JEFF’S JOURNAL

                                                                          November 2008

 

Trolling For Souls in the Trash-heap of a Fallen World

Recent news headlines have highlighted the fact that the world is going to hell fast.  America, the best nation left, has federalized its financial system in an unprecedented way not seen since the FDR socialist takeover of the 1930s.  And make no mistake, America is an increasingly socialist nation, except in name, for the most part.  This is due to the greed of its borrowers and lenders to make a quick buck. Thus Paulson was handed the keys to the financial kingdom by a Republican president ( Republicans = smaller, less intrusive government, right??) 

Now Americans have new “king”, a very liberal man, elected by a big majority, who will probably only accentuate this socialist economic agenda - plus attack the remaining conservative social fabric of America with lightning speed, if he listens to his advisers.  They are telling him, for instance, to immediately repeal many of the 200 presidential executive orders that Bush made, such as the ban on new stem cell research and ban on all federal funding of any group, worldwide, that give pro-abortion counsel or do abortions.  Expect major presidential support to gay marriages also.  Not to mention the nice little secret $120 billion dollar tax windfall that some  specially selected banks are collecting this year, which a panicky Congress only belatedly realized after hastily passing the $700 billion “bailout” without checking the fine print.   Recession.  House values dropping.  The stock market losing 15% of its value, or about $1 trillion dollars!  More layoffs, with a 9.5 % unemployment rate.  And so it goes….

What can the true church do In these troubling times?  EVANGELIZE! EVANGELIZE! EVANGELIZE! EVANGELIZE! EVANGELIZE!

We need to gear up in a fantastic frenzy of fanatical devotion to Christ to seek and save the lost.  You didn’t like the outcome of this election?  How many people did you personally try to convert to Christ in the past four years?  How many Bibles did you get out?  How many Bible studies did you diligently try to set up?  How hard did you pray for harvesters, begging (=beseeching, KJV), to get out into the whitened harvest fields? How many hours did you devote to preparing yourself to be a skilled personal soul winner?  The problem with the world is not the world, but the Lord’s church not doing its job.  We are the salt, the light, the leaven, the ones to make the difference. Until we sacrifice to save souls, and stop giving out of our abundance and enjoying all the things of this world like the pagans who don’t know Christ, we will have to watch a saltless world go to hell before our very eyes.  What will our grandchildren think of us:  Heroic world-changing, comfort zone-forsaking spiritual revolutionaries who fought to their last breath for one more precious soul? Or luxury loving, pleasure seeking, bland, boring and uncommitted church going “Andy Griffiths” who watched the Devil steal our children right from under our very noses?  It is not going to get better.  Our youth are being brainwashed by humanism and we only cry like the Israelites at Shittim when their youth were sleeping with the pagan Midianite women.  Like Phinehas, we must rise up and stop the rot, now, in our midst, and then go out and win souls at whatever cost.  (Note:  It will cost everything, eventually.) 

News! News! News! News! News! News! News! News! News! News! News! News!  

-       Successful Seminar.  Men from 15 different congregations came from all over Ghana.  Rhys Thomas, from Missouri, spoke as our guest speaker, doing a great job of sharing from his own life and world history important spiritual lessons that he’s learned.  We had evening revival type singing with Jeremiah and preaching for all.  Rhys’s wife Sharon also came for her 4^th visit.  Brittney was so happy to see her other surrogate mom and dad who saved her from destruction in Oklahoma’s ghettoes when she was 14.  A very intense time in the word!  I taught early, starting at 7:00 a.m, every morning and afternoon, for about 8 hours. Rhys took the mid-morning and evening, about the same number of hours. 

-       Takeover at the Atia Christian Academy. Continuing struggles go on with William Amoah, who is running his own private school in our mission property at that nearby village.  In separate meetings, we have met with the church there, the chief and elders, and with Willie, with all the men at the seminar nearly begging him to peacefully withdraw.  No go, so far.  We also had an unexpected and unprecedented (in 25 years here)home visit from officers of the Ministry of Immigration, ostensibly as a “normal check.”  I’ve seen my lawyer, we’ve sent emissaries to William, had letters sent from America describing our ownership and stewardship of the land and buildings.  So far, all to no avail, since he hasn’t shut down his school.  William’s father has “reported us” to the certain government ministries, we learned today.  His and William’s motive?  Money.  Schools here are pretty big business. The suspense thickens, but our trust is in our great God whom we serve. (As I was preparing to send this, I heard this morning that William’s dad is “talking to a lawyer”.)

-       Viral Fever Attacks Infants.  All of our babies in the church here in Kumasi have really suffered an attack of a very potent virus.  Of course, they all were also treated for malaria, which is endemic here.  They are now gradually recovering their usual spunk, thank God.

-       Rains End, Dry Season Begins.  Dry desert winds have begun bringing cooler northern air, which is also dust laden from the Sahara.  Pneumonia, bronchitis and other respiratory illness will begin plaguing many.  But I like the cooler temps in the morning. (70s’)

-       Annual BCA Weight Lifting Tournament.  My son coached and co-held this big school event.  One girl, Elizabeth Appah, deadlifted 285 lbs!!  Jennifer, the winner, squatted 280 lbs.!!  The guys also did well, though the front runners were a bit skinny this year.  I feel bad to see them not “beefing up” due to not having all the food they could really use.  Teens have ferocious appetites!  Now on to running season.  Now starts running season.  I got up at 5:00 a.m to join our four teenagers from this house, with Jeremiah coaching and me coxing them to “catch grandpa.’

-       Abraham Ghasie’s Big Move South.  In addition to the weight lifting contest, the seminar, and dealing with Atia, plus preaching and teaching as usual, I helped fund and oversee the move of Abraham from Bolgatanga to Accra.  Pray that he can follow through in getting an ACE school started with his son-in-law Adolf plus Stephen and Kukua Jantuah.  We thank God for the generous donation of one man who paid for the two years advance in rent.  We need special prayers for this re-location, and especially also for the work up North to move forward.  We need to get rent money for the house up north where the school meets, and one day, an ACE school can be held.

-       Crime Spree.  During the seminar, some of the men were nearly robbed, as several knife wielding youths stabbed one cell phone user, then snatched it, as they returned to sleep at Gordon and Caleb’s apartment one night  Also, around that same neighborhood (1 mile from ours), heavily armed men, with bandoliers of bullets and “big guns” invaded 10 houses in one night. According to Gordon, our watchman, ours is the most dangerous areas in Kumasi. Pray for our safety as we enter the holiday season, since the criminals want money to “enjoy” during the season.

-       New “Buddy System” Startup.   When I was in Christian summer camps, we always had a “buddy system” during swimming time.  This was to help prevent drownings! Each swimmer had to be ready to hold up the hand of a swimming partner whenever the lifeguard blew his whistle and shouted for each swimmer to show his buddy. Since returning here in September, I’ve inaugurated this system for the adult Sunday school class, (in which I am teaching through Luke).  Everyone has a partner to whom they quote several verses from the text which I will be lecturing on, and then they review together for the test I give.  This is been very successful.  My goal is “100% all get 100%” on the test.  We have a way to go, but, hey, that is what goals are for!)  I then launched this same system in BCA.  All the students have to help a fellow student accomplish their memory work and achieve their academic goals.  They also voted for a “Team Captain” in the two higher learning centers.  He reports to the Supervisor and then to me.  I am using the idea of being our brother’s keeper and Jethro’s advice to Moses in Exodus 18, to delegate oversight to more judges.  I tell them that they must help each other get to heaven.  It is an exciting new strategy, and I want to keep expanding it.

       -    The Coming of Beth Modlin – God-willing and if the Lord doesn’t return. Beth comes from Christ’s Church in Greenville, and was one of the crew that came over this summer in July for several weeks. She will be our 20^th volunteer to come live with us from America since the school opened 12 years ago.  The others: Jennifer Icenogle; Misty Danyo; Karin Miller; Connie Gibbs; Binoy Thomas; Tim Winberg; Carrie Spurgeon; Nettie Clouse; Anna Francis; Amy Godson; Gloria Wonder; Brittney Hostetter; Melissa Wegner; Brent Sears; Alyssa Osebreh; Faith Strege; Travis Trevor; Justin Stenger; Laura Swift; and Rachel Hicks.  All of these except two stayed for over 5 months with us.  (I should also add my daughters, since they volunteered also.  All of the last names highlighted indicate their new married names since they came here.)  The came from the states of: Indiana, Pennsylvania, Montana, Washington, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Missouri and Michigan.                                           

Sharing Christmas Cheer

For 25 years I have written requesting help to encourage and bless our poor African brothers here in Ghana.  It is so hard to see so many who have no-one who will give them anything to celebrate the Great Gift of God, His Son. If you think about it, giving is the spirit of the season, and many children here would be so happy with so little this Christmas.  If you would be interested, please send something and just add a stick-on to a check or a short written note saying:  For Christmas.  We will make sure that we use it to buy something special for some special child or even adult this Christmas who otherwise would be left in the cold.  Thanks!

LAST THOUGHT:  In hard times, financially, we are challenged to give, not our of our surplus, but the widows two mites.  I pray that we pass the test of showing our true priorities during this recession, and please God like the Macedonians who gave in that way.  (II Cor.8:1-4)  May widows of Zerapath arise and may missions be the last thing removed as we tighten our budgets for 2009. glorifying our great God who richly supplies all of our needs in Christ Jesus!