Ghana Day 11: What do you think of Africa?

It was not pastor Stephen who came for us, it was Pastor John. Jeffrey knows him too, so it is ok. He’s wearing a VGR polo, he runs a library…somewhere in Ghana.  I think Cape Coast area, but I am not sure.

Bro John is a very balanced man. I spend the first hour or two just listening to he and Bro Jeff. Bro John tries to get me into the conversation to add my thoughts, but I am still listening before I speak.

Today as we drive, I am trying to understand more about the believers in Africa. Can they listen to Bro Branham’s tapes easily? I know the pastors can, they are usually more educated and speak English well. Can tapes be played in churches? Will the people understand it well? Even some of the things that pastors have asked me here about what is on the tapes they do not understand well. Bro Branham was speaking as a Kentuckian, an American, they don’t understand all the expressions, or the culture. They don’t see nuance, they see black and white. That is fine I believe to an extent, but it makes things very hard on the people. It is hard to find balance.

What is the role of the pastor here, how far should it go, and where should it be restrained?  Where is the balance in respecting your pastor as African culture highly values, and the pastor abusing the power?  All of these things are something I’m sure I will ponder for some time. I do not want to talk of any conclusions, if any, that are in my mind as I don’t want to be controversial, but Africa challenges even my perspective and assumptions. The luxury to the believer in the US to understand the message because of being from the same culture and language cannot be overstated. There are many in the US I wish could have an honest look at what I have come to understand and witness during my trip here.

Our drive takes us along the coast line at times, the waves of the ocean are huge. The fishing boats that sit anchored are small boats I wouldn’t want to be out in! I see some of the forts from the old times on the cliffs. I hope to visit one of the slave forts and learn the history. Bro John describes how some of the ministers he has taken have almost wept to see this, it is very emotional.

The climate is cooler than the north, I am thankful. I did not consciously understand how hot it was while I was up there. It felt hot, but I felt like I was handling it well. I did not realize how much better I felt once I got here in the south where the climate is cooler. The heat was fatiguing my body more than I realized. Still, it was quite hot in the church this evening.

The geography is very hilly here. It is more of a jungle to the north side of the road as we travel west. As we drive, we see someone holding a deer by the side of the road. It is for sale. Bro John said if we were going the other way he would have bought it. It is a sweet meat. The deer was very very small. More like the deer in Arizona, but probably even smaller.

Also being sold on the side of the road are crabs. They are attached to palm branches or something like that, wide green straps. So you would buy a branch with 5 or 6 crab on it. I am not sure how much this costs. Bro Jeffrey is excited. The Lord has called him to service in the north, but he was born near a delta area with crabs, snails, and other marine life. Pastor Stephen’s wife will make him banku and crab/snail stew. He can have this all to himself, I want no part of it!

We arrive at the hotel around 2 o’clock. We have been travelling since 7:30. Traffic was bad, it rained in the morning, and African roads and traffic are always bad. In the US this trip would take 2 hours or so. Here it takes almost 5. To be fair, we did stop for a breakfast of bread and egg.

Speaking of breakfast, let us break down the process of ordering in a general restaurant here in Ghana. I am not speaking of a “fancy/expensive” restaurant – maybe at a hotel or downtown in one of the cities, but your general every day “Bob Evans” of Africa. You sit down in the plastic deck chairs that Africa runs on. The waitress comes up to you. She’s probably not smiling. If you’re an American, you’ll probably think she is rude.

“What do you have?”

‘Fufu, Rice, Banku, Breakfast.”

If you order the Fufu, Rice or Banku, you will be presented with options like “fish, chicken, guinea fowl?” followed by “Light soup, okra, or palm nut?”

“What do you have for Breakfast?”

“Egg and Bread”

She’s a real talker this one…

“I’ll have the egg and bread”

“Coffee or Tea?”

“Coffee” of course as my readers know, I will not be using the Nescafe she will be bringing, I just want the cup and the hot water.

Now, if this verbal exchange sounds fine to you, just remember there are no menus, just what she tells you they have today. She’s probably not smiling. You probably don’t feel welcome. You’re in a plastic deck chair, probably on a concrete patio that is covered with a thatch roof. No one says “welcome to fufus home of the big ball of dough!” Service will probably be slow, and you’ll feel like a dumb American because there’s typically music playing and she’s not exactly opening her mouth to talk and her accent makes it hard and you’ll have to ask her to repeat herself which she will with an expression on her face that shows you it pains her to have to repeat the three options available when you should probably know them anyway because this is Ghana thank you very much what do you expect a restaurant to serve, steak and potatoes??

Anyway…so that’s a typical restaurant here.

I mentioned we arrived at the hotel. We get checked into the rooms. I get a bigger room again. I really should start to tell these people I want a SMALL room, because the AC is just able to impact a small room better. I think they would find that a grand injustice. So I am in the room that has a couch and what must be a 70” TV. It was already on for me. Arsenal vs Watford.  Actually, I was kinda happy about that. I haven’t seen any soccer in 2 weeks, and it was nice to relax for 5 minutes and zone out.

Lunch arriving, along with our “international chef”. There is a brother in the church who has been trained as a chef who made the food just for me. Pastor Stephen’s wife made the food for Bro Jeff, but this fine brother makes the food for me. We go to the lunch room that is provided, and he spreads out the food.

“Fried potato, plaintains, prawns, and southern fried chicken.”

I think he sounded especially proud of the southern fried chicken part. What a nice brother!

On the table is a bottle of Heinz ketchup. It is so beautiful. All there has been so far has either been stews or tomato sauce, which I have been leery of not knowing of how well it has been cooked.

Fried potatoes and ketchup! How nice. The shrimp (prawns) were very good too. I tried some of his pepper sauce, but it was a bit too hot for my liking.

He has also provides mangoes, apples, and green bananas. Bro Jeffrey has mentioned I like bananas if they are green. He cut up a mango and put it on a big plate and put it in the fridge in my room along with some of the other fruits.

There is no way I could possibly eat all of this, even were I back home and ravenously hungry. Let alone Africa, where I am tired and a bit off the normal keel. I hope we can get the food to someone when we leave the hotel on Monday morning.  At least, I think Monday, the plans are still in the air somewhat. Perhaps we will leave Sunday afternoon and get a little closer to Accra.

We rest a little bit for service. No internet so I can’t call back home. I sleep a little, but it is not enough. Sometimes when you sleep you are just more tired and it takes a while to get all the cylinders going again. I’ve decided my stomach issues are partly due to fatigue, sleep, and perhaps time zone.

After sleeping yesterday before service, I felt great. Today, after eating a more “normal” meal, I still wasn’t the best.  I think with more sleep I would have been fine.

Bro John knocks on the door. It is time for service.

I preach tonight again on Relationship or Nicolaitanism. The people are responding well. Bro Stephen has plenty of heartfelt Amens. He is very complimentary after the service that what I was speaking on is exactly what we need more in our lives. It has lifted him up again and he sees that all is not lost! God still have 7000 tucked away somewhere! I preached as hard as I could, which was probably close to normal. By the end, I sit in one of the chairs on the platform.

Dear Jesus, help me. I’m soo tired

I felt like I was immediately under a juniper tree. The brother prays to close the service, he prays for the servant of God – that God would put strength back in him, because they know virtue has gone out.

I raise my hand. Yes, Lord, grant it. I retired to the pastor’s study and sat down there for a few minutes while they finished up the service with an offering collection and recognizing some ministers that were there that couldn’t make it earlier.

Slowly, my strength returns and I feel better. I breathe a prayer of thanksgiving to God.

After service we return to the hotel and the lunch room. I grabbed the plate of mango and the bottle of sprite. I wolf down the mango pieces. They are very nice, soft, and mildly sweet. Probably the best mango I’ve ever eaten.

Bro Stephen comes in and we have some fellowship.

“This is your first trip to Africa? What do you think of Africa?”

I explain I felt I was mostly prepared for Africa as I’ve been to Haiti and seen conditions there, and I’ve also preached for local African churches so I was used to interpretations and culture for the most part. I didn’t know the scope of things however. I didn’t realize HOW MANY people live in mud huts and primitive conditions. I didn’t realize how much work an African pastor must do to take care of his flock. When a young person believes the message and their family kicks them out of the house, the pastor takes them in, feeds, clothes, and pays school fees for that person. Bro Jeffrey is constantly on the phone with his other local pastors. “God bless you, please take 100 cedis and give to the sister in Maringu, and when you go there, you take service there on Sunday.” Or “Brother, when you finish your examinations, you must go to Paga and take over the work there. Raymond knows he should teach you because you already know about phones, so you go there and let him teach you so you can take over there. It is better for you to go to Paga because you will have work there, so go there and he will teach you and you will have a job. Then Raymond will go to his other thing” The pastors do not just care for the spiritual condition of the church here. They are active in the daily maintenance and care for many people with very limited resources. This I was unprepared to witness. This I did not comprehend before coming.

Bro Stephen asks the question, as Bro John did earlier today, because they are concerned about the perspective people have from Africa. They are happy to receive ministers and help from the US, but so many do not want to come. Of course, they have small pride in their country as well. They want it to be well liked.

What do I think of Africa?

I cannot tell Bro Stephen how much I think my trip will help me where I am in the US and anywhere else I go. I don’t think he would want to hear about that. I think he wants to know what kinds of things I will tell about Africa when I return home. Will I complain about how hard it was and advise other ministers to stay away? I would not do that of course. Africa has impacted me, deepened my resolve, tested my mettle, and made me look deeper at things from a new perspective.

It is not Africa that I am impressed with either way right now. It is the ministers who give their lives for these people. These men are incredible. Without the work they have done, who would I be here to preach to? Who would I be here to help strengthen and encourage?

If any young minister asks though, don’t try to preach twelve services in twelve days. You better know it’s what God wants you to do, and not just something you do just to see if you can, or to say you have done it. You better have the prayers of many believers behind you as you go, and the prayers like tonight to bring the strength back. This is no game.

Another pastor brother at service tonight offers to pay for the ticket change to extend my stay and come to his church. There is NO chance I will be taking him up on that.

Bro Jeffrey asks me on the way home about tomorrows plans.

“There is another congregation about 30 minutes up the road that could not come tonight. I want to know if you want to go there tomorrow after we see the castle.”

“Brother, if there is no service planned already for tomorrow night at the church we are at, do not plan one somewhere else. I do not want to go. I am so tired.” I am also aware of what I must do when I return home, I don’t get a week to recover, I don’t have the vacation time to spare, I have to go back to work the next day, provided I can get out of bed. So, I cannot say to him that I’m ok with preaching another sermon, I have to look out for myself a little bit.

So tomorrow morning will be my last sermon in Africa, at least for this trip. Who knows what God will hold for the future. I hope to be a tourist for half of a day tomorrow afternoon and see the slave fort. After 12 days tomorrow I think I deserve at least a half day to see something interesting and rest a little bit, don’t you?

As usual, I have written until I am ready to fall asleep, good night.

Next Ghana post: Day 12 – Still Small Voice