More precious than gold

A detour to see the gold fields on our way to visit a tribal village got me thinking about parallels with the work NTM is doing here in Senegal.

Under the relentless sun, each worker toiled at his or her assigned task amid a fusion of sounds: the dull ring of rock struck by iron picks and dabas (a short, traditional digging implement), men and women grunting while hauling up heavy buckets, and the clatter of quartz chunks tossed aside or bagged for crushing, accompanied by a continuous murmur in different languages -- Budik, Malinké and Pulaar.

After the quartz is dug up, hauled out, inspected and sorted, promising samples are pulverized, using a mortar and pestle fashioned from an old welding bottle and a truck axle. The crushed stone goes through a sieve to remove all but the finest particles, then into a "pan" -- a scrap of old inner tube -- to be tested.

The tester holds the inner tube over a small tub of muddy water, and slowly drips water into the crushed rock. He adds more water, and rocks the pan back and forth with a gentle circular motion to bring the heaviest of the tiny pieces to the edge. And suddenly … perhaps … a glint of gold!

It was easy to see similarities with the work in the Budik village where Ron and Debbie Abram, Ken and Kathy Satorius and Steve and Jessica Bastow have ministered for more than 30 years. (Steve and Jessica now run the guest home for NTM in Senegal.) And it’s like the experience of many NTM missionaries in Senegal, elsewhere in Africa, and in other parts of the world.

They’ve labored long and hard in isolated villages, in difficult-to-learn languages, dealing with an inhospitable climate and seemingly incomprehensible cultures to bring the Gospel to tribal people -- who often have little response. They have faced illnesses such as malaria, hepatitis and dengue fever, and even death. Ken and Kathy’s 15-year-old son died from an allergic reaction to an insect sting in March 1993.

But the missionaries have continued to be faithful in the work God has given them to do.

Although NTM has worked in Senegal among eight different people groups, including the Budiks, for more than 50 years, probably fewer than 100 believers have come to faith as a direct result of NTM’s ministry. But like the few grains of gold that appear in the pan at the end of all the hard work, they are precious; their value is far beyond that of mere gold, causing all Heaven to rejoice. (Luke 15:7; 1 Peter 1:7)