The Gibsons online blog

We first met Aamadu (old Aamadu as he was affectionately known) when we moved to Djibo in 2002 and he was introduced as our guard. To be honest, he did seem rather old to be a guard.... but that was now his position and guarding he did to the best of his ability as well as looking after our animals and providing our daughter with the odd handful of nyiiri (millet porridge). Needless to say, he also became part of the family, living with us on the yard.

Old Aamadu was one of the believers in the Fulani church. Originating from Mali, most his life he had spent as a shepherd travelling all over West Africa herding cattle from one town to the next, eventually settling down in Djibo when his age no longer agreed with the harsh lifestyle of a shepherd.

It was his wife who first started attending bible studies at the church but very sadly died in 1998 under suspicious circumstances. Now, you may not believe in witchcraft but that is beside the point. In much of West Africa occultism is still alive and kicking and the story goes that Aamadu's wife along with their three children had been put under a curse by one of the local 'old women', probably as a result of his wife attending a Christian group at the time, going against local Islamic tradition. Over several months the missionary family, who worked in Djibo at the time, watched Aamadu's wife and three children get sicker and sicker as one by one they all died. During this incredibly painful time the Christian community cared for them and even helped bury them as they passed away.

Up to this point Aamadu had not been interested in the gospel, but on seeing the love and compassion shown to his family by the Christian community things slowly changed. One of the missionaries who helped care for Aamadu's family described his coming to Christ as nothing short of a miracle as he explained to me that, "during this time old Aamadu grew closer and closer to God, the truth of the gospel, and the other Christian Fulani. It seemed he went from nothing to a genuine Christian faith over a period of some of the greatest personal tribulation one could imagine. But instead of cursing God he made peace with him".

Aamadu did marry again in 2002 but his ability to produce children had passed and with no immediate family of his own this left an aging Fulani man incredibly vulnerable in the Djibo context. A year and a half ago we had to retire him as he could no longer function even as a guard, but he was allowed to stay on the mission property as he had nowhere else to go and we were also able to take care of his material needs. A bit like an old folk's home for one. Since then we watched as age and ill health slowly took hold, but over the past couple of weeks he took a turn for the worse, unable to take care of his own most basic needs.

It was practical love in action that won him to Christ over 14 years ago and now it was practical love in action that was helping him in his final hours as the Djibo Christians took care of his every need. Now unable to control his bodily functions, a number of times the Djibo pastor, Jodoma, cleaned up his mess. The believers were there 24/7 keeping an eye on him up until, on the evening of the 19^th March 2012, he went home to be with the Lord.

The following day both Cheryl and I, along with two Fulani friends from the Bible school drove up to Djibo to be with the believers and to support Jodoma in a short service at the Djibo cemetery. It was a time of sadness mixed with joy as we said our goodbyes to an old friend, knowing that one day we will see him again on the other side of eternity. A hope based not on vague fanciful thinking, but on truth.

Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.