Resurrection in His Eyes
He was bent over at the waist, partly from his old age but also partly from his sickness. He was a fragile and frail old man with a lifetime of stories written on his face and an undeniable light shining brightly in his eyes. The wrinkles had been there for a while, but the light was like a new fire that had just been kindled.
He was known in his village as a man with special connections with the mystic world. He was feared by many people, and even he himself was aware that he had unique power. He was consulted as a village fetisher, intensely associated with the darkness of traditional religion known as animism.
Until he met Jesus. Then everything changed.
On this Easter weekend on Saturday night, he was baptized with over forty other new believers from his village and the neighboring villages. And although he could barely stand, he could not wipe the joy off his face. He looked like a man set free.
The mission of our Streams In Burkina Faso team is to see a vibrant church in every dagara village transforming their communities from darkness into light. On Easter, we got a glimpse of what that looks like as many regional churches met together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with the personal resurrection symbolized by baptism.
The morning of Easter Sunday, we went to yet another village church gathering and witnessed another thirty plus people baptized. We watched as fetishes were removed off their hands and waists before entering the water and making the public confession to follow Jesus instead of animism. Afterwards, the church gathered to sing, pray, listen to the word of God, and take communion together. The joy in that place was contagious, and it made me wonder how we could ever think about the resurrection of our savior without such explosive joy.
There is no other way I would rather spend Easter than this. What better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus than with baptism? The tomb is empty, Jesus is alive, and people all over the world are still being resurrected through him. Jesus has defeated death and darkness, and we get to see evidence of light breaking forth even right here among the dagara people.
I loved this Easter because I didn't do anything; I just got to watch God do his thing - transforming people and churches and communities from darkness into his marvelous resurrection light.
He was known in his village as a man with special connections with the mystic world. He was feared by many people, and even he himself was aware that he had unique power. He was consulted as a village fetisher, intensely associated with the darkness of traditional religion known as animism.
Until he met Jesus. Then everything changed.
On this Easter weekend on Saturday night, he was baptized with over forty other new believers from his village and the neighboring villages. And although he could barely stand, he could not wipe the joy off his face. He looked like a man set free.
The mission of our Streams In Burkina Faso team is to see a vibrant church in every dagara village transforming their communities from darkness into light. On Easter, we got a glimpse of what that looks like as many regional churches met together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with the personal resurrection symbolized by baptism.
The morning of Easter Sunday, we went to yet another village church gathering and witnessed another thirty plus people baptized. We watched as fetishes were removed off their hands and waists before entering the water and making the public confession to follow Jesus instead of animism. Afterwards, the church gathered to sing, pray, listen to the word of God, and take communion together. The joy in that place was contagious, and it made me wonder how we could ever think about the resurrection of our savior without such explosive joy.
There is no other way I would rather spend Easter than this. What better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus than with baptism? The tomb is empty, Jesus is alive, and people all over the world are still being resurrected through him. Jesus has defeated death and darkness, and we get to see evidence of light breaking forth even right here among the dagara people.
I loved this Easter because I didn't do anything; I just got to watch God do his thing - transforming people and churches and communities from darkness into his marvelous resurrection light.
So beautiful, friend. As we celebrated at Fellowship yesterday. I thought of all the Christians celebrating all over the world with one heart, one focus, the Resurrection of Jesus, his defeat of death and darkness and his gift of biblical hope for forgiveness of sin and eternal life. As I we were leaving the church, I stooped to tell my little granddaughter something I hope she always remembers at Easter, "this is Jesus' favorite day." What a beautiful thought to think about how Resurrection celebration happens all over the world. Thanks for sharing your beautiful observation of Easter in Burkina Faso.
ReplyDeletePraise God. Thank you for allowing us to see how God is working in Burkina Faso. Praying for you and all those who God is using there to further His kingdom
ReplyDelete