Holiday in Gao

When you live in a developing country, it’s amazing what qualifies as a vacation. Last Sunday the entire AG missionary team packed up for a three-night holiday in Gao, Mali. After a long, hard summer and fall, everyone was ready for an escape from Niamey. Having only been here three weeks, I was in no need of a break. But, I am always up for exploring new places and adding a few more stamps to my passport.

How do you define a nation in Africa? By the arbitrary political boundaries established by European colonizers, or by the people that inhabit those lands? Gao is home to same tribes that make the majority of Niamey’s indigenous population: the Tuareg, the Djerma, the Fulani and the Hausa. Walking through the marketplace I heard the song of familiar tongues and was met with the hospitality of familiar cultures. When I was called to Africa, God didn’t give me a burden for the nation of Niger. He gave me a burden for the nations of that land. I fell in love with its people, not its borders; with its tribes, not its government.

Even though we spent most of our time being tourists and taking photos, the trip was about more than just sightseeing. It was a vision quest. Here’s a quick geography lesson. If you head west from Niamey, in 115km (70 miles) you run into Tillabery. Tillabery marks the end of the AG church reach. You only need go another 100km (60 miles) to reach the Niger/Mali border and from there it’s only another 200km (120 miles) to Gao. In that 300km stretch from Tillabery to Gao there are dozens of villages with almost no NGO aid presence, and no churches. The same highway and the same river connect all of these cities.

The whole trip Rodrigo, Brent, Dave and I were looking for opportunities for ministry in the future. We spent a long afternoon visiting with a Tuareg pastor, Cigdi, learning about the city and its needs. Rodrigo and I talked the whole way back about the possibilities we saw there. There is so much potential for partnership and mutual growth between the three cities. With a 5-year, multiple-entry visa there is no telling what may come of the relationships we made there. God knows.

On the tourist side of the trip, we were able to see some pretty awesome things. We visited the tomb of Mohammed Askia, ruler of the Songhoy Empire. We were also able to see the active archeological site where they were digging through the palace ruins. We took a long riverboat ride to see the Pink Dunes where the movie Sahara was filmed. We all climbed and took pictures, but I was the only one who persisted to the highest dune. From the heights of the dune I could see for miles in every directions over the flat, desert terrain. To the South I could look down the river towards Niger. To the North I could look up the river towards Timbuktu.  East stood Gao and West was a vacant desert, with only the occasional Tuareg tent. Standing atop that giant hill, I realized what Abraham must have felt like when God took him to a high point to show him the Promised Land. “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward, southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you.” Genesis 13:14-15.

Riding back from the dunes on a moonlit river, Dave’s youngest son, Nathanial, fell asleep in my lap.  His elder son, Sam, fell asleep in his father’s lap.  While reclining Dave said, “Google Earth this moment. Zoom-out and think about where we are and what we are doing. It doesn’t get much better than this.” I had to agree.