African Safari for Jesus

By Herman Bauman

The book: African Safari for Jesus is an endeavor to give a genuine picture of what it is like for an American family, including three very young boys, to leave home and go to a place that is a totally different world, to serve as missionaries. The Herman Bauman family left Washington State to go to Nigeria, West Africa, where Pastor Bauman was to serve as a theology professor at the Adventist College of West Africa. In that place they would experience sickness and danger unimagined and would be subjected to religious philosophies, principles and methods that are beyond belief. However, amid the poverty and primitive conditions they would be privileged to befriend and help train dedicated, brilliant African leaders who would far surpass anything missionaries had ever done, and could ever do, in making an impact for God in that huge continent.

Before leaving for Nigeria the Baumans studied a great deal about that part of Africa to help prepare them for service there. They discovered that the place where they were going was located in the jungle, just about on the equator. It had almost constant temperatures in the uppers 90s F. with humidity in the high 90% as well. Average rainfall exceeded 200 inches per year. The area had long been called the white mans grave because of the numerous, often fatal, tropical diseases that were rampant there. It would be wrong to suggest that there was not some fear and trepidation in their hearts as they prepared to embark on their challenging adventure, however, many miracles made it clear that God wanted them to go.

Their journey to Africa was by cargo ship on a vessel named the AFRICAN PLANET. They had many interesting experiences as their 29 day trip included stopping at many African ports en route.

A civil war was raging between Nigeria and Biafra (formerly East Nigeria) when the Baumans arrived in Nigeria. This added considerably to the innate danger that existed in that country. Travel on any highways included being required to go through military check points which included threats from armed soldiers.

In the midst of extremely poor, filthy conditions, and located right in the midst of thick jungle, the Adventist College of West Africa was located. It was a beautiful campus and was blessed with dedicated faculty and highly motivated, consecrated students who had a great desire to improve their status in life and to prepare themselves for service to their fellow men.

Though the large African beasts, such as lions, leopards and elephants didnt exist in that part of Africa there were extremely dangerous beasts. For instance, it seemed that every kind of snake was found in that jungle environment. There were Adders, Cobras, Mambas and Vipers, in addition to the constrictor Pythons. Snakes were seen virtually every day. Within a week of their arrival in Nigeria the Baumans five year old son was attacked by what is often referred to as the most vicious animal in Africa.

Though there were many Christian denominations present, the dominant religion was a pagan religion, Animism. Animism teaches that there is a soul in everything, animate or inanimate. They worship many gods, at least 1700 of which are known by name. Daily sacrifices are offered to the gods to plead for their blessings and to assure that the worshipper is accepted. Sometimes even human sacrifices are offered. In the city of Benin a large statue of a woman occupies a prominent place in front of the house of the Oba, the king of the city. It is a memorial to the wife of the Oba many years ago who was offered as a sacrifice to the gods in order to bring peace to their city. The Juju man, their witch doctor, is the leader of their religion and makes demands of the worshippers. He also is involved in carrying out threats against perceived enemies. Their theology includes the belief that all who have died have gone on to live in another location and the people

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 14, 2008
• ISBN: 9781462825370

Herman Bauman

Herman Bauman was a farm boy, born and reared in Wisconsin. In his early years, he lived in a religious environment, but didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. When he was sixteen years old a young baptize preacher led him to Jesus and salvation. Herman believed he was called by God to be a preacher and, against all odds, prepared for that profession. He pursued an education, married a wonderful young woman, the former Janice Wright, and together they served the Lord very successfully in ministry for than 44 years. They are now retired in Arizona.

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African Safari

for Jesus

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Herman Bauman

Copyright © 2008 by Herman Bauman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

OK Lord, We’ll Go

CHAPTER 2

We’re On Our Way

CHAPTER 3

Nigeria At Last

CHAPTER 4

Getting To Know You, Nigeria

CHAPTER 5

School Starts At Last

CHAPTER 6

God Is Working Here

CHAPTER 7

A Trip To Ghana

CHAPTER 8

Home Again In Nigeria

CHAPTER 9

Off To Liberia

CHAPTER 10

The Last Goodbye

CHAPTER 11

The Whole Family Goes To North Nigeria

CHAPTER 12

Safely Back At ACWA

CHAPTER 13

Celebrating Christmas In Ghana

CHAPTER 14

Death Is Real Here, Even For Missionaries

CHAPTER 15

The Students Are Evangelists Too

CHAPTER 16

Another North Nigerian Field School

CHAPTER 17

The Ore Festival

CHAPTER 18

Ministry In Sierra Leone

CHAPTER 19

Home Again With My Family

CHAPTER 20

A Land Of Intrigue And Tradition

CHAPTER 21

Fanaticism And Death

CHAPTER 22

The War Is Over

CHAPTER 23

In Nigeria Life Returns To Normal

CHAPTER 24

Furlough Time In The Good Ole USA

CHAPTER 25

Home Again In Nigeria

CHAPTER 26

Illness All Around

CHAPTER 27

The Work Must Go On

CHAPTER 28

A Personal Brush With Death

CHAPTER 29

The Last Time Around

CHAPTER 30

God Is Still Working Through Us All

CHAPTER 31

In Africa It Is Better Than Ever

Dedication

I proudly dedicate this book to Janice my wife of 49 years. She has brought the ultimate in happiness into my life. She willingly moved with me 27 times as our ministry took us to various areas of the United States. But beyond that she, with a heart of faith, agreed to take our three sons, age four, five & six, and go with me to Africa, to a place where we would be exposed to hardships & danger. But it was a place also where we would experience blessing far beyond our fondest expectations.

PREFACE

I have read a lot of missionary books and so have you. I feel safe in informing you that this one will be different from any you have read in the past.

Most books telling of missionary experiences and the lives of missionaries simply focus on the blessings of God in producing great results for His kingdom in souls won and other spectacular victories accomplished. Some of these elements will also be a part of my book.

However, I have decided to write a book telling what it is really like to be a missionary. I want to let you in on some of the real experiences that come to a person who is living in a strange environment in a far away land. I’d like you to catch just a bit of the reality of what life is all about for a missionary who leaves home and its comforts, leaves dear ones behind and goes to an unknown culture to try to share the love of Jesus. I think you will see that it is not quite like living in your home country and sharing your faith with a neighbor down the street.

It may seem to you that some of the things I describe in this book are pretty far-fetched. You might even think that I have let my imagination run away with me. BUT I assure you that all I have shared in this book is real. I very carefully kept a daily journal for all the years my family and I were in Africa. This book is the result of those entries I made in that journal.

It is my sincere hope that reading this book will help you to realize more than ever that missions are real, that missionaries still make sacrifices, that people still need to be reached for the gospel and that God has done, and will continue to do, wonderful things through the power of His Spirit as missionaries share their love for Jesus. But I hope you will also grasp the significance of allowing the indigenous people the privilege and responsibility of carrying the load of doing God’s work in their areas of the world. They can do it far better than we ever could.

I am so happy and thankful to have had the privilege of helping to train Africans for leadership in carrying forward God’s work. They have demonstrated that God is blessing THEIR work for Him in a way that we could never even have imagined possible. PRAISE GOD!!

CHAPTER 1

OK Lord, We’ll Go

There is an old story told of a man who was converted to the Lord Jesus quite young in his life. From the first he felt a great desire to serve the Lord in some special way. He prayed, Lord send me anywhere to do whatever I can to share the message of Your love. The answer seemed to come from the Lord, Would you go to Africa? His response was, Oh Lord, please, anywhere but Africa. He couldn’t help thinking of all the stories he had heard of Africa with its wild animals, disease and tribal warriors.

He continued to grow in his Christian experience and was looked upon as a leader in his church. Before long he was elected to serve as a deacon. He continued to pray that prayer, Lord send me anywhere to share the message of Your love. And the answer came back, Are you willing to go to Africa? His response was always, Oh, Lord, anywhere but Africa.

He married and raised a wonderful family. He served many years as an elder in his church. He was truly a highly spiritual man. He continued to pray his prayer, Lord send me anywhere to share the message of Your love. God’s response always seemed to be the same, Will you go to Africa? And he answered consistently, Anywhere but Africa.

He continued to grow in the Lord. His spiritual leadership in the church was impeccable. But there was one significant thing that bothered him: should he go to Africa? Finally as he entered his senior years he prayed the prayer of complete surrender to God’s will. He said, Lord send me anywhere to share the message of Your love, even to Africa. The Lord responded, I didn’t really want you to go to Africa, I just wanted you to be WILLING to go.

Early in my ministry I was thankful that the Lord didn’t present any such challenge to me. I graduated from the seminary at Potomac University and my wife, Jan, and I went to the Wisconsin Conference to begin our ministry. God really wonderfully blessed and by the time I was 25 years old I was presented with the opportunity to serve as the Conference Evangelist. Evangelism was always my passion and to have been given that opportunity so early in my ministry was incredible. I served there in Wisconsin for four years and then was called to the Upper Columbia Conference, an area covering eastern Washington, northern Idaho and northeastern Oregon, to serve as their Conference Evangelist. We had such a wonderful experience and were so greatly blessed to have Lorie Purdey, a very close college friend, serve as my singing evangelist, assisted by his wife, Doris. We were so fortunate to have the privilege of working with them in this area as we had also done in Wisconsin. Each year we were also privileged to have a young minister, who served as an intern, with us who functioned as our campaign manager. God was so good. How could we be so fortunate?! God really blessed our efforts with a wonderful harvest of souls. That was what we had dreamed of and prayed for. We saw it as our special role for the rest of the years of our ministry.

In 1966 Jan and I attended the General Conference session of our church in Detroit, Michigan, where delegates from all over the world came together to do the business of the church. As we were looking at the various mission displays, the president of one of the African Divisions asked me if I had ever considered mission service. I assured him that I had not. He hastened to explain to me that he had a position open into which he felt I could fit. He told me he needed an evangelist for his Union area and that the evangelist would also serve as the farm manager for the college there. I hastened to tell him that I would have no interest, especially because I was not interested in serving as a farm manager. He quickly informed me that I had the wrong attitude and that I should be willing to serve wherever, and in whatever capacity, the Lord needed me. Needless to say, we came from that General Conference session more convinced than ever that God definitely didn’t want us to serve as missionaries.

We returned to our work as Conference Evangelist in the Upper Columbia Conference. God led us to the small town of Hermiston, Oregon, with a population of only about 4000, where our local congregation had just built a new church. Wonderful Christian doctors in the congregation had a very positive reputation in that community. The congregation planned an open house for their new church and invited the whole town, with the doctors especially inviting all their patients. It was planned in such a way so that our evangelistic series would begin that very night, following the open house, in the new church. The response of the community to that open house and to the evangelistic series that followed was wonderful. God blessed our efforts with 94 baptisms, including 18 husbands of Adventist member wives. Oh, how we rejoiced! It was obvious that we were where God wanted us.

During our series in Hermiston I received a letter from the General Conference one day. It asked if I had ever thought of serving as a missionary. If so I was asked to fill out a brief form they enclosed. No, I had not thought of it and I was not interested. We were doing what God wanted us to do. Besides, we had three young sons. Bob was six, Dave five and Jerry four. It surely wouldn’t seem to be a wise thing to take such young children and subject them to the dangers inherent in mission service. We were much safer in the United States, and when we considered educational opportunities, etc., it was a much better place to be.

After about six weeks, however, my conscience got the better of me and I thought, Maybe I should at least fill out the form and send it in. What if God really wanted me to be a missionary? I should be willing to go. So Jan and I filled out the form together and sent it in.

Two of the key questions were these: Do you have a preference as to where you would serve? and What specific kind of service would you like to be involved in? To those questions we gave very precise answers. We stated that we would serve ONLY in the Northern European Division and specifically in the area of the West African Union. Why did we select that area? We didn’t know, except that it was not the section of Africa where the man with whom we had spoken at the General Conference session served as president. In answer to the second question, we stated just as explicitly that I would be willing to serve only in a capacity of doing evangelism and teaching evangelism. I emphatically stated that I would not go to the mission field to serve as some kind of general flunky, such as being a farm manager/evangelist. We expected to hear nothing further from the General Conference’s inquiry.

About two weeks later I received a call very early one morning from Elder Remboldt, the President of our Upper Columbia Conference. He said, I have a letter here on my desk for you from the General Conference. They say they want you to go to Africa to serve as a missionary. I said, Oh, I doubt it, assuming that particular president was still trying to get me to come to serve as his evangelist/farm manager. But I asked, Where do they want me to go and what do they want me to do? He said, It is a call to go to Nigeria to serve at the Adventist College of West Africa as teacher of evangelism which includes conducting evangelistic efforts and training the students to conduct them too. I was speechless. How could this be? It was a call to do the exact, and only, type of work that I said I would be willing to do; and they were asking us to go to the exact area of Africa where we said we would be willing to go. God must be in this. How could we refuse? We responded, immediately, that we would be willing to accept the call.

There were, however, a few items that would have to be considered in order for us to go. Would the college in Africa be willing to work with us? We had committed to complete the evangelistic series in which we were then involved in Hermiston. We had also made definite plans to conduct another series of evangelistic meetings in Pasco, Washington. We would not leave without fulfilling those obligations. Could they wait for us? They agreed that they would do so.

So we proceeded to make our preparations. We all went for physical examinations as required. All of us passed without difficulty except my wife, Jan. The doctor found a problem with her neck, in some of her cervical vertebrae. He would not give approval for her to go to Africa. He sent her to a specialist to get his evaluation. After careful examinations the specialist declared that although she had a problem Jan would probably be as well off in Africa as in the United States. Amazingly she had never had a problem with her neck before that time, and has never had a problem since.

I also began to study to find out as much about Nigeria as possible. To be truthful I didn’t know where Nigeria was (except that it was in West Africa), and couldn’t even immediately point to it on a map. As I read several books I discovered many interesting things. The part of Nigeria we would be going to was located virtually at the equator, at sea level and in thick jungle. It received about 200 inches of rain a year. It was extremely hot and humid with temperatures running in the high 90s nearly all year and the humidity holding at about 99%.

It was in an area that for a long time had been known as the white man’s grave. There were many diseases. Malaria was rampant, along with various types of dysentery, cholera, typhoid, etc.

I read stories about West Africa, telling how missionaries, who went there in the early years, went to serve as long as they could, not really expecting to ever return home. Upon their arrival at the coast they would wait for their first attack of malaria. Many would die from that, sometimes as many as half of them. The survivors would then move inland to take up their mission duties. Well, I reasoned there is danger from disease there, but surely they have much better methods of treating and preventing disease today than they did back in those early years. Also I reasoned with myself, Look at all the people who die in highway accidents here in the United States. At least we won’t have that problem there. So, over all, the risks are probably about the same.

I also discovered that there were very few large wild animals in that part of Africa. So we really wouldn’t have to be concerned about lions, leopards, hyenas or elephants attacking us. That brought great comfort. But then I discovered that they have virtually every conceivable kind of snake in West Africa. Some are constrictors, such as the Pythons, and there are also many snakes that are deadly poisonous, such as the Adders, Cobras, Mambas and Vipers.

We were also able to make some significant discoveries about the people and their culture. Nigeria was and is the most populous nation in Africa. There are three major tribes there. The Hausa tribe is located in the north and is the largest of all the tribes in Nigeria. Their language, Hausa, is spoken by more people than any other African language. Eastern Nigeria is dominated by the Igbo tribe. And the primary tribe in the west is Yoruba. Their language is also Yoruba. Interestingly, English is the official language of Nigeria because the country was controlled by England as a colonial possession from 1903 until its independence in 1960. However not more than 10% of the people know English. In the hinterlands virtually no one understands or speaks English. Although Yoruba is the major language in western Nigeria there are varying dialects of Yoruba and often it is practically impossible to understand people from the next village. West Nigeria was the area in which we would be working, so we knew we would get to know a lot more about the Yorubas and their language.

We found that there were many Christian denominations in Nigeria along with an extremely large segment of Islam adherents. There were many Catholics, especially in the