Uncompromising Faith

Esther is a member of the Kunyukuo Methodist Church. Recently, she received word that her daughter had died down south. The daughter, who was not yet 20 years old, had left the village to travel south hoping to find a job carrying things at market.. Esther traveled to the south for the burial and funeral. But, there also needed to be a funeral in her home village, too. Her culture requires this to happen.

Esther is a follower of Jesus. Her ex-husband follows the Traditional relion. So, when the time came for the Traditional rites to be performed on the parents of the deceased girl, Esther refused. "I am a Christian. I will not take part in these rites." she said. The community elders were not happy. They wanted both the mother and father to participate and, among other things, have their heads shaved. I was notified of this situation. So, I hopped on my motorcycle and traveled to Kunyukuo to meet with the family and some of the elders of the community. A compromise was made, one that was satisfactory to both parties. On the same day and at the same time as the Traditional rites for the father of the girl, the mother, Esther, would meet with us and the pastor. We would have a Christian counterpart to the Traditional rites. 

Saturday, the day for the ceremonies to take place, had arrived. We drove out to Kunyukuo and met at the house of Ester's ex-husband. Chairs were set out. Water was offered. Greetings were made. And then, the service began. The pastor preached an appropriate sermon. Songs were sung. Hands were laid on Esther and we prayed for her. And, soon, it was finished.

I had been touched by Esther's faith. She did not compromise in a difficult situation. Her faith held firm. I don't see that very often. Most times, a little bit of both traditions is done. But, Ester held onto her convictions and was not afraid to speak up. I asked if I could speak. I commended Esther for her faith. And, then I did something that I didn't plan. It was most likely an American thing, totally against culture, but people didn't seem to mind. I took off my cross necklace that I had been wearing since I came to Ghana. It has the word "faith" written on the side of it. I put it around Esther's neck and told her to continue sharing her faith. This cross itself has no power, but, Who it represents does. I encouraged Esther to tell her story of faith in the One True God when people asked about the cross she was now wearing. Then, I sat next to her, and we grieved together. I pray that the Lord will continue to keep Esther's faith strong until the day she sees Him face to face.

A Household god

What does this picture look like to you? To me, it looks like a pile of rocks with two sticks standing up in it. To the people who live in the compound where I saw this, it is a "household god" or "family god." This surprised me because I know that the people who live in this compound are Christian, they go to my church. At least some of them are and do.

 

I asked about this "god." I knew that ancestors are very important in this area. This "god" is the "god" of the grandfather of the family. The grandfather has passed and so has everyone of his generation. So, I asked, "If the grandfather is dead, why not destroy the 'god?'" "Oh, Mama, we can't do that." was the response I was given. "Why? I am just a nasapog (white woman), I don't understand." "Because the community will not allow it." "The community? As in the elders of the community?" "Yes, Mama. They will not allow it." "What will happen if your father destroys the 'god?'" "The community will get angry and my father will have to pay some money." "What happens if he doesn't pay?" They will come for him." And so the conversation went on.

 

It is obvious that there is fear involved in removing the idol. There are others inside the house, too. So, are people living for Jesus but, hanging onto their Traditional beliefs? Or are people really afraid to rid their homes of "gods" made out of wood and stone? Please pray for the people of Kalsagri, that fear would give way to the peace of Christ and that people would be willing to stand up for their beliefs. Ghana is a Christian nation. Here, in the Upper West, not so much. May people embrace the One who gave His life so they may be free of such things and live life to the fullest!



The Battle for John

 

Have you ever felt helpless? This afternoon I was at the Kalsagri Church waiting for people to show up for Bible Study. God had a divine appointment for me during that time...

 

As I was sitting under the nym tree, a young boy came up to me. He looked scared and very distressed. He told me that the wizard was after him, trying to kill him. Now, before you laugh this off and dismiss this encounter, please understand that I live in an area where spiritual warfare is very real, and takes place on a daily basis.

 

I brought out a chair for this boy, and found out his name was John and he was 17 years old. He doesn't go to school, but, he spoke English quite well. His father is dead. His two brothers are dead. His sister is dead. And, now, the wizard wants him dead, too. (Wizard is a term used for the traditional priest. They cast spells, they talk to the evil spirits. In many peoples eyes, they are very powerful.)

 

I told John that the God of the Bible, the one, true God, is much more powerful than any wizard. I asked him if he believed that. He said yes, he did. I read to him from Scripture:

 

Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. "See, all your angry enemies lie confused and shattered. Anyone opposing you will die. You will look for them in vain—they will all be gone. I am holding you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God—and I say to you, don’t be afraid; I am here to help you. Isaiah 41:10-13 (TLB)

 

We talked some more. Then, we prayed. We prayed for protection. John told Satan to leave him alone. He told Satan that he (Satan) had no power over him (John.) He prayed and said that Jesus was stronger and more powerful. He asked Jesus to come and protect him. John asked Jesus to replace the fear he had with His peace. We talked some more. I asked John to stay for Bible study (he stayed for most of it) and invited him to church.

 

I don't know all that is going on in John's life. I pray I will see him again. And, I hope I can share Jesus with him again. Please, pray for John, for protection and for the salvation of his soul. Pray that he will be able to connect with others that are faithful to Christ so John can learn more about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Pray that John will personally experience the love and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

 



Sakawa - Get Rich Quick, for a Price

 

Sakawa is from the Hausa word, "sakaawa," meaning deception, as in Internet scams to get rich quick. But, it has taken on a new meaning in recent years. It now used in blood money rituals in Ghana. It is believed if you go through with the ritual, you will become rich very quickly.

 

The "sakawa" ritual involves traditional priests who demand blood from those who go to them for financial assistance. The kind of blood that is demanded depends on what kind of financial rewards that you want to reap and how quickly you want to acquire the money. The priest can demand the blood of a child, boy, girl, woman or man. This means that the "client" has to kill one of these people to get the blood demanded. I have heard stories of this in the area where I live. It is very real!

 

I know of only One Person whose blood really made a difference in the lives of men, women, boys and girls. That person would be Jesus Christ, the Son of the Almighty God. What good does it do if a man (or woman, boy or girl) has all the riches in the world but looses their soul? A person's relationship with God is the only thing that matters as one is on their death bed. Where do you have your riches hidden? In heaven or on earth? Are you ready to see Jesus?

Water Filter Distribution...A Story Not Quite Finished!

 

Once upon a time, in September 2012, a missionary spoke at a church in western Pennsylvania. The missionary was nervous, as this was her home church and people have heard her speak before. Will the message she had this day be heard?

 

 

The message was spoken. Prayers were prayed. Then, a time for questions. A man, I'll call him Russ, seemed to be really touched and concerned for the lack of clean drinking water in the village in which the missionary would be working. So, Russ took it upon himself to raise funds for 25 water filters. He spoke to his Sunday School class. They were in Unity. Yes, they would support the project! Next, Russ went to the entire church. Would people be willing to provide water filters for people half way across the world? They were in one accord - Concord! (Please pardon my puns!) Not only did Russ raise the money for 25 water filters, he raised enough money for 150 water filters! All in a matter of three weeks!

 

Fast forward to February/March 2013. The water filters were purchased. A date in June 2013 was set to deliver the filters to communities in Kasalgri, in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Next, the missionary began to meet with the chief of the village. The local Methodist church was revived. And, now it was time to figure out which communities would receive the filters and how many would be given to each community. How will they be distributed? The missionary, the pastor, and a Ghanaian friend visited with the chief. He called the sub chiefs together. A task was given to them...how many family units were in their community? It was decided to go by the head of the household for now...by the husband. But, how will the sub chiefs count? They didn't know how. So, it was decided that a list of all the heads of the households would be made, with the number of wives listed next to the husbands name. Someone in each sub village, who could write, was found. The lists were made. They were "fixed" so the number of people to receive filters did not exceed 150. The distribution day was quickly approaching...excitement was brewing.

 

Finally, the day arrived - the filters were at my house. But, wait, there were only 100! Due to circumstances beyond the missionary's control, the filters needed to be delivered in two parts. That worked out fine. The lists were re-worked. Only two communities, instead of three, would receive filters the next day. The others would be delivered at a later date.
 

 

The missionary and friend drove their motos to the villages while the pastor went with the driver of the truck that carried the filters. The chief's community was first. How fun! What a blessing! The Word of God was preached, lessons on filter use and cleaning were given and filters were distributed.

 

Next, a new community. Since we did this once, putting all the needed pieces together was much easier and a LOT faster! At this community, along with the preaching, a prayer focused on asking God for rain was prayed. There were plenty of Traditional believers there. The filter "lessons" were given and the filters distributed. All went home happy and feeling quite blessed.

 

 

That night, it rained. Oh! An old, blind man was heard to say, "I now believe in the God of the pastor. For, the pastor prayed for rain, and his God answered!" Many people of his community felt he same way.

 

The missionary continues to pray that God will continue to water and grow the spiritual seeds planted during this water filter distribution. For, it is because of Him that we live and breath and have our being.

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?" 

Biintenge, not Botswana

Gandy Cove's second medical clinic was held in Biintenge, not in Botswana as one member of our team thought! (Love you, Carol!!!) We set up in the Methodist church and started our day with praise and worship and dancing. We do what we do to glorify the Lord and that is just what we did - we gave glory to His name.

When everyone was ready, the Out Patient registration began. Everybody chipped in doing whatever was need. This village was smaller than Wioso and far removed from any large "city" and there was a lack of local health care. So, we saw a lot of skin infections, ring worm and of course, malaria.



So many people came to be seen by the doctor or nurse. The line never seemed to get any smaller, even at the end of the day when the door was closed. People found their way in one way or another.

The reason we were there was to share the love of Christ and the good news of His salvation. So, prayer was a part of each person's "treatment."

Even the Chief was told about salvation and people prayed for him.

Each village we visited had its own personality, its own focus. Biintenge seemed to have a lot of children wearing juju, necklaces or waistbeads or bracelets with leather, wood or metal on them. They are used so that the child would be able to have a good nights sleep or to protect the child from getting ill or any number of things. This juju is NOT from God, it is from the evil one. You can easily see the juju around this child's neck.

When juju was seen, someone talked with the parent about the power of the Lord God Almighty versus the power of Satan. Prayers were said and the juju was removed from the child. I pray that the parents will not revert back to their old ways, but will continue to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

After we left Biintenge, we prayed for those who had the juju. And, the juju that was removed was burned. We do not put our trust in stone or wood or leather or metal, but we put our trust in the Lord God Almighty.

I pray that the people of Biintenge will continue to grow in faith and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they can tell their own people the mighty works God has done for them. To God be the glory!

Triplets, a Blessing or a Curse?

I have known a few people who have given birth to triplets. When they found out that they were expecting three babies, instead of one, they were both excited and concerned…would they be able to care for three babies properly? Would they be good parents? In the end, all was well. Family and friends were always around to lend a helping hand, when needed. The children were truly a blessing.

But, what do you do when you give birth to triplets and they are looked upon as a curse? This is exactly what the Dagaaba people believe. Triplets are a curse. They are from evil spirits and, it is best for everyone if one or more of them is allowed to die.

One of the reasons mothers and their children come to live at the Lawra Orphan and Vulnerable Child Centre is because they have given birth to triplets. The children are not accepted in the community. The Traditional Religion leaders want the children dead. They are afraid that the spirits of the children would take over the spirits of the parents. And then, the parents would die. So, in fear for their children’s life, the women flee the village, taking their children with them.

Once the children reach an age of at least two years, they are more accepted by the village leaders. It is safe to move back home. But, there is still a stigma related to triplets. The first born is not seen as the first born but as the “Herald,” as the one who announces the birth of twins. The actual second born is given the first born rights.                         

  

Paul, Sarah and Rose came to live at our Centre in 2009, shortly after birth, along with their older sister, Papula, and their mother.  As infants, their mother was very concerned for the lives of her children. They were not welcome in their village. People were afraid of what might happen. They children were very tiny. At the Centre, the children grew and were happy. They played. They laughed. They were enjoying life.

Paul

Several months after their second birthday, the family moved back to the village. They settled into a new chapter of life. Six weeks later, Paul was dead. He and his sisters became very ill and were taken to the hospital. That is where Paul died. Even though his mother grieved for him, his death was also a relief because now she had one less mouth to feed and she didn’t have to worry about what the Traditionalists would do.

During the time Paul and his sisters and mother lived at the Centre, Christ was presented to them. Seeds were planted. Hopefully, lives were touched. Many, many times I prayed for Paul and the others. Even now, when I hold a child, I pray for them. I believe some of these children will be the future teachers, pastors, teachers, nurses, etc. in this area. And, as they come to know Christ, they will live in such a way that others will know Him, too.  

I pray that the Dagaaba people will come to the place where every life, every child would be looked upon as a miracle, a gift from God. And, that triplets born to a woman, would be perceived as a blessing. I pray that the parents would choose to praise God for these children’s lives and they would not fear them. They are God’s special blessing!

Something to Think About

Recently, I have talked with a few people who have been very surprised that I live in Lawra by myself. They have asked me if I am afraid. Actually, living in Lawra is probably safer than living in Accra. My Ghanaian friends readily agree. And, they have all stated the same reason for this safety that I enjoy...they have all said it was because of the Traditional religions in the north. People in the north believe that if they take something that doesn't belong to them, or if they harm someone, that the person who is the victim will call a curse down on the offender. The biggest curse, the one people are truly afraid of is that someone will call on lightening to strike you. So, since there is so much Traditionalists here in Lawra, it is pretty safe. But, I wonder...what does all of this have to say about the Christians? No one had mentioned a place was safe because so many Christ followers live there and they are following in Christ's footsteps. Hmmm...something to think about.

Tradition

As I was reading the words in red in my Bible, one verse really caught my attention. It was in Matthew 15:3 "And why do you break the command of God because of your tradition? I live in an area of the world where traditions are very important. They are ingrained into every fiber of life. Even the largest religious group in my area follow the "Traditional" religion.

Jesus was talking with some Pharisees and teachers of the law. They liked to stick to the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law. Jesus called them on this. The people in my area have so many traditions that go against not only the letter of the law, but most importantly the spirit of the law. They don't know Jesus. Many have never heard His name or His word. Their world is full of Spiritual darkness.

I pray that I may be the candle light that pierces the darkness of some of the Dagaaba people. "Lord, use me."

Gifty

This is Gifty. Isn't she cute? I have her picture on my computer desktop. She is one of the children who live at the Lawra Methodist Orphan and Vulnerable Children Centre. She is here because her grandmother is one of the HIV patients. Her grandmother has no one to take care of her, so, Matilda, Gifty's mother takes care of the grandmother. And, of course, Gifty goes where mom goes. The father isn't part of their lives right now. When Gifty arrived at the Centre, she was moderately malnourished. As you can see, she is doing much better now. Her sister also lives at the center.

The reason why I have Gifty's picture on my desktop is to remind me to pray for her. Do you see the beads and amulets around Gifty? Those are signs that someone in her family practices the Traditional Religion that is in the area. They are to protect her from the evil spirits. Someone in Gifty's family has claimed her for evil. I have claimed her for Jesus Christ! As I hold her, I tell her, "Jesus loves you." I pray against the enemy. I pray that one day Gifty will claim Christ for her own. I pray that one day Gifty's family will know Christ as their Savior. Won't you join me in praying for Gifty and her family?