God is building His church among the Yalunka people of Mali. In December 2022, church planter Yaya Bengali baptized 14 new believers, where 12 years ago no gospel witness existed.
In 2011, the first FEC missionaries visited Falea, the largest village in the Yalunka region and home to several thousand people. Since that time, the gospel outreach has been met with favor from village leaders. In May 2022, the Evangelical Mennonite Church in Burkina Faso sent Yaya Bengali and his wife Medina to live in Falea. They have become a part of the community, sharing their lives and the gospel message.
In December, Bengali invited the community to a Christmas celebration to talk about the coming of the Savior for all humanity. As part of the celebration, he baptized the 14 new believers. Together with a dozen people who have already been following Jesus, the community of Christ followers is growing.
The Yalunka people are Muslim and follow a form of Islam that mixes Islamic beliefs with animism. When a member of the community turns to Jesus and is baptized, he or she changes their religion. Please pray that Bengali and his family continue to experience a welcome and favor with the village leaders as the gospel spreads and more people are baptized.
