Anna's story
Growing up in the Faroe Islands Anna Fugelo discovered that she had a gift for languages. She speaks Faroese, Danish, English, German, French and Balanta, and is now working on the Saafi language.
When Anna came to Senegal as a single missionary she was asked to work among the Balanta people. She began working on the alphabet. Though several others had tried to find the correct vowels, the alphabet had never been completed. Anna worked diligently and identified nine distinct Balanta vowels and correctly wrote the alphabet. That allowed the team to begin working on literacy lessons and Bible translation.
Because of political unrest in the area where the Balanta people live Anna and her co-worker Kathy Knapp were asked to go to the mission school to cook. She had never cooked for a large group before so this presented quite a challenge. However, both she and Kathy rose to the test and Anna even added some Faroese fish dishes to the menu.
Being at the school base brought her closer to missionary Dubby Rodda. They had known each other for years but had never really talked much. Then one day Anna invited Dubby to her house for dinner. He was expected at noon, but he didn't arrive. Finally, she gave up and was about to leave the house when Dubby got there.
He explained that his car wouldn't start and he couldn't get there earlier. "Can I still have dinner with you?" he asked.
So she invited him in and warmed up dinner, and they sat and talked and talked.
"Until that time our common interest had been linguistics, but now he began asking me about my family and my feelings." said Anna.
They continued to meet often and got to know one another. In December 1991, Dubby asked Anna to marry him. They married 10 months later in Denmark. Then they visited Anna's family in the Faroe Islands and Dubby's in England.
"We expected to encounter many problems in the early days of our marriage because we had both been single for many years and we came from two very different cultures. But God had prepared us for marriage and we really found very few problems."
"What a delight after 25 years of waiting." said Dubby.
They went to NTM Canada Missions Institute for training as a married couple and returned to Senegal in 1993. Their son Charlton was born in 1995. This changed their lives completely and brought more joy than they could ever have imagined.
In 1996 they were asked to work among the Saafi people.
"Yet another culture and language to learn," Anna said, "but we got busy in the work and it became fun."
They began building relationships among the people. They made many close friends. M'Bay, the chief, became one of Dubby's best friends.
When Anna was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2002, she realized that she would face many challenges if she stayed in Senegal. However, when Dubby and Anna discussed it they decided that if they wanted the Saafi to hear the Gospel, they needed to stay and do their part.
The medication Anna takes helps keep the symptoms under control, but some days are very difficult. She has a wheeled vehicle to help her get around the village and several Saafi ladies help her with the housework. This gives Anna more time to learn the Saafi language.
One of the difficulties Anna faces is that often the disease clouds her thought processes. She says that sometimes she feels like she is living in slow motion.
For relaxation she plays the keyboard and sometimes writes songs or translates songs from Faroese into English. Both Dubby and Charlton enjoy singing these songs with Anna.
Dubby and Anna hope to begin teaching the Bible lessons to the Saafi next year. Their desire is that there will be thousands of Saafi in heaven, set free from the power of sin to become God's own children.
"We know that God is going to do it and by His enabling we desire to stay and help as long as we can." Anna declared.
This article complements the May issue of NTM@work. View the issue online, and find out how you can subscribe >> |
