For The Record

Submit birth, marriage and obituary records online.

Personal Ads

Meet new friends today!

Advertising

Put your message in front of 19,000 readers.

PDF documents on this site require the free Adobe Reader:

Get Adobe Reader

2009-05-05 issue:

Friends of the Wolof begins new chapter

No North American FOW workers in Senegal for the first time in a decade.

by Lynda Hollinger-Janzen of Mennonite Mission Network

Print Article

On Jan. 31, Friends of the Wolof celebrated an ending and a beginning. At their annual banquet held at Silverwood Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind., there were no North American FOW workers in Senegal for the first time in a decade.


The Wolof leader of the followers of Jesus, (center left) meets with village elders. Photo by Stan Farmwald.

The three families who launched the FOW ministry among the Wolof people are now living in the United States. The Wolof leader Ibu* spoke to those at the banquet by cell phone from Senegal.

In 1995, FOW began building a partnership that grew and now includes Wolof followers of Jesus. Now FOW is pioneering new territory—how to be trans-Atlantic brothers and sisters.

“It would be tempting at this juncture in FOW’s ministry to say, ‘Mission accomplished,’” said Charles Buller, FOW director. “There is a small nucleus of believers who have professed faith in Jesus and who want to share the good news with other Wolof people.” However, Buller stressed the importance of continuing to walk alongside the Wolof followers of Jesus, a new community of faith radically at odds with its cultural and religious environment.

 Also, Wolof believers can serve as guides to their North American counterparts through the confusion of a shifting economic reality that has imposed financial limitations on the partnership.

“While the Wolof people may not be able to send us money, they are showing us what it means to follow Jesus when it is unpopular and costly,” Buller said.

If FOW backs away from ministry now that their North American personnel no longer reside in the country, Buller said, the Senegalese will understand the years of conversation about God’s global family as empty words rather than the life-changing truth.

Buller said going beyond what is convenient and safe and giving when it means putting aside personal interest or gain—these are ways of modeling who God is.

Practical ways that FOW will continue to demonstrate Jesus’ friendship to the Wolof include:

• Intercession: FOW plans to maintain frequent communication with Ibu and Margaret De Jong of Mennonite Mission Network, who serves in Senegal.

• Financial support: FOW will contribute to Ibu’s family support so that he and his wife, Yacine, can engage in full-time ministry.

• Advocacy: FOW will work with organizations in Senegal to find creative employment opportunities for Wolof Christians.

• Supervision: Buller will continue to serve as FOW director in collaboration with Mennonite Mission Network.

LifeSpring Community Church, Goshen, led the way in developing the FOW partnership, mobilizing a support network to send personnel to Senegal to build relationships with the Wolof people, who have a deeply rooted suspicion of the Christian message due to centuries of religious antagonism and persecution. FOW workers were surprised to find Ibu, a follower of Jesus, waiting for them. Within the first year, Ibu was baptized and brought five friends to faith in Jesus. Ibu and Yacine are supported by FOW, Mennonite Mission Network and Pioneers through Mission Inter Senegal. Pioneers and MIS are both Mission Network partner agencies.

Reader Comments

Add Comments