Premier of the "Jesus Film" at Devil Hole

Last night a group of us went to a little village called "Devil Hole" about 30 miles from Freetown.  We were invited by a local pastor to come and show "The Jesus Film".  If you're not familiar with this film, it is a movie about Jesus that is translated into hundreds of languages.  It starts briefly with creation touches on Abraham, Moses, but mostly focuses on Jesus. 

When we arrived at the village, there were only about 10 or 12 people milling around and we greeted the townspeople and set up our projection equipment.  As dusk came and we were ready to start the film, out of nowhere over 300 people showed up we had children hanging all over us, sitting on our laps, glued to the film translated into Krio.  Krio is like a pidgeon English..."How are you" is..."Ow de bodi?"  "Thank you" is "Tenki"; "How did you sleep?" is "Ow yu slep?".  You get the picture!  You have to listen very carefully to pick up a word here and there.  It was interesting watching Jesus give the Sermon on the Mount in Krio..."Tell Gowd tenki".

To watch the people's reaction to the film was priceless.  After each miracle, everyone clapped and cheered...when Judas came on the scene there were boo's and people yelling, "He da baaad guy!"  The crowd went crazy when the disciples pulled up their nets and all the fish fell into the boat.  Many of them fish to make a living.  It struck me that the boats the fishermen use here in Sierra Leone are pretty much the same as the ones used in Jesus' time.

They were so interactive and exuberant, it surprised me!  Even some curious Muslim's showed up and were drawn in by the drama of Jesus's ministry.  It was a beautiful evening with a slight breeze, a nearly full moon and the ground was sandy, rather than the ubiquitous red dust and dirt. 

After the film, many people came forward for prayer, mother's proudly introduced their babies to us and asked us to remember them in our prayers!  It was a beautiful experience.