Month six of the race has been designated as ATL (ask the Lord). We are not given any assignments or hosts. We simply ask the Lord and seek His leading and provision. Originally this month was planned to be in Burkina Faso, but due to some security concerns, we have remained in Ghana.
As a team we prayed, and decided to travel north to a city called Tamale which is 80% Muslim. As we bused in, it felt like stepping into a Middle Eastern country. Many of the men, women and children were dressed in traditional clothing. During times of prayer, rows of men lined along the streets facing Mecca as multiple mosques in the city signaled their calls to prayer over loud speakers. I found it fascinating to take in.
As we got off the bus, our first priority was to figure out a place to stay. We found two taxis to take us to the closest cheap hotel (hey, we’re on a tight budget). We asked for two rooms for the six of us (We’ve been sleeping 3 to a bed for the last 2 months!), but learned that two rooms would be over our budget. So we strapped on our gear, asked the Lord to guide us, and decided we would walk until we found another hotel. Lots of sweat and a mile later in the hot African sun, we came across a second hotel. As we stopped to rest, we were given the contact of a Christian man named Gabriel who might be able to accomodate us. We gave him a call and he drove out to us and brought us to a hotel that he owned. He asked how many rooms we would need. When we told him two rooms, he laughed and told us not to worry about money and gave us each our own room!!!! We were all pretty overwhelmed in that moment; but hey, that’s just our God being Himself.
As we began praying into what God would have us do here, I felt Him speaking from 1 John 4.
13 “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”
16″So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, is love perfected with us.
18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear”
I felt God speaking this two-fold. I’ll tell ya, it feels a little intimidating when you realize you are being watched by a growing crowd of Muslim men. This happened one evening as we played with the children outside. Even the children were pointing out to me that we were being watched. I honestly don’t think the men meant us any harm; one team member even went over to talk to them. I think God’s love is attractive and they were more curious to what we were up to. But in that moment, when I noticed the men watching us, I was sitting next to a boy who had his arm in a sling. I wanted to pray over him and share Jesus and felt slightly hesistant. But I remembered what I felt God speaking to me in the above passages- that I have His Spirit, I know His love, and there is no fear of comdenation, from God or man, in His love. So, there I went praying over a child in Jesus name in a Muslim community.
I also sensed the Lord revealing His heart for this community in the above passages. As I’ve watched Muslims gather to pray and as I’ve listened to the calls from the mosques over the loud speakers, I couldn’t help but wonder, do these people feel heard? or do they hope Allah hears. Do they feel accepted, dare I say loved by Allah? Or do they need to pray louder. More often. At the right times. In the right way. In the right direction. Can they come freely to him? Would they say Allah takes delight in them? or is it do more good things and hope that it’s enough. Hope that he is pleased. My heart sinks as I realized many people live in fear of condemnation. God says we can know His love, that we can live in it, and there’s no fear there.
I had the experience of partaking in probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen on the race so far. Our second day in Tamale, we met a pastor named Andrew. He invited us to join his church in a final night of prayer for the Muslim community. For the past month, Muslims have been observing their holy month of Ramadan and this church has been simutaneously meeting regularly to pray for them. How beautiful to partake with these believers crying out for their Muslim brothers and sisters!
Andrew has been a treasure to meet. He passionately loves Jesus and He’s helping us make further connections. Andrew and his pastoral team will be taking us to some out the outskirt villages of Tamale where they have already built relationships. Again, these villages are predominantly Muslim and I’m looking forward to having an open door to share Jesus!
So far I’m pretty amazed at how this ATL has turned out. But wait, there’s more. I’ve noticed there are several schools near our hotel. I began asking the Lord to provide us a door in. One evening, as we were walking through the neighborhood, a man stopped us and wanted to know what we were about. It turns out he was a teacher at one of the schools. We asked if we could stop by sometime and he was able to get us permission to visit the classrooms for a thirty minute slot- right before the children’s Arabic lesson!
And there is still even more! Through Andrew we met two other missionaries- one from the states and one from India. They invited our team over for a home cooked meal which also included brownies!! With caramel sauce. Brownies with caramel sauce!!!! But really, what a delight to meet these ladies.
This is our last week in Africa. It’s been hot, it’s been rough, but also a delightful surprise. I can tell you, Africa has gained a special place in my heart.
