We took the green pickup to the village of Nyankpala today. This meant not having air conditioning for the trip; a hot, dry, dusty trip. The village is located east of Yendi near the larger village of Zabzugu. Before we left the compound Timothy informed me there was to be a naming ceremony for a female baby after services. Kandie grabbed some baby clothes and supplies for a gift.
It took 75 minutes of riding rough dirt roads to get to the location. There was enough time before services for us to inspect their new mud ball church building. (The earlier plan was the Church wanted to purchase an already established building in the village. The money was given to them to purchase the building; the savings of this purchase was great. The problem that arose was when the organization couldn’t produce the papers to prove they could sell the property. Due to this problem the church decided to use the money to proceed with a new building after the chief gave the church a plot of land. ) We were happy to see the walls up and the lumber for the roof on site. The brothers said they have the roofing sheets and nails purchased as well. We gave them a little more money to finish the wood needed for the rafter braces.
Before services started Kandie made sure everyone had a mask on and it was properly fitted. I took time to explain how the covid-19 is spread and that it is present in our area even if they hear stories to the contrary. We also presented the congregation with gifts of a metal communion tray, pad & pen, antiseptic (for hand washing station) Konkomba Bible, and knit hats for the children.
I was so glad we were located under some trees for services; it was cooler. Elijah, one of the church leaders, asked me to preach about faith so I used John 20:26-29 as my base. This is John’s account of the Apostle Thomas meeting Christ the first time after the resurrection. I imagined this is where the term “Doubting Thomas “originates from.
After services we held a short naming ceremony for the parents of the little girl. The parents gave us the privilege of giving the Christian name to the baby. We gave her the name of “Priscilla” from Acts 18:2.
We were then invited to Elijah’s house where we were given a nice meal of rice with spiced oil. It was very good! After eating we proceeded to loading the pickup with yams seeds that Timothy had purchased from Elijah. Yams don’t like sunlight so several boys were sent down the road with us as we were leaving to cut some branches to cover the yam seeds. When that was finished Kandie gave each boy some money which made them very happy.
It took us more time to get back to Timothy’s house due to the heavier load we were hauling. The heat was exhausting. Timothy’s kids as well as some neighbor children helped us unload the truck fairly quick. I forgot to mention the congregation also gave us some yams. We shared some of them with Timothy before we left.
That wraps it up for today. We hope you have had a good Lord’s Day. May God bless!
In His service,
Stephen and Kandie Taylor
