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Monday, March 9, 2015
Boko Haram, Fulani, Terror, Ghana Ministry
Our ministry with William Agbeti in Ghana, West Africa began in 1992, some 23 years ago. At that time, I was amazed at how little people had, but also how they gave God the glory for their lives. Businesses, hotels, restaurants, even trucks and taxis carried references to Jesus. In His Name Beauty Salon, Jesus Saves Trucking, He Is Worthy General Goods. The names of God and Jesus were everywhere to be found. It was a predominantly Christian nation and Muslims were rather quiet and orderly. Over that 20-plus years, the Islamic influence has anchored in with mosques blaring their music and calls to prayer, seemingly at every corner. But worse yet, they bring death to the rural areas.
In recent years, our ministry has been devoted to raising up pastors in the rural areas to counter the tide of Islamic influence. This also includes bringing food and clothing to children in the villages where our pastors live, teach, preach and make disciples. We are very small, but we go to the places that the mega-churches refuse to go. We help with education and sustenance–both spiritually and physically. It is a dangerous business because Islam is a violent force that bullies and threatens our pastors and their flocks. The Muslims work very hard to control the land, the food, the going and coming in the rural areas, so if you want to live, you best convert, or life will be even more difficult than it is.
The Fulani, a nomadic Islamic people, roam across the rural areas bringing their herds. Like locusts, they have have little regard for the land and less regard for the people on the land or in the villages. Villages are often told to yield, convert or die. The Fulani are often associated with Boko Haram, the terrorist organization that has slaughtered many Christians in neighboring Nigeria–the organization responsible for kidnapping Christian school girls and selling them into slavery. CNN reported March 8 that: “Boko Haram, the Nigeria-based Islamist terror group, has pledged allegiance to ISIS, according to an audio message purported to be from Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau.”
CNN says that Boko Haram announced its “allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims, Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi,” which is another name for ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. This is a significant development for our ministry in Ghana because it further endangers those such as William Agbeti and his team who are carrying out The Great Commission on a daily basis. Your prayer support is greatly appreciated as well as any other support you may be led to send. While we in America read about the atrocities of the Islamic State, it is very real to those who face it daily. At times it seems overwhelming, but we remember 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Bill WilsonFor God’s Glory Alone Ministries thanks Bill Wilson and www.dailyjot.com