Ouidah

Last weekend, we went to Ouidah, a renovated Portuguese slavery fort that has been turned into a museum. Portuguese Catholic "missionaries" housed the slaves here before they were sent to Europe or the Americas. I wish I could post pictures of the artifacts we saw inside, but we weren't allowed to take pictures. We saw the original chains that were used to hold people captive, in both adult and child sizes. It was so, so sad. We also saw items that are used in voodoo practices.

Here is the church where the "missionaries" forced the slaves to attend on Sunday mornings. They would still participate in their traditional religions at night. That is why it is common today for people in Africa to mix Christianity and voodoo. I had always wondered how that was possible, and I was horrified to realize that "Christians" (by that I mean people who called themselves Christians) had something to do with it.

The "Point of No Return" marks the last place the slaves touched African soil before boarding the ship that would take them to Europe or the Americas. They had to walk from the fort to the beach to board smaller boats that would take them to a larger ship anchored in the deeper waters.

Kind of funny...cows on the beach past the "Point of No Return."

Another monument on the beach in memory of the people who were sent as slaves from Benin.

It was really difficult to see all of these things. People warned me that I would be able to physically feel the spiritual darkness in Benin, and I have to admit, I didn't really believe them. After leaving the slavery museum and learning about the voodoo culture, however, I had the worst headache and felt extremely depressed for about two hours. There aren't many words to say to describe any of it except to say that it was very eye-opening. Please pray for the people here that they would be released from the lies of voodoo and ancestor worship, and seek a relationship with the One True God.