In this short article, I would like to share with you about two different sacrifices that I have witnessed lately here in Ghana. It seems that it is written on the conscience of all mankind that God and sacrifice go together. The challenge for all of us is to make sure that we are making the right kind of sacrifices. Oh, the dreadful feeling on Judgment Day, when some find out that all their sacrifices were in vain!
On Thursday the 21st of June seven of us went on a survey trip to an area that was new to us. The area is north of Karaga and fairly remote. Karaga is a town about thirty minutes west of Gushiegu and is possibly the area where Mel and Barbie will base out of in the future. We had heard of this area north of Karaga and wanted to check it out. We were told that the Dagombas there were much more primitive and that Islam hadn’t made much of an impact yet. So Brother Mel, my two sons Paul and Caleb, three national brothers, Abdulai, Idrisu, Lateef, and my self loaded up in the Land Rover pickup and headed out for the day. We started our trip with prayer asking guidance from our caring, loving Father. We also asked to be used of God throughout the day.
As we were traveling there were many people working in their farms and we would wave or greet them as we passed by. We also would ask directions when we weren’t sure which way we should go. One time we saw three men sitting on a mound about a hundred yards off the road by a small body of water. They had a small fire and it appeared that they were cooking some food. Lateef said it looked like they were sacrificing some animals to an idol, so we decided we would go over to them and see. Sure enough, that is exactly what they were doing.
One man was the chief of a nearby village. Another man named Abdulai was there sacrificing to the idol for the first time. The third man was named Yakabu and he was the one killing, dressing, and cooking the sheep and birds. They had killed a sheep, a guinea fowl, and a baby chicken. Their idol was on the lower side of the hill close to the body of water. It was just a protrusion from the bottom of this hill. The idol was about three feet wide and maybe six feet long and stood about three feet off of the natural ground level. It was made of rocks and dirt. The top of it was covered with the blood of the animals along with the dead baby chicken. The chief placed the liver of the guinea fowl on the idol and said, “God, we have given you the blood and now we give you the meat.” They also had some meat that they had cooked and they were eating it. The chief wouldn’t tell us why they were making these sacrifices but he did say they do it about once a month. They also told us that the chief from Karaga comes and sacrifices a cow to this idol sometimes. They told us that this god had told them that we were coming to visit them, and before they even left their village the diviners said that there would be strangers visiting them while they were making their sacrifices. When we asked how the god told them the chief picked up three small stones and dropped them and said that in the way the stones fall their god tells them things.
Brother Mel and Lateef started talking to them about idol worship and the true God. The chief got very annoyed and only wanted to argue instead of listening. Abdulai, who was sacrificing for the first time, was much more open and Brother Mel starting zeroing in on him. The other national brothers were still trying to talk to the chief without much success. I was standing there silently praying for them all. The man Mel was talking with told him that all his children had died and that his wives had left him. He said he saw others sacrificing to this idol who were prosperous and he thought he would try it to see if his problems would go away. Brother Mel, knowing the language, was able to preach the gospel to him, giving him the good news of a Savior who loves him and who gave His life as a sacrifice for his sins. The chief kept moving from one place to another and our Christian brothers would move right with him, still trying to get a few words in between his many. I thought I would give it a try with him so I asked our Abdulai to interpret for me. Lateef was by then talking to the third man, Yakabu. I did get the chief to listen some but I am not sure he really believed or received what I was telling him.
We prayed for them before we left, and believe that God had sent us to them, and that His Word will not return void but will accomplish what He pleases.
The second sacrifice is of a very different nature from the first. How we rejoice to see some of these Dagombas repent of their idolatry and turn to serve the living God.
Friday afternoon, the 22nd of June, we headed out for the village of Kpakpiba to have an evening meeting. We loaded up both of the mission’s Land Rovers with church brothers and sisters. Our Land Rover Discovery normally seats seven American style or about twenty African style. This time it had nine people in the front and middle seats plus all the crusade equipment (two speakers, sound system, generator, slide projector, a tote with cords, microphones, etc.) in the back, and the light poles tied to the top. The other Land Rover is a pickup with seating for three in the front and there were about twelve of us in the back. We drove through Gushiegu singing songs and rejoicing in the Lord. The sky looked very black in the direction we were traveling. We were about twenty minutes out of Gushiegu when it started to rain, and rain it did! We in the back of the pickup were soaked to the skin by the time we got to Kpakpiba. The people there were so happy it was raining because it hadn’t rained for a long while and their crops were starting to suffer. They said we were the ones who had brought the blessing of rain with us.
We waited until the rain let up and then we started setting up for the service. By the time we were ready to start, it had stopped raining, and most of the village people were there ready to listen. After some singing and testimonies, blind Abdulai preached a very good message. God is really using this brother and it is exciting to see how he has grown over these last few years. He gets around so well, many people can’t even tell that he is blind. He used twenty-nine of the Creation to Christ slides and preached from those. He had chosen the slides, put them in order and preached a message using all of them. It is amazing to me the memory that this brother has. He listens to the Dagbani and English Bible on tape and uses and quotes much scripture while he is preaching.
The people listened well and there was good response afterwards. We don’t usually have an altar call the night of the crusade, but tell them if they are interested in more teaching they should send some representatives to Gushiegu and we would consider starting some weekly teachings. Our trip back to Gushiegu was very peaceful and dry. It fills my heart with joy to hear a church full of Dagombas offer the sacrifice of praise unto God. Even more than this, to see and hear a blind man who knew not God, preach a powerful sermon of salvation makes my heart sing. I wonder how the God of heaven feels about them? Let us continue to stand together for this people group. It will be worth it all when we stand with them around the throne for all eternity.
