A letter from Tim Carriker serving in Brazil
November 2014 - Gambaga Witch Camp
I studied their faces, trying to fathom their distant world—80-some women, all extremely poor, all African, all elderly, all ostracized from their respective tribal communities accused of witchcraft, and all brightly and proudly dressed. And then they began to sing and worship Jesus. Can heaven possibly be better than this?! This white, male, certainly wealthy by any of their standards, ‘respectable’ missionary pastor from Brazil, on the other side of their Ghanaian, African world, was simply overwhelmed. Two months later, as I recall that experience, I still cannot contain myself. For the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ had been transforming nearly every aspect of these women’s lives. As targets of violence they had been rescued when missionaries and other Christians placed themselves before angry crowds with stones in their hands. They were given food and shelter. And for many long years, even decades, they were given skills to bring dignity and food to their tables as those same missionaries and evangelists tirelessly visited their villages to prepare the way for their eventual return and reintegration into their families and tribes.
It was a live story before my eyes of how the gospel is meant to bring holistic transformation to our lives and requires courage and the sacrificial service of each and every one of us. And I had the privilege to simply be there and participate in an afternoon of worship of God among these women. How did this happen?
Over 30 years ago, after 6 years of church planting and development in central and southern Brazil, Marta and I were sent to help organize and run what would become the first long-term mission training center for Brazilians (today there are over a hundred programs all over the country). During those years we wrote curriculum, spoke at local and national events, and spent most of our time teaching and administrating the programs. Other people from other denominations and groups were also involved in this budding missionary movement that grew from a few hundred in the early '80s to 34,000 Brazilian missionaries today. But the partner we work with in Brazil, the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPCB), is only now beginning to organize its own program of international mission. For a few years, and with the aid of the Outreach Foundation, they have been developing a partnership with the Evangelical Church of Egypt and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana…but with no concrete involvement in actual ministry. It was now to go to another level of commitment and think of actual ministry partnerships. And so, as mission consultant for the IPCB, I was asked to accompany Rev. Casso Vieira, the Coordinator of the IPCB’s Secretariat of Evangelism, on a scouting visit to Ghana. So there we were, traveling all over northern Ghana, visiting the work of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and learning of the many challenges for ministry in that region.
Back to the story of the former witches… And, by the way, had they been practicing witches?—many of you may wonder. Frankly, I do not know and hardly felt it was appropriate to ask on a first visit. My impression from the conversations, however, was that many (most?) of them had simply been scapegoats falsely accused to “rid” their villages of some perceived misfortune. At any rate, and this is what is important, the love of Christ was demonstrated indiscriminately to all.
Now that’s not all the story. Equally I was impassioned to meet Gladys, the Ghanaian Presbyterian evangelist (and now recently ordained pastor), who for some 15 years had given her life to ministry among these women, taught them basic skills to provide for themselves, visited their former villages to prepare for their eventual reentry, and meanwhile planted five new churches in the surrounding communities! Wow!
There is so much more to tell about that trip to Ghana—getting permission to visit the former witches’ camp from the local Muslim chieftain, the lively worship of the Konkombas and their desire to evangelize their neighbors…—but all that will have to wait.
Please join me in thanking God for His abundant grace demonstrated in the former witches’ camp, asking for His guidance for the Brazilian church as they seek to be faithful to God’s call of ministry in Ghana, and especially for Gladys and many like her who are literally giving their lives in sacrificial service to God’s rule in our still torn world. Thank you also for your support, and keep it up! We love you!
Tim and Marta
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 61
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 48. 49
Read more about Tim and Marta Carriker's ministry
Write to Tim Carriker
Write to Marta Carriker
Individuals: Give online to E200322 for Tim and Marta Carriker's sending and support
Congregations: Give to D504832 for Tim and Marta Carriker's sending and support
Churches are asked to send donations through your congregation’s normal receiving site (this is usually your presbytery).
Double Your Impact!
A group of committed donors has pledged to match all gifts sent by individuals for mission personnel support now through December 31, 2014, up to $137,480. This means your gift today will be matched by a gift to support mission personnel around the world, wherever the need is greatest. We invite you to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to double the impact of your gift. Thank you!