Ilana Lobbezoo
Missions Mobilizer and Youth Catalyst
A Window into Ministry
in the Hardest & Darkest Places
Accomplishing the task of reaching the unreached is more like a marathon, than a sprint; and is best accomplished through Holy Spirit dependence, partnership and support, each spurring the other on to faithfully run the race. Whether we step into ministry in Canada or around the world our priorities should be shaped by where we see God already moving and what we can perceive He is already doing, as illustrated by several who have visited our partners in international ministry lately.
Several of our Central District churches have Seamless Link partnerships with International Workers, and by extension, partner with them to reach the people in the global contexts where they serve. Orillia, Owen Sound, The Well and West London churches partner with Mike & Nikki Howell to reach the Senegalese. Each one of these churches have recently sent their pastors and members to visit Senegal. This not only was a deep encouragement to the Howells and demonstration of love for their Senegalese friends, but it was a faith-stretching and eye opening experience for those who went. Read on to catch just a bit of how that experience has impacted them and their ministry here in Canada too.
A lesson on learning language & culture from Tim Wood, Owen Sound …
Greetings were a constant part of entering into community life and individual relationships. [The Wolof greeting] conveys importance and honour to the person addressed and connects them with you in a relational way.
It turns out there are several pages of potential greetings and parting words that one could use depending on the context. This explains why our international workers place such a priority on learning language and culture first. Often culture/nationalism and religion are intertwined, as illustrated by Tim’s observation…
Each visit we made to a ministry leader stressed the importance of entering into the culture as a first step to developing relationships. We heard how important community was, and began to understand how hard it was for someone from the Muslim faith to come out of that faith community and become a Christian.
Another young couple have shared how their exposure to the Howells’ approach to ministry has impacted their view of life & ministry here in Canada. Since their trip they have been challenged to view every part of life as an opportunity to serve and reach those who need Jesus. This visiting team has expressed how deeply inspired they were by meeting believers there who stepped out in faith believing God to accomplish what seemed to be the impossible.
More about the country of Senegal ...
From a recent communication written by Nikki Howell:
Senegal is 97% Muslim and less than 1% Evangelical Christian. The population is approximately 18 million and the government is a secular democratic state.
The Senegalese people are known for their friendly hospitality.
If you are walking the streets of Senegal around 7 pm during Ramadan, you will likely be invited to “Kaay doggu” which means “come break the fast”. Ramadan is a time of intense community and the people will invite complete strangers into their homes, even if they are not also Muslims. I [Nikki] can testify that several beautiful friendships have begun from accepting this invitation!
Nikki shares the thoughts below as her perception of people and faith has been challenged while living in Senegal.
When I first arrived in Senegal, I often used the term ‘unbeliever’ to classify people. I’ve since realized that nearly everyone I’ve ever met here believes in God and their lives often reflect their devotion to him. There is no concept here of what life would look like without faith in God. Faith is not what is lacking. Understanding and revelation is.
This is the very reason why we partner with Alliance International Ministries and workers, that together we would reflect Jesus to the nations.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)