In Search of "Hidden" Peoples
Part 2

In January 2006, a volunteer team from Ogletown Baptist church in Delaware came to Nigeria to help survey the Chawai people. They were considering adopting this group for a long-term effort. All the previous reports had indicated that this people group was unreached with the Gospel.

With the help of a pastor from the Nigerian Baptist Convention, I lead the team on a three-day survey trip through the region. By dividing up into two groups, we were able to physically cover about 90% of the Chawai region. These folks were great! They had a great attitude throughout the trip. They helped shop for food before heading out to the base camp. They helped pack the gear, load the vehicles, and copy cassettes for distribution as we moved through the area. When we arrived in the area, we made contact with two Baptist pastors who had agreed to be our guides through the region. For three days we roamed the area counting churches, mapping villages and roads, asking questions, and distributing evangelism materials whenever we could. At the end of the three days, we had a good picture of the Chawai tribe. They were not an unreached people group: there were 34 churches located across 31 villages!

Though the volunteers decided that their church did not need to adopt the Chawai, they loved their trip, and are strongly considering returning to the same region to carry on evangelism work among the unreached Fulani people who are also located in the region. As we did our survey work, we encountered these roaming herdsmen everywhere. The prospect of coming back out to do evangelism among the Fulanis excited these volunteers from Delaware. When they left Nigeria to return to their church and to make their recommendation there, they did so with the promise that they intend to return here later this year to help carry on the work of evangelism.

These folks were a joy to work with. With their help, a region that might have taken 6 days or more to cover was surveyed in half the time. I really appreciated their positive attitude and their hard work. Pray that these volunteers and their church will continue to follow God's direction as they seek opportunities to evangelize unreached people groups in West Africa.

Clint Bowman, Engagement Team