Independence Day

On the 6th of March 1957, after years under British colonial rule, Ghana – known as the Gold Coast – became the first Sub-Saharan African State to achieve independence.

Every year this special day is celebrated and remembered throughout Ghana. For school-going children the highlight is the marching-competition which is held at in each District Capital in Ghana. This year, on the 6th, early in the morning we left for the Jubilee Park in Tamale where the occasion was being held to secure ourselves a seat on one of the bleachers. It did not take long before the whole Park filled up with school children in their smartest uniforms. As the roads in Ghana are so dusty, especially at this time of the year during the dry season, many of the students put on their white socks once they arrive at the Park as appearance counts just as much as the way they march. The military and police were also present to show off their skills.

Accompanied by a brass band, the students, military and police marched around the square. It looked just like a big ant colony and even with the enormous number of participants everything was so orderly.

However, the parade was more than just a competition. The independence of Ghana did not come without difficulty. In the early years there were a series of coups, power struggles and tensions, but gradually Ghana has grown to be a stable democracy. The students are proud of their motherland and they show it in the way they come together on a day such as the 6th of March. With hope and expectation they join in the national anthem, ‘God bless our homeland Ghana, And make our nation great and strong …. Raise high the flag of Ghana … Black star of hope and honour.’

As participants as well as spectators spent many hours on the square, the gathering also attracted traders to make sure that nobody would have to go hungry or thirsty. From a distance we observed the variety of goods which were passing by. Everything from candies to bottles of drinks, from handkerchiefs and pens to meat pies, from bags of water to boiled eggs, from ice cream to avocados and also a tower of biscuits was available.

Building Houses, Building Lives

As the rainy season fast approaches, many people are busy building their houses in the village where we live. The houses are being built from mud and can only be built in the dry season because if the mud is still wet when the rain comes then the houses will just collapse. The person who wants to build makes sure all the ‘building materials’ are at hand; water, gravel (if it is not found around the house) and sometimes some tools. One or two local professional builders come to build the walls of the houses and are paid a little money for their labour. Neighbours and friends come together around a heap of gravel which has been made soft with water. They form balls out of the mud and others transport those balls to the place where the house is being built. Passersby often stop for a while to join in the talking and to also help in the transportation of the balls.

A few weeks ago we observed the progress of the building of the house of one of our neighbours. Abukari joined the men in making the balls and Samuel and Micah carried them to the building.

Men come together around a heap of gravel

For Micah it is more like a game

I can even do two balls at the same time!

The walls of the house are almost finished

After the walls have been finished, the women plaster the walls and so everybody in the family from young to old, male and female get involved in the building process.

The women plastering the walls

We continue to be impressed by the willingness of people to help each other with the building of houses. It is a social event. It lightens the communal spirit and the ‘we’ feeling among the people in the community and it strengthens the unity and ties with one another. This is not only the case when building houses but also in working the land, for special occasions like the birth of a child or a wedding or funeral, and many other things which are hard to do alone. It stands in strong contrast with the Western society where in many cases it is everybody for him or herself. The involvement in each other’s lives, the willingness to help and the community feeling makes the Dagomba culture rich and we can learn a lot from it as we relate it to the uniqueness of the body of Christ as seen in 1 Corinthians 12.

On the other hand, in such a culture, it makes it very difficult to break with certain traditions, values or religions which are so strongly connected to this community life and unity. As such, as a Dagomba it is very hard to become a Christian as it is seen as a threat to the existing cohesion. As we live and work among the Dagomba we try to daily reflect in our words and actions that the good news of Jesus transcends all cultural and traditional values. Please join us in prayer and support as we seek to use every given opportunity to live out the love of Christ among the people we work with.

Do not throw away your confidence

We have recently been in Tamale for a week and on Sunday we visited a BCA church in a village close to Tamale. Abukari preached from Hebrews 10:32-36, ‘Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathised with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.’
 

Church gathering

It is always so touching how people in the smaller village churches react during the sermon to what is being said. Sometimes there is a short dialogue between the preacher and church members. Sometimes, after the sermon, people spontaneously get up to give their testimony and this is what happened on our visit this particular Sunday morning.

After the sermon a woman stands up and says, ‘Pastor, this sermon was really meant for me. When I became a believer my brother with whom I lived at that the time told me, “If you do not give up your Christian faith, I will never allow you to enter my house again.” It was very difficult but I knew that what Jesus offered me was lasting. Since that time I have never returned to his house. Other brothers tried to do the same and told me, “If you continue to follow Jesus we will never visit you again.” I could not say otherwise than I have something better which I could not give up for them. Until today, my brothers have never come to visit me. At times it is difficult and painful, but I do not give up!’

Two old women who come to church together and sit together on a small bench, also added their voices. One of them is blind, the other cannot walk very well. The blind woman says, ‘When we walked to church together this morning people laughed at us. “Ooh, you poor women, what is it that you want in that church of yours? See how difficult it is for you to reach the church (the church service is held in a school building on the outskirts of the village). Has Jesus healed you? You are still blind!” Then I tell them, “Jesus gives me sight, He lends me His eyes.”'  The other woman says, ‘It is not easy to climb the entrance to the church (you have to take a big step) but Jesus is my ladder!’

Another church member, Alhassan, told us of his experience. A few weeks ago he went to a funeral where he met many of his family members. They were accusing him of now ‘spoiling their brothers’. For him to become a Christian is one thing but now other brothers have also decided to follow the path of Jesus. How can they allow Alhassan to let their brothers become so bad. Alhassan explained to them that his brothers will rather become better and more beautiful people because God will change them inwardly. They start to argue. Whilst they are talking some girls pass by. They look so different from the other girls who are attending the funeral. Alhassan and his family members see the difference. They call the girls and ask them, ‘You look so different from the other girls here, why?’ The girls answer, ‘We no longer worship our traditional gods but have become Christians.’ Alhassan has for now won the argument but the family pressure remains.

Adisa also shared what recently happened to her. She too attended a funeral. Together with many other women she slept in a house built next to a Mosque. Early in the morning the family head woke all the people in the house up to come to the mosque to pray. Adisa did not get up, even though all the other women went. After the women came back, they asked her, ‘you did not pray, are you not going to pray?’ Adisa replied, ‘I already did.’ The women did not understand but left it there. Later in the morning they went to fetch water. They passed one of our beautifully built church buildings. The women commented, ‘What a beautiful building.’ Adisa, said, ‘That is where I pray.’ The women looked in amazement at her and said, ‘So you are a Christian!’ Suddenly they understood. From that moment on, none of the women spoke to Adisa again.

a girl on the way to the Mosque

Mosque

The last person who spoke was Mba Mohammed. He became a Christian a long time ago through one person who was always zealous for the Lord and very active in the Church. Because of his enthusiasm he drew many to Christ. But after some time this man said to Mba Mohammed, ‘I will quit “your thing”.’ Mba Mohammed responded, ‘what do you mean “your thing”, is it not “our thing", are you not part of us too?’  The man replied, ‘I thought Christianity would make me rich but since that has not happened I have given up.’ The man who drew so many to Christ himself had not understood what the ‘lasting possessions’ meant. Mba Mohammed has remained faithful and is now a leader in the church.

These are such encouraging testimonies! Testimonies from people who despite opposition continue to boldly hold on to God’s promise and are confident that what they have in Christ is better and lasting. What about you? Sometimes we take for granted who we are (our identity in Christ) and what we have (our possessions in Christ). As children of God, our ultimate confidence is in the undying love of Christ. So complete is our protection that nothing can “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).

Pepper in the Offering Bowl!

The Dagomba are a hospitable people who care for one another. Many of them don’t have much money to spend but if, for example, they are celebrating a funeral, many of them will contribute towards feeding the many visitors one can expect during such a festivity which can last for many days. Also when someone is sick, the Dagomba are prepared to contribute towards the cost of hospitalisation or medication. It would not be fair to pretend that you have nothing when somebody else is in need.

Some time ago, I overheard a conversation between one of our church members and an American visitor. The visitor asked how many bags of maize the family uses on a yearly basis. The church member answered, ‘Oh, we don’t know, we do not count the bags we need during the year. If at the end of the season some maize is left, we sell it.’

Sales of Yam to generate some cash

In Dagbon it is not only the nuclear family which is important but also the extended family and it can be very big. It is not possible that you as a family still have food to eat when other family members go hungry. You cannot put a claim on food and say, ‘this is only for us.’ It is therefore also hard to calculate the amount of food you will need in a year because that depends greatly on the extended family and the events which you are expected to contribute towards. In many cases this is a form of social security for those who have less food to eat. But it also puts a lot of pressure on families. In some cases, the responsibility of providing food for all the extended family falls on just two or three members. And it is not always because the others cannot work. On occasions, some members of the family are just lazy and try to profit from those who feel responsible for the family. This causes a lot of complications. Within the church we see a number of people suffering because the rest of the family puts a lot of pressure on them. We often advise those families to build their own houses, away from the family house so that they do not have to daily feed the whole family. This also encourages others within the family to take on the some of the responsibilities. Here one can see the wisdom in God saying that, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Gen. 2:24.

A lot of  people own a few cows as capital investment. The Fulani people take care of the cows of many different owners for a small contribution

However, unlike the automatic contributions that are made to the family or community, people find it difficult to contribute towards the church – whether it is an offering or giving of tithes. One of the reasons for this might be that people think they have to contribute in cash. Most people do not have cash but do have a stock of food or goats and chickens. These items are usually sold for cash as and when the need arises. Some weeks ago, during a church service in a small remote community two women offered part of their harvest as their contribution towards the Church. What a wonderful and even Biblical way of giving. They brought a big bowl full of dried pepper and okra for the church to sell and to use its returns to serve the church.

The contribution - dried okra and pepper - from the women to the church

Dried okra and pepper

Education on ‘giving’ is also important. Why do we give to God? During last Sunday we had a discussion about this with a small church community. During the church service we realised that they did not have an offering. Abukari touched on the issue. The leader of the church supported him. If we do not give, God cannot bless us in ‘giving’. One of the women made a comment, she said, ‘After the harvest our houses are full of grains and we seem to be so rich. But after a little time, everything is finished and I do not understand how that happens, we had so much. And if everything is finished and I hardly have enough to feed my family not to speak of paying school fees for the children, then it is so difficult to give to God. Would He really want to bless me in this?’ God promises in Malachi 3:10, ‘ “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it…”’ We cannot give more than God, who for our salvation and wellbeing gave us his only son. Pray with us as Abukari devotes his time to teaching over twenty local churches on Biblical giving.

Christmas in Yendi

We are often asked the question “how do you celebrate Christmas in Yendi?” Because we live in an area where there are very few Christians there are very few Christmas celebrations. 95% of the people are not Christians and do not celebrate Christmas. However, within the churches Christmas is celebrated in a number of different ways. Some churches make it a large celebration with a big gathering of people (and churches joining together) to share food, whilst others celebrate a little less exuberantly. There tends not to be the long preparation towards Christmas, especially here in the north of Ghana and there is very little commercialism! However, to prepare our children a little for Christmas, as a family we do celebrate the four weeks of advent.

The church building at Jagando on Christmas Day

On Christmas Day we visited a church in quite a remote village. Whilst Abukari was preaching outside, Joke took the children inside the church building (here the building is also too small for the whole congregation) to talk with them about Christmas. Joke brought some advent candles and they talked about how Jesus brings hope, peace, joy, love and light to the world. We shared biscuits and toffees with the children to make our time a little festive. After we had shared the sweet gifts, there were still quite a few left over. Joke suggested sharing these gifts with the local children who do not attend church. However, the children’s leader had a different idea. He told us that if the children who normally do not attend church see that the children in the church have received some gifts, then next week they will join us in the hope that they will also get something. After three weeks or so they will share the rest of the gifts with them and so hope to attract new children to the Sunday school.

The Jagando church congregation

Some of the Sunday School children

After we came home, the activities in our kitchen began! In this area it is a tradition to share food with neighbours and friends when you celebrate a religious or traditional festival. We cooked a big pot of rice and made tomato stew with goat meat. We shared the food in small pans with our neighbours. Abukari also went to the prison where, together with pastors from the different church denominations in Yendi, they shared food and Bibles with the prisoners.

Presenting food and Bibles to the Yendi prison

Sharing food in small pans with our neighbours

Towards the evening we prepared our 'own' Christmas dinner and - as is our tradition each year - duck was on the menu. The next day, Monday, we had a number of visitors. Throughout the day people came to greet for Christmas. We offered them some soft drinks, biscuits and cake and talked for a little while. In the evening we put some meat (goat and chicken) on the barbecue and that brought an end to our Christmas celebrations for 2011.

Enjoying our family Christmas dinner

A BBQ on Boxing Day!

Maize Harvest

Abukari is currently in Germany. He has been away for almost four weeks now. He normally takes care of our vegetable garden but in his absence I am in charge. There is a song in Dutch which says: 'the difficult ploughing and difficult sowing is rewarded by you, oh Lord.' This song often comes to my mind as I try to loosen the very hard soil in the garden. But compared to the work most of my neighbours do in their fields, I have no reason to complain. Currently most of the farmers are busy harvesting and processing their maize. It is quite a job! Some pictures will guide you through the process:

When the maize has been harvested, the husk leaves
have to be removed by hand

The maize is carried to the processing machine which produces a lot of dust!

The maize ears are poured into the machine

The grains are coming out

After the maize has gone through the machine, the ears are checked for
any remaining grains

Before the maize can be ground to flour,
the chaf is sifted by the wind

Poverty and Riches

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 

But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.”  

(Luke 6:20, 24)

Even an old deflated football is better than none

Daily, we are confronted with people who are poor. This is a confrontation which is not always comfortable as it seems to point to us as being people who are rich and it also challenges us as to what our obligation/response should be to the needs of the poor. How much do/should we share? Is what we share enough? Can we ignore those who are in need because they are just too many to deal with?

Sharing maize with our poor neighbours

Abukari wrote a thesis for his MA in Theology on the topic, ‘In what ways can the Lukan Jesus’ response to the poor address the poor in Dagbon, Ghana?’ As part of his research he interviewed a number of poor people in the area. We would like to share with you some of the statements those interviewed made about poverty. We hope that these statements will help you to understand a little about what it means to be poor, even though most of us will never fully understand what it means to be poor. As one man described it: ‘Poverty is like heat; you cannot see it; you can only feel it; so to know poverty you have to go through it.’ 

Others explained:  

• ‘A person who is poor is dependent on others, always suffering, all that he does, does not prosper, he is always sick and lamenting. Households with a bad quality of life are always in crisis, and there is no happiness. The response of such a household to the crisis is that they have to consult spirits or gods to see why they are in such a state and to chase the evil spirits away.’ 

• 'A poor person has a lot of “ifs” in his life because to the poor person nothing is certain unless it is in his hands. A poor person cannot plan because the person lives at the mercy of circumstances and is very vulnerable.’ 

• ‘Poverty means exclusion – poverty is very powerful. Even if the rich man tells lies, it is sometimes taken as truth. Money commands respect, dignity and honour because of what money can do. Money negates character, it covers up bad things.’

On the way to the farm

• ‘A person who is poor has to go to his farm every day because everything he needs has to come from the produce of the farm. If he wants to buy something tomorrow, he has to go to the farm today to get some yams and sell them, so that he will get some cash to buy what he needs. But a person who has a good life can stay at home and solve his problems there. The poor person has to labour in the hot sun for all his needs. The person with more wealth does not have to leave his house. I am poor but I am still better off than some others because I have an old bicycle and some few clothes to wear but there are people who even cannot afford those. If I am able to one day change my old bicycle for a new bicycle people will know that I now have a better life. But a person who is poor does not even think of changing his bicycle or buying new clothes because he knows his abilities and capacities, he will not dare to dream that dream.’

Happy with some second hand clothing

• ‘A poor person has no friends, or as a Dagbani proverb says, “The poor man has no lover.” Whatever the poor person wants, he cannot get it. There is no food, no choice when it comes to what to eat or drink and the children are malnourished.’ 

• ‘There are certain roles I would have liked to play but lack of money killed those ideas – it puts the light off. I cannot do what I want to do. Sometimes I feel like being chained because I see opportunities or the way I want to go, but when I take one or two steps I am brought back to my knees.’ 

The goats' project helps to relieve poverty

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus responds to the plight of the poor in different ways. He challenged values inherent to possessions and status. He did not endorse the existing order between the rich and the poor in his time but rather saw the suffering of the poor as a result of injustice in the social order and in need of transformation. What about our social order today? Jesus called people to participate in the new order of the Kingdom of God and so transform injustices in society. We want to challenge you to read this Gospel of Luke and see how Jesus addresses both the rich and the poor. Discover how Jesus reinstates the self-worth and dignity of the poor and gives them new insight into the values of the Kingdom of God. Read how the rich are called to identify with values of God’s Kingdom and to start the process of reversing the material and social situation of the poor in the ‘here and now’. God’s Kingdom in both the lives of the poor and rich should transform the present. Something to think about?!

A few clothes to wear but a lot of fun

People dry their harvest to secure food during the lean season

The Privilege of Sharing our lives in Christ

We often have four young people living or visiting our house. Over the past few years they have all become part of our family. We try to support them in different ways to give them each a future with prospects. As they all started their schooling late, they missed out on a good foundation when it comes to education. They also became Christians at relatively young ages and because of this their families no longer support them and other youth in their communities no longer respect them. God has brought us into contact with these young people and we consider it a privilege to be part of the lives of Amina, Shirazu, Amatu and Augustina. Although, at times, the responsibilities we have for them can feel a bit daunting, we are happy that we can do this because of the love of Christ. We pray that what we invest in them (both materially and spiritually), they in turn will pass on to others and will be a light to their families and communities, now and in the future. During the recent Christmas holidays we were all able to get together – which was a great opportunity to take a picture and to write you a little bit about the background of our less known family members.

With Shirazu, Amatu, Augustina, Amina

Amina was the first person who entered our lives about five years ago. At that time she was still attending primary school even though she was already 17 years old. One of her teachers asked us whether we could help her a little with her schooling as her family did not give her any support. First she only came on Saturdays. At that time Samuel had just been born, so she helped us with some household chores. We assisted her with her homework and later we also supported her in her secondary school. She has a difficult past - her mother was sent away from her father's home when she was only six years old. Her father died when she was about fourteen years old and after that she was looked after by other family members. Sometimes that was done with love and care but often she was not treated so nicely as her father and mother were no longer there to protect her. When she was about seventeen years old she decided to search for her mother with whom she was finally reunited. Up until that time she was never given the opportunity to go to school. After she had visited us for a number of months she decided to become a Christian (she is from a Muslim background). Two years ago Amina finished the first phase of Secondary School and is now attending a vocational school (catering) in Kumasi. Our house has become her home and she spends all her holidays with us.

Amina trying her catering skills on us, a very delicious Christmas cake

Shirazu has been part of our lives for a long time without us knowing it. One day we were working outside when he passed our house and talked with us for a little while. He asked Joke, 'Can you still remember me?' She had no idea. Then he told us that a number of years before Joke had taken him in her car from a remote village where he lived with his grandfather to another remote village where his parents lived. At that time he was seriously ill with polio. His grandfather was not a Christian but his parents were. Together with other Christians his parents prayed for healing. Shirazu regained his strength but as a result of the polio he no longer had strength in his right arm and leg. Because Jesus healed him, Shirazu decided to become a Christian. This happened when he was still in Primary School. At the time we met him again, he had just entered the second phase of his Secondary School education. When you are handicapped in Ghana there are not so many opportunities. Many handicapped people just in their houses doing nothing or they go on the streets to beg. Many at times they are looked down upon. We wanted to help Shirazu to give him a better future. After he finished his Secondary School, he was admitted at a computer school in Tamale. Together with a number of people from the Netherlands we support Shirazu's education and last month or so somebody from America even gave him a laptop. Shirazu needs to practise a lot as he can only use his left hand to work on the computer. Shirazu lives in Tahima Yili so that others can help him with washing clothes and other things he cannot do because of his handicap. Shirazu daily thanks God for the changes He has brought in his life. He really thought he would die. Sometimes he says, 'I could never turn away from Jesus, never! He has done so much for me!' During the holidays Shirazu stays with an uncle in Yendi - but he is a regular visitor at our house.

Shirazu and Joke admiring the new laptop

Amatu came to help us when Joke was expecting Micah. At that time Samuel was not quite two years old. Amatu helped us a lot by taking care of Samuel so that Joke could work. Besides that, Amatu attended private classes because the first time she wrote her Secondary School exams she did not pass many of the subjects. Amatu comes from a Muslim background. When she was a little girl, she was sent to her grandmother's village to help her grandmother with household chores. Her grandmother was a Christian and Amatu joined her when she went to church. She decided to become her Christian herself and because of this her family no longer wanted to support her. Amatu's brothers are still putting a lot of pressure on her to leave her Chrisian faith. It was only when she was 14 years old that Amatu started school. After she had finished the first phase of Secondary School in the village where she lived with her grandmother, she came to Yendi to attend the second phase of Secondary School. She lived with an uncle in Yendi and that is how we got to know her. Since last year she has attended a Secretarial School in Tamale.

Augustina came to live with us after Amatu left for Tamale. She is a member of one of the churches in the area of Yendi and, just like Amatu, attended private classes to upgrade the results of her Secondary School exams. During this time Samuel was already attending school but Micah was still at home. When Augustina came to live with us, she took care of Micah in the morning and prepared food. Even though Micah is now also attending school, Augustina is still living with us and cooks our meals (we eat two hot meals a day). This gives Joke more time to work. It is also good to have somebody staying with us as Abukari travels a lot and Joke has had to rush Micah to the hospital several times in the night because of his asthma. The children love her and so do we. Augustina is currently attending a computer course and hopes to continue her education in September.

Augustina and the boys

Thank God for:

• The joy these young people bring to our family and the help they offer

• The way God has touched their lives

Pray for:

• The future of each of our young people - that God will guide them and us in their future steps and plans

• Abukari's Thesis

• Preparations towards our furlough

• Health and Strength - life seems a little like a marathon at the moment