On Tuesday night Phil traveled with Pastor David to the Vieri. Fortunately, Vieri is much closer to Wa than some of the other villages. They arrived just after sundown and Pastor David wanted to show Phil the church building that is under construction. When we arrived at the building site we realized that one of the walls had collapsed as a result of the heavy rain the night before. Needless to say, this was a considerable discouragement to Pastor David.
Nevertheless, as they entered the time of prayer, Phil spoke to the congregation from Psalm 46. Among other things, he pointed out that a God as great as the one described in that psalm would have no problem providing the resources needed to rebuild the wall and finish the church building. The whole church prayed that God would provide the necessary resources and took a step of faith by dedicating the finished building to the work of God's kingdom. They prayed that God would use it to train many people up in the word of God and send them out to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. Phil felt so privileged to encourage them and join with them in prayer.
On Wednesday night, Phil led the prayer time at God's Glory Baptist Church. He felt led of the Lord to bring a message from 1 Corinthians 15:50, 53-58. The major theme of the passage is how God will replace the corruptible things in our lives with the incorruptible. He began by acknowledging that many times as Christians God wants to give us incorruptible blessings in the Spirit, but we instead cling to the corruptible things of the world. He identified the reason for this is that we accommodate sinful attitudes in our lives that cause us to pursue sin instead of pursuing the things of God. We are deceived into thinking that sin (which is death) is part of living a full life and that the full life God offers us in Christ is somehow deficient. As they prayed together, they asked God to reveal where they are clinging to the corruptible things of this world instead of reaching for the incorruptible blessings of God. They also prayed for God to reveal where they are accommodating sin in their lives so they might confess this to God and be freed from it in Christ. They also prayed for their own church and the church in Vieri that God would help them to stand firm and persevere in the Lord despite whatever struggles they face. It was a powerful time of communal repentance and focusing on the purposes of God.
While Phil led the meeting at God's Glory, Ryan went with Pastor David to meet with the church at Tissa. It turned out to be an important stepping stone for Ryan in preparing for the sermon on Sunday. He spoke with the Tissa believers about Easter and they reflected on its significance together. They talked at length on the fulfillment of the Psalms (Psalm 22) and Prophesies in the Old Testament (Isaiah 53) and how this has provided for the new covenant through Jesus (Luke 24:36-47). It seemed very relevant for their interactions with Muslims. The people had plenty of questions that Pastor David and Ryan were able to answer that were clearly geared toward communicating their faith to the Muslims in their community. Reflecting later, Ryan realized how much he had been led by the Holy Spirit in bringing this message and how, through the power of the Spirit, the believers were strengthened and equipped to dialog with their Muslim neighbors. At the end of their time together, Ryan also gave out some Gideon Bibles to the people who could read English. It was wonderful for him to see the genuine joy people had in holding their own Bible. Not only could they follow along with the sermon, but they were especially excited for the opportunity to study the word of God on their own.
On Thursday night, Phil traveled with Pastor Prosper to Jeyiri for their prayer meeting. After the church had gathered and sung the some songs, Phil brought some encouragement from Philippians 4:6 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17, two verses that have become a theme for our trip. He reminded the church that, as Christians, when we have needs our first reaction should be to bring them before the Lord in prayer. In addition, we should always maintain open communication with God throughout the day inviting him to join us wherever we are and whatever we are doing. Though not as dramatic as his experience in Vieri, Phil felt that the message was well received and was delighted to call upon the name of the Lord with them.
After the prayer meeting, Phil began his prayers in earnest. He had thought that traveling out that far during the fading daylight had been "exciting", but it didn't compare to doing it in the dark! He prayed for protection and gave thanks to God for the strong headlight on the motorcycle. Thankfully, the Lord delivered them safely back to Wa without a problem.
Visiting with Pastor Dan
Phil and Ryan with Prosper, Philemon, and MatthewFriday evening, we were invited to dinner at Pastor Dan's house. In addition to enjoying more than our share of delicious Ghanaian cuisine, we talked with him about his vision for reaching the Wala people. He specifically mentioned his desire to mentor and send out into village ministry three young men (Prosper, Matthew and Philemon), who have shown great potential for serving the Lord. At this point, he feels they are ready to be sent out, but the lack of motorcycles has become a limiting factor. All the currently available motorcycles are being used by others already working in village ministry. The other limiting factor is the lack of adequate financial support to supply them with a stipend. All three of the young men are eager to serve, but they also need means for supporting their families. One of them is the primary "breadwinner" for his younger four siblings and mother, so taking time to go to the village would be difficult for him without that support. We felt honored that Pastor Dan would share his heart with us. After talking for some time, we prayed together asking God to provide the needed resources for this important work among the Wala.
Living Transformed Lives
On Sunday morning, we worshipped with God's Glory Baptist Church for the last time before leaving for the States. It was powerful to praise the Lord together. Ryan brought the sermon. He had spent a considerable amount of time this week preparing. His primary text was Romans 12:1-8. He began by reminding the congregation of God's mercy toward us (Rom. 3:10, 8:13). He continued by explaining what it meant to be a "living sacrifice" by referring to Luke 9:23-24 and 14:28-30. As we do this, we will be transformed into the likeness of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18) and we will be able to "test and approve" God's will (Rom. 12:2, Mal. 3:10). This process leads us to discover and embrace the gifts that the Spirit has given us to fulfill the various roles we find in the church (Rom. 12:3-8). Through the Spirit, we find unity in Christ (1 Cor. 12:26) and we are directed to pursue our gifts wholeheartedly (1 Pet. 4:11). He concluded by sharing about his personal journey of faith culminating in his account of the experiences he has had while here in Ghana. It was a very compelling sermon that seemed to impact everyone who listened. We praise the Lord for using Ryan to exhort God's people and inspire them to devote themselves to him completely.
Mango Tree Ministry
Tuesday night while Phil was in Vieri Ryan went down to Fazana Enterprises (where Raymond works). It turned out to be a great time for fellowship. There were many people gathered around the television to watch the football match so he stayed to visit with Raymond and Boniface. Boniface was one of Raymond's old classmates whom Ryan had met earlier that day. Soon after, several other people arrived that Ryan knew. As the night drew on and the crowd thinned with the end of the game, he felt led by the Spirit to share his testimony with one of the men there named Osama. Earlier that evening he had read some materials that Dani sent regarding witnessing to Muslims. It came in very handy.
As it grew late, Ryan began to wonder what he would do for dinner (he had skipped dinner to spend time with everyone). About that time, the Lord answered his prayers when Osama invited him back to the mango tree to share a meal with him. It turned into a time for them to talk about their beliefs and have a productive dialog on the message of Christ. Pastor David even came by later after dropping Phil off and joined the conversation. Pastor David was able to use that time as an example for the people of Tissa the next day of how Christians should fellowship with Muslims. Ryan finally bid farewell to Osama sometime around 10:30pm. He was overjoyed at the opportunity to witness to Osama and provide an example (even if unintentionally) for other Christians to reach out to their Muslim neighbors.
This morning, Ryan also had a chance to witness to Doma and Haruna, two Muslim men that Ryan has had time to become good friends with under the mango tree. He had been saying his goodbyes and felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit to pray for them. It turned into an awesome time to share the love of Jesus. They prayed and hugged and there were wide teeth-filled grins all around. They seemed very happy to pray with him and it led to an even greater opportunity to witness. Ryan shared some from the Bible and encouraged them to ask Raymond for their own Bibles (he had given a stack of Gideon Bibles to Raymond earlier in the week for him to distribute). The Lord had provided a way for them to build a relationship with Raymond (a Christian) and for them to receive their own copies of the word of God. All in all, it was a joyous goodbye and it eased Ryan's heavy heart to be able to depart on these terms.
Points for Prayer
We give thanks for God's abundant blessings through this rather hectic week. We begin our journey back to Gainesville tomorrow with a 12-hour bus ride to Accra. Where we'll stay until we fly out on Thursday evening.
Please pray for:
- God's protection on us as we make our way home
- Prosper, Matthew, and Philemon that God will provide the resources needed to send them out
- God to bless the people and ministries of God's Glory Baptist Church and the churches in Vieri, Toassa, Tissa, and Jeyiri
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