Unparalleled Love in an Unusual Camp

Their eyes exposed a raw truth. More than the exhausting daily workload or their battered, worn-out bodies, these women's eyes revealed the deep, dark misery of being stripped of all their dignity. Betty felt a deep compassion for them because their every desire, dream, and wish had been stripped away. The road to visiting these women who were confined to this refugee camp wasn't easy — butBetty knew her team was bringing God's presence, comfort, and strength to a place where innocent lives were suffering.

It all began before Betty and her PEACE team from Saddleback Church left for Ghana. Their purpose was to help local churches, and Betty wanted feedback from her group as she prepared and planned for the trip. She gathered her team together and asked a simple question. "In your opinion,” she said, “what would a successful trip look like?" One by one, the team members agreed that they wanted to show God's love to the people of Ghana by serving alongside a local church and connecting to them on a personal level.

While the focus of their trip was assisting an urban church in Ghana's capital city of Accra, Betty began searching for a church to connect with, that would enable her team to serve marginalized and unreached people groups. After hours of searching, Betty found a church in northern Ghana, led by Pastor Monday, who had a ministry in a most unusual place — a refugee camp that confined a large population of women who had been labeled as witches.

"Pastor Monday and his church cared for these women physically, by providing some of their basic needs that life in the camp denied, and spiritually, by sharing with them the message of Christ,” Betty said. “Pastor Monday explained that the women clinging to meager life in this camp weren't witches at all, but wives no longer wanted by their husbands. Northern Ghana is home to many male-centric tribes still clinging to old customs. Getting out of a marriage is as simple as the husband or greedy relative accusing her of being a witch."

"The husband can fabricate the truth in many ways, for example, saying he had a dream where she tried to kill him,” Betty continued. “Or accusing her of making the children sick. Once the chief proclaims the woman a witch, she is immediately driven from the village with no belongings, no food, and no protection. This banishment is complete and irrevocable. Once a witch, always a witch — separated forever from her children and her extended family. Left on her own, the wife has no other recourse but to seek sanctuary at a refugee camp."

"The refugee camp has its own chief, who provides protection for the women, but little else. The camp is comprised of round huts, roofed with thatch and plastered with a mixture of mud and cow dung. The structures are not ventilated except for one small door. No electricity, indoor plumbing, or health services exist in the camp. Every day, the women dig in the fields and shift dirt to find seeds to feed themselves. Many of them are elderly; all that manual labor makes life even more difficult."

Betty and her team prayed a lot in preparation for the trip, imagining that they would be entering a dark, dangerous place. "Our PEACE team agreed they wanted to serve these women as sisters in Christ — to listen to them, to care for them, to affirm their value as human beings that others had tried to rob from them."

On the day of the visit, Pastor Monday and his church helpers introduced Betty's team members to both the chieftain and the women. Despite the cultural, language and religious barriers, the group was immediately welcomed. Betty's team followed the lead of the church volunteers: talking with the women as best they could, finding goodness, bravery and beauty in every one. The differences and cultural barriers that initially stood in the way began to fade. Hugs, the universal language of love, became the order of the day.

"I felt so thankful that Pastor Monday and his church prioritized serving the women in this community, and that they would take the time to bring our team along to help," Betty said.

"As we prepared to leave the camp, our group received a wonderful gift," Betty said. "One by one, the women stood up and began singing. I only understood two of the words they were singing, 'Jesus' and 'Hallelujah.' I realized, they were singing a praise song that they had learned in their native language. I started dancing and clapping along, and the rest of our team joined in. 'When Ghanaians sing, they put their whole heart into it!' Dean, one of my team members exclaimed. There wasn't a dry eye on our team."

Betty's group felt transformed by the strength exhibited by the camp's inhabitants. Their courage enlarged every PEACE team member's understanding of God by teaching them how to see the image of God in everyone, despite their circumstances.

"We didn't feel like we arrived at the camp with much, but we hoped that we could carry God's presence and love to these women in the camp. Watching these women respond to our arrival blessed us immensely. Even in the midst of the hardship and rejection these women faced, we were privileged to see God's light penetrating this darkness, bringing life into this refugee camp."

Learn more about PEACE at saddleback.com/peace.