Identity in Christ

Yenni, ayi, ata, anasi, anu, ayopo, ayopue, ani, awi, piya-Counting to 10 in Mamprulli

In America, I derived my identity from my work and what others said about me. In Seminary, I was at the top of my class and people looked up to me. Occasionally, individuals would come up to me and ask my opinion about important topics. I received satisfaction and my identity from my work and what others said about me. 

In Africa no-one thinks I am smart. No one stops me on the street and asks my opinion on an important topic. If I am stopped on the street at all it is to ask me for money or to hear me butcher the language. I have gone from being a straight A Masters of Divinity student to having to re-learn how to count to 10. Try being an adult and going up to other adults to show them that you can count to ten; it's pretty humiliating. I don't understand the language and I certainly don't understand the culture and at times I am very discouraged. However, through it all God is teaching me an important lesson. God has moved me to Africa and enrolled me in language class to teach me that my identity is not found in my work or what others say about me but rather my identity is found in Christ. 

I am learning that...

I am accepted...

I am God's child                                                                   John 1:12

I have been bought with a price and belong to God             1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I have direct access to the throne of grace                           Hebrews 4:14-16

I am secure...

God will complete the good work He started in me            Philippians 1:6

I am established, anointed, and sealed by God                    2 Corinthians 1:21-22

I am free from condemnation                                               Romans 8:1-2

I am significant...

I have been chosen by God                                                 Ephesians 1

I am sealed with Christ in Heaven                                     Ephesians 2:6

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me        Philippians 4:13

I may not understand the language or the culture and I may make a zillion mistakes however, when I lay my head on my pillow at night I know that I am accepted, secure, and significant to God. God has moved me to Africa and enrolled me in language class to teach me that my identity is not found in my work or what others say about me but rather my identity is found in Christ.

New Year's Resolution

Pray without ceasing.-1 Thessalonians 5:17

January 1st is quickly approaching and with the coming new year I have been thinking a lot about resolutions. I have been introspective examining my life to see aspects which I need to work on. I thought about making a resolution to lose weight but since I'm in Africa and the weight has been sweating off I figured it was too easy. I thought about making a resolution to survive a year in Africa but once again we aren't going anywhere so it was a moot point. An area of my life which I need to work on is my prayer life. I have adopted the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to be my verse for the year. I am going to attempt to pray without ceasing throughout the year.

I know what you must be thinking, does that mean he is going to spend all year locked in a room praying to God. Well; the answer is NO! That would be insane. When the apostle Paul commands the believers to pray without ceasing I believe he is talking about a lifestyle of prayer. A lifestyle of constantly and consistently coming to the Father in prayer. In other words, spending your day shooting fiery prayer darts up to God. This will look different for everyone but for me it will mean spending everyday, multiple times a day sending short fiery prayer darts up to God. For example; when I meet with the chaplains I will pray for favor in their eyes and a growing relationship. Before studying language I will pray for a tongue to speak and ears to listen. When I'm driving I will pray I pay attention and don't hit any farm animals. Before I eat I will pray dear Lord if I put it down you keep it down. I will pray for patience when dealing with beggars and 20 knocks on our door a day. I will pray for victory over sin. I will pray monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, minutely, every second for God's glory to spread throughout Nalerigu and into the surrounding villages. I will spend my day shooting fiery prayer darts up to God; therefore, by the end of 2013 I will be able to say, "I spent 2013 praying without ceasing."

Will you join me in making 2013 the year we pray without ceasing? 

December Newsletter: 2

A man would like any present except a beating.- African Christmas Proverb

Pictures:

These kids were forced to leave their village and friends when their moms were accused of being witches. A village near Nalerigu has established a refugee camp for them. The children are able to attend school free of charge but their moms must work all day in the fields farming.

Julia playing with kids at the Witches Village.

70 women and children had an opportunity to watch the "Jesus Film", a movie which depicts the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These women have been accused of witchcraft and now live in a refugee camp. If they leave the camp the villagers will beat them. They are the least of these and desperately need the Gospel. Pray for their salvation.

Meet the newest member of our family; Dorito.

Training Dorito to be able to fight off the snakes.

Our training has paid off! She killed her first bug; a praying mantis.

Julia made home-made cinnamon rolls. They were absolutely amazing. If you come to Ghana she will make them for you.

Our 2D Christmas tree.

We went mountain climbing. You are able to see into two different countries on a clear day. We sang the theme song from "The Lion King" as we looked out over the valley.

This is a Bayobob tree. It was so large it took three grown men to wrap their arms all the way around.

We celebrated Julia's 25th birthday. I made her carrot cake from scratch. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

A ZaZoo bird. Yep, we live in the Lion King

Bringing hope and change one biscuit at a time.

Carrying the pews for church.

Preaching on Sunday Morning. I never thought I would encounter women breast feeding and kids going the bathroom on the floor. It was quite an experience. 

Story:
We know that you have probably heard the Christmas song this year about how there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas; well there may not be any snow but people still know it's Christmas and our very excited. Families celebrate Christmas in ways which don't seem foreign. For example; children write letters to Father Christmas telling him about the presents they would love to receive; however, instead of mailing the letters they burn them. Instead of putting up a Christmas tree, children place their shoes at the end of their beds in anticipation of Father Christmas leaving them a present. And yes, they have trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve just like everyone else.

On Christmas day, families exchange gifts of cloth, hand-made toys, and other goodies. Families also make a big Christmas meal consisting of yam, rice, and meat (usually chicken). Families visit families; like in America; however while they are traveling they make extra rice in order to share with friends they meet along the road. And yes, just like in America almost everyone attends church on Christmas; however the church service is a five hour extravaganza and involves a lot of dancing. God is teaching us about the power, mystery and beauty of Christmas and we are excited to be in Africa celebrating our Savior's birth.

Devotional:

The power, mystery and beauty of Christmas

My List

Prayer Requests:

1) Please pray we would be diligent in language study. Pray we would have ears to hear the details of the language, tongues to speak, and discipline/determination to put in the hours necessary to learn Mamprulli.

2) Pray God would open doors for us to find ministries which we could pour into here in Nalerigu. Pray we would find a church which we would be able to serve. Pray we would find where God is already at work and join Him.

3) Pray God would form and deepen relationships with Nationals. We have begun forming relationships with various shop owners, Muslim men, women and children. Pray God would grow these relationships and they would lead to Gospel conversations.

4) Pray for wisdom. We are constantly having to deal with the issue of individuals asking for money. Pray God would grant us wisdom and discernment in learning how to handle money.

5) Pray God would continue to draw Julia and I closer together as a couple. Pray God would continue to mold us and shape us into His image. Pray we would have rapid immediate obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you. We love you. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

The Welch's

The Lord's slave

The Lord's slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach and patient instructing his opponents with gentleness perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the truth.-2 Timothy 2:24-25

On Monday afternoons you will find me on the side of the road sharing tea, swapping stories and eating with a group of Muslim men. We discuss a variety of different subjects but the conversation always returns to Jesus. Muslims are fascinated with Jesus. Muslim men love to quarrel with me about theology and the claims of Christ. They want to argue about the sin nature of Adam being passed to humanity, they argue about Jesus being God's son, whether or not it was Jesus who died on the cross and if Jesus prophesied the coming of Mohammed. 

Usually I'm drawn into their arguments and begin to quarrel with them; however, God has begun to teach me the truth of 2 Timothy 2:24-25. God is teaching me that the Lord's slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach and patient instructing his opponents with gentleness perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the truth. My opponents may enjoy arguments and quarrels but I shouldn't be drawn into them. Instead I should respond to the verbal attacks of my opponents with gentleness and quiet instruction. I must pray that God will use my teaching to convict my opponents so that they accept the truth repent and are freed from the control of the devil. I must not argue or quarrel with these men but instead teach with gentleness and truth. Trusting that only the truth will make them free.

My list

A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.-Proverbs 16:9    

Hello, my name is T and I am a planner. I love lists. I love the feeling of satisfaction which comes over me when I have the privilege of crossing a task off my list. Sometimes I add minor tasks to my list in order to cross them off and feel a since of accomplishment. I love lists and accomplishing tasks, however, God is beginning to teach me the truth of Proverb 16:9. On more than one occasion I have planned a list of tasks which I wanted to accomplish for the day and by the end of the day I had accomplished maybe one task on the list.

            

One example of this phenomenon is in regards to our residents permit. We have had our residents permit at the top of our to-do list for a week. I thought this would be a one day job but it has become a bigger ordeal. On Monday, of this week Julia and I canceled our language class as well as language practice in order to drive into town and apply for our permit. An individual in Accra was going to fax us our paperwork in order to apply, unfortunately, on Monday morning the individual did not fax us the paperwork, therefore, we were unable to drive into town. I wasted an entire morning waiting by the fax machine for documents, only to find out that the individual had decided not to go into work on Monday morning. On Tuesday, we decided to try again we once again canceled our language class as well as language practice in order to drive into town; this time with the papers. We drove 2.5 hours into town and when we arrived at the government office at 10:00 am, the man who stamps our passports wasn’t in the office. We waited for an hour until he showed up, he took one look at our paperwork and said he couldn’t do it and told us to mail it to Accra. We hung our heads, walked out of the office and drove home, another day wasted!

            

I am slowly learning to hold my to-do list with an open hand. It is easy to get bent out of shape and frustrated when I am unable to accomplish anything on my list. God has been teaching me that I may not accomplish what I want to accomplish but I will ALWAYS accomplish what He wants. I am concerned with accomplishing tasks, while God is concerned with molding and shaping me into His image and He often molds and shapes me by interrupting my lists. God is teaching me patience, perseverance, and persistence through this residence permit; these are traits which I would not learn in-less I was placed into situations which require patience, perseverance, and persistence.  Our working and God’s goes hand-n-hand. We plan our day and attempt to accomplish our tasks but we must always remember that beneath our working is God’s working and He has supreme authority to interrupt our lives and change our lists. Whenever God interrupts our lists we must remember a man’s heart plans his ways, but the LORD determines his steps.

December Newsletter

This is Africa.-Missionary Motto

Pictures:

Sign on the front of our house welcoming us home.

Front of our house.

Our backyard. $100 if you can spot a snake.

Our living room.

Our kitchen.

Our gas powered stove. We have to light a match every time we use it. I didn't even know they made stoves like this.

Our first Thanksgiving in Africa!

The group of volunteer/career missionaries who celebrated thanksgiving with us.

This is called the Escarpment from the top you are able to see for miles. Julia was hiking to the top with friends when they encountered a forest fire, they had to turn around.

The Mamprulli are 60% Muslim. We hear the call to prayer multiple times throughout the day.

One of the many monkeys in Nalerigu.

We don't have a lot of exotic animals, but we do have monkeys.

Prayer time outside of the hospital.

The hospital.

The road to our house.

The house where our night guard stays. He patrols our house at night to keep us safe. His name is Adam and he only speaks Mamprulli; pray we would be able to learn his language in order to share the Gospel with him.

Story:

Julia and I are slowly beginning to adapt to life in Ghana. We have un-packed all of our bags and our beginning to clear away all of the dust, spiders, lizards and other small creatures from our house. Thank you for your prayers.

The learning curve is steep! We are learning how to drive dodging animals , children, and motorcycles. Yes, we use our horn a lot! We are learning how to operate in a culture which is people oriented rather than time oriented and any meeting which is called will last at least five hours.

A saying which is popular among missionaries in Africa is T.I.A. which means This Is Africa. This saying is used whenever something happens which is different from American culture. For example, this week we had a painter come to our house to paint our kitchen. He said he was going to arrive at 9:00 am but instead came at 7:00 am; T.I.A. When he arrived he did not bring any paint with him; T.I.A. He made me drive him to the store to buy paint; T.I.A. The store wanted to charge me a $100 US dollars for a can of paint; T.I.A. When we finally negotiated the price down to a reasonable amount, bought the paint, and drove home the painter decided to disappear for an hour; T.I.A. At lunch he told me he had no money for lunch and asked to borrow some; T.I.A. Finally, the paint job in our kitchen looks like something I could have done; T.I.A.

At times Julia and I feel like we are in over our heads but through it all God is continuing to show Himself powerful. Besides what did we expect; this is Africa!

Devotion:

Who was Lottie Moon?

Prayer Requests:

1) Julia and I are having trouble sleeping at night. Between the bats, heat and other animal noises we are having trouble sleeping. Please pray that we would begin sleeping through the night. 

2) We have completed one week of Mamprulli language lessons. Pray God would give us ears to hear and tongues to speak Mamprulli.

 3) Saturday, December 8th is Julia’s birthday. Please pray for our hearts as we will be separated from friends and family during this time.  

4)We have numerous opportunities to share the Gospel. We are showing the Jesus film in villages, Julia has begun volunteering at an orphanage in town and I will begin meeting with a group of Muslim men for tea. Please pray that we would be bold in proclaiming the Gospel. Pray that God would open hearts to believe in Him.

November Newsletter

Dear Lord, if I put it down, you keep it down.- Missionary Prayer

Pictures:

Where we had our training  in Burkina Faso.

Where T slept in Burkina Faso. We had two twin beds because we were staying at a Catholic Guest House.

Waiting for our ride to come pick us up to take us to Nalerigu, Ghana.

Our first view of Nalerigu.

We went on a hike. (Yes, T feels like Indiana Jones when he wears his hat).

We had the privledge to meet the King of the Mamprussi people. FYI: The people believe he turns into a lion every night from 12:00-1:00 and walks around the village.

The Kings Palace

The King gave us a ram and yams for our lunch. Whenever you eat you have to check to make sure you don't have fur on your piece of meat.

Turkey Dinner anyone?

An African Air Conditioning Unit

Our first African meal during our home stay. It was as bad as it looks.

I taught the kids how to do push ups.

The house where we stayed for our home stay.

Two of the kids we lived with.

We went for a hike.

African source of entertainment.

Our home stay.

The roach infested bathroom.

Ever wonder what happens to your TOMS when they are sent overseas? They're sold in the market.

On a hike one day and we picked up tour guides.

Deliberating about which direction to go.

The kids took us to a river to see African Crocodiles. 

We let them go first so they could fight the snakes. They said they had seen a cobra  the day before and had killed it.

The crocodiles were chomping according to the kids.

Story:

Julia and I survived four days and three nights living with an African family. During our home stay we encountered a roach infested bathroom, sleeping arrangements in which the room was 97 degrees at night and had rats crawling above our heads, crazy-weird foods, lots of down-time sitting and not understanding a single thing which was said; however, in the midst of all the difficult times we grew closer together as a couple and were refined by God. During our home stay God taught us that He cares about us. He doesn't just care about the big things but also the little things. God provided a breeze during the hot times of the day, He allowed the electricity to go out whenever the food was too much and we could just pretend to be eating. He gave us the courage to use the bathroom while surrounded by roaches and lizards. He encouraged us as we worshiped with African brothers and sisters. God is good! During our home stay Julia and I would sing “Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true, with thanksgiving we’ll be a living, sanctuary for you.” God is refining and molding us into His image. He has brought us all the way to Africa in order to teach us to rely on Him for everything. God is good!

Prayer Requests:

1) Julia and I will be driving from Burkina Faso to Nalerigu on Saturday. Pray I am able to navigate border crossings and African roads. We are excited to arrive in Nalerigu because we will finally be able to move into our house!  Please pray for us as we unpack and settle in. 

2) Pray we will begin to establish a daily routine between language learning, ministry, and family time. Ask God to grant us wisdom in learning how to juggle our new responsibilities. 

3) Thanksgiving will be our first holiday in Ghana as well as Julia’s birthday on December 8th. Pray for our hearts as we will be separated from friends and family during this time.  

4) On Monday, I will be traveling to a Pastor’s conference. Pray I would encourage, equip, and empower the Pastors. Pray for Julia as she will be home alone unpacking and decorating.

 5) We start language learning in December. Pray for humility and perseverance as we learn the language.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We love you.

Serving Him,

The Welchs