As we live in a country with a different culture, language, and customs, misunderstandings are inevitable. Some of our more recent misunderstandings concerning the language are laughable. I recently resumed taking Twi lessons—my first attempt at Twi lessons had not been very effective. However, Abbie and I were introduced to a new resource for learning Twi, so we decided to start again with this new approach, and it has been helpful.
Sometimes these lessons help clear up misunderstandings. Abbie had been using a phrase to tell people, “I don’t understand.” Abbie discovered through her lessons that all this time she was actually telling people, “I don’t live”!
Since starting these lessons, I’ve been braver about using Twi because I understand and communicate better than before. However, my vocabulary is still extremely limited, so sometimes my thoughts come out embarrassingly twisted. For example, one day I was being very absentminded. I went out to buy fruit from a stand near the church. First, I started to walk away with the fruit without paying the lady. After I paid her, I started to walk away without getting my change! She had to call me back. I laughed and said in Twi, “My head is at home.” I intended for her to understand that my mind was elsewhere, and I used the first Twi words that came to mind. I found out in my next lesson that “My head is at home” is actually a figure of speech meaning, “I am wise”! I forgot the money twice and then told the lady I was wise! I can just imagine her laughing later at the white man!
These kinds of miscommunications are acceptable. However, miscommunicating the Gospel is not. Please pray for Abbie and me as we work to learn Twi. We want to be able to give the Gospel to anybody at anytime. We want to be able to communicate with the people in our church on a more meaningful level.
Fruit to Your Account
Sometimes all that is needed to make a difference is for one more person to try one more time. Jeff Amoah is the teenage brother of one of our church members. My soul-winning partner wanted to go check on this church member. Jeff answered the door and then went to get his brother. I asked my partner if anyone had invited Jeff to church before. He answered, “You can ask, but he won’t come. He never does.” I asked if anyone had ever witnessed to Jeff. My partner didn’t know. I witnessed to Jeff that week, but he didn’t quite understand that good works cannot save us. The following week, however, he understood and got saved. He came to church the next day. Jeff continued to come to church and completed our visitors’ follow-up program in July. What is so exciting is that Jeff started bringing his friends. The picture below is of a day when Jeff came to me with a big smile and said, “Bro. Micah, I have brought these today!” The tall girl on the right got saved, baptized, and finished our follow–up program for September.
Yours for souls,
Micah Christiansen