a message of encouragement from a mission pastor in senegal

During the Lenten season, my congregation is doing a weekly Wednesday evening worship service with reflections written by various mission pastors serving across the world.  This is the reflection for tonight, which I will be reading, focusing on the nation and people of Senegal.  It brought me encouragement, I hope it brings you encouragement, also. 

 

For Fulani Christians living in Senegal there are many temptations or reasons to not be a follower of Jesus Christ.  An overwhelming majority of Senegal’s overall population is Muslim.  Christians account for about 5% of the population, another 1 or 2% is categorized as adhering to traditional or indigenous beliefs with the remaining 93-95% of the population adhering to Islam.  Within the Fulani people group the percentage of Muslims is even higher.

            The Fulani people group is semi-nomadic and is generally made up of herdspersons and small-scale farmers as well as shop owners and other traders.  The language of Pulaar, which is spoken by the Fulani, is spread out over many West African countries, and these semi-nomadic people are credited with both the proliferation of trade throughout the region as well as the advancement of Islam in the early years of the second millennium. 

For many, when talking about someone in the Fulani group it is assumed that he or she is Muslim.  For this reason many find the phrase “Fulani Christian” as very novel and perhaps even an oxymoron.  Nevertheless, a small number of Fulani within Senegal have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, have walked a journey of catechetical preparation, and have been baptized in the name of the Triune God.

These Fulani Christians, however, are often tempted to abandon their new life of faith.  One factor that seems to pull the Senegalese Fulani away from a life of faith in Jesus Christ is their close-knit relationships with family.  During a recent gathering of Fulani Christians, missionaries and other church workers working with the Fulani, one of the first Senegalese Fulani Christians (a man now in his fifties who was baptized nearly thirty years ago) stood and talked about the struggle to remain faithful to a life of following Jesus Christ when everyone else in the family is taking part in certain rituals and aspects of a faith life that are not part of the life of a Christian.  He spoke of feeling like an outsider in exactly the environment one assumes he or she will feel the most at home and an integral member of the group—the family. 

His remarks set the context for his question to a Fulani Christian from Benin who was the main presenter at the gathering.  When asked for his advice on how to remain faithful in a these situations, the Beninois Fulani Christian responded that he had never lived through anything like that.  His grandfather was the first person baptized in his family, and so it was his grandfather who remained faithful to following Jesus Christ.  His grandfather passed on his faith in Jesus Christ to his son, who in turn passed it to his son, the presenter at the conference.  Rather than insisting that Senegalese Fulani Christians simply need to pray harder to remain faithful or some other pat answer, he said he had no easy answers but that he would be praying that these Senegalese Fulani Christians will keep the faith so that their children and grandchildren might one day experience that freedom and space within the family to be followers of Jesus Christ, a freedom he enjoys because of his grandfather’s and father’s lives of faith.

After Jesus’ 40 day fast in the desert he was tempted three times to put his trust in someone or something other than God.  This wilderness journey occurred at the beginning of his public ministry.  Many African traditions also have a time of seclusion from the rest of the community for both girls and boys as they endure a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood.  This is often the setting in which older men pass on to the boys what it means to be a man in their culture, and older women pass on to the girls what it means to be a woman.  This time of education is sometimes fun and sometimes difficult but always very formative.  When these sons and daughters of the village return they are no longer seen as children but as active adult participants in the life of their families and villages.

The struggles and temptations for the first generation of Fulani Christians in Senegal can be seen as parallel to both Jesus’ 40 days spent in the wilderness and the time spent away from the village for many African children moving from childhood to adulthood.  Instead of this being a time of education and tribulation that lasts only several weeks, however, this wilderness journey for the Senegalese Fulani Christians is lasting several years.  Perhaps it will be more than 40 years—a generation or two—before a Senegalese Fulani Christian can honestly say he or she feels welcome in his family because of the faith that was passed on to him or her by a grandmother or grandfather.  During this time the ties that are being built between fellow believers are serving the role of family. 

As our Fulani brothers and sisters in Christ return from their wilderness journey what can we learn from them as we receive them as active, participating members in the body of Christ?  This is definitely a formative time for Senegalese Fulani Christianity, but rather than having the luxury of being educated and prepared for ministry apart from their community, these Fulani Christians are learning what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ within their communities.  This contextual learning can be exciting and frustrating.

Thanks be to God that we have others with us on this journey.  Through Jesus Christ’s resurrection, God walks along side all of us even in the midst of our struggles and temptations.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit the entire body of Christ—the Church—is called, gathered, and enlightened that we might all share in this journey together.  As we walk together during this time of Lent let us honestly share our struggles and temptations so that we might learn together what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ in whatever village, town, country or ethnicity we live.  May God our creator, through the power of the Holy Spirit give you the strength to follow Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

Dirk R. Stadtlander, ELCA Mission Personnel serving in Senegal

If you would like to give library books to the Dakar Center in Senegal, click here.