Pass It On

"Today, I am going to tell you a story," I began. "It's a true story that comes from the Bible, and it is found in Mark chapter 10." All their little eyes were fixed on me, probably because my skin is white or my French sounds funny.

"Today we are going to do something special," I continued. "After I finish telling the story, I am going to ask for some volunteers to tell the exact same story with as much detail as possible." 

I learned this story telling method from a friend who does children's ministry in Ouagadougou. That's just one of the perks of being stranded in Ouaga because of a coup d'état: time spent with other missionaries and learning from them. I was excited to pass it on to our children's ministry in our city. 

With chalk in hand, I narrated from memory the story of blind Bartimeus as I drew an image of his unique encounter with Jesus on the chalk board. 

After I finished, four children recounted the story (with a little help from the audience) and I asked a series of specific questions until I was quite sure everyone had a good handle on the general facts of the storyline. 

Next, I followed up with three questions: What do you take away or learn from this story? How can you apply this lesson to your life? And finally, who are you going to share this story with?

These were the same questions my missionary friend had asked me the week I was stuck in Ouaga. I said that I would share the story with the kids at kids' club, and here I was, encouraging them to do the same thing. 

At the end, each child received a blank sheet of paper to draw their own image of the story, which would help them retell the story to someone this week. 46 kids participated. Well, 47 if you include our day guard, Pascal, who also joyfully partipated. When he handed me his drawing to show me what he had done, I said, "It's great. It's for you. Keep it, and share the story with your family." I know he will. He has a beautiful wife and a young son. He is so proud of them both. 

The next day, I had programmed a meeting with Charlotte, my ministry partner and co-teacher. When she arrived just 20 minutes late, she apologized and said, "I hope you don't mind, but I was in the middle of retelling the story of Bartimeus to my neighbor and praying with her." 

I didn't mind at all. 

That same morning, I had gone out to the village to help with a milk distribution for the children in our program for infants in distress. When it came time for the devotional, Rebeca asked me if I knew of a passage to share with the ladies. "Of course," I said, and I bet you know exactly which story I picked. 

In an oral culture that is also primarily illiterate, story telling goes a long, long way. The more you tell and retell a story, the more it sticks in your mind, and the more applicable it becomes when you live out the activities of daily life. 

Just a little over a week ago, one person told a Bible story to a small group of missionaries and challenged them to share that same story with someone else. Now 47 kids, a group of village caregivers and their orphans, Charlotte and her neighbor, and who knows how many others have heard the same story: A story of faith and healing and crying out to Jesus when the world says to be quiet. 

That's the power of story telling and the beauty of the Word of God. Study it, memorize it, and pass it on.