Benin 2007
Jesus commands us to go. Like Abraham, we have been "blessed to be a blessing to others." And so it is the great privilege of the North Shore Community Church to pray for and encourage the Mina tribe of the country of Benin in West Africa.
Why the Mina people?
Our sense of calling to these people was born out of the prayer and conversation of the missions committee. It was decided to participate in the Great Commission by focusing intensively and primarily on one unreached people group, rather than scattering minimal support in many different directions. Africa was chosen and then, in conjunction with
The Jesus Film project, the Gen-Gbe speaking Mina tribe was adopted. Furthermore it became clear that the spiritual needs in this region were great as the church was very small, and the culture was largely given over to voodoo and animism.
After an exploratory trip to Benin in February 2006, production of The Jesus Film in Gen-Gbe was begun. The translation team did their work in the first half of 2007 and production was completed that summer.
Why The Jesus Film?
Since its release in 1979 it has become the most viewed film in history, seen in every nation on earth. It has been translated into more than 1000 languages and has had an estimated audience of six billion viewers. Many mission experts have acclaimed The Jesus Film as one of the greatest evangelistic success stories of all time. The film has been shown tens of thousands of times through the work of dedicated, traveling film teams the world over and take the gospel to the most remote, isolated and difficult places on earth. Through the efforts of these teams, in many different venues, many millions have indicated God's work in their heart to accept Christ as their personal savior and lord. Furthermore, in this particular strategy, the vitally important work of follow-up was carried out by two teams who actively meet with believers to ground them in their new faith. Some mission experts estimate that more than one million churches have been established where The Jesus Film was a primary tool of evangelism.
What has God called us to do?
To be faithful to this mission, first and foremost, God has called us to pray. So for the past several years we have humbly interceded for this people group. Out of this prayer we have come to see the mission in three broad categories: pilgrimage, partnership and aid.
Pilgrimage (Where did we go and what were the significant events in which we participated?)
Partnership (Who are the people we have come to know as dear and respected partners in the spread of the gospel? Who and where are the young/fledgling churches we want to be "sister churches" with? How do we see ourselves as part of the fulfillment of the vision God has given to Christian leaders in Benin?)
Aid (What are the particular needs we can help meet? How can we use our resources to bring blessing to Benin in strategic ways?)
The beginnings (pilgrimage)…
There was much planning, preparation and packing. Then on October 19 the team of John Morken, Betty Gagnon, Julia Gagnon and John Yenchko were joined by David and Sandel Livingstone from The Jesus Film project, and took off from JFK Airport on Royal Air Maroc, first to Casablanca, Morocco, and then to Cotonou, Benin.
Because we enjoyed a 12 hour layover in Casablanca we had the opportunity to tour this great city. We enjoyed a refreshing meal of fish, rice, salad and oranges. And then we went for a prayer walk at the King Hassan II Muslim mosque on the coast. This enormous mosque can hold over 100,000 worshipers. Its emerald green and marble facade is stunning. We went there, humbly, to pray that the name of Jesus would become famous in Casablanca and across North Africa.
We always began our daily routine of devotions together, each team member responsible for a different day. John Yenchko began with encouragement from Psalm 133 reminding the team "how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity". And God gave us a remarkable unity and harmony throughout our challenging trip together.
We arrived in Benin Sunday, October 21 at 3:00 AM and were warmly greeted by our friends Parfait and Anne Marie Mitchai. We were overjoyed at the reunion and sensed immediately that our friendship and partnership was blessed by the Lord.
After a brief rest at our hotel we were up at 7:00 AM to drive to a newly planted church called "Eglise Baptiste du Benin Temple Mahanaim" in A'ledgo - a part of the Calavi region, west of Cotonou. This small group comprised, mainly of new Christians, greeted us and welcomed us warmly. Betty Gagnon taught the children's Sunday school class. John Yenchko taught an adult class. Then the worship service began with drums and passionate voices, followed by a season of earnest prayer, and then John Yenchko preached a message on the Glory of Christ from Revelation 1. We made many new friends that day.
Following church we were welcomed to a lovely meal at Parfait and Anne Marie's home where we enjoyed Manioc, fried bananas, tomatoes and onions, and grilled fish. After a season of fellowship and prayer we returned back to our hotel "L'Oceane" in Cotonou for a shower, and then that night we headed off to Mina territory, a 2 hour drive west of Cotonou to the town of Grand Popo. We were tired, but happy to arrive at our base called "The Awale Plage" - right on the ocean.
Our bungalows were clean, and we paid extra to have rooms with a window air conditioner which gave us some respite at night from the 90° temperature and 90% humidity. And though there was no hot water, we did not mind of the cold showers (too much).
Monday, October 22 we rose early for breakfast and devotions. None of us anticipated the remarkable events of this long day.
We headed off to the Hotel Mandela in the town of Come for the dedication service of The Jesus Film outreach to the Mina people. We did not know what to expect. We walked into a third floor room which looked out over the African countryside. The room was filled with people eager to hold a passionate celebration of prayer, worship and commitment that marked the culmination of a week of intensive training of 15 teams who would take The Jesus Film to the Mina tribes of Benin and Togo. This "room full of leaders" received our greetings, thanked us for the gift of The Jesus Film, and then joined us for 2 1/2 hours to seek God's blessing on the campaign about to begin. The final instructions were given and the teams were given their brightly colored baseball caps from America which said "We love because He first loved us". Throughout the week in many towns and villages we were excited to see our brothers and sisters proudly wearing these hats!
We went back to Awale Plage to get ready for the evening premier of The Jesus Film in GEN GBE. We had a dinner of barracuda and couscous and then headed off to parts unknown. We were totally unprepared for the trip we were about to take.
There were three unforgettable parts of the night. First was the trip. We drove in cars to a muddy lagoon and then Pastor John was told to climb into a dugout canoe that looked 100 years old. They pushed him out to another boat which had a screen, a generator, and a projector inside and we suddenly realized that we would get to our destination by water taxi! Our driver was a friendly man named Amigo, who we learned had three wives, nine children and most of his teeth. He was not a Christian. (His having 3 wives resulted in an interesting conversation between team members, as to what should happen when a man who has more than one wife becomes a Christian. This is a very difficult and sensitive issue in a country such as Benin, where polygamy is prevalent.)
For the next 30 minutes we traveled slowly through the isolated African wilderness down toward the mouth of the Mono River. It was breathtaking. The sunset was magnificent over the palm trees and the jungle; the moonlight shimmered on the water. There were no signs of development anywhere except for the chug of the little outboard motor that pushed us along. We arrived at a village on the peninsula called Avlo with one of our team leaders, Pasteur Gerard. We unloaded right next to a "voodoo hotel" (the first of many small voodoo huts we encountered) and we were warned that people lived in fear of the serpent gods and would prefer their superstitions to knowing Christ. We later learned that this village responded to the first missionaries by beating them, tying them up and shaving their heads.
The second part of our night was the showing of the film. A crowd gathered. Not everyone was glad to see us. A fierce young man who said his name was "Forgive" tried to extort money from us but we were able to neutralize him. Another young tough man sneered with his arms folded until... The film started and as he heard the voice in his own language he shouted and nodded with approval, "Eh! Gen - Gbe!!!" And he was transfixed and mesmerized by The Jesus Film. Others stood, some sat, but as with all the showings people stayed to watch.
We actually left before the film ended. The team leaders wisely did not want the Americans to be a distraction when the time came to call people to Christ. And besides it was very late and we were exhausted. However...
As late as it was, we were not allowed to leave. Pasteur Gerard insisted that we stop, in the dark and find a seat because his mother and father were coming with a grand meal to feed us and to thank us for what we have brought to Avlo. So the third phase of our night, with the ocean crashing on the shore to our right and the Mono River 200 yards to our left we enjoyed "the African feast on the sand". (It was so dark we really could not see what we were eating, but it was so spicy it made us sweat!) We appreciated the love, and enjoyed a beautiful ride back to our cars down the river with the full moon the only light around us.
We heard the next morning that many people at Avlo were drawn to Christ.
Voodoo Hotels
Each village that we either visited or saw from the river had a small white house on the edge. In some instances it would be round. These are what Parfait calls “voodoo hotels”. These are the structures which are used for voodoo ceremonies.
On the first night in Avlo, for example, when we arrived and the team started setting up the equipment, we were informed that people were in the voodoo hotel “praying” against us and The Jesus Film. Parfait’s wife Ann Marie asked us to start praying, which we did. It was discomfiting to learn shortly after this that the screen to show The Jesus Film had been left in the water taxi, during the confusion of unloading. We ended up walking to another village, to be a part of that showing of The Jesus Film. However, the screen was returned by Amigo, the water taxi driver, thanks to cellphones. We learned the following day from Pasteur Gerard that the whole film was shown that night, and 25 villagers professed faith in Christ!
The following night, several of us were part of a showing in another village, near Comé. It was very exciting to see the screen and the film-literally 50 feet away from that village’s voodoo hotel, and see the many villagers raise their hands and step forward to accept Christ, right in front of the voodoo hotel!
Amigo
One of the most extraordinary events during the entire week occurred on the water taxi ride later in the week. Amigo was again the “driver” of the water taxi, and we had been joined by a school teacher from Koueta and a nurse from Avlo. Dave Livingston started talking to them about Christ. He quickly realized that no one spoke English, at which point a young Campus associate from one of the Baptist churches, Pasteur Yuseph, moved from the front of the water taxi to the back to talk to these three gentlemen. He very patiently and quietly reviewed with them the four spiritual laws, using a Campus tract. By the end of the ride, about 30 minutes later, all 3 men affirmed their desire to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Pasteur Gerard will be following up with each of them.
Beni Benin
Thoughts from Julia
I am sitting on the West African beach catching up on my journal. The morning sun is crisp. It has only been up a few hours, but I can already feel its penetrating heat. The roar of the strong ocean surrounded by shouts and cadences from the Benin fishermen are my soundtrack. They have just spent the morning pulling in a mile of net. They heave and they ho until the net reaches the shore. As it draws near the village comes alive. No longer is it a simple row of fishermen, but women and children enter the scene. Each individual has a part and knows it well. The leader, a skinny man with a bright blue soccer shirt and worn out shorts, calls out to the dozen on his side of the net. They follow his command. A young boy, just tall enough to reach the net begins untangling it and pulling jellyfish out. They begin to criss-cross the next to shrink the circumference and get better leverage. They are scooping the fish out of the net with large tin bowls, shaking out the larger fish and evenly dumping the smaller fish into perfect, evenly distributed piles; in the end, about 3 rows of 7. A little girl with dozens of African braids in her hair keeps tackling a boy her age; they are fighting over a basket. They want to help too. A tall, tired looking mother dressed in tattered unmatched clothes, separates them. Eventually the little girl wins, instead of helping with the catch, she giggles in the shade of the basket on her head. The little boy is distracted with squishing a lifeless jellyfish and has already forgotten about their basket war. - - - -
This is a mere splash of a moment of my time in Benin; a paragraph describing a two minute moment. Our team had the privilege of being there for nine days. We were able to explore primitive Mina villages by taxi-boat and walked the busy streets of the Cotonou Market. We taught little children to sing “This Little Light of Mine” and spoke with men and women whose lives were spent there.
All these moments, but the story on the beach stands out to me. Not only was it an incredible scene to observe, it offers so many parallels from our trip.
The Benin fishermen are a team. We, the church of North Shore, are a team. The fishermen each have a role, as do we. Some of them had to row out far into the ocean to drop the nets, some had to monitor the nets that were already cast. Some had to wake up before sunrise and gather the nets. While some were out monitoring the fish, some were pulling the nets in placing them onto the shore. There were also men standing in the middle being hit by wave after wave, steadying the nets. Others had to wait in the village, preparing baskets and bowls until the fish were brought to shore. The list goes on and on, as it does with our church at North Shore. We are all fishermen and we each have a role to do. We need to know it. Each element is crucial to a successful harvest.
We were fishing. We woke up early to check on “nets” that were dropped into the ocean of Benin last year. We were tired and uncomfortable, but excited and ready. Our leaders called out and we pulled the fishing nets in. We were encouraged by the warmth of prayers we could feel from our church “village” back home.
Betty’s Brief
Devoted in Benin
Before leaving for Benin I had the opportunity to talk with the congregation at our church home. These were the people that decided we needed to support an overseas outreach-we would be their hearts, hands and feet into Benin. Being the American I am, I thought of a movie analogy. We would be going to Oz! Most recall that an innocent Dorothy looks for the peace of home. She is accompanied by a scarecrow (with a great mind), a cowardly lion (who is really bold) and a tin man (whose heart is filled with love). I gave this image to the folks at North Shore giving them a laugh (can you pick who is who?) yet a picture of what we were facing: evil and unknown, but with a focus on the great Oz. The grace and guidance of the Livingstones sweetened the route.
It seemed God gave me pictures and illustrations everywhere. The people of Benin responded to pictures as well. The Jesus Film captured their attention because it was in their language, but also in the fishing trade and markets shown on the roads of Jerusalem which could have been downtown Comé The audience laughed and cried with this visual. Its effect brought many to meet and touch His garment.
Look with me at Benin: The pictures of the team of fishermen at Gran Popo, the intensity of the hellish heat in Ouidah, the bright glowing smiles of the children singing “This little light of mine” (which they translated and sang “This IS the light of mine!”) The women I entitled, ‘walking flowers’ in their beautiful African dress. The students at university were hungry for truth. The backed-up toilets and stench of sewage everywhere laid in contrast to the fresh air of a room full of upright prominent leaders who could only see the vision of Jesus reigning in Benin. Watch the myriads of curious red and green geckos racing up to check us out then retreating to a wall to watch. Then sense the ‘geckos’ on the Togo border sitting by candlelight and broken tables selling their wares yet watching us walk and pray and then running up to us to receive the 126 French New Testaments, smiling and thanking us.
Lions and tigers and bears-oh my! Voodoo shacks and disease and illiteracy-what now? We had our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Each day brought us to our knees in devotion.
We prayed and discussed the necessity of unity among the brethren, the vastness of God’s love, living inside-out: selflessness, word studies on blessings, praise and fellowship. We were challenged to ask expecting and then reminded that His love endures forever.
That love was felt from our support team in the US who surrounded us in prayer as we journeyed to Oz. When we saw the Great One at work and the beauty of His Benin beginnings, we realized the mission for those newly adopted and well-seasoned travelers alike was to know there’s no place like home-knowing our Saviour, Jesus Christ, thus being in the family of God; the peace of home.
Devotion to our Lord daily sustains and motivates one to this mission. We experience this not only in Benin, but wherever, whenever and whatever He calls us to do. Half a dozen American missionaries go to a foreign land but stay united and devoted and cling together and pray. This is another picture of how Christians can influence the world for Him. We haven't left the mission field, just moved west a bit.
Parfait’s Vision and Plan for Evangelization (Partnership)
On the very first day of our time in Benin, in his living room, Parfait shared with us his vision for evangelization. Subsequently, we discussed it with him more thoroughly.
Some time ago, Parfait had a dream in which he saw himself developing “L’Escadrons de la Vie”. He never heard the word “Escadron” before. When he awoke, he looked it up and saw that it meant a multitude of soldiers.
While from the dream Parfait had a clear sense of God’s overall mission and purpose for him, he has been very careful, continually praying about it and seeking further confirmation.
As time has passed, his vision has matured into a 15 year plan of missionary endeavor. Underlying it all is the sense that God is doing something special because of Benin’s unique history. Benin, as the birthplace of voodoo, has been the origin point of great evil in the world, through the slave trade and the spread of voodoo to other countries in Africa, and to Haiti, Brazil, and other countries in the Americas. What Parfait believes is that God intends for missionaries from Benin to go forth to counter the influence of voodoo, in Benin and Africa first, and then to the Americas. This vision has taken shape via a 15 year plan with planning, then development of resources, and then deployment. His timeline is as follows: 2007 – 2008 Vision, Plan and Preparation; 2008 – 2010 Development of Capacity and Resources; 2011 – 2016 Evangelization of Benin, with 150 Squadrons of Christian Soldiers, each squadron made up of 50; 2016 – 2018 Evangelization in other parts of Africa; 2018 – 2021 The Americas, focusing on Haiti and Brazil; 2021 and 2023 - Consolidation and Evaluation.
The immediate task is the expansion of the Campus for Christ’s staff from 11 to 200 by 2011. Parfait is asking for a 15 year commitment from the “soldiers” who will be part of this. He envisions the two key places to seek enlistees will be the university and churches. He expects a high level of motivation, as well as spiritual maturity and competence.
Additionally, Parfait is looking for outside help in the form of a missionary giving a 3 year commitment to help develop the team during the 2008 – 2011 period. Parfait is also concerned that members of the team end up spending too much time trying to build up their support in a country as poor as Benin. Thus, he believes that outside finance and support, such as from the U.S., is critical.
Results of Film Showings
Fifteen teams showed The Jesus Film during the week of October 22, for all five nights. Total attendance at these showings was almost 29,000 people. 2,505 individuals came forward and professed faith in Christ. The film continues to be shown as 3 teams are scheduled to go into Togo, and follow up teams continue to show the film to the Mina in Benin.
Prayer Needs(Aid)
(1) Follow up in areas where The Jesus Film has been shown so that people who have heard the gospel may be discipled and can grow spiritually.
(2) Training of pastors.
(3) Equipping film teams to continue to show The Jesus Film
(4) Growth of the Campus for Christ Team.
(5) Financial resources which are much needed to disseminate the gospel.
(6) The staff and associates of Campus for Christ, including Parfait, Ann Marie, Robert, Berten, Mary, Pasteur Gerard, Pasteur Yuseph and others.
(7) Jeff and Barbara Singerman, and the work of the Southern Baptists as well as other evangelical denominations.
