MISSIONARY WORK: THE PAIN OF A CALLING
When he left his comfortable home in Lagos on no better day than January 1st 1992 to heed to the call of God to embark on a mission trip to an unknown region which just like Abraham, God will lead him to, Evangelist Jeremiah Williams was only obeying God but the pain and agony that follows that obedience almost certainly led him to have a rethink as to whether it was truly God that sent him.
On his own part, Pastor Sunday Bakare whose mission field is in the interior part of Ogun state in a village called Ogunrobi, his tale is a gory one. For a man that has been involved in missionary activities for almost ten years, he is meant to be happy but his plight won’t allow that.
To him just like Evangelist Williams his sojourn to this land was a call from God which was even made difficult due to the fact that he was born into a Muslim family coupled with the attendant sufferings and pain of loneliness he has experience since he started his missionary activities.
Mission work has always been described as one important duty of Christians in terms of winning souls for Christ but the Bible made it clear that it is not all Christians that have the gift or put more succinctly the charisma to win souls for Christ, hence, the job of a missionary is purportedly meant for few Christians who must have received a call from God before embarking on such journeys.
Knowing fully well the pains and struggle for survival that missionaries pass through those who are meant to help these people have not really live up to that billing for reason one cannot fathom, literarily living these missionaries to their plight or as some would say “On your own, OYO”. Hence, most Christians do not like tapping into the vision largely due to the pains and struggle for survival in the neglected and dejected villages.
A major question that has been troubling the mind of most of these missionaries in the field is to find that someone or an organisation that can believe in their vision and help them build on it, but instead these people only find solace in their large churches and congregation in the cities rather focusing on places where Christ is hardly know, place where these missionaries are living.
Pastor Sunday Bakare put it this way “they do not know the number of people in the rural areas are more than the people out there, they prefer their conducive environment, tithes and to build kingdoms for themselves all under the umbrella of offices and forget their fellow brethren in the rural setting”.
Pastor Sunday Bakare is a called missionary, born into a Muslim background, from Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State. He gave his life to Christ in August 1993 and the following month he received a calling as a missionary. He has been involved in the work of mission through drama ministry as a stage director with mission minded people for ministration, evangelism, and intercession.
Presently, Pastor Sunday’s situation is highly pathetic as he feeds his family virtually from hand to mouth. They hardly have the normal three-square meals, they drink highly contaminated water, no electricity and no employment opportunities. He recounted his experience thus “when I first arrived at Ogunrobi village, life was extremely difficult for me. I’ll go into the bush to get fruits which I used as breakfast, lunch is not always available and at night we eat whatever is available” he said. Breakfast is under may be, lunch is “don’t even think about it” and dinner is tagged “God will provide”
What even made his case sympathetic enough is the dire hostility he encountered in his early days at Ogunrobi Village whose people are predominantly idol worshippers. The land he even got to build his house on is very close to where the Ogun and Esu shrine are situated. “As a spirit filled man of God, I always heard sounds of strange birds around the house, sometimes in the evening I see different kinds of birds that normally are not meant to be at such vicinity. In fact the beginning for me was tough but by the Grace and power of God, I overcome those early tribulations”
Life for Pastor Bakare and his family of four is still a tough one. As daily survival for him and his family continues to be a struggle which they don’t know when it will end because no help is forthcoming from any quarters. To sustain himself he took up a teaching profession in Owode and won’t come back home until Friday evening due to the distance from Owode to his house in Ogunrobi.
His wife also a teacher with a NCE degree in Accounting Education is teaching some village children in one of the dilapidated buildings in a nearby village called Adebiopon. She teaches between 6-10 pupils. The little she earns is what she uses to sustain herself and the three children till her husband returns every Friday.
In the case of the more experienced missionary, Evangelist Jeremiah Williams his story would surely strike a cord of emotions when it is heard. In his words “When I heard the voice on January 1st 1992, it was like a joke because I was just preparing to eat the sumptuous new year meal my wife prepared when it came that I must live my house and go to a place God said he would show me.” He started “I have to obey the voice of God, so I told my wife, she at first complained but later supported me, so I left for the unknown trip which at the end of the day turns out to be Maba village” he narrated.
Looking at the state of development of Maba then and what is attainable now, Evangelist Jeremiah has said, “When I arrived here, Maba was a forest, virtually with no buildings. I have to walk for a long distance before I was able to site a building. In fact at some point in my wandering, I had to paused and tell God that if I did not see anybody or a building in sight I will turn back because I was already tired by then, but I heard a voice that said ‘just a little more’, it was like a journey that will not end”.
At first the work at hand seems insurmountable, but with strong faith in God and determination he settles down to work. “The place was in darkness, their life when I arrived here was primitive in many sense, and they worship all sorts of gods. I wonder how I will live with such people, the water they used for drinking, washing, bathing and cooking are from the same source. Feaces from nearby bush will be floating on the surface of the water. We had no choice but to drink it with them, true at first it was painful but gradually we adapt to the system” he reminiscence.
According to Evangelist Williams, his experience at Maba village can be described as a lonely one. He was virtually alone as no organisation came forth to help him cushion the effect of the sufferings, despite his constant pleas for assistance to organisation and Christians bodies it all fell on deaf ears until 2004 when a missionary body construct a nine rig well for him. The well is now the only source of clean water for the whole village. In fact the opening up of this village to any resemblance of developmental work can be attributed to the work of Evangelist Williams. For many years he was all alone in obscurity preaching, working, and living with the people as a missionary.
He claimed to have over the years written letters to various missionary organisations and even the government but receives little or no reply. He built his own house and church all by himself. Despite his long years of experience as a missionary, he had only received little assistance that could have made his work easier.
The question for all Christians bodies regardless of denomination that needs some pondering is why we have decided to neglect these missionaries doing the work of the LORD which many people have shy away from. How many of us can risk our lives as much as they do? They live their relatively comfortable homes in the urban areas to settle down in those remote villages among strangers, defiling all the dangers and toils that come their way yet get little in return. We know of big churches be oversee by pastors all over the country but what have they done for missionary work?
We must conclude in all truthfulness that the state of missionaries of the late 19th century and the present 21st century is not too different. They still live in the village, go to the stream, trek to the farm and every other attribute of rural setting that were visible part of missionary activities of the 19th century.
There is need for a change in our attitude to missionary activities. The missionaries need all the support they can get in order for them to continue to propagate the gospel to the end of the earth. Remember, Jesus will not come until the gospel has been preached to all corners of the earth!
On his own part, Pastor Sunday Bakare whose mission field is in the interior part of Ogun state in a village called Ogunrobi, his tale is a gory one. For a man that has been involved in missionary activities for almost ten years, he is meant to be happy but his plight won’t allow that.
To him just like Evangelist Williams his sojourn to this land was a call from God which was even made difficult due to the fact that he was born into a Muslim family coupled with the attendant sufferings and pain of loneliness he has experience since he started his missionary activities.
Mission work has always been described as one important duty of Christians in terms of winning souls for Christ but the Bible made it clear that it is not all Christians that have the gift or put more succinctly the charisma to win souls for Christ, hence, the job of a missionary is purportedly meant for few Christians who must have received a call from God before embarking on such journeys.
Knowing fully well the pains and struggle for survival that missionaries pass through those who are meant to help these people have not really live up to that billing for reason one cannot fathom, literarily living these missionaries to their plight or as some would say “On your own, OYO”. Hence, most Christians do not like tapping into the vision largely due to the pains and struggle for survival in the neglected and dejected villages.
A major question that has been troubling the mind of most of these missionaries in the field is to find that someone or an organisation that can believe in their vision and help them build on it, but instead these people only find solace in their large churches and congregation in the cities rather focusing on places where Christ is hardly know, place where these missionaries are living.
Pastor Sunday Bakare put it this way “they do not know the number of people in the rural areas are more than the people out there, they prefer their conducive environment, tithes and to build kingdoms for themselves all under the umbrella of offices and forget their fellow brethren in the rural setting”.
Pastor Sunday Bakare is a called missionary, born into a Muslim background, from Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State. He gave his life to Christ in August 1993 and the following month he received a calling as a missionary. He has been involved in the work of mission through drama ministry as a stage director with mission minded people for ministration, evangelism, and intercession.
Presently, Pastor Sunday’s situation is highly pathetic as he feeds his family virtually from hand to mouth. They hardly have the normal three-square meals, they drink highly contaminated water, no electricity and no employment opportunities. He recounted his experience thus “when I first arrived at Ogunrobi village, life was extremely difficult for me. I’ll go into the bush to get fruits which I used as breakfast, lunch is not always available and at night we eat whatever is available” he said. Breakfast is under may be, lunch is “don’t even think about it” and dinner is tagged “God will provide”
What even made his case sympathetic enough is the dire hostility he encountered in his early days at Ogunrobi Village whose people are predominantly idol worshippers. The land he even got to build his house on is very close to where the Ogun and Esu shrine are situated. “As a spirit filled man of God, I always heard sounds of strange birds around the house, sometimes in the evening I see different kinds of birds that normally are not meant to be at such vicinity. In fact the beginning for me was tough but by the Grace and power of God, I overcome those early tribulations”
Life for Pastor Bakare and his family of four is still a tough one. As daily survival for him and his family continues to be a struggle which they don’t know when it will end because no help is forthcoming from any quarters. To sustain himself he took up a teaching profession in Owode and won’t come back home until Friday evening due to the distance from Owode to his house in Ogunrobi.
His wife also a teacher with a NCE degree in Accounting Education is teaching some village children in one of the dilapidated buildings in a nearby village called Adebiopon. She teaches between 6-10 pupils. The little she earns is what she uses to sustain herself and the three children till her husband returns every Friday.
In the case of the more experienced missionary, Evangelist Jeremiah Williams his story would surely strike a cord of emotions when it is heard. In his words “When I heard the voice on January 1st 1992, it was like a joke because I was just preparing to eat the sumptuous new year meal my wife prepared when it came that I must live my house and go to a place God said he would show me.” He started “I have to obey the voice of God, so I told my wife, she at first complained but later supported me, so I left for the unknown trip which at the end of the day turns out to be Maba village” he narrated.
Looking at the state of development of Maba then and what is attainable now, Evangelist Jeremiah has said, “When I arrived here, Maba was a forest, virtually with no buildings. I have to walk for a long distance before I was able to site a building. In fact at some point in my wandering, I had to paused and tell God that if I did not see anybody or a building in sight I will turn back because I was already tired by then, but I heard a voice that said ‘just a little more’, it was like a journey that will not end”.
At first the work at hand seems insurmountable, but with strong faith in God and determination he settles down to work. “The place was in darkness, their life when I arrived here was primitive in many sense, and they worship all sorts of gods. I wonder how I will live with such people, the water they used for drinking, washing, bathing and cooking are from the same source. Feaces from nearby bush will be floating on the surface of the water. We had no choice but to drink it with them, true at first it was painful but gradually we adapt to the system” he reminiscence.
According to Evangelist Williams, his experience at Maba village can be described as a lonely one. He was virtually alone as no organisation came forth to help him cushion the effect of the sufferings, despite his constant pleas for assistance to organisation and Christians bodies it all fell on deaf ears until 2004 when a missionary body construct a nine rig well for him. The well is now the only source of clean water for the whole village. In fact the opening up of this village to any resemblance of developmental work can be attributed to the work of Evangelist Williams. For many years he was all alone in obscurity preaching, working, and living with the people as a missionary.
He claimed to have over the years written letters to various missionary organisations and even the government but receives little or no reply. He built his own house and church all by himself. Despite his long years of experience as a missionary, he had only received little assistance that could have made his work easier.
The question for all Christians bodies regardless of denomination that needs some pondering is why we have decided to neglect these missionaries doing the work of the LORD which many people have shy away from. How many of us can risk our lives as much as they do? They live their relatively comfortable homes in the urban areas to settle down in those remote villages among strangers, defiling all the dangers and toils that come their way yet get little in return. We know of big churches be oversee by pastors all over the country but what have they done for missionary work?
We must conclude in all truthfulness that the state of missionaries of the late 19th century and the present 21st century is not too different. They still live in the village, go to the stream, trek to the farm and every other attribute of rural setting that were visible part of missionary activities of the 19th century.
There is need for a change in our attitude to missionary activities. The missionaries need all the support they can get in order for them to continue to propagate the gospel to the end of the earth. Remember, Jesus will not come until the gospel has been preached to all corners of the earth!
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