Rashid's School

“You may have to do most or all of the teaching this morning,” I warned Joel as we approached Rashid's school. “I got about four hours of sleep last night, and may fade quickly.” “We'll see what happens,” he replied unconcernedly.

Well, in Africa, one must always remain flexible...we arrived to find the Muslim teacher from grade six (where we'd taught the previous week) planning to have us speak to grade five instead. “Oh, but this is Leah's last opportunity to speak with the kids in grade six,” Joel pointed out. “What if she teaches grade six and you let me teach grade five?” The teacher readily agreed, and I shot Joel a dirty (sleepy) look and headed into grade six. This week the teacher stayed in the class to hear what I'd say: how intimidating!

Joel was right: it was my last chance to speak with these kids, so after a quick prayer I determined to go ahead and give them the gospel. We reviewed what we'd spoken about the week before, and discussed the need for sacrifice, and for Jesus' in particular, when the teacher broke off any further presentation by telling the kids to start asking their questions.

One of my favorite questions ended up being from a kid who raised his hand and asked “What is Mohammed?” “Lord, why this question?” my tired brain asked – when witnessing to Muslims, it is advisable to praise Jesus and the Bible rather than disparage the Koran or Mohammed. “It's a name,” I replied to my surprise, and we moved on to the next question, no one challenging my simple answer.

My favorite question of all, however, came from a boy who asked, “How do we get Jesus to collect our sins from us?” as the teacher hadn't allowed me to reach that point in my presentation. Although I didn't actually lead the kids to pray in the presence of their Muslim teacher, I did tell them that all we need to do is believe in Jesus' sacrifice, and I told them what they would need to pray if they wanted to accept Him as their Savior from hell.

The teacher interjected his own material from time to time...and always, God used it as a platform for further explaining His truth. For example, once the teacher told the kids that actually, there is very little difference between Islam and Christianity – “the only difference is that we pray five times a day in the mosque: that's all,” he asserted. “Your teacher is right that there are similarities,” I quickly said. “We both believe that there is one true God, and we both want to be acceptable in His sight. But there must be some difference, or we wouldn't have one thing called Islam and another called Christianity. What are those differences?” I explained how Christians also pray and fast and give, but how our motivation is completely different, because Jesus has already secured our way into heaven.

At the end the teacher asked his students to share what they'd learned. Another boy raised his hand and said, “I learned how we can have Jesus collect our sins.” Praise the Lord – that's what it's all about! Please pray for these Muslim students who have heard the truth, and for Joel as he continues to teach alone in the school in my absence.

Oh, by the way: Joel was able to share the Gospel in grade five, so praise God for splitting us up and multiplying our efforts! And praise God for being strong when we are weak. =)

Safely Home

Praise the Lord – He landed me safe and sound on U.S. soil this past Saturday. It was quite the trip: I flew to Accra from northern Ghana on Friday morning and met up with a friend of Joel's (who comes from Accra). Alas, my camera battery was dead, so there are no pictures of my first tro-tro ride (since Accra is so populous, the normal form of transportation is the “tro-tro,” a 19-seat van, instead of the taxi), the Jubilee house (an extravagant mansion that was built by the previous administration, and now lies vacant because the current administration isn't interested in living in what was established by another party), the Kwame Nkrumah memorial (dedicated to the first president of Ghana after Independence), the arts center (window shopping only: my luggage was stuffed), the Independence Square (where schoolchildren march on Ghana's Independence Day), or the ocean (which lies directly behind the Independence Square, and from which you can see “the Castle,” where the president works and possibly lives...my friend wasn't so sure about this latter point).

After that wonderfully full day, I flew out of Accra and into London, and couldn't sleep a wink on the red-eye flight. How I wanted to sleep in the airport, but dared not. And here God's grace intervened, for I went up to the counter to see whether I could switch from an aisle to a window seat, thinking maybe I could sleep on the flight to the U.S., and the gate attendant said, “I'm sorry, the flight is overbooked, so there are no available window seats. We can bump you up to World Traveler class if you'd like, however: I hope that's acceptable.” It was very acceptable, and thanks to a leg rest, foot rest, spacious seat, and several other pleasant factors, I had a lovely sleep before meeting my family in the afternoon.

It was delightful to see so many dear friends at church yesterday. As people asked how it was to make the transition, I had to answer very truthfully, “It was so hard to leave, and so good to come back.”

Praise God for the year in Ghana! Thanks for all your many prayers...and come back later this week to find out what happened when we returned to Rashid's school. ;)

The Other School

One of the reasons we knew it would be a challenge for Rashid to make a decision for Christ is that he lives in the heart of a strongly Islamic community…and actually lives on the grounds of an Islamic school! God has been helping Rashid to grow in confidence, however, so that he is now accompanying us for hospital visitation and evangelism. He recently told Joel and me that because of his connections with the school where he lives, he could arrange for us to have a weekly class section to speak on Christianity…if we were interested, of course. ;)

Last week we had our first session. The Muslim teacher was very gracious in asking the students to put away their books and listen attentively to all we would say. “I will quiz you later on what they taught,” he warned them (“I’m sure you will,” I thought). “You know that we have different religions – Islam, Christianity, traditionalism – and they are here to tell you something about Christianity.” Then he left, and we quickly changed our lesson plan based on his introduction, asking the class how they would define religion, and suggesting that religion is man’s attempt to get back to God. From there we went on to why we are separated from God (sin), how many sins it takes to separate us from God (one – that’s all Adam committed after all his many good deeds in order to be cut off from God), and the fact that when we stand in judgment before God, we stand alone: we can’t tell Him, “But my parents said” or “But my teacher said.” Because our eternal destiny is, well, eternal, and because we can’t go back to earth after death if we realize we’ve made a wrong choice, it is imperative that we carefully examine all of the options for ourselves and make sure we are following God’s truth.

Please pray for Joel and me as we return this week: may God give us the right words and illustrations to use, and open many hearts in this Islamic school to His saving truth. May God also protect Rashid as he’s taken this bold step.

Another Conversion Story (sorry)

“Mustapha” met me on one of my walks and asked for my contact information. As always, I gave him an email address, and he quickly became a regular correspondent. His emails usually consisted of one or two lines asking when and how we could see one another again; my replies were generally as short, reiterating that I can never predict when I’m going to walk through town.

One day I was working away when a stranger came up to my door. Since I’d met him only briefly before, I didn’t recognize Mustapha until he reintroduced himself. Warmly inviting him to take a seat, I began to pray, “Lord, You have brought this man to my office for a reason: please give me an opening to share about You!” This is a prayer I am finding God delights to answer! It wasn’t too long until Mustapha asked me whether I can read in the local language: and I eagerly replied, “You tell me!” and whipped out my local Bible – praise the Lord that the written language is fairly phonetic – and read John 3:16 aloud to him. “Yes,” he said, “You read well. Because God loved the world, He sent His Son to die so that if we believe on Him, we will have eternal life. But do you actually understand the words that you are reading?” “Oh, I understand more words from this verse,” I said, flipping to John 14:6. “You see,” I pointed out after reading it, “I know that these are the words for way, truth, and life.” “No one comes to God except through me,” Mustapha completed for me. From these verses I briefly gave him the gospel, then moved on to lighter subjects. When he came to visit me a couple of weeks later, I felt I should just chat with him on those lighter subjects (such as school and family), and did so.

Well, he came back for a third visit, and this time I barraged him with tracts. “Read these so we’ll have something to discuss if you come again,” I encouraged him. When he came back a fourth time, I asked him whether he’d read what I’d previously given him. He had, and said he understood the booklets’ messages, and was seriously interested in Christianity. “But I’m a student, and my parents are paying my school fees,” he said. “So I think I should wait for a couple of years until I’ve graduated before becoming a Christian: or what do you think?” I encouraged him that today is the day of salvation, and he never knows when death will come. He promised to seriously consider what we’d discussed and to visit a Christian friend of his.

Last week Mustapha showed up for a final visit, and said that he met with the Christian friend, who led him to Christ. What a joy! Furthermore, his friend is willing to meet with him regularly to study the Bible and help him grow in his new faith.

Praise God with me for Mustapha’s conversion, and pray for him as he seeks to hide his new identity from his parents for now. He will still accompany his father to the mosque until he is ready to boldly proclaim his Christianity. May God guard, guide, and grow him in the months and years ahead!

So what ever came of the Arabic?

You may recall that I started learning Arabic in November. Although people don’t walk the streets of Ghana speaking Arabic, Pastor Tirumbu suggested that I learn some in case God might want to have me interact with devout Muslims in that language. At the time, I figured God had one of two reasons for enrolling me in Arabic school: either I would need to understand Arabic at some point in the future, or God wanted to use me in the life of our Muslim instructor, “Rashid.” It didn’t take Mr. Joe and me long to realize that Rashid was actually a very kind and gentle man who had initially avoided eye contact with me out of politeness and shyness rather than out of a Muslim scorn of women.

Well, seeing as we gave up on Arabic after three months, when we were on the third page of our textbook (but I assure you there’s a lot to learn on each page!), I was left with one possibility: God wanted Rashid to become a Christian. Mr. Joe did continue to take lessons from Rashid in the local dialect, and one morning had a long conversation with him about Christ. Rashid listened politely but clearly indicated that Christianity was not for him.

Several times as I walked through town, Rashid would see me and offer me a ride home on his motorbike. I always declined his offer until one day when I was running quite late, and realized that if I continued walking, it would be dark well before I reached home. As we whizzed along, I was looking at the back of his head and felt very strongly, “God, You want this man to become a Christian!” From that day I began to pray with more urgency for his salvation.

The next time I saw him, he and Mr. Joe went out for a meal together, during which Mr. Joe had a chance to re-extend the invitation to accept Christ. When they returned, Rashid sat quietly in our office for some time, then got up and leaned across my desk to whisper, “Leah, I’m now a Christian.” “What?” I exclaimed in partial disbelief. “What do you think I said?” he asked. “It sounded as though you said you are now a Christian: but I wasn’t sure whether I heard correctly!” I laughed. “You heard correctly,” he assured me.

Praise God with me for Rashid’s salvation…and for calling me to learn a little Arabic. =D

The Gypsies of Ghana

When Abba first told me about the Fulani, I couldn’t help thinking that they sounded very gypsy-like. Called “The Forest People,” they are the cattle-herders of northern Ghana, despised nomads who are treated with suspicion by other tribes. They adorn themselves with braids, jewelry, and color, have a reputation for stealing, cast spells, and have lovely ethnic characteristics! To Abba’s knowledge, no one is systematically reaching out to this group.

The Fulani have been on my heart ever since I first heard about them. Imagine my delight to find that there was a troop of them passing through the village where we spent the night. Our group got to spend time interacting with all the children; the university students shared mosquito nets, purses, and other items with the Fulani, and used a Fulani machete to hack at some brush.

Beautiful Fulani girls

I have to warn my dad that it seems there’s a guy who’s seriously interested in me: unfortunately, I didn’t get a good picture of him, but the boy standing second from left couldn’t get enough of me: he was always gazing at me, smiling shyly at me, reaching out to touch me…and when we played Duck-Duck-Goose, he was always bumping out of place whoever was sitting next to me, just so he could occupy that spot. ;)

My little Fulani boyfriend, in blue and white

Please pray with me for the Fulani: may God raise people up to work among them and bring many to salvation in the years to come!

Off to the Villages!

Abba, Amos, this year’s team of university students, and I are off to visit some villages: the last such expedition that I will join before heading home. But these aren’t just any random villages: these are the villages that were evangelized by Abba and Amos in November – they are ones for which I’ve prayed for many months, and which I’ll finally get to see in person!

Please pray for our health and safety. Pastor Tirumbu recently told me that many missionaries who come on a long-term basis let down their guard toward the end of their stay, and end up sick. May God give me wisdom in eating and operating, and divine protection in these remaining few days!

A little vignette

The girl with the big smile, “Amina,” is my self-appointed tour guide whenever I walk through her neighborhood. She always leads me past houses where she wants me to greet people, and calls others’ attention to greet me. =)

One day she was accompanying me when we passed a group of women huddled around something on the ground. “What happened?” I asked my little companion, who called across the field for information. The ladies called back in the local language, which she repeated to me. Of course I couldn’t understand, and smilingly shrugged. Whereat she threw herself to the earth and mimed losing the imaginary basket atop her head, which indeed communicated to me clearly that one of the women had tripped and fallen, losing the load she had been carrying. I rushed across the field and began helping the women pick up the items that had spilled. I exclaimed “I’m so sorry” in the local language, but they corrected me with the words for “Excuse me!” Obviously I’m still missing some meaning in the translation. ;)

It’s always fun trying to communicate in a foreign language, and finding a workaround when words won’t work. How strange it will be to come back to a place where everything in the home, workplace, and church will be intelligible!

Questions and Answers – 15

How receptive are the people to Christ?

“When people in the north [of Ghana] hear about Jesus, they want to receive Him,” Saka said one morning when we were out evangelizing. “It’s only that they are concerned about what their families or communities might say, so that’s why they will hesitate.”

Africans are far more dependent on each another than are Americans. This is one of their great strengths in so many areas: but it does deter some of them from making an individual decision for Christ when those around them are all rejecting Him. Taking a stand alone is much harder for an African than it is for an independent Westerner. How new Christians here need our prayers!

Nevertheless, Ghanaians are much more open to hearing the gospel than are Americans. These days, whenever I’m walking and someone asks to join me, I figure God must want me to present the gospel to him or her, and start praying and watching for an opportunity. I’m amazed at how easily it always comes, and at how conversions are now such a frequent occurrence.

Just last night, for example, a man started walking with me; I was praying for an opening, when he observed that he’s a Muslim and thinks I’m a Christian, but it’s OK: even in his family there are people who are Muslims and people who are Christians. “Maybe you will join them one day,” I suggested. “You know, it’s not about being a Christian or about being a Muslim: all religions are about man reaching out to God, but the amazing thing is that God actually reached out to us,” and from there I presented the whole gospel as he patiently listened and asked questions. “You are making me think,” he said at the end. “I will have to see you again to talk about it more.” So I invited him to visit me at my workplace if he’d like.

This is a fairly common experience now. Part of me is sad that I didn’t realize earlier on how easy it is to introduce Jesus into conversation; but part of me realizes that God was preparing me with an understanding of African culture and – through the example of Daniel and others – with words and methods to present the gospel to Africans, and address the FAQs of local Muslims.

So in answer to the question posed above, people are VERY receptive to Christ. All they need is someone to tell them. God’s harvest is so ripe…He is only looking for laborers to enter into that harvest!