The BUSH

"And how, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? 

And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

And how can they preach unless they are sent?"

Romans 10:14-15

God never ceases to amaze me!  (Well, of course - He's GOD!)  And here, in Africa, is a place where God's word is revealed most obviously and personally to me.

A Disneyland Bush?

I have often heard people refer to "the bush" as in:  "Pray for us.  We are going to the bush tomorrow."  "We are now living in the bush."  "We went to visit some people in the bush." A little imagination might produce any of the following:

An Ordinary Image of a Bush

What Bush is to a Portlander

Imagining an African Bush

An Actual African Bush - Niger Has No EPA

I knew we were not going to see any of the lovely green bushes, and we have no lions here, but the last one, with all it's well-intended protection, was a likely encounter, but not the whole experience!  So . . .  the "bush" in general refers to "wild, uncultivated country," but in Africa that is not quite true.  People work hard to tame and cultivate nature for the survival of all - man first, then the "environment." Here "bush" refers to people living in a small group of modest huts or mud-brick dwellings far from a city or main road, where the primary mode of transportation can be found attached to your legs - with or without shoes!  And yet they have cell phones . . . 

Mini back-story:  In the weeks before Christmas, our Sunday evening "compound church" offering was dedicated to purchasing food and necessities for evangelists, pastors, and their families living in remote villages, or "the bush."  These locations can be 3-4 hours away;  Africa is a HUGE continent!!!

Bush Dwellings

In the week before Christmas we experienced both the reality of "the Bush" and the verse above from Romans, as we went with our close friends, C and N, to "the bush" to deliver one set of christmas gifts. Lest you are visualising camels, donkey carts, or walking, let me just say we went via Toyota Land Cruiser, and for that we quickly became very thankful!  Visualise "Indiana Jones" meets Machu Picchu!

Now our friends had been to this "village" before, but there are no road signs, posted speed limits, or markers indicating how much farther to the next Starbucks or Motel 6, because, well . . . Africa.  So we "exited" the highway, which here means "turn your car 90 degrees to the right, go down the ditch, wind through millet stubble, and search for something looking like a dusty one-lane road."  So far, so good.  Soon the dusty one-lane road turned into a dusty NO-lane path, which became a dusty trail, and we were --- LOST!  Or so it seemed to me!

In God's economy, "lost" is really an opportunity to experience a divine appointment, and God never disappoints!  We "happened" to spot one man working around a tree a few yards off, so C stopped to ask the whereabouts of the people we were going to see.  Soon the man's son appeared, then a friend, then some more men, and handful of children - from where, I could not tell!  First stubble, then a tree, and a man, and now a whole group!  It was amazing!  But more than amazing numbers, was that C was able to converse with them - in their language - and was able to personally share the meaning of Christmas, and put a chip containing events from the Bible in at least one cell phone (Remember? Africa - shoes - 0, cell phones - 1!)  I realised this "adventure into the bush" was another reminder that NOT everyone in the world has heard about Jesus, despite all our technological wonders and savvy in the western world.  Like Romans 10 points out, they can't pray to God if they haven't heard, and they cannot hear unless someone comes to share!

We soon found the village and people we were looking for, and they were so happy to see and greet us, and so thankful for the rice, fabric, and other gifts.  We all (about 12-15 people) sat around on mats in their main room (about the size of a modest western bathroom), conversed, and shared drinkable yogurt, which was an added treat!

Sitting in a Corner of the House in the Bush

Before we were to leave, a chief needed a medicine check and a woman who recently gave birth was also attended to (C is a doctor in Galmi Hospital).  And just as we were gathering for the drive home, there was a traditional "photo session" with all the children clamouring to be in the picture - except one little girl who kept hidden behind her mother and peeked at me several times, trying to get up the courage to look for more than one second! I was puzzled until later when I looked at my exposed arms, and realised how absolutely WHITE I was/am in the intense sunshine!  The sun had filtered out any yellow in my skin and she thought I was a GHOST! (In this photo, she is the little black head peeking out from behind the woman on the far right!)

Children Dwelling in the Bush

For some reason, the appropriate expression when having your picture taken is "solemn." Despite the somber appearance, these children were otherwise happy and active and excited for the diversion of strangers in their midst! Happy to oblige!