Day 10 – 12 Abidjan

Bro Israel took us to the Ouaga airport around 6:30 in the morning. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 8:30 A.M. and we didn’t want to be in Bro Israel’s way for him to go to work. The flight had a short stop in Accra and then on to Abidjan. Entering Ivory Coast was about the easiest country I’ve ever entered without being escorted through the diplomat line that is!  Even more so I think, no card to fill out with your address, where you are going, your passport number, etc.  Just hand over the passport “stampy-stampy” and on your way!

Bro Armil and an elderly brother met us at the airport to bring us to the hotel. The elderly brother was holding a message book to identify them. I don’t know why this makes me happy, but it does. I love it as a universal sign for us.

They took me to the IBIS hotel. It is a more modern hotel, with good security. It has central air almost throughout the building and international food. Ah… so nice.  One slight caveat, actually the AC in my room isn’t as cold as my previous locations!  Unbelievable!  The bed however, is SO much more comfortable.  I had a burger and fries for lunch.  Well, it didn’t taste like an American burger, but it was a nice change from chicken and rice anyway!  I can’t really say that though, in Ouaga we had chicken and fries a few times, and even lasagna one day.

I should take a moment to talk about tea and lemonade. It is just SO nice to have this “luxury”.  Just to have something familiar and soothing with you goes a LONG way. I go through a lot of liquid anyway, so for me, just having a tasty non-sugary drink (crystal light lemonade) is really relaxing.

Although I feel fine as far as my body goes, I am rested enough, my stomach is not upset – nothing like my last trip – I am starting to feel ready to go home.  (Starting?  I think that started Wednesday when I got here) It’s not depressing me in anyway, and it isn’t distracting me from the greater purpose that I am here for, but I can hardly stop being human, can I? It is natural to yearn to see the family you love and have been away from for 10 days. Though these are fine people, I did not choose this trip for them. The believers in Abidjan I don’t even know. I’m here because I believe it was God’s will for me to come, but in my flesh, well…it would have been easier to just stay home and enjoy time-off from work with my family!

As the brother picks us up from the hotel and we leave the more modern section of the city for where the church is, I begin to feel more of my humanity at war with me. “Seriously, are we headed to some dusty small church where I will preach to 20 people? Do you know how much it cost to get here? The extra tickets, the extra visa! Do you know how much I’d rather be with my family, and you are bringing me down these dusty lanes to a small little church?”

No one said preachers always think perfect thoughts!  Au Contraire!  (Remember, I’m in a French country, heh heh)

Of course, I know this isn’t a correct line of thinking. It is worth it for one soul, so if God has ordained me to come here and preach to one person and they are saved or helped, then to God be the Glory.  My humanity wants them to respect my effort and provide “sufficient” people to make it feel “worthy” of my time.

These are just some of the mind battles you face going to a new place when you’re not sure of what to expect.

The church is more than 20 people, but I knew those thoughts were wrong anyway. It is amazing how many times I have had to CHOOSE to think correctly. After arriving 10 days ago, I had to choose to be positive and happy to be here. Tired from the plane ride, I just wanted to forget it all and go home, but I knew that if I kept thinking those thoughts, I would be sunk for sure. So I chose to change my attitude, my thinking, and my outlook. It helped me feel better and less tired VERY quickly. We have been given the power to change our thinking, to choose the atmosphere we wish to create for ourselves and for others. If you are reading this blog, forgive my little sermon here, but this ability (and sometimes struggle) has helped me VERY much this trip.

I preached on “Leaving the Old Temple” again.  It went very well I think. The translation started a bit slow as the brother and I began to learn our rhythm and he got more acquainted with my style of English. I use as a type an example of an assembly having a small building and outgrowing it, and everyone choosing that the new larger church they have built is better, and no one has to be dragged to it.  It turns out, quite unbeknownst to me, that it wasn’t but a few years ago this is EXACTLY what happened to the saints at this assembly. They had a small little building but they outgrew it, even though some missed that little place and kinda wished they were still there. Apparently it was hitting close to home for quite a few. Pastor Tao told me later the people were asking “who is this man to know this about us? Surely he is God’s man to bring this on his first meeting here”.  Well, it just serves to raise the people’s faith.  Of course, I knew NOTHING of their past before I got here.

Abidjan seems HOTTER than Ghana or Burkina did.  Burkina was hotter temperature wise, but the old adage “it’s a dry heat” seems to apply. I did not feel near as hot in Burkina except for our “tour” day because we were out so much.  Here, it is 80% humidity, and I am sweating, sweating, sweating. It’s wearing me out quite a bit, but the prayers of the saints back home and in the churches I have visited are surely sustaining me as after a short rest, and a cool down, I’m usually quite revived.

After returning to the hotel, I dined on an interesting club sandwich and CHOCOLATE cake!  It definitely wasn’t American chocolate, but you take what you can get!  The hotel of course has some comfy chairs too, so all is well! I slept fitfully in my room that night.  The nap earlier in the day after arriving didn’t help things I guess, but you sleep when you can in the midst of travel/preach/travel/preach.

The next morning I had a beautiful breakfast at the hotel. There are crepes with CHOCOLATE sauce! Ooh la la! There is fruit juice and your standard beans and eggs.  There is croissants and chocolate pain!  (choco filled croissant like pastry).  So this is nice, international food that is an excellent respite on the food front for a few days.

The brothers picked me up for morning service and we went to church.  The church is an “outdoor” church of sorts.  The best way to imagine it is like the tabernacle in the wilderness.  The church is a courtyard with a sand floor and concrete walls.  Over the “sanctuary” there is a roof structure, like a crudely built car port.  Over the platform is another tin roof.  The two roofs are separate and at different heights, so the sun actually can pour in through the gap between the two. I say that because the sun was pouring through that gap during the evening service, and I was afraid I would get a sunburn while preaching!

This morning I preach on “A False Economy” speaking of what the devil will try to give you be it sin or religiousness instead of the true economy of the depths of God in your heart. I spoke of how this ministry of the prophet is a copy of the ministry of Christ in our day.  Things may have gotten a bit doctrinal for a few minutes as I clarified some things, but I believe it was led of Lord as there has been some unrest over a couple of doctrines in particular lately.

It is strange to have aged ministers on the platform behind me listening so intently, yes, hanging on every word even. I think to have a brother from Jeffersonville come and say the things that I did was helpful to them to know how the brothers feel and why in my area.  Many of these brothers have probably been preaching since before I was born, but they treat me with the gratitude and respect as if I was someone very important.

After preaching and trying to show the proofs of the reality and truth of this message we came to the close of the service.  Pastor Tao mentions to the people that he sees the “quality he likes in my ministry and it is his plan to invite me back again and again and again”. In the pastor’s study after, he tells me he wants me to come back for 10 days for a few days with his church and then to take me around to different towns. I explain I’m not full time yet, but that we will be in prayer and see what the Lord has.

They decide to take me to a “special special” restaurant in the city where I can order “whatever I want”. So we drive drive drive and arrive at a shopping center. The “special special” restaurant is the mall food court basically.  Honestly, the quail and rice that Bro Jeff got looked REALLY good, but I knew that since they took the pains to take me to “special special” restaurant it was so that I could order something more American.  Well, they have pizza so that will work just as well as anything.  I ask for the Chorizo, and the man suggests ham. I ask for chorizo again and he suggests ham.  I don’t know if this is because he doesn’t believe this white man either knows what chorizo is, isn’t man enough to handle the spice of the chorizo, or they are just out of chorizo.  I don’t persist in this little game and just order the ham, but no mushrooms!

Afterwards we drove to find the VGR office in Abidjan.  The brother had not been there before though, and we were not able to find it. He was very persistent, but the American in the midst was keeping an eye on the time and called abort in time to get to service.

Returning for the evening service I preached on “No one must know”.  I use the story of Joseph and his brothers and draw comparisons on what was going on in the heart of Joseph’s brothers before they sold him into slavery.  This was the same service the brother in Ouaga commented was very “healing” and I hope it has the same effect here.

After returning to the hotel, I request an extra sheet from the front desk. The only cover I have on the bed is the blanket in a duvet and the bottom sheet.  It is cool(ish) in my room, but not cool enough for the full blanket.

Bro Jeff tells me that because we have to wake early on Monday morning, it would be best to cancel the Sunday evening service. Also the minister brothers must return to their villages.  “Ok, who are you and what have you done with Bro Jeff?”  Last trip, I ask not to schedule any more services, and he does anyway, this trip I’m fine and he’s cancelling services.  Ma Foi!

We head to service Sunday morning, and I chose to preach “Wilt thou be made whole” to prepare the hearts of the people for a prayer line. I have preached this sermon many times, but this time I focus on Jesus telling the man at the pool of Bethesda “RISE UP, take up thy bed and walk”.

We have a prayer line, and though I exhorted the people NOT to come into the prayer line unless they were ready to completely surrender their lives to God, remove their earrings, and live according to His Word, I only noticed one or two that didn’t come into the prayer line.

The first woman with earrings in the prayer line falls over at my feet as I pray for her. There are women who fall over at the Kintampo convention as well, but the brothers of northern Ghana are more used to it because of the local idols and gods cause demon possession more often than in the city of Abidjan. I say that just to show that I was kind of glad for the sand floor here. At the convention in Ghana they brothers are ready to stabilize a woman (or man, but I haven’t seen that) if she begins to exhibit a lack of control.  So she falls over the brothers pick her up and assist her back to her seat praying for her.  I don’t know if this is a new believer, or perhaps someone who just came for the meetings and didn’t know better or not.

After the prayer line we begin to just worship God a little while.  I teach the congregation the song “There is power in the Name of Jesus to Break Every Chain”, without even thinking about how perfect this song is after what I had preached, we switched to “there’s an army RISING UP!” and I just felt like God was truly present.  I switched the verse to “There are SICK, RISING UP” once the translator translated the line for the people, they began to rejoice, as that is exactly what I had preached and they were inspired by the chorus.

I turn the service over to Pastor Tao, and he asks a brother from Ghana to sing a song.  He sings a French song “J’tais en lui” which means “I was in Him”   I was in Him as he walked to Calvary and so forth.  The song is really fun to listen to, and the words through the aid of my translator were really good.

After service and an abundance of pictures with the minster brethren and various saints, we leave for lunch and a small “tour” of Abidjan.  I can’t tell you how many pictures of me there must be floating around whatsapp in West Africa right now, but if there were stats on whatsapp like twitter I’m sure I would be totally “trending”.  Anyhow, we embarked for lunch and my “tour”.  The tour consisted of driving through downtown, and along the port then back to the hotel.  There’s really nothing to see of touristic note.  I could have attempted some “artsy” pictures of the cathedral or the mosque but that’s about it.  I snapped one photo of a ship and large rope at the docks, but a security guard told us this place wasn’t for pictures so we left.

We returned to the hotel and I met up with Pastor Tao and Bro Armil for a few minutes.  They settled my account at the hotel and he told me the testimony of how the people felt after my first service with them, as I have already related to you.  So I returned to my room, called AnnaMay before she left for church, and packed my things for the early start in the morning.

So here we are, driving to the Ghana border from Abidjan. We will arrive in Takoradi around noon or so. Bro. Prince is picking us up at the border, and one of Pastor Tao’s trustees is driving us to the border. I’m trusting all with go smoothly with these logistics and that by the time we have cleared Ghana immigration Bro. Prince will be there to “pick us”.