From Africa

A student Jesus Film Project team decided to go to a remote part of Africa where there were no churches. In the first village, the leaders were reluctant to give permission but eventually said, “Only one showing. And there won’t be any church in our village.”

The team showed the film to a small group of villagers. A woman and a few of her friends came to Christ. The woman opened her home for a weekly Bible study, and the group soon grew to 12 believing women – more than could fit in her home.

The group asked the village leaders for land for a church. To silence them, the village leaders gave the women what seemed like a useless place. People would have to walk through a “haunted cemetery” and an “evil forest” to get there.

The group said they would take it, but asked if it would be possible to have something closer. The surprised village leaders decided to discourage the group a second time by offering a place in the village dump. Again the group accepted and started to build a church in the dump.

When the church began to grow, other villagers noticed the church people weren’t afraid of the haunted cemetery and did not complain about having to clean up the dump. Sometime later, the church hosted a medical clinic to provide much-needed medical care. Today the church has 80 members, including three daughter churches.

What a great example of bold faith and persistence in the face of adversity!