He went as a lone-ranger but leaves a number of pathfinders

What do a lone-ranger and pathfinders have to do with the gospel? In 1998, Abukari heard and heeded to the call of God and moved to the Yendi area to help nurture the existing first generation churches and their leadership. Abukari was a lone-ranger in the sense that he was involved in a wide range of activities from preaching to teaching, counselling to officiating marriages, leadership training to discipleship, ambulance driving (using a motorbike or car) to dispenser of medication, pastor to relief worker..... and any other activities that needed to be done as far as the functioning and growth of the body of Christ was concerned. In fact in those early years no programme or occasion would start without his presence. It was heavy, hectic and demanding work as all the churches and leaders looked to him for leadership and guidance.

As you may be aware, in August this year we as a family moved to Tamale to give our boys’ a better education. It also became necessary for Joke to be in Tamale to help in the administration and revamping of the literacy programme ‘Literacy and Development through Partnership’. Naturally there was a bit of fear as to how the work would continue and who would take over the responsibilities that Abukari was shouldering. Was there a future for the work and ministry that had started? The good news is that over the years the Lord has taught Abukari to pass on his knowledge and share the responsibilities in all aspects of the work with others. God gave him seven brothers who have qualified and demonstrated their willingness to pass on the good news to others, to be the torchbearers. Abukari calls these gallant brothers the “pathfinders of the faith”, praying that as the Lord helped him to pass on what he learnt, they too will be able to teach others (2 Tim 2:2).

At the National Annual Pastors and Leaders conference of the BCA church held last month, three of the church leaders of the Yendi District were officially recognised and licensed as pastors in addition to the four pastors who have already been licensed and commissioned into the ministry. What a joy it was to see that in God’s vineyard there is no place for lone-rangers, rather we are called to equip one another so as to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Eph 4:11-14).

The certified Pastor’s of the Yendi District

We hope and pray that these pathfinders in their turn will equip others so that the Kingdom of God will grow and bear much fruit. Even though, as a family, we have now relocated, we still continue to pass on the same vision, albeit in different areas, among different people and in different ways but always with the same passion. Please join us in praying for the Yendi team as they lead the multitudes of believers to know and to grow in the Lord.

One of the Pastor’s, Paul with his wife. Paul is leading a
church very much involved in children’s ministry

Pastor Azindow (left), the Church leader of DC Kura (centre) and Abukari (right)
Pastor Azindow is Abukari’s right hand man and he will take over
the position of District Pastor from Abukari.

Life in the City of Tamale

Moving to Tamale – we’ve talked about it many times over the past few years and now it’s become a reality! In August we moved to the big city. It was not an easy decision. For more than 14 years we have lived, worked and focused our attention mostly on the villages around Yendi. We love the people, the quietness of village life and the landscape. But we could no longer postpone our move. Samuel (7) and Micah (5) have both started their primary education. The options of a choice of good schools in Yendi are very limited, even though we really appreciated the wonderful work the school Samuel and Micah attended in Yendi did with their limited resources. However, our choice of education was a little different and we finally decided that it was important to move because of the children’s education so that we could make a better choice for them. But there were also other reasons. The literacy work that Joke is involved in is mostly managed and directed from the office in Tamale. To be able to support and advise the management it is important for Joke to be physically present at the office and have direct contact with colleagues. Abukari has already spent a lot of his time between Tamale and Yendi. The supervision of the churches in the area is now mostly done by Pastor Azindow. Abukari still visits the area on a regular basis and advises Azindow and his team in their work. One of the advantages of Abukari being in Tamale is that he now has more time to work at the office of Call of Hope and intensify and expand the work the organization is doing to reach many Dagomba people with the Gospel through literature and a correspondence course. So the move means a number of changes for all of us and we are gradually getting used to it.

Samuel and Micah ready for school

Yendi is a relatively small town. Most people know each other and except for bicycles and motorbikes there is not much of traffic, so you never have problems parking your car and you can easily do some quick shopping in the centre of town. Many people are farmers, life is peaceful and there is always time for a little chat. You do not need to lock your house door if you leave for a little while and if you park your car somewhere the closest shop owner keeps an eye on it in case anyone tries to take something of value out of your car. Tamale, on the contrary, is a very busy city. You never have to wait in long traffic jams, but the traffic is chaotic with bicycles, motorbikes, taxis and cars all fighting for a piece of the road. The traffic rules are not all that clear, which makes driving through town challenging sometimes. Every morning we drive along one of the busiest roads to take the boys to school and get to our offices.

On the busy road to school

With a mortgage and gifts we have been able to build our own house in Tamale over a period of ten years. This might sound a very long, but in Ghana this is common practice; anytime you have a little money to spare, you continue your building project. The house is not yet fully completed but it is still a very comfortable place to live. In Tamale we’ve built a wall around our house. This does have some advantages. Over the past years we have planted many trees from which we can now pick the first fruits and it gives a little more privacy (in Yendi anybody could walk around our house). The wall also gives a little more protection. The area where we live is rather like living on a new housing estate, as in this part of Tamale most of the land has been sold for building purposes but many people have not yet started building their houses. At the moment we only have neighbours behind our house. On either side of us people have started building houses but if it also takes them at least ten years…...... As yet, no tarmac roads have been constructed towards our house yet. It was a little scary during the last rainy season as we wondered whether the road would be washed away, but fortunately it remained just wide enough for our car to pass. We hope that something will be done about the road before the next rainy season.

The main road to our house

Even though our direct environment has changed, our mission remains the same. We continue to find ways to share the love of God with the Dagomba people. Tamale is a mixture of different language groups but most of the people living there are Dagomba. Like the Dagomba people in the villages, the majority of the people in Tamale are Muslim. Together, with the leadership in Tamale, we decided to start a church in the Eastern part of Tamale. The church is located in Tahima Yili. Tahima Yili means, “Home of Hope”. This home is owned by our church (BCA) and serves as a home for students that come from rural areas to attend school in Tamale but do not have a place to stay. Most of the students who are now Christians come from Muslim backgrounds and idol worshipping homes. This makes it very difficult for them to be accepted by their Muslim relatives in Tamale, hence the need for the home. So for now the majority of the new church members are the students. Abukari has taken on the role of being the lead preacher and he also leads the Dagbani Sunday school and a weekly Bible study. Joke, on her part, leads the English Sunday school and organizes Sunday school for the children during the sermon. We both enjoy investing our time and gifts in this young generation of believers. Indeed we are very excited about the new church. It is our prayer that the church will see more Dagomba indigenous Muslims receiving Jesus as their personal Saviour.

Bible study before the Church service

Dancing during the Church service

Some facts about Tamale:
Tamale is the capital city of the Northern region (one of the poorest regions in the country) of Ghana and mostly inhabited by the Dagomba people. The city is home to about 350,000 citizens and has a growth rate of 3.5%. Tamale is the fourth largest city in Ghana. The size of Tamale is approximately 922km sq. It is reputed to be one of the fastest growing cities in West Africa. The city attracts people from all over the northern region and its economic activities revolve around farming and trade.

There are more than one hundred local and international NGOs located in Tamale. This has earned Tamale the accolade ‘Headquarters of NGOs in Ghana’. However, few of those NGO’s work within the city. Tamale is also considered the main centre of education in Northern Ghana. Currently there are over 742 public and private basic schools within the city. Besides that there are 68 Junior High and 11 Senior High Schools, Technical/Vocational Institutions, 2 Colleges of Education, a Polytechnic, a Nursing and Midwifery Training College, one Community Health Training School, School of Hygiene and two Universities – University for Development Studies (UDS) and Islamic Technical University College. The city has a high dropout rate at the Junior High School level. Besides that, illiteracy is still very high in the city.



The centre of Tamale



The central Mosque in Tamale

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.

Chasing after a Soul

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?… there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:1-7)

On a normal Sunday morning Abukari is usually preaching or engaged in church service activities. But this Sunday was different as Abukari found himself chasing after Amina in the local huts of the village of Sambu village while Joke and the boys attended the church service.

Amina is in her late thirties and is married to Sulemana and together they have seven children. Both Sulemana and Amina come from a very strong Muslim family in Sambu, but in 1997, through our ministry, the Lord led Sulemana to the knowledge and kingdom of Jesus Christ. Ever since then we have prayed and shared the gospel with Amina many times but she was always unyielding to the gift of salvation. Last week we had some friends from the USA who visited and shared the gospel with Amina in her village. Like a driver finding his missing car keys, the heart of Amina was immediately unlocked and became receptive to the gospel. She was led to pray the sinners prayer and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.

Sulemana and Amina

Sulemana and Amina's house

It was all joy and celebration for Sulemana (Amina’s husband) who had prayed and waited for this moment for 14 years! But little did Sulemana and the minority Christians in Sambu know what was awaiting them and Amina. Instead of the neighbours joining Amina to celebrate her new found faith they rather plotted against her. Like Job, all her friends upon hearing of her decision to follow Jesus came and one by one they took their turn to heap insults and intimidation on her. So great was the intimidation that before Amina had the opportunity to experience her first Sunday of public worship of Jesus with other believers, the friends and neighbours succeeded in discouraging and polluting her mind to recant her faith. On the first Sunday, as the church gathered everyone was eagerly waiting to welcome Amina into the family/body of Christ. But to the surprise of everyone, a friend of Amina who lives in the Imam’s (the Muslim leader of the village) house had smuggled her across several houses to the house of the Imam where they were hiding her. This was to prevent her from attending church that morning. Having waited in vain for while, Abukari took Sulemana in search of Amina in the neighbourhood. Finally they found out that she was in the Imam’s house. When the people heard Abukari and Sulemana were planning to visit the house, they locked the door of the room where Amina was but her husband recognised her sandals that were laying just outside the front entrance. To avoid any confrontation with the neighbours, Abukari decided that she should not be pursued further in the Imam’s house.

The next day Abukari was back in Sambu to meet with Amina and the local Pastor. Together the Pastor and Abukari spent time sharing God’s word with Amina and counselling her. Amina explained to them that “the fear of my unknown future and the heavy pressure from my friends and neighbours was too much to bear. But for your perseverance in pursuing me I want to stay with Jesus”. Since then Amina has started attending church. What a joy that the Lord’s grace of second chance can be extended to Amina through us! Please pray for Amina. Pray that she will continue to be faithful and strengthened with the power of God and that she will have great endurance, patience and above all joy in her new found faith.

Perhaps you are living or working in a setting where God is not acknowledged, where faith is mocked, where results do not come in massive numbers but in small trickles and where godless living is applauded. You may be overwhelmed with darkness. Do not be discouraged, for our witness for Christ is a light in a dark world.

As we are writing this blog, we just received a message that the 9 year old daughter of the local Pastor of Sambu died very suddenly. Please pray for comfort and strength for this Pastor and his family at this difficult time.

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!

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

Growth that needs our help

The village of D.C. Kura is an old farming community in the Yendi district of the Northern region. The village obtained its name “D.C. Kura” from an old District Chief (D.C.) Executive (a central government representative) from Yendi who had his farm in the village and being a prominent person, the inhabitants decided to name the village after him.

Predominantly, those who live in D.C. Kura believe in the African traditional religious system; their religious worldview lies in the belief that the spiritual is imminent and impinges directly on the living. There is a strong belief that people are surrounded by hosts of spirit-beings which are able to influence the lives of the living for good or for evil. These fearful beliefs in the spirit world enslave the people of D.C. Kura as they often sacrifice animals out of fear to appease the gods and their ancestors (their dead relatives) who are believed to have the power to bless or curse the living depending on the way they live.

In 1992, Pastor Azindow saw the need to establish a literacy class in D.C. Kura, as no one in the entire village was able to read in either their mother tongue language or in English. Through the literacy class the good news of Jesus Christ was heard in the village and this brought a dramatic change to the lives of many inhabitants. They came to know the truth, and the truth indeed has set them free (John 8:31, 32). The gospel really brought liberation to the people as many families gave their lives to Jesus. Also many young men and women enthusiastically started to learn how to read and caught the vision of sending their children to school. In fact the current leader of the D.C. Kura Church, Naakiwu Lamba, was one of the first students who learned to read in their first literacy class. In 1994, two years after the literacy classes started, Mark Hagerup (a missionary with SIM) helped D.C. Kura believers establish a church congregation and since then they have continued to experience spiritual and numerical growth.

The church building at D.C. Kura

Abukari with Naakiwu Lamba, the church leader at D.C. Kura

An occasion last Sunday clearly affirmed this when we were especially invited to witness the graduation of students of the Children’s Sunday school class. When we arrived at the church the 14 young men and women who will be leaving the Sunday school were sitting under a tree, rehearsing the memory verses and songs they were to perform during the church service. Under another tree over 70 children gathered who also attend the weekly Sunday school. The church was full up of adults who are part of the membership of the church of D.C. Kura. When the 14 students entered the 24 x 18 ft church, followed by the 70 children to be part of the service it was obvious that the people of D.C. Kura have outgrown their church building. What a wonderful concern to have - the church is too small!!! Praise the Lord.

We are now taking up the challenge to see how we can make space for all these groups in one church building. Can you pray and stand with us as we try to raise $16,000 to build a church that can accommodate both the adults and children and their activities at the same time.

The Sunday school children are gathered under trees outside

Joke talking to the Sunday school children

The church is too small - people are standing in the aisle and many are still outside

Thank God for: 

• The growth of the Church in D.C. Kura
• The leaders and their commitment towards the adults as well as children in the church 

Pray for:

• This church that it will continue to grow, not only in numbers but also in their faith
• Funds to build a new, bigger church 
• Our trip to Kara, Togo; we hope to be there from 4th-11th September
• For the children who will go back to school (after a long absence) on 12th September
• For the safe arrival of another team from Videre who hope to be in Yendi from 11th-16th September to train a new group of entrepreneurs in ‘Business as Mission’

Making Christ Known

One of the many joys of being on furlough has been the opportunity for us to spend time worshipping with our church family here in the Netherlands and also share news of our work and ministry in Ghana. Recently, as part of the Easter preparations we’ve had the privilege of preaching at our local church, Beth-El, in Hoogeveen.

This was a joint “ministry” for us both as Abukari preached in English and Joke translated that “on the spot” into Dutch for the congregation! The full English text of the sermon can be read here, but we thought we would share with you a summary of it below:

We spoke about “Making Christ Known” (Luke 9:18-27, 9:7-9) and the fact that each of us needs to be sure that we really know who Jesus is and what he represents and then allowing that knowledge and experience of him to make a difference in our lives so that those around us can see that we are not just “one of the crowd”, but that we demonstrate the uniqueness of Christ and what he stands for in all that we do and say. As Jesus challenged the disciples when he asked “but what about you, who do you say I am?”, so he challenges us to examine our ourselves and our reasons and motives in life and not just follow the modern secular beliefs that seek to distort our knowledge and belief in Jesus Christ. Jesus also challenges us to take our faith and share with others as part of his “bigger” picture for salvation for everyone from every tribe, creed and nation.

How can we do this? We explored five areas that can help us to put this into practice:

• By not following the crowds: Jesus enquired of his disciples as to the “public opinion” of him. What were the crowds saying about this man Jesus and his ministry? Jesus obviously stood out from the crowd because of his teachings and lifestyle (v18-19). The same can apply to Christian believers today. To what extent do we use our faith to confront issues happening in our countries, nations, and our world today? To what extent do we let the Bible speak for us instead of the crowds? As Christians where are our standards? When and where do we dare to say this is right, when the “crowds” say it is wrong? When and where do we dare to say this is wrong, when the “crowds” say this is right? For those of us who are fortunate enough to live in countries that are have freedom, especially in speech, do we as Christians enjoy that freedom when it comes to expressing our faith and who we are in Christ? Will your “crowds” – your neighbours, co-workers, friends and family – ever notice you or see that you are different in your life and opinions?

• By knowing him personally: The question of who Jesus is to us forms the foundation of our faith and belief system – Christianity is all about a personal relationship with Jesus and that makes it different from all other faiths/religions (v20). Jesus also warned the disciples that their long awaited Messiah, long expected king would have to suffer, to be rejected by authority and put to death (v22). Jesus went through suffering alone so that we might never go through it alone. He will always be with us. He is our Saviour. He holds the key to our lives and this knowledge gives our lives new meaning and hope. Jesus died for each and every one of us personally. He paid the price on the cross for every sin in our lives.

• By enduring suffering for his sake: Jesus also makes it clear that following him is a choice with consequences …... to “take up your cross” (v23). This implies self denial, complete dedication and willing obedience. Self denial here means ceasing to make self the object of one’s life and action. We live in an age of instant solutions, tranquilizers and painkillers. We think that our sophisticated technological advancements can help us avoid pain and give us instant gratification. Our society has forgotten how to suffer and wait. Our self sufficiency seems to tell us that we do not need God any longer. However, we only have to look at the overwhelming natural disasters, wars, famines and manmade catastrophes that occur around our world, to realise that we cannot always control everything. Jesus warns us against making choices that become so important to us that we become slaves to them instead of trusting Him.

• By denying ourselves for his sake: In verse 25, Jesus seems to be saying that all the things we could possibly acquire or achieve in this world are worth nothing if we do not have Jesus as our personal Saviour. Our love for the things of the world, such as wealth and status are meaningless without Jesus. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self.” The “very self” here means, what makes you the person you are – what makes you who you really are on the inside. 

• By not being ashamed of Him in all our relationships: If we think that gaining and loving the world is better than knowing Jesus then we are well on the path of being ashamed of our Lord (v26). In our work places, in our neighbourhood, on the streets, in shopping centres – do people see Jesus in us? Do we stand for Him? Or is Jesus confined to our church buildings? So often, we are too careful and even sometimes too afraid to even share our faith with our children and grandchildren. Let us be reminded and encouraged by the generational passing on and the multiplying faith of Timothy’s family (2 Tim.1:5).

About 2010 years ago, Jesus relied on twelve men called disciples to pass on his message of good news to humanity, and through their faithfulness we were reached. Today, Jesus is still relying on you and me to make Him known. Making Him known is not only the work reserved for the Pastor, Elders, Missionaries or Sunday school teachers. It is also the work you and I are called to do as his disciples. Christianity in Europe is ever decreasing, it is becoming a minority group thus making our task of evangelism even more necessary and urgent.

May we be part of the chain of passing on the message of God’s grace to a lost world.

Please pray for:

• For Samuel and Micah to cope in their Dutch schools

• That we will find time between meetings to rest and relax

• For good health and strength

• For a safe trip to Germany for a one week holiday

Praise for:

• The time of fellowship with family and friends here in the Netherlands

• The opportunities we’ve had to speak and preach in recent weeks

Busy - Busy - Busy

Abukari has nearly finished his thesis! All that is left are a few corrections and, hopefully, by the end of this weekend or early next week he will have printed out his final copy for presentation. Maybe the books will give you an idea about the topic he is writing on.

The boys have also been busy, helping to buy and distribute goats to poor children in the area with the support of Go4GhanaKids in the Netherlands, as part of our ongoing 'She Goat's Project'.

Joke has been streamlining activities in and around the house as everybody is so busy. She also had the opportunity of teaching the children at both the Sambu and Kanimo churches on 31 January and
13 February, during the dedications of their new church buildings. Over 200 children were present at both events- so that was quite a challenge.

By next Wednesday we hope to leave for Accra and on 8 March, Joke and the boys will fly to the Netherlands. Abukari will then follow on the 6 April. We are planning to return to Ghana on 6 July.

Thank God for:

• His daily provision and care for us

• the grace he has given Abukari to finish his studies despite his busy schedule

• the many goats we were able to buy for needy children

Pray for:

• the last week in Ghana - that God will help us with all the preparations towards our furlough

• safe journeys to Accra and then on to the Netherlands

• the impact of the Goat's Project - that both children and adults will realise that God loves them and wants to take care of them both physically and spiritually

Our Advent Season 2010

In this blog we thought we'd look back at and share with you a few of our activities during December.

On the 5th of December we baptised 26 people of two different villages:

On the 13th of December we organised our first meeting for all the women of the BCA churches in the Yendi district. We were delighted that more than 80 women attended the meeting:

On the 15th of December we took a picture of the beautiful sunset in our village:

On the 18th of December Abukari's brother made this car for Samuel and Micah using a fruit of the cocoa tree, old nails, slippers (flip-flops) and the skin of a coconut. No other toys can compete with this one:

On the 20th and 21st of December we visited one of the National Parks in Ghana. We admired the beautiful nature, but unfortunately we did not see elephants. However we saw plenty of monkeys and different kinds of antelopes:

On the 25th of December we celebrated Christmas with a group of friends from Ghana, America, Britain, Romenia and The Netherlands. Everybody brought some food which made a wonderful dinner:

Please pray for:

• Another team from Videre that hopes to visit us towards the end of January to organise the 2nd phase of the business training programme.

• Abukari's thesis - he is to present the final version at the end of February and this is quite a challenge considering all the many other activities and programmes he is involved in.

• Preparations towards our furlough - Joke and the boys hope to arrive in the Netherlands on 9th March and Abukari will follow on 6th April.

• Funding for our literacy programme. If we do not get more funding soon we will have to scale down the programme drastically.