Six hours on the back of a motorcycle, bumping along dirt roads that would be unpassable by car, with a slightly-too-large helmet crashing against my head if we took a pothole a little too fast, isn’t my idea of fun anymore. Adventure, yes. Fun, no. Worth it for the gospel, yes.
Before missionaries can work among an unreached people group, they have to decide where to live to best learn the language, learn the culture, build relationships, and earn a right to speak. That is not an easy process, since there are lots of unknown factors. But there are things you can do to help make a good decision, and this trip was one of them.
The Diases, other NTM missionaries here in Burkina Faso, and their partners are getting ready to live and work among an unreached, despised people with an unwritten language. I can’t wait to see what difference the gospel will make in their lives! The Diases asked for my help since they needed to learn more about differences between dialects as well as what languages are spoken in the village they think they may move to. I’m glad that I was able to help in this little way, traveling to three different villages, playing recorded stories and questions, and using their answers to help us glimpse how well they understand Jula and the two dialects of their language. We were able to confirm that their language is widely spoken in the village they are thinking of moving to and also find out a little more about the two different dialects of the language.
This is just one of the things I’ve been up to since I’ve been back. And let’s just say that I’m glad that it’s not every day that I become that filthy, sore, and exhausted. But as we went through village after village where there is no evidence of the church, it is exciting to think that in a few years their whole existence may be flipped upside down by the transforming power of the gospel. Thanks for being part of this!