Newsletter 3 - Ghana

Update #3 from Ghana:

Picture clouds, large and full, resembling freshly whipped cream and weightless as cotton. The sky is that true blue, almost translucent, making the observer feel the magnificence of its breadth. Red clay roads abruptly cut through fields blanketed with tall green grass, bounded by a far-reaching horizon interrupted by sporadic clumps of trees. Nestled among all is a mud-built, nearly circular compound, roughly 20 paces in diameter; the silhouette of a woman with a bundle on her back can be seen on the roof, stooped over and apparently in the action of stirring something with her hands.

This is Zuprii (zoo-pree), a little village an hour's drive outside of Wa, a large city in the north-west corner of Ghana. The village is barely two miles from the border of Burkina Faso. The circular compound is the chief's house, where he lives with his three wives and children. His village is made of the farms of his people; fields with large mounds of earth in neat rows for planting yams, with the family's mud home and cattle corral nearby. Goats, chickens, and dogs wander in and out of the house, but the donkeys and cows are kept in pens built of sticks and branches.
A team from Virginia came to Ghana in May and built a community centre for the people of Zuprii. In essence, the building is a concrete structure with half walls and a peaked, corrugated iron roof boasting three entry points. This second trip was made to complete the building project by painting the walls, making a ramp up to one entrance for the disabled villagers, and constructing gates for the doorways to keep out the animals.

About eight years ago, the Jaggers planted a church in this village. The chief was saved on the first day, thereby freeing to rest of the villagers to accept Christ as well. When Keith and Debbie returned to teach and encourage the people, God had beat them to it. The villagers were in the middle of their church service, grouped underneath a tree, praying and prophesying to each other. A local pastor who had taken over this little church told the Jaggers that he had never taught on prophesy and that they hadn't yet seen a Bible (primarily because most are illiterate). They were prophesying scripture they had never read, and practicing biblical truths they'd never been taught! This is their revelation of the Messiah.
I had the great priviledge of visiting Zuprii during my second week in Ghana. I travelled by road, with Keith and Debbie and two guys who were sent by a church in North Carolina. The drive was a little over ten hours, a vast improvement on previous journeys, which the Jaggers said used to take seventeen hours. Roads have improved thanks to the current government, and travel is much smoother throughout the country. Roadside robberies are still a concern, however, so we left early in the morning and drove all day to avoid travel at night.

Our base was in Wa, where we were joined by five Ghanaians who had previously worked with Keith and Debbie. Two have completed Bible school and are preparing to be missionaries. They were a wonderful addition to our team, especially as they spoke five or six different languages between them. The next four days were spent in Zuprii, painting the concrete building that will double as a community centre during the week and a church on Sundays. We constructed gates for each doorway, poured the concrete ramp, and painted the interior and exterior of the building. Most tasks I was not permitted to do because I'm a woman!!! (and frankly, I didn't have a clue how to mix concrete by hand or build a gate). So the bulk of my time was spent keeping the men watered, and then photographing the children and women of the village. They loved my digital camera, and everyone wanted to pose for an individual portrait, twice. =) Their favourite part of the experience was looking at themselves in the little screen after I'd snapped the shot. Yes, you will see these photos as soon as I get home and will thus be in a position to send them.

I played with children one afternoon, while all their parents and older siblings were out farming. Debbie pulled out a multi-coloured parachute and a big rubber ball, and they played and laughed for hours. These kids impressed me so much. Little seven-year old girls were carrying infants and toddlers on their back, taking full responsibility for the little ones until the mother returned from the fields. And the boys watch out for the little ones just as readily as the girls. Everyone helps with fetching water from the well, and they were eager to run errands for us whenever a need arose. In one instance, we needed more paint thinner, but it would take three hours round trip to drive to Wa. One of the boys (approx. 12 yrs old) hopped on his bike with the empty can and rode the next village where there was a gas station (single pump) where he could get petrol as our alternative thinner. It was a two-hour trip, and he returned sweaty, tired, and happy to help the team.

On the last day, we celebrated the completion of the building by having a short service underneath the tree, which formerly sheltered their "church". Their instruments for praise and worship were cowbells chimed with a ram's horn, clapping hands, and uplifted voices. They danced, sang, and beamed with joy. Keith made a brief speech, celebrating the building, and ensuring that the people knew that this great blessing is the result of their faith in God and not the result of the white men's money. We closed in prayer, with the majority of the village on their knees (children included), praying fervently for their families, neighbours and for the churches in the States who had provided the funds for the building. Their simple faith was challenging to everyone on our team. They don't try to rationalise, they simply accept as truth every word and promise that God spoke, knowing that He will be faithful, even if they don't eat that day.

Two weeks remain of my time here in Ghana; these weeks will be filled at the office with Thomas, where my computer and organisational skills have come in handy, and at the orphanage with the children. I head home on August 13th, and arrive the following morning in England. Thank you again for your prayers. I honestly wasn't sure if I'd make through these last few weeks, but God is faithful and He knows exactly what we need. Continue to pray for the church here, which is growing stronger each day in their personal revelation of Jesus Christ. Be encouraged, be blessed, and remember that we serve an Awesome God.

In Him,

Rebekah