I Survived A Plane Crash By God’s Grace, Joke Yakubu's Story

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Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast where you will always hear a good story to build

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your faith and encourage you in your walk with the Lord. I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, ministry

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leader at Somebody Cares America International, author and traveler on this journey of faith.

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In this episode, you'll hear how God spared my guest's life when she was in a plane crash.

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And there's a lot more to her story, so welcome. I'm so glad you tuned in. Hey, have you heard about

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the Her God Story podcast clubs? It's a great way to gather together a few friends, neighbors,

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or colleagues to talk and encourage each other in your journey of faith. And it's very simple.

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Listen to the same episode, download our prepared podcast questions from hergodstory.org, and then

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discuss over your favorite refreshments. And you can even invite friends who don't know Christ yet,

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include them in the conversation and see what God will do. Listening to an episode takes much

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less time than reading most books. And we think you'll have a lot of takers. So gather some friends

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and try it out. When you do email us at prayer at somebodycares.org to let us know so we can be

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praying for you. You know, when the apostle Paul was in Athens, he shared some rather startling

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truth with the people there. In Acts 17:24-28, he declares that the God who made the

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world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by

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human hands. And he's not served by human hands as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself

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gives everyone life and breath and everything else from one man. He made all the nations

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that they should inhabit the whole earth. And he marked out their appointed times in history and

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the boundaries of their lives. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out

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for him and find him that he is not far from any one of us for in him, we live and move

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and have our being. Have you ever really stopped to think about that? What does it mean for you

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and for me to live and move and have our being in God? My guest, Yoko Yokubu had a revelation of

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that and it changed the course of her life. Born in the Netherlands, she now leads literacy programs

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in rural Ghana, where she lives with her husband and two sons. In fact, she's zoomed in today

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over the internet from Ghana to share with us how God has worked in for and through her. Welcome,

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Yoko. Tell us a little about your childhood and how you came to Christ. Yes, well, as a child,

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I had the privilege to being raised in a Christian family. My parents were Christians,

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my grandparents were Christians. From my childhood onwards, we used to visit a Bible believing

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Baptist Church. So I grew up with the gospel and with loving and caring people who showed their

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Christian faith to me. I think especially my grandmother was very vocal. As a child, I always

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knew Jesus is my friend. So whatever troubles I had as a child, I still remember on my bicycle,

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I would pray or I would say Jesus is my friend. So really from my very young age, God really planted

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a seed in my heart. And maybe also to mention my mother was sick because she felt sick when I was

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at the age of eight. She had multiple sclerosis. And I think I also found that comfort in Jesus

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and I could also see how my parents really held on to the strength they received through Christ

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and through God being present in their life. So that all prepared me. And I think one day,

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one Sunday, I was really touched by the gospel and I knew I have to give my life to Christ myself

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and not just follow my family. And at the age of 13, I was baptized. So that was my early.

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Yeah. And you know, as is often the case with those who put their faith in Christ when they're

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young, you had a deeper revelation of what Christianity is all about when you were a young

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adult. What was that? And how did it change your view of things and even your relationship with

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God? As a child, when I gave my life to Christ at 13, I knew I was a Christian. There was no doubt

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about it. And I did things church people do, go to church, go to Bible studies, join a choir,

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all those things you do. But at the age of 18, I was invited to a youth camp from a Christian

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organization. And there, I mean, God's Spirit really spoke to me, not only to me, to a few other

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members of this youth group from the church, where God really revealed himself to me in a way where

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God said, Jokah, it's not about you going to church, but it is truly, truly about you allowing me

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to take your life, every aspect of your life. And that is why this verse from Acts, where,

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you know, in him we live and move and have our being. God wants to be part of it all. And not

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that alone, but he also wants us to give that joy and that satisfaction and that motivation,

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you know, to live our life for Christ. And that he may come first in everything we do in our

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conversations, in our work we do, in even the small interactions we have. And not that I'm perfect,

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make a lot of mistakes. But yes, that is where I really was so much touched by God. And that

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made me so much fuller of Christ and so much more wanting to commit all I could for the sake of the

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kingdom of God. Yes. Yeah. And around that time, you also went on to university for further studies.

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Share about that season in life, because God was certainly at work with you, in you at that time,

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really showing you some, expanding your horizons and showing you new things about

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him and about the body of Christ. Yes, definitely. Of course, when I grew up,

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I grew up in a Baptist church and it was kind of very protective. I didn't see much outside the

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church, so all the churches. And when I started my studies, I moved to a different town and I joined

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a Christian student organization. And there, of course, I got in contact with so many people

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with different church backgrounds, maybe different ideas, different opinions. And it made me to

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realize, yes, we can be so different. There can be so much diversity. And yet we are all united in

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Christ. We all love each other. We all love Christ. And that really opened my perspective on the body

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of Christ. There's so much diversity and it is also so beautiful. God's body is so diverse,

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so many different people. And yet we all have that same bonding. It doesn't matter where you are from.

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Once you know Christ, you find that unity, you find that oneness. Yes. Yeah. And then in the course.

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Yeah, I was going to say, and in that same time period, you have really your first introduction

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to missions. Yeah, right. Yes. So God continued to work with me, as you said, and keep planting

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things in my heart towards missions. So I really had the desire to share God's love with more

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people and learn more about how do you do that. Then I decided to join Operation Mobilization for

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a summer, for summer evangelism. And we went to Berlin. Again, I got into contact with an

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international group of believers. So God was expanding my horizon again. And in interacting

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with these people and being part of the team, I really also got really kindled that desire in me

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to know God's word better, to get a deeper understanding of what he wants to tell us through

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his word. So that also, again, increased my love for the word of God. You really did have a hunger

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to learn more about God's word and more than simply going to church or reading it yourself.

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You really wanted to delve into what it meant. So after you graduated from university, you even

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went on to Bible school. Yes. How did that time impact you? I finished my university course. And

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as I said, the desire was still there. So I joined a Bible school from Torchbearer Bible Schools in

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the UK. And I thought when I went there, I really thought, okay, I now learn a lot of theology and

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I don't know what I was thinking. But actually, the focus of the Bible school was again, to yes,

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to study the word of God, but to study the word of God and let God really speak to you through his

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words. And although we can use other sources, we can use books, we can use teachers. You know,

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I remember the first meeting we had with the principal was he really encouraged us, take the

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Bible. Your first source is the word of God in you yourself and let God speak to you. Meditate on the

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verses and let God speak to you and then, you know, gather other sources for you to maybe get

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more understanding or deeper understanding. So what it did to me was to really, really again,

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to understand how rich God's word is for us. You know, you can read the same passage again and

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again, and all the time you find something new in it and something encouraging. And it also,

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also, all the reason I went there was with the desire to go into missions that God would also

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tell me, or maybe after the Bible school, he would tell me what to do or where to go. And he didn't

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do that. Yeah. So, you know, it's thinking about applying God's word, you know, as we read God's

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word and we really read the full word of God, I mean, Old Testament, New Testament, all of it,

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we can start understanding what's happening in the world and in our lives in light of God's word. It

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changes our perspective. You know, it kind of removes the filter that we might have from

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that we might have from faulty thinking and gives us the right perspective. So, you know,

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when we are confused about what's going on in the world, when we get into God's word,

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he does speak to us and give us clarity that helps us even in some challenging situations.

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Yeah, definitely. Definitely. It opens up so much. And well, today's day, it's still the same,

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like whenever you are in difficulties or choices you are making, or even if you are so happy,

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that word of God has so much to say to us. Yeah. Yeah. So after Bible school, you didn't have

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direction really on missions. So you went home and you started working. But God was really

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working in you even then, giving you a desire to do something different, but revealing truth to

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you in the midst of your work. What were you doing? And what was God's word during that time?

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I got a job at a job center where I worked as a career counselor. And I was working with people

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who had been unemployed for many years and immigrants. And for most of them, the situation

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was quite desperate. It was really hard to get a job. I remember one time the wife of one of my

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clients called me and told me, Joke, if my husband doesn't get a job within the coming week or so,

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he will kill himself. And I mean, this was the extreme desperate situation, but there were others

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as well who were so struggling with their lives. And I had a desire, I said, Oh, I wish I could

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share Christ with you. But here I was, I was in a public place and there was no way I was allowed

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to do that. But it showed me again and it's kindled again the desire in me to be able to share

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God's love with others. And yeah, so that was the situation. I was there, I was okay, but I knew this

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cannot be it. So Joke, after Bible school, the Lord didn't show you really what mission he wanted you

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to be involved in. So you went back home and you started working. But God was also showing you and

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talking to you through the work you were doing. What were you doing and what was God impressing

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on you during that time? I went back to the Netherlands and I had a job at a job center

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where I was working with people who had been unemployed for many years and immigrants.

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And actually their situation was very dire. I mean, they were far away from a job. So a lot needed

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to be done in terms of education or skills training or whatever. But it was actually a lot of despair

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among some of them. They were to take care of their families, had a lot of responsibilities.

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And there was one case where the wife of one of my clients called me, had never met her anyway.

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And she told me, Joke, my husband tells me that if he doesn't get a job within now in a week or a

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month's time, he will kill himself. And I mean, this lady was serious. It was not just saying it.

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I was in a public place and not only this client, but the other clients as well, where you felt like

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if only you knew Christ, not that all problems would be solved, but at least to have an anchor

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or to have something or somebody to console you and strengthen you. But I was in a public place

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and I was not allowed to share Christ there. So it really made me to think I want more. I don't want

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to be restricted in how I relate to people. Yes. So you finally had an opportunity to attend a

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missions conference and God gave you direction that you've been seeking. Share how that happened.

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So I joined a very big mission Congress in the Netherlands. And during one of the services,

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God really spoke to me and I can't remember exactly what happened. The only thing I knew

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during that meeting, God was telling me, I know you're the sire of missions. Today is the time

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to choose, which was very scary because I was like, Oh, do I want this? Do I have to choose?

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And I was imagining myself, God wants me to go into mission. Does it mean next week I'm at the

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airport with my suitcases going someplace? I don't know. So it was very scary, but because I knew

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God had really spoken to me, I said, I have to talk with somebody about this. I have to share it

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with somebody who might be able to guide me. So at a mission Congress, there were counselors.

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So I decided to go to one of them and I shared my story with her and she asked me a lot of questions.

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I also can't remember much about this conversation, but at the end of the conversation,

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she asked me, can I pray for you? Sure. And then after she finished the prayer,

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she asked me, Joke, have you ever thought about Wycliffe Bible Translators? And truly I was angry.

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I was disappointed. I was like, did you really listen to what I was telling you? I don't know

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what I told her, but I just had this imagination of a Bible translating, sitting at a desk,

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you know, with books all around him or her and being in writing. And I thought, no, that is not

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something which fits me. So I was even angry with God. I went, now, here I am, I'm ready. And this

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is all you have for me. So I walked down the stairs and there were all mission organizations

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represented at that mission Congress. I mean, more than hundreds, I believe so. So I walked down the

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stairs and right at the bottom of the stair was a big sign Wycliffe Bible Translators. And I was

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like, OK, it doesn't hurt to just go and talk to the people and see. And I came there, I met a lady

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and she asked me all kinds of questions about myself, what I had been doing. And it's, oh,

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have I ever thought about literacy work, literacy work? I never knew about literacy work in

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relation to Bible translation. And she said, yes, of course, if people put the language of scripture

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on paper and they start translating the scriptures, how will people read the Bible? And I was like,

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of course. And as she shared a lot about literacy work and there just clicked. I knew, yeah, this

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was something God really wanted me to investigate. Maybe not that I knew this was really it, but I

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even remember calling my parents after that, said, OK, this is what happened. And I said,

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yes, and this is what I believe God wants me to do. So it was really something that God really,

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really spoke to me. And I think what I also love so much about Wycliffe Bible Translators

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was these verses from from Romans 10. How, you know, how do people come to believe? How then can

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they call on the one they have not believed in and how can they believe in the one of whom they have

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heard and how can they hear without somebody preaching to them? And how can anyone preach

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unless they are sin as it is written? How beautiful are the feet of those who bring God's

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news? And then consequently, faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard

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through the word about Christ. And I thought, yeah, this is what I want to do. I want to make

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the word of God available in the language of the people's heart. And yes, some will do the

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same, but let me be part of the literacy work and teach people to read the word of God. So so it all

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then came together and I knew this this was the right direction. Yeah. So you were a single woman

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and you were taking a huge step to become a missionary. And so many questions come to mind.

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I mean, how did you prepare for that? What was the process? What were your concerns along the way?

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How did you know where to go? I mean, you knew who you were going with, but there's a whole

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wide world out there. And I could go on and on, but I'll let you talk. Yeah. So we had a very

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what shall I say? A very well, I can't find the word now. Well, then application process,

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which was was quite thorough. So there are a lot of stages you had to go through

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and a lot of interactions with people at a weekly office to to interact with you,

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to understand you, to know whether what you're thinking fits within the organization.

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And then there were some courses, pre-courses I had to take to see whether I could

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whether my level of education would be OK for literacy work. So I took an unpaid leave. I

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remember from my job and said, OK, I have to go to this. I might come back. I might not come back

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if they accept me for weekly Bible translators. You will not see me again, but otherwise I would

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love to come back after two or three months. He said, oh, I can continue with the courses.

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I was accepted by weekly. And then I had to do a one year linguistic and literacy training.

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But of course, as you said, there are so many places weekly is breaking. So then the next

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question was, where would I go to? And the only thing I knew was that I would have preference

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for an English speaking country because I didn't want to learn French myself or another language.

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And the second thing was that I felt more attracted to Africa. Don't ask me why,

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but that is how I felt. So I said, well, probably an English speaking country in Africa. That's all

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I knew. But I had no idea. And then one weekend I went to stay with my brother,

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who was actually going to the same church as my parents did and as I did before I went to university.

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And he said, oh, today we're not going to the Baptist church, but we go to a different church

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because our two churches together will go to Romania for a mission trip. And I knew all my

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friends were also going to part of the mission trip. So I said, okay, let me join you in that church.

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And I was in the church and during the church service, one lady got a prompt and she was

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sharing about literacy work in Ghana. So, okay, I was attentive to what she was saying, but it still

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didn't fall into place completely. But then there was an offering for Wycliffe Bible translators.

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And then I was like, wow, this lady is working for Bible translators as a literacy worker in Ghana.

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So after the church service, I went to her, we started talking. She wasn't furlough. So after

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a few days, I visited her in her house. And then she was not only working there for Wycliffe Bible

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translated, but she was also looking for a partner to work with her in literacy work.

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So she went back to Ghana and then we started writing letters. That was the time before email.

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And I really felt, yeah, this is the right place to go to. So that is how God

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directs me to God. It reminds me of Psalm 37 verse 23, which says,

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the Lord directs the step of the righteous. I mean, that's really true. He did that for you.

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And the way he connected you with your initial Wycliffe partner in Ghana is really proof of that.

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So tell us about your life and work those first few years in Ghana. I mean, you were in a completely

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different culture. You had left home and some dreams behind. What did God show you during that

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time? It was kind of scary. It was exciting. The first times could also be lonely because you get

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into a kind of vacuum. You don't have new relationships yet where you are. But when I

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got involved with many of the Ghanaian people and the Dagomba people, of whom only five to ten percent

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is Christian and who are really especially at that time. Now it's a little bit less,

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but I really opposed when they become Christians. I learned so much about that strong faith people

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had. You couldn't be like a church member who was neither cold or hot. You had to stand for Christ

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either to choose and take the opposition or you go back to the other group of people. You couldn't be

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in the middle somewhere. No, no warmness at all. You couldn't be. And then also, of course,

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the communities where I worked were fairly poor. People were in need and that strong faith people

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had just for their daily needs. Jesus said, OK, you know, don't worry about tomorrow,

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worry about today, you know, and the daily bread they were praying for and people literally so,

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honestly, in the beginning, I learned so much the contentment of people with a little they had,

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but just be so joyous and happy. And it really taught me and of course, I was also in a position

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I was in a quite remote place where there was little healthcare. You know, it was not an easy

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time was not much choice of food, but to depend on God for everything. And yeah, that that is

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really what God showed me those first years to depend on him like my Canadian brothers and sisters.

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So I learned a lot from them. Yes. Yeah, you know, friends, there are a lot of widows and orphans

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in places like Ghana and all over the world who need to experience the tangible expression of

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God's love right now. Many have special needs that we as a company of women can meet together.

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Would you consider joining us with a special gift to help? Just go to her God story.org and click

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on the widow and orphan tab at the top of the page. So Yoko, God had a surprise for you in Ghana.

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You were willing to sacrifice your desire for marriage and for family to follow God, but that

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is where you met and married your husband, which that's a story on itself. So how did you actually

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meet and eventually marry? Yeah, so I was posted in a what I said, a fairly remote place at that

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time. Yeah, because that time they're also bad. And I was working there in adult literacy to teach

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people to read and write to be able to read the word of God, but also for people who are not

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Christians, but just to encourage them to learn to read and write and then give them the word of

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God as a big book they could read. So my now husband's Abukhari, he moved to Yendi after I'd

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been there for a while. And actually, the day he came to Yendi, he went to the pastor's house and

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the pastor was also a close friend of me. So when he went to Yendi to the pastor's house to ask him

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where I could find accommodation in Yendi, I just walked out of the house. And Abukhari knew,

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okay, that is going to be my wife. Of course, I didn't know anything, it was going on furlough.

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But when I came back, he came to our office and said, we have some some we have some small

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churches, but none of the people in the church can read. Can your office help us to teach the

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people how to read to train some volunteers? I said, sure, we can do that. So we went to some

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of the community churches. And that is how we started to talk. And I realized he was a very

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good in language and he was a new language teacher. So he became a language teacher.

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And then we became very good friends. And then somehow it clicked more than that. And yeah,

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so we yeah, then then the culture of Ghana is different in the sense that dating and all the

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things we know in the West is different there. So at some point, Abukhari asked me,

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Yoke, do you want to marry me? And I was like, marry you? Yes, I like you very much. You're a very

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good friend. But don't we miss dating periods? And it was really difficult because cultures were

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there so different in Ghana. You really have studied somebody you think you want to marry

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that person, you know, you you agree to that. And then you work towards it. And it doesn't mean that

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it cannot go wrong at some point. So for me, that was very, very difficult. But our guy is a bit

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pushy, he's a very determined person. So he was he didn't give up. I need to know your answer.

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So I shared it with some few very, very close friends and said, this is what is happening.

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And I said, I think I can say yes. And I just pray that God will work towards the process with

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us so that everything will work out. So that is. And I think when I left the Netherlands,

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the pastor of my church asked me, Joke, I was running away from the fact that you're being

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single. How what do you see? And I said, yes, well, I still have the desire to marry. But

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the person I marry should have that same desire for sharing the word of God with people.

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You should have that mission heart. And here was our carry a former Muslim who had become a Christian,

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went to Bible school, was put by the church in the same area. I was working to preach the word of

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God, to train church leaders, to plant new churches. So I mean, it's going to have more beautiful

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than, you know, coming together as a good that that love for the word of God, that love for the

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people around us really, really was something we had so much in common. Yeah. And I love stories

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like yours. I've heard them. You know, I've heard others like this, that you're following God and

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you just you sacrifice your own desires to follow God. And he fulfills those desires because he put

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them in you, put them in you in the first place. But as we follow him, he fulfills them in a way

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that we never could have imagined on our own. Right. No, no, not at all. I mean,

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not at all. I mean, Jenny, of all places at that time, I mean, it was remote, it was nothing there.

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So how could I have found my husband in in this place? You know, yeah, it's amazing how God works.

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Yeah. Yeah. So you did get married and a couple days after the wedding, you left for a honeymoon

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on the coast, but it didn't turn out as you expected. What happened and what did God show

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you through this quite harrowing experience? We flew from the northern part of Ghana, like

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it's a one hour flight to the south, to the coast and getting closer to the airport. We were warned

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instead of going to be some turbulence because there is a rainstorm above Accra. So OK, we

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tightened our belts and we were waiting. But then as we were landing and approaching the airport,

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well, of course, I don't know all that happened, but at some point it was a big bang and the plane

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crashed. It actually landed in front of the tarmac in the mud. The plane had appeared, so the wing had

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touched the ground and then so the plane broke into two. We were actually the second row behind

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behind the cockpit and right behind where we were seated, the plane broke into two. So there was

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something which was going through my mind, I still remember very vividly, was that when I heard the

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big bang and all the noise and whatever happened, I thought, oh God, am I going to die? That was

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what I was thinking. And I thought, oh, if I was going to die, but now I should have, I don't know

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where that comes from, that idea, but my whole life should pass in front of me and it didn't. So I was

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like, OK, I'm not going to die. That's how I knew. But what I really also realized is though, Abakary

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was sitting right next to me, but if I was going to die, there's nobody who can do anything for you.

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If it is your time, it is your time. If you are to die, you are to die. And that really made me so

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conscious of the fact that you can't change it anymore at that time. So as people, we have to know

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where we stand in relation to God. Do we know Christ? Do we know that through him we have

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access to God? Or are we not all that sure what will happen after we die? And that was some of the things

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I really realized that is how it is. Nobody can, apart from God, who can save you out of death,

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which he did. Anyway, so then after the crash, Abakary found himself next to the plane,

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one foot up in the air, stuck in the plane and his other foot in the mud. And he said,

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Jokar, I still don't know what happened. Somebody came at the back of me. He, you know, he kicked my

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he kicked my leg out of the, or used his hand to get his foot out of the plane. And he said,

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there was a standing with two feet in the mud, looking at the plane crash where I had just

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been seated in. And he said, put people trying to come out of the plane. And I heard him pray. I

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heard him pray next to the plane. So I know, okay, Abakary is there. He'll find me. So Abakary was

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looking for me. He couldn't find me. A rescue team came. There were contract workers working

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at the airport, who came with a big machines and everything. So once they had taken all the people

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who were on top of the plane, and they were trying to use some machines to lift the plane up the

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tail up so they could enter the opening of the plane where it was broken. And as Abakary was

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still looking for me, he saw a piece of my white leg. And of course, there were some few white people

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on the plane, but they were not so many. So he knew that was my foot. So he went to the commander,

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it was under the military, the airport. He went to the commander and said, there are still somebody

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there. And the commander said, no, we have taken everybody. And well, those who know Abakary,

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you know, he will not just take like that. He just grabbed the man's arm, pulled him to where he had

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seen my foot and said, look, there is still somebody. And then the commander was like, oh,

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white foot, white foot, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. So then they found me and there were some

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few others still with me under the luggage and the chairs and the debris of the plane.

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They pulled me out. They tried to use some machines to, my legs were stuck. And anyway,

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we got, kept me conscious to be able to give people directions what to do and not to do,

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because some people broke their legs when they pulled them out of the plane. There was so much

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panic and everything. So truly, later when, you know, the people came to us to greet us

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after the plane crash, they say, oh, God has saved you twice. You know, he saved me when we

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crashed and then he also saved me again when Abakary found me there. And yeah, that was quite a

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different honeymoon than we had expected it to be. But I can also still, during the service,

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the pastors were called to pray for us. And I remember so well that they prayed for us that God

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would put a wall of fire around us to protect us. This is during your wedding? That was during the

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wedding ceremony. Yes, exactly. That was during the wedding ceremony. The people who, of course,

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the communication at that time was very difficult. So once people heard the plane had crashed and

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they knew we were inside, all the people thought we were dead. On the day of the marriage, there

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was a big celebration at Abakary's family house. And then when they heard about the plane,

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people gathered there. It was like a house of mourning because all of them thought who would

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survive a plane crash. And it was only later when a journalist interviewed Abakary, like,

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what happened? How did he get out of the plane? He said, oh, yes, I'm Pastor Abakary from

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Yendi and Tamalei. And he shared with them how Jesus had saved us. And then everybody knew, oh,

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Yoke and Abakary, they are still alive. Wow. So you ended up at the hospital and so did Abakary.

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But you weren't anywhere near one another. So God even interviewed there, didn't he?

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Yes, he did. It was amazing. There was one lady, one of our colleagues knew, and she was a nurse

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working for the American embassy. And at that time there was no mobile phone, but she had two kind of

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Motorola's. So I said, Yoke, I knew her a little bit. I said, oh, Yoke, you take this one and I'll

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send the other one to Abakary. So we had the opportunity to converse a little, to hear

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each other's voices and knew we were fine. So that was really helpful. And people,

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I think in Ghana, people hear about these things. And what I loved so much at that time, I was in

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the hospital. I couldn't move. I couldn't walk. I couldn't get up. But people who had heard it on

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the news came to visit the hospital and said, we heard about the plane crash. I'm going to bring

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you food. I'm going to bring you clothes. I'm going to pray for you. And that was such a

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precious time for me, to know all these people were so concerned that they didn't even know them

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and how they showed the love of Christ and shared that compassion of Christ to me in a very

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physical way. It was beautiful. And you mentioned to me that during that whole process,

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you realized that God wasn't done with you. He saved you for a purpose. And now you've been

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serving and living in Ghana for more than 20 years. You have two sons. Share some other stories that

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you've seen about God's faithfulness and providing for you and caring for you and even protecting you

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and your family over the years. There are so many blessings we receive in working and receive through

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God. I think what is so beautiful to see is that in the work we are privileged to do in literacy,

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where some of the people who are now pastors actually learn to read in Dagbani, started to

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read the Word of God. And God's really speaking to them and putting that desire in them. We want to

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know more about this. And some of those people who are part of our adult literacy program then

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try to find some Christians in the area and would speak to them and became Christians themselves.

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And some of them are currently pastors, some of the local churches. That's just something that you

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actually get to see some of the fruit of your labors. I mean, not everybody does. God says some

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land, some water, some harvest. We don't always get to see the fruit of what we do, but God's

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given you a glimpse of at least some of it. Yeah, that's really beautiful. And that is also

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what keeps us going sometimes. The little wings of God and say, hey, I'm there and I am working,

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even if you don't see it. And I also remember in our literacy work when we did the adult literacy,

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because the percentage of Christians is very small, so we would engage a lot of non-Christians

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to become facilitators to teach reading and writing in the communities. And sometimes you

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would give out Bibles as just a gift to them. And I remember in one meeting where we were gathered

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with some of these facilitators, one of them was holding the Bible. He was not a Christian

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and most of the facilitators were not, was holding the Bible and was so excited. He said,

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I've been reading this book and everybody should read it. And I was smiling and I was like, well,

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here is a non-Christian telling non-Christians to read the Bible. It's so beautiful. And some of

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these facilitators too, last year or so, one of my coworkers was sharing with me that he went to a

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naming ceremony when a child is born to do a naming ceremony. And he said, this man had given the

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child Christian names. And the people in the village was like, but why are you giving this

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child these names? Because we don't know these names in this area. We don't use these names.

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He said, okay, he just wants to give his girl these names. So when my colleague also went

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and was part of that celebration, this man shared with my colleague, he said, yes,

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I've been reading the Bible. And he said, on the outside, I am still one of them, but on the inside,

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I've become a Christian. And these things are just so precious to see happen. But yeah, God has also

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taken care of us in many different ways. Our boys, especially when they were small, where we were,

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the healthcare was very poor. And at times we had to rush them to the hospital and

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it was not always a doctor, but anytime we came, there was a doctor to take care of them. And it

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always happened when Abba Kari was not around and maybe I wouldn't have a car. And then even, you

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know, doctors would say, oh, I'll take you back on my motorbike to the house. So that kind of

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love of God for us and that care and the provision of these daily things. And it has really taught me

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so much that in all we are dependent on God. You know, we might have tried to

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protect yourself against so many things, but we are dependent on God for everything.

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And even fixing your car, right? Right, fixing our car. Yes. Like I remember,

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and it's not once happened, but one time we were traveling from north to south,

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through, from south to north, through also a quite remote area, a bad road. And our car got

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overheated in the middle of nowhere. It was a road where not many cars do pass. So we're standing

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there, the boys were still small, we're looking, okay, so what are we going to do? And then lo and

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behold, a pickup was passing and while people here in Ghana, when they see somebody in trouble,

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they would definitely stop. So this two people stopped and they were checking our cars. Oh,

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yeah, we are my car mechanics. Oh, yes, you need water. Don't worry. We'll go to the next

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to get water to cool down the engine. So they came back. They even did everything for us. I mean,

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and then they waited with us to make sure that the car would be able to, to finish its journey

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to the north. And at the end of it, we said, okay, so what can we give you? No, no, no, no,

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we just, this dude is out of love. So it was like angels just passing by to take care of this very,

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they look like small things, but they were big to us. And yeah, how God's, you know,

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provided and so many different ways for us. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, as we close, Joke,

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I want to share about a woman in the Bible who's inspired or encouraged or taught you something.

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Yeah. Yeah. I want to, I thought of Ruth, you know, Ruth, who was with Naomi, who was this

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mobile woman who had married the son of Naomi. And when the sons died and the husband died and more,

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but no one's going to go back to Israel to Bethlehem where she came from. And then Ruth,

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the sister-in-law wanted to follow her. And in those first days said, uh,

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Ruth said to Naomi, Naomi didn't want her to go back with her, but in the room said, okay,

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don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I would go where you stay.

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I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God's my God. Where you die, I will die.

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And then it will be buried. You know, and I, I was thinking about this, of course, in all the changes

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I went through, moved from one culture to another. And now we had nothing to offer Ruth because now

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we had nothing left. She had lost her husband. She had lost her sons, no prospect of offspring.

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Um, and here was the Ruth, this mobile woman who was probably not going to be loved in Israel

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because of the relationship between Israel and Ruth was determined to go, um, was willing to

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bring sacrifices and was willing to commit herself fully to God and, and follow him and commit

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herself to the lives of the people there. And of course, for me, maybe there has been sacrifices

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I've been making, uh, because I left my country and moved to Ghana, but we all make sacrifices

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as Christians. We all have to let go of certain things. Uh, and sometimes it comes with pain.

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Sometimes it comes with tears. Um, and I'm sure for Ruth, it would have been an easy journey,

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but then if you, you, you follow the story of Ruth, you see how God extends his grace to her

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and blesses her. And I think, yes, I, I hope the story of everybody, you know, when you commit

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yourself to Christ, it comes with sacrifices. And for me, it came with sacrifices moving from

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the Netherlands to Ghana. But if we fulfill God's calling, whatever it is, it can be, it can be

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mother, you can be, uh, administrator, whatever it is, you know, God will bless us and God will

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extend his grace to us. And I think, yes, that story, uh, resonated to me a lot. And, um, I have

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seen it in my life and I'm sure the sacrifices will not end. There will always be phases in our

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life. We have to make new sacrifices. We grieve again, but if we commit ourselves to God,

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if we commit ourselves, we are determined, uh, and the way God calls us, then God will definitely

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bless us. And, uh, yeah, that is what I, I wanted to share about through. Yeah.

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Yeah. You know, in, in John 15 verses one, four and five, uh, we read about the vine and the branches.

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Jesus said, I'm the vine and my father is the gardener remain in me as I also remain in you.

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No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit

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unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain in me and I, and you,

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you will bear much fruit apart from me. You can do nothing. And that reminds me of the verse we

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started with in Acts 17:28, we live and we move and we have our being because when we're in

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Christ, abiding in him, connected to him, we see his fruit in our lives and God doesn't call everyone

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to move to a faraway place like he did you, but he calls each of us to abide in him and be fruitful

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where he places us. Like you said, it could be as a mom, it could be as an administrator. It would be,

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you know, working in government, it could be serving in our military. It could be many,

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many places. But if God places you there and you abide in him, you'll bear fruit.

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Right. Right. Would you take a moment and pray for our listeners?

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Sure. I will. Yes. And let's pray.

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Father God, we are so grateful for this time together. Lord, to share your story,

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Lord to share your goodness, Lord to share the faithfulness you have shown to us in so

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many different ways. Lord, we want to thank you that wherever we are, you are with us. Lord,

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and I pray for all the people who are listening to this podcast, the women, or maybe even no women,

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but men. Lord Jesus, we want to thank you for them. Lord, we want to thank you for their lives.

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Lord, you know them, you know, each one of them, Lord, you know what is in their hearts, you know,

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what is in their lives, you know, what is troubling them. Lord Jesus, we want to pray that you want,

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will extend your grace to them, Lord, that you will speak to them in whatever way they will be

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able to hear that you are there with them. Lord, that you care for them, that you want them to live

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that full life in you, that they be encouraged, Lord, by your words and be taught by your words.

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Lord, I pray for all their needs as well. Lord, our needs can be coming to us in so many different

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ways, but Lord, in a special way, I pray that you will meet those which are, which need your

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your intervention, Lord. And I want to thank you for this beautiful program, and I want to thank you

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for you because Lord, without you, without being connected to this fine Lord, there is little we

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can do. And we want to thank you that you have shown yourself in so many different ways in our

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lives, but also in the lives of all the pastors who are currently listening. We want to thank you

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and bless you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Well, thank you for tuning in. Check out our show notes

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at hergodstory.org for scriptures, links, and other information. And you can sign up there for

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our emails and get a free six-week downloadable devotional guide on Women of the Bible. Or you

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can purchase a 12-week devotional on Women of the Bible for just $12, knowing that all the proceeds

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00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:07,280
will go to support our Widow and Orphan Fund. If God spoke to you through this episode, think about

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starting a podcast club. You can have friends, neighbors, or colleagues listen to it too, and

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then gather around your favorite refreshments to discuss what God's saying to each of you.

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We've suggested questions online at hergodstory.org under our podcast club section to help you. And now,

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dear friends, I bless you from 1 Chronicles 22: 11 -13. May the Lord be with you

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and give you success as you follow His directions. And may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding

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that you may obey all His law all the days of your life, for you will be successful if you carefully

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obey Him. Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid or lose heart. Her God Story is a ministry

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go to somebodycares.org.