Reaping a Harvest

A few weeks ago, I (Joke) travelled with the car from Yendi to Tamale. On the way, in one of the villages, I saw Moses waiting for a bus. Moses is a Sunday School teacher in one of our churches and of course I stopped to give him a lift. He was also on his way to Tamale to visit one of his brothers who was in hospital. Besides the fact that it was nice for Moses to get a lift instead of having to wait for a bus (you are never sure if and when a bus will pass by), it was also nice for me to have some company during the journey. We started to talk and Moses told me a lot about himself, things which I had not heard before. The story of Moses is probably the story of many young people in this part of Ghana. The special part of the story is his strong faith and dedication to God.

Sunday School children

Moses Story: ‘When I was a young boy my father died. Shortly after that my mother also passed away. My brothers and sisters were ‘shared’ between the families of my father’s two brothers who continued to take care of us (a common custom here). The uncle with whom I lived had been to school himself and he supported me in my education. After a number of years, this uncle also died and all the children who lived with this uncle now moved to the family of the only remaining uncle. This was an enormous responsibility and burden for this one man. I had been able to finish primary education and was attending the first year of junior high secondary school. The other children in the family did not attend school but all of them helped with the farm. I really wanted to go to school and did all that was possible to continue my education. However, my brothers were strongly against my efforts. They told me, “If you will not join us in the farm, you will no longer eat from this house.” At first I did not take them seriously but my brothers supported their words with action. They instructed my ‘new’ mother to no longer prepare food for me. When I returned home from school in the afternoon there was no food for me to eat. Also in the evening nobody shared any food with me. In the morning I would go to school with an empty stomach. This persisted for three days but I had to give in to my brothers’ demand and since then I have been farming. That was the end of my educational dream. Even though this is an enormous disappointment, I did not let it get me down. I fully devote myself to farming and because I had wished to go to school myself, I do everything possible within my means to help other children in my village fulfil their dreams.’

Moses teaching Sunday School

Moses tells me with full enthusiasm about his three passions: farming, literacy and Sunday School work. He loves working on the farm. He is a good farmer and is able to support his wife, children and other members of his family. But he also loves his language and teaches children and women in the church to read and write in their mother tongue. He loves the Word of God and children and he teaches Sunday School every Sunday morning, trains new Sunday School leaders on his own initiative and travels to other villages and churches to share his enthusiasm about sharing the Gospel with children.

Children from another village church without a Sunday School leader

Some of the children who have visited ‘Moses Sunday School’ in the past, now attend Secondary Schools, some are teachers and some are studying at university. Every time these ‘children’ return to the village, they come to greet Moses. It is a sign of respect and recognition of the role he has played in their lives. ‘Who am I?’, he asks, ‘that they come to me? I have hardly learned anything. I am just a simple farmer!’

It is heart warming hearing Moses talk with so much enthusiasm and see his dedication and devotion to God and the people he loves. Often we hear this question, ‘What am I getting out of life?’ It is often asked by those who focus only on themselves. But as believers, we need to ask, ‘What am I putting into the lives of others?’

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal.6:9-10). May we all be encouraged by the life story of Moses and the appeal by the Scriptures not to give up in touching the lives of people that God brings our way.  

Please pray for:

• Moses and all the other Sunday School leaders that God will continue to give them strength, wisdom and enthusiasm to share the Gospel with the children in their communities.
• Moses' brother, Solomon, who is seriously ill (kidney failure) and there is little the doctors can do for him.
• Abukari who is currently in the USA attending the Global Proclamation Academy, he hopes to return to Ghana on 25th June
• Joke and the boys as Abukari is away.