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Guest from Burkina Faso Awed by Triennial XI Experience
PORTLAND, OR (August 23) – Fati's adventure to the United States has
ended, but the experiences she's had in the United States will not soon
be forgotten she said in a recent interview with translator Jill Johnson
as Triennial XI ended.
Fatimata "Fati" Bande was one of 26 international representatives
attending Triennial XI from August 12-15 as guests this past weekend (an
article about her spiritual journey was posted August 12 on the Covenant
News website). Their attendance was made possible in large part by funds
raised by conferences of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), as well
as private donations in some cases.
Bande carried the flag of Burkina Faso in the Triennial XI opening
worship session and met informally with people throughout the weekend
while enjoying the preaching of speakers Brenda Salter-McNeil and Judy
Howard Peterson and the singing of Sara Groves. She attended a
discussion led by Ruth Hill, executive minister of the (newly-named)
Women's Ministries of the Evangelical Covenant Church, and also went to
seminars led by Salter-McNeil ("Discovering the Gift of the Sabbath")
and Covenant pastor Martha Freeman ("Knowing Jesus More"). Johnson
stated that Bande appreciated hearing about the struggles of other women
who were making their mark in male- dominated societies and respected
those who had committed to full-time Christian service.
She also enjoyed new experiences such as viewing a nearby river gorge by
her hotel, seeing a dam and watching water falls, among other things.
Perhaps most of all, she enjoyed being with those who shared her faith –
she is one of a small percentage of Christians in Burkina Faso – even if
the faith journeys differed. "I saw the love of God in the hearts of
those who invited me," Bande said. "It's an incredible love of God that
I've felt...We see the work of God among all nations. We see also how
women have given themselves to the work of God in the numerous
activities [that they are carrying on]. This wouldn't happen in Burkina
Faso – this many people wouldn't have come. But here all these women
themselves have paid for their transportation, their food, and their
lodging. They've given themselves to God."
Bande was easy to pick out among the 1,300 or so that attended Triennial
XI. Her native dress and her young son were conversation starters
throughout the event. She was awed by the sheer number of Christian
women gathering and the support she received. She believes that support,
along with some words of wisdom from one of the main speakers, are sure
to help her as she returns to her husband and other son this weekend a
more spiritually filled person.
"We often seek after being rich but we are to be filled by God's Spirit
and not ideas from this world," she said in recalling one of the
sermons. "It is often the things and ideas of this world that we fill
ourselves with. Most of us leave little place in it for God but instead
are filled with ideas of this world. That is what hinders us from
receiving God's
grace.
Bande added, "Some come with a lot of fears and worries and other
impurities and they want God's blessing but they are already filled-with
things that don't have value. How can God work in this person who is
already filled? I've seen that it is this that keeps us from receiving
God's grace."
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