Only One Way

Summary: The following article describes my family's life, during the 1990s, in West Africa. Our three children were in their early teens and my wife and I had been married eighteen years. All of us were using three languages in our new experience: Zarma, French, and English. After attending an Experiencing God Conference in West Africa hosted by Henry Blackaby, our small missionary team gathered for a four-day prayer retreat in a very remote part of the Niger Republic. The story that follows highlights a watershed experience where we saw the movement of the Lord erupt, which reminded us that prayer is where our work begins. This story was originally published, in 1995, with an writer who served with Blackaby Ministries International. Details are at the end of this article.

The story starts here . . .

Not a single decision for Christ in the past year. Missionaries in the Niger Republic, a heavily Muslim country in west central Africa, were naturally concerned. Because their diligent efforts at witnessing had seemingly made no impact, they were searching for some direction from God.

After studying, Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, the group of nine missionaries decided to hold a prayer retreat. For them, the retreat was serious business. For four days they prayed intensely in a remote area near a game preserve. They earnestly entreated God to show them that He was at work in the Niger Republic and to guide them into the direction He intended for them.

On the third day of the retreat, missionary MB set out for a walk in the early morning hours before the 110-degree heat would begin pressing down relentlessly. Strolling down a red soil and gravel road near the retreat meeting place at Tapoua, she struck up a conversation with a man in his early 20s from the nearby village of MH. He asked MB what had brought her to the area.

"She told him that she and some others had gathered for prayer about how to reach the Muslim people for Jesus Christ," reported Tony Lynn, one of the missionaries who was part of the prayer retreat. When the villager told MB he was interested in learning more, she returned to the group to summon TB, a missionary more fluent that she in the language he spoke. Together they led the villager, whom they came to call Y, to the Lord.

This "chance" encounter with Y sparked an amazing experience of God's hand at work in the unreached area of MH - where Tony believes the Gospel might never have been proclaimed had it not been for the inspiration of Experiencing God, leading the missionaries to come away from their stations for the prayer retreat. "None of this would have happened if God hadn't worked it out," Tony says, looking back.

After Y accepted Jesus that morning, he invited the missionaries to come into his village and share with his family what they had told him. Tony, his wife Jamie, and TB accepted Y's offer - with some trepidation, since they were venturing into some unknown regions in this African bush country. But they believed the Lord had led them thus far and would continue to protect and guide them in this opportunity.

As Tony, Jamie and TB approached the village, Tony told Y that, out of courtesy, that he needed to speak to the village chief before he visited with Y's family. To Tony's relief and amazement, the chief welcomed the missionaries and responded, "Why just share with one family? Why not tell the entire village?"

Within a matter of minutes, messengers dispatched to the surrounding thatched-roof, mud-walled huts and fields rounded up over 60 people in this village of over 300 residents. Chairs were quickly gathered under a tree as a makeshift platform for the speakers. Ironically, what would happen next occurred in the shadow of the village's mosque - a simple wall enclosed area, but nevertheless the Muslim worship center for the village.

With Jamie praying and TB translating, Tony spoke to the group, all of whom sat on the ground near the speaker. He shared with them Acts 8:26-39, the story of Philip's witness and the eunuch who came to faith in Christ. At the end of his presentation, he invited the crowd to respond to the Gospel message.

"One of the oldest men in the group drew two lines in the soil and said, 'If what you are saying is true, then there must be two ways to God. One is the way of Mohammed, and one is the way of Jesus.'" Tony drew in a deep breath, knowing the trio was in unknown territory at least 12 miles away from their missionary colleagues, who had remained at the Tapoua retreat center to pray. None of their supporters would be around to bail them out if Tony stirred up the villagers' anger. But Tony spoke boldly.

"No, there are not two ways. I'm here to tell you that Jesus is the only way." When he asked those who wanted to accept Christ to stand, all 14 men in the group stood, moved directly in front of Tony, and asked, "How do we do this? Do we wash, pray prayers, or what?"

When Tony told the men that they needed only to recite a prayer that represented a statement of faith and confession of sin, the men did so - interestingly, not bowing their heads or closing their eyes, but by holding open, cupped hands in front of their faces.

"It was a moving sight," described Tony. "It was as though they were waiting for something to be poured out into their hands. After they repeated their prayers, they gently rubbed their hands over their faces." Tony felt that the act symbolized the African villagers' feelings that they were receiving the blessing of God as they accepted Christ.

As the missionaries left the village, they assured the new converts they would return. And in the months since the spiritual awakening in MH, Tony and others have made monthly visits to disciple those they led to the Lord. Those return trips have occurred despite the village's remoteness - about three hours from Tony's base in the Niger Republic capital city of Niamey, over desperately rough roads. A flat tire and other vehicle mishaps have occurred on these trips, but the missionaries remain faithful in their travels.

Tony feels that God has raised up Y to be His representative in the midst of the new Christians. The missionaries have provided Y with materials to use in working with the villages. Although a farmer by trade, Y had been trained by the government in literacy education. The villagers now have access to the Bible in three different languages. "We feel like God has given us a young man He can use wonderfully," says Tony.

Tony and the other missionaries have taken with them to MH three Christians from the Niger Republic who made their professions of faith some time ago. One of the three is the son of an Islamic priest. These Christians, two of whom feel God is calling them to be pastors, have shared their testimonies with the villagers. Several others have received Christ after hearing their countrymen speak.

The new relationship with MH has not been without its challenges. Initially, after the missionaries' first visit, the villagers tore down the walls of the mosque as they abandoned the Muslim ways. But three months later, when Tony went for a visit, he saw the walls restored. He also found the remains of fires with ashes containing chicken feathers and bones - clearly a sign of animal sacrifice.

"I reminded Y that a Christian is not to be mixing old ways with new ways," Tony said. Y assured him that the villagers who participated in the sacrifice where not those who had made their professions of faith in the outdoor meeting. "He's meeting with them regularly, discipling them," said Tony. "We feel very confident."

Recently, a dramatic outdoor baptism highlighted the missionaries' work with the MH villagers. A number of the new Christians had urged Tony and the others to "please come back and baptize us." Since no suitable body of water was nearby, Tony improvised. A Christian carpenter in Niamey built a wood baptistry, into which Tony unfolded a giant tarpaulin to hold the water. Missionaries carried the baptistry atop their four-wheel-drive vehicle over the three hours of rough road to the baptismal site. Helpers took turns hauling water from a receptacle in a garden area which was connected by means of a cement trough to a well on a hill.

More than 40 people from the village attended the meaningful observance as Tony and two other missionaries baptized several villagers, while Y baptized someone he had led to the Lord plus three more. Missionary BW led music in Zarma, the language that the most majority of the villagers speak. An additional 12 villagers are awaiting the next baptism.

As Tony reflects on these developments, he says the concerned, searching band of missionaries who gathered to investigate what God wanted them to do in the Niger Republic has experienced new fervency and fellowship as a result of the spiritual awakening that began with Experiencing God.

"Everyone has been a part of this - those who stay behind to pray as much as those who go out with the Word," he said.

Special Note: Initials instead of names are used for the village and people within this story to ensure their privacy and security. The images are borrowed for the same reason but do resemble the people or places I am describing.

Source and Gratitude: Writer/editor Kay Moore with Experiencing God Magazine, after week's of collaboration with me, published an article in the July 1995 issue titled, "Only One Way." Moore, Kay. "Only One Way." Experiencing God Magazine, July 1995, 30. Blackaby Ministries International continues that timeless ministry publishing materials, creating cohorts, coaching, and providing conferences that our inspirational and practical. I encourage you to explore their site after you have finished reading this article.