PO Box KS 13469, Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa Email:
Sarah Nyame (above 70 years – Priscilla’s mom) Aug 3rd, 2016
“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient..” 1Cor 6:12aA Christian is governed by a different moral directive then what is merely accepted and lawful. The Christian is directed by the Holy Spirit, and is always testing whether something is helpful, beneficial, or for God’s glory. Many things might be okay in themselves, and no one would necessarily judge it as wrong, but the question the Christian should always be asking him or herself is, “is it right”? If we put each of our days activities to this test, how much would we have to change?
Dear friends in Christ: Greetings to you once again from Ghana!
Funeral:
As we said goodbye to my wife’s father this past month, we were tied up with funeral arrangements for several days of the month. Funerals in Ghana are very large and elaborate affairs in comparison to what we have in North America. There are different garments to be prepared for the various parts of the two day event. On Saturday some of the close family will gather early to see the body, grieve, and to prepare it for the public viewing later in the morning. People begin arriving in the morning, and continue to come and go throughout the day. Family are generally there for the entire day, from morning till evening. On the Saturday morning I was invited to give a short message to the crowd that had gathered, and I was happy to preach a simple gospel message from Psalm 90, using one of the brothers to interpret my words into the Twi language. Later at the burial I also provided some words of comfort to the family from God’s word.
The funeral is accompanied by food preparation for 100’s of visitors. My wife and her sisters took on this responsibility, and they had several helpers who moved into our home from Friday through to Monday to help with all the cooking. This in itself as an enormous undertaking, as well as expense for the family. In Ghana it is expected that the family will provide food for the guests who arrive at the funeral to sympathize. Since funerals often attract 100’s of people, you can only imagine the food that must be prepared. Three meals on Saturday and at least one on Sunday, and not simple meals to prepare. I watched in wonder at all this activity, trying to do my part, and support the whole process. I wore black clothes for the Saturday morning event, to match all the other attendees. Later in the afternoon we changed into a different set of clothes, which involves a combination of reds and blacks. Immediate family wear the most red, so as an in-law, I wore a red robe. This certainly attracted much attention, for it is not normal to see a white man at funerals, or especially to see a white man in the traditional Ghanaian wrap-around cloth that the older men wear. Sunday we all wore special matching white and black clothes, that were custom made for the occasion. We were thankful for the kind support of many of the church members who came to share their sympathies at the funeral also. Young Emma helped me to pass out gospel tracts on Saturday to all those in attendance. So we are glad that we were able to also spread the gospel message.
Sunday message:
During the funeral weekend, I was so overcome by the cultural complexities involved with funerals, that I felt compelled to preach on the subject of Jesus and funerals to the church on Sunday morning. Brother Ofori, who was scheduled to preach gave me way to take over and share my message. I taught that Jesus’ involvement in funerals was much different then our own. He interrupted funerals, came uninvited, rebuked mourners, delayed coming even when it was a close friend that had died. He came to comfort, and to share the grief; but in every case He came to confront death and overcome it. He is the greatest guest at any funeral!
Emmaus Course Ministry:
Recently we signed up a number of students from a Pentecost church, and they are all keen students and doing well. We were pleased that the elder, who organized them for the Emmaus studies, was also at the funeral to sympathize and help where he could. A couple of teen girls also recently started working on Emmaus courses. There always seems to be some interested in starting on the courses, but many do not follow through and complete all. I often find myself challenging some, at least those in the church, to complete all their courses. I have been also teaching through the course, “What the bible Teaches” on Sunday evenings for those boys and girls who come out for our Sunday evening program.
Friday Gospel Hour:
The children always come on Friday evenings to the house for our gospel hour. They enjoy the sword drills, games and movies. We always try to add a short gospel message to encourage them to trust in Jesus as their personal savior. The numbers are down a bit for the summer months, but we suspect the numbers will increase in September when school is in full swing, and children return from family vacation visits.
In Christ,
Daniel & Priscilla Webster
“…all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 1Cor 6:12b
you can find this report (and others) by visiting: www.bibleassemblychurch.com