“This is my advice to you,” said the old Fulani pastor to the Muslim chief and his entourage of 30 unsmiling tribesmen gathered on the porch. “First, I have been telling you for years that you must accept Jesus as your Lord and savior. Or at least, if one of you becomes a Christian, you should not persecute him. Two, you must send your children to school. Three, we must meet regularly to talk about community matters. But most importantly, you should all become Christians.
The stoic intensity of the group’s narrow features cracked open and everybody laughed together at the old pastor’s audacious attempt to convert the whole tribe on the spot.
“I am not offended by this advice,” replied the chief with a glint of humor in his eyes. “But you must know it is difficult! If you have 100 cows, you can lead them with just 1 stick, but if you are responsible for leading 100 cows and just one person, you will need 2 sticks!” Again, the group, Christian and Muslim, erupted together in laughter. There was good will.
Believe it or not (I’m not sure I do), these Fulani came because they heard a man with a heart for their tribe was coming to greet them. That would be me. The chief himself (who oversees the entire region) traveled two hours to meet us. So after being welcomed I was given the chance to speak my mind using two translators to get my message from English to Konkonba to Fulfulde. I told them how I God had put the Fulani on my heart and I had prayed for 8 years that God would bless their tribe, how I was led through a dream to spend a summer with the Fulani in Guinea, and how I believed God loved them and wanted to bless them. I asked about how they were doing and some of the challenges they are facing. They talked a lot about economic and health challenges. The main issue was educating their children since they are needed to help herd the cattle. They allowed me to pray a blessing for them. I promised to continue praying for them and that God willing, I would return. They asked me to come again soon and to spend a few days with them.
Jonah (a YLI coach here) has decided to start working more among the Fulani since almost no Christians are loving on them in that region (The Fulani are known for waylaying lone travelers and trampling crops. They are hated, feared, and marginalized.) He and Pastor Peter (the old Fulani pastor) plan to hold quarterly meetings with the Fulani and keep me up to date on their progress. Jonah particularly has a passion to speak against female circumcision (which is thought to eliminate sexual desire and thereby ensure a woman’s fidelity to her husband). Though it’s illegal in Ghana, the Fulani still practice it. Jonah says he loses sleep at night thinking about it.
After the meeting, we stopped by a small encampment where a few traditional Fulani women were weaving grass mats. We asked if we could take there picture and they quickly ran to change into their Sunday... er... Friday best. Here are a couple shots I got. They asked us to send them copies of the photos and my Pulaar comprehension clicked in when they indicated didi (two) copies. I was inordinately excited that the Ghana dialect was so similar to the Guinea one!
So apparently, something new started today. None of us can quite figure it out. But we suspect God is doing something cool with the Fulani. And I got to be there to see it happen. Love my job.
(By way of explanation... I started a prayer group for the Fulani in college after I read about them and started crying. I just felt God’s love for this people group and was compelled to pray. After college, my path always seemed to cross with the Fulani. From meeting Fulanis in restaurants and trains in Chicago, to spending a summer in Guinea, to my surprise Fulani meeting yesterday! Yesterday was a very significant for me in that it put me in a position to be a direct blessing to the Fulani in tangible, relational ways.)
Awesome God!
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