Beja of Northern Africa

(BEE-ja) – Chatting while seated around a small table, Abby watched her friend roast the raw coffee beans and then pound and grind them with ginger in a mortar and pestle. Abby’s friend then added water to the pot and brewed and served the strong coffee in small cups almost half filled with sugar. She also made popcorn to enjoy while they chatted. But Abby noticed something odd. Her Beja friend made an extra cup of coffee and also gently tossed popcorn onto the mat on top of the hard-pressed dirt floor. “What’s the extra for?” Abby asked. “That’s for the jinn who might visit. We don’t want to upset them,” her Beja friend responded. Jinn are believed to be spirits that can come and go, influencing and inhabiting people. Pray for the Beja who are bound by fear of offending the jinn. May they be set free from their fears and find perfect peace in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.