Mamadou asked,"Can I be forgiven?"

Typical African Market.

In the downtown Market in Pita, Guinea, West Africa, we had a stall. There amongst the shoe sellers and odds and ends we had books in French, Arabic as well as cassettes AND Bible society comic books about Abraham, Elijah – the Prophet of Fire, The Life of Jesus etc.

Many young people would come and chat. We often spoke of the Good News of Isaa. (Jesus in Arabic) One day as we were sharing the Good News with a small group of people, this one young man, a school teacher, asked, “Can I be forgiven?

He explained his situation. I have made my girlfriend pregnant. I love her very much but the family will not allow me to marry her. What am I to do? Can God forgive me?” By this time he was very distraught and tears were welling up in his eyes. We explained to Mamadou that Jesus came to died on the Cross to take our punishment and reconcile us to God. If we confess and forsake our sin He will forgive us our sin and cleanse us for all unrighteousness.

The only answer to our sin and undoneness is to turn away from sin in true repentance. Then to turn to Jesus, the One and Only Saviour, in true Faith, believing that He will forgive us because of the Cross of Calvary.

“There is Salvation in no other, for there is no other Name under heaven whereby we must be saved.”

CAN I be forgiven by God? YOU SURELY CAN!

Wherever you are THE Message is the SAME. Turn to Jesus and Be forgiven!!!

Protecting the Children from Drowning

When I was a boy during World War 2, our family visited my Uncle and Auntie at a lettuce farm at Wacol Queensland. There they had a large dam with cement sides for watering the lettuce which were flown to the American Troops in the Islands. My mother was afraid that I would fall into this dam and drown. The family had been swimming there during the hot summer afternoons. I was about three years of age. My mother took me to the dam and held me under for a few seconds enough to frighten me away from it.

Andy, Robbie and Jenny in the Congo

Now back to Africa the year 1975. David Rowlands  just older than Andrew had fallen down into a half empty 44 gallon drum (200 litres.) head first and was miraculously saved by the house boy name Ya Seba.

Our Andy and David Rowlands

This was a warning to Esther and I as at our back door were two water drums for catching rain water. They were also filled from a pump down in the valley. Often they were half - empty. Robbie and Jen just loved to play in the water leaning over the side of the drums which were lower down. The girls could stand on the verandah and reach in to splash in the clear water. The near accident with David Rowlands reminded me of my childhood. Yes, you guessed right.

Esther took the girls and dunked them under and held them there upside down for a few seconds just to give them the needed scare and make them keep away from those drums.

The girls came up screaming and yelling their heads off. At that moment Andy was in the bath. He heard his sisters screaming and climbed up in the window ledge stark naked and yelled at his mother in protective elder brother language, "YOU NAUGHTY MUMMY, YOU NAUGHTY MUMMY!!!" The girls never played in the drums again.

Off to the local river

They did have lots of fun down in the river with tyres though.