In 1987, I took a leap of faith and landed in the New Testament church, as described in the book of Acts. Over the next 13 years, I received the gift of witnessing first-generation Christians following Jesus with their whole minds, souls and bodies. I was taught and humbled by brothers and sisters from more than 70 denominations who don’t just take occasional leaps of faith, but who count on God to guide them step-by-step through every single day. My Beninese friends and colleagues really do wake up with their minds stayed on Jesus; that is, if they haven’t spent the whole night at a prayer vigil. Many open their Bibles any time work allows a few minutes of leisure. It is not uncommon to see market women reading Scripture while they wait for the shoppers to come to their stands.
Nonviolence
In Benin, I learned about radical nonviolence from fishermen whose families live in a village built on stilts in the waters of Lac Nokoué. The people of Jesuko (Jesus’ village) fled persecution for their faith. Because most of their neighbors are fearful of water, Jesuko’s inhabitants find peace by living in the middle of this lake on the northeast edge of Cotonou, Benin’s largest city. Several men from Jesuko paddled to the mainland to attend a Benin Bible Institute class on The Beatitudes one evening. Around 10 p.m., they returned to their pirogue, a boat made by hollowing out a tree. Their enemies had been lying in wait and leapt from the shadows, attacking the men from Jesuko as they approached their boat. Although the fishermen have impressive upper-body strength from hauling in nets full of fish, they allowed themselves to be pummeled and cut by machetes. My first thought was, “Well, at least you could have used your pirogue paddles to ward off the blows!” But the Jesuko men put into practice what they had just studied in Matthew 5:39: “Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Generosity
Jean and Virginie Yéhouenou were coming home from a Sunday of prayer and fasting. The hour was late. They had just enough money to break their fast with a meal of cornmeal porridge and okra sauce sold by their neighbor, who had a Beninese version of a fast-food restaurant—a table and bench on the sidewalk. As Jean and Virginie unlocked their door to get the coins for their meal, another neighbor woman came running toward them, sobbing, “My baby has malaria and I have no money to buy medicine.” Jean and Virginie didn’t even need to talk about their decision. They gave the woman their money and went to bed with empty stomachs.
Seek first God’s realm
When Benin Bible Institute approached Bonaventure Akowanou about becoming its administrator, it was a hard decision to make for him and his wife, Clarisse. Bonaventure had a good-paying job with Air Liquide, an industrial gas company, and was quickly climbing the social ladder to become part of Benin’s elite class. But, he and Clarisse decided to adapt their lifestyle to a third of the salary they had been used to, and they have continued in the Benin Bible Institute ministry for a dozen years.
Contextualizing my deeper faith in North America
The way my brothers and sisters in Benin live out their faith helps me understand more fully Jesus’ call to radical discipleship. Now that I am living in North America, how can I be the gospel each day? How can I point others toward Jesus?
