“Do you know why our people go to the forest to sacrifice?” Basile asked.

The old man shrugged. He had never thought about why.

“Would you like to know?” And so Basile began telling the story of Eve wandering through the Garden of Eden until she came to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, where she met the serpent, who tricked her into disobeying God. Man, whom God had created to live a life of peace and joy in His presence, became Satan’s subject, living under a constant curse.

“You return to the forest, to a tree, every time you want to ask God for something or to make a sacrifice to get rid of some calamity or sickness. You say that you are worshipping Kuyié (God) there, but it is the serpent who awaits you at the tree, the same Satan who separated man from God and caused all this trouble.”

Our team listened as Basile reported on his first visit to a remote village without any Adventist presence. This is such a simple yet ingenious connection between the story of the fall and the Otammari people’s sacred forests, I thought. I thanked God for adding Basile to our team.

Basile is a second-generation Adventist. His father, Bernard, was one of the first contacts for former AFM missionary Linden St. Clair in the late 1990s. Although Bernard never got baptized—he was unwilling to make some important changes in his life—he continues to attend church and has faithfully raised his many children as Adventists.

Earlier this year, our evangelist Jean, who had faithfully worked in the village of Kouaba for several years, told us that he and his family would have to leave to care for his sick mother in Togo. We were sad to lose Jean, and we needed to find his replacement. Fierce spiritual battles mark Kouaba. Our efforts to share the gospel there, even the presence of an evangelist, have been resisted with much hostility over the years.

We needed someone with solid faith and a strong prayer life. Lead evangelist Hyacinthe suggested we recruit someone from Bernard’s village rather than someone from the biggest Otammari church in Boukombé. He explained: “Although we are all Otammari, we from Boukombé are still considered outsiders in Kouaba, since we are from a different branch. They do not trust us. People from Bernard’s village, however, are from the same tribe as them. They speak the same dialect, have the same traditional facial scars, the same rituals and ceremonies and, therefore, might be better accepted.”

After much prayer, we asked Basile if he would be willing to join our team. Since he deeply loved Jesus and evangelism was part of his DNA, he accepted the call and moved to Kouaba. A few weeks later, he reported that he was well received wherever he went and easily connected with old and young alike.

Kouaba remains the devil’s stronghold. But thanks to intense prayers and Basile’s presence, doors are starting to open. Please pray for Basile and the people of Kouaba.

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