Burdens of Leadership

(Note: This post was released after our return to the US.)

After the church service, we were treated to lunch with the Pastor and the village Chief. I’m sure the meal of chicken, tȏ (“toe”), rice and sauce was a feast compared to normal standards.

After lunch, we returned to the shade tree near the church and I was privileged to have a conversation with several from the community who were benefiting from the work of Grain of Hope. This organization comes alongside local churches to tackle the problem of hunger in sustainable, comprehensive ways. We discussed three initiatives that were taking place in the village – the grain mill, donkey carts and plows. For each topic, two representatives from the community sat down with me and told me their stories. I’m certainly no expert on community development, agriculture or much else in this context, so each team exercised a God-sized dose of grace and patience with my many questions. Through the gift of their time, I was able to gain a little better understanding of the realities of their life. I would say I saw the “tip of the iceberg” but that analogy doesn’t seem to fit in the dry dust of Africa – so perhaps I saw the top of the well, or just the tail of the cow!

After this discussion, we took some time to look at the actual hardware including a demonstration of the grinding mill. Retiring to the shade tree one more time before asking for the road, I asked the Pastor and the Chief what, as leaders of their village, were the issues that were most pressing on their minds. The Pastor answered without hesitation that, despite all the work that had been done, he still was concerned that they may not have enough food for the year. The Chief’s answer was similar, expressing concerns that several wells were dry and that those that remained may not produce enough water for the community.

I’ve been in leadership positions in a lot of different contexts during my years but I can honestly say that concerns about the very survival of those under my responsibility rarely make it to my circle of concern. What a tremendous burden these brothers are bearing for their community. I was also humbled to think how much they had sacrificed to host my visit. May God reward their generosity with His continued watch care and protection over their village.

We did ask for the road, and it was granted after another display of percussion and dance. The road had not improved during our visit so we returned well shaken in both our physical bodies and in our understanding of the realities faced by many, many thousands of communities in rural West Africa.