The job we get to do is an exciting and time consuming one. It requires a ton of prep work and even then we feel like failures more often than victors. It is mentally draining, physically exhausting and uniquely humbling. All of that being said, we have experienced times where God goes before us and prepares things in such a way that we can see that He is about his mission and his glory. Our last trip was one of those times.
We set out on a Thursday night to go to a town called Bekily (Beh-kee-lee). Bekily is a town that will be the base camp for our partner church, Berea Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia when they come to work along side of us. We live on the opposite end of Androy land from Bekily so it is quite the trip. All-in-all it is nearly a 10 hour drive over rough terrain that really wears you down. That being said, it is worth getting to. There are nearly 200,000 people that reside in the district of Bekily (in villages spread far and wide), most all of whom have had no access to the Gospel. The purpose of this trip was to receive paperwork that would allow us to work in the district, meet a person of peace in town and establish a relationship with the people of Bedona (Beh-doo-nah), a village we had passed by our last trip through the area.
Normally, this is an incredibly slow process. Rarely do I expect to accomplish all the tasks I set before a trip, but as I said, sometimes God makes it clear his mission is paramount and moves obstacles out of the way.
On our trip into Bekily we were to pass close by the village of Bedona so I just stopped the car and hopped out, hoping to meet the ndaty be (chief) of the area who was not present on our last trip through. As a white person jumping out of the car you inspire a variety of reactions, one is curiosity, typically the young men have this reaction, they want to know what is going on and who you are. The old men are skeptical, they what to know what you want and why you stopped. The women and children’s reaction is best, sheer terror. They are petrified of the ‘palakate’ or liver-takers, whom as their memory serves is typically a white guy in a red truck. My truck is white with red details on the outside and I am white, so this reaction is a bit normal and one I have come to expect. Well, as I said, I was in search of the ndaty be and praise the Lord he was there. It is respectful and expected to go and talk with him before you do anything else in his area. So we squat (heels down with your bum just above the ground) and talk. I introduce myself and my companions and explain what brought me to his place. Normally, it takes them a bit to get past my speaking their language, so I have to repeat myself to make sure he caught everything.
Our conversation with him was excellent. He said that his village, Bedona, has about 600 people living there and they are all ‘Gentiles’ (their description for a lost person). They have no church, do not know how to pray, and have never heard the Gospel. I asked if I could begin a relationship with him and his village in the hopes of teaching the Bible there eventually. He and his wives (of whom there are 2) were incredibly excited and invited me back anytime. Then we were served food as is the Tandroy custom to show respect and welcome. After ‘asking for the road’ we left with handshakes and an open invitation back to Bedona.
We bounced our way into Bekily in the early afternoon on Friday and had a chance to meet with the Mayor’s adjunct (right hand man) who remembered me from last time through. We exchanged the normal appropriate pleasantries and greetings before I brought up my questions for him. Before I had a chance to talk business with him he said he would love to have the Mayor sign our papers as soon as I get them done. He told me what the papers should say and as soon as I bring them back he will put the very official stamp on them and we will have permission to work in the district of Bekily.
From there our task was simple, walk, pray, talk, eat, talk some more, and discover. God has clearly worked out two of our three tasks so we just needed to be present for the third. We had planned our trip to coincide with the market day in Bekily as we hoped to meet people from all over the countryside and find our person of peace. Market day is quite the experience with thousands of people flooding into town to buy supplies for the week, greet friends from other areas, buy necessary fetishes and tools of witchcraft (post to come), and sell goods. We enjoyed our time walking around, sitting at booths with sellers from the area and just visiting. We found that there was not necessarily one “person of peace”, instead, there were many! People wanted to know why we were there, what we were doing and who we were. It opened doors to conversations and friendships that I hope to follow up on in the coming weeks.
It was a great trip that answered many questions, opened many doors and cleared the path ahead for the future. I will be going back to Bekily in the coming weeks with the papers for the Mayor to sign, with my tent to stay in Bedona and with expectancy that the Lord will continue to make the way clear.
The entire trip was a fantastic reminder that God’s mission will succeed. He desires that the Antandroy come to know him. He works out the details, I just go. He saves, I just speak.
