Mali or Azawad—Religious Freedom or Oppression?

For many years, Mali, West Africa, has been one of few predominantly Muslim countries offering some degree of religious freedom, but the opportunity has been seldom utilized by servants of Christ.

So, others have seized control of the country. In January of 2012, an alliance of fierce Tuareg separatists (another mostly unreached people group) and Al-Quaeda affiliated rebels, armed with Qaddafi’s left-over weaponry, took control of the northern two-thirds of the country, renaming it Azawad. The provisional capital was Gao, but the intended one was Timbuktu (yes, it does exist!). The few Christians who had moved to the area from the south were forced to flee—a Bible school in Gao was closed.

France has continued to help its former colony over the years, and when the rebels crossed their own boundary in January of this year, it was too much to take. French military units assisted the Malian army in driving rebel forces into the mountains, where they continue to mount guerilla attacks.

Despite the uprising, methods of evangelism and discipleship are still available—radio broadcasts, literature distribution (alongside of literacy work), even street evangelism. About 75% of the population is illiterate, so audio cassettes, MP3 players, and SMS cards for mobile phones—all are useful tools in telling the Story.

Not too long ago, one of our workers was traveling with a Malian pastor, visiting individual believers in the wide, sandy diaspora that is typical for the Sahel zone. They visited a little group and began to study the Scriptures. ‘Safwan’  was keenly interested, so ‘Stephan’ (a ReachAcross worker) gave him some Bible study helps, which he devoured. But where had Safwan got his Bible from? There aren’t any bookstores in his tiny village, and even if there were, the Bible certainly wouldn’t be available.

The mystery was soon solved as Safwan told his story: His father had become a committed Christian during his stint in the Malian army. Service completed, he had returned to his home village, where nobody else knew about his new-found faith. He remained the only Christian in his village until the day he died, but some time later, his son brought his father’s old Bible to our meeting. The seed that had lain dormant for a few years began to bear fruit.

With the equivalent of a fourth-grade education, Safwan had trouble reading some passages, but his comprehension is improving. He likes listening to cassette tapes of Bible portions—especially when he can follow along in his New Testament—the Old Testament isn’t available yet (a team of translators is working on it). God is working in the life of this soldier’s son.

Please pray for Mali. Safwan himself gathered in a good harvest of peanuts last year—most families are not so blessed, and if the rainfall isn’t sufficient in late summer, famine will again be just around the corner, as happened in 2012. More important still is the spiritual harvest that is just as meager. Neither type of famine—peanuts or the Bread of Life—is necessary, if God’s people will respond to His call.

Pray that God’s Kingdom will prevail in Mali.

Translated, with additions and revisions, from the German. 

The Word Speaks our Language!

Despite the rise of technology and advances in media ministries in some regions of Africa, for many people, tracts and tapes are still the sole means of communicating God’s word. One worker from another agency shares about this rewarding ministry:

"ReachAcross has been sharing the Good News in West Africa via the printed page for over three decades. During this time we have kept book stocks in several local languages: Pulaar, Khassonke, Soninke, Bambara, Hasaniya, as well as French, Arabic and English. Also there are Scripture portions in Songhai, Tamaceq, Wolof, and others. We also sell tapes: the book of Luke, the Way of Righteousness (chronological teaching) and the Seven Signs (verses in the Qur’an which point to Jesus). 

There has always been a steady stream of Fulani customers and a trickle of the other ethnic groups. The biggest encouragement in our work in the past three or four years concerns the Soninke people. We are now selling Soninke books (literacy, folk tales, and Scripture portions) and tapes at an average of eight books and two tapes per week. Before then we sold virtually no Soninke material at all for years. The best-seller is naturally the Soninke alphabet book along with the primers - it is great to see the rising demand for literacy materials. 

Other well-liked items are the tape series on the life of Moses, and the book of Genesis in two different dialects. I can’t describe the joy I feel when a dignified Soninke man sits on a stool next to the book table and listens to the Moses story for an hour at a time. Or, despite Soninke customers’ amusement at the way I read aloud the Soninke alphabet book, they end up buying it. The sales during the recent Soninke festival were phenomenal but, we think, of even greater impact was the exposure Soninke people had to the existence of literature and recordings in their own language. 

Workers who produced quality literature in the local languages through the years should be encouraged that their work lives on. 

Each morning as I interact with people, I realize that many of my customers are appreciative of the fact that some outsiders took the time to learn their language, write it down and then publish it. Every day we pray that each book and tape ends up in the hands of one whose heart God is drawing to Jesus. Be encouraged and please join us in praying for these people."

Our thanks to all who give and pray so that the Word of God can go out through the printed page!

U.S. Director

God Speaks My Language!

from the Reach Across U.S. Director

We don’t know why God allows certain things to happen, especially when they seem to be contrary to His own will—a case in point is the disruption in many Middle Eastern countries which has cost the lives of many people in countries like Syria. In another country, an English teacher was shot dead as he drove to his language school, and another European worker, who had roomed until recently with one of our own ReachAcross folks, was kidnapped, and has not been heard from in several weeks. In all the anguish caused by these happenings, one good thing that has happened has been that several long-term ReachAcross members have relocated to new places and started new ministries. One of them who recently moved from the Middle East to a European country, relates the following:

A plan formed in my heart to give a Bible to someone I had met. Along the way, I popped into a computer shop to buy a USB stick. It was a very tiny shop, with just enough room for 3 people to enter. As I chatted with the shop owner, I happened to use words like “Alhamdulillah” (praise to God) and “Insha’Allah” (God willing) in the conversation. Soon he asked me if I was a Muslim. I replied that I was a “follower of Jesus”.

He paused to think, and then asked me again, “Are you a Muslim?”

“No, I'm a follower of Jesus, a Christian.”

He was taken aback by my confident tone and said, “I didn't know that Christians said things like Alhamdulillah or Insha’Allah.”

I told him that yes, we do say such things; these phrases are written in the Bible. He was quite amazed. I then asked him if he had ever read the Bible. He said he hadn’t, but then with an interested expression, he added that his dad used to read it when he was a young boy. A smile of pride grew across his face as he remembered. He admitted that he couldn't read the Bible because it was in English, but his father loved reading it. (He made sure to confirm that his father was a Muslim even though he read the Bible.)

I asked him if he would like to read the Bible and he said yes. So I told him that God had brought me to his shop that very day for a special reason. I told him I had a Bible with me and said, “God wants you to have this Bible.”

He was stunned and his mouth dropped open. But his expression quickly changed and grew a bit sad because, though it was nice to see a Bible, he couldn’t read English. So I told him that actually the Bible is in Arabic too. Again his mouth dropped in amazement. He couldn't believe it! I took the Arabic Bible out of my bag and handed it him. He was thrilled and started flipping through the pages. He asked about the price but I told him it was a gift. “It's free, because God's word is free.” He was so excited! Then some other men entered the shop and he quickly hid the Bible behind the counter so they wouldn't see the new treasure that God had provided.