I have heard things about Africa throughout my life, but I haven’t heard much about its western countries. The week leading up to our squad’s journey to Africa, I felt a nervous excitement each time I thought about the next leg. Here I now sit in a little food court in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire trying to put life in this country into words.
The reality our team is experiencing this month is unlike anything I could have anticipated, well, aside from a couple givens. We knew we would be in a much hotter climate with high humidity, knew we’d have to adjust to speaking French after four months of Spanish, knew we were staying in the biggest city in the country, and knew we would be ministering to truck drivers. What I didn’t know was how quickly I would fall in love with our hosts, how blessed we are with our living conditions, and how exhilarating learning and speaking French can be. Side note: it is safe to say that languages are a newfound passion of mine.
Our ministry this month is ministering alongside a “trucker ministry” team. Since Abidjan is a coastal city, it has multiple large ports. Ships drop off their cargo, then hundreds of semis take it from there. Truck drivers from all over the western countries of Africa drive through these ports to receive their loads.
Due to the slow movement of the port staff, the truck drivers might live at the port anywhere from a week to a couple months. They have cots or mats to sleep on, and they can grab a bite to eat at local eateries placed strategically nearby the truck lots. Most of the men coming through the ports speak Bambara rather than French, so we are actually getting to learn two languages this month.
The trucker ministry team’s mission is to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the people at the ports. They desire to establish a relationship with them, share the story of the Gospel, invite them to make a decision, then follow up with each person regardless of the decision made.
Today was our second day of ministry. Yesterday we were blown away by how spirit-led our hosts are as we started and concluded our day with intentional prayer and worship. They led us on a prayer walk throughout the ports, where we prayed over the trucks we passed and had conversations with drivers along the way.
This morning we hit the ground running with evangelism. We were broken into groups and took a taxi to the Treashville Port. The group I was with included my teammate Abby, one of our English speaking hosts Remi, and two women on the ministry team. Not even 50 feet into the port, we came upon a group of 6 to 8 men. Remi introduced us and asked them their names. After asking some get-to-know-you questions, Remi began asking about their spiritual backgrounds. Each of them claimed Islam.
While the ladies and Remi were sharing the Gospel with the men, more truckers came and joined the group. Some came and went, but for the most part they all seemed very interested and open to hearing about Jesus. It was clear that the Lord had prepared their hearts for the converation. Abby and I were listening closely and praying God would move in that moment. I specifically prayed that God would give me the words by speaking directly through me if there were an opportunity to share.
After Remi had finished presenting the men with the Gospel, he turned to Abby and I and asked if there was anything we wanted to share with them. Minutes earlier I had remembered a simple picture that had helped me understand God’s gift.
I want you to picture a big box. This box is filled with a ton of paper. Imagine your every sinful thought, word, or deed recorded on the paper inside of the box. Not only are all your past mistakes and failures recorded, but also the sins you have yet to commit. Think about how big and full your box would be. Jesus also has a box. Yet because he lived a sinless life, his box is completely empty. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.” Since our box is full of sin, we deserve death; however, Jesus offered us a trade. God wants to switch our full box for Jesus’ empty one. When we say yes to accepting God’s gift, we say yes to attaining Christ’s perfect record and eternal life with him.
Maybe you’ll read what I shared and think it is oversimplified, but this is what the Holy Spirit led me to give in that moment and I am content with baby steps of comprehending the Gospel. I received confirmation in the moment as one of the men shared that he understood. He said he had heard the Gospel many times, but this was the first time it made sense to him. I was overjoyed! The Lord loves to answer our prayers, especially when we are humbly asking for wisdom.
This afternoon, our little mini group shared with around ten truck drivers, and four of them accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. How great is our God? We got to pray over them and were able to tell them how excited we were that they had joined the family of believers.
In the past I have been able to plant many seeds by introducing the thought of Jesus or getting someone to think about their own faith in a different way and I have been able to water certain seeds of believers who need encouragement and godly discipleship, but today was a new type of Kingdom work. It was like planting, watering, and reaping the harvest all in one! What a privilege it is to be used as a vessel of hope and love, for every bit of the glory and honor goes to my Father.
Over and out,
Julia
