If you really wanted to measure what the majority of African Christians possessed, it would be by what they gave in tithes and offerings and would generally far exceed the ten percent we are taught to give. Though hard to compare, it would be somewhat like us Americans giving ten percent of our weekly earnings, and then adding an extra twenty percent to that.
In our early days of ministry in Liberia, Jeff preached in bush villages a fair amount of the time. None of those towns had a population typically larger than five hundred people, and those villages far off the main roads were accessible only by walking paths or small two-track roads. The people in those remote villages made their living by farming, fishing, and hunting without the exchange of much currency.
The very first offerings Jeff received after preaching in the small village of Dahnpa was a white hen. Now, Jeff is a city boy from Charlotte and had not had much exposure to handling live chickens. The church people had carefully chosen the whitest hen from the village poultry population to give to the visiting preacher. Thanking the people, Jeff tried to take the chicken in his arms somewhat like you would hold a puppy, but she only started flapping her white wings in his face. The Africans laughed and showed him the way to hold her by the feet which were tied with string to keep her from making the great escape from the white man!
That would have indeed been a classic Kodak moment. White missionary walking out of a remote village with his Bible under one arm and a chicken dangling upside down in his other hand waiting to catch his ride home. How endearing is that!
Flying back to Tappita, Jeff deposited the chicken by his feet as he clocked in more air time flying the helicopter. Usually a new missionary pilot would need to fly about a year with the veteran missionary pilots as they learned the ways of the aircraft, the landmarks, and the airstrips. There were no navigational aids flying in the jungles of Liberia, so intimate knowledge of landmarks was essential. Jeff had momentarily forgotten about the chicken on the floor, so wrapped up was he in the wonders of bush flying, until the hen decided to remind him that she was there. She pecked at his feet and ankles most of the way back to Tappi.
In the quietness of our jungle home, I could always hear the drone of the incoming airplane or helicopter when it was still a couple of miles away. Unless I was teaching Bible school, was sick, or involved in some other task, I always stopped and went to the airplane hangar to watch the landing. I never tired of thanking God each and every time the aircraft landed safely.
Flying in the jungle was treacherous, dangerous, and took great skill and a sharpness of mind, so I constantly prayed for Jeff when he was flying. While I believed that Jeff was probably one of the most capable pilots that I had ever known, there were still times when the realization of what he was up against threatened to weaken my resolve in the worst kind of way.
That afternoon, Michelle and I were waiting for him at the hangar as he disembarked the helicopter. He reached back inside and tediously took out the white hen. Michelle was instantly smitten with the creature, and, as Jeff was telling me about how he had procured her, Michelle said purposefully, “Her name is Gladys.” To this day, we do not know where she came up with the name Gladys, but it did seem to suit the hen. We learned quite quickly that you should never name an animal you intend to eventually eat. Jeff and I did not expect that we would keep Gladys and watch her raise baby chicks and provide us with eggs. After embracing the name that Michelle gave her, there was really nothing else to do.
Gladys was a daily reminder to our family that the Liberian Christians might be poor in material wealth, but their hearts were ample enough for them to be willing to give of what little they did possess. They gave out of hearts full of gratitude to their heavenly Father and the minister who brought them His Word. What possible excuses do we have as Americans?