Our Apprenticeship Journey

Mentoring has been highlighted as a core value at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture (ACI) where I recently joined the faculty. For new faculty, we have been asked to enter a period of apprenticeship, as noted in our handbook,

A period of ‘apprenticeship’ is required before teaching begins. A prospective lecturer appointed to teach a course should first sit in the course to understudy his/her predecessor for at least a year or for the duration of the course before assuming teaching responsibilities.

From my own experience and from listening to the experiences of others, this form of mentoring and apprenticeship is the exception rather than the rule in institutions of higher learning. Perhaps some important reasons for ACI’s approach to mentoring and the apprenticeship period for junior staff include our desire to inculcate in our students and staff the high value we place on scholarship and spirituality, our desire and need to “channel” our mode and method of pedagogy (manner of teaching), and lastly our strong desire to be responsible, thoughtful, and faithful in our approach to African Christianity as a field of study and a field worthy of deep exploration beyond the scope of other theological institutions whose frame of reference emanates from the West.

Last month, colleagues and I had the opportunity to begin this period of apprenticeship. We were able to sit through and audit two courses: “Studies in Gospel and Culture,” “Christ and Other Faiths in the African Context.”[1] Some salient issues we covered include the idea that theology must be rooted in culture, the centrality of language (the vernacular, local language) in apprehending reality and responding to the Transcendent through religious practice, the significance of Christian-Muslim relations as an opportunity for promoting peace and demonstrating mutuality, respect, and collaboration around issues which promote life and development, and understanding the person of Jesus Christ in ways which resonate for African persons and communities in light of primal understanding and African religious heritage and lived experience.

These two courses were held online,
with lectures and interaction with students
 

I am grateful for this apprenticeship journey. The greatest joy in this journey so far has been not only witnessing students' engagement with the lecturer and the material, but also seeing their gratitude for what ACI is presenting to them. For example, at the end of the course ‘Christ and Other Faiths in the African Context’, the student representative of the class said:

Akrofi [ACI] is such a wonderful place…the knowledge we get, we want to thank you very much; we want to promise you that as we go out, we will do great things…we know that God loves us, God loves our culture…we know that God is with us…

The end of this course felt like a celebration and a time of thanksgiving as students expressed their gratitude for what ACI has to offer. It encouraged me to know that as my colleagues and I begin this apprenticeship journey, we can anticipate great things to follow.



[1] These two courses are part of our nine-course MA program in Theology and Mission.

Making ourselves at home

About two weeks ago we moved into a house in Akropong where we will stay for the foreseeable future. It feels good to get to know our neighbors and start to feel settled. We came with our clothes and some books in suitcases, so this feels like starting fresh to furnish a house and figure out what we need.

A truck loaded with our stove and suitcases,

with some curtain rods tied on top

One of the projects before we moved in was finding a refrigerator and stove. After visiting several places and feeling overwhelmed by the options, we were grateful to have those basic appliances and very grateful for the friends who helped us transport them from Accra. At least we can make and keep food now! Just before we moved in, we bought a few plastic chairs and a small plastic table (which will eventually be used on our porch). Those have functioned as our only furniture thus far while we are waiting for a local carpenter who is making us a table and chairs, sofa, desks, and some other things. We did get a bed before we moved in, which involved multiple trips to the big city of Accra and asking for advice from several people. We also discovered the convenience of Jumia, an online store that will deliver items to our town so that we don't have to go into Accra.

The carpenter in Accra taking apart our bed to load it into the truck

in our living/dining room

While living without running water in the house for our first week or so and then having challenges paying our electricity bill, we have experienced some of the ‘drama’ of the utility companies in Ghana. We are thoroughly grateful for the simple gift of having water and electricity in the house, when they are there.

We are living at the edge of the town of Akropong, which sits along a mountain ridge. When we take walks in the neighborhood, we get some beautiful views of the valleys and forests in the areas around. We were specifically praying for a place to live that would be quiet and where we could see some nature around us. God has answered that prayer abundantly, and we are grateful for God’s provision.

One of the views while on a walk near our house.

Many new houses are being built in the area, so the

view may be different in a few years.

Learning Twi - a good start!

Learning a new language is humbling. We feel like little children again, stumbling over words and not understanding what is being said. It has happened more than once in the last few weeks that we try out a sentence in Twi with someone and they give us a quizzical look and then say in English, “what are you trying to say?” Ooops…so our pronunciation or word choice is off, but most of the time the person is willing to show us our mistake and help us get it right.

 

These are our flashcards. akɔkɔɔserade literally
means "chicken fat", and is the word for "yellow"

There are some interesting challenges in learning Twi. It is a tonal language, so high and low tones can change the meaning of words. For example, the word ‘kakraa’ can mean ‘very few’ or ‘very big/huge’, depending on the pronunciation. There are also some nasal sounds and some consonant combinations that are difficult for us to imitate. And then they have two more vowels than English that have distinct sounds. In English the same vowel can make different sounds in different words, so at least in Twi they identify the different sounds with a different symbol!

 

Us with our language teacher, Mr. Osei Kwebi

We have been meeting with a language teacher three days a week for the month of June. After our language lesson, we review what we learned and then go out to practice. We talk to shopkeepers who are waiting for customers. We talk to children walking home from school. We talk to people we encounter on the road as we wander the streets of Akropong. We say the same thing, ask the same questions, over and over. It is intimidating, speaking our halting words in a new language, particularly when some of the people we are talking to are fluent in English. But it has also been such a gift to get to know some wonderful, patient, gracious people and to learn about history, culture, and life in this region of Ghana.

One man who has been particularly patient and helpful is Kwadwo (pronounced Kwadjo). One day, we encountered him on the road walking with a woman, on their way to a funeral. He introduced the woman as his mother and then explained that she is actually his mother’s sister; in this culture, all of one’s mother’s sisters are considered one’s mothers. It was striking because just that morning we had learned about the matrilineal family systems in this region and learned how to say in Twi, “the sister of my mother is my mother.” This encounter was a perfect confirmation and connection over the important issue of family.

We have made good progress for our first month, and we are very grateful for your prayers in the process. Learning a language is a very long road, so we are asking God for the time, perseverance, and relationships to continue to improve in our ability to hear and speak Twi.

Odwira Festival (Akropong, Ghana)

Odwira is an annual festival held in September or October in Akropong, the town in Ghana where we now live. Odwira means “purification,” and commemorates the four-day battle between the peoples of Akuapem and the Asanti people who came down from the Kumasi area of modern-day Ghana. This year is unique in that 2026 is the 200th anniversary of the battle whereby the Akuapem staved off the attacking Asanti. Because of this grand occasion, local re-enactments of the five different divisions of the Akuapem people who garnered victory after holding off the Asanti are being held in different parts of the Akuapem region from June until September when the two week festival will take place.

Over the last three weeks, Kristi and I have been able to attend two of these events, each sponsored by the royal house of Akuapem in partnership with Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture (ACI, where I work) and the Center for Performing Arts of the University of Ghana in Legon (Accra). Three of my colleagues have been busy each week with the planning and preparations for the events, and they are heartened by our attendance. In fact, one of these colleagues recently told me that the ɔmanhene (Paramount Chief) of Akuapem invited ACI to help facilitate these events for the purpose of documenting and recording the oral histories of the local people.

Some of the interesting and noteworthy occurrences of this history include one division of the Akuapem having the special power to call bees to help them fight off their attackers. Also, as the Asanti came with their sacred artifacts which they believed would grant them victory, these artifacts were taken by the Akuapem people and represent a central part of their annual rituals and remembrance. In the enactments we have seen, men wear “batakari,” war regalia, and the women play a prominent role as they support the men as they go off to fight and then mourn the loss of the men who die and their bodies are brought back from battle. In one re-enactment, a medicine man, influenced by a spirit, dances around wildly and anoints the men for battle as a young woman goes before him, throwing white powder onto his body as part of a sacred ritual.

The late Kwame Bediako, co-founder of ACI, developed a strong relationship with the former ɔmanhene (Paramount Chief) of the Akuapem region and people; this relationship serves as an ongoing legacy of the Institute and part of our witness to the community. While the annual Odwira continues to hold a central place in the hearts of many, its purpose of annual purification for the peoples of Akuapem foreshadows the purification all peoples can now receive; for as Kwame Bediako writes, “The Odwira to end all odwiras has taken place through the death of Jesus Christ.”*

To learn more about Odwira, this website provides additional information. Below are some photos we have taken of our experience of the two re-enactments over the last few weeks. We hope to attend more re-enactments and the two-week festival this year in September.


*Bediako, Kwame. Jesus and the Gospel in Africa: History and Experience (Theology in Africa) (p. 33). Orbis Books. Kindle Edition.

Arrival in Akropong

We have had a full first week in Akropong, Ghana! We are grateful to be here, grateful for the helpful and gracious people who we have met, and very grateful for a good start in adjusting to life here. Here are a few pictures and reflections from our first week.

The entrance to The Akrofi-Christaller Institute (ACI),

where Bob is now on the faculty.  

ACI has just completed the spring semester, so this week was full of meetings for the staff, such as a faculty review of the semester, an all-staff ‘Durbar’ (meeting to share updates and express thoughts and concerns), and a planning meeting for the rest of the year. These meetings were a great introduction for Bob to the staff, the culture, and some of the current issues at ACI.

Above photo is of the Wednesday chapel service at ACI,

which is a bit more structured than the daily devotions.

ACI has devotions every morning for staff and students. Everyone worships, discusses a short passage of scripture, and prays together for specific people or needs in the college community. This semester they have been going through the book of Romans, a few verses each day. We really appreciate that they open space for anyone to share their thoughts on the verses and learn from each other. We were able to attend this week before the college goes on break for a month.

An example of the narrow roads in town -

on the left of this photo is ACI the guest

house where we are currently staying.

We are slowly finding our way around Akropong. Many of the roads are narrow with houses built right up to the road in some places. The town sits on the ridge of a mountain range, so there are a lot of hills. We learned a few phrases in Twi and many people have been helpful and encouraging as we try to practice with them.

 

Grateful for new friends helping us to find a place to live!

We saw the house where we will soon be living, and have enjoyed getting to know the woman who owns the house and lives next door. We plan to move into our new home in July, so we will slowly find furniture and get set up in the next month or so.

Simon, pictured above expertly cutting coconuts with a machete, gifted us with a large coconut to enjoy. The coconut tree in the photo is in the courtyard of the guest house. Simon accompanied us to church on Sunday where we enjoyed worship and fellowship with some new colleagues.

We are so grateful for God's faithfulness and the gift of getting to know new friends as we arrive. We have a lot to learn and a long way to go in feeling at home here, but we give thanks for a good start. Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement, and support along the way!