Remember why you're here
Spiritual Reflections Pat Ozment Jr. IMB Missionary to Ghana

Being a missionary is dangerous. We were warned about Malaria. That danger is very real.

A room full of people who have had malaria, will stampede at the sound of a mosquito.

There is the danger of gastrointestinal attacks, the "West Africa Two Step." Two steps are as far as you get from the toilet.

There is the danger of ultraviolet rays. Some missionaries are so covered in sun screen that hugging one is like squeezing a greased pig.

There is dehydration. If you are a missionary in West Africa you soon develop a drinking problem. Carrying enough water to keep yourself hydrated means having a pack mule or a wheelbarrow. And the water must be filtered before you drink.

Then there are the dangers of snake bite, guinea worm, mango flies, typhoid, yellow fever, culture shock, Satanic attack and voodoo. They tell you about all of these.

They don't tell you about being scalped. It has nothing to do with buying over priced tickets. It has to do with loosing your "top knot," having your hair lifted. The perpetrators are not wild savages. It's some member of your family, or perhaps even yourself. We must get our hair cut, and there are no barbershops for white people.

I put it off, but when my wife hands me a barrette, it is time for a trim. Peggy won't cut my hair, it's not in her contract. I trim a little off this side and then a little off that side. Now one side is too short, so I trim some more. I end up scalped. My haircut could be referred to as a "racing slick with white sidewalls."

A real danger is that you become overwhelmed with the difficulties, and unpleasant aspects of life here, and forget why you came.

Friday I was given the opportunity to witness to a Muslim man. His older brother had told someone he wanted to hear about Jesus. I went to see him, but he was traveling.

The younger brother said, "you can tell me," so I did. The next day I went back and gave him a Bible. If he becomes a child of God, it is worth all the danger, even getting scalped.

Remember why you are here, and I'll see you in church.

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