Returning to Nigeria in May 2015 after the kidnapping changed everything in our work among the Fulani people.
“Now we know you really love us!” the Fulani told me.
“Now we know you’re serious about planned grazing on reserves as a solution to the problems between farmers and herdsmen,” the government said, and gave me a resident’s permit, a four-year collaborative contract and three grazing reserves to manage holistically.
Of course, God was in the lead from the very beginning.
The Saturday before the week in which I was to go with a representative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to introduce our plans to the Fulani leaders of these three reserves, the rep called to tell me that something had come up and I’d have to make the journey alone. I was truly blown away.
How was I, an American woman with absolutely no ranching experience, to tell Fulani herdsmen, with the knowledge and experience of generations, how to graze their cattle?
I fell on my face before God and begged Him for His help. I prayed for wisdom, for mental and physical strength, most of all for HIS favor and the favor of the Fulani people. And God answered my prayer.
From that day until this, God has poured out His favor upon me and upon this work, always going before me, always opening the way, always preparing the hearts and minds of the people I go to meet.
As you well know, I work in a country where kidnapping, armed robbery and terrorism run rampant. But God has me and my team in His safety net, under the shadow of His wings.
From November through February this year, my staff and I hosted four teams from the U.S., driving them up and down the country, visiting and staying in remote areas, sleeping in the bush. But throughout those many weeks, no sickness, no attacks, no trouble of any kind.
And God continues to open new doors for the Gospel to reach those who have never before heard the name of Jesus.
Let me share a very recent, stunning example of the way God does His work!
Rev Nelson and Pastor Fred, one of the four teams I mentioned, came in January to do an in-depth training for our pastors in the Northern Nigeria Annual Conference. The focal point of the training was our responsibility to obey Jesus’ command to go and make disciples of all nations.
Rev Nelson introduced us to the Joshua Project, an interactive website which identifies and gives information on unreached people groups of the world.
1. Upon investigation we discovered that there are 541 people groups in Nigeria, 90 of which are unreached by the Gospel. If you will read the subtitles, you will see that….
Red dots represent 31.4% unreached. Orange, 1.1% minimally reached. Yellow, 1.3% superficially reached. Light green, 10.9% partially reached. Dark green, 55.4% Significantly reached.
2. Well, during one of the sessions, I had a phone call from a friend, calling to invite me to go with him to visit friends living on the Mambila Plateau in Taraba State, shown on this map by the red star in the far southeast corner of Nigeria.
Having never heard of the Mambila Plateau, I quickly looked it up and discovered that it’s the home of the Mambila people, and that they are one of the 90 unreached people groups in Nigeria! With growing excitement, (was God opening another door?) I made plans to go and visit the plateau, but two days before we were to leave, that was on February 18, my friend called and cancelled!
What? Another cancellation right before another momentous journey? Is it something I said? Or did?
Carol, my last remaining visitor, was still with me, and in spite of losing our guide, we were not to be deterred from taking this trip!
3. So I phoned my friend’s Christian family living in Jalingo, Taraba state, and explained the situation. He had taken me to Jalingo years ago, after I first met him – he took me there to meet his sister Mariamu, a Christian, married to our first Fulani pastor, Pastor Ardo. All of Ardo and Mariamu’s eight children are strong Christians.
4. FMC signboard…
5. When he heard of our wish to visit the Plateau, Pastor Ardo promised that his eldest son Habu would accompany us, and so we set off from Abuja, on the first of a several days’ journey, stopping first in Jalingo to meet up with Habu and spend the night.
In Jalingo came the first indication that God was indeed at work!
6. Pastor Ardo told us that he was close friends with His Royal Highness, Dr Emmanuel Njiwah, the Mbondua Mbamnga – lead Chief of Mambila Plateau! And, moreover, Dr. Njiwah just happened to be in town, and had invited us to meet him in his palace! That afternoon!
The visit was incredible! Dr. Njiwah, a highly educated man, gave us the history of the Mambila people, told us tales of their movements under first the Germans then the French and English, to Cameroon and back, then he told us the surprising news that the Mambila were the original Bantu tribe, a tribe which had dispersed from Nigeria hundreds of years ago into the vast area stretching from Central to Southern Africa.
Dr. Njiwah then connected us with other Mambila leaders on the Plateau: the Chairman of the Local Government, Chief of Staff, Education Secretary and others, letting them know that we were coming and to be prepared to host us while we were there!
7. It was a long and winding road up the hillside into the Plateau – only one road into this area which continues into Cameroon just a few kilometers farther along.
8. Carol kept asking Habu, “Are we there yet?” Habu kept saying, yes, we’re almost there! But when we finally arrived, it was well worth it!
9. Rolling hills as far as the eye could see, lines of eucalyptus and pines along ridges and roads, tiny hamlets, cows grazing on the hillsides. We could have been in Nebraska or Northern California.
10. This highest Plateau in Nigeria is 1,600 metres above sea level with an area of over 3 thousand square kilometers. Isolated in this unique environment among the clouds, the Mambila and Fulani live in a world of their own.
11. We were met in Gembu town by the Chief of Staff and given a tour of four schools by the Education Secretary and his assistant Director. They asked us to return and become involved with the schools and training of the teachers.
12. One of the schools was for Fulani children. A Fulani chief had donated land and built the first classroom blocks, hired teachers, before the government came in to assist.
13. We visited this chief at his home and were introduced to his herd of cattle! The chief asked us to come back to teach him and other herdsmen about planned, rotational grazing!
14. We only met one other Fulani on Mambila, and that was Habu’s sister Sefia, married to a Mambila man – both of them are strong Christians. I asked Sefia if there were other Christian Fulani on the Plateau – she personally knew of only three.
Back in Jalingo, I again met with Habu’s father, Pastor Ardo, a fearless evangelist and successful church planter, and asked him about starting a new work on the Mambila Plateau. His close friendship with His Royal Highness Dr Njiwah and the fact that Ardo’s Christian daughter and Mambila son-in-law live on the Plateau would give us an advantageous place to start. We agreed to pray about this and to visit the Plateau again as soon as possible.
15. Then my friend called to tell me that he’s been elected Chairman of Fulani herdsmen in Rivers State. He asked if I would come asap to go with him to the Governor and begin the process of requesting grazing reserves for herdsmen in Rivers and other Southern States where presently there are none. I told him I would try to come when I’m back in Nigeria.
The day before Carol and I were to fly back to the U.S. we went to meet the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria, at his request.
New in his position, the Perm Sec wanted to see me face to face before signing the new four-year contract I’ve been given to work with the Federal Government on grazing reserves. We shook hands when we parted, happy with the meeting, happy with the fact that we’re on the same page about holistic management and rotational grazing!
God has turned His face toward the Fulani people, has made His face to shine upon the Fulani people, and is allowing us to have a small part in His work.
This work of SFA is growing and expanding in every direction, and is urgent.
Our mandate is to go into all the world and make disciples in every nation….a mandate requiring workers and finances.
We are certain that God will meet both of these needs.