Sword & Trowel 2017: Issue 1 BELIEVERS IN MALI


News from Pastor Ibrahim Ag Mohamed through whom help has continued to be channelled to believers since the Islamist insurgency of 2012


P


OLITICALLY the situation in Mali is still volatile. In the south there


have been riots due to a referendum for a new constitution. There are repeated inter-ethnic skirmishes, and the peace treaty between the Government and the Tuareg rebels is taking longer than expected to implement. Suicide bomb- ers and land mines continue to destroy lives and there is distrust between people who have previously lived peacefully together for decades. For be- lievers, every day comes with its share of persecution and insecurity. In spite of all the turmoil, however, these expe- riences have fostered earnestness and a greater unity and solidarity between the believers, to intercede and care for one another. They are very limited in how much they can do in terms of outreach, but actions speak louder than words. There is much prayer for spir- itual blessing. Travelling from the south to the north has become more and more risky and the only surfaced road con- necting the two has been severely dam- aged. Although things are far from settled, the situa- tion in the north of Mali is gradu- ally improving and most of the believ- ers have now gone


back to Gao, Timbuktu, Hombori, An- songo and Gossi. So far, their services have not been disrupted. In Gao the church premises have


been restored and 30 to 40 believers gather on the Lord’s Day. Occasion- ally some of the UN peacekeepers (more than 10,000 stationed in Mali) have joined the worship. Most services are held with extreme vigilance and a certain anxiety sown in the city by the Islamists. A weekly Sunday School takes place with the children mainly coming from Christian families. There is still some reluctance to recommence radio broadcasts but we pray that the Lord will open this door for spreading the Gospel of grace. There is still the facility for private hearing of the New Testament in Son- ray and Tamacheq (two of the most spoken languages in the north of Mali) using a solar-powered ‘talking Bible’. It is a good tool for evangelism and it works almost everywhere. Insecurity is spreading throughout


West Africa, to Niger, Burkina-Faso and Côte d’Ivoire. Only the Lord knows how long this will last. We give thanks to the Lord for his protection and for the work done in souls – which is eternal. We thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for peace and for more and more opportuni- ties to witness.


Image: OCHA Believers in Mali page 41


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