Two children with flaming red hair – and fearful faces – cautiously approached a doctor inside the mobile clinic.
Like many Mokole people in Benin, West Africa, these children had never been treated by a physician. And as children of the local sorcerer, they had never heard about Jesus Christ. But by the end of the day, the children had both their bodies and souls treated by the Christian medical team.
A Southern Baptist volunteer medical team from Florida recently shared the gospel with many people who would not normally hear it, including the sorcerer’s children and eight elders of a local mosque. The team treated more than 1,100 people, and were the first volunteer medical team to work among the Mokole.
Wary of Christianity
More than 58,000 Mokole people live in northern Benin. Most practice either the animism or Islam. Traditionally, the Mokole have shown indifference and wariness toward Christianity.
The team first traveled to the village of Sah, where the mayor’s family was among the 488 people treated.
“The medical missions ministry has increased our level of acceptance,” said Sam Parham, a Southern Baptist International Mission Board missionary from Gainesville, Fla. “And in the Mokole culture, acceptance is the key first step.”
The team went to Pede, home of the only active evangelical church among the Mokole. Upon arrival, the volunteers realized the building they were to use for the clinic was unsanitary. They went on a hunt for another site, and soon located a newly built pharmacy owned by a local mosque. The ciders even visited the clinic to see the doctors.
“As each leader came to each checkpoint in the clinic they thanked us profusely for helping their village,” missionary Kathy Parham said. “We in turn thanked them and told them we were in their village because we love God and care about their people.”
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