A Breath of Fresh Air

Heat. Travel. Unstable electricity Things not working. Heat. Things needing repair. Going to town to buy something only to find out "It is finished." Internet issues. Heat. Driving a motorcycle to villages in the strong sun. Not "seeing" any change/growth in the church or congregation. Wondering if "anyone hears." Heat. All of these may seem like small things. But, day after day, they can wear on a person.

Enter, a breath of fresh air. It came in the form of six people from Highworth Community Church, Highworth, Swindon, UK. They came to Lawra for a couple of reasons, one being to encourage me in my ministry, see what God is doing in this part of the world and to pray. And, pray, they did!

They prayed at the clinic.

They prayed at my house.

They prayed at the market.

They prayed at a funeral.

They prayed in Kunyukuo and they prayed in Kalsagri.

One of the things that this team did was to pray throughout my house - a house blessing. I was touched by the faith and conviction with which they prayed...and the blessings they prayed. 

We also had "down time" to share stories of life and faith.

Of course, some were more tired than others!

On Sunday morning, Pastor Matt and the group taught a song to the congregation. His sons did a drama to reinforce the morning Scripture. Then, he preached. It was really nice to hear a sermon in English! I know that all who were present were blessed.

Pastor Matt preaching in Kunyukuo.

All too soon, their time was up and the group had to leave. Lots of farewells and hugs and blessings were given. The visit was short. But, it was enough to strengthen me, to let me know in a concrete way that I am not alone here in Lawra, that others are here with me. (That is easy to forget since I get so few visitors and rarely anyone not connected with TMS Global.) I pray God will continue to bless Highworth Community Church, its leaders, and their mission focus. 

Who would have thought this partnership and friendship would happen? God is so good! Only He could have orchestrated this. Thank you for visiting. You are welcome to come back anytime. The door is open.

The Latest Dery Update

Yesterday, I had some visitors...a lot of them, actually. But, the visitors I want to talk about are Rev. Raymond Dery and his wife, Vida. On Sunday, March 16, 2014, Dery was in a very serious motorcycle accident. He was fighting for his life. Vida and I cried on each others shoulders at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. Now look at him! Now, 14 months later, he is visiting me in Lawra, where his family house is located.

Dery attended the annual Synod of the Northern Ghana Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana. So, I wasn't surprised to see him doing so well at my house. We had a lovely conversation while he was here. He is able to do many of the things that he did before his accident. He has many of the same mannerisms that he had before the accident. He still has a strong faith in God and is grateful for his life. Yet, you only have to spend a couple of minutes with him to know that he is still not the same as he was before the accident. Oh, the conversation was good, please don't get me wrong. But,there is still healing to take place. Even though, we are all grateful to God for Dery's healing up to this point, we continue to pray that God will touch him even more and restore Dery to the place where he will once again be preaching and teaching the Word of God, traveling to the villages where people are hungering for God's Words. We pray that he will be restored to the place where he is the husband and father he used to be. We pray that his brain will be fully recovered from the intense injury it suffered. Won't you pray with us?