Ba Te And A Big Bofo

So I mentioned that an Aukan believer man named Ba Te has really been on my heart lately. I prayed for the Lord to give me more opportunities to spend time with him this year for discipleship, and God is answering that prayer. Ba Te recently asked me to go on a trip to the gold mines with him for two weeks. We will be leaving this Monday (Feb 8).

But the Lord gave us another sweet time together yesterday and I wanted to share a little bit with you. So I got a call two nights ago from Ba Te. He asked me to come meet him at his home the next morning at 7. I said Id be there and asked where we were going. He simply answered we were going to “go take something”.

So 7 am yesterday, I find myself at his house. Hes got his boots sittin on the table, a wheel barrow from the city sat to the side, his shotgun close by and now hes sitting down sharpening his machete and hand made axe. I knew we were headin deep into the jungle. He said we had to go pick another guy up in the boat, cause it would be better with three guys. 3 guys. Hmm…..then I knew there would be some work involved:)

After picking up Ba Etcha at another village, we had about a 15 minute boat ride and a 20 minute hike into the bush. After several winding paths and trekking through some thick places with no trails, there it is was, the “something” we had come “to take”. It was a 200 pound tapir, also known to the Aukaners as a bofo.

Someone had told Ba Te that an animal was eating all their crops in her planting ground. He said he’d go take a look see. He shot it two nights ago and yesterdays job was to go back into the jungle to get the animal and then get it back to the boat. So after realizing that we weren’t going to be able to haul the bloody beast back to the boat, he just decided to dress it right there in the bush. After about an hour and a half of pulling ticks off our legs from the tapir and hacking it up into quarters, it was now ready to go back to the boat.

So Ba Te cut a branch from a tree and gave me the marvelous job of fanning the meat to keep the flies away while they started loading it up and taking some to the boat. I thought to myself, “Gee thanks”. Then I realized I actually got the better end of the deal after I saw Ba Etcha’s job. He had to carry about 45 pounds of the animal back out on top of his head cause it all wouldn’t fit in the wheelbarrow. So I felt a little better after that:)

Then it was back to the boat and back to his village where he then cut it up into smaller sized pieces to go and sell to others in nearby villages. Animals are all over the jungle, but not really close to the villages, so when someone kills an animal its pretty easy to sell. He saved some for family and friends and saved a huge piece to take to the Gaanman (village leader) and then sold the rest.

What was cool about it, he was always talking about how he wanted to sell things cheaper to people since he is a believer. He wants others to see there is something different about him. Wow! Too cool. Im super grateful to be able to walk along side. And it was particularly special for me yesterday when I kept hearing Ba Te tell everyone how we went in and got it back out. He kept referring to me as his American boy. To cool!So he gave me about 6 pounds of the meat and asked if it was enoughJ I told him it was more than enough and then I headed home.

So mom, I know you are wondering, what did it taste like and are you sick from eating itJ It tasted just like your roast beef in the crock pot, but not as good of yours of courseJ And Im perfectly fine. I got another buddy of mine to cook it, but I took notes for next time. A little oil in the bottom of a pan. Then some salt, a few bouillon cubes, soy sauce, onions, garlic and a few other jungle spices that you wont find in the states and about half a pot of water (that’s the basic recipe for all meat for the people). After that it was a slow cook for about 3 hours which gave me plenty of time to go play soccer and get washed up before supper.

So praise the Lord for more time with Ba Te, and praise the Lord for providing food for his family and other neighboring villages. Please keep praying for Ba Te and I as I seek to pour into his life and also learn from a this man who came to know Christ hundreds of miles deep in the jungle. Please keep us in your prayers as we head out to the gold mines this Monday. Pray that people would truly see something different in us. Take care and God bless.