ADVENTURE
Jerry and Maxine Share Eritrean Saga
Beja Cerimonial Attire
Processing God’s Plan
A cool coca cola in Beja territory near the Eritrea/Sudan border was refreshing. The bottles were wrapped in a wet burlap sack placed in the doorway of the grass-roofed shelter and cooled by a gentle breeze.
The next five hours were to change the course of my ministry. The government appointed director of the Beja area agreed to introduce our group of two Eritreans and three Americans to his people.
Our first stop was at a men’s only market. Coffee was served and two young men put on Beja attire to accommodate our request for pictures. Then, we visited a Beja village where a baby’s birth was being celebrated. It was a colorful event!
During our brief visit, we learned that there were no schools, no clinics, not one Christian relief organization among the totally Islamic Beja. In all my years in Africa, I had never seen a people group so untouched by the gospel.
A few days later, I returned to Malawi and shared with Maxine how the glaring need of Eritrea’s 120,000 Beja had captured my attention. The burden was heavy on my heart. I often woke up in the middle of the night reflecting on my visit with Beja chiefs; the village and market scenes would replay on the screen of my mind.
One morning, I suggested to Maxine that we move to Eritrea and spend the last five years of our active missionary career making a difference among the Beja. We prayed. Approval was given by the mission; an invitation was extended by the Full Gospel Church of Eritrea and two months later we arrived in the capital city of Asmara.
Five ministry trips over a three-year period, climaxed by the Beja visit, was the vortex in which we processed God’s plan for a major shift in our ministry, moving to Eritrea as resident missionaries.