AFRICA
ARTICLE REPRINT
Sports & Rec Plus Stuff
Newsletter
September, 2009
Sports
& Rec Plus
4121 Plank Road, #433
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
Rev. Rick Mitchell, President
(571) 278-5987 & (800) 251-4078
1. Africa Mission Trip Report: The Songhai are
Coming to the Light
Usually
when you go on a mission trip you straddle the fence between two worlds.
You have one foot in the country of your mission trip and one back in the
place from where you came. However, our mission trip to Dargol, Niger, in
Africa, in early September, was not this way.
We were fully engaged in the work there in Dargol.
That was due to a bunch of factors: First,
there was little outbound communication. There
was no internet. No email.
No cell phone service. Not
even snail mail. However, on one of
the cell phones, we could send text messages, but at a very high cost.
Second, modern conveniences were only a memory.
Our bathroom in Dargol was a hole in the ground.
No running water, unless the donkey ran while he was pulling the water
wagon along the street. Third,
transportation was an experience. It
was varied to say the least. We
traveled by bush taxi, ferry boat, canoe, and foot.
Camel and donkey were also available.
Finally, the hardest part that overwhelmed us, also kept our hearts
focused on the task and work at hand. There
were only a handful of believers among the three and one-half million Songhai
people. It was a surprise and answer
to prayer when I learned that the few believers among the Songhai had formed, a
few months ago, into the first church among the Songhai people.
They also have a few preaching points scattered throughout the tribal
area stretching through parts of Nigeria, Mali, and Niger.
This
mission trip consisted of seven people, six of whom were from First Baptist
Church in Huntingdon, Tennessee: Russ Wilkins, Angela Hodges, Kristen Bond,
Alisha Kirby, Jimmy Price, Diane Price, and then me.
Their experience ranged form mission trip veterans to first timers.
We even had one who had never flown before.
We all met in New York and then flew Air France Airlines to Paris, and
then on to Niamey, the capital Niger. Upon
arrival we were met by missionary Brad Womble and his wife, Sally.
We are thankful for all they did to make our mission trip so effective.
Although
nothing can fully prepare you for a trip such as ours, we did all we could in
advance. I met in August with the
six from Huntingdon for pre-trip orientation.
On our first full day in Niger Sally provided on-field orientation on
essential topics such as customs, culture, and practical techniques for ministry
and sharing the Gospel to the Songhai tribal people.
A little sightseeing that same day also provided insight and context to
our experience. We went out into the
African bush country where we saw nineteen Giraffes.
We nearly wore out our cameras as we stuck our necks out (we looked like
giraffes!) to get all the pictures we could.
That night we got our supplies ready for the week of work ahead.
After Bible study and prayer we all headed to bed and wondered about what
the week would bring.
After such
a long trip and a mild case of jetlag, dawn came very early.
With breakfast finished and ministry materials packed up, we were ready
for travel to Dargol, our assignment for the week.
Since Dargol is a famine area, we each came prepared with food bought,
packed, and brought from the U.S. for seventeen meals.
That was quite an experience for everyone.
Dargol is
a chief market town of the Songhai where people from great distances come for
goods. That made it a strategic
location for outreach. We held Bible
school for the kids in the mornings, and did prayer walking in the afternoon.
As we walked we passed out Gospel audio tapes.
The literacy rate is so low that printed material is of little value.
Enough people have battery operated cassette players that this was the
most effective means of leaving the message with them.
The trip
to Dargol was a good two hours—more during the brief rainy season when the
dirt roads turn to mud. Other
obstacles that delayed us were animals blocking the road and the broken down
ferry which provided a shortcut when it was in service.
Our bush taxi, which we called the Jungle Jiggler, navigated the dirt
roads that were anything but smooth.
After we
reached our mission point and set up for Bible school, our translators began
beating a drum calling the kids to come. Our
activities with the kids consisted of a Bible story, games, crafts, more games,
and snacks. We were very careful not
to give the kids too much stuff. We
did not want to be seen as the rich American providers of free stuff, but rather
seven people who were there to tell them about a man named Jesus.
The
spiritual darkness in Dargol was almost palpable.
There is almost no laughter, no smiles of greeting, and no singing.
Our translators, who are Christians, explained, “The Songhai do not
sing because they have nothing to sing about.”
The Songhai, being proud warriors, feel that singing is beneath their
status in life. Only slaves and
servants might sing. The few
Christians of the tribe do sing, because they see themselves as slaves or
servants of Jesus.
Let me
relate to you a few of the memorable things God did during the Bible school.
One of the games the kids liked to play was “Simon Says”.
This is where you give a series of commands. However, only the ones
prefaced by saying “Simon says” are to be followed.
The Bible study leader that day talked about following Jesus, making him
the boss of your life. He said that
to follow Jesus was like playing “Simon Says” but you do only what “Jesus
Says.” It was a good illustration.
Another day one of the team members led the kids in a silly, stupid song,
“Dubi Daba.” It is totally dumb!
However, the kids loved it. God
used it to help the team members get close to the kids.
On our last day there, Jimmy, got down on his knees with the kids and as
they all hugged him and he hugged them, he prayed for them and touched everyone
one of them with his outstretched hand. This
was especially powerful since Jimmy and his wife, Diane, are the first
African-Americans ever to come to Dargol and to the Songhai tribe.
Brad said they were an answer to their prayers since the people had only
seen white people tell about Jesus. They
needed to see that Christianity was not only a white man’s religion.
Now they see for the first time that black people follow Jesus too.
After Bible school the kids
left and we had our lunch which we had brought from the U.S.
After lunch we split up and hit the dusty streets giving out audio tapes
of the Plan of Salvation with testimonies of some of the Songhai people who had
accepted Jesus as their Savior. We
also prayer walked as we passed out the tapes.
By mid afternoon we were ready to pack up, board the Jungle Jiggler, and
head back to Niamey, to the Baptist guest house where we were staying.
Don’t think life slowed when we got back.
We rested, cleaned up, did laundry, and began getting ready for the next
day. Dinner usually found us at Brad
and Sally’s home. Then it was back
to the guest units for devotional time, talking about the day’s events, and
planning and packing for the next day. By
the end of the week we were tired, but thankful for what God ha d done the past
seven days there in Dargol.
The harvest is not yet ripe
in Dargol. However, I could see many
positive changes since I was there last December.
God is at work and Satan is on the run.
Please keep the Songhai people in your prayers.
I plan to return twice in
2010. In the next issue of the
newsletter, I will tell you about the plans for next year and how God might use
you there.
Back to the Mission Trip
Information Page