It is wonderful being back and serving in The Gambia. Each day I look for opportunities to come alongside of my Gambian friends and neighbors and shine the light of Christ in some small way. Many evenings or early mornings as I sit and reflect on my day and as I pray and give thanks to the Lord for the encounters He gives I am saddened by how many people here are lost and far from the truth of Jesus Christ.
A few days ago a Gambian woman was at my home and we sat on my front porch discussing paths to salvation in our different beliefs and holy writings. She laid out two paths; the first where people tried to do good in this messy world but they could not do good and they kept stumbling off the sides of the path ending in the fire and the second path almost as sad where the path was very tiny and narrow and people were on it trying very, very hard to stay on the path and do enough good that they might have a little bit of hope that they could end up with God in heaven. She openly admitted that no one can do good and that all they can do with her beliefs is hope they did enough. This gave me an opportunity to share about the one true path from the word of God. The path where people believe that Jesus is Lord and that He died and payed the price for our sins paving the way to heaven for all who believe. I pray that God would illuminate to her the only path to Him.
In addition to the predominant religious beliefs here many Gambians also have strong beliefs in superstitions and jujus (amulets to bless them or ward off evil spirits). These beliefs impact almost everything they do and are even placed on newborns at birth for protection. Praise God there is freedom and power in Jesus Christ. Please take a moment and as you read this article sharing more about some of the traditional beliefs that still permeate this culture take a moment and pray for the Gambian people to see the light, truth, power and freedom of Christ.
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