All the way to Timbuktu

Adelia Ladson

April 08, 2006 11:33 pm

— “I had to come to Africa to slow myself down,” said Belinda Allen of Moultrie, a physical therapist with Regional Therapy Services, Inc., who is part of New Directions International Ministry, a mom and pop organization started by J.L. and Patt Williams, out of Burlington, N.C.
Allen and her son, Slate Greene, left from Moultrie on March 2 and headed for Africa, where they visited three different countries during the course of two and a half weeks. Tanya Hollady of Tallahassee, Fla., a co-worker of Allen’s, also made the trip with them. This was part of a mission trip sponsored by New Directions International Ministry.
Their first stop was in Timbuktu, Mali, where they stayed with the Marshalls, a family of missionaries who have been living for 20 years on a compound in a village that is located in an oasis on the very edge of the Sahara Desert.
While there, they held a women’s conference at Evangelist Baptist Missions Church to address such issues as marriage, physical and sexual abuse and how to protect their children. Some of the women traveled 400 miles over difficult roads and rough landscape to attend the conference and then slept on a concrete floor for the entire four days of the conference.
“Talk about dedication — and we can’t even stay in church for an hour,” said Allen.
The Allens and Hollady were able to visit the oldest mosque in the world and take a ride on camels. The people still used caravans of camels to make a three-week trek across the Sahara Desert on their way to get salt and minerals to bring back to the village.
“This gave new meaning to the three wise men,” said Allen laughing about her camel adventure.
The next place they visited, also to facilitate a women’s conference, was Kumasi, Ghana. Allen made the observation that where she found Timbuktu to be hot and dry, Kumasi was hot and humid. They stayed in a “guesthouse” in the city and, as before, the focus of the women’s conference they hosted was “being a woman of integrity.” Once again, they had a successful turn-out for the event.
In Ghana, they toured an elementary school that was started by Pastor Timothy, a man who wanted to give the children of the city a better start in life than he had. Only a few of them, though, will have the chance to further their education in a higher learning facility. The area was very poor and the residents lived in tin-roofed houses in a kind of shanty village. The mission group helped serve lunch to the children during their visit to the school.
“They feed the children three meals a day, so they will come to learn,” said Allen.
The last leg of their journey was by a small plane to a remote valley in Kenya where a sports camp was being built by N.D.I. as part of their ministry. The Sports Camp Ministry at South Horr was started by Bud Chittendon, who succumbed to cancer before the completion of the project. The Allens and Hollady helped to bring supplies like furniture and food to the camp. They lived in huts with kerosene lanterns instead of electricity and worked to get the camp up and running. The camp had a basketball court and soccer field that would function as a large part of the program.
This part of Kenya is still very tribal, and the Samburu tribe dominates the area. The Maples, a family of missionaries, have been living at this outpost of Christianity since 2004. They replaced the missionaries who initially built the house, church and ministry that they are now entrusted with.
The delegation of American missionaries attended and helped to bring about the first Christian wedding ever performed in that entire tribal area. The wedding was a blend of the old Samburu traditions and the new Christian traditions that were being developed among the people. The bride, groom and wedding party wore traditional red garments and accented their hair and bodies with a red dye characteristic to the culture. The couple was married on the basketball court of the sports camp, and it was decorated with colorful streamers for the occasion. About 400 people literally walked out of “the bush” to attend the marriage ceremony, said Allen. The bride and groom exchanged rings and included the western tradition of cutting the wedding cake, even though they were both amused by the ritual. Women from the village started cooking the morning of the wedding and prepared food for 600 guests. Stakwell and Francesca Limperias, the newlywedded couple, plan to visit Moultrie in May, where they will speak with area churches about their mission. They will stay with the Allens while they are in this community.
“From the Sahara Desert of Timbuktu to the mountains of Kenya, Africa has a calmness that nurtures the body, mind and spirit, while at the same time, giving you a greater appreciation of the things we take for granted,” said Allen of this unique missionay experience to Africa.