NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

During the announcement time of one of our Sunday worship services, Pastor Derick announced an opportunity that had come for a dedicated young person to undergo a three years course at the Believers Bible School at Kwabenya in Accra. For some strange reason, some of the youth began to stir at me.  To my surprise, Pastor Derick mentioned my name as the candidate approved by the church board to attend the pastoral course. I was indeed filled with excitement and I turned to look at my mum and there she was smiling with gratitude to the church board. I was to attend the School as a full-time student on the campus. My transportation and feeding allowances would be catered for by the church. 

Eventually, the time came to leave for the Bible School to pursue my pastoral course. Before I reported for school, I had to severe my relationship with Doreen because I felt she was going to be a disruption in my studies. I visited her at her hostel some few weeks after I was given the scholarship to go study at the Bible school. I told her I had both good and bad news for her and she insisted on hearing the good one first. I told her I was going to Bible school to study and become a pastor. She was extremely excited and joyfully said  

“Brother Sam we need to throw a party!”

I then went on to explain to her that I needed full concentration to go through the course therefore it will be prudent to break up with her. Her mood changed suddenly and she could not hold back her tears. She became speechless for about five minutes. I continued to assure her that if it is God’s will that I will marry her then it shall surely come to pass. This news really came as a blow to Doreen; it was the last thing she expected from me. We embraced each other for the last time and I left. Truth to be told, I did not feel distressed about the way she felt perhaps because of the progress I have made. All that mattered was I am going to be a pastor sooner or later. 

 As a matter of fact, I performed well during the course and constantly topped the class during the first year. After the first year of studies, we were sent on practical attachment as student pastors to remote areas during vacation time to experience rural ministry. My first student-pastoral attachment was at Beposo in the Western Region. I was to study under Pastor Awotwe who was the head pastor of The Redeemer’s End-Time Church. I presented a copy of the attachment letter to Pastor Derick and he was pleased and encouraged me to take the challenge. 

 I arrived with so much enthusiasm and expectations but received a shocking welcome at the sight of the manse which was built with mud. Although the manse was a mud house, Pastor Awotwe and the family were very content and hospitable. He told me the entire church heard of my arrival and were glad. It appeared where I would be lodging is a guest house built near the chapel to host visitors like me. It was also a mud house roofed with iron sheets and had a ceiling made of bamboo sticks. The most awful experience of all was that there was no electricity in the village. In a state of annoyance, I began to ask why I was posted to this hopeless village.   

My first night was horrible, after supper I fell asleep out of fatigue. I woke up in the middle of the night to the croaking sound of frogs. I turned to check my phone if I could chat with some friends I realised that I was out of network coverage area with one bar of battery power indicator left on my phone. I tried forcing myself to sleep but to no avail. One could not step out because it was all dark even at 5:00 a.m in the morning. When it was 6:00 a.m, I heard the sound of sweeping outside, I stepped out and it was the dutiful woman assigned to serve me. It occurred to me that I was in an Akan speaking area and precisely Fante was predominantly spoken. We exchanged greetings and she asked me if I was ready to take my bath which I responded in the affirmative. Within a couple of minutes, she got the water ready for my bath. I first wanted to visit the toilet before taking my bath so I politely ask her to show me the toilet. I could not believe what I was about to sit on. It was an old wooden box placed on a dugout hole. I was wondering whether to sit or squat on the wooden box. The place was disgusting. 

“Am I going to endure this for three months?! I sorrowfully asked myself” 

I managed to get through with that and went to the bathhouse which was just adjacent the toilet. I was taller than the bathhouse and to avoid being seen bathing I decided to reduce my height by bending low and taking my bath. My knees were weary out of the uncomfortable posture I had adapted. I had to repetitively fetch water from the bucket and pour it over me. I really missed my shower.  I got to the room and wore my shirt and trousers crumpled since there was no electric power to iron. My breakfast was rice water and bread, at this point I shook my head and knew I had to switch my mind to endurance mood.  

Pastor Awotwi’s means of transport was a motorbike; he came to check on me and made me aware that custom demands that he takes me to greet the chief and elders of the village since I will be ministering in their village. We went together to meet them and they made me feel at home, they had already started calling me “Osofokakraba” “junior pastor”. On Sunday I had an opportunity to greet the entire congregation. The Redeemer’s End-Time Church was relatively a small rural church full of energetic people. Most of them were either semi-literate or illiterates. Pastor Awotwe was the most educated amongst them since he held a diploma in Theology. My busy days according to the schedule given me were Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I was to lead worship on some of the days and to preach or teach on other days. My coming was a great relief to Pastor Awotwe. On Tuesdays I sat in the church board meetings to observe their deliberations. Usually, I take a stroll around the village to observe the way of life of the village folks.   

After one month, I was steadily getting used to the Beposo way of life and village setting. I was able to get my phone charged in the Assemblyman’s house since he is the only one who had a generator in the village. To get somewhat a good network reception, one has to climb to the apex of the highest point of the village which could take you 35 minutes to climb and about 20 minutes to descend. I called Pastor Derick and my family once a week to let them know how things were going. I receive great encouragement from them which kept me hopeful.