The Yakubu Family: Life & Ministry (Northern Ghana)

Water in the Desert

2014-03-03T16:05:00.000+00:00

Many many children and long long queues!!! As a way of rewarding their customers in the Northern Region, a company that deals with beverages and milk products in Ghana organised a Fun Fair for children in Tamale. They had to transport all their games and equipment from the capital city Accra to the North, a 12 hour’s drive. There is only one playground in Tamale, which is not very well maintained. So having the games in Tamale and not having to pay an entrance fee was like discovering water in the desert for the children. The children far outnumbered the facilities and had to queue for hours to take turns in playing. Samuel and Micah also joined the fun.

Samuel and Micah climbing!

Samuel and Micah at the top!!

Most children in this part of Ghana do not have any toys to play with, not to speak of playgrounds. They make their own toys out of waste, sticks and stones. If they lack a football to play with, they fill a plastic bag with soil and tie it into a ball. Older children who do not go to school take care of the younger ones and many often roam the streets in Tamale. Others follow their mothers to the market and spend whole days in the shade of the stalls where their mothers sell their goods. So having such a Fun Fair in Tamale, the organisers needed little publicity as children from all corners of Tamale trooped into the Jubilee Park to seize the moment.

Within our literacy work and church activities we likewise have to seize the opportunity of reaching out to these children as they often get little direction in their lives because their parents are so busy generating what little income they can to simply survive and take care of their families. Showing love and care, giving them some attention, having fun and teaching them are little things we can do to help them to discover their talents and to let them know they are loved.

End-Stage Kidney disease

2014-01-25T15:55:00.000+00:00

Wahab, an acquaintance of ours, gave us a copy of a medical report with the above mentioned diagnosis. It is about his 24 year old sister, Mariam. The only solution for this patient is a kidney transplant. In the meantime dialysis is what keeps her alive and for which she has been admitted to a hospital in the capital Accra, a 10 hours drive away from where her family lives.

It is not the first time that young people with kidney failure have crossed our path. Over the past two years, two young church members and one cousin died of the disease because dialysis was not an option let alone the possibility of a transplant. The distance to a hospital with dialysis equipment was too far and the treatment for that or for a transplant was far too costly.

Medical facilities in Ghana are slowly improving but there is still a long way to go. Sometimes hospitals have state of the art equipment but lack doctors. Many times doctors are there but they lack the medical equipment. Mostly, specialist treatment is only possible in the big cities in Ghana like Accra and Kumasi and as such out of reach for most patients. Despite the fact that Ghana has a ‘National Health Insurance Scheme’ which is reasonably accessible for the poor, specialist treatments are not covered.

Wahab is the eldest son in his family, is a teacher by profession and father of two small children. All responsibility rests on his shoulders. In addition, he has gone through many medical tests and it is now clear that he can be a donor match to his sister. However, all the stress has made him desperate. The cost of dialysis and a transplant operation is more than €25,000! That is more than 12 years salary and would probably not include the cost of follow-up medical care and medication. Wahab approaches any organisation or person he can think of to come to the aid of his sister but so far he has not been successful.

For small medical treatments we do have a medical fund as a church or sometimes we ourselves contribute to somebody’s treatment. But where we are confronted with situations like that of Mariam, we sometimes wonder whether it is more of a blessing or a curse to know there is possible treatments available but not having the ability to pay for it. Harry Wegdam, a Dutch doctor who worked in Ghana for more than 13 years writes the following in his book, ‘Opereren in Ghana’:

‘I realised how much parental coincidence determines where you are born. Is it here or there? In the Netherlands almost all treatments are being paid for, even if medically chances are poor. Here (Ghana) all decisions are being taken whether to treat or not, with in the background always the question whether there is money or not, with the intention to continue life or let the person die. Bringing our Western advancement all the way to Ghana, without providing the Western entourage and finances, we make the situation for certain cases very painful. In the past we did not know what caused the 24-year old woman to be so sick and we would not be able to treat her. Nature took its course. Now we know and the patients know exactly what is wrong but they miss the money for a good solution and nature continues to do the same.’

In the case of the three young people we’ve known over the past few years who have had kidney failure, their families decided to take care of them as best as possible so that they could die a quiet and peaceful death. It might sound strange, but death seems to be much more part of life here and the way people deal with life and death much more natural and accepted than in the Western world. However, our good friend continues to worry so much and those worries we share with you because he asked us to do so. Please join us in sharing the burden of our friend.

Sunday School

2013-11-09T16:30:00.000+00:00

Every Sunday a small group of children visits the church we attend here in Tamale. Usually there are about seven children, including Samuel and Micah. It is a challenge to plan an interesting and good lesson with children from very different ages, backgrounds and languages. Apart from Samuel and Micah, none of the children have a Christian background and therefore all the stories and the Gospel itself are new to them.

A few weeks ago I visited the mother of three of the children. They had not come to the Sunday school for a while. In many areas of Tamale there is often some kind of suspicion towards the Church and we suspected this was one of the reasons why the children no longer came. Fortunately the mother was very happy to see us. We explained to her what we do during Sunday school and how the children learn so much. The mother on her part told us how difficult it is for her and her husband to send the children to school. During the rainy season her husband leaves Tamale to farm elsewhere. Because the city of Tamale is growing so fast there is no longer enough land for the farmers locally. After harvesting the crops , her husband comes home. Sometimes she and the children join her husband on the farm if he needs help. During the dry season her husband spends most of his time with his family in Tamale. They just have enough food to eat but they have no money to buy school uniforms and other things the children need to go to school.

Because of the fact that some children do not go to school, they find it difficult to sit still during Sunday school and not to disturb the lesson. Gradually I have found a way to keep everybody in check and to make sure everyone enjoys their time. It is amazing to see how much the children learn during the lessons, especially children who hear the stories from the Bible for the first time. They are often able to re-tell and even dramatise the story. It is wonderful to discover that even though at times I have the feeling that they have not listened at all, God has done His part in touching their hearts.

Every Sunday we organise a three hour Sunday School programme. To give the children some extra encouragement to keep on coming we have introduced reading and writing in the mother tongue as part of the Sunday school lesson. Currently they are learning the sounds of Dagbanli and they have started writing exercises. It is wonderful to see how much they enjoy this. They are so eager to learn and would love to go to school just like many other children. As a church we hope to be able to encourage the parents to send their children to school and help where necessary to eventually make this possible.

Please pray for these little ones that they will be captured by God’s love. Pray for creativity, patience and wisdom in leading the children. Pray for new enthusiastic leaders who could assist me in teaching the children.

Impressions of the past weeks

2013-10-09T15:45:00.000+00:00

During the past few weeks we have enjoyed a holiday and retreat in Germany. We were invited by the German partner organisation with whom Abukari works. We had a wonderful holiday and were inspired through studying God’s Word together and hearing about the work the organisation is doing throughout the world to reach people with the Gospel. We met prayer partners and had a short reunion with our family members. On the 8th of September the boys and I (Joke) returned to Ghana. Abukari stayed in Germany visiting partners for another two weeks to share about the work we do in Ghana. Abukari then returned to Ghana on the 22nd. Altogether we can look back on a wonderful time that has refreshed us as we continue the work God has called us to do.

Here are some photo highlights of our time in Germany:

The Hindensee lighthouse

The Baltic Sea is much colder than Atlantic Ocean but just as much fun!!

Making new friends

Blog by Samuel

2013-07-23T15:35:00.000+00:00

This time Samuel wanted to write something:

My name is Samuel and I am the son of Abukari and Joke. I was born in August 2005. I love drawing and sports and sometimes travelling as well. Once in a while I make pots from the clay soil in our garden.

This is a picture I drew

I like to play badminton......

....... and ride my bicycle

Some time ago I went to a Nature Park. It was really nice there. You can go on safari and if you are lucky you can see elephants, monkeys and more wild animals. If you go far into the park you might see lions, tigers and snakes. You can also go on a night safari. Here are some pictures of the Nature Park ‘Mole’:

If you are lucky you can get very close to the elephants.........

........ and also the monkeys

I also went to the beach. The name of the hotel we stayed at was called ‘Tills’. It was a lot of fun there as you can see from the picture:

Playing with the kite on the beach

‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’

2013-06-17T15:50:00.000+00:00

The mandate to preach the Good News comes in different forms and shapes. Our Lord through his death and resurrection gives us His Good News to preach to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and to release the oppressed.

In this post, Abukari writes about how the reality of Romans 10:15 suddenly dawned on an aggrieved woman when she was reading her Bible during a church service:

One of the people groups that we work with are the Konkomba of Northern Ghana. For many generations, the Konkomba practised an exchange and betrothal marriage system. This is where a brother from one family gives his sister in exchange for the wife he has taken from another family. The sister is betrothed to the whole family from which a wife has been taken, pending any male from that family being interested in wanting her as his wife, whether he is young or old. Whether the girl given in exchange is in love or not she must be obedient to the decision of the family. Sometimes the sister is still very young and will only learn of the family she has been given to when she grows older. Love here is a demand and not a requirement. In fact a man negotiating for a wife on behalf of his children does not have to say at the outset which son the girl is meant for.

According to Ghanaian law women have the freedom to marry whom they wish and as such this old practice has been an infringement on the rights of these young girls. However, some traditional Konkomba feel that their culture stands above this law. Implementing the law, therefore, sometimes causes tensions in communities and between families to rise so high that the police have to be called in to rescue girls from being forced into marriage. Some parents are even reluctant to send their daughters to school fearing that their education will cause them to reject an arranged marriage. On the other hand, more voices are being heard that speak against the practice.

In the early days of sharing the Good News with the Konkomba villages it somehow complicated the matter. Girls and boys who became Christians felt that the traditional marriage practice could no longer be imposed on them; they did not want to be forced into a marriage with somebody of another faith. Even if the man the girl had been given to was a Christian, the girl believed she had the right to make her own choice. The girls (and boys) wanted to be free from the bondage of certain cultural practices that would have a negative impact on their lives. As with education, Christianity too was seen as a threat to these traditional practices.

As a church we therefore engaged ourselves in discussions with chiefs and opinion leaders to talk about this practice. The church also mediated in many cases where tensions had risen so high that girls were being kidnapped by the families they were promised to. Gradually we are seeing the number of forced marriages decreasing and the practice dying out, thereby bringing smiles on faces of many young people, especially the young girls.

'A Christian wedding'

In a recent church service, a lady who was reading the Bible came across Romans 10:15 and, with excitement, she began to read it aloud for everybody to hear. Then she exclaimed, ‘I thank God for the life of the church. I was a victim of the traditional marriage system but thank God, my children who are now Christians will not have to go through this dishonourable marriage system any longer. Indeed, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!” If the Gospel had not been brought to our village, this cultural practice would not have been redeemed or liberated.’

Pray that the Good News will permeate every aspect of our culture and release people from such practices it contains, paving the way for holistic transformation.

Coconuts and Guinea Fowls

2013-05-20T14:50:00.000+00:00

In May Joke’s sister and brother-in-law visited Ghana. It was a good opportunity for us to behave as tourists and enjoy the good food in Ghana.

We spent a few days at the Atlantic Ocean in the South where we enjoyed fresh coconuts!

It takes skill and courage to climb a coconut tree!

Enjoying the fresh coconut milk!

From the shell of the coconut a little spoon is made to scoop

out the fresh soft coconut flesh – delicious!

Up North we introduced our visitors to the grilled guinea fowls sold in the market

Old tyre rims are turned into barbecues on which the fowls are grilled

As the cooked meat is sold, so new stock is delivered!

Independence Day

2013-03-28T16:20:00.000+00:00

On the 6th of March 1957, after years under British colonial rule, Ghana – known as the Gold Coast – became the first Sub-Saharan African State to achieve independence.

Every year this special day is celebrated and remembered throughout Ghana. For school-going children the highlight is the marching-competition which is held at in each District Capital in Ghana. This year, on the 6th, early in the morning we left for the Jubilee Park in Tamale where the occasion was being held to secure ourselves a seat on one of the bleachers. It did not take long before the whole Park filled up with school children in their smartest uniforms. As the roads in Ghana are so dusty, especially at this time of the year during the dry season, many of the students put on their white socks once they arrive at the Park as appearance counts just as much as the way they march. The military and police were also present to show off their skills.

Accompanied by a brass band, the students, military and police marched around the square. It looked just like a big ant colony and even with the enormous number of participants everything was so orderly.

However, the parade was more than just a competition. The independence of Ghana did not come without difficulty. In the early years there were a series of coups, power struggles and tensions, but gradually Ghana has grown to be a stable democracy. The students are proud of their motherland and they show it in the way they come together on a day such as the 6th of March. With hope and expectation they join in the national anthem, ‘God bless our homeland Ghana, And make our nation great and strong …. Raise high the flag of Ghana … Black star of hope and honour.’

As participants as well as spectators spent many hours on the square, the gathering also attracted traders to make sure that nobody would have to go hungry or thirsty. From a distance we observed the variety of goods which were passing by. Everything from candies to bottles of drinks, from handkerchiefs and pens to meat pies, from bags of water to boiled eggs, from ice cream to avocados and also a tower of biscuits was available.

He went as a lone-ranger but leaves a number of pathfinders

2013-02-25T15:15:00.000+00:00

What do a lone-ranger and pathfinders have to do with the gospel? In 1998, Abukari heard and heeded to the call of God and moved to the Yendi area to help nurture the existing first generation churches and their leadership. Abukari was a lone-ranger in the sense that he was involved in a wide range of activities from preaching to teaching, counselling to officiating marriages, leadership training to discipleship, ambulance driving (using a motorbike or car) to dispenser of medication, pastor to relief worker..... and any other activities that needed to be done as far as the functioning and growth of the body of Christ was concerned. In fact in those early years no programme or occasion would start without his presence. It was heavy, hectic and demanding work as all the churches and leaders looked to him for leadership and guidance.

As you may be aware, in August this year we as a family moved to Tamale to give our boys’ a better education. It also became necessary for Joke to be in Tamale to help in the administration and revamping of the literacy programme ‘Literacy and Development through Partnership’. Naturally there was a bit of fear as to how the work would continue and who would take over the responsibilities that Abukari was shouldering. Was there a future for the work and ministry that had started? The good news is that over the years the Lord has taught Abukari to pass on his knowledge and share the responsibilities in all aspects of the work with others. God gave him seven brothers who have qualified and demonstrated their willingness to pass on the good news to others, to be the torchbearers. Abukari calls these gallant brothers the “pathfinders of the faith”, praying that as the Lord helped him to pass on what he learnt, they too will be able to teach others (2 Tim 2:2).

At the National Annual Pastors and Leaders conference of the BCA church held last month, three of the church leaders of the Yendi District were officially recognised and licensed as pastors in addition to the four pastors who have already been licensed and commissioned into the ministry. What a joy it was to see that in God’s vineyard there is no place for lone-rangers, rather we are called to equip one another so as to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Eph 4:11-14).

The certified Pastor’s of the Yendi District

We hope and pray that these pathfinders in their turn will equip others so that the Kingdom of God will grow and bear much fruit. Even though, as a family, we have now relocated, we still continue to pass on the same vision, albeit in different areas, among different people and in different ways but always with the same passion. Please join us in praying for the Yendi team as they lead the multitudes of believers to know and to grow in the Lord.

One of the Pastor’s, Paul with his wife. Paul is leading a
church very much involved in children’s ministry

Pastor Azindow (left), the Church leader of DC Kura (centre) and Abukari (right)
Pastor Azindow is Abukari’s right hand man and he will take over
the position of District Pastor from Abukari.

Christmas 2012

2013-01-17T15:30:00.000+00:00

Whether you celebrate Christmas in Ghana or in the Netherlands there are certain central themes to the celebration: joy, love, giving and sharing. We shared the joy of the birth of the Messiah with many others this past Christmas.

On Christmas day about 50 people came to celebrate Christmas at our house. Most of them are missionaries like us and have the desire to proclaim the message of Christmas to the people in the Northern part of Ghana. It is so special how Christ binds us together despite our different languages and cultural backgrounds. We all are part of His family! Romanian, British, American, Dutch, Ghanaian, Czech, Swiss, Chinese or Korean it did not matter - and that in itself was the message of Christmas. It is like the song: ‘Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight!’

We all brought something to eat and the variety of cultures meant we had a variety of tasty dishes. We meditated on the birth of Christ, sang Christmas carols and played some games.

After a busy Christmas day, we enjoyed some peace and quiet on Boxing Day. Samuel and Micah had built a grill on which they roasted the leftover meat.

Christmas seems ages ago now! The boys have started school again after a four week holiday and we have resumed our work. This year we will continue to be involved in many different activities which in the end all have the purpose to reach the hearts of the people for Christ - to let them know that they are precious in his sight. There is so much to be done and it is therefore so important to set priorities. Will you pray for us, that we will make the right choices?

Unless someone explains it to me!

2012-12-14T16:40:00.000+00:00

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me! So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: … “As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized? …then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.”

Acts 8:31, 32, 36, 39

A group of people from various villages in and around Sakpe were prepared for baptism but had to wait a number of months just because we could not find an appropriate water source to fulfill this commandment of our Lord. Where we live and work we have one rainy season, thus making water a precious commodity. Most of our water bodies like the rivers and dams are heavily protected for human consumption because of lack of sources of clean drinking water. To prevent the contamination of water and the spread of water-borne diseases, human beings are not allowed to use the water for washing or bathing. Therefore we are also not able to use these water bodies for baptism. For many weeks we had been looking for water for this ceremony. Just when we were about to give up and postpone it until the next rainy season, we found water in a gravel pit that was just right for the ceremony. However, we had some competitors – cows!

Church service before the Baptism

Walking from the Church to the gravel pit

Competing with the cows

Like the Eunuch in Acts 8, the people of Naasoni, Sakpe and Fuseini Kura villages had heard a little about the Gospel but were not sure what or who it was talking about. They have been asking, “Tell us, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Over the past year or so, just like Philip, we took the people from the unknown to the known, telling them the Good News about Jesus. As a result of these teachings many Muslims and idol worshippers gave their lives to Jesus Christ.

It was all joy last month to witness thirty people both men and women publicly proclaiming Jesus as their Lord and Saviour through baptism. What an in depth joy to be a channel in ushering these people into the Kingdom of God.

The Baptism (1)

The Baptism (2)

The Baptism (3)

Sharing the grace

Sharing some food after the Baptism before the people walk back to their villages

We know it is not going to be easy for these new converts in their new found faith. We can foresee family and community rejection and discrimination awaiting them. Please, pray for God’s grace and strength for all of them. Also, pray that God will give us the grace and the joy to share in their burdens.

Life in the City of Tamale

2012-11-19T15:50:00.000+00:00

Moving to Tamale – we’ve talked about it many times over the past few years and now it’s become a reality! In August we moved to the big city. It was not an easy decision. For more than 14 years we have lived, worked and focused our attention mostly on the villages around Yendi. We love the people, the quietness of village life and the landscape. But we could no longer postpone our move. Samuel (7) and Micah (5) have both started their primary education. The options of a choice of good schools in Yendi are very limited, even though we really appreciated the wonderful work the school Samuel and Micah attended in Yendi did with their limited resources. However, our choice of education was a little different and we finally decided that it was important to move because of the children’s education so that we could make a better choice for them. But there were also other reasons. The literacy work that Joke is involved in is mostly managed and directed from the office in Tamale. To be able to support and advise the management it is important for Joke to be physically present at the office and have direct contact with colleagues. Abukari has already spent a lot of his time between Tamale and Yendi. The supervision of the churches in the area is now mostly done by Pastor Azindow. Abukari still visits the area on a regular basis and advises Azindow and his team in their work. One of the advantages of Abukari being in Tamale is that he now has more time to work at the office of Call of Hope and intensify and expand the work the organization is doing to reach many Dagomba people with the Gospel through literature and a correspondence course. So the move means a number of changes for all of us and we are gradually getting used to it.

Samuel and Micah ready for school

Yendi is a relatively small town. Most people know each other and except for bicycles and motorbikes there is not much of traffic, so you never have problems parking your car and you can easily do some quick shopping in the centre of town. Many people are farmers, life is peaceful and there is always time for a little chat. You do not need to lock your house door if you leave for a little while and if you park your car somewhere the closest shop owner keeps an eye on it in case anyone tries to take something of value out of your car. Tamale, on the contrary, is a very busy city. You never have to wait in long traffic jams, but the traffic is chaotic with bicycles, motorbikes, taxis and cars all fighting for a piece of the road. The traffic rules are not all that clear, which makes driving through town challenging sometimes. Every morning we drive along one of the busiest roads to take the boys to school and get to our offices.

On the busy road to school

With a mortgage and gifts we have been able to build our own house in Tamale over a period of ten years. This might sound a very long, but in Ghana this is common practice; anytime you have a little money to spare, you continue your building project. The house is not yet fully completed but it is still a very comfortable place to live. In Tamale we’ve built a wall around our house. This does have some advantages. Over the past years we have planted many trees from which we can now pick the first fruits and it gives a little more privacy (in Yendi anybody could walk around our house). The wall also gives a little more protection. The area where we live is rather like living on a new housing estate, as in this part of Tamale most of the land has been sold for building purposes but many people have not yet started building their houses. At the moment we only have neighbours behind our house. On either side of us people have started building houses but if it also takes them at least ten years…...... As yet, no tarmac roads have been constructed towards our house yet. It was a little scary during the last rainy season as we wondered whether the road would be washed away, but fortunately it remained just wide enough for our car to pass. We hope that something will be done about the road before the next rainy season.

The main road to our house

Even though our direct environment has changed, our mission remains the same. We continue to find ways to share the love of God with the Dagomba people. Tamale is a mixture of different language groups but most of the people living there are Dagomba. Like the Dagomba people in the villages, the majority of the people in Tamale are Muslim. Together, with the leadership in Tamale, we decided to start a church in the Eastern part of Tamale. The church is located in Tahima Yili. Tahima Yili means, “Home of Hope”. This home is owned by our church (BCA) and serves as a home for students that come from rural areas to attend school in Tamale but do not have a place to stay. Most of the students who are now Christians come from Muslim backgrounds and idol worshipping homes. This makes it very difficult for them to be accepted by their Muslim relatives in Tamale, hence the need for the home. So for now the majority of the new church members are the students. Abukari has taken on the role of being the lead preacher and he also leads the Dagbani Sunday school and a weekly Bible study. Joke, on her part, leads the English Sunday school and organizes Sunday school for the children during the sermon. We both enjoy investing our time and gifts in this young generation of believers. Indeed we are very excited about the new church. It is our prayer that the church will see more Dagomba indigenous Muslims receiving Jesus as their personal Saviour.

Bible study before the Church service

Dancing during the Church service

Some facts about Tamale:
Tamale is the capital city of the Northern region (one of the poorest regions in the country) of Ghana and mostly inhabited by the Dagomba people. The city is home to about 350,000 citizens and has a growth rate of 3.5%. Tamale is the fourth largest city in Ghana. The size of Tamale is approximately 922km sq. It is reputed to be one of the fastest growing cities in West Africa. The city attracts people from all over the northern region and its economic activities revolve around farming and trade.

There are more than one hundred local and international NGOs located in Tamale. This has earned Tamale the accolade ‘Headquarters of NGOs in Ghana’. However, few of those NGO’s work within the city. Tamale is also considered the main centre of education in Northern Ghana. Currently there are over 742 public and private basic schools within the city. Besides that there are 68 Junior High and 11 Senior High Schools, Technical/Vocational Institutions, 2 Colleges of Education, a Polytechnic, a Nursing and Midwifery Training College, one Community Health Training School, School of Hygiene and two Universities – University for Development Studies (UDS) and Islamic Technical University College. The city has a high dropout rate at the Junior High School level. Besides that, illiteracy is still very high in the city.

The centre of Tamale

The central Mosque in Tamale

Reconnecting 2

2012-10-26T14:10:00.000+00:00

Two months have passed since we last wrote a blog entry. On 21st August we moved our things from Yendi to Tamale. It was quite a job, but with a lot of man power and help of muscular family members we were able to transport everything to Tamale and give everything a place in our house there. During the next few weeks there were still many jobs to be done in and around the house. We worked on our water system and we also had a lot of problems with the electricity supply to our house but these have all been solved now.

The boys started their new school on 10th September. Even though they were both excited they were still a little anxious at the same time. However, that same day we received the news that Joke’s mother was dying and we had to prepare for a journey back to the Netherlands. On 12th September Joke’s mother passed away. As a family we arrived in the Netherlands on the 14th. We are so grateful that we were able to spend a lot of time with our parents during our stay in the Netherlands in July. We have very precious memories of that period. We are also so thankful that we could be in the Netherlands with our family to celebrate the life of our dear mother, to remember, to cry and also to laugh. Despite the sadness about letting go of somebody who is so dear to us, we had a good time.

On 24th September we returned to Ghana and we made another start in Tamale. The last few weeks have been busy. Abukari had to catch up with a lot of work and host a Videre team. We had a lot of problems with the drainage system around our house which caused a lot of mess and dirty floors. The boys had to again get used to their new school but they now seem to have settled down and enjoy the place. As family we are gradually getting used to living in the city. In our next blog we hope to share a little more about the life in Tamale.

Below are a few photos to give you some first impressions of our home in Tamale:

Front of house

Back of house – they are still working on the water system

Having a break on the verrandah

Samuel and Micah use old plumbing pipes to make their own constructions

After working so hard their clothes are very dirty and need to be washed!

Lemons in the garden

Reconnecting

2012-08-21T14:45:00.000+00:00

During the past few weeks you have heard little from us. This was due to the holiday season and a number of journeys we undertook:

In June, Abukari travelled to Dallas for 3 weeks where he took part in the Global Proclamation Academy.

Abukari in Dallas at the Global Proclamation Academy

With founder Professor Dr Ramesh Richard

With some of the other participants in the 'Dallas Outfit'

On the 13th of July we to the Netherlands for 3 weeks where we celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of our parents.

Samuel and Micah with their great grandmother who is 98 years old

Samuel and Micah presenting their paintings to opa and oma

Since returning to Ghana, Abukari has taken part in a BCA pastors conference and we have also been busy with preparations towards our move from Yendi to Tamale. We hope to transport our furniture and boxes by the middle of this week.

Packing up the house in Yendi!

However, we still found time to celebrate the boys birthdays last week.

Celebrating Samuel (7) and Micah's (5) birthdays

A busy period behind us and still a job before us but we hope to write more regularly once again!

Please pray for a smooth transition from Yendi to Tamale.

Malaria

2012-06-22T14:05:00.000+00:00

Many of us are not very familiar with malaria and that is a good thing! However, in Ghana malaria is a very common disease. All four of us have malaria several times year. Malaria is an infectious disease caused by malaria parasites transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. In Ghana 3.5 million people contract malaria every year and of those approx 20,000 children under the age of five die. This makes malaria responsible for 25% of all infant deaths in Ghana. Over the years the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other organisations has done a lot of work to prevent and treat malaria. One of the things they do is to distribute insecticide treated nets to infants and pregnant women. They also distribute medication to community volunteers as a ‘home management of malaria’ strategy, so that people have prompt access to medication when necessary because in many communities there are no health facilities.

To stop the spread of malaria and to decrease its impact, there is also the need for people to change their behaviour and to be educated. For example, in the village where we live, mosquito nets have been distributed to families with young children and pregnant women. In the early years people were just given the nets to hang in their houses. However, that did not really work as many women and children often sleep on mats in the same hut but not in fixed places, so where were they supposed to hang the nets? Moreover, people have no hammers and nails in their houses to fix the nets properly, so many of the nets were never used. This has led to a new strategy being adopted. Today, when nets are distributed, they are also hung in place by those distributing the nets to make sure they will be used. This has made a big difference, as people start to see how nets will keep the mosquitoes away and gradually they appreciate the benefits of sleeping under a net. Besides the distribution of nets, people need to be trained on recognising the symptoms of the sickness as well. Often, people do not see the need to seek medical help when they have fever unless it gets really bad. In many cases, parents with young children respond too late and that is also one of the reasons why many young children die. So with pictures the government is trying to instruct the public.

In both the church work as well as the literacy work, we often advise people on how to take care of themselves and how to prevent common illnesses and diseases. For example, the common knowledge of needing to wash your hands with soap or the danger of high fever in children, is simply not there. Sometimes we invite community health nurses to our meetings to give instructions on health issues.

Community nurses instruct the women in the church on the importance of washing your hands with soap after using the toilet

A few weeks ago, travelling to one of our village churches, we came across another way of using old mosquito nets. Some children had hung the nets between the poles of a goal and so the old nets had found a new use.

Old mosquito nets have found a new use!

Reaping a Harvest

2012-05-31T14:15:00.000+00:00

A few weeks ago, I (Joke) travelled with the car from Yendi to Tamale. On the way, in one of the villages, I saw Moses waiting for a bus. Moses is a Sunday School teacher in one of our churches and of course I stopped to give him a lift. He was also on his way to Tamale to visit one of his brothers who was in hospital. Besides the fact that it was nice for Moses to get a lift instead of having to wait for a bus (you are never sure if and when a bus will pass by), it was also nice for me to have some company during the journey. We started to talk and Moses told me a lot about himself, things which I had not heard before. The story of Moses is probably the story of many young people in this part of Ghana. The special part of the story is his strong faith and dedication to God.

Sunday School children

Moses Story: ‘When I was a young boy my father died. Shortly after that my mother also passed away. My brothers and sisters were ‘shared’ between the families of my father’s two brothers who continued to take care of us (a common custom here). The uncle with whom I lived had been to school himself and he supported me in my education. After a number of years, this uncle also died and all the children who lived with this uncle now moved to the family of the only remaining uncle. This was an enormous responsibility and burden for this one man. I had been able to finish primary education and was attending the first year of junior high secondary school. The other children in the family did not attend school but all of them helped with the farm. I really wanted to go to school and did all that was possible to continue my education. However, my brothers were strongly against my efforts. They told me, “If you will not join us in the farm, you will no longer eat from this house.” At first I did not take them seriously but my brothers supported their words with action. They instructed my ‘new’ mother to no longer prepare food for me. When I returned home from school in the afternoon there was no food for me to eat. Also in the evening nobody shared any food with me. In the morning I would go to school with an empty stomach. This persisted for three days but I had to give in to my brothers’ demand and since then I have been farming. That was the end of my educational dream. Even though this is an enormous disappointment, I did not let it get me down. I fully devote myself to farming and because I had wished to go to school myself, I do everything possible within my means to help other children in my village fulfil their dreams.’

Moses teaching Sunday School

Moses tells me with full enthusiasm about his three passions: farming, literacy and Sunday School work. He loves working on the farm. He is a good farmer and is able to support his wife, children and other members of his family. But he also loves his language and teaches children and women in the church to read and write in their mother tongue. He loves the Word of God and children and he teaches Sunday School every Sunday morning, trains new Sunday School leaders on his own initiative and travels to other villages and churches to share his enthusiasm about sharing the Gospel with children.

Children from another village church without a Sunday School leader

Some of the children who have visited ‘Moses Sunday School’ in the past, now attend Secondary Schools, some are teachers and some are studying at university. Every time these ‘children’ return to the village, they come to greet Moses. It is a sign of respect and recognition of the role he has played in their lives. ‘Who am I?’, he asks, ‘that they come to me? I have hardly learned anything. I am just a simple farmer!’

It is heart warming hearing Moses talk with so much enthusiasm and see his dedication and devotion to God and the people he loves. Often we hear this question, ‘What am I getting out of life?’ It is often asked by those who focus only on themselves. But as believers, we need to ask, ‘What am I putting into the lives of others?’

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal.6:9-10). May we all be encouraged by the life story of Moses and the appeal by the Scriptures not to give up in touching the lives of people that God brings our way.

Please pray for:

Moses and all the other Sunday School leaders that God will continue to give them strength, wisdom and enthusiasm to share the Gospel with the children in their communities.
Moses' brother, Solomon, who is seriously ill (kidney failure) and there is little the doctors can do for him.
Abukari who is currently in the USA attending the Global Proclamation Academy, he hopes to return to Ghana on 25th June
Joke and the boys as Abukari is away.

Sun, Sea and Forts

2012-05-09T14:50:00.000+00:00

We have just spent the past two weeks in and around the capital Accra which is located in the South of Ghana. Abukari attended a number of meetings with the church and we had to renew passports/visas at the Dutch Embassy. We also spent a short holiday by the Atlantic Ocean which we thoroughly enjoyed.

During our holiday we visited Fort ‘Good Hope’ which was located close to the village where we stayed. The coast of Ghana, formerly called ‘Gold Coast’ has about 30 forts and castles which are a remnant of the ‘gold fever’ and the flourishing trade between African nations and traders from Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, Britain, France, Sweden and Germany.

In 1667, the Dutch built a lodge which was later expanded to a fort. They called it Fort de Goede Hoop, which translates to Fort Good Hope, for they hoped that trade in gold, ivory and slaves would boom. The trade boom in gold did not materialise but the slave trade did. Slaves were necessary for plantations in the New World and West Africa became the most important source of slaves. The Dutch slave trade has its origin in the sugar business by one of the most important traders of the Golden Era: Johannes Maurits van Nassau. When he conquered parts of Brazil from the Portugese between 1630 and 1635 he indicated that he now had sugar plantations but not enough people to work the land. He wrote, ‘Oxes and slaves’ can restart the produce.

An article about the slave trade explains: ‘With the opening of European plantations in the New World during the 1500s, which suddenly expanded the demand for slaves in the Americas, trade in slaves soon overshadowed gold as the principal source of slaves for the New World. The seemingly insatiable market and the substantial profits to be gained from the slave trade attracted adventurers from all over Europe. Much of the conflict that arose among European groups on the coast and among competing African kingdoms was the result of rivalry for control of this trade.'

'The volume of the slave trade in West Africa grew rapidly from its inception around 1500 to its peak in the eighteenth century. Philip Curtin, a leading authority on the African slave trade, estimates that roughly 6.3 million slaves were shipped from West Africa to North America and South America, about 4.5 million of that number between 1701 and 1810. Perhaps 5,000 a year were shipped from the Gold Coast alone. The demographic impact of the slave trade on West Africa was probably substantially greater than the number actually enslaved because a significant number of Africans perished during slaving raids or while in captivity awaiting transhipment. All nations with an interest in West Africa participated in the slave trade. European powers struggled to establish or to maintain a position of dominance in the profitable trade of the Gold Coast littoral. Forts were built, abandoned, attacked, captured, sold, and exchanged, and many sites were selected at one time or another for fortified positions by contending European nations.’

‘During the heyday of early European competition, slavery was an accepted social institution. To be sure, slavery and slave trading were already firmly entrenched in many African societies before their contact with Europe. In most situations, men as well as women captured in local warfare became slaves. In general, however, slaves in African communities were often treated as junior members of the society with specific rights, and many were ultimately absorbed into their masters' families as full members. Given traditional methods of agricultural production in Africa, slavery in Africa was quite different from that which existed in the commercial plantation environments of the New World.’

The Dutch abandoned Fort Good Hope in 1816 and in 1868 it reverted to British rule. Over the years, the fort fell into disuse and by the 1950s was a partial ruin. However, in the 1980s it underwent restoration and part of it is now used as a ‘resthouse’.

It is in Ghana that I (Joke) have been directly confronted with the role of the Dutch in the slave trade which is quite embarrassing and painful. As far as I can remember during our history lessons not much attention was given to the participation of the Dutch in this inhumane trade. The Dutch alone shipped about 550,000 Africans within a period of about 200 years under very awful conditions. It was only in July 1863 that the Dutch were one of the last countries in Europe to abandon the slave trade.

Sources and more information:

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/history/slave-trade.php

http://www.ghanamuseums.org/forts/forts-castles.php

Building Houses, Building Lives

2012-04-13T14:30:00.000+00:00

As the rainy season fast approaches, many people are busy building their houses in the village where we live. The houses are being built from mud and can only be built in the dry season because if the mud is still wet when the rain comes then the houses will just collapse. The person who wants to build makes sure all the ‘building materials’ are at hand; water, gravel (if it is not found around the house) and sometimes some tools. One or two local professional builders come to build the walls of the houses and are paid a little money for their labour. Neighbours and friends come together around a heap of gravel which has been made soft with water. They form balls out of the mud and others transport those balls to the place where the house is being built. Passersby often stop for a while to join in the talking and to also help in the transportation of the balls.

A few weeks ago we observed the progress of the building of the house of one of our neighbours. Abukari joined the men in making the balls and Samuel and Micah carried them to the building.

Men come together around a heap of gravel

For Micah it is more like a game

I can even do two balls at the same time!

The walls of the house are almost finished

After the walls have been finished, the women plaster the walls and so everybody in the family from young to old, male and female get involved in the building process.

The women plastering the walls

We continue to be impressed by the willingness of people to help each other with the building of houses. It is a social event. It lightens the communal spirit and the ‘we’ feeling among the people in the community and it strengthens the unity and ties with one another. This is not only the case when building houses but also in working the land, for special occasions like the birth of a child or a wedding or funeral, and many other things which are hard to do alone. It stands in strong contrast with the Western society where in many cases it is everybody for him or herself. The involvement in each other’s lives, the willingness to help and the community feeling makes the Dagomba culture rich and we can learn a lot from it as we relate it to the uniqueness of the body of Christ as seen in 1 Corinthians 12.

On the other hand, in such a culture, it makes it very difficult to break with certain traditions, values or religions which are so strongly connected to this community life and unity. As such, as a Dagomba it is very hard to become a Christian as it is seen as a threat to the existing cohesion. As we live and work among the Dagomba we try to daily reflect in our words and actions that the good news of Jesus transcends all cultural and traditional values. Please join us in prayer and support as we seek to use every given opportunity to live out the love of Christ among the people we work with.

Do not throw away your confidence

2012-03-21T16:15:00.000+00:00

We have recently been in Tamale for a week and on Sunday we visited a BCA church in a village close to Tamale. Abukari preached from Hebrews 10:32-36, ‘Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathised with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.’

Church gathering

It is always so touching how people in the smaller village churches react during the sermon to what is being said. Sometimes there is a short dialogue between the preacher and church members. Sometimes, after the sermon, people spontaneously get up to give their testimony and this is what happened on our visit this particular Sunday morning.

After the sermon a woman stands up and says, ‘Pastor, this sermon was really meant for me. When I became a believer my brother with whom I lived at that the time told me, “If you do not give up your Christian faith, I will never allow you to enter my house again.” It was very difficult but I knew that what Jesus offered me was lasting. Since that time I have never returned to his house. Other brothers tried to do the same and told me, “If you continue to follow Jesus we will never visit you again.” I could not say otherwise than I have something better which I could not give up for them. Until today, my brothers have never come to visit me. At times it is difficult and painful, but I do not give up!’

Two old women who come to church together and sit together on a small bench, also added their voices. One of them is blind, the other cannot walk very well. The blind woman says, ‘When we walked to church together this morning people laughed at us. “Ooh, you poor women, what is it that you want in that church of yours? See how difficult it is for you to reach the church (the church service is held in a school building on the outskirts of the village). Has Jesus healed you? You are still blind!” Then I tell them, “Jesus gives me sight, He lends me His eyes.”' The other woman says, ‘It is not easy to climb the entrance to the church (you have to take a big step) but Jesus is my ladder!’

Another church member, Alhassan, told us of his experience. A few weeks ago he went to a funeral where he met many of his family members. They were accusing him of now ‘spoiling their brothers’. For him to become a Christian is one thing but now other brothers have also decided to follow the path of Jesus. How can they allow Alhassan to let their brothers become so bad. Alhassan explained to them that his brothers will rather become better and more beautiful people because God will change them inwardly. They start to argue. Whilst they are talking some girls pass by. They look so different from the other girls who are attending the funeral. Alhassan and his family members see the difference. They call the girls and ask them, ‘You look so different from the other girls here, why?’ The girls answer, ‘We no longer worship our traditional gods but have become Christians.’ Alhassan has for now won the argument but the family pressure remains.

Adisa also shared what recently happened to her. She too attended a funeral. Together with many other women she slept in a house built next to a Mosque. Early in the morning the family head woke all the people in the house up to come to the mosque to pray. Adisa did not get up, even though all the other women went. After the women came back, they asked her, ‘you did not pray, are you not going to pray?’ Adisa replied, ‘I already did.’ The women did not understand but left it there. Later in the morning they went to fetch water. They passed one of our beautifully built church buildings. The women commented, ‘What a beautiful building.’ Adisa, said, ‘That is where I pray.’ The women looked in amazement at her and said, ‘So you are a Christian!’ Suddenly they understood. From that moment on, none of the women spoke to Adisa again.

a girl on the way to the Mosque

Mosque

The last person who spoke was Mba Mohammed. He became a Christian a long time ago through one person who was always zealous for the Lord and very active in the Church. Because of his enthusiasm he drew many to Christ. But after some time this man said to Mba Mohammed, ‘I will quit “your thing”.’ Mba Mohammed responded, ‘what do you mean “your thing”, is it not “our thing", are you not part of us too?’ The man replied, ‘I thought Christianity would make me rich but since that has not happened I have given up.’ The man who drew so many to Christ himself had not understood what the ‘lasting possessions’ meant. Mba Mohammed has remained faithful and is now a leader in the church.

These are such encouraging testimonies! Testimonies from people who despite opposition continue to boldly hold on to God’s promise and are confident that what they have in Christ is better and lasting. What about you? Sometimes we take for granted who we are (our identity in Christ) and what we have (our possessions in Christ). As children of God, our ultimate confidence is in the undying love of Christ. So complete is our protection that nothing can “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).

Pepper in the Offering Bowl!

2012-03-01T16:45:00.000+00:00

The Dagomba are a hospitable people who care for one another. Many of them don’t have much money to spend but if, for example, they are celebrating a funeral, many of them will contribute towards feeding the many visitors one can expect during such a festivity which can last for many days. Also when someone is sick, the Dagomba are prepared to contribute towards the cost of hospitalisation or medication. It would not be fair to pretend that you have nothing when somebody else is in need.

Some time ago, I overheard a conversation between one of our church members and an American visitor. The visitor asked how many bags of maize the family uses on a yearly basis. The church member answered, ‘Oh, we don’t know, we do not count the bags we need during the year. If at the end of the season some maize is left, we sell it.’


Sales of Yam to generate some cash

In Dagbon it is not only the nuclear family which is important but also the extended family and it can be very big. It is not possible that you as a family still have food to eat when other family members go hungry. You cannot put a claim on food and say, ‘this is only for us.’ It is therefore also hard to calculate the amount of food you will need in a year because that depends greatly on the extended family and the events which you are expected to contribute towards. In many cases this is a form of social security for those who have less food to eat. But it also puts a lot of pressure on families. In some cases, the responsibility of providing food for all the extended family falls on just two or three members. And it is not always because the others cannot work. On occasions, some members of the family are just lazy and try to profit from those who feel responsible for the family. This causes a lot of complications. Within the church we see a number of people suffering because the rest of the family puts a lot of pressure on them. We often advise those families to build their own houses, away from the family house so that they do not have to daily feed the whole family. This also encourages others within the family to take on the some of the responsibilities. Here one can see the wisdom in God saying that, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Gen. 2:24.

A lot of people own a few cows as capital investment. The Fulani people take care of the cows of many different owners for a small contribution

However, unlike the automatic contributions that are made to the family or community, people find it difficult to contribute towards the church – whether it is an offering or giving of tithes. One of the reasons for this might be that people think they have to contribute in cash. Most people do not have cash but do have a stock of food or goats and chickens. These items are usually sold for cash as and when the need arises. Some weeks ago, during a church service in a small remote community two women offered part of their harvest as their contribution towards the Church. What a wonderful and even Biblical way of giving. They brought a big bowl full of dried pepper and okra for the church to sell and to use its returns to serve the church.

The contribution - dried okra and pepper - from the women to the church

Dried okra and pepper

Education on ‘giving’ is also important. Why do we give to God? During last Sunday we had a discussion about this with a small church community. During the church service we realised that they did not have an offering. Abukari touched on the issue. The leader of the church supported him. If we do not give, God cannot bless us in ‘giving’. One of the women made a comment, she said, ‘After the harvest our houses are full of grains and we seem to be so rich. But after a little time, everything is finished and I do not understand how that happens, we had so much. And if everything is finished and I hardly have enough to feed my family not to speak of paying school fees for the children, then it is so difficult to give to God. Would He really want to bless me in this?’ God promises in Malachi 3:10, ‘ “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it…”’ We cannot give more than God, who for our salvation and wellbeing gave us his only son. Pray with us as Abukari devotes his time to teaching over twenty local churches on Biblical giving.

Chasing after a Soul

2012-02-15T14:15:00.000+00:00

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?… there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:1-7)

On a normal Sunday morning Abukari is usually preaching or engaged in church service activities. But this Sunday was different as Abukari found himself chasing after Amina in the local huts of the village of Sambu village while Joke and the boys attended the church service.

Amina is in her late thirties and is married to Sulemana and together they have seven children. Both Sulemana and Amina come from a very strong Muslim family in Sambu, but in 1997, through our ministry, the Lord led Sulemana to the knowledge and kingdom of Jesus Christ. Ever since then we have prayed and shared the gospel with Amina many times but she was always unyielding to the gift of salvation. Last week we had some friends from the USA who visited and shared the gospel with Amina in her village. Like a driver finding his missing car keys, the heart of Amina was immediately unlocked and became receptive to the gospel. She was led to pray the sinners prayer and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Saviour.

Sulemana and Amina

Sulemana and Amina's house

It was all joy and celebration for Sulemana (Amina’s husband) who had prayed and waited for this moment for 14 years! But little did Sulemana and the minority Christians in Sambu know what was awaiting them and Amina. Instead of the neighbours joining Amina to celebrate her new found faith they rather plotted against her. Like Job, all her friends upon hearing of her decision to follow Jesus came and one by one they took their turn to heap insults and intimidation on her. So great was the intimidation that before Amina had the opportunity to experience her first Sunday of public worship of Jesus with other believers, the friends and neighbours succeeded in discouraging and polluting her mind to recant her faith. On the first Sunday, as the church gathered everyone was eagerly waiting to welcome Amina into the family/body of Christ. But to the surprise of everyone, a friend of Amina who lives in the Imam’s (the Muslim leader of the village) house had smuggled her across several houses to the house of the Imam where they were hiding her. This was to prevent her from attending church that morning. Having waited in vain for while, Abukari took Sulemana in search of Amina in the neighbourhood. Finally they found out that she was in the Imam’s house. When the people heard Abukari and Sulemana were planning to visit the house, they locked the door of the room where Amina was but her husband recognised her sandals that were laying just outside the front entrance. To avoid any confrontation with the neighbours, Abukari decided that she should not be pursued further in the Imam’s house.

The next day Abukari was back in Sambu to meet with Amina and the local Pastor. Together the Pastor and Abukari spent time sharing God’s word with Amina and counselling her. Amina explained to them that “the fear of my unknown future and the heavy pressure from my friends and neighbours was too much to bear. But for your perseverance in pursuing me I want to stay with Jesus”. Since then Amina has started attending church. What a joy that the Lord’s grace of second chance can be extended to Amina through us! Please pray for Amina. Pray that she will continue to be faithful and strengthened with the power of God and that she will have great endurance, patience and above all joy in her new found faith.

Perhaps you are living or working in a setting where God is not acknowledged, where faith is mocked, where results do not come in massive numbers but in small trickles and where godless living is applauded. You may be overwhelmed with darkness. Do not be discouraged, for our witness for Christ is a light in a dark world.

As we are writing this blog, we just received a message that the 9 year old daughter of the local Pastor of Sambu died very suddenly. Please pray for comfort and strength for this Pastor and his family at this difficult time.

Christmas in Yendi

2012-01-20T16:50:00.000+00:00

We are often asked the question “how do you celebrate Christmas in Yendi?” Because we live in an area where there are very few Christians there are very few Christmas celebrations. 95% of the people are not Christians and do not celebrate Christmas. However, within the churches Christmas is celebrated in a number of different ways. Some churches make it a large celebration with a big gathering of people (and churches joining together) to share food, whilst others celebrate a little less exuberantly. There tends not to be the long preparation towards Christmas, especially here in the north of Ghana and there is very little commercialism! However, to prepare our children a little for Christmas, as a family we do celebrate the four weeks of advent.

The church building at Jagando on Christmas Day

On Christmas Day we visited a church in quite a remote village. Whilst Abukari was preaching outside, Joke took the children inside the church building (here the building is also too small for the whole congregation) to talk with them about Christmas. Joke brought some advent candles and they talked about how Jesus brings hope, peace, joy, love and light to the world. We shared biscuits and toffees with the children to make our time a little festive. After we had shared the sweet gifts, there were still quite a few left over. Joke suggested sharing these gifts with the local children who do not attend church. However, the children’s leader had a different idea. He told us that if the children who normally do not attend church see that the children in the church have received some gifts, then next week they will join us in the hope that they will also get something. After three weeks or so they will share the rest of the gifts with them and so hope to attract new children to the Sunday school.

The Jagando church congregation


Some of the Sunday School children

After we came home, the activities in our kitchen began! In this area it is a tradition to share food with neighbours and friends when you celebrate a religious or traditional festival. We cooked a big pot of rice and made tomato stew with goat meat. We shared the food in small pans with our neighbours. Abukari also went to the prison where, together with pastors from the different church denominations in Yendi, they shared food and Bibles with the prisoners.

Presenting food and Bibles to the Yendi prison

Sharing food in small pans with our neighbours

Towards the evening we prepared our 'own' Christmas dinner and - as is our tradition each year - duck was on the menu. The next day, Monday, we had a number of visitors. Throughout the day people came to greet for Christmas. We offered them some soft drinks, biscuits and cake and talked for a little while. In the evening we put some meat (goat and chicken) on the barbecue and that brought an end to our Christmas celebrations for 2011.

Enjoying our family Christmas dinner

A BBQ on Boxing Day!

Sending Christmas Greetings......

2011-12-24T16:40:00.000+00:00

Common Needs - How best can we help?

2011-12-17T15:45:00.000+00:00

Regularly people ask us if we can help them in a variety of ways and each week brings new and different needs to our door. It is not always easy to take the right decision; should we help or not? or should we postpone our help? Although some of the people who come to us we hardly know or have barely met before, we just give them the little help we can, knowing that our assistance will not be very constructive but that it will soften their current situation. Sometimes the requests are for food and sometimes for money to help pay for a hospital bill, school fees or a contribution towards a fund. There are also situations like the one described below which need a little extra attention, where it is no use continuing to give without searching for the real cause of the problem:

"It is still early in the morning and somebody is knocking on the door. A boy (about 14 years old) enters our house. He comes from a village about 12 kms away from Yendi where he visits one of our churches. He is wearing a school uniform. I welcome him, give him some water to drink and ask him the purpose of his visit. He tells me that he is attending Junior High School in Yendi and that he needs 10 Ghana Cedis (about 5 euro) that his parents are supposed to pay as parent's contribution for his schooling. Because the parents have not been able to pay this amount, the boy regularly gets into trouble with his teachers. The boy, Abdul, says that his parents told him to come to our house and that we would help him. I give him the money but am not too happy about the way the parents have referred him to us.

A few days later Abdul visits us again. This time he is not wearing a uniform. He greets me and then tells me that he needs a new uniform but that his parents have no money to buy him one. I ask him about the uniform he was wearing a few days ago. He tells me his teachers have told him the uniform is too old and he needs to replace it. At this time many people are harvesting their crops, so I tell Abdul he should tell his teachers that his parents have no money at the moment, but that after they have finished harvesting and have sold some of their maize he will get a new uniform. But Abdul does not look very happy. He tells me that he walks from his village to Yendi every day (that is 24 kms a day!) and that his parents do not give him any money to buy lunch. I contemplate, is Abdul really telling the truth or are there other problems? But because I do not want anybody to go hungry whilst we have enough to eat, I give him some money to buy lunch for the coming two weeks.

Students ready to go to school - each school has its own uniform

A week or so later, Abdul is back at our house again. It is still early in the morning and he wears his school uniform. He tells me that the school has asked them for a contribution of 2 Ghana Cedis to print the exam papers for the end of this year. I know that this is a common demand from the schools and give him the money otherwise he would not be able to participate in the exams.

This past week, Abdul came to visit us again. He tells me that he has moved to the house of a family member who lives in Yendi so that he does not have such a long walk to school every day. But again he asks for money to buy food. He has to go to school for another four days before they break for Christmas. I give him the money but tell him that I do not think this is the best way to assist him. Abukari and I have talked about Abdul’s situation during this past week. We agree that it is time to visit Abdul’s parents to find out more. Are they taking their responsibility? Are they so hard pressed financially that they cannot even get Abdul food to eat? Abdul has just entered the first year of his secondary school education and still has a long way to go. What are the prospects for his education? And what about the other children they are taking care of? We hope to be able to visit Adbul's parents soon."

Maize Harvest

2011-11-22T16:10:00.000+00:00

Abukari is currently in Germany. He has been away for almost four weeks now. He normally takes care of our vegetable garden but in his absence I am in charge. There is a song in Dutch which says: 'the difficult ploughing and difficult sowing is rewarded by you, oh Lord.' This song often comes to my mind as I try to loosen the very hard soil in the garden. But compared to the work most of my neighbours do in their fields, I have no reason to complain. Currently most of the farmers are busy harvesting and processing their maize. It is quite a job! Some pictures will guide you through the process:

When the maize has been harvested, the husk leaves
have to be removed by hand

The maize is carried to the processing machine which produces a lot of dust!

The maize ears are poured into the machine

The grains are coming out

After the maize has gone through the machine, the ears are checked for
any remaining grains

Before the maize can be ground to flour,
the chaf is sifted by the wind