My TopTen FAQ’s
As I make my way across the U.S. visiting folks I get asked some who, where, what and when sorts of questions. After being asked the same questions several places I started seeing a perceptible pattern and so began to formulate a repertoire of answers. I share some of these questions and answers with you.
1. How did you get here?
This question comes once I have presented myself at my host family’s door. Looking around they don’t see a vehicle so, naturally they have good reason to wonder how I arrived. Then pointing to the shinny blue scooter I say, “On that”. While their eyes are saying, ‘You’ve got to be out of your mind’ their mouth is saying, “You mean, you came all the way from Pennsylvania on that?” “Uh-hu, it’s a great way to see the country”. Some things like traversing the country (to and fro) on a scooter are just not all that easy to understand.
2. Guinea what? & Where’s that?
I’m from Guinea Bissau, I say. It’s in West Africa. I’m still drawing a blank so I add that Guinea Bissau is a small country just south of Senegal. In a country where the candidate for the second highest office in the land referred to Africa as a ‘country’ I shouldn’t be surprised that few Americans have ever heard of Guinea Bissau. Thankfully, most people have enough curiosity that they will pull down an atlas and find where in the world this place is.
3. What did you do there?
(Note the past tense. Most folks, when they see an old geezer like me have a problem visualizing someone this old still seriously occupied). I am a missionary, I say. They say- You mean, you’re going back? Yes, I can’t imagine not going back.
4. What sort of work do you do as a missionary?
Answer: I teach people about Jesus and invite them to become His disciples. (Really, I assumed that’s essentially what missionaries are supposed to be doing.)
5. How much long do you plan on staying over there?
Answer: Forever.
6. Is it safe to be over there?
Answer: I don’t feel unsafe or threatened. It is true there is great social and political unrest in many parts of Africa including where I live. It is not unusual in our village to hear cannon fire as the Senegalese army attempts to root out bandit cells hiding in forest encampments ten to fifteen miles from where I live. The highway I travel at least once a week to get to Ziguinchor occasionally is the scene of bandit attacks against travelers. Violent interchanges between people who dislike each other are not uncommon in our villages. In spite of the violence, life goes on. Violence seems to be accepted as a normal feature of life. For me, violence and danger don’t somehow relieve me of the commitment/obligation to be there with the gospel of peace. In fact, it makes it all the more compelling that I should be there. When Africans begin to experience transformation by Christ one of the first evidences is their readiness to abandon the need to return evil for evil and adopt a willingness to forgive their enemies. When I see this transformation happening in the lives of people coming to faith in Christ it only reinforces my desire to be there despite risks to my personal safety.
7. Is AIDS prevalent in your area?
Answer: Probably but it’s a bit difficult to know just how prevalent. I and members of our church have had occasion to minister to people obviously dying of AIDS. But since there is immediate burial and no autopsies there really is no way of having accurate statistics. My guess is that the rate is much higher than in North America but not as prevalent as in southern Africa. Someday the rate of incidence will likely be much higher given the few inhibitions about promiscuity.
8. Is the church there growing?
Yes, but not as rapidly as in some parts of Africa. I believe that is because we are only at the beginning of growth. The door is wide open for evangelism and nearly everyone under 30 is searching for something far better than the brokenness and sadness of their parents. There are several reasons why the beginning is slow-
• Most people know nothing of Jesus, they don’t know that Messiah is even an option. That’s where we pick up with them on their faith journey.
• Most people are illiterate. The bible is in their language but they have never read it nor heard it.
• Most people need to work 7/7 just to survive. There is no space for Sabbath or learning anything, including the bible.
• The country is a stronghold of Satanism, witchcraft & domination by ancestral spirits.
9. What do you eat over there? Answer: (in order of frequency)
• Peanut butter & jam on bread
• Macaroni
• Oatmeal
• Cabbage, carrots & potatoes
10. Do you get reverse culture shock when you come back to North America?
Answer: Yes. I enjoy visiting here and I appreciate all my family and friends who are interested in the work in Africa. It is good to see all of you and I enjoy your hospitality and support. Our time together reaffirms our partnership of the gospel in West Africa. But my home (and my heart) is in Africa. Its where God wants me to be and its where I want to be as long as I have the health and energy to make some sort of meaningful contribution to the extension of His Kingdom in that part of the world.
Each time I come back to visit I feel more and more like a foreigner here. As all of us know, life is constantly changing and when one is essentially off the scene the gaps keep getting wider and the pieces less connected.
Plus, the unanswered, unanswerable questions keep getting more and more complex. It’s just too difficult trying to come up with the rationale for how Christians (including most Mennonites) are becoming more and more distant from the poor of the world. For me, it’s easier and more comfortable to be with and walk with the poor than trying to devise a rationale for not being with them.
If I stay at this long enough I am going to come up with the 10 most FAQ’s I would like to ask North American Christians.
BJF
July, 2010
