Baby Steps

The work I do here in the Upper West Region of Ghana is important. But, if I look for results that can be seen and measured, I may be discouraged and tempted to take the next flight to the United States. The progress that can be seen is small and slow. Only God can see what is happening in the hearts of men and women, boys and girls. I work as a church "Caretaker" or Lay Pastor. My church, in the village of Kunyukuo, is small. It has an average attendance of 11 adults and 13 children. Most are illiterate. And, if they are able to read, they are very shy and unsure of themselves. My prayer for this church is that one day it would have local leadership. The young man in the above picture is one of those leaders. He has taken the Part I exam to be an accredited local preacher within Methodist Church Ghana. He hopes to attend school in the future, either for teaching or nursing. His heart's desire is to be a pastor, but there is no money for the training. Plus, it takes time.

The young woman's name is Ernestina. Ernestina has attended the Kunyukuo church even before I started there in January 2016. She has just recently volunteered to read the Psalm for the day in the service. Since there is no Old Testament in her heart language of Dagaare, the Psalm is read in English, the national language. She did an excellent job reading. And, Matthias translated it into Dagaare so everyone could understand. It took a year and a half for this to happen! But, it did happen. Baby steps. Please pray for Ernestina, Matthias, and all of those worshiping in Kunyukuo, that the Lord would touch their hearts and they would have the desire to know Him and serve Him.

Two Amazing Young Men

I have known Wisdom and Godwin for three years now. They are members of the Kalsagri Methodist Church. I remember when we first received the Dagaare New Testament. Straight away, these two boys sat under a tree, opened them up and began reading. They read Dagaare so well! (And that is unusual.) You would never know that there was no Dagaare teacher at their school. 

These boys have been very active in the life of the church. They read the morning Scripture readings. And, if they are from the Old Testament, in English, they are able to appropriately interpret it into their own language. They are on the list to take a turn to lead the worship services. They walk over a half hour to attend church, Bible study, prayer meeting and school. Godwin interprets for Bible study. Wisdom wants to be a pastor and is always at church when something is scheduled..  Both of them are ranked first in their class - Wisdom in Form 1 (Grade 7) and Godwin in Form 2 (Grade 8.)

So, this past week, these two boys were given bicycles as part of the Kalsagri Bicycle Project. It is for Junior High School students. The requirements are: 1. Be a member of the church. 2. Be VERY active in the life of the church for at last a year. 3. Rank first in your class. Already Isabella, who is ranked third in her class, is saying she will work hard to become first. She, too, is active in the church.

What a joy it has been to watch these young people grow and mature, both physically and spiritually. When I question my work here...is it making a difference...I think of these two and I smile. God has blessed me with knowing these young people. Pray for them as they continue to grow, mature, study and become closer to the one true God in the midst of a society where idol worship is the norm. And, continue to pray for the congregations of Kalsagri and Kunyukuo that they may seek after the Lord and Him only. And pray that these congregations will become "a beacon on a hill" for a dark world."

A Small Girl's Request

Not too long ago, after church was finished in Kunyukuo, a small girl came up to me. Her name was Akos. I asked her how old she was, she didn't know. I am guessing she is about six years old. She said she wanted me to be her friend and gave me a black plastic bag full of groundnuts. She also asked me if I would give her a Christian name. This was the first time I was asked to name someone. I wasn't sure what to say. So, I replied, "You come back next week. I will pray and ask God what name I should give to you." That was fine with her.

As I rode my motorcycle back to Lawra, I began praying. "Lord, what is Your name for this small girl? I want her to know Your love, Your protection, Your strength, Your mercy. I want her to know that even though she is from the village of Kunyukuo, she can have hope for her future life." All week long, I sought the Lord for an answer. And, all week long, the story of Esther was impressed upon me. Esther didn't have parents. Akos does, but she came to church by herself. Someone else is watching out for her spiritual life. Esther had no idea that she would be the one who would become Queen and be the person God used to save her people.

Young Akos doesn't know what the future holds for her. Her future doesn't look promising when you look at the reality of life in Kunyukuo. God makes all things possible!

So, when Akos returned to church the next Sunday, I sat down with her. I told her (and the entire congregation) the story of Esther. And, that I believed "Esther" is the name God would have me give to her. Maybe one day, she will be an instrument of change in her world.

Please pray for young Esther, for health and safety, for a hunger for the One True God and that she would grow and mature into a woman of God who would change her world!

Bible Storying

Most of the people with whom I work are illiterate. They cannot read or write. They live in an oral society and have oral traditions. They learn the stories of those who have gone before and tell them to their children. So, in this culture, it is especially important to teach the Bible in the way people will hear and understand. 

In the two churches where I work, Kunyukuo and Kalsagri, I have started a Bible storying class. We meet in Kunyukuo on Sundays, after church, and in Kalsagri on Saturday afternoons. We will methodically study the main 80-100 stories of the Bible, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. During the class, the Bible story is told. We discuss it and answer some very pertinent questions, then the story is told again. (This is done in both English and Dagaare.) Then, we break up into pairs and tell the story to each other. Kalsagri did is when I was the Caretaker at their Society. So, they got right into it. They are very animated as they tell the story. And, when someone arrives late, there is no hesitation to tell the newcomer the story of the day.

Kunyukuo, on the other hand is tough. During the first class, people looked at me as if I had three heads. They are not used to doing thing. The last class we had, most groups told the story and a couple of them were very animated. I am hoping that this continues. You can watch some of the Bible storying on my Facebook page, Sue Kolljeski, Serving Christ in Ghana.

In an oral, illiterate society, it important to know the stories and lessons in God’s Word. And, little, by little, these two Societies are able to tell the Bible story and lesson that are taught. Hopefully, people will share the story of God's extreme love for us. And, hopefully they will draw strength from His word, for now they are learning it and hiding it in their hearts.