Taxis in Ghana often have slogans or Bible verses in their rear windows. I was intrigued by this one I saw on my evening walk. The driver was cleaning his taxi, so I stopped to talk to him. When asked why he put “shame” in his rear window, he said that a client stole something valuable out of his taxi. “The shame is for that person”, he said. I guess so. Here is a little selection of what I have seen in the rear windows of taxis.
Month: June 2012
On the bus
Traveling by bus in Ghana can be an enlightening experience. One trip Ed took on the bus, someone stood up and prayed for safety in travel just before departure. Very refreshing! A newly-arrived British colleague decided to take a bus from Elmina to Accra along the coast. She was quite surprised when someone stood up and prayed for God’s protection over the ride to Accra. When the bus pulled into the station in Accra, she was very pleased and equally surprised that someone stood up and thanked the Lord for a safe journey. People are quite used to that kind of worship in Ghana. Just last week, one of our guesthouse guests was telling of her bus ride up country where, during the length of the trip, two different people stood up and gave passionate sermons. But even more amazing is that the last one took an offering! I was wondering about the stewardship of that offering, but apparently it’s not a problem.
The religious freedom we have here in Ghana is amazing. I can even get lost in worship in a store in town with the awesome worship songs played over the sound system in many stores. I’ve even seen employees freely worshiping. They are singing happily, themselves sort of glowing with a joy and peace. It is truly refreshing.
The Cute and the Informative
I’ll start with the cute. NewsOK, a Oklahoma on-line news site, has a great article entitled Who Wrote the Bible. It’s not what you might think. Instead of a dry theological treatise, the author gets the answer from children from ages 8 to 10. Smart kids. You’ll enjoy it.
Also in the fun and informative category is Wycliffe’s new website – Road to Transformation. It opens with a nice infographic and you can stay there or dig into more details. Believe me, the process is exactly like we do it.
Introductions
Ghana in Africa
I have been told that a study conducted in the United States found that one of the most frequent reasons given for not attending church is the fear of being asked to stand and be recognized.
If you come to Ghana and go to church, you might be asked to stand. What’s more, you might even be invited to go to the front and say something.
That’s what happened at a church I attended in Tamale. Along with other visitors, I went to the front, faced the congregation, where I was invited to explain who I was and why I was in their town.
Unity Presbyterian Church, Tamale
Mortifying? Well, a bit uncomfortable. The others introducing themselves were Ghanaian. They seemed to welcome the opportunity. The congregation looked interested in their stories and the greetings they brought from churches in other parts of Ghana. I was seeing the “church” as a nation-wide, even international, community of believers.
If that study were done here, it might show that people prefer to visit a church where they will be asked to stand and say something.
Heart Language 