The Second Village

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The second village we visited is the largest un-reached people group in Africa. It was very different from our experience with the  first village.  When we pulled in the children did not come running from the village to greet us with smiles and giggles.  There  were only a few and they stood next to a large tree a short distance from the van.  I am sure as we approached them they were as curious about us as we were the reaction we would get from them.  

We were not allowed to go to the chief as we did in the first village.  We were told only two of us could accompany Wahab so off went Reid Beebe and Mark. Browning.  While they were visiting the chief we began playing with the children.  The boys broke out the soccer ball and the walls fell.  They were laughing and playing soccer right off.  All of us would tell you what a blessing it was to have Christopher (lil Richard) Browning with us.  He was an excellent interpreter.

We were anxiously awaiting Mark and Reid's return and as we saw them approaching were trying to figure out whether or not we had been given permission to show the film.  We had!  W began to tell us a little about the village.  There were Shantis (I hope that is right) in the village.  They are nomads that travel from village to village with guns and machetes intimidating the villagers and taking what they want.  When they are finished or board they move on to the next village.  It was not intimidating when we saw them but you knew that you needed to be cautious around them.

Just before dark things began to happen that caused you to know there was a spiritual battle about to take place.  As we sat next to the church we were suppose to show the film in which was filled with bees, bats began to stream out of the building.  We were ducking and screaming as we watched several hundred of them billowing out and flying around us.  Then, there was a pack of dogs and they began fighting and it was very viscous.  The Shant's walked by ensuring we noted their guns and machetes, which we did.  They could not see the prayers that were going up for them and the village they were invading. 

Only the children and a few adults had come from the village to watch. We were wanting to share with as many of the villagers as possible but were very aware that God was orchestrating the evening and we were His hands and feet.  We were praying during the film and when it was half way through, the adults began to show up. I know they could hear the film in their village because of the speaker that we brought with us and it was in their language.  All together (and this is a guess) there were about 200 people there by the end of the film.  There was a clear mocking of the film from many of them and one man in particular stood in front of me with a dead stare that was not inviting at all!  During the altar call they were laughing and making fun of the few that did come forward.  We were all wondering how they would be treated after we left.  


One of the young men that travels with us and interprets and gives the altar calls spends every Friday there.  It is a 8 hour journey each week.  We are thankful for him and ask that you pray for his ministry there, especially for his relationships with these new believers.  There is much to be done and there are very few workers to go into this people group to minister.  We are praying for God to send the workers into this very untouched group of people.  

W's Story

It is the second day of our trip to share Jesus with some very remote villages in Ghana.  On our way to the village, we stopped by the home of W to visit his family. It was precious.  They met us with such excitement and kept saying Akwaaba (welcome) over and over.

W was forced to leave home at a very young age because he gave his heart to Jesus.  He lived with some wonderful christian people who raised him to know the Word and understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  He is a missionary in Ghana and is very involved in introducing his brothers and sisters to Christ. It wasn't until about five years ago that he was reunited with his parents.  When we met them they had an interpreter and he told us that the father was very happy that Wahab had so many friends that had the same faith and that this was the happiest day of his life.

W's family is very large.  There was his mother's family and his father's second wife's family, cousins, neices, nephews and so on.  They are very beautiful people.

Wahab's Mother

His father's second wife

Wahab's Father                                                                                    

Other family members

One of the most tender moments of the day was when W's youngest sister came home from school.  Her face was beaming as she caught the first glimpse of him and it was precious seeing him give her a big hug. She stayed as close to him as she could throughout our visit.

 I know this trip has really touched my heart and changed my thinking.  I have been very narrow minded about the Muslim people assuming that they are all alike and have one goal in common.  Yes there are extreme Islamic beliefs but we have White Supremacy groups. There are many labels that cause us to make rash judgments about people groups.  I will be praying for W, that he will be able to minister to his family and see the desire of his heart come to pass.  That they would know Jesus.

There is something very important to be learned from this young man.  Thou his heart was broken he kept it pure.  He did not hate his parents, refuse to see them when THEY were ready, he never disrespected them in any way.  Through his obedience to the Word in honoring his mother and father, and after a very long time,  this son has been welcomed home and has nothing to regret when he sits down with his mother and father. Their faces also beam when they look at their son and I am sure they have the greatest respect for him now.

I just love his story and I love this young man.  He is a true follower of Jesus Christ and is having a great affect on the Muslim community as we enter these villages and he is able to speak to them.  Pray for W, his family and his ministry.

ABREWA-ANO

All of the homes in this village are mud huts.  The only block building is the church.

John 15:16

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

We were on our way to Abrewa-Ano a Muslim village about 10 hours away.  There were 13 of us including myself, Stella (a sweetheart from Georgia  volunteering  at Nyame Dua in Bolga), Wahab (a Ghanaian co-worker of Reid Beebe) and the Beebe family consisting of Dad, Mom and five boys.  I felt like I was back in youth group and we were going camping.  We arrived at the Baptist Mission Guest House and the boys and girls split up.  There were three girls in one room and the 11 boys in the other.  We freshened up and had about 30 minutes before we headed out to share Jesus with around 200 people in this village. 

 

No longer will polluted water be carried from a nearby stream  thanks to this bore hold that is now supplying clean water to these villagers.

The first thing you must do when you arrive in the village is meet with the chief and get his approval to meet with his people.   Yes, we were asking a Muslim Chief to allow us to share Jesus with his people.  We were greeted by the children first, giggling and looking at us with questioning eyes.  Even though the spoken language was a huge barrier the excitement all us were feeling was very evident.  We made our way to the back of the village to the Chief’s home.  The chief was a man with strong features yet his faced possessed such gentleness.  He was very kind as he welcomed us. He listened as the interpreter explained our request to show a film about Jesus Christ.  He did not hesitate at all to allow us to do this.  When Robin asked the interpreter to inquire about  praying  for him I drew a large  breath wondering what he would think of such a request  but soon found myself laying hands on and praying for a Muslim Chief. 

 The heart of the chief and his influence on his people was  evident in the reactions from the villagers throughout the day and during the film that evening.  When the altar call was given my heart was pounding and my eyes welled up with tears seeing so many come forward.   We prayed for salvation and I was touched as I watched the  woman standing in front of me wiping tears from her eyes.  I knew from the time I spent here last year that it is not often you see a Ghanaian woman cry,  When I was moved to tears they would wipe them away quickly and tell me, Grandma, please do not cry, it is not good. How deeply the Spirit of God was moving to get such a response from her.  It was simply beautiful.  

This is just the beginning of what God wants to do in this village.  Pray that those who are being called here will know the Father's voice and come to know the joy of serving Him by serving them.

His Love

So very full this morning as I consider so many things.  The way we love, the conditions we put on our love.  How quickly we can turn away from someone who is walking in sin, not realizing they are in bondage, and need us more than ever.  We are the ones, the children of God, who have the power and authority to lift them out of bondage through the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 

We are to share one another's burdens.  We are to love one another with an unconditional love. We are to love others more than we love ourselves.  We are to walk in forgiveness.  I am asking God this morning to make me more like His Son, realizing I have such a long way to go.  

The scripture says to get the PLANK out of your own eye when we begin to point fingers at our brothers and sisters.  We all have weaknesses.  Some may seem worse than others but the bible says that no sin shall enter Heaven.  So if I go to hell because I am a backbiter, a liar, a thief or  a murderer or an  adulterer... I still go to hell and suffer eternal damnation. 

The story of the alabaster box makes my heart hurt when I think about the opportunities we have had to nurse someone back to health and did not.  The song says you don't know the cost of the oil in my alabaster box.  None of us know what someone else has walked through, the circumstances that may have led them astray, the pain they have endured or the condition of their heart.  We do not see into the deep places of their soul and spirit and know the guilt and shame they have felt over past decisions.  What we do know for sure is that we are to love them and encourage them in the faith.   

Heavenly Father please place in us, your children, the fruits of the spirit.  Enable to walk in those in full confidence of who we are in you.  Let us love deeply as you loved, enough to send your son to Calvary.  Let our love be unconditional as yours is and our hearts tender, ready to forgive and forget.  Help us God to become spiritual physicians tending to one another's wounds and bringing healing into the body of Christ. We need to be healthy to be effective  Help us God to see the needs around us, to answer your call to occupy right where we are.  Help us to see God that we are busy but not necessarily with the things of the Kingdom of God. Help us to do everything we do with your love which sees with spiritual eyes the needs of the hurting.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have bcome a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy and understanding all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

A Particular Moment

What a day!  It was filled with playing games, pictures, jewelry making, story telling, watching soccer on tv, etc.  Today had it moments, but one in particular caught my attention.

I know that culturally we are very different, the Ghanaians and us.  Many of us are interacting with them for the first time, maybe second time and I think we are all going through some growing pains. We are very different and yet very much alike.  This is not the time to compare what we have or are use to.  It is a time to love another people and to try and understand how they feel especially since we are guest in their country.

One difference I notice right away is the pace.  In America I am running to bible study, post office, grocery store, meeting someone for lunch, etc. You know the drill.  Always somewhere to go and some place to be.  Life is not that way here. The Ghanaians spend most of their day at home visiting with each other.  I can remember the frustration I felt on my first trip when I was waiting for someone and they said, "oh why, why are you worried because I am two hours late?"  Truth is because I wasn't use to that. What I have learned is it is not so bad to slow down, rush less, eat slower, just sit in a chair and think or visit with a family member or friend  or here's a biggy... take a fiesta during the day.

Back to that particular moment.  It was a look on John's face as Little Richard left.  I thought about how hard it must be to hold these kids, care for them when they are sick,  laugh with  them, play with them, feed them, watch them grow for years and then watch them leave.  I am sure John and Irene have had achy hearts many times.  

Like most dads, John is gone throughout the day and sometimes he is gone for a week at a time.  He has an orphanage in Togo several hours away and is helping FTO with Hondzo, a school which is also hours away. I watched as he called the children to come and join him for stories. They raced to get their chairs and get as close to him as possible.  They began telling funny stories and it was beautiful just sitting  there watching them laugh at each other and at John.  If one moved from his lap, it was filled quickly by another one.  Yes watching him follow after Little Richard, holding Yaw's hand, was a moment that caught my attention. 

We are not so different  when it comes to our feelings.  We all want to be loved and we all are human.  I cannot think like an American while I am in Ghana because Ghana and America are different.  I must love like God tells me to love and try to appreciate the differences instead of finding them inconvenient which I have been guilty of.  This trip is different and I am seeing that God is teaching me some new things like appreciating some things that are different.

Being rich isn't always about money.  If I have plenty money and do not laugh, love, enjoy I am not rich, I just have money. The Ghanaians are very rich in many ways, a few that we could learn from.  

I love America, I love Ghana and I am praying that we will grow together through the love of Jesus Christ being patient, kind, long suffering and joyful with one another.