Biblical stories shared in predominantly Muslim African nation

by Donna Marie Todd

A NOBS storytelling team has just returned from a storytelling mission to the African country of Gambia. The team of 12 biblical storytellers was invited by the Chairman of the Gambian Council of Churches to participate in their church's annual celebration of Bible Week. Approximately 90% of Gambians are Muslim with the remainder being Christians of various denominations.

The 12 member biblical storytelling team left the U.S. on March 5 for an 11 day trip to the primarily Muslim nation. The smallest country in Africa, the Gambia is probably most famous for its connections to Alex Haley's Pulitzer Prize winning book Roots. In the book, and the subsequent TV mini-series of the same name, Haley traces his ancestor Kunte Kinte back to Juffure on the north bank of the Gambia.

The Gambians were very welcoming to the storytelling team as they presented scripture and shared sacred story at different churches during the special Bible Week events. The biblical storytellers also held an educational two day biblical story Institute for teachers and indigenous storytellers. There was no language barrier for the U.S. based storytellers as Gambia was a British colony until 1965 and English is its official language. A Gambian congregant who heard the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead emailed the following message to Network President Dr. J. Lynn White: "One of your Network members came to our church this past Sunday and was telling the story of Lazarus. I was so surprised to see her telling the story without a Bible. Wow!"

Storytelling itself is not a new form of communication in the tiny African nation. All Gambian tribal groups have important oral traditions and many of their folk tales have been translated into English. Their traditional tales about Hyena and the Hare became the stories of Brer Rabbit in American folklore. Musicians called "griots" have been the keepers of history and culture in the Gambia for generations. The griots' storytelling songs speak of wars and royal linage, cultural traditions and national history.

Storytelling trips are an important part of the Network of Biblical Storytellers outreach programs. In January 2008, Dr. Tracy Radosevic, editor of The Biblical Storyteller, led a storytelling trip to Israel and Palestine featuring stories of biblical women. In May of 2008 the network will sponsor "Stories of the Journeys of Paul," a storytelling trip to Greece. The trip will be led by nationally known biblical storyteller Dennis Dewey and will feature biblical stories about the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.

The trip to The Gambia grew out of a 2007 mission trip by NOBS member Juliana Rowe, who wrote about her first trip.

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