Conakry

A country caught in the crossfire

The traffic is utterly chaotic; power and water outages are frequent; the roads are terrible. The UN has named it one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and it lives in a climate of mutual hostility where ethnic fighting kills and destroys.

The Christian church remains caught in the crossfire, in a country where 0.3% of the population are Christians living among Muslims and animists. But, in the face of every obstacle, Mohamed Keita and Tânia Bonfim gave their lives to one cause: to proclaim the Gospel of peace and love to Guinea-Conakry.

Mohamed and Tânia

A prince who came to faith

Mohamed, born in Côte d’Ivoire, of royal lineage, had a small pharmacy in Quebo, Guinea-Bissau, and was doing well in business. When a mission team came to the village, he began coming every day to talk, especially about God’s supreme purpose. Each day he grew more convinced that the true prophet is Jesus. There he met Tânia, a missionary from Bahia, “full of Jesus.”

“First I fell in love with that Jesus I saw in Tânia, and only later with her. I felt cornered by the evidence and gave my life to Him,” Mohamed says. His baptism was the first great scandal in the town; his family seized his property. Asking for Tânia’s hand was the second.

Newly married, they began the mission in Guinea-Conakry, Mohamed’s homeland, where he ran into trouble with his own family, since he is the son of a village chief. Within a few months, living by faith, more than thirty people accepted Jesus. The first disciples were taking shape and growing stronger, even though they were often thrown out of their meeting places for being Christians.

The church

“I will stay, because Jesus is here!”

The church in Conakry faces enormous difficulties: no work, persecution, and lately epidemics in a country with extremely poor health care. The land they bought had to be cleared and built on. With nothing but a dirt floor, a tarp, and each person bringing a chair or a bench, that was where the church met: uncomfortable, but full of joy at the start of a new season.

Formô, the first disciple and pastor, knows that some may give up, but he declared to Mohamed: “I will stay, because Jesus is here!”

The offerings bought the first materials to begin the basic construction. But the church is already there! And the difficulties have drawn these beloved brothers and sisters closer to one another and to the Lord Jesus. The challenge remains: to keep going, always.