Mitchell September 2026
“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain’ ” (Isaiah 40:3-4).
Earlier this school year, we studied the book of Isaiah as a Rafiki Village. When we studied Isaiah 40, our teachers talked with their students about the word picture of levelling the ground to prepare a road for travel, and the classes discussed the lesson these verses teach us about preparing our hearts as the way for the Lord to enter our lives. This was an easy word picture for our students to relate to. Here in Ghana, we are very familiar with uneven roads and the preparation required for constructing new highways.
What goes into your preparations to get to church each Sunday morning? My weekly routine of getting to church has a few more steps here in Ghana than my previous routine in the U.S. From finding a driver in the days leading up to Sunday, to planning what I need to bring with me to church that week and whether I will need to stop for groceries while I am in town, to coming prepared for how I will spend the the hour and a half bumpy ride, getting to church takes a little more planning and effort here.
Part of my weekly drive to church
During a recent Sunday service at my church, we had the privilege of welcoming a group of believers whose story demonstrates the lengths that some of our brothers and sisters in Christ go to simply to fellowship and worship with other believers. This group had travelled from Mali to attend a Christian conference in Ghana. The risky journey ended up taking them four days of travel. By the time they reached the conference, it was nearly over. Our church had the privilege of inviting this group to stay a few extra days in Ghana to fellowship with other believers and receive the hospitality we were honored to extend. When this group arrived at our church in the middle of the Sunday service and one of the young men in our church stood up to translate the rest of the service, the smiles on the faces of our Malian brothers and sisters reminded me just how beautiful it is to see the body of Christ loving, serving, and encouraging each other as we are called to do. Needless to say, our Malian brothers and sisters gave us an incredible gift and encouragement simply by being with us.
Madam Regina leads her preschoolers in prayer as they begin the day’s Bible study lesson.
This past school term, our Rafiki Village studied the book of Acts. Throughout this account of the early church, we have been confronted with how those early followers of Jesus were willing to lay down their rights—to their reputations, their possessions, and their very lives—for the sake of seeing God’s Word spread. During our teacher Bible study times, we invite Scripture to challenge us. In a culture saturated with prosperity gospel messages, it can be particularly challenging to lay aside a mindset of prioritizing the building of temporal wealth and life. In a society where the beautiful picture of everyone having his own small business comes alongside the pressure to make ends meet and provide for one’s family, the courageous surrender required in trusting God becomes real. The Book of Acts drove us back to the truths of the gospel that captivated and transformed the early believers. Resting in the assurance of Christ as our righteousness, we then honestly ask ourselves if we will respond to his call with the willing surrender of, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”
Opening our hearts as we prepare to open our Bibles together in our morning teacher Bible study time
At the end of each school year, each of our third, sixth, and ninth graders receives a Bible. What a privilege that I get to hand each student his or her Bible!
When heading off to senior high school, each of our ninth graders is equipped a study Bible.
These sweet third graders are all smiles with their new Bibles!
What about you? What rights are you willing to give up? If you find yourself confronted with something the Lord will not let you ignore, are you willing to respond, “Here I am, Lord. Send me”? Karen Elliott, Rafiki’s Executive Director, often says, “It’s not whether you are called to go, but whether you are called to stay,” pointing out that the Great Commission is for all of us. In our study of Acts, the Rafiki Ghana teachers and I discussed that this also means that for those who are called to stay, it is just as much a call to serve the Lord wholeheartedly—it is not an opt out.
I recognize that for those called to stay, many answer that call in part by praying for, financially supporting ,and encouraging those of us who are living out the call to go. THANK YOU! I love how God uses His body, the global church. How special it is to know that I have brothers and sisters supporting me from the U.S., brothers and sisters I get to reconnect with in Malawi from time to time, new brothers and sisters here in Ghana, and brothers and sisters in Mali who I may never meet again this side of eternity, but I had the privilege of worshipping alongside before they journeyed back to the hard place of living for Christ in their home country. We serve such a great, big God!
Learn more about Rafiki’s expanding opportunities.
Visit our newly designed website RafikiFoundation.org to learn how to:
- Purchase the Rafiki Bible Study for small groups for your church or neighborhood
- Serve as a missionary with Rafiki
- Sponsor a child with the Rafiki Foundation to bring God’s Word and the best education in the world to some of the neediest children in the world in Africa.
Explore the Rafiki Foundation YouTube channel.
Visit (youtube.com/@RafikiFoundation) for videos from Rafiki children, teaching at our annual Enrichment conferences, and the teaching at our African classical Christian conferences.
Listen to our podcast for current discussions on Rafiki’s work in Africa.
truenorth.fm/show/the-rafiki-foundation-podcast/
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