Bandéo, Burkina Faso, was a land covered by forest and wild animals. It took physical strength and courage for people to live there. The first group to settle were the Nebié. Because of its thick forest and the energy and courage it took the Nebié people to clear the forest, the village was named Bandéo, meaning a town of strong men. During the colonial period, Westerners took away many historical artifacts, weapons, and idols that were being worshiped. The villagers swore that none of their descendants would ever again have a relationship with a Westerner. Because of that, the village did not experience outside civilization nor receive help or education from Westerners for many years.
In the early 2000s, the government started to build schools, but many children and adolescents did not attend because they didn’t understand the value. In early 2013, the evangelical mission of the Baptist Church started an outreach with many young people. However, the outreach did little to change things because of the locals’ attachment to traditional beliefs — mainly to animism, a belief that there is a spiritual essence in objects, places, and animals and that those objects have agency and free will. Animism promotes worship of any idol they may see as a god.
Young Life began in Bandéo in early 2020 and was a turning point for many young people. Nebié Lassina participated in the first Young Life training in the Tita area and was an early champion of the establishment of Young Life in Bandéo. Lassina recruited five influential friends and taught them what he learned during his training. They collaborated and did contact work for a few months, and by late 2020, the club launched with six leaders and 38 male and female teenagers in attendance. Of the 38 teens,14 accepted Christ that day. Since then, Young Life has continued reaching out to young people and many have started following Jesus. There are now six people who serve as volunteer leaders from that original club.
Among the teens whose lives have been transformed is Bertin. His father disliked Young Life because it was a Christian organization. He would send Bertin far away on an errand if he noticed club was happening, thinking it would be over before Bertin returned. Despite the tricks to stop him from attending, Bertin did all he could to be there, even for just the ending, and his love for Young Life and Jesus grew. Bertin’s brothers found out he was going and told their father, who tried to instill fear by saying Bertin would be initiated at an early age to an idol in animism, which was not the norm. Boys are usually initiated and declared a man from ages 18 to 20. Bertin requested that his father let him choose who he wanted to worship, and his father decided to allow it.
His brothers were unhappy about this decision and planned to beat him. Bertin told Bruno, his Young Life leader, what was happening. Bruno went to Bertin’s home and warned the brothers that he would involve the police if they touched Bertin, and they left Bertin alone to worship whomever he chose. Many other teens in Bandéo also desire to attend Young Life events and to follow Jesus, but their parents and superstitious beliefs hold them back. Although there is still more to be done, leaders relentlessly pursue teenagers with the good news of Jesus as they courageously go into the dark places to soften hearts and give hope to the next generation.
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