Sitting on a mat under the shade of a straw shelter, my new friend, Bo, offered me a round of tea.
We had spent the past few hours talking and getting to know each other. I watched Bo’s children play together, chasing chickens and goats around the courtyard area, as a baby goat slept on my lap.
Bo’s wife served the noon meal and everyone sat around the large bowl of rice and sauce. After each person washed his hands in a bowl of rinse water, we ate the meal, careful to use only the right hand as is accepted in this culture.
This “common bowl” experience of eating meals exemplifies an important part of African culture.
In West Africa, relationships are of the utmost importance. It takes a long time to build trust and a solid friendship; however, once it is established, it is forever.
Relationships are built by sharing life — by common experiences and time spent together. People spend hours each day talking and drinking tea together. Community is a constant as several families live together in a courtyard setting, sharing responsibilities as one large family. When someone is in need, others are quick to offer help.
As missionaries living among the people of West Africa, we learn this truth quickly and pour our lives into sharing life with people so that God’s glory may be revealed through us.
We live among them. We learn their language. We share their experiences and lifestyle. We spend time with them. We find ways to build relationships that will impact the people we are trying to reach with the truth of Jesus Christ.
Nearly two million people across the West African countries of Senegal, Mauritania and Mali share the name Tukulor. More than 99.9 percent of the Tukulor claim to be followers of Islam and most have never heard the gospel.
Two families have left their homes in America, answering God’s call to share life with the Tukulor and share with them the Good News that Jesus loves them and desires a relationship with them.
These missionaries to the Tukulor have found that time spent and common experience leads to relationship and trust between them and the Tukulor people.
This, in turn, leads to opportunities to share about the most important relationship they can have. They live among the Tukulor, shop at the same market and farm land with them.
One missionary recounts: “It was our first planting season in West Africa. I went to my neighbor’s millet field to help with the planting. I knew it would be a long, hard day in order to plant enough millet to feed his 10-member family until the next harvest.
“As I walked to his field, I prayed that God would bless the land and make it prosperous for this man,” the missionary said.
“We worked long and hard, but it was an enjoyable time. About three months later, time came for his field to be harvested. We went back to work. It took several days to bring in his entire crop. When all the work was done, I visited my friend at his home. As we sat and talked, he told me this had been his largest millet crop ever. I shared with him that I had asked God to bless his land and his crop, that he might have enough millet to feed his family until the next harvest. He replied that God had indeed answered my prayers.
“God is doing a work among [the Tukulor people] and they are being prepared little by little for the seeds of the gospel to be planted,” the missionary continued.
“For us, cultivating the field means investing time in relationships with people. As we do this, seeds can begin to be planted. It will take many, many more instances like this until the harvest will be ready, but we are willing to do what God has called us to until that time comes,” he said.
Would you pray for the Tukulor? Would you pray about how you can be involved in cultivating the field of the Tukulor to bring them closer to the Truth of Jesus Christ?
Share with others: