There are times in our lives that God’s touch will be overpowering. I never thought people would be inspired by what I do. I was just trying to find out what God expected from me. In the process, I found God. I found that I had a faith that I did not know existed. I found people of faith who inspired me to learn God’s word and learn how to serve with the love of Jesus Christ.
I am just a man doing the best I can. In our weakness, Jesus makes us strong. Nothing that I’ve accomplished is the result of my abilities and talents. Everything that I’ve accomplished has been through the power of the Holy Spirit working through me. I am in awe of God. God can use each and every one of us in ways that we could never imagine on our own.
I have so many problems. As my grandparents would state it, “I am a mess!” First, I’m a guy. Second, I’m a guy who talks more than he listens. I’m sure I’m not the first or I will be the last guy who needs lessons in listening. I need to listen to others. I need to listen to my wife. I need to listen to God. It is not enough to talk to God and tell him what to do. It is useful to hear God’s voice. It is useful to hear God’s call in our lives and allow God to tell us what we should do. Amazingly, God has more wisdom and knowledge and love than we do.
My second problem is I am not very brave on my own. That sounds crazy, but it’s true. I would rather spend my days watching my flowers grow and catching a striped bass. The fishing poles are leaning against a wall. My flower beds have more dandelions blooming than flowers. I would rather relax and read a good book, but God had other plans.
I was brave enough to ask God what he expected of me, but I was not brave enough for the answer. That is probably why so few of us actually ask God to use us. We don’t want to learn how he will use us. Most times God will use us out of our comfort zone. We are okay with God’s answer as long as we
I think God has a sense of humor. I am probably the most impatient person you will ever meet. I’ve prayed for patience, but God hasn’t answered that prayer. In fact, a pastor named Ibrahim in Sagadugu, Ghana told me that I had been working with the Mamprusi people long enough to have a Mamprusi name. He named me Sugrew and he prayed that one day I would grow into my name. Sugrew is translated into patience. I think Pastor Ibrihim has a sense of humor, too.
We all look for God’s purpose and plan in our lives. I was fortunate to learn what God wanted me to do. The challenge is that it took four years for God to tell me.
God sent me to Africa. There was so much that I did not understand. I met my first witch doctor on my first trip in 2003. I didn’t know that they existed. I had to open up my Bible’s concordance to learn about things that I didn’t know were real. I learned that Jesus dealt with those issues in the Gospel stories. I learned about evil in this world.
God’s plan for me is to use me in places where other people would not want to go. I have a talent to be at home where others would be uncomfortable. I love getting my hands dirty. Hard work never really bothered me. I learned to work at a young age in the heat picking bushels of corn and beans with my grandmother and cousins in southern Georgia. In Ghana, they have two seasons: 1) hot and dry; and 2) hot and wet. I never realized that working in the fields in Georgia as a teenager was preparing me for work in the fields of Ghana.
There is a real peace when the work we do and God’s plan are in alignment. That is what has happening to me. God has given me the ability to tell the story of people in need. God has given me the ability to have empathy and love for those people in need. I’m as comfortable among the people of Ghana as I am among my people here at home.
I am in awe of God. We serve a wonderful God.
I saw two schools in Accra. One of the schools was started by Frank, a driver for the Carter Center. Frank spent his salary to build a school. He told me that we can’t take our money with us when we die, but the hope of children will go on after we are in heaven. The other school teaches street children and kids who spend their day breaking rocks into gravel.
We traveled from Accra to Kumasi for the weekend. I haven’t been to Kumasi for two years. The independent church in Amanfrom is called Come Preach Christ Church. Come Preach Christ Church is the reason why I have a ministry in Ghana. I learned a lot about God and faith with that church.
From 2005 to 2007, we expanded the school from two hundred children to about four hundred children in the elementary, middle, and high schools. We built a dormitory. We built a kitchen and dining hall. We repaired the clinic. I thought that my call was just to help a school teach children in the slums to have a better future.
On this trip, I preached in Come Preach Christ Church that Sunday. The church lost its roof in a bad storm last year. I used the scripture 2 Kings 12 where the Prophet Nathan tells King David about the story of the rich man killing the poor man’s only sheep. I told this church that they had killed the poor man’s sheep. I gave them detailed information about every sheep that they had killed. It was a hard sermon to preach, but I felt that they needed to understand why their roof was off and the missionary churches in America were not coming to help them now.
I told Come Christ Church to step out their doors to serve the people of Ghana. I told them that if they served God first, then God would provide a way to repair their roof. I also told them that they needed to rededicate their lives to God. God would provide favor and a hedge of protection. People are more important than a building or a roof. I don’t know if they heard the sermon and will change course. In the past, I would’ve spent one or two weeks working just in Kumasi at the school and the church. I told them that I had work all over Ghana.
We left Kumasi on Monday morning for Sunyani. We met with the Sunyani Central Rotarians to discuss a future matching grant to dig more wells. We also talked about slavery and a disease called Buruli Ulcer. One of the Rotarians told us that he wanted to put wells where this disease is located. Buruli Ulcer is a flesh eating disease that is becoming more dangerous. At the end of the trip, we met with a ministry of health official to discuss how we could possibly help eliminate this disease. There are probably 5,000 to 6,000 in Ghana with this flesh eating disease. We will make a difference with this disease. God has provided his grace to change the lives of people in need.
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