Day six in Ghana was going to be a very long day.     Last year the most difficult day of the trip by far was the trip to an area called “Overseas”.   The overseas area is actually not oversea, but it is an area that becomes completely isolated from the rest of Ghana during the rainy season.    It is approximately 50 miles from Wale Wale which we consider our home base, but getting to this area requires crossing the North Volta River, a tremendous body of water that completely floods all roads in and out of the region once the rain starts in late April.  From May until November, the only way to reach this area for years and years was by boat.    Fortunatly, a group of Japanese engineers on a humanitarian mission built a great bridge a few years ago making the river passable year round…..but still the roads get washed away every year.     The 50 mile journey takes about 3 hours and there are many treacherous places in the road that will tear up the best of vehicles if you are not careful.     Day six was our return trip to this remote location.

     As we began the journey we stopped in the village of Yama and met Pastor Zachariah, a wonderful man with humility and a servants heart that is rare even for those in ministry.  He pastors the church in the Yama village as well as several other churches in smaller villages in the region.   Before the bridge was built, Pastor Zachariah would ride his bicycle to the banks of the river and lift his bike above his head, crossing the alligator infested waters about chest deep to go and check on the people who live overseas.    Last year we discovered a very small church in a village overseas that had no men menbers.   The church consisted of approximately 20 women and 25 or so children.   Their building had a giant hole in the roof which made the building flood whenever the rains started.   We met with them under a giant mango tree and had a wonderful evangelistic service and 4 men came to Christ and became the first adult male members of the church.    In the year that has passed, those four men have continued to serve in the church and they have worked very hard trying to repair the hole in their roof.   Unfortunately, the hole was just too big and too much damage had been done.   The people of Robinhood Road Baptist Church sent them a financial gift last fall to help them start building a new church in the village.    As we returned this year, we saw a church building that was almost finished, all except for the roof and window frames.    

     Upon our arrival, the four of us along with pastor Barnabas, Zachariah, and Ben gathered in the incomplete structure and prayed for God’s blessing upon that place for years to come.  We prayed that the church would be a source of light for the entire village and that one day it would be seen as the most important place in the entire village.   After our dedication time, we met with the church under the same mango tree we gathered under last year and I was able to preach.    I shared with them the story of Lazarus death and how his sisters were disappointed because they didn’t think Jesus arrived in time to help them……but He had something far greater in mind.   I used that analogy to help them see that while life in their village is hard and change is slow, they have to remain hopeful that God’s plan is still coming about and when it happens, they will be amazed at how much more wonderful it is than even all they had hoped for.     At the end of the service, people sort  of started forming a line and asking our group to pray for their sick.   We even had one girl whose family wanted me to pray that the “devils would leave her head”.    It seemed that the teenage girl sufferered from some sort of severe mental retardation…….but nonetheless i prayed that God would be with her every day of her life and meet her every need. 

     After some goodbyes and a meeting with the village chief, we headed back down the long and dirty road back home.   Along the way we passed by a desserted village and Barnabas told me an incredible story of how one day about 30 years ago, everyone from the village just disappeared.   No one knows what happened to them, but in the span of one night, an entire village and all of their animals just vanished.   Their homes and all their belongings were still in the village, but as many as 200 people just simply vanished never to be heard from again.   To this day, locals are afraid to go into that village and it remains empty, exactly as it was left three decades ago.    It was a very strange and sort of chilling tale!

     We made it back early enough to do some sight seeing in town.   We spent a few hours walking the streets of Wale Wale and even made it to the chief’s palace for an unannounced visit.   He was very gracious and agreed to meet us.    The chief of Wale Wale is not a favorite of the members of Central Baptist Church because he ruled against them in a land dispute, so they have never really been excited about taking us to meet him.   But, on our own we wandered to his palace and he greeted us.   We were told he had 4 wives, and from our brief conversation with him it was obvious that Jessica was a strong candidate to become number 5.    He didn’t really care too much about any of us, but he wanted specifically to know her name.    It was a little bizarre, but then again, Jessica would make a good chief’s wife.     We also visited several homes of church members which was very cool.   We went to Kingsford’s home.   Kingford is a 11 year old boy who tags along everywhere we go.   He is very smart and it’s hard not to love that little guy.   His father is a police detective in the village of Wale Wale and a very kind man.   We prayed for his home, laughed together and had good fellowship.   Turns out he is a Presbyterian and goes to a different church than his wife and son…..and we told him we’d be praying for him to move his membership.     The final visit of the day was to the home of Augustina and Rose, the two girls who lead worship at Central Baptist Church.   I wish every person who reads this blog would have the opportunity to hear those girls sing.   It is truly mesmorizing to listen to them and to see the passion in which they bring to leading worship.   Augustina’s father is an elder in the church but is very ill, so we prayed for him and fellowshipped outside of their home. 

     It was a good day filled with lots of surprises and many impromptu opportunities to build relationships with people in the community.  We ended the day having a much different perspective on how hard life is for them every single day, and yet how much joy they have in their faith and family life.

     Monday in Ghana began with an early start and the traditional overpacked van ride down a dusty road.  We were headed to the village of Dimia, but when we arrived they were not ready for us…..so we let them know we would be back later in the day and moved on to the village of Tinkaya.   Once we arrived in Tinkaya we noticed that some of the people whose homes we had visited and shared the Gospel with on Saturday afternoon had made their way to Tinkaya to hear more about Jesus.   One man in particular whose entire family accepted Christ was very happy to see us again and thanked me several times for “bringing Jesus to his house”. 

     After about 1 hour of waiting for people to gather under the chief’s resting place, we were set to begin.  In case you’re wondering, in each village there is something that looks something like a gazebo.   It has wooden posts in all four corners and a thatch roof covering the open aired area.  At the center of that area is the chief’s resting bench, a very comfortable looking long bench that usually has some dried animal skins or fur coats over the seats.  Surrounding that center bench are benches on all four sides.  The chief spends most of his day there greeting and spending time with the  villagers.   In most villages, we greet the chief there and then he allows us to go find a mango tree for our meeting, but in this village the chief invited us to stay at his resting area and share the story there…..which means he would be listening as well. 

      We sang a few songs and then Janet shared the Creation to Christ story.   I followed up by sharing the stories of Nicodemus who came to Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler who rejected Jesus.   We told the people there that now that they had heard the story of Jesus, just like Nicodemus and the Rich Young Ruler, they had a decision to make too.    After that the pastors who were traveling with us started the invitation, but someone spoke up and asked a question.   After that question, for about the next 20 minutes there was much discussion that was not translated for us, but we could all get the gist of the discussion……the villagers were saying that the story we told was different than the ones that the Muslims had been bringing to them and they were confused as to which was truth.   As they were conversing, the Holy Spirit just grabbed hold of me in a way that rarely happens (but i wish would more often) and He put a word in my heart to share.   I read the parable about the man who found a great pearl and then went out and sold everything he owned so he could have it.   I shared with them that Jesus, not Mohammed was the great pearl and that while some think his teachings are good…..there is only one Son of God.  

      After a few more minutes of discussion, the invitation was given again and about 40 people including the village chief gave their hearts to Christ.  It was an amazing moment!     the chief thanked us for coming and before we left we explained what a church was.  We stressed that it was a regular gathering of those who love Jesus.  They meet together to sing, worship, testify, and wait for His return.   The chief asked us if we could help them build a building for the church to meet in, and i assured him that if they were faithful, God would provide everything they needed in His perfect timing.   After some hugs, handshakes, and a tear or two…..we left.

     Our other stop for the day was back to the village of Dimia.   In the center of the village was a tree stump that had some carvings on it…..and we found out it was the village god.  The people of the villag bow down to it, pray to it, and never, ever look directly at it.   We met under a shade tree about 100 feet from the stump and as we met i could see the people listening to our story and every now and then they would glance over in the direction of the stump.   As Tres told the story……i could see them begin to sense that there was so much more truth in the world than what an old tree stump had to offer.   At the conclusion of our time together, about 15 asked Jesus into their hearts, and others said they would consider what we said and asked us to pray for them.   They very specifically asked for one of the women in our group to say a prayer for their village, which was a bit out of the ordinary.   But, Jessica stood up and offered a beautiful prayer for the people of their village.  While they had their heads bowed in prayer…..i have to confess that i snuck over and took a picture of the sacred tree stump.  Thankfully i was not consumed by fire (just kidding).      As we left, Pastor Salifu promised that he would return to the village later in the week to check on them and to anwer any questions they might have. 

       Monday night ended with a shared Bible study time at Central Baptist Church.   The four of us gathered together with about 12 from Central Baptist and sat in a circle, holding flashlights in front of our Bibles to read scripture.   We talked about the difference in being faithful and successful, and the central character of that study was Moses.   It was the best Bible study time i think i’ve ever been a part of.   We had such wonderful discussion, and for about 2 hours we just enjoyed diving into scripture together and being discipled by one another.   There were about 5 teenagers at the study from Central Baptist, so Jessica and Tres presented them with a soccer ball and encouraged them to continue coming to Bible Study.   They were very thankful and the night ended with that. 

     Again, it was a good day in Ghana and we were just overwhelmed to be a part of what God was doing there.

     Saturday had been an awesome, yet tiring day.  We went to bed late and awoke in the middle of the night to an incredible thunderstorm.  For a few moments i am sure we heard hail hitting the building, and i wondered if we were in the middle of a tornado…..but i’m not even sure they have them in Ghana.  Sunday morning we were able to sleep in and then it was off to worship with our brothers and sisters at Central Baptist Church (where Barnabas is Pastor). 

    Something very funny happened before we left though.   A lady who we had befriended at the lodge spent Saturday night making me a very special African shirt that i could wear to worship the next day.  She thought it would be a special treat for the church to see me preaching in some more traditional African garb.   It was very nice, but what was so funny was that Barnabas arrived to pick us up in a long sleeve shirt and tie.   As we arrived at the church i felt like i was in the middle of “opposite day” where he dressed like us and we dressed like them.   It gave us a good laugh and got the day off to a very good start. 

     We were welcomed by the church with open arms.   They have several Sunday School classes that meet in seperate corners of the Sanctuary each week.    We attended the “English speaking class” taught by Mohammed.   Mohammed is a wonderful teacher and taught a lesson on the meaning of love.   We had wonderful discussion and i was very impressed at how knowledgeble of scripture Mohammed was and even more impressed at how he listened and had a heart for what people were saying.

     Worship began with an awesome time of praise and worship.    As they worship, they incorporate many of their tribal dances in the time of praise and before long, the whole congregation was forming what looked like a conga line throughout the sanctuary…..but i promised myself years ago that my next dance would be at my daughters wedding….and i kept to it.   I am pretty sure the rest of our team wanted to get out there…..but had a case of cold feet.    As different as it was, it was still very worshipful and watching the faces of the people you could see that what they were doing was a sincere form of praising God.     The time of praise and worship ended with the offering and then a special offering to help fund the new Women’s Resource Center that the churches have agreed to create together.   They have asked every member of every church to give one extra cedi during the month of March.   A cedi is the equivalent of about 70 cents to you and i, but a big sacrifice for most of these people.

     When it was time for the message i shared the story of Mary visiting the empty tomb and Jesus standing behind her calling her name.  In her grief she didn’t even consider it was him….but when he called her by name she knew her savior was alive.  I challenged the members of Central Baptist Church to listen to the voice of God calling their name.  He would give them comfort, strength, and direction in both times of joy and sadness.   

     After worship, lunch was provided by Grace (Pastor Barnabas’s wife) and she made us some of the best spicy rice and guiney fowl chicken that we’ve ever had…..not that we’ve had that much…..but it was darn good.     Then we had a very brief meeting with all the officers of the church at Central Baptist and they stressed again the need for support because all of the churches that are being started in villages are dependent on them for leadership and it is putting a strain on the church.

     In the afternoon we went to the church that we started last year in the village of Kpabgu.   When we left in 2010, there were about 80 people who had asked Jesus into their hearts in this village and wanted to be a part of the church.  They named the church “Robinhood Baptist Church” originally, but quickly decided to rename it “Tower Of Glory” which is a great name.  A year later, when we returned we found that about 45 of those were still meeting together and were growing in their faith.   Now you may think that it’s bad that almost half of the people who were saved at a crusade disappeared, but i think it’s awesome that almost half have stayed strong and committed.   Their pastor’s name is Benjamin Babawam and he is a 30 year old with a pastors heart and the preaching skills of a seasoned evangelist.  Ben is an awesome pastor and they are in good hands.    They meet in the school house for the village, a very hot, dusty room with very little lighting and a lack of proper seating spaces for adults.    They are frustrated because at times they show up for worship and someone has locked the building in an effort to keep the church from meeting.   When that happens, they move outside and meet under the shade of a tree….but it is a reminder that not everyone is thrilled to see people who worship Jesus in their village. 

      We had an awesome time, and Janet shared a word or two of encouragement and then Jessica and Tres presented the youth of the church with a gift from us, a soccer ball with a needle and air pump.   They were very excited and said “we hope you return next year and when you do we would be excited to receive another ball”.    It was like Christmas morning to them. 

     When it was time for the message i challenged them to focus on Peter’s Confession of Christ to Jesus and Jesus’ response to Peter.   He basically told Peter that the Church should be progressive, aggressive, and responsible until his return.   I shared with them the meaning of those words and encouraged them to continue showing their entire village the way of God and the love of His Son.  

    After worship they had a question and answer session where anyone was free to share anything they wanted.   The people of this church spoke one after one, all making the request for us to help them build their own church house.   The cost of a building for them would be approximately $1,000 american dollars, but as i have mentioned before that’s like a million to you and I.   They stated that it is discouraging to show up for worship and to have someone lock them out.    It is also discouraging when they invite people to come worship with them and then have to share that they don’t have their own place to meet.   They shared with us they were praying daily that God would bless them with a buiding that would become a center of light fot the village.     I made no promises, but told them that my prayer would be that i could return next year and preach to them in their new building.    They erupted in cheers and shed tears.    Somehow, someway, i very much feel like the people of RRBC and Christians we have relationships with need to make sure these people’s prayers are answered.   If anybody out there would like to bless a group of people almost beyond what words could describe…..i’d be happy to get your donation to them. 

     We ended the day by going by and visiting with the chief of the Kpabgu village, and he quickly reminded me that i took a picture of him last year but never sent it to him.   He told me he is still waiting and he already has a spot on his wall to place it.   He also thanked us for what we are doing for the church and said that the church was a good thing for the village.   He asked us to pray for him and we prayed that God would give him health and wisdom as he led the village.   With that, we left and ended a very successful day.

     Day two had been an incredible day.   It’s hard to describe how special it is to stand in church with dirt floors, mud walls, and a thatch roof filled with 60 people who have almost nothing physically…..but who have the joy of the Lord in their hearts and to see how happy they are.  Our word of encouragement to them had been from the creation story where God said “let there be light, and there was light”.  I reminded them that when they asked Jesus into their hearts, they became the light of God and it is important that their entire village sees the power of light to reveal truth, expose darkness, and illuminate the narrow path….and then watched them respond to that challenge by recommitting themselves to share Jesus with their villages.   It was simply an awesome moment for the four of us to be a part of.  An amazing truth about mission work is that you always think you’re going somewhere to change the world, but in reality you are changed more than anybody else when you simply listen to the voice of God and are obedient to His leading.

     Day three began a little bit later, we got to stay in bed until about 7:30, but we started listening to roosters crow long before dawn.   We got the last laugh though because i’m pretty sure we ate them for dinner one night.    By 9:00AM we were in the village of Gaagbini, a village with no church or presence of the body of Christ at all.   During our last trip in January, members of our church had visited this village and spoke with the chief, asking for permission to return one day and talk about Jesus.   He had granted permission, so on this Saturday morning our first stop was to the chief’s resting place to thank him for his generosity and to remind him who we were.   Chiefs in villages in Africa are very important men.   Each people group has a “high chief” and all village chiefs among his people group are in some way related to him.   The high chief for the Mamprusi people lives in Tamale, and the bottom line is WHAT HE SAYS GOES.   There is really no such thing as police, mayors, judges or juries in these village outposts…..the chief is the authority and if you don’t like what he says you can either leave or face his wrath.    That being said, the reality is that every chief we have ever met has been both kind and wise.     And, if you slip them a little cash, they’ll be happy to let you speak to the people of their village. 

      Once we were given permission, we found a great mango tree in the center of the village and started gathering people under it’s shade.  We put out benches and started singing songs.   Before long there were probably 100 people there with us.   We shared with them that God had sent us to their village with a very important message.   The message was that He had not forgotten about them and He wanted to make sure they had heard about His son who came to take away their sins and give them hope.   They were very excited to hear our reason for being there and Jessica began to share the Creation to Church story.    The Creation to Church story is a 7 minute synopsis of everything that happened from the beginning of time until the death, burial, ressurection, and ascension of Jesus.    It hits the high points of creation, the origin of sin, the sacrificial system, the calling of Abraham, the speaking of the prophets, and the life of Jesus.   The emphasis is on the fact that God always revealed Himself to people and sometimes they listened, but most of the time they did not…..thus, the problem of sin had to be fixed.   At one time it was fixed with the sacrifice of animals without blemish…..and then Jesus became the Lamb of God for our sins.       After Jessica finished the story, i asked them if they liked the story and if they wanted to hear two more very short stories.   I then told them about Zacchaeus and the Rich Young Ruler and their encounters with Jesus.   I made it clear that they had two very different responses to the truth of Jesus in this life and because of that, their eternities are now very different.   I tied it all together by saying that because they had now heard the story of Jesus, they had a decision to make as well.    That was the invitation, and about 60 people stood up and asked to be saved.  We prayed the sinners prayer with them and then talked about what the church is…..people who love Jesus that gather together to talk about what He has done in their lives, offer praise and thanks to Him, serve Him, and wait for His return.  

     We promised them that we were working hard to start a church in their village and that one day soon we would invite those who love Jesus to be a part of it.   Until that day when a church can officially begin, we promised that someone would come back to their village every week and teach them the Bible.  Joseph, a deacon from Central Baptist (the mother church as they call it) was assigned to ride his motorbike to the village each week and teach them the Bible.   He went for the first time 2 weeks ago and almost everyone who gave their hearts to Christ met him under the mango tree and began being discipled.    They did have one request, and that was for benches they could use when they gathered.  We gave them a donation from the Activators group at Ardmore Baptist Church which will provide them enough money to have 6 sturdy benches built and kept in their village for the Bible Study group.    It truly was an amazing morning. 

     Our afternoon stop was in the village of Diani.  When we arrived in Diani we discovered a tragedy had happened.  Since my wife and her team had been there in January, the chief had died and no new chief had been assigned to take his place…..so there was no one who would officially speak and grant us permission to gather the village for a meeting.   The deceased chief’s brother did, however, feel comfortable in telling us we were welcome to go hut to hut and talk to people who would welcome us into their homes individually.    So, we split up into teams of four, with one American, one translator, and a few others in each team.   We would go into huts and tell people our primary reason for being there was to see if everyone in their homes were well.   If they were not, we would like to pray with them.   We discovered all sorts of illness, sadness, and witnessed firsthand how tough their lives are.    We prayed with many people that afternoon and after we would pray we asked them if it would be okay to share a story with them.  In individual homes we shared the Creation to Church story and witnesed to them.   Each of the four teams came back with stories of how whole households were saved…..and i’m not sure about the exact number, but approximately 40 people were led to Christ that afternoon.   Something cool happened then, all the people who had accepted the message just sort of showed up at the van not wanting us to leave…..so what the chief’s brother couldn’t give us permission to do, God provided for and we had a very short time of worship.   During this time we explained what the church is and how our hope was to plant a church in their village….and those who accepted Jesus that day would be it’s first members.   It as a very awesome moment.    

     There were a few tough moments though.  We met people who were very ill and whose chance of getting better without a miracle is very small.  One lady told me she had “disease in her bones” and many small children were very sick that we saw.   Also, one of our team members witnessed to a man who said he wanted to accept Jesus, but he was afraid of persecution from the Muslims in his village, so he wanted to wait until he was sure there were others who were willing to take the stand with him.

     We returned to our home base, rested, and  then gathered the members of Central Baptist Church after dark to watch the movie “The Passion” from a video projector we had taken on the side of the church wall outside.   It was powerful as well.

     The day ended with us being transported back to the lodge on the backs of their motorbikes because our van driver was too tired and went home early.   Something i never thought i’d see is this fat preacher with my arms wrapped around a skinny ghanaian riding down a dusty road on a moped looking bike in the middle of the night.   It was a strange sight indeed.    But….it seemed the perfect ending to such a spectacular day.

     Our team of four was up way before the sun and at the Accra airport by 5AM, ready for the next leg of our adventure and excited about reaching our final destination after almost 48 hours of travel.   We boarded the plane and received our traditional Ghana in-flight snack which consists of some sort of juice and some kind of mystery meat sandwich.   Tres, the youngest member of our team was brave enough to try the sandwich that looked a little like chicken salad.  After one bite he said “this is delicious” but after a few more bites he finally tasted the crunch of a beak or claw….and the great sandwich taste test was officially over. 

   We arrived at the airport in Tamale and as we got off the plane we could see about 10 members of the church we were working with jumping up and down waiving their hands.   What a great way to be greeted!    A quick one hour drive to the village of Wale Wale and finally we had reached our destination.   It was good to be there, and we could sense that something really exciting was in store for us.   The people were so happy to see us and they had gone out of their way to make sure everything was perfect for us, which was nice. 

    Our first official order of business was to have a meeting with the pastors from several churches in the West Mamprusi District.   For those of you who may not know, the Mamprusi people of Northern Ghana are classified as an unreached people group, with anywhere from 300,000 to 800,000 people depending on which statistic you believe.   Of those people, less than 1% are Christians……and many of their hundreds of villages have never even heard the name of Jesus.  They have been locked in a culture of darkness for centuries, worshipping everything from witch doctors to wood carvings in the center of villages and lots of other things in between.    The only official form of religion seems to be a very strong Muslim influence.    The Muslims have been visiting villages and recruiting for their faith since the 1600′s…….but what has mostly happened among the Mamprusi people is just a blending of every kind of faith they have been exposed to.    

     So far in our partnership, we have been able to identify 5 existing churches and we have had the privilege of starting two more.   So, this initial meeting with the pastors of those village churches was more like a “state of the church” address in which each pastor told us of their joys, struggles, wants, and needs.     The most exciting thing we heard was that the church we started last year, now called “The Tower Of Glory” is still going strong and has about 45 members who attend worship every week in the schoolhouse for the village.   The most disturbing thing we heard is that there is a great degree of jealousy between the churches and each time our church sends financial or any other tangible support to any church, the other churches become envious.    It let me know we have much work to do in creating a sense of unity among the body of Christ in the Mamprusi culture.    We also discussed the need for leadership training in the local churches, specifically the need for training teachers, prayer leaders, missions workers, and just about every other job in the church.   They know how to worship, they just don’t know how to manage and grow the church.   It is definitely an opportunity for us to continue helping them grow in the future.

     After our meeting we went out to visit two villages that we have been to before.  The purpose was to go and pray with the people of these churches and to encourage them.   One of the great struggles in these village churches is simply not giving up.   The Christians in these villages are not physically persecuted, but they are sort of cast aside from the normal village life.  They are made fun of and definitely left to fend for themselves because of their faith……so knowing that people would travel from across the ocean just to come and pray with them is an incredible encouragement in itself.   When the villagers who mock their faith see a van full of white skinned people rolling up and offering hugs, smiles, and prayers……it is a powerful testimony.     We visited the village of Timpella where brother Thomas is pastor and then the village of Gogubula where brother Salifu is pastor.    Timpella is struggling because their small church building is falling apart and they have no money to repair or rebuild.   They have 60 or so members, and their weekly offering is about 10 cedi’s, which is the equivalent of about $7 in american money.    It would take approximately $1,000 american dollars to build them an entirely new church, but a thousand to you and i feels like a million to them.      Gogubula is doing extremely well on the other hand.   Their membership has grown in recent years from 7 members to almost 60 and they are very slowly working toward purchasing a new set of drums (no pianos or organs……just bongo drums for typical worship, but it sounds awesome!).    It is good to see them working so hard. 

    As we finished the day, i had a conversation with our primary contact, Pastor Barnabas, who has an incredible story and who has faced many trials both in his faith and ministry.    I’ll share more of his story later in the week, but for know i’ll just say that unless you’ve ever been deprived of food for weeks at a time by your own family in an effort to make you renounce your faith……you have no idea the price Barnabas has paid to be faithful to the cause of Christ. 

    Day two was a very good day.   We were thankful for safe travel, reunions with good friends, and reports from churches that are growing stronger and stronger.    Tomorrow we go to villages that have never heard the name of Jesus before……and we went to bed not really knowing what was to come in just a few short hours.

    After months of planning, weeks of praying, and 14 hours of travel, myself and three others from Robinhood Road Baptist Church finally touched ground in Accra, Ghana.     If you’ve never been through an airport in a less developed country, it’s difficult to describe how nerveracking it can be to go through customs with malitia men holding machine guns glaring at you as if they are waiting for an opportunity to shoot……but after some thorough vetting, we were allowed entrance into the country.   One sort of strange thing happened at the airport.   When we went to the FOREX booth, we were not allowed to exchange some of our one hundred dollar bills for Ghana Cedi’s because they don’t accept “old timey american money”.    After looking to make sure i didn’t hand them confederate bills, i realized that “old timey” means bills with the smaller president faces.   Sure did make me feel old there for a moment.

     The first friendly faces we saw were those of Tom and Kathy Newell.  They run the Agape Guest House in Accra and are an incredible blessing to our group and every other group of missionaries from around the world that wind up in Ghana.   Tom spends his days teaching high school physics and math to the oldest of the 90 plus children who live at the Agape Orphanage.   Kathy spends her days taking care of groups like us and managing the day to day operations of their beautiful home.    What makes Tom and Kathy so special is that they are both in their 70′s.   At one time they were the owners of the largest independent pharmacy west of the Mississippi River and then later owned a craft store in Washington State with close to 200 employees.   A few years ago they decided to retire and sell their business.  With their new freedom they decided to do a short-term mission trip to Ghana and volunteer at an orphanage…..and God spoke.    Three years later God’s calling on their life is to care for children whose families have abandoned them and dumped them off in the city streets of Accra. 

     They shared one story in particular with us about a 2 year old boy who had been dumped out in the streets.   When Tom found him, this child had been sexually abused, both legs were broken, his hair was orange from dehydration, and at almost 2 years of age he weighed 15 pounds.   The doctors at the hospital told Tom that this little boy literally had less than 1 week left to live when they brought him in.  Four years, many surgeries, and lots of love later……this little boy is almost a normal 6 year old who calls Tom “grandpa”.     Their ministry is amazing and it blows my mind to realize that they are doing more in their senior years than most people will do in a lifetime to make a difference in this world.  Their testimony inspires me and reminds me of that all God really needs are people with willing hearts. 

     Tom and Kathy also make a mean plate of homeade spaghetti………which was the last good meal we’d see for awhile.    After the early dinner we crashed at the late, late hour of 6PM exhausted from the all-night flight the night before and the excitement of what lay ahead.   The next morning we’d be heading to the airport at 4:30AM to fly to Tamale and drive to our final destination; WALE WALE.

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post.  I guess the jet lag finally caught up with me.   So back to the journey.    A great Wednesday ended in Ghana with Pastor Barnabas showing up very late at the Presidental lodge asking to speak to me about something very important.    He said that God had put it in his heart to invite the folks from the villages we had visited during the previous three days to come to the community meal the following morning, but they needed transportation.    We were very blessed to have been able to take some extra funds for just such an event, so we were able to provide the money to rent a couple of buses to bring many new Christians to Wale Wale for the day of celebration.

Thursday morning got off to a rough start with two of our team members waking up sick.  Tammy and Eddie were both under the weather and had to stay behind at the lodge while the rest of us went to the community meal.   We arrived at Central Baptist Church and much to our surprise, what we encountered had the feel of an associational gathering with Christians from 7 different villages represented.  At the beginning of the meeting, each village had a group come forward and provide some sort of special music.  Then our team presented a skit called “Boxes” that we had prepared.   The theme of the skit was how Jesus transforms our pains into joys.   It was very powerful and the people got the point. 

Next on the agenda was break-out sessions led by our team.  Ken Warner spoke to the men, Alison Warner spoke to the women, Janet Larson shared with the children, and Todd Pless taught the youth.  I spent that time taking pictures and meeting with the pastors present.  It was a good 45 minutes of teaching and very similar to Sunday School……except with very large and very attentive classes. 

After some prayers of thanksgiving for the day, the churches, and our team, I was asked to bring the Word of  God.  I shared the life story of Peter, reflecting on all the ups and downs of his life.  Then i shared with the Christians there that the most important moment of Peter’s life was when Jesus asked Peter who the people said he was…..and Peter proclaimed “you are the living Christ, the son of God”.    I shared with each of them that the most important moment in any of our lives is the moment when we decide who Jesus really is, and choose to either follow him or go our own way. 

The meal was next……some of the best spicy rice i have ever eaten.  Simply delicious.  We also were given some very special chicken……that’s right, the same chicken that our village chief presented the team with just a day before.   That poor little fella gave his life for a great cause….our lunch!     Of the 250 or so people there, everyone got rice, chicken, and a bottle of soda.  It was a good meal.     After the meal, our team presented each village with a couple of gifts.  We handed out 2 soccer balls and 50 Bibles to be taken back to each village.   The people were very happy about the Bibles……..but honestly, the soccer balls made them light up like you have never seen.     We tried to give out some candy, but the crowd was just too overwhelming.  Several children came away with minor injuries as they trampled on each other trying to get a sucker or piece of gum.  The worst injury was a bloody nose, but i am sure many bruises were made in the scramble for sugar filled Americana.

In a very emotional moment, each member of our team was presented with an authentic African tribal garment that included a hat.   The people worked hard to make them and we were grateful for this act of love. 

The day ended with us getting some time to rest and prepare for the long journey home.   It was a good day in Wale Wale for the all the Christian people among the Mamprusi people-group.

Our Tuesday night ended well after 11PM, and we were warned in advance, Wednesday will be a tough day…….we were  ”overseas” and it was going to be a very difficult trip.   Then the word came that we’d be leaving around 4AM…….that’s right, 4AM! 

Before i get into the day, let me explain what they mean by “overseas”.  There is a certain part of Northern Ghana that is only accessable during the dry season.  When the rainy season begins, every route to this area will be underwater, so the only way to or from this area for a good part of the year is by boat.   The journey was more than 3 hours down dirt roads that in some places are under 5 feet of water for several months of the year…..so you can imagine how bumpy the ride was. 

Our purpose in going “overseas” was to do ministry in two villages.  One of the two has a church that has women and children for members, but in the entire village there is not a single Christian adult male.  Almost the entire village is made up of Muslims who make fun of the Christians and make them feel as though  they don’t belong.  The other village is a community where only 4 believers live, the rest of the village worships either other pagan gods or are considered Muslim.    Our assignment for the day was to encourage believers in communities where they didn’t feel welcome and to remind them that the battles they were fighting were worth it. 

About halfway into our trip, we stopped in the village of Yama where Pastor Zachariah lives.  We prayed for his sick son, delivered a care suitcase filled with food, vitimans, and medicine for he and his family, and picked up several of his church leaders  as we continued the journey overseas.

When we arrived at the first village, we went into their small church and noticed immediately that there were big holes in the thatch roof.  This church made up of women and children didn’t have the means to repair their building, and when the rainy season begins soon……..their church will stay flooded.  They asked us for about $700 to help them put a good solid roof on their building, a prayer concern we are trying to work out.   After praying for their church we went to visit the village chief.   In one of the funnier moments of the week, this wise looking old man came out wearing his robe and a shiney fake rolex watch…..and as i bent down under his shelter to greet him, i hit my head on the bamboo pole and the entire structure almost tumbled down on top of him.  Needless to say i was thankful that i didn’t kill the chief and then in turn they didn’t have to kill me.   He was gracious though, allowing us to stay in the village and even allowing us to take his picture…..which not all chiefs were thrilled about us doing. 

Our worship service under a giant mango tree started and i shared the story of Jesus casting demons out of Lazarus and talked about how Lazarus wanted to go with Jesus when he was made well…….but Jesus needed him to stay where he was to let the village know about Jesus’ love.  That was the challenge for these people, to not give up in a village full of folks who didn’t understand their faith.   Tammy Pless also shared her testimony and 4 men were saved.    It was a great blessing to know that this church now has some men who are committed to Christ as part of their congregation. 

From there we went to the second village where only 4 Christians live who don’t even have a place to worship except under the shade of a tree.  We asked the chief for permission, and he said we could have 5 minutes to greet the village, but that we couldn’t do a service.  So, he came out to hear our greeting.  Pastor Barnabas was very bold and in front of the whole village he said “chief, God will bless this land if you follow Jesus Christ” and then he called on me to explain the plan of salvation.   So, in under 5 minutes (i can talk less than i write) i explained the plan of salvation, thanked the chief for listening, and asked him to consider what i had said.   When Barnabaas came back up he said “chief, do you want to become a Christian”.    The chief raised one finger as a way of saying yes and Barnabas said “God doesn’t want one finger, you must give him your whole hand” so the chief raised both arms high in the air.  In front of the whole village, the chief repeated the sinners prayer after me and became a child of God.  

As we were leaving, two pretty cool things happened.  First, the chief invited the 4 Christians to come worship at his home on Sunday, so they now have a place to worship.  Second, as a sign of goodwill, the chief gave our group a live chicken and 10 pound bag of rice.  The three hour ride back to Wale Wale was a little more lively with that chicken in the van………but it was pretty cool. 

On the way back, we had a brief stop at Yama where we greeted Zachariah’s church.  They were excited to see us, but we were exhausted and did not hold any service, we just said hello and prayed for their church.    We made it back around 4PM and it felt like we had been gone for a week.  I am pretty confident that i had never been so thirsty or tired in my life as i was when we finally returned to the Presidential lodge.   But, it was definitely worth it all to be a part of what God did that day!

Tuesday in Ghana began just like every other day at the Presidental Lodge……with roosters crowing about 4AM and the sleep being all but over.   Actually we were able to get caught up on a little rest and our day didn’t start until 8AM when we were taken to the Preschool at Central Baptist Church.   It was just like our preschool at Robinhood Road except most of the children were  from Muslim families, the classrooms were much smaller, and each teacher was responsible for approximately 50 students.   Families are charged the equivalent of $2 per month for their children to attend this half-day program and the three teachers for the school all earn about $20 per month. 

Our team spent the morning in classrooms.  Myself and Eddie Cole hung out with the 2-3 year olds and watched a little “Ghana discipline” in action.  The teacher stood in the front of the crowded room and children sat in chairs facing her.  They were packed in about as tight as you could possibly imagine…..and she had a big long stick that she would use to smack the children on the head with if they misbehaved.  Needless to say, the kids behaved well! 

Eddie and i spent some time teaching the children songs like “This Little Light Of Mine”, “Jesus Loves the Little Children” and “The ABC Song” and then we started telling the children Bible stories from the Old Testament.  I realized quickly that while the teachers were all members of the church, they were very unfamiliar with Old Testament stories.  Our teacher was simply blown away in hearing the story of Noah’s Ark.  She just kept looking at me and saying “REALLY?” when i was talking about the animals showing up two by two.   Other members of our team spent the morning in different rooms and the older children all got to do some fun crafts.  

We delivered supplies such as sissors, glue, paper, crayons, and clothes that our congregation had collected and the teachers were very appreciative.  We were also able to give every child in the school a stuffed animal which they loved.   We discovered some real needs within the school.  First, the teachers are just like everyone else in Ghana……way underpaid.  They could use some support and even if our church sent their school $60 per month……it would double teacher’s salaries.  AND BELIEVE ME….THEY DESERVE IT!   We also discovered a great need for the school in that they need to purchase a refrigerator to keep the children’s lunches and water cold.  The cost would be about $300 in American money, so we’re praying that somehow we can help out with that project.   Finally, we realized how useful some good children’s books would be for the school so teachers could both learn about and tell some of the great stories of our faith.   We learned stories like David and Goliath, Adam and Eve, Sampson, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendigo when we were very little……..and i’d love for these children whose parents are not Christians to have that same foundation.

Tuesday evening we went to the village of Gbani for a crusade.  The trip took about 90 minutes and our pastors were not expecting nearly the success of the night before because there really was not a Christian presence in this village at all.   Upon arrival, we went to the village chief for premission and we were told that we had to wait until the Muslim Hour of Prayer ended.  So, we twittled our thumbs under the trees in the dark as we listened to the chants and prayers coming from the Mosque.   Once the hour ended, we quickly started our service and many of those who were praying in the Mosque came straight across the road to check out our service.  There was plenty of praise and worship music and approximately 300 people sat on benches and stood in a huge circle around the worship area.  When it was time for the message, i was able to share with them that Jesus was not just a great teacher, nor was he just a prophet from God……but that he was the Messiah, and anyone who told them different was wrong.   By the end of the invitation, about 90 came forward to receive Christ, many still wearing their prayer caps from the pervious service in the Mosque.  It was an awesome God moment.  Things started getting pretty rowdy as Pastor Barnabas cast out some demons and i have to say that our team got seperated and it was a little scary for a moment or two.  We found Janet surrounded by a sea of children and teenagers who were just a little too excited to have her around.   It was not dangerous in any way….but a little more out of control than we expected things to be. 

It was a great evening though, and the end result was that a new church was planted in the village of Gbani……….which the pastors named Robinhood Baptist in honor of our church’s work among the Mamprusi People. 

The overwhelming sense that our team was getting as the week progressed was that this was one of those special God moments in life that is almost just too wonderful to put into words.  We were blessed to witness things that i never dreamt of seeing and i am eternally changed!  And it’s only Tuesday……………….

Monday morning in Wale Wale started early with pop tarts and cereal bars for our team as the sun was coming up, and around 7AM Baba and his  mini-van (which seats approximately 22)rolled into the Presidental Lodge parking lot.    Our mission team picked up about 10 church members from Central Baptist and headed out for revival services at two villages…..Goabuluga and Timpanie.   The two villages were about an hours ride down mostly dirt roads and countryside.    I sat next to Joseph Braimah Tahira on the trip and we had a great time laughing as i told him i kept expecting to look out the window and see lions, elephants, zebras, and monkeys.  I said “what part of the country can they be found at” and his reply was “the zoo in Tamale”.     Apparently every American that goes to Africa thinks they are going to see a National Geographic special in real life…..but pretty much all we saw throughout the week were goats, dogs, chickens, pigs, and cows with an occasional donkey sneaking it’s way into the scene.  

We arrived at the village of Timpanie where an older man named Thomas is pastor.  The very first thing we did was go visit his church, a little mud hut that was about 25 feet X 10 feet with no electricity……just plenty of windows.    Our team held hands and prayed a prayer of blessing over the building, which became the tradition at every church we entered during the week.   We then began gathering people from the village and met under a huge tree.   Approximately 1oo people came out for the service, many were church members, but most were just villagers who were curious to see the white strangers. 

Pastor Barnabas asked me to speak to the group and i offered the same words that i offered to every group all week.   I said to them “5 years ago our church started praying and asking God to lead us in our mission work.  We prayed that he would tell us where to go and tell us what to do.  Out of the entire world, God sent us to you…….in this village on this day…..to tell you that He loves you, that He has not forgotten about you,  and that His Son came into this world to save you”.    Ken Warner shared the story of Jesus and Nicodemus from John 3 and there was lots of singing.   At the end of our time together there were 4 salvations and 14 rededications.   It was a great day for the village.  We tried to end our tiem by handing out candy……and we quickly discovered that candy and african children are a recipe for disaster.  Kids were swarming us, hurting each other, and willing to risk losing a limb for a tiny sucker or stick of gum.   We were lucky to get out of there with nobody getting hurt.

We next went to the village of Guabulgua where Pastor Selifu is serving.  We went in his church and prayed, and began our service under a great mango tree.  Janet Larson gave her testimony and i shared about how God spared Shadrack, Meeshack, and Abendigo from the fiery furnace and told them that Jesus would walk through their fiery trials with them as well if they would only trust him.  At the end of the service, the invitation began and 7 people accepted Jesus as their lord.  One moment that was very powerful was when some women who were present started laughing and Pastor Barnabas looked them right in the eye and in front of 150ish people said “you in the green dress…..you need to quit laughing and give your heart to Jesus”.    One older man who was present accepted Christ and said he was coming forward in hopes that Jesus would save his entire family. 

Again we barely escaped death with the candy distribution.  This time we tried to stay close to the van and throw it out right before we made a fast get-away……but people started jumping on the roof of the van which made Baba (van driver) unhappy………and one thing we learned during the week is that when Baba is unhappy, everyone is unhappy.

After a lunch of chicken and rice, we rested for a few hours and headed to the village of Kpawuga for a crusade Monday night.  We saw 86 people come to Christ, we saw Pastor Barnabas cast demons out of several women, and i was asked to come forward and heal a sick girl who had been coughing up blood.   I asked her if she believed that Jesus could heal her and she said “yes” and i just prayed for God to intervene and heal her so that she might be able to tell the world what God had done for her.  I make no claims that she will get physically better……but i know that if it is God’s will…….He can and will heal her.      Kpawuga was a village without a church, and in a very powerful moment at the end of the night, Pastor Barnabas stood up and said “From this day forward, there will be a Baptist Church in Kpawuga and the 86 people who came to Jesus tonight will be their first members”.    It was waaay too cool to put into words how exciting that moment was.    A 29 year old English teacher from Central Baptist in Wale Wale will most likely become their pastor……so pray for Ben as he begins this journey. 

A long ride back to the Presidental Lodge ended a long, long day……..a day that turned out to be one of the best days of my life.  104 people came to know Jesus as their lord, a new church was started, and lifelong friendships were made.  It was a good day in Africa.