A cluster of Europeans have made their way to this Berber market village in the rolling foothills of the Atlas mountains. Traveling from a nearby tourist destination, they look out of place against the backdrop of market day activity: robed men herding sheep through the street, old men bending under heavy burdens, others carrying woven baskets brimming with onions or apples.
The tourists, lingering at tables mounded with olive-colored henna powder, golden saffron and yellow turmeric, speak French to the market vendors — the language of business here. One of them knows a few polite words in Arabic. Both are languages widely used in North Africa.
But a tall foreigner walking in another part of the market greets the livestock handlers and vegetables sellers of this colorful scene in their own Berber language. Smiles break across mens’ weathered faces as they realize that Larry speaks fluent Tamazight, their language rarely learned by foreigners.
Learning the Berber language, Larry explained, is the only way to get to the heart of the culture. And understanding their culture is key to sharing gospel truth with the estimated 25 million Berbers of North Africa. Because Berbers live in Muslim countries, Christian proselytizing is forbidden by law.
“So you don’t go out and start preaching on the street,” Larry said. “It’s a lot of one-on-one. Usually that’s better, though, because if you’re talking to Berbers as a group, they’re obligated to defend Islam.”
Berbers can be found in cosmopolitan cities of North Africa as shop keepers, restaurant workers and professionals. Vast numbers, however, live in remote rural villages that are difficult to reach — making bad roads and difficult access an additional barrier to the gospel.
Larry takes rough mountain roads and other obstacles in stride with his no-nonsense approach to sharing the gospel. “We don’t use any method here,” he noted. “We just learn the Scriptures [in Tamazight] until we can tell the story, the old, old story, about what He’s done and what He’s done for us.
“People are very literal and down to earth here. We never give them theoretical propositions. We always give them illustrations or a story. That’s the way they converse with each other. They need a concrete example,” Larry said.
“And Jesus, that’s what He did. He talked about the things that were right in front of people.”
The entrenched teachings of Islam are one barrier to the gospel, but Larry finds another barrier in disinterest. “They think ‘Well, I’ve (sacrificed) the sheep because it’s time to kill the sheep. I go to the mosque because it’s time to go to the mosque.’ And very few people out here actually go to prayer,” Larry said of the rural Berbers he works among.
“That’s why some of the best conversations that I have are with imams and bearded guys (conservative Muslims) because they’re actually thinking spiritually. And they’re hardly ever hostile. We have really great conversations with those kinds of folks.”
When a Berber does embrace Christ, Larry said persecution is an inevitable consequence in North Africa.
“Families will ostracize them,” he explained. “This is the pattern we see over and over again. They’ve dishonored their family and the father kicks them out and says ‘you’re no longer my son.’ Then, by the proof of their faith and Christ working in them, people observe that there’s a difference in them if they hold fast. Eventually families usually accept them back.
“Just think if we had to go through these things in America,” Larry noted. “You go through baptism. You go through your new members’ class. What if you had to go through persecution as part of your new members’ class? Because everybody (who comes to Christ) in North Africa has to go through persecution — not necessarily with the authorities, but always with their families.”
Larry finds vivid parallels between the rural farming life of the Berbers and his sowing of the gospel — the long periods of drought and famine and the blessed moments of fruit.
Back at the market Larry stops by heaps of fragrant, bright herbs. The herb seller gently shakes bundles of spearmint, sheeba and sage to release their scents into the air and explains which herbs are good for steeping with tea in winter months and which are “cooling” against the force of summer heat.
Larry understands these Berber traditions nearly as well as he understands the mandate God put on his life to sow the Word in a place that hasn’t had a chance to hear, and one where response is slow.
“Fruit comes from suffering. What sacrifice will it take to sow the seed here?”
Larry’s work among the Berbers of North Africa is just one part of this year’s International Mission Study (IMS). A product of national Woman’s Missionary Union to be used during the Week of Prayer for International Missions, Nov. 29–Dec. 6, the IMS is a complete resource available to churches and individuals.
The study kit contains posters, maps, reproducible handouts and announcements for promotion of the IMS, as well as materials for the study itself.
For more information or to order resources, visit www.wmu.com and type “international mission study” in the search box. (WMU)
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