A Sacrifice to...

A week ago, I was at the river with some friends. It was the day after Easter and there is typically a big Easter Monday picnic there. But, when we arrived, no one was there. People had been encouraged to picnic at the park in town since there was rain during the night and because of the drowning the previous week. But, most of us were not local Ghanaians, so we ended up at the river for some of our festivities.

As  I was walking around, I noticed a big pile of feathers. So, I asked my friend what they were from. the reply was, "There was a killing here." I said, "What?" "There was a killing, a sacrifice." The local people who are part of the Traditional religion believe that the man drowned because in some way, the god of the river was unhappy. So, the man's life was taken. The sacrifice of fowl was to appease the god of the river so that there would be no more deaths and that fishermen would enjoy a safe and prosperous fishing season.

Scripture says:

6 It isn’t sacrifices and offerings that you really want from your people.

 Burnt animals bring no special joy to your heart.

 But you have accepted the offer of my life-long service.

Psalms 40:6 (TLB)

I pray that the people in this community will come to know the LORD God Almighty and worship Him alone...and offer the sacrifice of :"life-long service," bringing others to Christ. 



Waiting...a Way of Life

Life in Ghana is definitely a LOT slower than it is in America, a LOT slower! People take their time. In Lawra, very few people wear a watch. Time is "told" by the position of the sun. So, if it is a cloudy day, people will be late for church, appointments, whatever they have scheduled. I like the slower paced life style, I don't like the waiting!

This past week or so, I had experienced quite a bit of this new way of life. The plumber said he would be at my house at noon. He never showed up. The Internet connection was slow, at best. Email was impossible to access even though I kept trying. Another person told me they were, "On the way coming." They arrived an hour and a half later. A friend told me that they would pick up some items from my house...they never showed. I wait for a vehicle to fill before I travel to Wa - sometimes two hours! Even church rarely starts when it is scheduled.

So, the lesson to be learned is basically "get used to it. Accept it. Always carry a book" because an entire culture isn't going to change just for me. It's that or get upset about it on a daily basis. I chose to accept the things I cannot change!