One day Paulu came to Abeedou and said, "We are ready now to start writing God's Word in the Malinké language and we want you to help us. Your father helps us every day but we want you to help too."

"Oh yes, I will help," replied Abeedou. Secretly he was thinking that he would learn God's Word and tell it to Grandmother.

Every day Abeedou's father sat in a small room with Paulu. They talked about how to say the things in the book in the Malinké language. The Chief, Madi, talked, and Paulu wrote. Sometimes Paulu would ask questions and sometimes he would just nod and write. At night, Abeedou would talk with Paulu about what Paulu and his father had discussed. It was very serious talk and very hard to understand. One night Paulu said, "Ala sii kisi, Abeedou."

Abeedou
  Ah-bee-doo
Paulu
  Poll-oo
Iriki
  Ee-ree-kee
Madi
  Mah-dee
Malinké
  Mah-lin-kay

"God can save me?" thought Abeedou. "From what? Is there going to be a big storm? How can God save me?"

Every day they studied and every day both Madi and his son Abeedou had questions. They tried to find words in Malinké for justification and salvation and righteousness but it was very hard. Malinkés did not even have a way to say thank you. They did not really understand what it meant to thank someone or to be grateful. How could Iriki and Paulu expect them to know what it was to be righteous?

"God is righteous and only He can make you righteous. When you hear about the Debt-Payer, you will understand how to be rid of you sins. You will be able to live in heaven with Him when you die."

Madi thought long and hard about what Paulu said. He told it to Abeedou and Abeedou thought and thought about what it might mean, and who the Debt-Payer could be. During the day, Abeedou still played with his friends. They went hunting, they played in the fields, and they climbed trees just like boys everywhere like to do.

But in the evening he would sit with Paulu and talk about God and the Book He had written. And at night, when he went to bed, he would think about what it all meant and wonder if Grandmother would get to hear about the Debt-Payer.

Finally, one day Paulu said to Madi, "We are almost ready to start teaching the villagers about God's Book. Ask them when they want to start the lessons. And you all need to decide where we should meet."

That night Madi called a meeting of the village Elders. They discussed, argued, and discussed some more. That is the way the Malinkés make decisions. All the Elders must agree before the decision is final. The next morning Madi went to talk to Iriki and Paulu. "The Elders have decided that we will meet in my compound at night after we have come back from the fields and finished supper. The Elders can come. Women and children are not concerned about religion. Our young men can come if they want but they will not want to come. They are not ready yet to settle down and learn about religious affairs."

Iriki said, "But this is not religion, this is God's Truth."

Madi replied, "Nevertheless, it has been decided."

Abeedou heard all of this and his heart broke. He would not be able to go to the meetings and neither would Grandmother. Now she would not hear about the Debt-Payer. Somehow, Abeedou knew that she must hear.

  Abeedou ran to Grandmother's hut ...

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