We’re back
from Ghana!
It has been an amazing journey of experiencing different cultures,
different food, different climate… and also experiencing the Lord in a
completely different light.
We arrived
to Accra on Monday night (Feb 4), slept for 4 hours and went back to the
airport to catch a plane to Tamale, in the north. We got there at 7.30am. One
of the pastors picked us up and drove for almost 5 hours until we finally
reached Zebilla, our home for a week. We met some other pastors that day and
then rested and prepared for the outreach.
We went to
a different church every day and shared with people. Because we were
foreigners, a lot of people came to the service. Not just the church members
but everyone from that village that had time. That’s why we used the
opportunity and shared the gospel with every message. I was stretched out with teaching at church. I’ve only taught kids at our youth group and that was different – here I had to share a message from the Bible and try to apply it to their culture. Not the easiest thing to do! The Lord was so faithful though, and He spoke to me + through me very clearly. Things I shared with churches were things He’s been teaching me over the past couple of years. Verses I used in the teachings are verses He’s been sharing with me. I was terrified before I had to teach every time, but once I started, I loved it!!
There were
so many kids – at least 200 in every village we visited! We brought them
some group toys to play with and they loved it. We also brought them Bible
stories coloring pages and coloring pencils. They didn’t know what coloring
pencils are so I asked if they know any kids of paint. One of the pastors said
they know paint (probably acrilyc) so I told the kids coloring pencils are like
dry paint. They got it :) while they were coloring we were able to share the
stories they were coloring, and with the stories the gospel.
The kids
received everything with so much joy and thankfulness. Also, Ghanians are such
a humble and serving nation! I felt so respected and loved by them!
So, one of
the reasons I went to Ghana was to live out my dream of going to Africa, but
also to spy out the land and see if Ghana is the place where He’d want me to go.
The Lord
first spoke to me on Friday (Feb 8). I shared with one of the churches in
Burkina Faso. Afterwards everyone comes to you, shakes your hand and says “God
bless you”. One of the pastor’s wives
came to me and said “I’m looking forward to hear more of your teachings.” I was
pretty much shocked! I’ve never taught people at church before, have no real
experience with it… and here I am in Ghana where this woman came and said she’s
looking forward to hear me teach again. Who am I? I’m nothing, I’m no one! Yet
God used me and spoke through me. I was so humbled…
Saturday was a great day. We visited 3 different churches but in order for us to do that, we needed to split the team. I went to a village called Kamega with pastor Michael. I played with the kids for an hour and then shared with the church. That’s when I met Sarah. She is such a strong young lady, with a great gift of leadership! She leads worship at church and also leads youth. She is only 16 years old but the Lord put her strongly on my heart and I’d like to ask you to join me in prayer for her. I believe the Lord would like to do many great things through + in Sarah!
After
Saturday I started liking Ghana. Don’t get me wrong… it’s not like I hated it
for the first 3 days, it’s just that I wasn’t used to the new things. I did
love their worship from the second I heard it! No instruments, no distractions…
just their voices and clapping hands. And some dancing too, sometimes. I also
loved the simplicity of life they live. And they are happy!
Every
morning one of us had a devotional, and we were going through the book of
Philippians. I shared from Philippians 3 on Sunday morning. I asked a
question and it seemed like God was asking me that question. "Do we
consider everything as a loss? Are we ready to lose everything and move to
Ghana so we can gain Christ?"
We had a
church service on Sunday, united with a farewell service (we were leaving the
next morning). It lasted for almost 5 hours. There was a lot of worship, Ana,
Shaunice and I shared 5min each, Gus shared for 30min, and then pastor Moses
and pastor Michael both shared.
We left Zebilla on Monday morning and drove to Pepease for 15 hours. It
was a long drive but we saw so much of Ghana! It really is a beautiful country!
Pepease is a small town where they have a Calvary Chapel Bible Training
Center. Pastor Donne, the man who runs the center, met us in the morning and
showed us around campus. Later on one of the students took us around and showed
us the town. We also visited Calvary Chapel Community Academy (Primary school)
and the headmaster said they're looking for assistants! I thought to myself
»something to pray about!«.
We rested for that day and left for Accra the next day. We visited art
market where we bought some bracelets and small things for our families and
ourselves. They have beautiful art!That night Ana and I flew back to Frankfurt and from there to Venice. It was a shock to come from 45°C to 0°C!
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I've been
home for a good week now and I've been feeling discouraged and tired. I talked
to one of the American missionary couples just a few days after I came back
home and they really encouraged me. They also lent me a book by David Platt
called »Radical«. I gotta say I just love it!
This is one
of the things he says.
»The modern-day
gospel says, »God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Therefore,
follow these steps, and you can be saved.« Meanwhile, the biblical gospel says,
»You are an enemy of God, dead in your sin, and in your present state of
rebellion, you are not even able to see that you need life, much less to cause
yourself to come to life. Therefore, you are radically dependent on God to do
something in your life that you could never do.«
The former
sells books and draws crowds. The latter saves souls.
Which one
is more important?
I’ve been
discouraged for many different reasons but one of them is the difference of
receiving the gospel in Ghana and in Slovenia. People in Slovenia are hungry
for the Lord and are seeking Him, but it takes a lot longer for them to realize
who He is and that they need Him, while people in Ghana got it pretty much
right away!
We decided
to change one of our youth groups a bit. We went through different subjects of
the Bible, we talked about who God is and why we believe He exists… we talked
about missionaries and Jesus a lot… and we shared the gospel. But there wasn’t
a constant theme going on and that was hard on us as leaders and probably on
the youth as well. That’s why we decided we’re going to have a Bible study as a
part of the youth group. Instead of me talking about something, we’ll be going
through the gospel of Mark, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. Discussing,
asking questions, maybe even arguing. But we’re going to bring it on, black on
white.
This kind
of scares me because this means some of the kids may not want to come back to
our youth group. But… do I want to present the gospel as some steps they need
to follow and tell them to just trust God and everything will be ok? There are
no steps to follow to be saved! You need to realize you need Jesus, believe
what He did for us is really true + depend on Him!
The Lord’s
been teaching me about simplicity of the gospel lately. We are just the
messengers. We share the gospel, as simple as it is, and people may receive it
or not – but that’s not up to us; it’s up to the Holy Spirit.
I’m really
excited to see what the Lord will be teaching me in the next season of my life
as I seek Him and His leadership. “Everything is a preparation for something.”
One of my Bible College teachers said that and it’s true! Youth groups in
Slovenia are a preparation for something in the future – only God knows what!
And I’m thankful I get to learn and serve Him, wherever, however. But I’m also
thankful He called me to Africa and answered my prayers! I serve an amazing God
who is always faithful! Glory to Him!
