Mommie playfully grabbed a chunk of my hair, twisting and turning it in her hands, meticulously webbing a pattern around my face.
(to me) “It brightens your face; you look so much younger.” (to her friend) “Queeta, get me some rubber bands; I want to plat all of Ruth’s hair.”
The rubber bands never came, so Mommie vowed to create her entire work of art on me another time! I was relieved, as my head was sore from all the pulling and tugging. Besides that, I had been in the middle of sharing with both Queeta and Mommie God’s wonderful gift of forgiveness when Mommie had abruptly changed the subject to my hair. I knew the Holy Spirit was convicting her, for I had seen tears sliding to the corners of her eyes.
At first, when she started her rampage on my hair, I became very defensive, protesting that my hair was not as strong as hers and would break easily when platted. But when she insisted that would not happen, I gave the matter to God.
“OK Jesus, I give you my hair. What is my hair worth anyway in comparison to a soul for whom You died and resurrected? I will let her do anything to my hair if that will bring her to You, Jesus!”
Praise God, after the short interlude of ‘hair harmony’, we were able to get back to ‘God business’. Both Mommie and Queeta received God’s gift of salvation! That day all three of us became united as sisters in Jesus. We pledged our devotion to each other; we celebrated with hugs; and I was crowned with the new name ‘Gameh’, a name taken from their own tribal language!
October 29th, 2008
Shepherd’s Staff and Church Dynamics International in Partnership with the Great Commission Movement of Liberia PRESENTS “Disciple Making Seminar”
Jomah is a big man, Moslem background; he was the first in his family to become a Christian. Then he was pushed out of his own family to fend for himself in the world. Now luck would have it that the Liberian war hit hard in the North where he was from. He got trapped in a battle; his friends were killed and he was wounded badly.
When I met Jomah at the training center in Oldest Congo Town, I could tell that life had been hard on him, but you would never know it by his warm smile or hardy hand shake. By this time, all of his family were Christians except for one brother. Now I was beginning to wonder who was going to be training who!
When we came to the “forgiveness testimonies” in Lesson Two, Jomah shared with me the war story of how he lost his left arm, and that now he knew that person who had done this torment to him and to the families of his fallen friends. He went on by telling me how he had approached the man who had wronged him and had forgiven him for these crimes. Jomah was a living example of Ephesians 5:31-32 “Get rid of ALL bitterness, rage and anger….be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you!”
Not only did Jomah forgive this man, but he witnessed to him about the love of God week after week, until one day this man received Christ into his life. Now this man is a part of Jomah’s ministry: Jomah pastors 2 churches and shows the Jesus Film twice a week in the bush country of Liberia. Together they are ministering in the Kingdom of God!
Dear Friends, pray for Pastor Jomah, and for Ruth and me also, as the “field is ripe unto harvest but the laborers are few”.
“Love each other deeply” as we do you. Gary and Ruth Luukkonen
October 23rd, 2008