Light in the Darkness

Week two was a blur of activity in Ghana. This week we started teaching phonics. It is desperately needed in both classes and sad to see the reading level of some of the kids. At least half of the children cannot read, so trying to teach anything else is pretty difficult. We are coming to a quick appreciation for the dedication and patience it takes to teach children, and we are praying God gives us more! We found out they actually needed us to teach more than phonics, half days and full days to fill in for missing teachers. By God’s grace we will do this, and we pray God uses us to help these kids increase in knowledge. Teaching in the classes gives us a good opportunity to start our Bible lessons using our t-shirt verses. The kids are still learning their verses; many of them can already say them! It is so exciting, and we pray God uses these truths to open ears for more hearing.

When we’re not teaching, we try to find ways to assist the “Aunties” at the orphanage. They wash the children’s clothes (by hand, in bowls using buckets of water!), so we “obrunis” try to help. It is definitely more work than at home, so I don’t think we’ll be complaining of doing laundry when we get home! We also help in the kitchen washing dishes (again by hand, being as conservative with the water as possible) and with cooking- a little haha. Sister Esther is currently in charge of cooking, and she so graciously lets us help her, showing us how to “drive” banku (corn dough that has been soaked and then cooked) and sort black eyed peas to make beans with plantains. She is still a teenager but cooking 3 meals a day right now for everyone at the orphanage (50+ people). I cannot imagine! It has been wonderful to spend time with her and the older girls that help her. Esther is about to start “high school” and she wants to one day have her own restaurant to cook in and earn money to run her own orphanage. I think you can find her story on the Beebe’s blog {http://beebebits.blogspot.com/2012/08/meet-esther.html}.

Speaking of the Beebe’s, we spent the last half of the week with their family plus Katie Batchelor! It was a wonderful time of fellowship and ministry. It was refreshing to have our little Basswood reunion and to finally meet the Beebe family who has moved to Ghana for a couple of years to do full time mission work. The weekend was full. We travelled to 2 villages D and N for outreach. D was on Friday where a new water pump was dedicated, medical care given (dewormer, anti-malarial, anti-fungals). We walked around the village, talking to people, praying, and inviting them to the outreach that night. That night, after some technical difficulties and getting a computer delivered by motorcycle, the Jesus Film was shown in the native dialect to over 90 people, probably the first time many of them had heard it. How awesome it was to see the excitement of the people to receive clean drinking water and then their joy later at receiving the Living Water with changed hearts. We are praying God is doing a work in the people of D. The next day we set out for Ningo, 14 people in the Beebe’s Sequoia. The outreach there was more of a church service/givaway. We got to meet some teenage girls in the village who said they were Christians, but they did not witness in their town because they were afraid they’d get hurt or even be killed. We prayed with them and encouraged them to not live in fear but trusting God in the ministry He’s entrusted to them. They are called to be lights in a dark city, and by the grace and power of God, His name will be famous there.

All in all it was another very blessed week here in Ghana. God is continuing to reveal Himself working in people’s hearts, including ours. He has blessed our study time tremendously, which flows into our conversations with others. So much of our quiet times and Morning and Evening readings spoke of remaining strong in the Lord as our fortress, our sovereign fortress; much of our study also spoke against idolatry, diminishing the strongholds of evil spirits in the Light of Christ. Continue praying for villages D and N and the work God is doing in hearts of people at the orphanage. Praise God for this opportunity, and we are praying for ya’ll as well! Soli Deo Gloria

Psalm 43:3,4 “Send out Your Light and Your Truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.”