(In this journal, I open wide my heart towards you, my dear friends.  Please read and open your hearts also wide towards us.  You are our lifeline and main cause of encouragement.)

 

                              Jeff's Journal

                               March - April 2008

 

 

 

Lost ...... & Found. (And Feats Fit For A Spiritual Hercules!)

 

Have you ever lost some work on a project that you had diligently labored over for hours, or even weeks, due to a computer fault for example.  Frustrating, isn't it?  Or what about planning a great outing or vacation, and then because of a cancellation, weather or sickness, had to scrub everything?    Or losing your credit card or wallet with all of your personal information while shopping? But much more horribly, how about losing a son, or daughter, or grandchild while enjoying a camping trip or picnic, and having to return home without them?!?  Well, that is what it is like when we invest hours, weeks and even years trying to help someone be like Christ and enter His eternal kingdom, with all of our energy, money and talents, only to see them walk away or give up on their faith.  Missionaries must have elastic hearts that can bounce back after being stretched so far that only the Holy Spirit can put things right.  I do appreciate some of you sharing some of your own heartaches with us.  

 

Missionaries... and every Christian ... must still voluntarily (and cheerfully!)  choose each day, despite knowing the incredible pain of losing so many,  to keep investing our entire selves in as many as we can possibly reach to bring them to Christ and grow them up to maturity.  Our hopes and dreams and fears all swirl around in constant flux as we see some lost and some found.   Immersing them into Christ is a truly great thing, but it is only the beginning.  Jesus said that we must make disciples by immersing them and then teaching them all things.  Thus we need to have bull-dogged, snapping turtle, rugged, "getting -tough-when-its-rough", perseverance. Remember the recent movie about Coast Guard rescue divers, The Guardian?  (Filmed in Elizabeth City, N.C, "our town" - Sherrie & I met there at Roanoke Bible College.) The hero, played by Kevin Costner, who had saved more lives than any other, remembered only the ones that he'd lost to the sea. When asked by a young trainee how he endured losing them, he answered,  "I swim as hard as I can and save as many as I can, and the sea gets the rest."  And so do we.  Only the strong heart of Jesus, beating in our hearts, can sustain such effort.

 

There are three things that show, by the test of time, our quality of faith, hope and love: 

-  Our own godly lives developed after the exact pattern of Jesus, by imitation and impartation over the course of our entire lives. ( A lifelong challenge and real goal.)

-  Our own godly families (unless we remain single for the Lord), with each one dedicated fully to God and His kingdom.

-  Our own godly disciples who take on Christlikesness and go on to win others also. (We "recruit recruiters" - Dr. Floyd Clark, JBC, '78

 

I must emphatically keep repeating:  We could not do this for one more week without your faithful support and prayers and encouragement - all which the Holy Spirit uses to strengthen us as we remain in His Word.  Please keep on praying brethren, in heartfelt praise and petitions for us to extract more hostages held by Satan - God's great mission program for the world.

 

This three things take major Spirit-Power.  They're HUGE!  We cannot do them without Him,  without God's supernatural help.  They are greater challenges then the fabled feats of Hercules!  But as God's reborn, new creations, we can do all things through Him who strengthens us! 

 

Suffering Hardships - Enduring "Hardness for the Lord  (II Tim.2:3)

 

My dad, who was also was a missionary in Africa, used to say that Paul was talking about enduring the hard benches one must sit on in most African church assemblies for 3-4 hours in stifling, humid 90 degree heat. :) Well, yes, definitely that might be included, but sound exegesis probably means more than just hard benches. Here's a few other hard things we've endured lately:

 

-  101 degree heat until the rains blessedly came.

-  A new student child without bowel control sharing his problem with me.  

-  The water off in our house and at the school nearly constantly for 7 weeks. (We have been renting water tankers to come - at higher cost.) Plus power and internet often.

-  Government officials threatening to close the school down at Atia, because it was no longer registered with them.

-  A bothersome landlady who is hyperventilating about doing needed repairs on our house being paid all her rent money for one year.  (Her name is Patricia - pray for her.)

-  Another landlord hassling our children, Jeremiah and  Brittney, over some students that are staying in their guest rooms. 

-  An official from the Metropolitan Educational Assembly investigating BCA, having been told what we are not licensed or "registered." (His name is Sonny Boy, and he was impressed by our school.)

-  Sherrie's knees very swollen and painful, plus malaria.

-  Boils on my waist that kept me from sleeping properly for five days.

-  Some other frictions and stresses related to keeping the spirit of unity in the bond of peace.

-  Racist complaints expressed by an African Christian towards us in venomous bitterness.

-  Worse of all, rain interfering with our weekly basketball game!!!! :)

- Daily filth, crime and crowded, noisy conditions of a "third world" country.

 

As Sherrie said, this has been one of the hardest 10 days of her life - and that is really saying something when you consider our 25 years of service in Ghana!  Yet, and I quote:  "...we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed...." (II Cor.4:8-9)  Why?  For our perfection of our character - (I Pet.4:1.)  "We have this treasure in earthen vessels. so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves."   And Paul called all his incredible hardships:  Light and momentary afflictions!! ( II Cor.4:18)

 

Togo Trip

 

We are still praising God for our recent trip during our Easter bread to encourage the saints at Togo.  (You can read more about it in Amy and Bruno Kumedjra's report that is attached.)  It took twelve hours to drive there. Sherrie kept fort with Keziah (14), Alima(14) and Jackson(12) in Kumasi.  I preached and taught on the Lord's Day on "Baal-Perizim" (II Sam. 5:20), about Spiritual Breakthroughs.  Togo is economically totally depressed.  No building, no jobs, no nothing.  America's recession is nothing compared to what Togo has been in for the past 15 years.  I can see no positive change at all since the first visit.  Only slow decay and status quo.  The only positive thing is the few strong disciples that are really tracking with the truth through Hammer and Delah and the Kumedjira's work.  Oppression and darkness exist everywhere else.  Evil men with sinister motives have tried to take over Hammer's ministry the past two years.  Yet he is triumphing and trumping them in their foolish conspiracies.  The reason? Power and money, per usual.  We were able to share and edify them, with my son Jeremiah and volunteer Travis of Christ's Church in Greenville, N.C., plus Attah, my son-in-law, were able to offer encouragement.  Though the church is down from 220 to 140 per Lord's Day attendance, the quality is improving, and, God willing,  very, very soon, an ACE Christian school is starting with Amy and Bruno's help, praise God!  

 

Rachel Hickman Arrives From Spokane, Washington  

 

I am amazed at how God keeps bringing us ready and willing volunteer workers - a real "Spiritual Peace Corps" - from all over America!  Tiny, petite Rachel (21) is from a small church in Spokane where Mark Miller, a young preacher from Missoula, Montana, and one of the greatest men of the 21st century in my opinion (ask me why sometime, and I'll tell you.) has been preaching at for about one year now.  Homeschooled, this young lady had already spent 6 months in Honduras doing mission work.  With Miss Swifts usual generous help, we were able to purchase her a ticket, and her she is.  She arrived on Thursday, Mar.20th, and the next day joined our arduous trip to Togo, without complaint, despite fighting jet lag after crossing the continental United States, then the Atlantic ocean - an 8 or 9 hour time difference.  Now she's teaching "raw" students how to speak English. (One ten year old was too strong to spank, and another is the one who lost control of himself in my office...Welcome to Ghana!)  She has cheerfully been carrying buckets to her bathroom - no water for 7 weeks - and sharing her room with three others.  She is even learning how to play basketball with us, and pump iron - small ones for now - a first for her.  Now that's dedication!  

 

Diaspora - "Many will go back and forth" (Dan.12:4)

 

Luke speaks of the early Christians:  "Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word." (Acts 8:4)  We are starting to see that happen with our disciples here at Christ's church in Kumasi:

-  Adam Akola, working in Bolgatanga teaching English and sharing God's Word there.

-  Augustine Avasong, now near East London, South Africa for a six month contract with in shipping management with a company there.

-  Gifty Osebreh, who in Cotanou, Benin, studying French as a UST student.

-  Abby Yaya, returning tomorrow after helping in the Thomas's new Christian school in Cochin, Kerala, India.

-  Alyssa Sears, who is leaving on the 19th to replace Abby in India for two months.

-  Amy and Bruno in Togo to start a new school.

-  Stephen Jantuah, and his wife Kukua and Zoë(!), working for a computer firm and helping the church there and with a new school startup.

- Gloria and Godwin, serving the new school in Atia, were featured recently in a big American newspaper, the BattlecreekEnquirer, in an article: "Here Am I, Send Me".

 

All of these are disciples of mine and were immersed here in Kumasi by me...all praise God!  We are so proud of their faith and good deeds and how they ware spreading the Spiritual Revolution of New Testament Christianity - (what other "kind" can there be?)  - throughout Africa and beyond.  I believe these are only the firstfruits.  Like the Moravians of old, my prayer goal has been for many years that we can send out missionaries, both tentmakers and direct support ones, at a 1 - 10 ratio.  May it be so, by God's doing.

 

Prayers and Praises

 

-  Pray that we get a rest and recovery time at our annual beach vacation next week.  We are not being offered the same discount as before, and Jeremiah is working on scheduling conflicts as a UST student.

-  For freedom for harassment by local officials wrongly informed by disgruntled informers.

-  Continued health and stamina.

-  Praise God for our safe Togo trips on some of the most dangerous roads in the world.

-  My health, much improved, praise Him.  Keep praying for Sherrie's swollen knees.  (She is trying many things, but the school concrete floors and steps are the problem.)

-  For more opportunities to save the lost and start new schools.

-  For Konkomba youth Raymond's operation.  We were given all the money needed, and he is scheduled for April 15th.

 

Football Fanaticism and Final Thoughts On Exponential Growth in Making Disciples

 

Africans can get excited and be on time!  I learned this after attending my first football match at the newly refurbished Baba Yara Stadium in downtown Kumasi during the final days of the African Cup, '08, which was hosted by Ghana.  38,000 people attended, with much patriotism evident as Ghana beat Ivory Coast 4-2 in a spectacular game.  My "boys", Jeremiah, Travis, Attah and Godwin all loudly cheered and celebrated with me the national team, the Black Stars (oxymoron - black...stars?) overcome a better team by sheer hustle and indomitable spirit.  I thought, over and over, why not a stadium full of Christians someday for our Family Camp, cheering more fanatically the Lord Jesus?  With team work, hustle, and true faith, it can be done.  May it be so, unless Christ comes or we must go underground first due to persecution.  But there already is a greater stadium, the one in Hebrews 12, full of the spirits of men made perfect who have gone before us.  May we play to win as we lay aside every sin and run as Jesus ran, for the glory of God.  Amen?  AMEN!