Persevering in
Muslim West Africa
Written by Robert J. Benson
It was one year ago that we
began receiving children into the Arms of Love Children's
Home in Dakar, Senegal, and that year has seen many positive
developments alongside both expected and unexpected
challenges.
Visiting the children's home for the first time this past
April, I was encouraged by the children's smiles, their
energetic participation in sports, their childlikeness
dancing with music, and their overall warmth and joy.
Considering that all of the children are biological orphans,
that many have also
experienced
the death of other relatives and caregivers, and that all of
the children had been struggling to survive before we
received them - it was remarkable to see that they had
adjusted so well to their new environment.
However, our ministry in Senegal
has also faced many challenges, and we appreciate your
ongoing prayers for these needs. We learned, for example,
that some of the local marabouts (Muslim leaders) have
threatened to declare jihad against us, unless we agree to
stop sharing our Christian faith with the children. In
Senegal, if jihad were declared, this would essentially give
local Muslims permission to destroy our properties and even
injure our staff without any practical or legal
repercussions. Other churches in Dakar have already suffered
a similar fate.
Nevertheless, our local staff in
Dakar have been persistent in maintaining that it is
essential, while caring for the physical needs of the
orphans, that they also be allowed to offer the children
hope for their future and share with them the transforming
power of the love of Christ. Since no one else will care for
these orphans, our local leadership has thus far been able
to diffuse tensions with the Muslim leadership. But these
issues remain a concern as we continue to move ahead.
Perhaps most exciting is that
some of the villagers have truly understood that our
ministry is a demonstration of God's love toward them.
During my trip in April, in the village of Boukou - where
the majority of our children previously lived - Pastor
Charlie Brown from the Mid-Peninsula Vineyard in California
shared a message about God's love and forgiveness.
Afterward, one of the Muslim tribesman stood up and told the
rest of the village,
"These people have come to us
from far away. They have repaired our school. They are
caring for our orphans. THIS is what God's love is. They are
showing God's love to us."
There are other challenges as
well. For example, because our children were previously
engaged in a fight for survival, most of them had not been
attending school. The children also suffer from a variety of
medical ailments, some of which we have been able to
successfully treat, but others of which have been more
persistent. A significant amount of
special
medical and educational attention will be required to
normalize the lives of these precious children.
As
I was coming home from Senegal, the oldest child - Alasane -
stood out in my mind. Although he is only 12 years old,
Alasane is clearly a leader among the children, and has been
compelled to mature well beyond his years. His mother died
2-3 years ago; his father died before that. Alasane told me
that he doesn't know how they died, and he began to tear up
when he was speaking of them. He described his life as being
"very difficult" following his mother's death; he was put to
work farming grain, and often went for days without eating.
But now, Alasane told me, he
enjoys being in his new home. He says that he eats and
sleeps very well, that he enjoys going to school, that he
feels taken care of, and that he loves the people working at
the children's home. At school, his favorite subjects are
reading comprehension and math, and he says that he often
prays to God before his lessons, that God will help him and
minister to him.
And for those who support the
children's home, he had this simple message that he asked me
to convey: "I am very happy that you are caring for me, and
I want to thank you."
