Day Two- Worshipping God!

Day Two – 2010

The day started with a hard rain shower – then it became partly cloudy to mostly sunny and warm – humidity was high. We had our “wonderful breakfast” here at the restaurant. Only two days of the breakfast and my memory is full of my long missed Cini-minis at my local Burger King back home. We were told to be ready at 7:30 A.M. and we were. However one of our vehicles broke down and it was 9:00 A.M. before they came and picked us up in ONE vehicle. John Kabul had to sit in the luggage area of an old SUV that could barely make it up the incline just outside of the compound here at the Lighthouse.

Dan Barker and I were let out at Wellington where John Kabul preaches. Jimmy and Dan Barker went on to Calaba Town. Here is Jimmy’s report on the services at Calaba Town:

It was a glad day this morning at Calaba Town church of Christ. It has been almost a year since I was last here and my heart was made to rejoice to renew old acquaintances and to meet some new ones. Augustine led the bible class and did a fine job. I was given the opportunity by the local evangelist, brother Joseph Bangura to address the congregation this morning. The topic was “How to become a New Testament Christian”. Our text was from Acts 2. The audience was very focused on every word. An interpreter was needed and this brother did an excellent job. ( I enjoyed his delivery more than my own.) The Calaba Town church is on its way in spiritual growth. Last year the congregation would clap their hands during the song service, the women were vocal. This year there was no clapping as they were singing from song books from the states. The women were silent during the service. Please keep this young church in your prayers as it continues to develop in spiritual growth.

At Wellington Dan Barker and I were able to listen during the Bible Study period to a man with the last name of Congley teach about evangelism and the evangelist. He did a good job of speaking and used most of the scriptures he chose correctly. There were a couple that he took out of context and of course that is something that we know happens – they are but babes in Christ. I then spoke on the topic of “Perverting the Gospel” and used examples of conversion to state what a New Testament Christian looked like spiritually. I compared that to what the world states that a Christian looks like today. I mentioned several denominations by name and there was a man of the Pentecostal church in the audience as a visitor and he made an objection to my statement that the worship, teaching, work, organization, name, etc. of each local congregation is to mirror the example of what we find in the congregations in the New Testament. I used the names of T D Jakes and Benny Hinn as ones who were teaching a doctrine unlike Jesus taught. We discussed this for a moment or two and then he brought up he would come to the studies on Monday so we could talk further. It was very pleasing to see them partaking of the Lord’s Supper – it is very difficult for them to do so because of the cost of the bread and fruit of the vine. We found some grape juice on Saturday and John Kabul was so excited that we were able to find some. The reception was great and the work is growing in Wellington – we will be back there in the evenings some to teach more just as we will be a Calaba Town.

We were pleased to have our evening conclude by worshipping with the church at Garrison Street. This was to be a 4:00 P.M. service. Unfortunately several of the members had to miss because it was their scheduled time to have their inoculations from the government. We had an assigned subject for each one of us with Dan Barker starting on the subject of “What is a New Testament Christian?” Then Dan Byers continued to flow with “Being in the Family of God”. Jimmy Lee then picked up with “The New Testament Church” and what it is and how that lively stones make up the church. I then followed with “Apostasy – What Does it Look Like? The four of us were to speak for about 8 to 10 minutes, but we all exceeded that. The church here was very appreciative of our efforts. They have a long way in their spiritual growth to go, so please pray for them also.

We have found that those that have obeyed the gospel are growing slowly but steadily. There is still much to work on such as everyman now wanting to be an elder - some (few compared to what we found last year) want to be known as Pastor. We will be addressing this all this week in our teaching.

Jimmy Lee has picked up right where he left off last year – full of energy and eager to teach. His choice of clothing is suspect – he wore a bright orange shirt today with a multicolored tie. He is truly African as they call him over here. Choosing Dan Byers and Dan Barker to be a part of this trip was the right call. They have both adjusted well – observed well – and this evening taught their first lessons well. We are really looking forward to their lessons for the next two weeks. Here are some observations from them on the first two days of being in Sierra Leone.

Dan Barker writes – “My first impression of Sierra Leone is that it is a beautiful country located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa. Although it is beautiful the abject poverty hits you right away. The roads are terrible and people are everywhere! Walking in the streets – working trying to sell anything they might have so they can just eat! The young to the old are on the streets, many are homeless. One brother stated that the people of Sierra Leone never sleep; they are always in the streets! My first impression of the saints here is overwhelming. They are a beautiful people with a desire to know more about our Lord. They are so glad and thankful that we have come to help them learn more about God’s word. They are full of desire to know more about Jesus and equally desirous to know how to teach others. They have a deep love of God and a deep love of their country. The opportunities here are unbelievable and we are so thankful to be a part of this trip.”

Dan Byers writes – “My first impressions of Freetown, Sierra Leone. The last leg of our flight was along the west coast of Africa from Dakar to Freetown. As we approached Freetown and descended below the clouds you could see a beautiful green forested land that was relatively flat with numerous streams flowing into the ocean. On arrival at the airport it became apparent that the infrastructure is almost nonexistent. The road from the airport to the ferry is in a worse state of repair than any construction or mining road that I have ever been on. The water taxi was minimal with the crossing being better at night so we could not see the waves. The many streets in Freetown are in a similar state of repair, in many places and the speed limit is determined by how fast you can drive without busting a tire. Many people do not have cars so there are lines of people walking along each side of the road. Housing for many of the people is minimal shelter. Much of this is the result of the long civil war and oppression from the past. All this said there are signs of improvements in housing and roads starting to be visible in the city.

In contrast to the streets and houses the people we have met are as nice as any people that I have ever met. Our escorts and our drivers’ treat us like we are special and are real servants wanting our stay to be good. Sometimes they hover over us like “mother hens”. The Christians we have met today at the three congregations we were able to visit are truly interested in the Lord, Their favorite phrase is “God is good, all the time”. I wish that I could transport each of you past all the bad roads to sit in a congregation of people who are learning of the Lord and seeing hope in their lives as Christians. I am grateful to each of you who has contributed to this trip to make it possible for me to be a small part of something good. “God is Good, all the time.”

Tomorrow (Monday) we have a live interview with the national television station at 7:45 A.M. Our DVD’s have been broadcast several times in the last two days. Then on to Ebeneezer Hall to start the classes – we were told that the hall will be full of military chaplains – many denominational “leaders”, common people just interested in the teaching of the Bible and members of the Lord’s church. It should prove to be a very interesting audience.

We pray all is well on the home front.