On my mission trip to Angola last month, we showed the JESUS film to about 1,400 people and estimate that approximately 250 people came to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. We showed the film in five different cities on six different occasions.
The film was presented in the Kimbundu language, one of the primary native languages of the province we were in--Kwanza Norte. This was the premier of the JESUS film in that language, and our hosts were very excited to do this.
We used the Evangelical Baptist Church in Angola (IEBA) church in N'dalatando as our base camp.
On Friday, July 6, we traveled to N'dalatando from Luanda. We had been waiting a couple days for our driver and the vehicle to arrive, and finally they made it. We loaded up our Toyota Land Cruiser and drove over there--a distance of about 155 miles. We were pulled over about seven times during the trip by officers who were looking for a bribe. Once they realized that we represented a religious organization, they let us go without saying anything. We got to see the African baobab tree, also known as "the tree of life" for its fruit which can be used in cream of tartar or several medicinal purposes. The terrain changed from a tan-colored dirt to red-colored, and from savanna to jungle.
After arriving at the church in N'dalatando, we grabbed a quick lunch/dinner and went to Lucala, a town about 22 miles away. On this road we didn't see any officers looking for bribes. There was a lot of road construction on bridges going on. Since it was the dry season, this was the only time to actually do this sort of construction. In Lucala, our hosts picked a bare field for us to set up our equipment.
 |
| An African baobab tree, without leaves since this is winter in Angola (photo by Maggie) |
We showed the film to our first audience, a group of about 200 people. From them, we saw about 25 commitments to salvation. Our hosts were a little disconcerted at the numbers, but for us, it was wonderful. The very first person who came to the screen to ask for salvation was a teenage mother with a brand new baby on her back.
There was no shirking about it either. In our churches in the United States, we often ask people at altar calls if they would bow their heads and close their eyes and then ask people to raise their hands if they want Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. There was nothing like this here--it was completely out in the open. Our hosts took down names for further contact, but didn't take down the names of any of the children who obviously accepted Jesus. That's not to say that it was right or wrong, just to show some of the differences that there are between our culture and theirs when it comes to Christianity.
Our JESUS film team was ecstatic over our results and praised God for the good reception that we had with police officers in the area and people coming by.
The next day we didn't do a film showing because of the wedding at the IEBA church in N'dalatando.
On July 8, we went back to Lucala, but to a suburb called Cacoso, where we showed the film to about 250 people. We don't know if anyone received Christ as their Savior at this showing since the riot interrupted everything.
We went to a city government building in N'dalatando on Monday, July 9 to properly register our lodging in their city. We tried on Friday, July 6, but certain people weren't there that needed to be. We got in the Land Cruiser and waited for our hosts. Finally we were told that we were going to meet the municipal administrator, the Angolan equivalent of a city mayor. We were told that she didn't speak English, and that our hosts would explain our goals and plans to her in Portuguese. If Bruce, our team leader, wanted to say anything, he would be able to tell our hosts in French so that they could translate. The meeting went pretty much as we expected until Bruce told us that one of us should say something to her! No one else did, so I offered her and her city all our blessings and explained that we wanted to show everyone we met the love of Jesus. She smiled, and we all realized that she did speak English! At least well enough to understand me! She was very happy to have us in N'dalatando and also wished us her best.
Apparently news of the riot the night before hadn't reached her ears, and so no questions were asked in regard to that matter.
That afternoon we drove to Golungo Alto, a distance of 32 miles. We registered with the local municipal administration once we arrived to avoid any possible misunderstanding in case police got involved again. After the riot, no chances were taken on that matter. The municipal administrator wanted to meet with us too, and so we came inside for a meeting. The entire meeting was in Portuguese, but from the context we could understand quite a bit. Our hosts explained our mission to him. After that, the Administrator asked a man to come in and told him to go with us and report back what he saw. Then the Administrator asked us to pray with him. We found out afterwards that he was a believer! Two good surprises in a day, just after a major attack of Satan.
That night we showed the film to about 400 people, our largest group during our stay. About 50 people accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. We showed the film between a church (possibly Catholic) and a school. We were instructed to go to that destination by the Administrator, and it worked out beautifully. Nearby was also some kind of outdoor cantina, so many people could hear the film that actually didn't come closer.
July 10, Maggie and Bruce went with our host pastors to be interviewed by the national newspaper and radio. It was good publicity, and we praise God that we were blessed in this way.
We had a long way to go to our next film showing: Samba Caju, a distance of 62 miles from N'dalatando. It was a pretty rough road and the air was thickly filled with dust and dirt because of all the major construction along the way. This road seemed to have been heavily destroyed during the civil war and was being reconstructed. We had a little difficulty in choosing a site after we registered with the local government, but eventually went to a soccer field that was on the edge of a neighborhood. We only had about 100 people show up, but because so many thought that this was a political event, only four people actually gave their names to our hosts. Considering that just about everyone stayed through the altar call, we think that maybe 50 people gave their hearts to Jesus who weren't willing to go public by giving their names.
On Wednesday, July 11, we drove to Dondo, 49 miles from N'dalatando.
Just so that you understand these distances, we often had to drive slower than we do in the United States. A trip like this could be a couple hours. It took us about five hours to drive from Lucala to N'dalatando.
There was a lot of construction in Dondo, and we had a hard time finding a good place to show the JESUS film after we registered with the municipal administration. Finally a guy offered to help us and showed us to several places in the town that might work out for showing the film. Our hosts finally settled on a soccer field near a major road. We had about 100 in attendance there plus all the people that drove by and listened from across the street that weren't near. We had a lot come to Jesus that night--about 75.
So on Thursday, July 12, we went to the botanical garden in N'dalatando. That night we set up the equipment at a soccer field near a couple schools in N'dalatando. It was our last showing of the film during our mission trip. I was greatly encouraged by a group of young men who came to our Land Cruiser while Adam and I were taking a break in the middle of the film. They explained that they were from a nearby college and had been learning English and learned that American missionaries were showing the JESUS film in their mother tongue. They wanted us to tell them about us and where we were from in the United States, and on leaving wished us their blessings in Christ (a kind of simple ritual on leaving, but it shows great appreciation).
There were several people in the group who already were Christians besides that group of men. I knew enough Portuguese to understand one teenage guy who told me that he was a believer, and explained where he went to school.
At this showing, there was an emphasis on the fact that the church one belonged to didn't matter, but that the message of Christ's life, death, and resurrection was paramount to our being there. We were so well-received and saw about 350 people in attendance, and about 45 people saved. Below is a video of Adam playing with some of the kids before the film was shown.
More happened during this mission trip. I think I'll write one more blog about it. The crux of the ministry we performed is here. I thank God for our host church in N'dalatando. They have so little to work with and have a hope that isn't readily explained. I got to know some of the guys who helped us at that church. We have such different backgrounds, but I see them as my brothers in Christ, even if they are across the globe.
Below is a slideshow of many of our photos during our time in Angola. I apologize to those who are in a country that can't view it because of copyright laws on the music in it.
No comments:
Post a Comment