New Life



 

It is FINALLY rainy season. Everything that seemed to have died has come back to life! The desolate, dry farms now have the signs of yams and groundnuts growing. Maize is waist high. Farmers are busy.

 

The same is true of the small Methodist Church in Kalsagri. It has been "dormant" for several years. When I returned to Ghana in March 2013, the pastor of the Lawra Mission Circuit appointed me as caretaker of the Kalsagri church. What does that mean? It means that I am "almost a pastor." Worship services began on Pentecost Sunday, 19 May 2013. We had 59 people in attendance. Since then, out high was 102 with an average of over 80! People are hungry for the Word of God. They want a church in their village. They want to gather together to sing, dance and praise God. And, during testimony time, these same people who have absolutely nothing, give thanks to God for providing for them throughout the week! Even when we met for worship 2 1/2 hours early on Market Day, during farming season, 74 people attended!

 

The new life at the Kalasgri Methodist Church doesn't stop there...a weekly health clinic has been started. Over 70 people are given medical treatment each week. And, on Sunday, they thank God for it! Saturday afternoons, time is taken to go over the Scriptures for Sunday's service. They are read in English, explained in Dagaare and in English. The people who attend practice reading in English. Prayers are prayed. The first week, six students came for this class. Last Saturday, we had twenty students, ranging from primary class 2 to a young man who has completed Senior Secondary School and hopes to further his education.

 

Thanks to our brothers and sisters in America, the church building itself has received new life, too. A new roof, a new floor, four windows, a door, a water filter, fourteen benches, and six chairs are now at the church. The congregation has donated four brooms, two bars of soap, two pieces of cloth and a drinking cup so far. There has been a work day to clean up the grounds around the church; it was well attended.

 

People who have not heard God's word, are hearing. People who have been lost, have been found. People who have been outcasts have been welcomed. People who have been grieving have been given hope. New life comes in a multitude of ways, all given by the giver of life, the Lord God Almighty. My He continue to work through me and through others to bring about His Kingdom on earth...all for His glory!

Transformation: Tinekpier Kuuyan to Elijah

In previous posts I talked about mt time with the team from Gandy's Cove, AL. Our last medical clinic was in Lawra where in two hours we saw 70 patients. One of them was Tinekpier Kuuyan. He came because he had some wounds on his left knee. Tinekpier saw Karen, a registered nurse. After she did her medical consultation with him, she asked Tinekpier, "Do you know Jesus?" He responded, "No, but I would like to." So, Karen spoke with him and prayed with him. Then, the translator spoke with him.

I cleaned his wounds and noticed the juju on his leg. So, I called one of the translators over. He was a little ball of Holy Ghost fire! He talked with Tinekpier, asking him why he had so much juju on him, more than ten bracelets, several rings, stuff around his neck and even around his leg. He believed if he wore the juju around his leg, the spirits would heal him.

Tinekpier had agreed to take the juju off. The bracelets were removed with people surrounding him in prayer, praying in Jesus' name. The leg juju was removed as well as the juju around his neck. Tinekpier was taking a huge step. He chose to trust Jesus instead of the spirits connected with the juju. Later, we found out that Tinekpier was a juju/traditional priest, so this was a VERY big step for him. After all the juju was removed, we praised God for a new name written in the Book of Life.

Tinekpier had some concerns. What would he do when he went back home? What would "they" say? We all assumed he was talking about his family members, when if fact he was not worried about them - they were all Christians! He was worried about what the spirits would say. So, we went home with him.

When we arrived at his room, there was plenty of juju around. All kinds of things to wear to ward off spirits. There were things in his room on the wall, in the floor, on the roof. A big pile was collected and burned. Jesus is stronger than any juju!

Tinekpier is a skinny man. He hardly ever ate because he would have to ask the spirits if the food was safe to eat. Most of the time, the spirits told him it was poisoned, so he would not eat and he would believe that people were trying to kill him. He also hardly ever slept because the spirits would visit him at night. But, even in the midst of all of this, there was a cross...Jesus was preparing Tinekpier for this day!

While the juju was burning, we talked with Tinekpier about going to church, praying, studying the Bible. His concern was going to church with his hair the way it was. He wanted it shaved off. So, one of the guys cut his hair, shaved his head and shaved off his beard. It was amazing to witness the love of Christ that this person had for Tinekpier.

Now that Tinekpier was a new man, a new creation in God's sight & in ours, he needed a christian name. Elijah was "born!" Elijah..."My God is the LORD!" How fitting!

Elijah has had one experience with the old spirits...the first night, they came into his room, felt his head and his hair was gone! The spirits knew that Tinekpier was gone and Elijah was here. Elijah has been eating everything offered to him and has begun farming. He attends church, Bible study, morning prayer. He was baptized, too! He is hungry for God! He says that he knows that he has to do these things because if he doesn't, the spirits will return and he doesn't want to return to that life.

There was a series of things that happened to bring about this change. The Holy Spirit was working overtime! And, praise God that Karen asked the question, "Do you know Jesus?" Maybe we should listen to the Holy Spirit's nudging more often and open our mouths to ask, "Do you know Jesus?"