We have safely arrived in Northern Ghana!
We had a 16 hour bus ride from the Capitol of Accra to the Northern border of the country. We really are in the middle of no where, but the closest village is called Navrango.
We were welcomed with open arms and the most amazing hospitality by the Ghanan people. It’s also the most rural lifestyle we’ve lived in yet on the World Race. We were told upon arrival in Accra the weather in Northern Ghana could get up to 50 Celsius… meaning 100-112 degrees F. Holy cow… Lord have mercy on us.
Several leaders told us if we wanted to change our minds and stay in Accra where it was cooler, it would be totally fine and they had a ministry for us to plug into. However, our team knew we were called to the upper east, and so to the upper east we have come!
God has already done miracles. We prayed for rain just so it would be cooler, and it rained! The people in the area were in shock because it NEVER rains in March. We realized a little too late it was bad for the tomato crops, though… and most of the tomato crops were ruined! Oh No!
So, now keep praying the people’s crops will still supply their needs for this time!
Now, we have been praying for cool breezes, and we’ve gotten it. Everyone is in awe of God’s mercy and favor on our team, especially us! It’s still hot, and I’ve still been sweating more than I ever have in my life… but God promised not to give us more than we could handle, and He’s been faithful to His promise! Thank you Jesus for temperatures under 100 degrees and for sound sleep even when I’m sweating the entire time!
I could tell you many things about our host family, Emmanuel and MaryAnne and their children who have totally amazed us with their selflessness and humility to serve us while we are here.
I could tell you about greeting a chief of a village with a rooster to be in his good graces, or about our “heavenly GPS” that got us to locations in the middle of no where, or about nameless teammates talking to goats, pigs, and cows.
But, since I only have a little longer before my internet time runs out…. I want to tell you about last night.
One of our main ministries in Northern Ghana is going to be showing the Jesus film in many of the villages and preaching the evangelistic message around the area. We are spending two nights in each village, showing the first half of the movie the first night and the second half the second night.
Last night was day 2 and the end of the movie. Will gave the message after the movie finished, and we all prayed over a massive group of people.
This was a very interesting moment for me. My hands were burning with the Holy Spirit, and I knew He was up to big things that evening. At the same time, I felt a heavy spirit of religion over many people. By religion, I mean repetitive practices without understanding of what was truly going on. So many of them were repeating the prayers and saying the right things, but it seemed there were some who didn’t understand what was really going on.
During the prayer, I was surrounded by children. These kids are PRECIOUS. They are willing and ready to sing and clap and dance for Jesus, but I could tell most of them didn’t really understand what was going on. My heart stirred. Throughout the whole prayer I prayed God would open doors for His children to talk to Him one on one.
After the “official” prayer was finished, I quickly found myself surrounded by a massive group of kids wanting to shake my hand.
I just kept saying to them, “keep talking to Jesus, okay? Keep talking to him when you are by yourself as well as when you are with other people.”
Many said, “yes, yes” but I could tell there many who did not understand. After greeting just about everyone, it got awkwardly silent. I seem to live for those moments. I couldn’t see any of their faces, but I knew I had at least 30 kids starring at me, waiting to see what I would do next.
I asked them, “do you have any questions for me?”
After some snickering, one of the older girls asked quite seriously, “yes. Can you tell us how to talk to Jesus?”
*grin.*
“Why yes I can!”
I told them about how they can talk to Jesus like He was their best friend. They could tell Him how thankful they were for their families, their friends, and for the food they have.
I told them they could ask Him, like a Father, to provide food and water for them, and He would find a way to provide because of how much He loves them.
I told them how they could laugh with Jesus when things are funny…. like when there’s a cool breeze in the middle of March. 🙂 We talked about many simple ideas, and then I asked them what they could talk to Jesus about tonight, when they were alone before they went to sleep.
It was priceless. God is SO faithful to his children! I could feel the Lord smiling upon His children; at their eagerness to try this “new idea” of talking to Jesus on their own. Praise God for the awakening of the young generation of the future leaders of this country!
All who read this blog, pray for a continued awakening in Ghana to the truth that Jesus is a REAL PERSON, He wants to speak to His children of all ages, and He wants to have a RELATIONSHIP with them. A relationship that goes far past accepting salvation!
His Spirit is very much alive in this place, and ready to lead His people even further into their faithful walk with Him!
