When you hear a certain sound, you associate it with “something”. The basement door at the office makes a certain “thump” when it closes. If you thought you were the only one at the office, it lets you know that is no longer the case. When I hear a grinding, rumbling sound in the garage. I know that the garage door is going up or down. When I hear a truck on the road in front of my house, I may think it is a garbage truck, but if it is accompanied by a siren, I quickly pay attention. I occasionally hear loud banging sounds from a local manufacturing factory early in the morning and think nothing of it.
Sounds have connotations to them; some may bring us certain pleasure or may give us a sense of dread or even fear. Gunshots will never sound the same to me again. While on a trip to Guinea-Bissau, I was awakened to a “bump-bump-bump” and a “boom”. Here in Pennsylvania, deer season and recreational shooting are easily identifiable and are not heard early in the morning. My brain could not comprehend what I was hearing. I also didn’t want to consider what it might be.
Despite jet lag and tropical heat, I got out of bed to find some answers. Our group leader seemed mildly concerned, “It’s definitely military. Best get ready in case we need to move.” Coffee was no longer required to fully wake me up.
As the morning progressed, we learned it was mainly a conflict between two political parties and their respective militias. Some of the president’s cabinet members were arrested and freed by the parliament-controlled National Guard. In the ensuing conflict, a gunfight broke out, and a few people were killed. By God’s grace, our schedule was not interrupted, and we were on our way to distribute Bibles later in the morning.
While it was not imminently dangerous to our team, I did need to do some reflecting on the situation. There are some tips that I added to my mental preparedness for the next trip to West Africa. For starters, keep your things organized and reasonably prepared to grab and go if needed. Since we were staying at the same place for several nights, I had the attitude of “moving in”. After this rude awakening, I see that it is a good idea to have your belongings together so you can easily gather them and go. If you have clothing and items scattered all about, it could be difficult to find everything. Charging batteries and phones are also important in case you need to go.
More importantly, I had to reckon with the fact that people were dying over politics and accusations of financial misdeeds. While these things are often difficult to sort out, I don’t see machine guns and rocket propelled grenades as the solution. The reality is that the Good News of Jesus is what is needed. How long do we make the world wait until we take steps to tell them about Jesus?
In any case, I will no longer associate gunfire only with deer hunting.
– Anthony High, Executive Director