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Ministering in Benin

David: “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3).

Paul: “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that . . . as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified . . .” (Philippians 1:20).

Mary: “My soul doth magnify the Lord” (Luke 1:46).

Like these three pilgrims who have gone before us, our foremost desire here in this needy land of Benin is to MAGNIFY our LORD. Our longing is to help make the name of our Lord Jesus both wonderful and worshiped in the lives of people who are still lost in darkness and despair.

We recognize that the task and the needs are great and that we are feeble men. It is daunting. Nay, it is impossible. But we cast ourselves upon a mighty God who delights in choosing “the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty . . . that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:27, 29). Oh, that His name alone would be magnified.

We, the Paul Kauffman and Eric Cherry families, have been sent by Grace Christian Fellowship in Bainbridge, NY. We moved to Parakou in central Benin, West Africa, in early February of 2007. Because we were beginning a new work in Benin, we spent some time in Parakou to do paperwork, meet with and talk to many missionaries and Beninese, prepare for solar electricity and life in the bush, and get acquainted with our supply town. In talking to many people and praying for God's specific leading, the Lord clearly directed us to the highly unreached Dendi people in the extreme northern tip of Benin. God had begun laying this people group on our hearts seven years ago. So, one year after arriving in Benin, we moved to the village of Karimama. It is on the Niger River, about five to eight hours north of Parakou depending on the season and road conditions. In fact, from our screened-in living room (to help with the 120F°+ heat), we can see the low-lying hills of Niger less than three kilometers to the north.

The name Dendi means “those who follow the river”. As the third largest river in this vast and dark continent, originating far away in Sierra Leone and passing through the Sahara Desert and Timbuktu, the Niger brought our river-followers down from the great Songhai Kingdom of the 15th century. The Dendi and their near-cousins, the Zermas, are scattered throughout northern Benin and southern Niger. We are also surrounded by other fascinating people from other groups such as the Gourmanchema, Xanga, Hausa, and Fulani, some of whom have moved south to escape the blistering Sahara Desert.

The Dendi form a very interesting people group. They are strongly Muslim in their religion and lifestyle. Right now they are nearing the end of their month-long (one lunar cycle) fast called Ramadan. This means they will not eat or drink during the daylight hours. In order to do this they get up at 5 a.m., eat, pray, and then abstain from food or water until nightfall, which is around 7 p.m. here. You can hear the call to prayer in the morning at 5, and again in the afternoon at 2, 4, 6, and 8 o'clock which makes up their five times of required daily prayer. This is one of the five pillars of Islam. This year the “fast” is made especially difficult because it falls during one of the busiest times of the year - the harvest. Can you imagine working long hours in the field under the hot African sun and not being able to take a drink of water? The Dendi are mostly hard-working farmers whose main crops are corn, millet, and sorghum. They also grow peanuts, beans, rice, and cotton among other things. There is the constant challenge of finding enough water for farming, since the Sahara continues to advance south in our direction. Some of the Dendi fish out of the Niger River while others are merchants at our weekly Friday market here in Karimama.

Traditional medicine is also very strong here. Since Benin is the “world headquarters” and birthplace of voodoo, this dark religion and its kind are very much a normal part of life here. The local form is called gri-gri and easily intermingles with the Muslim religion, forming what is called folk Islam. Because of this syncretistic mixture, there is a tension between pure Islam and that which is not. Some of the Izala purists have come over from Nigeria to straighten things out. But when people get sick and find that their false religion, Islam, and its prophet Mohamed cannot help, they still turn to witchcraft for their solutions. Oh, how true Christianity could set these people free!—free to serve the one true God of love and healing who sent His beloved son Jesus, to die in their stead, so that they could be released from their bondage.

We live just a few kilometers from the huge Parc National du W, which gives refuge to some of the remaining wild animals of Africa. That is why we had three enormous elephants come to our village a few months ago on their return trip from crossing the river into Niger for a season. Some cape buffalo have also come to town, which brought out the hunting instincts in some of the people to do as their forefathers had done, before their switch to subsistence farming. Up the road from us are wild camels, reminding us that we are living, as some say, “at the door of the great Desert”.

We have now been living in Karimama for seven months. We have enjoyed transitioning out of the city and into the wild, rugged bush country surrounding Karimama. Our goal here is to learn the Dendi language and culture. Hundreds of years ago the Portuguese colonized Benin, initiated the slave trade, and named the capital Porto Novo. But since France colonized Benin most recently, the official language here is French. Because there are over sixty languages here in Benin, French has helped people to communicate beyond tribal barriers, helping to unify the country just as English has helped in Ghana, where we served previously. One unfortunate difference between these two colonizing powers is that England helped bring Protestant missionaries and culture, whereas France sent unsaved Catholic priests and their culture. This has resulted here in a less developed country and a weaker educational system. It even allowed communism (1972 - 1990) to bring its devastating effect into a country that badly needed political stability. It seems now that people have grown weary of corruption and floundering, and are eager for the positive change and progress, their new president, Yayi Boni, is trying to help them achieve.

However, French is the “language of wider access”. It allows us to do paperwork in Cotonou, the economic capital, and even buy flour at our local market. It is not a heart language for most Beninese, but we do use it as our tool for learning Dendi. One certainly cannot rely on English here! In fact, anyone willing to learn French will gain access to more than twenty African countries and over sixty worldwide. Add that to your knowledge of English and the world is yours to evangelize! We have found it interesting that as we learn the language, we also learn culture, and vice versa.

As we wrestle through the challenge of negotiating meanings in this unique language, we are reminded time and again that it is for the express purpose of sharing God's love directly to the hearts of these dear people in their own mother tongue. Both Martha and I speak to our language teacher, Zibou, in French, which is a second language for us. Our teacher is speaking French, which is also his second language. How wonderful it will be to, someday soon after the agony and toil, be able to communicate the love of Jesus to our Muslim teacher in his heart language, Dendi ciine. What joy unspeakable! Then we will be able to carry that message up the road outside our house, northwest along the Niger River, to villages and peoples that have never heard the Good News or the name of Jesus even once. As was said above, may we say along with King David, “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3).

• Effective language learning in Dendi
• Good health and relationships
• Protection for our children against immoral assaults
• The Holy Spirit to prepare hearts for His gospel
• Faithful Beninese to stand against persecution in the midst of conversions from Islam

Thank you for your interest and your prayers. May God richly bless you!

Privileged to be a servant for His glorious Name's sake, Eric Cherry

Mailing Address:

Mission de Grace
(family name)
B.P. 110
Malanville, Benin
Afrique de l'Ouest

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