By an Alliance medical worker serving in West Africa
In 2010, Ibrahima, a young Christian teacher, encouraged a group of local Alliance pastors to come and show the JESUS film in a West African farming town of about 5,000 people.
Ibrahima hosted the evangelism team. And he followed up with the subsequent handful of new believers, discipling them into a mature core group—the first members of the church in this village. In this miniseries, “Where Are They Now?” I’ll share a couple of the believers’ stories.
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“The cross necklace?” Yusuf grinned from under the brim of his baseball hat and with laughter in his voice said, “Everybody in the village knows I’m a Christian. What would be the point of wearing it now?”
This was no mere fashion accessory for Yusuf. The first time he wore it in front of his family, his brothers ganged-up and beat him, ripping the chain off his neck. When they left him, he found the broken necklace in the dirt, repaired it, and started wearing it again. So while he recounted his story, we couldn’t help but notice its absence.
Yusuf laughed several times as we talked. It was the knowing laughter of a changed person reflecting on past decisions. The transformations that had taken place in Yusuf’s life over the past six years were certainly cause for celebration.
Prodigal
At age 33, Yusuf is one of the leaders of his small church in the village. He hosted the evangelism team from the nearby Alliance church on both of their recent visits, and he was front and center to help with the construction of the new, open-air church in February. In that alone, Yusuf would be right to say that the whole village knew of his Christian faith. Yet, the village has also noticed other changes in his life.
As a young man, Yusuf lived the proverbial prodigal’s life, leaving his farming village on the weekends to go to the nearby city to spend his money in the bars and to attend dance parties. Back home in his village, he did what he could to arrange his fortunes spiritually. His family had raised him in animism, so he made countless sacrifices to the idols, hoping to appease the spirits and gain a better future. Though outwardly things were going well, and he seemed to be enjoying his youth, Yusuf was aware of a nagging lack of peace, especially when his thoughts drifted to eternity.
Things were also not going well in his new family. He married at the age of 20, but within only a couple of years, he started bringing home a new girlfriend. This caused obvious tension between him and Maimouna, his young wife. She began to defy his every request, and soon battle lines were traced throughout every aspect of family life.
In 2010, an evangelism team came to town and showed the JESUS film. Yusuf showed up to watch and was completely captured by the story of Jesus. As he followed Christ to the cross, and then saw His Resurrection, Yusuf was convinced that Jesus could save him. That night, he knew that he wanted to follow Jesus, but he wasn’t sure how. Too timid to respond to the public altar call, Yusuf took note when the pastor said that anyone with questions could go talk to Ibrahima, the Christian teacher at the local school.
Transformation
In the following days, Yusuf visited Ibrahima at home to learn more about the Christian faith. He gave his life to the Lord and immediately experienced a new peace. He was eager to grow in his faith, so he began to meet regularly with Ibrahima to be discipled.
This change didn’t meet with approval from his brothers. They stopped eating with him, in effect excommunicating him from the family. After a few months of this difficulty, Yusuf left to see a friend in Ghana. He spent a month there and experienced for the first time a vibrant Christian community. He did not want to leave, but it was not possible to stay. So before leaving, he purchased a small cross necklace as a way of publicly showing his faith to people back home.
It was this cross that got him beat once he got home, but Yusuf persisted, wearing the cross almost defiantly to proclaim his faith. All the while, he continued to mature in his faith, and his life began to bear real testimony of transformation. He had stopped going to the bars and had recommitted himself to his wife. His brothers even took notice and eventually made peace with him.
Remain Faithful
Today Yusuf no longer wears the necklace. His life does all the testifying for him now. He no longer has to offer sacrifices to the spirits to find peace. Instead, he knows that his life is secure in Christ. Many in the village were amazed that when his best cow died, Yusuf didn’t make a sacrifice to get revenge on whomever might have cursed him. Instead, he sees the Lord freely leading and blessing him in many ways, including helping him purchase a tractor.
His wife Maimouna and their three kids are also Jesus followers, and there is once again peace in the family. His old friends from the bar noticed Yusuf’s changed life, and three of them have now given their lives to Christ. One transformed life is slowly but surely transforming a whole village.
“Pray that we would remain faithful,” Yusuf concludes. “Those in the village know all about our former lives, and they taunt us by saying that we will surely one day go back to our old ways.”
Read More
Go to “Where Are They Now? – Part 1” to read the testimony of Shadrak, another young believer in the village.