King's 10 Year Anniversary

The Asantehene celebrated his ten year anniversary this Sunday. Andrew and I went over to the stadium after morning church to get a few pictures. Here are a few for you to see. We were not able to get close to the king and had to settle for pictures of lesser chiefs.

This is the best picture that we could get of the Asantehene. Andrew used his movie camera and took this picture from quite a distance, but I think that it is a good picture, in spite of the circumstances.


Each large umbrella that you see represents a different chief that attended to pay his respects to the Asantehene. The smaller umbrellas are lesser chiefs and family members, and all the people in white are servants or members of courts.

Fun before our Bible Study

Well I can finally say that I have arrived as a missionary in the minds of all the people that support us. Yes, most people that support African missionary imagine us daily fording rivers filled with crocodiles, marching through elephant grass and fighting lions, as we go out to preach the gospel, all while we single-handedly have spiritual duals with witch doctors. Though I do not fit these Western mindset of a missionary I think that I have finally filled one requirement. I have killed a snake!

Yes, this last Thursday night I had the privilege of killing my first snake. I would like to tell you that as Andrew and I where walking to visit a green mamba jumped out of a tree in front of us, and tried to bite us, and I like Indiana Jones, pulled out my machete (that people think every missionary wares on his/her back) and cut off it head with one blow, but sadly this is not what happened.

After visit some of our people and reminding them about the night meeting, Andrew and I saw a taxi driver that had stopped his car and was running to look at something. The driver was trying to kill a green mamba, that was crossing the road. (Africans do not have the same regard to preserve species as most environmentalist would like them to, here they have a simple rule: when a person sees a snake, they do not stop and ask if it is endangered, they know it will be deadly nine times out of ten, so they grab the first stone available and kills it, then finds out what it was afterwards). So knowing my social duty, I did my part, I grabbed a big rock and crushed it's head.

Over all it was a new experience. After killing the thing with the stone, all the Ghanaians around gave us pats on the back, and we got to go to the people already gathered, and rehearse our story. The wives where not as happy to hear about the presences of the snake as the men, but overall we had a chance to puff our chests and tell our warriors story!

Answered Prayer

One of the greatest blessing that I think that I get to see as a Christian is answered prayer. This month we had to pay to renew our residence permits for this year. In the past we have paid the same amount, which is 200 for me, 50 for each of the kids and Patty. So that adds up to a total of 350 Ghana cedis each year. This year our paper work was delayed in the capital so we knew that we where going to have to pay a months late fee of 200 Ghana cedis. That makes for total of 550 Ghana cedis. Well, we have been missionary long enough now that we knew that things can change at any time so though the total amount was supposed to be 550, we put away 850 for the expenses.

So now you know the background, here is the story. After getting my paperwork from Accra, I went off to the immigration office. My permit expired on the 8th of March, and I went on the 8th of April. The people at immigration where very helpful, and told me that if I finished all the forms and stuff that day, I would not be charged another months late fees (200 Ghana cedi, which is amount 200 dollars).

Well it was about 2:30 in the afternoon, and the offices closed by 5:00 so we set off on the task of getting everything done. So in a whirlwind of activity (African style), we got our passport pictures taken, filled out, photocopied, and processed our quadruplicate copies for our paperwork, and typed up our letters for immigration. Lets say about two hours later I was pretty proud of myself.

So here I go into immigration, I did not have to pay the extra 200, and was already planning how I would us the extra money. So they started total up the money due, and the lady at immigration told me, "The total is 1,000 Ghana cedis". At first I just thought that she was joking but she was not. They told me that in the past it cost 200 dollars for the one holding the residence card, and 50 for the dependents, but that had changed and now it was 200 for everyone. So all added up, one months late fees plus 800 for the family, it came up to a whopping total of 1,000 Ghana Cedis. Now remember it was about 4:45 at this time, and I life quit a distance from down town, and have no car, and if I did not pay by closing time, I would owe enough 200 on top. So I told the people I would be right back.

Some how before I had left the house I had grabbed a few other envelopes that contained money, and the grand total that I had on me was about 1010 Ghana Cedis, just enough to pay and get home. So I was able to part with all that money and start processing my residences permit.

But here is the answer to pray. The 200 that I used was for other things. We had to take it out of other places, and that was going to make us very short for the month. So here was the dilemma.
We could send for money, that we really did not have to use on expenses, or just try to ruff it out, and figure something out. So we just decided to pray about it and leave it in God's hands.

Well here is what God did. Every month we pay almost 200 Ghana cedis on electricity. It is very expensive here. But for about one year now we have been paying, but the electric people have not been putting it on our account. So this has led to a lot of fun, like them trying to cut our lights every month, but that is another story. Anyway, I have been asking them to fix the problem for some time, but the accounts still say that we are behind in payments. But, here is the blessing. This month they finally fixed it, and not only that, we had a 150 Ghana cedis surplus, so our bill was only 40 Ghana cedis this month. The amount that we will have left over after paying the bill today, will be almost exactly how much money we need to make up for the extra money paid to immigration.

So we have a wonderful God. He helped me to pay my immigration fees, He fixed the problem with our electric bills, and to top it off, He gave me the money I needed for the rest of the month.

Christ or Family... You Choose?

Matthew 10:36-38 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Most of people in the United States have little to no understanding of this verse today. The States is a place of tolerance, where even Muslims give way to the Western mindset of tolerance. But for many Christians around the world this is not true. Some lose home, jobs, and even family, and have the great privilege to suffer early for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sunday was Resurrection Sunday, but to my surprise Inusah did not show up for either morning or evening Bible studies. When I went to check him on Tuesday, I found out why.

Very early on Sunday morning, before the morning prayer calls for the Muslims here, Inusah's family called him for a meeting. The Imam was there, and I think a few others from the mosque. After the family and men prayed the tasbad, (this is the daily prayers of the Muslims five times a day, facing Mecca) they called a meeting.

They told Inusah that they had heard that he had become a Christian, and that he was no longer a follower of Mohammad. (If the reader has every worked with Muslims or known others that have, this is the hardest question that a convert from Islam ever faces). I am very glad to say that Inusah did not yield to fear. It sounded from the conversation with Inusah that God gave him a lot of grace and boldness.

They asked why had converted. To which he replied, that he had be a Muslim his whole life, and it had never changed him, it would never change him or help him, and he had found that change and it happened by coming to Christ. He told them that the Qu'ran says that if a person has questions they are to go to the People of the Book (this is Christians for those that do not know Qu'ran lengo). He told them that there was only one way to Paradise. The two thieves on the cross both had a choice to make, one did not trust in Jesus, and went to Hell. The other trusted in Jesus, and was told that when he died he would be in Paradise with Jesus. Inusah told them that he had chosen Christ.

The Imam told Inusah that the Bible was full of lies, that the white men changed it, and it was not to be trusted. Inusah told him, if it was not trustworthy, why did Mohammad praise it in the Qu'ran. He told them that the ten commandments give no hope, a man can never be good enough to gain heaven, and that Jesus was the only way. The Imam said that Paul lied and just spoke of his own dreams and ideas. Inusah said that the Bible says that no one can take away or add to the Bible without Gods punishment upon them.

They told him that Jesus never died, but Allah put the face of Jesus on Judas, and they killed Judas. Inusah told them that that was not true, and that even in part of the Qu'ran, it says that Jesus died. He told them that he was a follower of Jesus and would not be turned.

So after a long time, and not being able to attend church in the morning, the family left Inusah for a while.

That night, when they knew that he would go to night-time Bible studies, they called another meeting. The Imam, told Inusah that he was confused. He had been so faithful, (In the past Inusah would call people to prayers over the loud-speakers, and round-up people to pray), he told him that he even still wanted him to go out and talk to people about Islam with him. ( I think this was just bait, to try and win him back by compliments and money). But, we praise the Lord that Inusah was obedient to the faith. Inusah quoted from the Qu'ran and Bible, trying to witness to them. The Imam said that he had never heard those verses before. Inusah said that if he would get him a English Qu'ran he would read them to him.

Overall the meetings went well. I think that Inusah gave a strong testimony for Christ, and in the end the family did not cut him off. This is very amazing to me. I am not totally sure why they have not. One thing I know is that they know Inusah is stubborn and influentially. I think that they fear if they totally cut him off, that he will be somehow made a hero or martyr. Inusah was very influential with a the young men at his mosque and I think that they fear that he might somehow get more of them this way, they all seem to have a little rebellion in them.

Please continue to pray for Inusah. He seems to be growing. Pray that his future is as bright as it appears at this time. Coming from Islam he has a amazing ability to memorize, pray that these abilities will be yielded to Christ and used for His Glory.

Also pray for our future witnessing. Inusah and I will starting visiting soon on a weekly bases. He is interested in starting to learn how to evangelize. Pray for us as we also seek other opportunities here in Kumasi in the future to work in some of the larger Muslim areas in the city.