Gary Fallesen / Monday, December 5, 2011 / Categories: Nigeria, Mission: Nigeria 2011, Dispatches Tuesday, Dec. 6 Meet our new brother in Christ — Waneke. We hiked up 1,300 vertical feet in 100-degree heat that is apparently common during the dry season in the Koma Hills. We reached the village of Wagi. All of the villagers were out farming, but we found a boy to send for the village chief. Waneke arrived and we sat with him under the shade of a tree. We learned a little about him and his village. There is a church there, but Waneke does not attend. “His father made him a traditional head. He cannot be Christian,” said Lazarus, who served as our translator in the Wagi dialect (many villages have their own dialects). We talked about his god, who is called Kenno. In some villages the people worship the head of a grandmother. They will also make sacrifices — usually of goats. I instructed Chris to share Jesus with Waneke, and we prayed for the Holy Spirit to penetrate the man's heart. Chris told Waneke about Christ, and a God who created him and loves him so much that He wants him to spend eternity with Him in heaven. “What has Kenno done for you?“ Chris asked. Waneke could not answer. Finally, Waneke said something in Wagi to Lazarus. “He wants to live.” All heaven rejoiced along with us! I asked Waneke if he knew how to pray. He said he did not. I told him to just talk to God and Waneke closed his eyes and spoke for the first time to the One True God. As we hiked back down to Tantille, Chris said: “God arranged that. He sent Enoch (to translate for us in Wiwp) and Lazarus in Wagi. I believe he was (divinely) inspired to translate.“ This special day had been prepared for us by God before time began. Monday, Dec. 5 Wednesday, Dec. 7 Print 3829 Gary FallesenGary Fallesen Other posts by Gary Fallesen Contact author