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.

God's Plan in God's Time

On September 10th we visited our church in Worivi. Worivi is a remote village and has a small church. The leadership has led the church with some difficulty over the past years, but thank God they have persevered. A few members of the Videre team also joined us on our visit. As we arrived at the village our car was surrounded by many children. A car full of white people is not a common scene in Worivi. After a while the members of the church gathered and benches and chairs were brought from the surrounding houses to give everybody something to sit on. Two teenage boys were standing at the window at the outside of the church and Abukari called them to come inside.

Worivi village

The service then began. After we had sung, we prayed for the needs of the church and its members. A number of people were sick and we prayed specifically for these individuals. Still people continued to enter the church. The church leader told us that some people from the village had heard we were there and they wanted the Christians to pray for them. They are Muslims who do not normally visit the church – a man with a swollen hand, a woman who has been married for years but still barren, a father with a sick child – but they all came forward to be prayed for. We committed them into God’s hands for healing as well as for open hearts to the Gospel.

Worivi church

Brian, one of the Videre team members, preached from John 4 about the meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman; about living water. This is a story that has so much in common with the lives of the people in many villages in Dagbon; to never be thirsty again, but to be full and filled with Jesus Himself, eternal life.

After the church service the two teenage boys came to speak to Abukari. One of them, Adam, indicated that he wanted to give his life to Christ. Wonderful. Whilst Abukari talked with him, many of the church congregation also listened in and heard what Abukari was saying, including some Muslims. An old woman tried to discourage the boys – it is so hard to be a Christian in an environment where people offer resistance. But the boy was determined. Abukari prayed with him and told him that he would meet with him later in the week.

Last Thursday, Abukari had another talk with Adam and his friend, Mareek. Adam told him that he had visited the house of the church leader in Worivi several times to inform him that he is ready to become a Christian. However, each time he went to the house the leader was not at home. On the Sunday we visited the church at Worivi, Adam was riding his bicycle towards Yendi. When he saw that our car turned towards Worivi, he decided to return to the village. Although he was reluctant to enter the church, because of what other people would say, when Abukari called them inside it was as if God Himself had invited them.  Mareek also indicated that he wanted to give his life to Christ. It is so great how God in His time, executes His plan and how many people can be a link in His chain.

Abukari meeting with Mareek (l) and Adam (r)

Last Sunday we visited this church again. However, the boys could not come to church as Adam’s father told them to help with the yam harvest. At the same time Muslim evangelists had come to the village to warn and discourage people about becoming Christians.

Please pray for these two boys, as they will have to face a lot of oppression from family and friends.

The church service last Sunday