Africa

My uncle is in Africa right now on a short term missions trip. He's gone a couple of times before, and he always comes home with stories of how hungry the people of Tanzenia and the other places he goes are for the Word of God. A man from his team came home a little early and told of the experience the team is having now.

The team meets in a central location with the purpose to train native pastors and others in the Word and how to teach it. The men aand women of the country come from up to 180 miles away, walking or biking. When they get there, usually a two day journey, they sleep on the floor. They don't eat because they have no food with them. The team teaches for 3 hours at a time, and when they stop the people beg them to continue. They want to hear more.

Many missionaries come to their area, give them the Gospel, and go home. The people are left without the opportunity to mature out of spiritual infancy. They don't own Bibles; they have to share them. They love the teaching of the Word.

The man from my uncle's team who came home early told that on this trip, the leader of the particular area they are in wanted to meet them. She told my uncle's team that not long ago another white preacher like them was in their area. That preacher told the people that to be saved, they must sell all their worldy possessions and give the profits to him. Then, they were to go to a particular location to wait for Jesus' return. 10 people did as the preacher told them. The area's leader wanted to make sure that my uncle's team was not going to do what this preacher had done.

This story breaks my heart. In the name of Jesus, this man came to the poorest of the poor and stole what little material worth they had. More importantly, he taught them a false gospel, he blasphemed God, no doubt doing great harm to their faith and abusing their souls.

How can we do that to people?

I've been praying for my uncle and for the entire continent of Africa. My prayerr is that the Word of God will permeate so deeply into people's hearts that change will happen. When they know the Word, those committing genocide will stop the killing. When they know the Word, the spread of AIDS will cease because people will stop the behavior that is leading to it. When they know the Word, perhaps they can come and teach it to the West. We seem to have forgotten it.