"Brother from America"
The first time our hospital ship - the M/V Anastasia- arrived in the West African country Benin, I was in for a big surprise. As the ship docked (on Friday) and the gangway was established, one of our older and influential crew members disembarked and disappeared into the city of Cotonou. A few hours later she reappeared and told her younger crew members that she found a church for us to attend on Sunday.
On Sunday morning, about 10 of us gathered at the bottom of the gangway and walked through an industrial area of the city and found ourselves at a small church that apparently had started an hour earlier. As we entered the simple church with dirt floors, I saw that the church congregation with divided between the men and the women. I was the only male in the group, so I waved goodbye to my wife and sat among the French speaking men of the church. By the way, I do not speak French!
After about an hour of African worship in French in the 90 degree weather, the church pastor started to speak (in French) and after about 30 minutes, he ushered another man to the podium and asked him to translate for him. I was so happy that I could now understand what was going on. What happened next was truly shocking to me.
The pastor (through the translator) spoke to the 50 or so church members and told them that the "brother from America" would not come and give the "WORD." I looked around for this new speaker and found myself being used forward towards the pastor by many sweaty church members. I grabbed my Bible and slowing walked towards to front of the church. It was the longest fifty feet that I has ever walked.
I stepped up onto the simple stage and walked up the podium clinging to my Bible. As I opened my Bible, I prayed to God that there would be something highlighted that I could speak on. I read the highlighted passage and spoke for five minutes and then sat down. Church continued for another few hours in the African heat.
As church let out, the pastor called me forward and I shook hands as people left the building. Once everyone left the church, the pastor said to me (through the translator),"Next Sunday I want you to speak for an hour." I shook my head saying "Yes, but in my heart and mind, "No way" was my response. Now, I was quickly trying to figure out how to get out of coming back to this church!
Once the pastor left, I was stood there alone with the translator. He turned to me and said these haunting words. "God sent you here today!" This was not what I wanted to hear at all. "Why do you think that God sent me here today" was my response to him. He then began to tell me that he was an elder in the church and that this was his last church service as he was leaving due to some problems. However, now God wanted him to stay!
"Why, does God want you to stay now?" I asked.
"Because you are going to be here every Sunday preaching and I am the only one in the church that can translate for you!" he said with tears in his eyes.
At this point, I started to panic. Somehow, I shook my head and agreed that I would be coming back to the church. In my head, I was trying to think of how I could het out of this and not cause the elder and translator not to doubt God! What was I to do?
I walked home to the ship planning how I could get out of this awkward situation. I went around to all the other men on the ship thinking that I could ask them to come to church with me and share the preaching responsibility. However, once I told them about speaking at church, no one would go this me.
Eventually, my roommate and fellow teacher, agreed to come with me a tag team preach each week. A men's Bible study, a women's Bible study, and a Sunday school were outcomes of our faithfulness to share our lives with this small church. Six months of being involved in the lives of this small church in Benin, West Africa was life changing for me.
I had no idea what I was doing, but God showed up and took my willingness and turned it into an amazing adventure in Benin.
The verse that I was highlighted in my Bible which I read on that first Sunday was...
Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
