200 Feet for Love
Maybe she ran for her life from the jihadists with those feet, I think as my hands wash off the dust. When I'm finished, the elderly lady in front of me sings "Jesus loves me" and we both start to cry.
In the south: relief supplies and schools
We are at the headquarters of ACP Néhémie Mali in the capital Bamako in the south of the country. 100 guests are crowded into the small courtyard. They have all experienced persecution because of their faith in Jesus. Over the course of the morning we hear about a few fates. When our project manager announces that we not only want to distribute relief supplies, but also wash everyone's feet, there is restless shuffling and murmuring. After initial hesitation, the first people sit down on the chairs that have been prepared. We kneel in front of the water bowls and wash the feet of all 100 people present.
What initially seems strange to everyone involved becomes a truly heavenly experience. The atmosphere changes, hearts are drawn to one another. We are no longer the benefactors from the West who sit in places of honor and hand out aid - we are allowed to do what Jesus did for his disciples. An older man says: "I am over 60 years old, but no one has ever washed my feet. I would not have expected that from you white people."
Everyone present here has experienced trauma. The situation in Mali has been deteriorating for years. Since the coup in May 2021, a military government has been governing the West African country, which is increasingly sinking into misery. AVC is committed to combating poverty and high illiteracy in Mali: through our school in the southwest of Bamako, an orphanage north of the capital, through direct aid and training programs for teenagers and young adults.
Jihadist groups are wreaking havoc in the north of Mali, and most Christians have left the region. But central Mali is no longer a safe place either. Christians here are also threatened with forced conversion, expropriation and death. Through our local partner ACP Néhémie Mali, we support those most affected.
One of them is Adriana*, who is of Arab descent, with her three children. When the widow tries to tell of the jihadist attack on her village near Timbuktu and the atrocities committed against children and women, her voice fails her. After the attack, her pastor told her that someone would come at 4 a.m. to smuggle her out of the village. She opened the door when there was a knock at 3 a.m. It was jihadists. When asked if she was the Arab Christian, Adriana said yes and said: "For Jesus, there are no Arabs and no Bambara**. He saves, he heals - that is Jesus!"
The terrorists then took her son and tortured the boy for eleven hours. When they brought him back, they threw the child at her feet and said: "Here's your donkey!" Adriana managed to escape to Bamako, but life in the capital is hard. The children are severely traumatized. Adriana is grateful for the prayers of the other Christians and for the aid supplies from ACP Néhémie Mali, which are a great help.
Abraham tells us about the attack by jihadists on his village in central Mali. The man, who is in his mid-sixties, is a well-known evangelist in the area. It was a Saturday. Abraham was working his fields. When the terrorists shot at him, he pretended to be dead. But because his family was still in the village, he sneaked back at night. He found his loved ones in the only room in the house that the terrorists had not searched. But they had taken everything of value. And so he had only two choices: either he left the area or he became a Muslim. That same night, Abraham fled south with his family. Life as a refugee in the capital is difficult for them too.
A village of hope
But there is now hope for families like Adriana and Abraham's. In the summer of 2024, ACP Néhémie Mali will begin building a village on a piece of land near Bamako. At least 30 families of persecuted Christians who have been particularly badly hit will find a new home here. But this project is not just about giving refugees a roof over their heads, it is also about bringing the gospel and thus hope into a Muslim environment. The mayor of the municipality to which the ACP village is to be connected is very open to the project.
After an intensive day at the ACP Néhémie Mali center, the guests receive relief supplies: 100 kg of rice and 20 liters of oil for each family. That is enough for the next three months. The impressions of the foot washing in Mali will stay with me for the rest of my life.
* Name changed
** West African ethnic group and language
