What if the outcome had been different? What if a different decision had been made? All the pieces somehow seemed to fall together. It made an amazing whole, that worked out for good, when it could have been so bad. The story ended, the curtain is draw, and the listener is left with the feeling that something greater was at work. It must have been divine intervention and protection.
This is how I felt yesterday when I had a story related to me. Robert, one of the converts and faithful men of our Bible story is a security guard at a hotel in town. As our little group walked down the road together he told about his adventure from the night before. He is the story that he told me...
It all started after dark. Robert was guarding the gate of the hotel that he was standing beside, when two men approached him on a motorcycle. They came to the gate window and began to ask him about the hotel rates. Robert told me that normally he does not stand at the gate, since most evenings people do not arrive at the hotel after dark. The guard house has a television that he is allowed to watch on night duty. Anyway, this night he was manning the gate instead of sitting in the guard house when these men approached. (His presence, keep them from entering the compound, before he knew they where present). When the men began to ask questions, he sensed something wrong and locked the gate. (Hence, the importance of his not being in the guard house, since they might have been able to open before he could lock the door). After locking the door the men continued to ask about room rates, and requested to be let inside so that they could see the rates at the front desk. By this time Robert knew that something was not right, and told them that if they wanted to get a room they could pay him or come back in the morning, but he would not open the gate until otherwise. All during this time Robert was separated from his radio and could not radio is partner at the hotel. But just as the men began to get a little ruff, his partner decided to flip on the flood lights near the gate and turned on the video cameras (remember Robert had not radioed to him, he just did this by 'chance'). When the two men saw the light, they turned around and ran to the motorcycle. As they ran to the motorcycle, the one man dropped his gun that was hidden in his coat! But, the miracle does not stop there... just as the men went to pick-up the gun a police truck, full of officers with guns, drive up! (Now to the Westerner this might not sounds like a big deal, but to someone in Ghana, this is a miracle. 1. Police normally never have guns, 2. Police walk more than ride, to be using a truck is very rare, 3. The police never show up when a criminal is around. Most of the time if a person calls needing the police, they will make sure to come the following morning, just so that they do not get hurt!) But here they where. A whole truck full of Police men and with guns too! When those guy saw them coming, they left the gun and started running. The police saw them, grabbed the motorcycle and gun, and chased after them. They must have been really moving because they lost the police, but they did not come back!
Robert told me the story with a big smile on his face. He keep saying that if he had not been at the gate he would have been killed! I told him that God is good. He knew that they where coming. As we talked, I told him that divine protection is another way God blesses those that follow Him. Most people think of blessings as things that are given to us, but many times God's blessings are the things that He prevents from happening.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Spiritual Battles
Friday afternoon Andrew and I where out on visitation when the time came to visit with a family that attends the Bible Studies. The husband and wife have both been saved and have been growing in the Lord.
Once we arrived at the house, the husband greeted us and spoke with us a little before trying to head off to work. The family stays in a single room. It is a concrete slab floor, with walls made out of strap wood. The husband has worked hard to make this place a home. They use a car battery for electricity. He has placed lights and a radio and television inside. They have a small couch and even a bed. But, back to the story, as we talked with the husband he told us that his wife was sick.
After a few more minutes of talking, as the husband was heading off to work, his wife came outside. Clearly she had been crying. The husband came back over and they both sat with Andrew and I on a bench outside. The wife proceeded to tell us about the problems that they where having.
Basically the family has been under great spiritual warfare of late, and has also been burdened with family members that have asked for a lot of help, but have provided very little help themselves. After some time of encouragement and teaching an appointment was made for the husband and wife, so that they could council with my wife and I another time.
The interesting thing that I want to point out though is a statement that the wife made when we all where talking together. She told us that she had been suffering from night mares. Lately when she would go to sleep she would start to dream. In her dreams she would see people trying to split up her family by causing division. When she would start to pray in the dream the people would change forms and become mermaids. This might sounds really strange to a non-Africa reader. But here in our traditional beliefs one of the evil gods of the people groups are mermaids. In Akan belief, the head of these demons is called Mama Water. Many people belief that these wicked forces can be used by family members that want to hurt people or family members that they do not like. These dreams have caused times of great fear for these young Christians. Some people would like to just laugh at the whole notion, but weather a person believe it our not, to the young convert this conflict is real. ( Not matter what the reader thinks, we do know that Satan does hate people and does not want Christian families to stay together).
After some time of comfort, Andrew and I gave them some verses to encourage them. Also we explained to them that God does not give a spirit of fear and that they should pray together before they sleep at night and ask God to allow them to have good dreams. After a few more hours of consoling the following day, the family problems seem to be getting better and the dreams have not returned.
On thing that I have learned since arriving on the fields is that spiritual warfare is real. Satan will use our own fears and weakness if he can. But no matter the path he takes, he wants to hinder God’s work. Helping to disciple young Christians has given me a constant reminder of how diligent a person most be in pray.
Once we arrived at the house, the husband greeted us and spoke with us a little before trying to head off to work. The family stays in a single room. It is a concrete slab floor, with walls made out of strap wood. The husband has worked hard to make this place a home. They use a car battery for electricity. He has placed lights and a radio and television inside. They have a small couch and even a bed. But, back to the story, as we talked with the husband he told us that his wife was sick.
After a few more minutes of talking, as the husband was heading off to work, his wife came outside. Clearly she had been crying. The husband came back over and they both sat with Andrew and I on a bench outside. The wife proceeded to tell us about the problems that they where having.
Basically the family has been under great spiritual warfare of late, and has also been burdened with family members that have asked for a lot of help, but have provided very little help themselves. After some time of encouragement and teaching an appointment was made for the husband and wife, so that they could council with my wife and I another time.
The interesting thing that I want to point out though is a statement that the wife made when we all where talking together. She told us that she had been suffering from night mares. Lately when she would go to sleep she would start to dream. In her dreams she would see people trying to split up her family by causing division. When she would start to pray in the dream the people would change forms and become mermaids. This might sounds really strange to a non-Africa reader. But here in our traditional beliefs one of the evil gods of the people groups are mermaids. In Akan belief, the head of these demons is called Mama Water. Many people belief that these wicked forces can be used by family members that want to hurt people or family members that they do not like. These dreams have caused times of great fear for these young Christians. Some people would like to just laugh at the whole notion, but weather a person believe it our not, to the young convert this conflict is real. ( Not matter what the reader thinks, we do know that Satan does hate people and does not want Christian families to stay together).
After some time of comfort, Andrew and I gave them some verses to encourage them. Also we explained to them that God does not give a spirit of fear and that they should pray together before they sleep at night and ask God to allow them to have good dreams. After a few more hours of consoling the following day, the family problems seem to be getting better and the dreams have not returned.
On thing that I have learned since arriving on the fields is that spiritual warfare is real. Satan will use our own fears and weakness if he can. But no matter the path he takes, he wants to hinder God’s work. Helping to disciple young Christians has given me a constant reminder of how diligent a person most be in pray.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Asamoah's Accident
Last night one of the young men of our Bible study came to the evening services. He told me after the service that one of his friends had been in a serious car accident. The young man that was in the accident was very seriously injured. Asamoah had been invited to church that morning, but was not interested in coming. He had been drinking the night before and had a very strong hang-over. Just two weeks before he told me that if he died that he would go to hell because he knew that he was wicked. Nat (the young man at the Bible study) was very nervous about his friend, especially since he knew that the man admitted to being unsaved. (Asamoah accident was caused by alcohol. He and his friend had been drinking heavily, when his drunken friend, that did not have a license asked him to accompany him to a bar in his car, he agreed. After the three friend boarded the vehicle, they started off to a bar a few miles away. While traveling down Lake Road, the cars front tire burst and the drunk driver lost control. The driver and one friend had minor injures, but Asamoah had internal bleed and damage to his ear and face. They took him to the emergency room at the main hospital, and where not sure he would live more then a few days).
(Continued- about five days later)
Monday morning at about 5:00 in the morning a small group of men, including Pastor Andrew, myself, Nat and a few of the boy’s friends headed off the to hospital to visit the man in the Emergency room. I was hoping the opportunity would come so I could witness to him. Fortunately for the young man a new state of the art emergency wing has been built in our main hospital and the hospital was able to give him the care that was needed so that he lived through the night. After the security guards allowed us to pass we were allowed in to visit Asamoah in the emergency ward.
There he was, a twenty something year old man, that just hours before was healthy and strong, lying in his own blood wearing nothing but a diaper. He mother was present and his father, they where feeding him and cleaning him off. (The hospitals here do not provide food, and the family is needed if the patient wants to be cared for in a personal way (i.e. changed clothes, baths, and so on). The hospitals do not have the staff to perform these task for each patient). On Monday I was able to pray with the parents and give them some comfort.
After leaving the hospital and scheduling to visit them the rest of the week, our group left. The young men that accompanied us where very shaken up by the presents of their friend, but it was a great opportunity to teach about the lies of Satan. Satan tells us that sin is enjoyable, and that though a person should repent, that he has time to do it later. He tells us to enjoy the sin today, and repent (change) before the punishment comes. But, that is not how it works. A person never knows when his day will come, and life will be over.
After a week, Asamoah is in stable condition. On Friday he was conscience enough that I was able to pray with him. I asked him if he would like to study the Bible with me the following week. He told me that he was very interested and wanted to make some changes.
Please continue to pray for Asamoah and his health. This accident has opened the door to witness to his friends and parents. Pray that they will have open minds and hearts.
(Continued- about five days later)
Monday morning at about 5:00 in the morning a small group of men, including Pastor Andrew, myself, Nat and a few of the boy’s friends headed off the to hospital to visit the man in the Emergency room. I was hoping the opportunity would come so I could witness to him. Fortunately for the young man a new state of the art emergency wing has been built in our main hospital and the hospital was able to give him the care that was needed so that he lived through the night. After the security guards allowed us to pass we were allowed in to visit Asamoah in the emergency ward.
There he was, a twenty something year old man, that just hours before was healthy and strong, lying in his own blood wearing nothing but a diaper. He mother was present and his father, they where feeding him and cleaning him off. (The hospitals here do not provide food, and the family is needed if the patient wants to be cared for in a personal way (i.e. changed clothes, baths, and so on). The hospitals do not have the staff to perform these task for each patient). On Monday I was able to pray with the parents and give them some comfort.
After leaving the hospital and scheduling to visit them the rest of the week, our group left. The young men that accompanied us where very shaken up by the presents of their friend, but it was a great opportunity to teach about the lies of Satan. Satan tells us that sin is enjoyable, and that though a person should repent, that he has time to do it later. He tells us to enjoy the sin today, and repent (change) before the punishment comes. But, that is not how it works. A person never knows when his day will come, and life will be over.
After a week, Asamoah is in stable condition. On Friday he was conscience enough that I was able to pray with him. I asked him if he would like to study the Bible with me the following week. He told me that he was very interested and wanted to make some changes.
Please continue to pray for Asamoah and his health. This accident has opened the door to witness to his friends and parents. Pray that they will have open minds and hearts.
Blessings!
This weekend our family was allowed to see two great blessings.
The first was in regards to a family that we have been trying to reach for months. The husband of the family, Robert, attends services on a regular basis. He has been saved and baptized. My wife has been holding a weekly Bible study with his wife for some months now. It seemed as if her Catholic background was going to completely hinder her from understanding the gospel. Finally last week all the teaching broke through. She had seen the changes in her husbands life, but was convinced that she had something to do with this, and was using this belief as evidence that she was not needy of salvation. Well, after many weeks of prayer and teaching the truth of the Bible made it through this stronghold of being unteachable. After about a two hour Bible study, Alica trusted Christ as her personal Savior. It was very exciting for Patty to see. This marks the second full family that has come to personally know Christ.
The second thing regards our friend, Gifty, that has traveled to the United States on scholarship. She is attending a University in Virginia for two years and then will be returning to Kumasi to teach. Before leaving she asked us to find a good Baptist church for her to attend while in the United States. She told our family that she really wanted to be involved in church and have people that will help her to grow spiritually. Also she wanted a place where she felt that she could minister. Well, after searching my wife and I found two churches that seemed to match our teaching and focus. After arriving in Virginia, Gifty tried the one, but it was very far away. Which would make it hard, since she does not have any car. So she decided to call the other church. They told her that they had no way to get her to church, but gave her another church to contact. They said that that church had an active University ministry, and also shuttled students to church each service. After calling the church, they told her that they would pick her up on Sunday. Low and behold, on Sunday, when the college ministry pastor picked her up, he knew of our ministry here. Also she found out our family knows him. The college ministry pastor was a great assistant pastor at a church that has supported us for years. God is so amazing!
The first was in regards to a family that we have been trying to reach for months. The husband of the family, Robert, attends services on a regular basis. He has been saved and baptized. My wife has been holding a weekly Bible study with his wife for some months now. It seemed as if her Catholic background was going to completely hinder her from understanding the gospel. Finally last week all the teaching broke through. She had seen the changes in her husbands life, but was convinced that she had something to do with this, and was using this belief as evidence that she was not needy of salvation. Well, after many weeks of prayer and teaching the truth of the Bible made it through this stronghold of being unteachable. After about a two hour Bible study, Alica trusted Christ as her personal Savior. It was very exciting for Patty to see. This marks the second full family that has come to personally know Christ.
The second thing regards our friend, Gifty, that has traveled to the United States on scholarship. She is attending a University in Virginia for two years and then will be returning to Kumasi to teach. Before leaving she asked us to find a good Baptist church for her to attend while in the United States. She told our family that she really wanted to be involved in church and have people that will help her to grow spiritually. Also she wanted a place where she felt that she could minister. Well, after searching my wife and I found two churches that seemed to match our teaching and focus. After arriving in Virginia, Gifty tried the one, but it was very far away. Which would make it hard, since she does not have any car. So she decided to call the other church. They told her that they had no way to get her to church, but gave her another church to contact. They said that that church had an active University ministry, and also shuttled students to church each service. After calling the church, they told her that they would pick her up on Sunday. Low and behold, on Sunday, when the college ministry pastor picked her up, he knew of our ministry here. Also she found out our family knows him. The college ministry pastor was a great assistant pastor at a church that has supported us for years. God is so amazing!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Dealing with Crazy People!
On Sunday in our morning and evening Bible studies I taught about the maniac of Gederra. During our teaching time I had the opportunity to share a few of our family experiences with crazy people. The people found these quite funny. After church when I was talking to Patty about the services, I realized that I have never written these experiences down. So in an event to make sure that these interesting tidbits do not get lost, I want to relate them here today.
First the reader must understand that the government of Ghana tries hard to take care of the people with special needs, but in a place that has barely enough money to maintain the things that are needed for normal citizens, the moneys for other groups is not available. For this reason, one thing a new coming to Ghana will see in the city are crazy people.
These crazy can be quite colorful. Most communities will have one or two. These people each have their own character and personality. There is the guy near Anloga River that caries around children’s toys. There is the crazy guy at Bomso that wears about 15 coats, even though it is about 100 degree out. There are ones that collect plastic bags, or hats, or watches. They all have different reason for going crazy, and if a person asks, many people around know the reason. Some go crazy from using drugs, some have sickness or fevers that have affected their mind, some use ju-ju (black magic) and it drives them crazy, and some are just demon possessed.
One thing that is generally true about crazy people here is that a person can tell how long a person has been crazy by their appearance. They start off pretty normal looking real, they just have a distant look in the eyes, and they start to wonder around. Then the clothes become more dirty, next the clothes are almost black with dirt. Finally the clothes become very ripped, until some of them wear no clothes at all.
Most people here have learned to deal with crazy people, since they have seen them their whole life. (For a stranger to Ghana these people can be quite frightening). Most are harmless, but some at times can be violent, and since all the asylums are full, most people try to stir clear of them. If a crazy person walks near a chop-bar (local restaurant) the worker will prepare a small amount of food in a bag, give it to the person so they will go quickly, and not cause trouble for them. Overall people just try not to get the crazy peoples attention. After some time they normal leave and go on their way.
But being white in a nation where most people are black makes it a little more difficult to not get a crazy person’s attention, since even a crazy man in Ghana finds bronis interesting. Thus, our stories begin...
The Crazy Guy with a Comb-
I think that Patty and I had lived in Ghana for about two months. At that time our apartment was in a local community called Anloga. Patty was about 8 months pregnant, but still liked to go visiting with me, even though there was a lot of walking.
So one day about 2:00 in the afternoon, Patty and I went out to invite some people to church. After about 30 minutes, visitation had brought us to the area near Anloga’s local market, and allowed us to talk to a lot of people.
This is when Patty and I gained our first experience around crazy people. My wife and I where talking to some ladies in a salon, when a crazy man walked up. At first he just stood a few feet away. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, but figured that he would just keep walking. But no such luck. All of a sudden, the guy pulls out an old comb from his bag, and proceeds to comb my wives hair. She was in total shock. I could she the horror all over her face, as she tried to figure out what was going on, and what was in that comb!
There I was, husband, missionary, and soon to be father. What did I do? I tried to tell the guy to leave, but he was not listening to rational thinking, I mean, he was a crazy guy. My mind keep spinning. Did I grab a stick and hit the guy, did I push him away, ignore him and pray he left? (A the reader might thing he would hall off and hit the guy, but remember that Patty was pregnant and I was not sure if the guy was violent!) As I tried to figure out what do, the smallest lady in the shop grabbed a big stick and started whacking the guy! I mean she went at him, like Hank Aaron with a Louville Slugger. That crazy guy turned tail, and ran as fast as he could. The crowd that had gathered started laughing, and after a few moments, so did Patty. So, that was our first experience around crazy people. (Now I know what do if a crazy guy tries to comb my hair!)
The Follower-
One day our family took a walk together over on the campus of the University. On this day as our family was walking back home a newly crazy man began to follow us. (We could tell that this was true about this guy because his clothes wear fairly clean). At first I thought that he would get board and just stop following, but after taking about 7 turns to loss the guy, he was still about 100 yards behind us.
Needless to say Patty really did not want this guy to know our house and sit outside all day, to which I heartily agreed. So I came up with our plan. Once we reached the road, that divided our community from the campus, the girls and Patty would run to the house and I would walk slowly another way. See, the main road to Accra is raised very high, and since the guy was far behind, once the girls got over the road, they could run to our house without being seen, and the guy would not know where we lived.
So over the road they went, and into the house. The crazy guy did not see them, he soon found me. I had stopped at a local salon to see what he would do. So there I sat. Most salons here in Ghana have chairs outside for people to sit in while they wait, and cokes to drink. So I sat down, told the ladies my story, and bought a Coke, waiting, hoping the guy would get tired of watching me drink, and head on his way, so I could go home.
No luck! The guy just stood there for about 30 minutes staring at me. The girls at the shop thought it was funny at first, but after about 30 minutes, they asked me to leave, because the guy was scaring off customers. Off I went again, walking down the road, with this crazy guy following me.
Most of the people around here know me and keep asking how my ‘friend’ was, with a laugh. After leaving the salon, I decided to walk to our neighborhood Shell station and see if the Security guard there might help. Well, after arriving, I told all the people inside. They just told me to buy an ice cream and wait him out. The manger had the security guard, one of my friends, go try to talk to guy, but that did not help. He (the crazy guy) was loopy. No talking, just staring!
So, finally after another 45 minutes and few ice-creams. The manger got a good idea: He said to just walk to the junction, grab a taxi or tro-tro and get a ride to town. Crazy guys cannot ride tro-tros. Then after a few minutes come back. Once the guy sees me leave, he will get board and go away. So I tried it, and it worked! By the time I got back he was gone, and I had a funny story to tell that cost me about three hours.
These are our two funniest crazy person stories. In the six years that our family has lived here, we have become pretty good at knowing how to handle these kinds of rare circumstance when they do happen, but they do make for good stories.
(Note- by the way, these stories are a collect of events over six years of time. Please do not get the impress that there are tons of crazy dangerous people walking around Ghana. The few crazy people of Ghana are not dangerous generally. These stories are just told for memory sake, and are not intended to be dramatization of the mission filed.)
First the reader must understand that the government of Ghana tries hard to take care of the people with special needs, but in a place that has barely enough money to maintain the things that are needed for normal citizens, the moneys for other groups is not available. For this reason, one thing a new coming to Ghana will see in the city are crazy people.
These crazy can be quite colorful. Most communities will have one or two. These people each have their own character and personality. There is the guy near Anloga River that caries around children’s toys. There is the crazy guy at Bomso that wears about 15 coats, even though it is about 100 degree out. There are ones that collect plastic bags, or hats, or watches. They all have different reason for going crazy, and if a person asks, many people around know the reason. Some go crazy from using drugs, some have sickness or fevers that have affected their mind, some use ju-ju (black magic) and it drives them crazy, and some are just demon possessed.
One thing that is generally true about crazy people here is that a person can tell how long a person has been crazy by their appearance. They start off pretty normal looking real, they just have a distant look in the eyes, and they start to wonder around. Then the clothes become more dirty, next the clothes are almost black with dirt. Finally the clothes become very ripped, until some of them wear no clothes at all.
Most people here have learned to deal with crazy people, since they have seen them their whole life. (For a stranger to Ghana these people can be quite frightening). Most are harmless, but some at times can be violent, and since all the asylums are full, most people try to stir clear of them. If a crazy person walks near a chop-bar (local restaurant) the worker will prepare a small amount of food in a bag, give it to the person so they will go quickly, and not cause trouble for them. Overall people just try not to get the crazy peoples attention. After some time they normal leave and go on their way.
But being white in a nation where most people are black makes it a little more difficult to not get a crazy person’s attention, since even a crazy man in Ghana finds bronis interesting. Thus, our stories begin...
The Crazy Guy with a Comb-
I think that Patty and I had lived in Ghana for about two months. At that time our apartment was in a local community called Anloga. Patty was about 8 months pregnant, but still liked to go visiting with me, even though there was a lot of walking.
So one day about 2:00 in the afternoon, Patty and I went out to invite some people to church. After about 30 minutes, visitation had brought us to the area near Anloga’s local market, and allowed us to talk to a lot of people.
This is when Patty and I gained our first experience around crazy people. My wife and I where talking to some ladies in a salon, when a crazy man walked up. At first he just stood a few feet away. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, but figured that he would just keep walking. But no such luck. All of a sudden, the guy pulls out an old comb from his bag, and proceeds to comb my wives hair. She was in total shock. I could she the horror all over her face, as she tried to figure out what was going on, and what was in that comb!
There I was, husband, missionary, and soon to be father. What did I do? I tried to tell the guy to leave, but he was not listening to rational thinking, I mean, he was a crazy guy. My mind keep spinning. Did I grab a stick and hit the guy, did I push him away, ignore him and pray he left? (A the reader might thing he would hall off and hit the guy, but remember that Patty was pregnant and I was not sure if the guy was violent!) As I tried to figure out what do, the smallest lady in the shop grabbed a big stick and started whacking the guy! I mean she went at him, like Hank Aaron with a Louville Slugger. That crazy guy turned tail, and ran as fast as he could. The crowd that had gathered started laughing, and after a few moments, so did Patty. So, that was our first experience around crazy people. (Now I know what do if a crazy guy tries to comb my hair!)
The Follower-
One day our family took a walk together over on the campus of the University. On this day as our family was walking back home a newly crazy man began to follow us. (We could tell that this was true about this guy because his clothes wear fairly clean). At first I thought that he would get board and just stop following, but after taking about 7 turns to loss the guy, he was still about 100 yards behind us.
Needless to say Patty really did not want this guy to know our house and sit outside all day, to which I heartily agreed. So I came up with our plan. Once we reached the road, that divided our community from the campus, the girls and Patty would run to the house and I would walk slowly another way. See, the main road to Accra is raised very high, and since the guy was far behind, once the girls got over the road, they could run to our house without being seen, and the guy would not know where we lived.
So over the road they went, and into the house. The crazy guy did not see them, he soon found me. I had stopped at a local salon to see what he would do. So there I sat. Most salons here in Ghana have chairs outside for people to sit in while they wait, and cokes to drink. So I sat down, told the ladies my story, and bought a Coke, waiting, hoping the guy would get tired of watching me drink, and head on his way, so I could go home.
No luck! The guy just stood there for about 30 minutes staring at me. The girls at the shop thought it was funny at first, but after about 30 minutes, they asked me to leave, because the guy was scaring off customers. Off I went again, walking down the road, with this crazy guy following me.
Most of the people around here know me and keep asking how my ‘friend’ was, with a laugh. After leaving the salon, I decided to walk to our neighborhood Shell station and see if the Security guard there might help. Well, after arriving, I told all the people inside. They just told me to buy an ice cream and wait him out. The manger had the security guard, one of my friends, go try to talk to guy, but that did not help. He (the crazy guy) was loopy. No talking, just staring!
So, finally after another 45 minutes and few ice-creams. The manger got a good idea: He said to just walk to the junction, grab a taxi or tro-tro and get a ride to town. Crazy guys cannot ride tro-tros. Then after a few minutes come back. Once the guy sees me leave, he will get board and go away. So I tried it, and it worked! By the time I got back he was gone, and I had a funny story to tell that cost me about three hours.
These are our two funniest crazy person stories. In the six years that our family has lived here, we have become pretty good at knowing how to handle these kinds of rare circumstance when they do happen, but they do make for good stories.
(Note- by the way, these stories are a collect of events over six years of time. Please do not get the impress that there are tons of crazy dangerous people walking around Ghana. The few crazy people of Ghana are not dangerous generally. These stories are just told for memory sake, and are not intended to be dramatization of the mission filed.)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Carey's Sixth Birthday
On the 23rd of January, Carey became six years old. She was very excited about her birthday. It has been amazing to see how fast she has grown. Our family had a small part on the Friday before her birthday. It was great to eat food and fellowship with our neighbors and co-labourers the Aaron family. Carey loved her cake! Patty baked a Strawberry Short-Cake cake. Though it was covered in red frosting, and shaped like a strawberry, the cake was Chocolate and Mint. (This is Carey's favorite flavour for cake). So this played a little trick on the mind, but the cake was great!
On Tuesday after Carey's birthday, she made a trip with me to the capital. This was her first 'date' with dad to such a far away location. Andrew's family was newly percussed a vehicle, so their whole family made trip and Carey and I where allowed to accompany them, since there is paperwork to be done in the capital.
The car was loaded and ready to go at 3:00am in the morning. Carey was half awake but really enjoyed the trip. After setting out at 4:00, the tripped ended at about 9:00 in the morning. Arriving early, I was able to finish all the government paperwork that needed to be done, and Andrew and his family where on time for their doctor appointment that they had scheduled.
After about 2 hours of great patience, and sitting quietly in about three government offices, Carey got to enjoy herself. The next place that we visited was Max-mart. It is one of the large grocery store slash department stores in the capital. They even have carts that have cars on the front of them. Carey loves these! So off the two of us went, looking for a few raw food items that are not available in Kumasi.
After about 30 minutes of Carey honking the little horn around the store, and buying our things, the next stop was the Accra Mall. The hardest thing about going to the Accra Mall, is that Carey wants to buy everything for Ella and Mommy. But it was a great time together. (They even had British pickles for a low price. The British must like strong tasting pickles, but Patty said they are great. Pickles are a rare delicious here!).
After shopping, Carey received the best surprise last. In the food court of the mall, a Ghanaian lady has start a new business. It is a giant play land. It has trampolines, slides, jumping castles, merry-go-rounds, swings, and even a car that moves around a track. After our friends arrived from their doctor's appointment, all the kids played together.
After two small medium pizza, and an hour of playing, everyone packed their shopping bags in the car, and everyone had back to Kumasi. (Here are a few pictures from the birthday and trip).
The Birthday Girl!
The Cake
The adults playing gmae while the kids play
Daddy get killed in chess!
Carey on the merry-go-round
Carey loves to slide
The electric race car on tracks
Carey at six year old:
On Tuesday after Carey's birthday, she made a trip with me to the capital. This was her first 'date' with dad to such a far away location. Andrew's family was newly percussed a vehicle, so their whole family made trip and Carey and I where allowed to accompany them, since there is paperwork to be done in the capital.
The car was loaded and ready to go at 3:00am in the morning. Carey was half awake but really enjoyed the trip. After setting out at 4:00, the tripped ended at about 9:00 in the morning. Arriving early, I was able to finish all the government paperwork that needed to be done, and Andrew and his family where on time for their doctor appointment that they had scheduled.
After about 2 hours of great patience, and sitting quietly in about three government offices, Carey got to enjoy herself. The next place that we visited was Max-mart. It is one of the large grocery store slash department stores in the capital. They even have carts that have cars on the front of them. Carey loves these! So off the two of us went, looking for a few raw food items that are not available in Kumasi.
After about 30 minutes of Carey honking the little horn around the store, and buying our things, the next stop was the Accra Mall. The hardest thing about going to the Accra Mall, is that Carey wants to buy everything for Ella and Mommy. But it was a great time together. (They even had British pickles for a low price. The British must like strong tasting pickles, but Patty said they are great. Pickles are a rare delicious here!).
After shopping, Carey received the best surprise last. In the food court of the mall, a Ghanaian lady has start a new business. It is a giant play land. It has trampolines, slides, jumping castles, merry-go-rounds, swings, and even a car that moves around a track. After our friends arrived from their doctor's appointment, all the kids played together.
After two small medium pizza, and an hour of playing, everyone packed their shopping bags in the car, and everyone had back to Kumasi. (Here are a few pictures from the birthday and trip).
The Birthday Girl!
The Cake
The adults playing gmae while the kids play
Daddy get killed in chess!
Carey on the merry-go-round
Carey loves to slide
The electric race car on tracks
Carey at six year old:What is Carey like at six years old? The first thing that comes to mind is a local saying; "Panin asem", which means someone that likes to do adult things when they are young. This is Carey in many ways, but she is still a kid in many other ways.
Carey loves to tell stories. The longer the better, thanks Aunt Betsy, not sure how your genes got in there. Carey loves to draw different pictures. She loves princess, stories, reading books until she falls asleep. She likes to dance and twirl, pick out her own clothes, and telling her sister what to do. She is a first child through and trough. She is a perfectionist and also very analytical in thinking. She will think about things until she understands them, and wants to understand something very well before she tries most new things.
Carey likes to laugh, sing, play house and mimic mommy. She is very good in math, and is coming to like reading. She likes to write her own books. She is always asking her mom, to write out the little stories that she tells her, and puts them together in stapled books. Carey has her father's strange ability to remember useless facts and other strange bits of information. She also loves Ranch dressing, green pepper (raw) and pickles.
Carey does not like: people follower here around all the time, this happens at times with Ella and new kids at church. She does not like to be left out of any conversation or activity. She does not like all her things to be a mess, unless of course this was her idea, and then she loves chaos!
Overall she is a tall, bubbly, blond, active, girl, with a capital G. Patty and I love here, and are exciting to see what the future holds.
Monday, January 25, 2010
If American Missions was an Infomercial?!?
The other day I was reading a blog written by a missionary in Europe and some thing that he said made me think about some missionaries that I have met and some missions conferences I have been in. The people that I thought about were the suited version of Billy Mayes. It seems at times listening to some missions presentations that the listener is placed in the studio audience in a back lot where they film for the Home Shopping Network!This thought made we wonder what American Missions would be like as an Infomercial. I can see the three products for sale now...
The Oxi-Missionary
This guys is the suited savior of missions. He smiles in his double breasted suit (or two button, three button, or six button, depending on decade and geographical location), he has gleaming white teeth, and a full-volume pitchman voice, that is amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun take down. He mounts the pulpit with passion to make a sale. Let's listen to his pitch...
While the pictures of wheat fields pass behind his head on the screen, and starving children flash before the eyes, you can almost hear an anouncer saying, "Hello! He is So-and-so, from Someplace. He not only has obtained an official degree from a recognized Baptist College, he also has the power to change missions as we know it! "
"He is supercharged, not just your regular run of the mill missionary, no, he is a missionary specialist: he preaches, smiles, sings, plays ten instruments, and has already memorized the whole New Testament in his national language. Yes, folks, do not just gets missions done, get it Oxi-done. But that is not all, folks! This man is here with a deal! Not only do you have the chance to help support this man now, to change the face of missions, today, for a special one time offer, you can help support him for only $2999 a month, that's right folks, just $2999 a month".
After another few minutes about where to place the order, the grinning missionary proceeds to explain how he coverts, baptizes, and eliminates heathen odors with a single Sunday on the field and is the best deal for you missions dollars. Yes, the Oxi-missionary is the key to all your missions dreams! If you just add him to your tool belt, the work will get done in a flash!
He guarantees to plant churches in the blink of the eye, remove all those pesky errors in the local Bible in a single term, all while single handedly evangelizing all unreached peoples of his country! After this high intensity pitch, the audience is left emotionally reeling. If the Oxi-mission has made an effective pitch, the congregation is grabbing their wallets before the dust settles and the mind focuses. They dial that number now, and before the end of the service all are voting in favor, and the Oxi-missionary is on his way to the next church.
The "Orange Glow"
His is the organic version of missions for those people that have tried other missions products and not been satisfied. This presentation has foreign flare. The announcer approaches the platform in exotic clothes. This Orange Glow has that ethnic aura and the scent of the tropics. As he mounts the pulpit, he places down his foreign language Bible and starts his presentation. The rolling R's of his broken English are alluring and the audience strains to listen as he delivers his pitch.
It starts off with an introduction to the product. This is not your ordinary, everyday orange cleaning product. This is the real deal, the 100% home-grown, missionary-tested, mission board certified national product. This Orange Glow was the culmination of long years of research and study and was finally compiled into a single formula that now can be mass-produced on demand.
Very soon the group of listeners is in a trance, much like a snake before a charmer. Here is something new, exciting, ethnic, organic. It has not been contaminated by Western Scientific minds, materialism, and modern life. Lets hear the salesman as he finishes his pitch...
"Not only is our Orange Glow missionary totally natural, he is more effective then your normal missions products. Because he is made of all natural materials, he has no need to learn the language, culture, or religions of the host culture. His powerful ethnic scent cuts through that heathen grime in half the time. But that is not all, my beloved friends, because of his organic nature, he costs just pennies to the dollar, when compared to other leading missions products".
"Why pay 29-99 a month for that old missions stuff, when you can try the all new, patent pending, all natural organic "Orange Glow" for just 50 dollars a month? Not good enough you say? We have a special this year! We will throw in 50 national pastors for the low price of just 50 dollars a month! That's right folks, just 5o dollars a month, and you get to have Orange Glow organic working for you in 50 different places at once. Think of the money saved over the leading products and the amount of work that you can get done! But that is not all, if you act right now, we will throw in an extra national Bible College, an orphanage and a day school for free. The time is short, so act now. Pick up that wallet and mission support list now! For the first 50 churches, there will be a free chance to travel and see the place that Orange Glow is made!" ***Some restrictions may apply. Numbers represent best results, and may not be true to all uses of the Orange Glow products.***
The audience is amazed. This is not the normal infomercial. They quickly add up the cost in their minds and buy the product. The price is the best part! Why not clean up all this missions mess with a cheap product, that smells great while doing the job? Plus it is so natural and "Mother- Nature" approved. The people go away feeling great about helping the world's heathen environment by using this bio-degradeable product. After the meeting the salesman goes to his next meeting.The Super Shammy
This is the newest missions product on the block. It is being sold by high profile Baptists. They have decided that the problem is not the products that are being used, but the quantity. If the missions will start to use the Super Shammy all the problems will go away.
Let's hear the announcer now...
"Hello all you out there in the Missions World! This is Bud So-and-So from the leader of today's Fundamentalism, the place where we are experts in our field. Our group of scientists have spent long years of study and research and have now developed a patented material to help with all your mission needs."
"Through our research we have discovered that the chemicals of mission do not matter, but the coverage does. So our leader has developed a wonderful new product called the SUPER Shammy. IT will help with all your missions needs."
"The Super-Shammy is made up of a group of missionaries, hand-picked and knit together to form a hard-working fabric of effort. This group helps to hold the mission cleaners and allows the user to effectively clean large spots of darkness away in no time. This Super Shammy removes, reaches, teachs, plans, and builds in no time with its patented new group techniques."
"But that is not all! The Super Shammy is one of a kind. It cannot be bought in the normal church. No, this fabric is only found in places with our special Baptist research label. If you're interested in this wonderful, missions-changing Super Shammy, just call our representative now. You can schedule with a salesman to have a personal show at your local church. Or, if you like, attend our national Super Shammy Conference and learn how you can buy the product that will solve all your missions needs. Remember folks, it not the chemicals, it the coverage! Call Now!!!"
The Infomercial is ended and some people buy and some people don't. Some decide that there is too much hype and some like the product they buy and are happy with its results.
I know this might seem harsh to some, or over the top, but if we are not careful, this is what missions will become. Let's remember that missions is not about getting a good deal or seeming to have the best product or the latest thing. It is about honoring and glorifying God and reaching a lost world.
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