How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
who publishes salvation,
who says to Zion, "Your God reigns” Isaiah 2:7
This verse from Isaiah creates a significant image of our ministry in West Africa. We are here to bring the good news of peace. Our message has been both given and received as the gospel of peace. We are here as ambassadors of reconciliation and we disciple believers to carry on the ministry of reconciliation. We don’t believe peace is an important facet of the gospel; we believe and preach that peace is the gospel.
We are currently in a series of teachings about peace. We are equipping the men who go out to the villages to be sharing the vision of the peace that God is calling us to enjoy.
How do believers become ministers of reconciliation? We teach that our new relationship with God is possible only through the death and resurrection of Christ and that as he died, we also die to the world and the flesh in order to be raised to a new life with him. We who have come to peace with God are thereby enabled to be reconcilers among those with whom we live. (I Cor. 5)
Continuing to seek revenge, reacting with anger and attempting to repay evil with evil is indicative that the flesh is still dominating one’s life. The gospel of peace is relevant all over the world, but especially so here in West Africa where bullying, intimidation and violence are the culturally acceptable ways of dealing with affronts. When people become disciples of Christ, they become first and foremost people of peace.
Listen to this testimony of transformation of one believer’s life as he began to follow Jesus. His name is Gibriel Mane.
This was me back in 2005: On a particular day in the month of July I was seriously drunk. Since adolescence I had become a heavy drinker of palm and cashew wine. That day I staggered into the one-room shop of my neighbor Pasqual and bought five pieces of candy. As Pasqual handed me the candy some pieces slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor.
In our culture when an error like that happens, to maintain our honor and superiority, we wait to see if the other guy will stoop down and make it right. Immediately an insignificant mistake presents a test of wills- who will have power over the other? Who subjugates who? I wasn’t about to back down and an argument ensued: who should pick up the candy?
The next step in the process is the fists. There again it is important to act first and fast. I pasted him solidly on the jaw and there was blood. He backed down, defeated and humiliated. I was the winner, my honor exonerated by brute force.
That’s the way we lived every day. Life was one endless series of tests of honor and power over others. Our tools were our physical prowess and witchcraft. We boldly used both in our relations within our families and the village.
The events of that day were the second of three steps towards the transformation of my life. The first was a dream I had about two weeks before this fight. In that dream a large plane landed in our village and Jesus, in the form of a white man got off the plane and began to teach us about the way to God. From that dream I sensed that God was trying to tell me something about changing my life.Pasqual went to the village chief with a complaint against me and I ended up in the government prison in the nearby regional town of Sedengal. I was locked up with my cousin who was there for another misdemeanor.
As I sat in the prison I reached into my pocket and pulled out a New Testament I had received from the church we occasionally attended. That church teaches nothing about salvation as life-transforming. Just get your sins forgiven each week so you can go to heaven when you die, otherwise it’s ok to go on living a life powered by alcohol and the flesh. I understood little of what I was reading, but again there was the sense that God was trying to get through to me. My stay in prison was short because my family posted bail for me and I was free to leave.
The third step in the initial stage of my transformation was when I arrived back home my brothers told me about the Mennonite missionaries who had arrived and were giving bible studies in our village. They invited me to go along with them to the bible study. As the missionary explained to us the stories and teachings of Jesus I knew, yes, this is where I belong and this is how God is coming into my life. I began taking the first small steps of faith towards Jesus even though I understood little about Him.
This is me today, 2011: I am quite a different Gibby Mane now compared to back then. I smile a lot more, I’m a man of peace, the alcohol and witchcraft are gone, I have a heart of love towards everyone, even those who treat me badly; I have patience, forgiveness and mercy towards everyone and I have control of my anger. How has all this transformation happened to me in such a short time?
· I began to read the bible and understand it with the help of the missionary’s teaching. One of the first lessons that became clear to me was the realization that God loves me and cares for me- a totally new concept for me. Previously I lived in constant fear and anxiety not knowing how I would survive and worried about the ever present demonic powers surrounding me. What joy I had at hearing these words of Jesus:
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
· I began to see Jesus as my model: he was a man of peace, he was gentle, he was kind, he loved everyone, he was humble and he returned good for evil. I desired that my life should look like his in all respects.
· I die daily to my flesh. Trusting God completely means I don’t need to worry about revenge and protecting my honor. He keeps the records and will do justice in the end. He is my honor and dignity. Still there are times of difficulty and discouragement. Dying daily helps me stay on the path.
· We have experienced peace first of all within our extended family. When you live as an extended family all under one roof, conflicts and anger easily happen. Before we knew Jesus we argued, fought and put curses on each other. Now we gather every Friday for family prayer and to talk about our differences. My brothers and I have an entirely new understanding of our wives as co-equals and partners with us. Our parents who have been idol worshippers all their lives have turned from opposing us to joining us in prayer and worship of God.
· I am a teacher at the Mennonite pre-school, a clerk at a shop and I am involved in all kinds of village activities. As I move about I am able to freely share the peace of Jesus with others trying to find their way through conflicts and violence.
· I actively evangelize in nearby villages who are spiritually where we were five years ago. Sharing my testimony of transformation helps others to catch a vision of how God can also change their lives. Many people in these villages know the old Gibby, drunk and ready to fight. I am happy to share with them how God has transformed my life and He is ready to do the same for them.
(Gibby’s testimony as told to Beryl Forrester)Leaders Explore Evangelism Possibility
The Mennonite church in West Africa can be typified as multi-ethnic. That is, it includes participants from the various tribes in the region. The way people come together in Christ, rising above ethnic rivalry and prejudices, is wonderful to behold. It recalls the first and last verse of the brief Psalm 133-Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
As believers celebrate their oneness in Christ, no one is suggesting that ethnic identities are should be obliterated, nor need they be. The Balanta believers and the Mandiago believers are still Balantas and Mandiagos. Each have their own languages, traditions and characteristics that should be preserved and actually add color to this mosaic of God’s new people.
Two of our leaders, Sangpierre Mendy from Gambia and Tchelino Ferreria from Guinea Bissau are both Mandiago, a tribe that has been difficult to evangelize because of their entrenched Catholic/animistic syncretism.
Mandiagos are numerous throughout our three countries- Gambia, Senegal and Guinea Bissau but their tribal homeland is only about 40 miles south of us. The area around Cacheu, Guinea Bissau is considered as their ethnic center.
Sangpierre and Tchelino have been exploring church planting in that area and they visited the area again the first week of November. The two main population centers for the area are Cacheu and Canchungo. There are churches in both of these cities. Their contacts lead them to Kabeu, a town between the cities. Kabeu is a cluster of villages with a population of between 5-10,000. In the entire area of Kabeu there is not one single church. They saw an abandoned Catholic church but that was it for any signs of Christianity.
They met with two men who are particularly interested in bringing Christianity to their town: Simon and _?___. They also met with small groups of people who at first were somewhat skeptical but as the men share the gospel with them and the way we evangelize they were able to overcome hesitancy on the part of the residents.
The next step in the process of church planting will be to bring Simon and __?__
to our annual conference between Christmas and New Year and have them with us for several days of instruction. We pray that God will open the way for these people to know Jesus.
Beryl Forrester, November 15, 2011
EMM West Africa Co-Regional Rep.
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