Guest Blogger: It's all part of the adventure

Recently we had a team from the Baptist Collegiate Ministries of the University of West Florida. Trey and I met at BCM, so there is a special place in our heart for BCM's. The team was 9 people - 1 leader and 8 college age students (5 girls and 3 guys). One of them was Emily Erland. She did a fabulous job taking you inside a few moments of their trip here. This blog post is worth the read!

Emily is from Nashville, Tennessee and is 23 years old. She graduated from the University of West Florida in the summer of 2013 with a degree in English, while also playing on the women's basketball team. She currently serves as the BCM Associate at UWF. She's been on some overseas mission trips with FCA in Europe leading sports camps for kids, as well as some mission trips in the states. Earlier this year, during Spring Break she went on another mission trip with BCM to Miami. In her spare time she loves to read, write, and go to the beach. You can follow her blog here.


It’s the question that I’ve been dreading answering ever since we got back to America: “How was Africa?”

Don’t get me wrong; it’s not that I didn’t enjoy my time there. No, the problem is, I just don’t know where to begin. I can’t sum it up in a few words or sentences or even in a blog post. I won’t be able to show you what I’ve seen – a picture isn’t enough. And I can’t make you feel what I felt over there. I can’t fully communicate the things that the Lord taught me while I was there – mostly because they’re things that He is still teaching me and will continue to teach me.

So here’s my best shot at it.

 

We landed in the Cotonou, Benin airport in a haze –we’d been travelling for probably about 30 hours. The drive to Trey and Kristen’s house was surreal for me. Even in the darkness of night, it was evident that I was in a place like nowhere I had ever been before. The poverty was evident: trash in the streets, buildings and homes made of scrap materials, bumpy dirt roads. And there were people everywhere: women carrying baskets on their heads, children mostly naked or in the streets or strapped to a mother’s back. And so many motorcycles – only inches from our car, driving on every side of us.

We spent most of our mornings in the bush – deep in the jungles/forests of Bohicon, a few hours north of Cotonou. The people there were even more impoverished. Most lived in tiny huts side by side. We broke into groups and went hut to hut, where the people would invite us in. I was so humbled by the kindness and hospitality we were shown by these families – though they had next to nothing, they would offer us everything they had. They would bring out stools and benches, giving us a place to sit, while they would sit on the floor. Many of the families passed around a bowl of water for us all to drink from. One man even offered our group money to buy fresh water with as we were leaving his home.

When we were in the houses, we told them that we had come thousands of miles to share something with them. We often started from the beginning – that we were all created in the image of God, but that sin had caused us to be separated from God. We shared about Jesus – and that He came so that humanity could again be in perfect relationship with God. We shared that they, too, could have a personal relationship with God. Many of them believed the message of God and received it with joy.

On the last day that we did evangelism, some of the church people brought instruments and we all walked down the dirt roads singing and dancing. It was so beautiful to hear the high-pitched voices of the African women and to see their strength as they danced, moving their shoulders and their backs to the rhythm of the music. It was such a beautiful worship to the Lord. And, as we worshipped, a crowd would form. Kids and adults alike would run from their huts and begin following us. It might have been both the worship and our white skin – rarely seen in their village – that peaked their curiosity. Excited shouts of “yovo” (which means “white person”) were heard throughout the village. When a large crowd would form around us, we would stop the music and one of us would walk into the middle and begin speaking to the people.

I was able to speak to one of the crowds. I shared with them the simple message of the Gospel. I also told them that we had not come to condemn them, but to share love and life with them. I told them that we hadn’t just come to share with them our beliefs – it was much more than that. We had come to share with them the God-given purpose for all of our lives. At the end, I asked if anyone wanted to believe and begin following Christ. And honestly, I didn’t really expect anyone to say yes. I assumed that they probably didn’t understand what I was talking about – that I hadn’t made any sense to them. But about 25 kids and a few adults, too, raised their hands. But I still doubted. I clarified, telling them that this was a serious decision – that they must live for God and not for themselves now. Still, they looked me straight in the eyes and their hands remained in the air even when I explained the costs of following Jesus – waiting, perhaps, for me to believe with the same simple and childlike faith as they had. So we all prayed together. The Gospel really is simple – we just so often try to complicate it.

We were able to experience the African church while we were there, too. I was inspired by the faith of those at church – many had walked miles just to be there and to hear the message. There were many kids there, too – some of whom had come to church on their own accord, without their parents at all. The worship was really beautiful – much like the singing and dancing in the streets. Some of our group even joined in the dancing.   

On one of the last days, we went to visit an orphanage. I was so inspired by the vision of the missionaries, Jon and Ashley, who keep the orphanage. They have about thirty kids there, all from different backgrounds – some who have lost both parents, some who have lost one, some whose parents didn’t want them or couldn’t afford them, some who have been sex-trafficked. Jon and Ashley said that their purpose was not to pack the orphanage out and fill it with as many kids as possible, but that their purpose was to invest in the kids who were there – giving each of them a real life. They are literally making disciples.

And that’s what Jesus commands us to do – to go and to make disciples. He tells us to go to the nations – and I’m convinced now that the call is not only to spread hope and truth to those to whom we are sent, but it is also to bring a change within us who are going. It’s amazing to be in a place so unlike America and so unlike anything you’ve ever known before. It makes you have to strip away everything you once considered normal. There are a lot of cultural “norms” that we have in America, and so we believe that everyone MUST live this way or think this way or understand this way. But it’s not true. Stripping away all “normalcy” allows you to get to the core – the core of humanity and of life itself.

It makes the Gospel that much more real. Africa opened my eyes to the poverty of the world – not just physically, but spiritually. It may look a little different in America than it does in Africa, but we are all desperate for love, for purpose, for truth. We all want and need something – Someone – to put our hope in.

The Gospel transcends culture. It allows a privileged American girl from Florida to connect with a poor African child from Benin. Nothing and no one but Jesus can bridge that gap.

There’s a lot more I could say – I could talk about the African cuisine, not least of which was the pounded yam and the goat and the bush rat. I could mention the underground village and the king’s palace and the “fetish” market, where they sold voodoo statues and animals to sacrifice to the voodoo gods. I could talk about the boat ride in and through Ganvie, a village built entirely in the water. (Yes, IN the water – all of the houses and buildings are on “stilts.”) I could also mention the 40-hour trip home, which included renting a big, white church van to drive from Houston to Pensacola after 30 hours of plane rides and little to no sleep.

But, as we learned to say – it’s all part of the adventure.

Hiland Park team in pictures - part 2

We left Ouidah Sunday afternoon to head to Bohicon. This is the same place we went with Anthony when he came last year. This time Trey and Carl taught at the Bible school while the rest of the group went into surrounding villages. David headed back to Cotonou to take a flight home as he couldn't stay longer. Again, the guys taught on Baptist doctrine. It's a little different doing training here. Bohicon is further north, granted, not that far north. Anyway, they don't get much Biblical training. And the students at the school really enjoy having teachers outside of the norm. Everyone, students and wives, were focused and taking notes. They had great questions. They really wanted to understand Baptist doctrine and be able to follow the Bible as closely as possible. Trey and Carl really enjoyed teaching there.

The team was able to partner with a local Baptist church. In fact, it's the first Baptist church that was ever planted in all of Benin. The pastor of the church is the president of the Bible college. In the year 2020, he wants to invite all former IMB missionaries back to Bohicon/Abomey (the neighboring city) to see all that God has done in that community. His vision is to plant churches in every cartier (area or neighborhood) and surrounding village. He also wants to see his church grow. They are doing this by being active. The church members are going into their community and sharing the gospel. This area is also very wrapped up in voodoo. Also, it's a place known for royalty. It was the royal capital of Benin, before Benin was known as Benin. Got that?! That being said, there are many kings. Every small neighborhood and village has their own king. The people living there will follow what their king says. It's important to reach out to the leaders in order to reach the rest of the community.

The best part of this for the storying team was being able to go out with church members. We were able to encourage each other, even though some of us couldn't communicate. I went out with a group where no one spoke English. My French was tested! At the first house in the village, the pastor greeted the woman and then looked at me and in his broken English told me to tell a Bible story!! Thankfully I had been practicing a story in French, but all of the sudden I couldn't remember a word. I took a breath and started. My story was then translated into Fon, the local language... so if I messed up, the translator could correct it :) I did that again with another group of women, 2 of whom accepted Christ. Then, I told them I needed a break. It was very encouraging for me to see that I could tell a story in French... maybe not grammatically correct, but the point got across. But the most encouraging thing is that the Lord can use my broken French translated into Fon to bring people to Him. I'm so honored to be used by Him.

The other groups had similar stories. Many people coming to Christ. The church members were agreeing to come back and do Bible studies with them. Many from our group shared with kings or leaders of the villages. Some of those accepted Christ. We saw God at work in that community. The kids also really enjoyed having us around. It was great to be able to play with them, when many only speak Fon. Some of us even tried teaching "Jesus Loves Me" in English to them. They loved that.

The last day in town, Sally and I had the opportunity to share with a group of women. We taught on the Book of Esther and how God is at work through the entire story. Sally also shared her personal testimony of how God was at work in her life even in the small details. Often, the women were listening in the midst of children at the nearby school causing a ruckus. Honestly, at the end, I was surprised when the women had questions. Not because I didn't think they were paying attention, but because it was really loud at times and even hard for us to focus. We closed with a time of sharing prayer requests. We were challenged by the hurt in these women's lives. There were many struggling with health issues, one who's husband had been called to ministry many years ago but was running - now they had accepted the call and are now looking for exactly where, some who were struggling with fertility issues, and others who longed for their children to follow Christ. It was eye opening, to say the least. We considered ourselves blessed to be able to teach this women.

We were able to do some sightseeing. We visited the old king's palaces, which are almost in ruins now. The UNESCO organization has made a wonderful museum at one of them. It is said that in a certain building the spirit of the king still lives. Offerings and sacrifices must be made. And in one of the buildings, you must walk around it in a certain direction or the spirit will kill you. This just shows you what kind of a world the people live in in these towns. The spirit world is very really to them. They need salvation.

We were really thankful for the team from HPBC. It's great to have family and friends here. It's awesome for them to see our lives here. It's different. It's hot. It's challenging. But this is where God has us. We continue to pray for those who were trained during this trip and also those who came to Christ. We also pray for those who heard and did not accept, or heard and absolutely refused. We pray God will remind them of those Bible stories and bring them to Him. We have a team coming next week from University of West Florida BCM who will be going to the same area. We are praying now that some of those difficult people will be encountered again and hear a new Bible story.

And we need to end this with one of the best pictures from the entire time....

Hiland Park Team in pictures - part 1

I had wayyy to many pictures of our March team from Hiland Park to include in our newsletter. So, I figured I'd post many of them here along with a few stories. Note: if you don't get our newsletters and would like to, please comment with your email address or talk to a minister or staff member at Hiland Park and they will get your info to us.

The team arrived on a Monday night after a long trip. They came with 7 bags of goodies for us!!! How awesome. Our cabinets were (and still are) stocked with yummy American food! And since it was Chandler's birthday, she had lots of goodies in there too. The first two days we stayed in Cotonou and did touristy things - Ganvie, Artist Village, trip around town, Touraeg tea with a friend, and a birthday party for Chandler.

 

Thursday morning we headed to Ouidah. Thursday afternoon, Friday, and Saturday, David and Carl lead a Pastor's training on Baptist Doctrine along with Trey. The others on the team went into the surrounding areas sharing stories from the Bible and the gospel. Chandler and I went back and forth between the two groups. On Saturday, we visited a slave fort together. While Trey, Chandler, Carl, and I ran some errands, the others visited a snake temple and the "Point of No Return." We believe it's important to see these things while in Ouidah. Ouidah is one of the birthplaces of voodoo, and where they worship cobras. When one is found they are brought to the snake temple. Also, it's where all the slaves were put on boats to head to the western world, which is why it's called the "Point of No Return."

 

While out and about on the first day, I spent time with Sally and Savannah. The first fisherman village we stopped at Savannah shared an overall story of the Bible starting with the fall and all the way to Jesus. At the end, the group had grown tremendously in number. Some were trying to cause problems, some were distracted by other things, but there were still those few who were very focused on the story. One asked about faith. Sally did a great job explaining how we have faith in the chairs we sit in, not knowing where they were made or who made them. At the end, one man said he wanted to follow Christ. We prayed with him and for him. Today, we pray that God will continue to work in his life.

We went further down and found a group of men pulling in nets. The women were sitting by waiting. Here, the men fish and the women buy the fish from the men and then sell it in the markets. This was a perfect opportunity for us women to share with the women waiting. Sally started sharing a story with a group of women. One was very intently focused and listening, while the others were there and listening, but really just waiting for the men to say they're ready. And then it happened... the men were ready and the group of women ran off... all but that one. The one woman encouraged Sally to continue sharing and catch up with the group. As the group was getting their fish the woman explained that she is a believer, but her friends weren't. She's tried sharing with them before, but they didn't want to listen. After the women had their fish, some came back over. They were there to be nice, but weren't really hearing what Sally was saying. We finished by praying for the woman, her health, her family, and to continue to give her boldness to share.

Kristen and Cory had similar stories from that day where the numbers started out with two or three people listening to the story and ending with 15-20. That day was an eye opener to the entire team. They saw how sharing stories from the Bible can lead to a gospel presentation. They saw how people would focus, stop what they're doing, and listen. And they also saw how many distractions can pop up while sharing.

The next two days were similar. The team got to meet some people who are very wrapped up in voodoo. They got to meet people who thought their religion saved them. It was a great time of sharing Christ with the people of Ouidah, encouraging the church there, and learning how to better pray for the people of Benin. We finished the weekend attending a local, small Baptist church. Carl and David shared the sermon that day and did a great job doing it by way of telling a story. It was awesome to see them learn the culture, and then share a sermon according to that culture. Telling stories is a huge part of peoples lives here. To hear a Pastor share a story encourages the church members to do it as well.

Guest Blogger: Most Challenging Trip EVER

After our recent team from Hiland Park I asked if anyone would like to share about their experience. Sally quickly volunteered. She was wonderful to have here. She was extremely challenged on her trip.. well, I'll let her share more about it.

"I have been on many many mission trips, and this adventure to Africa was by far the most intense trip that I have ever been on, in every aspect one could imagine. One would think that after being on so many trips that you could handle most anything and be prepared for whatever happens. God really challenged me on several levels. One thing He challenged me in is my knowledge of scripture. Yes, I read the Bible all the time, and have to read over and over sometimes due to my retention challenges. But this trip challenged how well I know the Bible.

Passing out stickers at church

I love the fact that we were able to tell actual Bible stories to people who either did not know how to read or did not own a Bible. How very cool it was to go to each village, introduce ourselves, get to know a little about each family, and then ask to share a story from the Bible. After that, a comfortable environment was created and we were able to share the gospel. Because we showed interest in the people we were talking to, we gained their trust. We were able to explain who Jesus really is - that He was a real person, like you and me - and that we can have eternal hope forever. To know that death is not the end, but only the beginning. There were some people that understood what we shared, but did not want to change their lives. There were some people that didn't want to hear what we had to say. And there were several who made life-changing decisions to follow Christ.
I believe that I have been plated on this earth to tell all who will listen to me about Jesus. I absolutely love traveling to other countries, other cultures, sharing who Jesus is, because wherever you are Jesus is the same. He takes us just as we are. How great is that?
Even though Benin was my most challenging trip so far, I would not have changed one thing. Everything that happened or did not happy was absolutely in God's design. I learned many lessons on this trip: to pray more, to read more, how I can apply storying in the states, to continue to pray for my new African friends who have so many needs, to continue to pray for the Fondren's, and lastly, how I can continue to further the Kingdom for His glory. I am so honored to have been a part of this team and this trip. As long as I am breathing on this earth, I will continue to have a passion to bring Jesus to people wherever God places me."

Sally helped Kristen lead a women's conference
studying the book of Esther