Dog Gone II

When we first started working in Upper Volta (called Burkina Faso today), one of the first strategies we used to introduce the Gospel in this new area was a hand crank cassette player with some recorded songs and a Bible story in their own language. I had begun discipling 3-4 young men, so we provided for them a bicycle and the hand cranked recorder and sent them into a village to sit under a mango tree and draw a crowd.

Before we could send the young men out, we would go into a village to meet with the chief to gain his permission. This was usually a formal process showing respect for the village chief. Here is the way it usually played out: we arrived in the village and announced that we wanted to visit with the chief. We were seated on stools (handmade ones about eight inches tall and six inches wide) and waited. It was proper village for the chief to keep his guests waiting, so sometimes we waited up to an hour. Once the chief took his seat in a chair—looking down on us—we would bow and greet the chief. Villagers had to do more that a bow as they would get on their knees and bend over and put their head on the ground and wave their hands up and down beside their head pretending to throw dirt upon the back their heads. That was just a reminder that before the chief they were nothing but dirt.

After the greeting the chief would snap his fingers or call out and the “welcome water” would arrive. It was water with some ground millet and very hot peppers served in half of a calabash. After having severe stomach problems from drinking village water, I became proficient in pretending to drink the welcome water. I would keep my mouth closed but would make a loud swallow and let the water run down both sides of my cheeks. After more small talk we would finally ask the chief for permission to send a young man into the village to listen to some songs and a Bible study. Sometimes the chief would ask to hear it first before giving permission, but generally, we had no problems getting permission.

Not until we met with the chief of a village names Largho did we have a problem. The chief gave rejected our request with a very strong rebuke not to have any activity in his village at all. I have a couple of young men with me who were new believers, and before we returned to my vehicle, we stopped in the shade of a mango tree. I read them Matthew 10:14. “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.” We prayed for the chief and the villagers and left.

A couple of months later I had to drive by Largho to go for a Bible study in another village. There were no roads for vehicles as we had the only vehicles in our area, so we had to maneuver through fields and rock formations and our route took us right next to the outskirts of Largho. As usual, I was traveling with three young men, and all of sudden a dog came running from the village. Animals were not accustomed to vehicles so they were not afraid of them. The dog ran straight under the front of the Land Cruiser and there was a heavy thud as I continued to drive. Frankly, I was afraid to stop and confront the villagers since they had previously mistreated us. I looked in the rearview mirror to see that the dog was laying out but still kicking in the air. One of the young men yelled, “Larry, you killed their dog.” They knew about the previous encounter I had with the chief, so they understood why I did not stop.

The problem was that we had to return by the same route as there was no other way to get the vehicle home. The whole time we were leading the Bible study, we all were praying about the return trip.

As we approached Largho, we saw a crowd of people walk out to greet us. We had to stop. There was not way I was going to just run away again. We prayed fervently that the Lord would protect us from any anger that the villagers might have.

One old lady stepped out of the crowd and came up to the window on my side of the vehicle and said to me, “Larry (all villagers knew my name because at this time we were the only white people around for many miles), I just want to thank you for running over my dog. We have been trying to catch him for two weeks so we could kill him and eat him.” What a relief! We were praising the Lord under our breaths. The old lady went on to say, “We have prepared the dog and we want to share the meal with you and your friends. Please come join us.”

We joined them for a long meal with lots of stories. That dog provided the opportunity for us to build relationships with the villagers of Largho, and they gained permission from the chief for us to start having Bible studies in their village.

Today there is a church in Largho—thanks to that dog.