Worship - African Style

Snow in Africa

One day in the village of Wayamba, while Beverly, Fiona and Judith were engaging the secondary school children in storytelling and song, I visited the primary (elementary) classrooms.

I had brought some artificial snow that a friend had given me after hearing my story about trying to explain snow to a group of village children a couple of years ago. It was a comical event with the children being horrified that huge blocks of ice actually fell from the sky onto our houses. This misunderstanding was due to miscommunication with the translator.

Anyway, showing "snow" to the children and talking about God's creation was so much fun! To make snow, we just had to add water and watch it grow.

Cheryl and Priscilla, Headmistress of Wayamba School

The Children of Wayamba

On our last day in the village, the children sang for us.

Fresh Water for the Children

While on mission in Ghana, The FBC Team had the privilege of joining IMB missionaries, Pat and Peggy Ozment, in bringing fresh water to the school children of Wayamba.

We thank God for providing the funds, the workers, and THE WATER!

Click here to see pictures and read about how God brought water to Wayamba.

Cape Coast

Today the team went on an excursion to Cape Coast, which is at the southernmost part of Ghana. It was a 2 1/2 hr drive, which meant a good introduction to the culture for our 4 "new to Ghana" team members Chris, Beverly, Fiona and Judith.

We toured a slave castle in Cape Coast and then ate lunch at a local chop bar (restaurant). On our way back, we pulled over and dipped our feet in the ocean. Chris decided not to take off his shoes and join the fun, so when he wasn't looking, the tide rushed in and soaked him good. Colton and I thought it was much funnier than he did.

We also stopped on the roadside and ate freshly chopped pineapple. Cape Coast is known for their pineapples. They are almost white inside and have a subtle sweet flavor. It cost less than $1.50 for 5 pineapples.

We fly to Tamale at 6:00am tomorrow, so pray for a safe journey. Tomorrow night we are going into Wyumba, a village without Jesus, to show The Hope video. We will be with IMB missionaries, Pat and Peggy Ozment. Rev. Pat has been to see the chief and received permission for us to tell the people about Jesus. These people are lost and without hope. You know how to pray.

Thank you all so much for your encouragement and prayers. We can feel them already. Everyone is doing well, just a little jet lagged.

Team Tamale

After arriving in Tamale, the team was taken to our home for the week, The Seed Ministry. We are so blessed to be with Rev. Bob and Mom Bonnie Parker. They are spoiling us and we love it!

Thursday Update
After unpacking, the team was taken on a driving tour of Tamale, a large city of about 700,000. We enjoyed a lunch of chicken and dumplings and sweet tea ( I told you we were being spoiled!). Afterward, we went to see our friend, Pastor Tia, at the Ghana Bible Society. Not only did we hear the incredible story of how the entire Bible was translated into the Dagbani language, we had the privilege of seeing the original manuscript, which took over 20 years to translate. We also had the opportunity to purchase Dagbani Bibles.

Later in the afternoon, we went to Anfaani Orphan Home. Oh my goodness, I don't even have the words to describe how wonderful it was to see and hold the children. I'd love to post pictures but, due to a super slow connection, that won't happen until we get home. There are 8 children there now. We got to see Baby Grace. She is about a month old and weighs less than five pounds, but praise God, she is doing well. She is eating and sleeping normally. One of our team members, Tayler Insuaste, got to spend a lot of time with Nathan, her sponsored child. He was introduced to her as her new brother. Tayler picked him up and he snuggled right up to her and went sound asleep. She's a good big sister. All of the team members enjoyed holding and playing with the children. The children were a little shy at first, mainly because of our white skin, but it didn't take long for them to warm up to us. We left there knowing we had been blessed.

Friday Update
Wow, what a day we have had! We woke up to the most beautiful African morning, with birds singing in a giant Kapok tree situated in the middle of the compound. We enjoyed a home cooked breakfast of eggs and toast and then headed out to the village of Karanga meet Mukarimatu Alabani, who is the World Vision sponsored child of the Wilkinsons. This little girl was precious in every way. She was so excited to receive the gifts we took her, especially the soccer ball. Right before we departed, she stood up and sang a song for us. So cute!

We ended our day with a tour of the Savelegu/Nanton World Vision Headquarters where we visited our friend, Simon, the director. It was wonderful to see the mailroom full of letters from sponsors in the US. World Vision is who they say they are and they do what they say they do.

On our way back to Seed Ministry, I received a phone call telling me that our 11 supply boxes arrived. Praise God! Pastor Mohammed rode through the night on a bus to bring them to us and we thank God for him.

I am now at the home of Rev. Pat and Mom Peggy Ozment to sort the boxes while the team went on to Seed Ministry to rest and have dinner. There is no internet at Seed Ministry, so postings may be few and far between.

Tomorow we will visit Kushibo, home of Heritage Baptist Church. We will meet the new chief and also see the grinding mill for the first time. Of course, we won't be able to leave there without visiting the schoolchildren.

Tomorrow night is our first crusade. It is in Sankpem village, where most of our ministry will be. We will be showing the movie "The Hope". Please pray for God to move in a mighty way among these village people. This is the village that desperately needs a water well, but more than that, they need living water.

We will try and post more later. Thank you for praying. Everyone is well and good.

Congratulations Pastor Mohammed!

Pastor Ziblim Mohammed - Graduate
Ghana Baptist Theological Seminary

Pastor Mohammed and wife, Dorcas

Dorcas

Walking in Wyamba

On July 2009, a small mission team will be going to Wyamba to take the Good News of Jesus Christ into the village. Currently, there is a mosque, but no Christian church. There are Muslims, but no Christians.

IMB missionaries, Pat and Peggy Ozment, along with their Ghanaian counterparts have met with the Chief of Wyamba and have been welcomed into the village.

There are 235 children attending Wyamba school. The children do not have safe or clean drinking water, so we are working on getting some piped in from a nearby water source.

More importantly, the children need Living Water. Please join us in praying that they will drink deeply from The Well.

Click here to view a walking tour of Wyamba.

Meet Nathan

Nathan

Age: 19 days

He was brought to Orphan Home a few days ago.

His mother died giving him life.

Leaving a Legacy

Below is a narrated video of how my dear friends Pat and Peggy Ozment are leaving a legacy of God's Word in the villages of the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa.

Look closely and you will see precious faces of the Dagomba. I know many of them by name, especially the man who is always standing beside Rev. Pat. This is my Ghanaian team leader, Pastor Ziblim Mohammed. We have been working together for 6 years. It was his daughter, Patience, who recently died from complications due to malaria.

After three years on the field, Rev. Pat and Mom Peggy are leaving West Africa in October to return to the States, but we all know they will leave their hearts in the Northern Region.

Click here to see an online version of this story.

Her Name is Rahamas

Rahamas lives at the orphan home in Ghana, West Africa. She is a bundle of joy for her caretakers. As you can see from the photo, she is in her native dress. What you can't see is that she was dancing all around the room, much to the delight of everyone present.

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

The (Earthly) Fatherless at Anfaani

I just received word from my missionary friends in the Northern Region that some of the fatherless at Anfaani Orphan Home need help. Specifically, there are 4 children in dire need of support. Anfanni has requested a mere $12.00 per child per month to help with food and a few basic necessities.

Anfanni is run by an amazing Christian woman named Emelia. Her mother founded the orphan home many years ago. She died last year and now Emelia is dedicated to living out her legacy of taking in the motherless and fatherless children from the remote mud-hut villages. Some of these children have been rejected because they are a twin or triplet (seen as evil by some). Others were rejected because the mother died in childbirth. Still others are taken there because the family cannot afford to feed them.

Regardless of the reason, the need is there.

Can you help? Will you help?

If the answer is "YES!", click here for donor information. Choose Orphan Advocacy - General from the drop down box. The mission name is Ghana 2009.

100% of all donated funds will go directly to Anfanni Orphan Home.

On behalf of Emelia and the children, thank you.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

The Least Reached

Chief Neindow Iddrisu and Family

Sankpem Village

Ghana, West Africa

What is a least reached people group? It is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group.

In other words, there aren't enough of us going to tell enough of them about Jesus.

Please join me in asking the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field. (Luke 10:2)

100 Backpacks

Thank you students and families of Heritage Christian Academy, Rockwall, TX for providing 100 backpacks filled with school supplies for the children living in the Sankpem Village in Ghana, West Africa.

Patience and the Ghana Health Initiative

Patience

2002-2009

First, click here to learn how Patience helped me launch the Ghana Health Initiative.

Next, click here to find out why the Ghana Health Initiative must continue.

Baptism of Believers

Orphan Home Babies

Aren't they beautiful?

The Dagomba Tribe

The Dagomba are a large people group living in northern Ghana. Their kingdom, called Dagbon, was established centuries ago and dominated an area near the Dagomba capital of Yendi.

They speak Dagbani, which is a Gur language.

The Dagomba make their living primarily through farming. Much of the land of the Dagbon is infertile and requires that a farm be left fallow for up to five years; therefore, Dagomba villages are somewhat small, leaving room for farms to be widely separated. Farmers use much fertilizer from the manure of the village cattle, and eventually the soil does become quite fertile, enabling the farms to be used year-round. However, farms located in the bush are used only for two or three years and then are left fallow. Since yams are the specialty crop, the Dagomba plant over 32 varieties. Farmers also grow crops such as maize, millet, rice, peanuts, and beans.

The Dagomba are not only skillful farmers, but also are fishermen and hunters, and some even engage in administrative and managerial work. Dagomba craftsmen are skilled tailors, traders, and makers of ropes and mats. Some also specialize as blacksmiths, butchers, and barbers. Parents send their young sons to be trained by these craftsmen. Through observation and practice, a boy will gradually learn a trade and assume his role in the new occupation.

In Dagomba society, villagers arrange their houses in a particular order. The chief (eldest man in the village) locates his dome-shaped hut in the center. His hut stands out above the rest. The village is divided into wards or quarters, all facing the chief's home. A quarter is identified by its head or by its dominating specialist group. For example, there may be a soldiers' quarter or a butchers' quarter. The commoners are scattered throughout the village in round or rectangular huts (for female and male, respectively); there is no physical separation of the commoners from the ruling class.

Drummers play an important role in the village, for they not only are musicians, but also are court historians. They must learn and retain much information. In most cases, a drummer's son follows in his father's footsteps, becoming a drummer and learning from his father the origin of the people and their kingdom.

What are their beliefs? Although almost half of the Dagomba follow the Islamic faith, many also believe in and worship additional spirits and gods. Each village sacrifices to its individual ancestral gods and the entire society collectively worships the more powerful gods. The Dagomba also practice witchcraft and consult diviners to rid themselves of curses. The Dagomba honor their ancestors with a pagan festival called Bugun, which means "fire" or "hell." The celebration begins with a great feast and culminates when the people gather together with lighted torches near a tree outside the community. There they recite the names of their ancestors and throw their torches into the tree.

Excerpted from The Joshua Project Website