Sunday, April 19, 2009

His Proof

Some things are just hard, if not virtually impossible, to capture with words when it comes to explaining how God has moved so faithfully on such a spiritual journey as to Nalerigu, Ghana.  The people, the faces, the smiles, the miracles, the salvation stories, the emptying, the filling, and the hallos and the goodbyes. I may not be able to blog as much near the end of this journey. Yesterday, I could only touch on the impact that ride out to the Komkomba tribal village made on my life.  I mentioned Tommy and the witness he is.  The smiles and the immediate screaming excitement that came from every single child and adult as we drove through their village as they sat out under the mango trees after coming in from working the land is something hard to describe.  They would scream out and run after us with the most welcoming joy you have ever seen. Children running hard and filled with excitement.  This is exactly what I envision us doing as we see our Savior one day, being completely satiated with joy and racing toward Him for the chance to see Him and savor Him.  These kids do this, because they love others here in Ghana.  People care for each other here and definitely care about those who come here to make a difference in their lives physically and spiritually.  Tommy kept talking about how meeting people's physical needs is the best way to meet their spiritual needs.  I think we all agree and that is why we are here.

We had wonderful fellowship with the Dickens when we got back to our house.  The Hewitts, the Failes, the Dickens, and Tommy Harrison are examples of those who serve and are used by the LORD to fulfill His faithful promises of reaching every tribe and tongue before Christ returns.  It is the highest honor to be a part of reaching these people, but in the process we are being completely honored to know them.  For those who come here, the process of receiving is so much more than giving. Yesterday, there was serious filling of our vessels by the Holy Spirit and things are even clearer from a higher perspective. I love this time of the trip when the Lord faithfully brings clarity.  Not only is this a place to come back to, this is a place from which to bring the same actions back home.  May we experience Nalerigu in our daily lives at home.  May we have people being bold and selflessly giving of themselves and being charged with The Great Commission to share Christ with others.

Today, we went to a Fulani Baptist Church.  There were 22 people: 3 Fulani adults, many children, and several of the missionaries.  This was a quaint, intimate service not full of praise from instruments made by hand.  The only instruments were the very souls standing there with their voices and hearts in tune for God.  We sang from a song book in Fulani language.  I recognized the tunes, "Jesus Loves Me" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and several hymns you would recognize.  The kids were the most amazing part.  They were the loudest and most enthusiastic.  This small 10 x 11 concrete building with a tin roof was the House of the Lord this morning. There were not as many bright colors worn, but simple garments adorned to honor the Lord. The message was Acts 1:1-11.  I cannot think of a better sermon than today's.  How great was it of our Savior in the first place to come direcly from heaven to earth in the form of a babe to show His deity in an earthly, tangible form for people to believe.  Not only after fulfilling every prophecy of His sacrificial death and resurrection, He then stayed, after being raised from the dead, for 40 days to continue to speak of the kingdom of God.  He used every moment to share convincing proofs to the people, so they had another chance to believe in Him.  Before He returned to heaven, He charged them with the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit.

God is still so loving even as He asks us to believe Him through faith. The LORD is still convincingly doing such great acts of proof for His glory today.  I stand amazed in Ghana at the proofs that I have witnessed.  Timothy, the child I have blogged about with some type of mass effect in his brain and who has shown signs of his brain herniating multiple times (which is usually irreversible, especially with our means in modern medicine), is miraculously still with us.  Ayishetu, the miracle child, is proof of God's healing here.  The muslims coming to know Christ as their Savior here is proof that God made everyone in His image.  The many adults and children having seizures continuously for more than 3 days here are restored whole.  The new babies delivered here are proof of His fatherly loving nature.  Cheney, who was healed of tuberculosis and gleams for God daily, is proof of His provision.  The many people bitten by snakes like cobras and other deadly venomous types here, who are not envenomed by the end of their stay, are proof of His divine protection.  Another example of His providence and sovereignty are the missionaries who deny every bit of self to be filled by His glory and may endure illnesses yet they are not overtaken in all their years here.  We all participate in this supernatural rejuvenation. Great things are being done and greater things are still to come as the LORD continues to lovingly convince us of His proofs.

Today during the sermon, pastor Alex mentioned Dr. Dewey Dunn of Nashville, Tennessee, who I traveled with to Nalerigu 2 years ago and who has impacted missions tremendously, not only in Nalerigu.  Dr. Dunn was just here shortly before we arrived (see trip report/Medical Missions link below) and he shared with Alex that the greatest thing we can do in our lives is to share Christ with others. Let's be lovingly bold and do it.

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