Category: How Africans Think Page 1 of 2

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You’ve got plans to hold a VBS this summer in a cross-cultural or overseas context, and you’re feeling the challenges: How do you communicate effectively with kids who don’t speak English? How do you come up with activities that you can fit into a suitcase? Maybe you’ve got a limited budget or time constraints. Yet you have a sincere desire for your team to share Jesus during your trip.

So maybe you are considering the classic go-to activity for sharing the gospel with kids from a different culture or language: the simple wordless bracelet.

You can order 12 kits for $5.99. They’re fun, they’re cute, and kids love them. Plus, the children now have a tangible reminder of the gospel, right there on their wrists, no language skills required. Perfect.

Maybe not so perfect. Sometimes cross-cultural communication is a lot more complicated than just a language barrier. This classic VBS activity might not be communicating what you think.

Before you put wordless bracelets into your cross-cultural VBS curriculum, take a moment to consider the following thoughts.

Many cultures in Asia, Africa, and South America have strong beliefs in the spirit world. In order to protect their children against evil spirits, they will often tie an amulet around their wrists. This will be a cloth, twine, or leather cord and may include a few beads.

So when a group of religious foreigners arrive in their country and put on a children’s program and start tying bracelets around the kids’ wrists that have spiritual meaning…..

Unfortunately, you may have just given those kids a new amulet.

Languages divide up colors differently. For example, in English, we have a word for red and a word for pink (not light red!). But we say light blue and dark blue. Other languages might use the same word for blue/green or red/orange. And when a person doesn’t have a word for different colors, he might not see them as different. This is fascinating stuff – and something we need to be aware of.
Other cultures assign different meanings to colors than we do. We may see green as representing growth. But in Indonesia, it’s associated with exorcism. In China, it can be associated with infidelity, and in South America it’s connected with death. White is correlated with purity in Western cultures, but in some Asian cultures, it’s a symbol of death. The children in your host culture may not understand the gospel story the way you intend to tell it if they are not making the same color associations.
Contemplate for a moment the implications of a missions team with lighter skin visiting a group of people with darker skin and telling them that black means sin and white means holiness.
The gospel presentation that goes along with wordless bracelets is grounded in a guilt/innocence paradigm, which may not be the best way for the message to make sense to the people you are trying to reach. If you are unfamiliar with what I am talking about here, check out this excellent 7 minute video on guilt/innocence, honor/shame, and fear/power worldviews.

I realize that this list might make you feel a little uncertain about not just wordless bracelets but your entire VBS program. Because if something as simple as a colorful craft might be communicating something different than what you intended, then what does that mean about all of your other activities? So if you are feeling that tension, great! That’s a good place to be. That’s where learning and growth start.

So what should you do?

Start with some research. In the time you have available, your team needs to learn all they can about the history, customs, worldviews, and religion of the people you will be visiting. Hofstede Insights is a great resource for this. Remember–don’t assume that what works in your own country will automatically translate to another culture.

Most importantly, before you set any plans in stone, run your entire program–teaching, activities, games, songs–past your missionary or local contact. Make it very clear that you want feedback and are open to change. Even better—if there is any way that a local person can do the teaching instead of someone on your team, make that happen! The best way for you to impact a community is to train others to do the program alongside you and then later—without you.

For more reading about short-term missions, check out these links:

Have you considered how Your Short-Term Trip Should Be About You (And That’s Not a Bad Thing)? Perhaps what God wants to do in you during this trip is more important than the service project you are taking overseas.

This one has a similar idea: 3 Quick Ways to Improve a Short-Term Missions Trip. How can you reframe your trip for maximum impact in your life and the team’s recipients?

Also, Sarita Hartz’s What to Do About Short-Term Missions provides a comprehensive list of ways to prevent your team from causing more harm than help overseas. And Short-Term Missions: Is the Price Tag Worth It? offers some thought-provoking insights on ensuring we are stewarding our resources well.

If you are an overseas worker who is hosting a team this year, then this one is for you: How to Host the Best-Ever Short-Term Team

Also, this excellent video series Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions by the Chalmers Institute is extremely valuable for any church or organization that wants to prioritize short-term missions.

Luxury Cars or Walking Dusty Roads

By Amy Medina

On January 18, 2024

In How Africans Think, How Americans Think

He doesn’t have money for bus fare, so he walks miles every week to Tanzanian public schools to share the Story of God with teenagers.

This man is my friend. He went through our Bible School program. He is a wonderful husband and father, a faithful Christian committed to Scripture. He is an English speaker and savvy businessman with many skills, but finding regular sources of income in Tanzania can be challenging.

Yet his heart is for ministry. In Tanzania, public schools welcome outside teachers to cover religion classes. There is no pay involved, just a strategic opportunity for God’s servants to teach hundreds of kids about the Word of God.

This friend built a team to take the gospel to these schools. But he doesn’t own a vehicle and has no money for bus fare (about 25 cents a day) because any money he earns from side businesses goes towards feeding his family and sending his kids to school (which is never free). So he walks. Every week. He walks miles and miles to get to these schools.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, I watch a commercial for a luxury vehicle: A perfect man with a perfect suit drives on a perfectly smooth road in his perfect car, and the voice-over lauds the heated seats, 14-inch media screen, aromatherapy, and champagne holder.

Two men, living under the same sun. One with very little in his life to make him comfortable, yet prizing the kingdom of God. The other – epitomizing comfort.

Magic Charms and Contingency Plans

By Amy Medina

On September 16, 2017

In How Africans Think, How Americans Think, Life in Tanzania

A few nights ago, Mama F came to me terrorized, begging and screaming for a certain plant in our backyard.

I’ve lived in Tanzania for almost 14 years now, but there are still stories that blow me away.

I have a good friend, Allison (name changed), who has lived here as long as Gil and I have. I don’t get to see her often, as she and her husband live several hours away in a remote village in Tanzania. We may be living in the same country, but her life is very different from mine. While visiting us this week, Allison told me this incredible story.

For a long time now, Allison had been sharing the gospel with Mama F, one of her neighbors. And just a couple weeks ago, Mama F declared faith in Christ and started attending a Bible study led by Allison and her team. They all praised God for this, not knowing that the story was just beginning….

This is how Allison tells it:

“A few nights ago, Mama F came to me terrorized, begging and screaming for a certain plant in our backyard. Of course, I let her in to grab the unknown plant she named. I soon saw that something had taken hold of her precious four-year-old daughter. She was writhing and gurgling, clenched in her mother’s arms, and foaming at the mouth.

Hearing Mama F’s cries, other neighbor women were coming to aid and we all followed as she ran back to her house while smearing my basil plant all over little F’s head. The father had run for the witchdoctor to buy emergency witchcraft to ward off the attack. Mama F
would not accept my westernized offer to take them to the hospital.

We women entered into her home, trying to be of help in any way we
could. One woman shook and rubbed a live chicken over little F — spraying who knows what all over her. Another brought a pouch with herbs to burn and handfuls of a certain type of dirt to make a mud mixture to smear over her disrobed body. Mama F frantically gulped a liquid from a cup and spewed it onto her daughter. Then she placed knives under her armpits and behind her neck, wrapped F in banana leaves and tied a new black cloth charm around F’s wrist to join the others that fruitlessly encircled her body already. The ladies began to burn the weeds gathered so that smoke filled the room. All the while, F was writhing and foaming, enveloped in darkness.

A long time ago, the Lord compelled me into these neighbors’ lives and now–as I walked that night with these women I love who were so fear stricken, so
desperate to save this child in the only ways they knew of– I prayed silently and out loud for His Light to shine in the living nightmare. Then He enabled me to speak simple, childlike words in this dark chaos of fear and despair. ‘God is able to help and heal F. This witchcraft will not work. May I pray for her in Jesus’ name? May I hold her in my arms and pray for God’s healing? I can ask for help from Almighty, Holy God because I believe Jesus shed his blood to pay for my sin so I am forgiven. Please let me pray for her.’

Miraculously they agreed!

But I knew there was more needing to be said. ‘Mama F, because God is holy and only He deserves glory, you have to stop this witchcraft. He wants you to see it is by His power and grace alone that F is healed. Please remove the
knives, the leaves…’

Miraculously they agreed and placed her in my arms!

I squatted down on the dirt floor, holding that precious, terrorized little
girl in my arms and I prayed. As I prayed, I felt the conviction of the
Holy Spirit that this was not just a physical need for healing, but
spiritual. So, in Jesus name, I prayed against the powers of darkness
over this little one. In Jesus’ name, I rebuked satan and told him to
leave. In Jesus’ name, I entrusted F into God’s arms of healing and
protection.

And God heard and answered! As I prayed, the convulsions and foaming and gurgling ceased and F laid peacefully in my arms. I heard the women’s voices declare, ‘Wow! The prayer is working! God Heals! Jesus Heals! God hears the prayers of Christians! Let’s go find more Christians to pray for her!’ So we returned to my house where my teammates had been waiting and they too surrounded F with prayer and praise to God for her healing. And with F still in my arms exhausted, but at peace, my teammates and I lingered with our neighbors in our front yard and on our front porch, praising God for His healing in word, prayer, and song.”

But the story is still not over. Allison sat in my kitchen Wednesday evening, telling me what had just happened the night before.

She continued: “Mama F had attended the ladies prayer group in our home again and gave praise to Jesus for his healing in her child. Then a few days later F came to our home to play, wearing her charm necklace again.

I spoke to her Mom that God does not share His glory with another and F does not need the charms for her health and protection when we cry out to the one true God through Jesus Christ. She agreed, but the necklace charm remained. I also shared that with believing in Jesus Christ as her Savior, she is now a daughter of the King and she herself can ask her Father God for anything in His Name! There is no need to fear, nor appease the forces of darkness. But the necklace remained.

Tuesday evening, the terrors came again to F. Since we were here in Dar when the attack came on, little F’s family sought the help of our team (Tanzanian and American) who together prayed and read Scripture over her, but this time she was not responding and they agreed to take her to the clinic in the neighboring village.

When I received word of this, I asked if she was still wearing any charms. And she was still wearing her charm necklace. My husband called Baba F and exhorted him to remove the charms as God will not share His glory with another. Meanwhile the doctor was not able to help F and so they brought F to our local evangelist where they cut off her charm necklace and began to pray for her again. She was immediately restored to normal!”

Glory be to God!

It is, indeed, truly a remarkable story–especially for those of us who assume that this kind of thing ended in the New Testament. But it would be a shame for those of us from westernized cultures, who scoff at magic charms and witchdoctors, to think that God isn’t trying to teach us the same lessons that he was teaching little F’s family.

He wants the glory alone.

And his glory is never evident in contingency plans.

I’ve thought about this constantly since I heard Allison’s story. How often do I have a contingency plan? How often do I say the words that God is faithful and God is good, but in the back of my mind, have my own little plan of what I’ll do if God doesn’t show up?

Sure, I say I believe in heaven and that it’s forever and that life here is only a shadow of what’s to come. But really, I want to enjoy that shadow with as much comfort as I can muster and as much pleasure as I can hold onto–just in case heaven doesn’t come.

Sure, I know that God is the rightful king and sovereign over the universe. But I’d also really like to be under a government that is just, safe, powerful, and holds to all of my values–and I’m distressed if I don’t get that.

Sure, I believe that God is the source of all peace and healing. But my first instinct in times of pain or sickness or fear is to turn to doctors and medicine, not to prayer.

Sure, I believe that Scripture tells me that God will provide for all my needs. But I want that savings account to be steady and that income to be regular, just in case.

I know there’s a balance here, because I need to be wise and prudent and God’s gifts to me include homes and medicine and savings accounts. But where is the source of my trust? Am I really trusting in God, or in my contingency plans?

And sometimes, God might just be waiting for us to cut off the magic charm. Because He will not share His glory with another.

The Witchdoctor’s Goats and Halloween

By Amy Medina

On October 25, 2016

In How Africans Think

There’s a herd of goats that lives on the main road by our house. I see them every day, often eating scraps of grass that manage to poke through the hard-packed dirt, or sleeping under the broken-down bus by the police station.

I never thought much about these goats, since farm animals tend to be everywhere in this city, comfortably cohabiting with the five million people who share this space.

One day, the students in our theological training program told us the story of those goats.

Have you ever noticed that those goats don’t have a herder?

Well, no, I guess you’re right. I have never seen a herder with those goats.

Those goats used to be owned by a witchdoctor. The witchdoctor died. But he put a curse on the goats so that no one will steal them. So now, no one will touch them, even though he is dead. At night, a “little person” comes and takes care of the goats.

Even after living here twelve years, there are still times when our jaws drop to the ground. This was one of them.

Uhhh….what is a “little person?”

Those who have seen “little people” insist that they look like a miniature person. They are some sort of supernatural beings who do evil and cause problems.

And who, apparently, take care of the goats of a dead witchdoctor.

Remember, now, that this was not told to us by ten-year-old girls at a sleepover. This was a group of grown-up, very sharp, theological students.

Shortly after we learned about the Witchdoctor’s Goats, we invited one of our students over for dinner. She is a middle-aged, widowed woman who is quite educated and has lived many years abroad. She agreed to come for dinner, but asked if she could also bring her 20-something college-student daughter with her. Of course! we said. We would love to meet your daughter.

Yeah, she doesn’t like to be home alone at night. She is afraid of the “little people.”

I once read that Tanzanians are the most superstitious people in Africa. And the implications are far-reaching–for government, for the safety of albinos, and even for football teams. But I think I can safely say that this worldview reflects many people groups on the majority of the earth.

It’s easy for us educated, enlightened Americans to scoff at such stories. Seriously? Witchdoctors? Curses? Little people?

In fact, we scoff so much at these stories that we go to the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Instead, we decorate our houses with witches and ghosts and spiderwebs and fake blood and guts and we say This is all pretend! Aren’t we funny? Isn’t this so much fun?

It’s like we’re trying to convince ourselves that evil and an afterlife and the supernatural don’t even exist. In fact, sometimes I think we try so hard to make it all just for fun because we know we really aren’t kidding anyone. Because as much as we pontificate about science and materialism and objective reality, we all know that there are a lot of questions that science can’t answer.

We might think that everyone knows the supernatural doesn’t really exist. Except, not everyone. The rest of the world just doesn’t kid themselves. They are quite confident that evil and spirits and witchdoctors are real and they have power, and if you gave them a minute they could prove it to you. Which is perhaps why Halloween is only celebrated as a “fun” day in countries that are supposedly “enlightened” by science.

Hey, I get that participating in innocent Halloween activities might be a really great way to build family memories and get to know your neighbors. I’m all for that–go for it. But in the midst of that, let’s remind our kids and ourselves that supernatural evil is not pretend and really not something to celebrate.

Tanzanians may have a misplaced fear–and they need to find the confidence that Jesus has the ultimate authority. Americans, however, have a misplaced confidence–and a legitimate fear of unseen things might not be so bad.

Witchdoctors, Football, and Understanding Africa

By Amy Medina

On March 24, 2015

In How Africans Think

Recently an electrician (who is also our good friend) was working on our fuse box.

I was in the next room, and suddenly I heard him cry out in pain. Thinking he had shocked himself, I quickly asked him what was wrong.

He chuckled a bit. He held out both his hands for me to see. One was dramatically more swollen than the other.

Our friend is a leader in his church. He’s in his late 30’s, and he’s a strong guy. “Well, in church on Sunday, there was this woman with a lot of problems,” he explained. “She had a demon. Before I knew it, she pushed back my hand so hard that it swelled up like this.” He casually added, “It took 5 men to hold her down.” Three days later, his hand was still swollen.

Just an ordinary Sunday in a Tanzanian church. Our friend isn’t even Pentecostal.

A couple of weeks ago, Gil went to a football game at the national stadium with one of our former students. The game was between two rival club teams, and almost all of the 60,000 seats were filled. Tension was high. This game was a very big deal.

The buzz was that a lot of witchcraft had been performed before this game. And, apparently, during the game. This is not a team mascot or an over-zealous fan. This is a witchdoctor.

The teams took this very seriously. One team was so nervous about this that they made a large banner for protection–their own talisman. The goal keeper tried to hang it in his goal until the officials made him take it down.

So what do we do with this notion that there are supernatural spirits out there who can influence a person’s health, a person’s safety, or even the outcome of a football game? That these spirits can inhabit a person’s body and make her stronger than 5 grown men?

For those of us from the western world, fully indoctrinated in empiricism and rationalism, we simply don’t know what to make of this. I’m from the “non-charismatic” side of Christianity. I also am, by nature, an extremely skeptical person. So….are we going to claim that it’s all in their heads? That this is all a joke? That they just need to be educated?

Spend a few years in Africa, and even the most rational among you may be convinced otherwise.

Meet our friends Mark and Alyssa, who had 17 snakes appear in their house, out of nowhere. Or spend some time at an African mission hospital, where they have “prayer doctors” for those patients who are ill with sicknesses that defy modern medicine. Or talk to our friend “Mary,” who lost two sons at exactly 9 months old for unknown reasons, until she renounced her witchdoctor mother and turned to Jesus. Or meet a Tanzanian albino, who daily fears for his life because (wealthy, educated) people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for his body parts.

You cannot understand Africa until you understand this worldview. You cannot understand African politics, African poverty, African culture, and even the African Church until you understand animism.

In the same way, you can’t understand American culture until you understand that we are equally locked in empiricism and rationalism. Seeing is believing. Nothing is fact unless it can be proved by “science.” Anything else is shoved up in the category of “values” and is therefore personal, irrational, and undependable. This is the very philosophy that seeks to destroy Christianity in America. But haven’t we, as Christians, even allowed it to seep into our own thinking? Sure, Satan is real. Demons are real. But they aren’t actually going to manifest themselves, right?

I understand that there needs to be balance. I’m not saying that everyone with problems needs to be exorcised, or that there’s a demon in the sound system when it doesn’t work. The African Church needs to root out the superstition and Prosperity Gospel that seeks to permeate it; the American Church needs to root out it’s unequivocal trust in science and medicine.

Let us learn from one another. And remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

Category: How Africans Think Page 1 of 2

Those Wordless Bracelets Might Not Be Saying What You Think They’re Saying

Luxury Cars or Walking Dusty Roads

Magic Charms and Contingency Plans

The Witchdoctor’s Goats and Halloween

Witchdoctors, Football, and Understanding Africa