Participants:
Series Code: AFM
Program Code: AFM000009
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00:02 Hi, I'm Jay Wintermeyer, editor and producer for AFM
00:04 digital productions. Adventist Frontier Missions began work in 00:07 the Poni Province in southwest Burkina Faso in 1993. 00:12 When we left the project in 2000, there were 135 baptized 00:15 members in four villages. 00:17 Today, there are more than 400 baptized members in 20 villages. 00:22 In fact, Adventist membership is growing faster in this region 00:25 than in any other part of Burkina Faso. 00:27 So what makes this growth possible? How do we take 00:30 someone beyond their initial baptism and foster a lasting 00:32 relationship with Jesus Christ that motivates them to 00:35 evangelize their friends and neighbors? 00:37 Let's take a closer look. 01:04 One of the first steps toward a lasting gospel movement 01:07 involves discovering how to communicate the gospel in 01:10 ways that speak directly to the needs of a particular 01:13 people group. 01:14 Former AFM missionary Kurt Unglaub shares how one of the 01:17 local Bible workers he trained is doing this. 01:20 Falstan and his workers have an ability to present 01:25 Christianity in a way that makes sense to animist people. 01:35 Falstan and his workers begin with the creation story. 01:40 They explain how things were in the beginning, which agrees 01:44 with Lobi and Agari traditions. 01:47 The first part of the Lobi 01:49 tradition, of course, we 01:50 believe in. That there is a 01:52 creator God and He did create 01:54 things in the beginning in seven 01:57 days and that it was very good. 01:59 And we agree with the Lobi tradition that there was a fall 02:03 of man that made a separation between God and man. 02:07 So we are on common ground with the Lobi tradition and 02:11 the Agari traditions, but here is where our stories differ. 02:15 We have a remedy to the fall of man, a remedy to sin. 02:21 And it's not the fetishes. So, Falstan explains to the 02:25 people how, through their system of endless sacrifices 02:30 to the fetishes, it is only creating and exacerbating 02:34 the problems that exist here. 02:35 For example, we have poor people who, whenever there 02:40 is a problem, whenever there is a worry, whenever there is 02:43 something that goes wrong, they have to go to the 02:46 diviners and find out where the fetishes have been offended. 02:50 What spirit has been insulted, and what is the price to appease 02:55 these spirits? 02:56 The price is going to be in the form of animal sacrifices. 03:00 So they are obligated to give of their precious few chickens 03:05 and goats and cows to appease the fetishes who are never 03:10 satisfied. If they don't have any animals, they are 03:14 obligated to sell off their food supply, their grain, 03:17 in order to be able to buy the animal and make the sacrifices. 03:22 As Falstan is telling the people this story, they are all nodding 03:26 their heads, "Yes, we've all been there, and we've all 03:28 done that. " 03:29 Falstan poses the question to the group, "How much have 03:34 you spent the last two years to appease the fetishes?" 03:39 One man volunteered to say that if he could calculate all 03:42 of the money that he had spent in the last two years 03:45 to satisfy the fetishes, it would be enough to buy him 03:48 a big motorcycle. 03:50 And Falstan asked them, "Are the fetishes ever satisfied?" 03:56 "Is there ever an end to these sacrifices?" 03:58 And they all say, "No. " 04:00 And Falstan explains to them, "I have a better way. 04:04 There is a better way. Jesus is the sacrifice. 04:08 He is the once and for all sacrifice for all of our sins. 04:12 So, if we believe and accept the sacrifice of Jesus, 04:16 there is no more need to make these animal sacrifices. " 04:20 And when the hope and the logic of that appeal sinks in, 04:24 the people are very interested. 04:31 When people understand how the gospel meets their specific 04:34 problems and worldview, they begin to experience the 04:37 freedom that comes from serving Jesus. The results are 04:40 amazing. Take, for example, Palé Pinyalé. 04:43 Palé Pinyalé came into Loropeni one day and asked the first 04:48 person he saw, "Where are the Christians?" 04:50 And he was directed to our house. He basically told us 04:55 that he was tired of worshiping the spirits and being a slave 04:59 to the fetishes, and he wanted out. And he wanted to learn 05:03 to be a Christian. 05:04 So, over the next months, we had Bible studies with him, and 05:09 he faithfully rode his bicycle or walked the 17 kilometers from 05:13 his village to the Loropeni group. He was baptized 05:18 along with another man from his village. 05:22 Whenever somebody steps out of the traditions, it creates a 05:27 fear and problems for the other villagers because they don't 05:32 want to incur the anger and wrath of the fetishes. 05:36 So any misfortune that would happen in the village would be 05:40 blamed on Palé and Yuel, the two believers. Of course, when 05:45 good things happened and blessings would come, 05:47 all people would rejoice. But whenever anything 05:50 bad would happen, they were the scapegoats. 05:53 Once I remember when Palé was returning to his village 05:57 from Loropeni at night with two children and his wife, his wife 06:03 was bitten by a snake. These are deadly vipers. 06:07 He put his wife on the bicycle, strapped one of his 06:11 children on his back and took the other one in tow, 06:15 and pushed his wife on the bicycle all the way back to 06:19 his village. Of course, there is no antivenin, there is no 06:24 help there. People from Loropeni came out and prayed with him. 06:29 Miraculously, his wife recovered from the snake bite. 06:34 Which, in itself, was a big testimony to the villagers. 06:39 Palé Pinyalé's story is one of perseverance. 06:41 There is beginning to be an interest in his village. 06:44 We are in the midst of constructing a chapel for 06:47 them in their own village so that they will have the 06:49 option of staying there and worshipping. 06:58 The village of Loropeni was home to the Unglaub's for 07:01 six years. One of their helpers was a man named Palé Togo. 07:05 Palé owns and operates a flour mill and loves to help 07:09 people as a way to spread the gospel. 07:22 While attending a trade school, Palé began sharing his faith 07:25 with a fellow student by the name of Dossier. 07:28 Before I became a Christian, I drank a lot. I don't know 07:32 what I would have become if Palé Togo had not introduced 07:35 me to Jesus Christ. 07:37 Palé would share with him about Christ and about the 07:42 Adventist beliefs, and Dossier was very interested. 07:47 Palé invited him to come to church in Ouagadougou, which 07:52 they went to church together. And then when they returned 07:56 to the village, Dossier visited the Gaoua church and 08:00 the Loropeni church. Palé invited him to come and 08:03 to work with him as an apprentice to learn more about 08:07 the flour mill business. 08:09 So Dossier moved himself and his wife into Palé's home. 08:18 After I was baptized, my wife and I went home to our 08:20 village to start our own flour mill. The villagers 08:23 tried to influence my father to force me to give up 08:26 my faith. I started sharing my faith with others, and we built 08:30 a little grass church. The witchdoctor told everyone 08:33 in my village, "If you don't get rid of the church, it will 08:36 change the whole village. " 08:37 A group of youth even threatened to burn down 08:40 the grass chapel next to the Mango tree. 08:45 Dossier and his wife persevered. They knew they were on 08:49 the right road. Today, Dossier is appreciated by many people 08:52 in his village, and the little grass church still stands. 08:56 Today, there are nine baptized members and about 20 others 09:00 who are attending their Sabbath worship services under the shade 09:03 of the large Mango tree. 09:05 The Holy Spirit is working in the Poni province to convict 09:08 people and lead them to freedom in Jesus. 09:10 When the members of the Kampti church experienced this freedom, 09:14 they began witnessing in the neighboring village of Perigban. 09:17 Perigban was a project of the Kampti church. 09:22 Perigban is a village that lies halfway between Kampti 09:26 and Gaoua, the two principle villages in this province. 09:30 So it was natural for the Kampti workers to be interested in 09:34 evangelizing Perigban. They passed through there very often 09:37 on their way to Gaoua. 09:45 So, many times on Sabbath afternoons, a group of them 09:49 would go out on their bicycles - three or four or five or more - 09:52 and they would spend Sabbath afternoon singing with the 09:55 people and telling Bible stories. Any way that 09:58 they could attract a crowd, they would try and get a group 10:01 of people together and share with them Christianity and 10:04 share with them our Seventh-day Adventist message. 10:11 Finally, their efforts paid off. A married couple named 10:15 Nestor and Bridgett accepted the message and were baptized. 10:18 They also wanted to share the good news with others. 10:21 They carried on the missionary work of the Kampti believers 10:26 who continued to come on a regular basis and support Nestor 10:30 and Bridgett. 10:32 Marcelan, one of our leaders and baptized members of Kampti, 10:37 decided to move to Perigban. He found his own little hut, and 10:43 he stayed there for about nine months working with Nestor to 10:48 build up that group. 10:50 Today, Nestor is working as a fulltime evangelist in Perigban 10:54 and 29 surrounding villages. 10:58 One of the things that was very gratifying to Margaret 11:03 and me was to see the local members sacrificing for 11:07 each other. 11:09 So often the case is that they wait for the missionary to do 11:13 something, and they feel helpless because of their 11:17 poverty to do anything for themselves. But one of our 11:21 members in Kampti, a young man by the name of Eric, 11:25 who is a baker, he invested his own money 11:30 in building a chapel in Perigban. 11:34 The Perigban members made all the mud bricks. 11:38 They constructed the wall. And then, Eric donated 11:42 the materials to put on the roof and the door. 11:53 Jerome was an elderly gentleman in the village of 11:57 Lucura, and he has the distinction, the honor, of 12:02 probably being the first Lobi Seventh-day Adventist. 12:06 He was converted at an agricultural school outside 12:10 of Ouagadougou and was baptized and returned to his home 12:15 village in Poni Province as the only Seventh-day Adventist 12:19 for hundreds of kilometers. 12:21 He faithfully kept the Sabbath with his children under a 12:26 shade tree in his yard for years. 12:33 One day, three of Jerome's neighbors traveled the 30 12:36 miles to the Unglaubs' home in Loropeni just to see if 12:39 there really were other people that believed as Jerome did. 12:42 The Unglaubs shared a large supply of Bible studies and 12:45 other materials with them to take back to their village. 12:48 Eventually, Jerome's neighbors were baptized and 12:50 began meeting together in a little church they built. 12:55 There are now 23 members in four villages in that area. 12:59 Jerome is no longer worshiping alone. 13:01 And it all started because of the persistent faithfulness 13:04 of this lonely gardener, who cherished the Advent 13:07 message and lived out his faith openly. 13:23 The story behind the Tantou group is a story of one 13:27 person telling another person telling another 13:29 person the message. 13:44 A young man named Theodore used to come 13:46 every Sabbath to the Gaoua church for Bible studies. 13:49 He came from Tantou, a distant village in an 13:52 almost inaccessible part of the province. 13:54 Theodore absorbed everything like a sponge and began 13:57 sharing what he learned with his friend Dah Faustan. 14:01 Faustan was impressed with what he heard and asked 14:04 his village elders, who were all animist, if they would 14:07 approve of the Adventist missionaries coming to 14:09 their village for a visit so they could tell everyone 14:11 what they believed. 14:13 His request was granted. 14:14 Several of us went out one Sunday morning and met 14:19 with - the whole village was there - all the elders 14:24 the young people, the children, the women... 14:26 they were all there to sit and find out what this 14:30 was all about. 14:32 So we gave them a sketch of the history and the 14:36 diversity in the Seventh-day Adventist church, our various 14:41 ministries, our various emphases, and some of 14:44 our core doctrines. After hearing this, the 14:48 village decided that they would allow us to come. 14:51 In fact, they were wanting us 14:54 to come to install in their village. 14:57 We came back for a second visit to meet with those who 15:01 were truly interested in becoming Seventh-day 15:04 Adventist Christians. There was a group of about 15 15:07 people that were very interested in taking the 15:11 next step. So, we had some meetings with them and left 15:15 them a lot of literature, Bible studies and books, 15:18 which they devoured. 15:20 After several weeks, we received word again that 15:24 they were ready for another visit, and in fact 15:28 they were wanting to be baptized. So we continued 15:32 studies with them. The first group of baptisms 15:37 included 12 individuals. 15:39 Faustan and Will emerged as the leaders of that group 15:43 in Tantou, and that group has actually grown to be 15:48 the largest group in the entire province. 15:51 They had their sites on other villages. 15:55 And Faustan and the other believers began visiting 15:58 other villages like Zumulucun and Topar and 16:02 Womi. They found interested people in all of those villages, 16:06 and groups have sprung up in each one. 16:09 They each have constructed their own chapels, and 16:13 those three villages have gone and spread the message 16:17 to others. They are going to Tobo. They are going to 16:21 Ponta Leon. And they are going to Tanyo, where 16:25 believers are being organized into churches, and people are 16:30 being baptized. 16:31 As I mentioned, the story of Tantouo - the story of one 16:34 person telling another person telling another 16:35 person - and this is especially true in how the group in 16:40 Zumulucun was planted. 16:43 Faustan had a friend by the name of Patrice. 16:46 And Patrice was married to Bridgett. So Faustan began 16:51 sharing the faith with Patrice and Bridgett 16:54 who both accepted the message, and they were baptized. 16:58 During my visits with Patrice and his family, 17:02 Patrice's mother was always there. 17:05 She was an elderly animist 17:08 lady who seemed to be totally uninterested in what 17:11 we were talking about, but she was always sitting 17:15 around the fire as we sang and prayed and talked 17:18 together. She never said anything and never showed 17:22 the least interest in what was going on. 17:24 But it turns out that she was listening. 17:27 And one day, out of the clear blue sky, it seems that she 17:31 announced to Patrice and Bridgett that she, in fact, 17:35 was very interested in what she was hearing and wanted 17:39 to follow their way. She had seen the beneficial 17:42 changes, all the positive things that were happening 17:45 in their family because of their newfound faith, 17:49 and she wanted to have a part of that, too. 17:51 So, after Bible studies, this elderly lady was baptized. 17:57 She became an instant evangelist. She returned to 18:02 her village of Zumulucun and began sharing with all 18:07 of the people of her generation, anybody who 18:10 would listen, the wonderful things that she had discovered 18:13 and the wonderful things that God had done in her life 18:17 and how she had been set free from the fetishes and fear 18:21 of the spirits and that she was rejoicing in the Lord. 18:27 Freedom in Jesus is contagious. 18:30 Just like the grandmother who shared her faith, young people 18:33 are also sharing Christ in spite of persecution. 18:36 The Depayo group started with a boy by the name of Bossico. 18:41 Bossico came into contact with Marcelan, one of our members 18:45 in Kampti, and they began talking about Christianity 18:50 and the Bible together. Bossico was a believer. 18:54 And so when Marcelan shared with him our Adventist 18:58 beliefs and gave him books to read, he became very 19:01 interested. He saw that there were differences in 19:04 what we believed and what he had believed. 19:06 And as he compared the two, 19:07 he came to realize that what we believed was 19:11 closer to the Bible. So he began asking more 19:15 questions and requesting more literature and visiting 19:18 our churches in Kampti and in Loropeni. 19:21 He was eventually baptized along with one 19:25 of his brothers. They were students in high school. 19:30 Here in Burkina Faso, they follow a different 19:35 system where the students are required to go to school 19:39 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... They have Thursday off, and 19:44 then they go to school Friday and Saturday. Well, Bossico 19:48 and his brother, they were firm believers in the Sabbath 19:52 and they would not go to school on Saturday, which 19:56 brought them into conflict with their teachers and the 20:00 school authorities. 20:02 Fortunately, Bossico and his brothers are also very 20:06 smart, and they were able to get such high grades that 20:10 even with the zeros that they got on Saturday, they were 20:14 still able to be at the head of their classes. 20:16 Even through this persecution and trial, Bossico and his 20:21 brothers were faithful. During the school year, 20:25 they would attend church in Gaoua or Loropeni. 20:29 During the summer vacation, they went back to their home 20:32 village of Depayo. There is no church or group 20:35 in Depayo except for these two believers. But they 20:39 began sharing their faith with their friends and their 20:43 other brothers and sisters. And so now there 20:46 is a group of believers that is there in Depayo. 20:49 And during the summer, they build a little 20:53 hut that they call their chapel, and they meet 20:56 for prayer meeting and church there every week. 20:59 During the school year, they 21:00 go back to school and attend other churches. But every 21:03 summer, there is a group that meets in Depayo. 21:06 Now, they are sharing their faith on a wider scale 21:09 and we hope that there will be a permanent group there 21:12 for everybody. 21:15 In addition to direct evangelism, Adventist members 21:18 are also using medical outreach as a key to people's hearts. 21:22 Well, what's most gratifying about the medical missionary 21:26 aspect of the project was that the local people 21:32 took to it so enthusiastically and faithfully. 21:37 They were eager to learn how 21:39 these natural remedies, these simple remedies, could help them 21:43 because there are a lot of medical problems and health 21:45 problems here. 21:47 They can't afford the medicine sometimes, and so simple 21:52 remedies are their only recourse. 21:55 Certain people enjoyed doing these simple remedies and were 21:59 excited about being able to help their members, and one 22:03 of them was a lady by the name of Solange who worked 22:06 a lot with Margaret. And Margaret gave her 22:10 special training in hydrotherapy and left her instructions so 22:16 that after we left, she would be able to carry on 22:18 this ministry. 22:19 Solange shared her training with several more women in 22:22 the Loropeni church. Together, they have used 22:25 their simple remedies to bring hope and the gospel 22:27 to several women in their village. 22:37 Ahdowa is one of the women they helped. When they first 22:41 began visiting her, she was completely paralyzed. 22:44 Her condition was most likely the result of a bout with 22:47 spinal tuberculosis. For more than three years, 22:50 she had lain in her hut in a fetal position, completely 22:53 dependent on others for everything. When Solange 22:56 and the other women first began visiting Ahdowa, 22:59 she turned down their offers of help. The women persisted, 23:03 however, and finally Ahdowa allowed them to pray for her 23:07 and began hydro and massage therapy. 23:40 Slowly, Ahdowa began to regain the use of her limbs. 23:44 It took more than six months, but finally she was able to 23:49 begin walking on her own again. 23:50 Today, Ahdowa attends church and gives God the praise 23:55 for restoring her health. 24:06 The Prandles and Unglaubs brought the seed of the 24:09 gospel and God's end-time message to these unreached 24:11 people groups in the Poni Province. 24:13 But once that seed was firmly planted, the Holy Spirit began 24:17 using the local people to carry it to others. 24:20 Students, old people, literate and illiterate, 24:23 men and women have all been used by God as lights 24:26 in the darkness and as messengers of salvation 24:29 to the remotest places all because someone cared 24:32 enough to go and find ways to communicate the good 24:34 news in relevant ways. 24:39 I think, probably, there are three reasons for the 24:43 success of the project. 24:47 One reason may be the fact that we continue to remain 24:53 involved through annual visits. I think especially 24:58 in the first few years after we left, those visits 25:03 were important for the support and encouragement 25:07 of the members. 25:09 I think another reason why the project has been 25:13 successful is because of the way our church is organized. 25:17 These are not independent congregational churches. 25:22 These churches are part of a much larger 25:25 organization, part of a global movement. 25:28 But finally, I think the real reason, the biggest reason 25:33 for the success, the ongoing growth, is just the work of the 25:38 Holy Spirit - the Holy Spirit working in the lives of 25:42 people who are open to God. We see the Holy Spirit working 25:47 in many ways where members like Eric and 25:51 others are sacrificing and giving of their own 25:54 means to build chapels and to support the work. 25:57 We see the Holy Spirit working in the lives of 26:00 members who go out and do simple remedies, 26:04 who visit people, who pray for the sick, who minister 26:07 unselfishly to each other, who give of their means 26:11 for this. 26:14 Also, their willingness to endure persecution 26:18 and hardship is a demonstration of a 26:21 living faith in a living God. 26:25 The Poni Province mission project was spearheaded 26:27 by Adventist Frontier Missions. 26:29 AFM seeks to build up vibrant gospel movements among 26:33 people groups with no Adventist presence. 26:35 We currently have church planting projects in 16 26:38 different countries among people groups who would 26:41 never have heard the gospel without a missionary going 26:43 to live with them. 26:45 So what does it take to make an AFM project successful? 26:48 First of all, we need committed men and women willing to give 26:52 their lives in service. 26:54 We need people dedicated 26:55 to lifting up the missionaries in prayer. Time and time again, 26:58 we have seen how prayer plays a vital role in what 27:01 we do every day. 27:04 And, finally, we need financial support to enable 27:06 our missionaries to carry their work forward. 27:09 AFM is entirely supported through private donations. 27:14 If you would like to find out more about mission 27:16 service or how you can get involved with Adventist Frontier 27:19 Missions, come visit us online. 27:35 Hi, this is Jay Wintermeyer 27:37 with an editor's note. 27:39 The Poni Province video was a challenging shoot. 27:41 Not only were we working in tropical conditions, 27:43 we were visiting some very remote parts of 27:46 Burkina Faso. 27:49 There was no electricity, so we relied on natural light. 27:53 Our work frequently took us deep into the bush to 27:56 interview people like Palé Pinyalé and the 27:58 Tantou members. 28:01 If you have enjoyed the Poni Province video, 28:03 you can get your own personal copy on DVD 28:05 by visiting... |
Revised 2014-12-17