very
simply, what we are doing:
The
first week we were involved in a series of “Crusades”. Crusades
are where the entire village gathers for a three to four day program.
The program involves worship, choirs, and preachers. Each night,
one or two of us would share a testimony and preach for a short
while. We had audiences of over 500 at times. The first crusade our
team was asked to bring a song each night. We talked about
worshiping God simply to bless Him, and not asking for anything.
Then Sage would play on the guitar, I would add to it on the Djembe
(African drum), Matthew would add the harmonica and Nicole would
sing. It was all improvisational but it went well. Sage only
recently learned guitar , Matthew only recently learned harmonica,
and I only recently learned Djembe, but it all came together.
The
second week we met with a few different schools, preached a few
nights at a church, and also started a garden. We hope to complete
the garden before we leave, and there are people in place to maintain
it when we leave.
We
are staying in OKPO village in southeastern Nigeria. We are staying
on a Christian compound. Food and water is scarce around here.
Interestingly, up until 15 years ago, people could not build houses
in OKPO without dropping dead! There was a curse over the land,
where anyone who would build a house would simply drop dead. Only
recently has the curse been broken. There are uncompleted mud brick
houses throughout the entire town. Its pretty wild. For Americans,
hearing something like that is pretty shocking. Seeing empty
half-built houses is radical. For Africans, it is normal everyday
living. For Africans, there is no question of whether or not satan
and his minions are real, because they experience the effects of evil
all around.
(from
Ghana)
While
in Ghana our second month, we met some African Traditionalists on
campus. The girls (Jamie Neumann, Sydnee Mela, and Caiti Fadness)
met them first. The Traditionalists came up to them and asked if
they were Christians. They all ended up talking for about an hour.
The girls told us that they were very much against Christianity and
that they were trying to make them look foolish. The girls told them
they would like to meet again and got their room number. Josh, Will
McCrae and myself went with them for the meeting. We met the
Traditionalists the following week. Their names were Emmanuel and
Patriot. Patriot is pretty well known on campus. On our way walking
to their dorm room, we saw a newsletter on a board with Patriots face
on it. He is a man of influence on campus. We talked with the guys
for three hours! We broke down any and all misconceptions they had
about Christianity. We answered every question they had, and had
biblical backing for most every question. We discussed the
reliability of the new testament, and I borrowed them my Case for
Christ book. We helped them come to a truthful understanding of what
it means to be a Christian.
They
discussed with us a little bit about their religion. African
Traditionalists believe in the gods of their ancestors, like the
river god and the tree god. They make blood sacrifices to these
‘gods’. I told them that according to the bible, it is a sin to
serve any other god. Patriot responded, “So I should stop making
blood sacrifices to these gods?” I responded, “Yes! If you want
to be a Christian you can no longer serve those other gods, as it is
sinful.” Patriot and Emmanuel had come to a full understanding of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they began counting the cost. If
they went home and told their village they became Christians, they
could potentially be stoned to death. They could be disowned by
their family. They would be cut off from the family, and have no way
to continue in school. These all were possibilities. They had to
seriously count the cost of being a Christian. We talked about how
Jesus declared to the crowds they must leave everything behind and
take up the cross daily to follow Him. We talked about how this life
is short, and that eternity is forever. While it may cost them
everything here on earth, their reward is in heaven.
We
talked for awhile longer, and then left. We planned to meet them
again the following week.
The
following week just Josh, Will and I met with them. The last time we
spoke with them, it came to a point where they might have wanted to
confess some things, but with the girls there they were
uncomfortable. This time we met they were very quiet. They were out
of questions. They mentioned again what it may cost them, and we
again assured them that what they were potentially giving up could
not compare to what they would receive from Jesus Christ. They
whispered to each other, and then told us they were ready to accept
Jesus!
We
prayed with them, and Patriot (his real name is Abraham) and Emmanuel
both received Christ as their Lord and Savior. Afterward we talked
for awhile about what it means to move forward. We talked about the
importance of prayer and fellowship, and many other things. We also
gave them an opportunity to openly confess sins, and they took the
opportunity and each confessed some heavy burdens they were carrying.
It was an amazing moment! Praise God!
