Recap:
I went outside at 8:00am for our morning guitar lesson, and one of the Boys showed up that I didn’t expect to see. He had come by before school to show me something. You may remember me blogging about the orphan boy that had some serious clothing needs. He came by the house on the way to school to show me what he had purchased with the money we (me and those that supported me) had given him. He was so excited to show me that he was able to find quality material for him to have some pants made out of. He didn’t purchase as much as he could have because he wanted to be gracious with the gift and not use it it. He tried to give me change. I sent him back to the marked to buy more underwear and undershirts (which he really needed). I wish I could have teleported all of you here to see the huge smile on his face as he thanked me over and over. #priceless
We went on to have our morning guitar session with Frank, Simone, and Jonas. They retain information so well. It amazes me. Today I taught them how to restring their guitar and stretch the strings out properly before retuning it.
Lunch was great. Melissa (JJ’s wife) does such a great job here. I take all the food and fast food options that I have for granted. She has to plan meals years ahead of time and has to make nearly everything from scratch. I’m very impressed with her… especially since she is pregnant with their first child. I’m pushing for them to name him or her Bryan or Briana. :)
Our evening session was a blast. It is filled with the guys from the morning session as well as all the younger guys who are in school in the mornings. So our evening guitar class attendance has been around 7 or 8 guys each night. After teaching them some new chords and then teaching them how to restring their guitars, we had a worship time together. It was great. I’ve never sang songs before with people singing in 2 other languages (french and ewe…which is a local language). After singing about 4 songs, we stopped and just talked about some of the things God’s done for us that we were thankful for. So many of the guys talked about their previous state and what God has brought us out of. They thank God for where they are. Keep in mind, some of these guys are orphans who don’t have very much to their name. We have this bond though… wether you think you have a lot, or nothing at all… wether you are in the richest or poorest town in the world, we all have the same need… Jesus. If Jesus isn’t enough, nothing is!
After our time of community worship, most of the guys left. One of my students stayed behind to speak with JJ. He has some extremely rough circumstances in his life. I’ll try to tell you his story as briefly as I can.
He was born into a family of voodoo practitioners, and would at some point be handed the torch (so to speak) to lead the family in this Satanic field. He had a great love of money, to the point where he decided to meet with another Voodoo practitioner that specialized in finances. (Sidenote: different witchdoctors specialize in different things and different powers with different demons) So, he met with this witchdoctor in a cemetery one night and told him that he wanted money. When asked how much he wanted, the most he could dream up was our equivalent of $4,000. #perspective The Witchdoctor told him that he would have the money if he would bring him a liter of human blood. At that point, he wanted out and the witchdoctor told him it’s too late and he had already entered a contract. My student at that point went running from the cemetery and feared for his life. Shortly after this, his child went to something called courtyard kids here (this is a ministry to the children of the village). He came to know Christ through this ministry and turned his back on all that he knew. When this happens, he is cut off from his families will and they will not help him. The other night, they approached him again and asked him to reconsider. Not only did he reject the offer, but he told them the truth… that they were living in darkness and were on their way to Hell unless they entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They threatened him with his life. At the same time, his daughter has malaria, and his business is doing so poorly that he is not able to feed his family. He is waking up in the middle of the night from the nightmares of his family killing him. JJ sent him off with some rice and bananas to try to help with his family’s physical need. Please pray the peace and protection of God over him and his family. Satan is powerful… God is more powerful!
