Be An Actor
Be an Actor
People in West Orange call him “Baba” with great affection. His real name is Emmanuel Anim-Sackey. Emmanuel is an actor. Not on the screen or stage but in life. He was raised in Abetifi-Kwahu, Ghana, and immigrated to the United States in 1996. He worked hard to secure a job as a US postal worker—an incredibly rich job for a guy from Abetifi-Kwahu.
Saddled with what felt to him like incredible prosperity, he started thinking about his people back in Ghana. Many of them lived without shoes, decent clothing, or basic health care. Children walked for miles, often in the dark, through dangerous jungle to attend a poorly functioning school in a dilapidated building.
Baba decided that he could feel guilty for being “rich” or he could do something.
So he began going to yard and garage sales and buying used clothing and other goods. When he traveled to Ghana, he took everything he could carry with him and distributed it to people in his village according to their needs. Then people on his postal route found out. Here was this incredibly competent man with an infectious smile spending all his spare time and money to serve his people in Ghana.
A movement began. Household after household began giving their used clothing to Emmanuel. The community of West Orange adopted Abetifi-Kwahu as a sister village. A nonprofit called Adopt One village was started. A local developer donated the use of a warehouse to share the overwhelming quantity of donations that came in. clothing. Hospital beds. Bicycles. Medical equipment. Furniture. Computers. Sports equipment. Books. Emmanuel started shipping cargo containers to Abetifi-Kwahu.
Everybody got involved. Jews. Christians. Muslims. Because Baba decided to act.
The first time I remember meeting Emmanuel was in the lobby of our church one weekend. He introduced himself and said that he wanted to invite me to the mayor’s annual State of the Town address. He said he was being recognized for his work in Ghana. I was able to see him awarded the Citizen of the Year award in West Orange. Then the following year, amazingly, he was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award for the US Postal Service. I get to be his pastor.
Over the last several years, our church has sent a number of mission teams to Abetifi-Kwahu. We have rebuilt the medical center. It’s now called the Live Center. We have—in coordination with government doctors—provided basic medical care to many hundreds of Ghanians who may otherwise have not received it. We have filled and shipped a number of containers with goods to provide for many basic needs for countless individuals.
We identified that one of the most significant issues in the region is the lack of education. So we refurbished the school building, sent some of our teachers to train their teachers, and provided new curricula. And learning that children have difficulty walking long distances to school on their bare feet, we have sponsored a bicycle drive and a shoe drive that has helped to address this simple but important barrier to showing up at school to be taught.
And then, perhaps most importantly, teams from our church, in partnership with Adopt One Village, have repaired the well in the community and provided a water source that has long been desperately needed.
All because Emmanuel decided to be an actor.
Emmanuel believed that he had a specific calling from God to serve his village. But he had to exercise his will. He had to participate. He had to act. James taught that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17).
“God doesn’t come down and show up just because we have a dream and are waiting for it to materialize out of thin air. God typically chooses people give Him something to work with.”
We have to act!
When have you acted on a calling from God? Drop a comment and tell us what happened next.
Adapted from Live Ten (Thomas Nelson) by Terry A. Smith. All rights reserved.
All followers of Christ are all called to show hospitality. Are you familiar with “The 5 Welcomes of Hospitality”? Download them here.
Photo by Richmond Osei on Unsplash