to be able to witness that and excited to see what His continued work will look like!
Prayer request:
- Relationships: That we would be able to continually make friendships here that would open doors for us to share the Gospel
- Fruit: That the work and fields of the people would prove fruitful and that our work in the spiritual field would be fruitful
- Cargoism: That we would have wisdom to handle the requests of the people without clouding the Gospel
- Purpose and selflessness: That as our privacy is invaded and as we are sweating profusely and as we are courteously drinking that lovely chutum, we would never cease to love the Lord and the people to whom He has sent us and to desire the spread of His glory above all else