My son, don’t be discouraged. Many others have come to these villages trying to share their religion with us, but none have been permitted to stay for as long as you have. Keep coming, and you will start a church here soon.”
The old lady gave Hyacinthe an encouraging smile. She has been faithfully attending the meeting that Hyacinthe and Charles have been holding in the village of Katagninga for a few months. Through her influence and invitations, up to 30 other people come to the meetings as well.
For two years, we have been preparing lessons—and more importantly, lesson writers—for work in Otammari villages. These lessons are based on what we learned at AFM’s Phase-Two Training just after arriving in Benin. The method is designed to develop a spiritual hunger in the hearers, then to present the gospel clearly to them, then to change their way of viewing the world around them through Bible stories. Basically, the lessons are selected chronological Bible stories focused on the theme “freedom from the curse,” which resonates in Otammari hearts.
The Otammari believe they are under a curse that their ancestors placed on the tribe. This curse was intended as a protection, to keep the culture from being destroyed by the influence of the colonialists. Now, the Otammari believe that this curse is causing them to lag behind other tribes in development and progress. They have tried to break the curse, but the chief fetisher, or witchdoctor, admitted that he was not able to break it because he was not present when the curse was originally pronounced, and his father did not give him the secret. Now, the people of the tribe believe there is no way out of the curse. We see this as an opportunity to come in and show them the Way out in the person of Christ Jesus.
In February, Hyacinthe and Charles began visiting two villages about 15 miles from Natitingou. Hyacinthe was the lead evangelist of the team since he speaks the local language and has been involved in writing our lessons. Charles was there to learn and to assist in prayer.
On their first day, Hyacinthe and Charles met together and spent some time in prayer before going to the first village, Kounitchangou. There, they introduced themselves to the chief. A group gathered, and Hyacinthe started to tell them what they had come for. “You know, I am an Otammari also. I grew up in this culture and know that we suffer a lot. We have many problems because we are under a curse. I was in Kobidiengu three years ago when the chief fetisher tried to break the curse on our tribe. I was close to him, and I heard what he was saying. I saw how he went through the motions of performing a ceremony, but the words he was saying were not the words that could break a curse. I heard him admit his ignorance and his inability to break the curse. He held the rooster, but he never killed it. I was there. I saw this. Our people are trapped in a curse and know of no way out.”
As he told the story, the villagers listened in rapt attention. They had heard about the failed ceremony at the sacred forest in Kobidiengu, and they told Hyacinthe that they had recently been talking about the need to break this curse, and wondering how to do so.
Hyacinthe continued, “Our culture does not offer us a way out of this curse, but I know of a way out. I would like to come and study with you from God’s Word. In it, I have found the way out. I am Otammari, and I know this solution works. Would you like me to share this with you?”
The people of Kounitchangou immediately said they wanted to hear what Hyacinthe had to tell them in future meetings.
Encouraged, Hyacinthe and Charles went to the next village, Katagninga, and received a similar reception. They have been studying in both villages ever since. The number of people attending the meetings has fluctuated, but they have almost always been able to meet with at least some people in each village.
For some reason, these two villages are unusually resistant to the Christian message. In Kounitchangou, there is an older Catholic church building that is no longer in use. Other than that, there are no other Christian churches in either village. The villagers say that many people have tried to start churches there in the past, but none have been successful. In the first meetings in each village, Hyacinthe and Charles found out why. “If you are here to tell us to change our ways, you have already failed. If you are here to tell us to break down our idols, you might as well leave now. We are not going to change. We are not going to leave our old ways.” This was the message the older men in both villages gave to Hyacinthe right at the beginning. They have heard some version of the gospel story already, and are very much against it.
However, they continued to show interest in breaking the curse. “We do want to know how to break this curse. We just don’t want you to tell us to destroy our altars and idols.”
Hyacinthe has been confronted with similar issues in the past, and as an Otammari Seventh-day Adventist Christian living among pagan neighbors, he knows how to speak of his faith in a non-offensive way, and he knows how to change the subject when necessary. “We will not force anybody to do anything,” he assured them. “We do not want to destroy the good that is in the culture.” Tactfully changing subjects, he then said, “I know that some churches encourage their members to abandon their parents and older relatives who are not Christians, but we don’t do that. We think Christians should take good care of their family members, whether they have changed religions or not.”
His reply pleased his hearers, and they agreed to have him come back, but the resistance has not entirely subsided.
The third lesson of the Bible-study series was about the fall of man. The older men in the villages had been waiting for this. After the story, they began to pointedly question Hyacinthe about the serpent in the story. “You say that the serpent deceived the woman.”
“Yes, that is what the Word of God says.”
“Well, here we worship the serpent. The serpent is our friend. God gave us the serpent. The serpent is the son of God. Do you think that the serpent is Satan, our enemy?”
Hyacinthe could see where the discussion was going, but he saw no tactful way to extricate himself without compromising his faith. “The Word of God says that the serpent is Satan. He is our enemy. He has deceived us. He was created by God, but he chose to rebel against God, like we studied in the first lesson.”
The men were prepared for this. They had set a trap for Hyacinthe, and as far as they were concerned, he had fallen into it. “Yes, that is true of Satan. He is our enemy. He disobeyed God, but he is not the serpent. The serpent helps us. God has given him to us for our good. He is the mediator between God and man. When a little girl gets hurt, whom does she call for?”
Hyacinthe answered them, not knowing where they were heading, “She calls for Mama.”
“Yes, that’s right. And why? Because Mama is the one who has helped the child all along. That’s why she doesn’t call for Papa. “That’s why we call on the serpent. He is the one who has helped us all along. God is too far away. He hasn’t helped us, and we aren’t going to start calling on somebody who doesn’t help us.”
After this uncomfortable exchange, Hyacinthe and Charles were concerned that they would be forbidden to teach in the villages, but that has not happened. They continue to visit each week, and they almost always have a group gather to hear them. The older men have ceased to attend regularly, however.
There have been interruptions, such as funerals, important cultural ceremonies in other villages, market days and field work after the rains started, but as of this writing, only once have they had nobody show up for a meeting. For a couple weeks, Hyacinthe was bedridden with a bout of partial paralysis stemming from a motorcycle accident a few years ago, and for a while the people got out of the habit of attending the weekly meetings. But overall, the lessons seem to be making an impact.
The people in Kounitchangou have already asked us to construct a church building, but we will wait until there is a solid group of believers before granting that request. We would rather have a small number of people join the church because they have understood the message and have accepted Jesus as their Deliverer from the curse than to have a larger group that attends because they expect to get material gain from the new religion in town.
I have chosen to stay away from the villages for now to make sure that the people come because of the messages they are hearing, and not just to see the white missionary, but I join Hyacinthe and Charles in prayer. Three times a day, we pray for this project. We have sent out e-mails to many of our friends and supporters asking them to join us in prayer, and we see that prayer is working.
In Katagninga, the older lady I mentioned in the beginning is a great encouragement to Hyacinthe and Charles. She has a Protestant background, although they have not yet found out what church she belonged to, or where she gained her knowledge of God. She prays like a Protestant, not invoking Mary like others in the villages do when they pray, and she is very happy that Hyacinthe and Charles are coming. “Keep coming,” she always says. “You will soon have a church here.” Amen! We pray she is right.
