Rescue the Perishing Ghana, West Africa

The Orphans of Anfaani

2010-09-05T22:12:00.000-05:00

Team members Chris, Beverly and Martin with Anfaani triplets

Team Member, Tayler Insuaste, with her sponsored child Nathan

For the past two years, God has given us the incredible opportunity to visit and support the children at Anfaani Orphan Home in Tamale. This is a private orphan home that houses around 10 orphans, ages 2 and under.

Currently there are three babies who need sponsorship. Sponsorship assures that the children received nutritious food and healthcare.

Would you consider helping? Click here for more information.

Beach Day in Aflao

2010-08-13T17:59:00.000-05:00

After leaving the Northern Region, the team flew back to Accra and then drove directly to Aflao, which is located in the Volta Region, near the border of Togo. Aflao is a beautiful place full of beautiful people like Pastor Christian and his lovely wife Rejoice.

Pastor Christian is the director of Good Shepherd Children's Home, a place where they take care of 40 orphans, many of whom have been abandoned. The home is clean and the children are well loved and well cared for.

We were only there for a couple of days, but we had great fun taking the children for a day at the beach!

Here are a few pictures of our time together.

Update from the Field

2010-08-01T12:01:00.001-05:00

It was a very long drive from Kumasi to Tamale

Cheryl with one of the widows and her children

Saleem, Pastor Mohammed's son

Katie and Colton

Katie and Emma

The team spent a restful and relaxing week at Ankaase, which is near Kumasi. We enjoyed having a house mom who taught us how to cook Ghanaian food and we also enjoyed working with Julie at the Reading Town Library.

On Wednesday, we went on an excursion to Kumasi. We shopped in the local market and toured the Chief's Palace.

We traveled back to Tamale on Thursday.

On Friday, we welcomed 5 new team members from Visiting Orphans, then spent the day visiting orphan homes and shopping for food at a local supermarket.

Saturday was an incredible day for all of us as we loaded into the big yellow van and headed back out into the remote villages to visit the widows who received goats a couple of weeks ago. On these visits, we took the time to sit down and get to know them and their children. We also had the opportunity to share the story of Jesus with each of them. More than once, the widows' response to the message was, "We know for certain that Christianity is the Truth." Our prayer is that these women and their children will soon come to know the Lord. The ministers of Shalom Baptist Church will continue to follow up with them to see if they have any needs or questions. We thank God for Pastor Steven Napari, Pastor Mohammed and Pastor Issah for their dedication to the Lord.

Today is our last Sunday in Tamale and we had the opportunity to go and worship with our good friends at Shalom Baptist Church in Tarikpaa. It was a great morning as the Visiting Orphans team formally received their Dagomba names. Also, Cheryl had the honor of praying the dedication prayer over a new baby at a baby dedication ceremony. The team danced their hearts out and even sang a song for everyone!

We have only 3 more days in the Northern Region and already we are starting to be sad. This place gets under your skin and in your heart.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. We will be flying to Accra on Thursday.

A Few Pictures

2010-07-29T11:39:00.001-05:00

Katie and Emma

Back: Karli, Colton, Caleb, Joseph

Front: Katie, Paige, Camille

The Girls - on our way to church

Joseph at Ankaase Library - usually he's playing chase with the children

Colton and Friend

Chris, Beverly and Martin with the triplets at Anfaani

Wed-Fri, July 22-24

2010-07-24T11:18:00.000-05:00

When we arrived in Ankaase on Tuesday night, we were introduced to house mom, Maggie. She is an extraordinary woman who manages the mission house when teams come here to stay. Also, there were 2 American college interns here named David and Libby, who left on Friday for the US. The house is surrounded by a concrete wall and there's a security guard at the gate 24 hours a days. This is a very common thing in Ghana.

On Wednesday morning, Cheryl and Colton went with David and the local Methodist pastor to the nearby large village of Kumasi to do some grocery shopping since the pantry was empty. This was quite an adventure because we had to go to the local Ghanaian market and try and purchase everything for all of our meals for 1 1/2 weeks. Shopping in a Ghanaian market is quite different from shopping at Tom Thumb. First of all, the milk was not kept refrigerated. It was in a box on the shelf with the juice. How strange. Also, one did not go up and down the aisle with a buggy because of congestion. The buggy was parked at the end of the aisle and if you were lucky, it would still be there when you came back with your items. Fruits and vegetables had to be purchased from local street vendors. We were so glad to find fresh pineapple, bananas, plantain, oranges and watermelon! We had to go inside the local "farmer's market" to get our vegetables so our driver's mother went with us to help get the best price. I think the local "farmer's market" is a fascinating place, but I could surely do without the hunks of raw meat sitting out.

While Cheryl and Colton were at the market, the rest of the team went to the library and entertained about 300 children with Bible stories and songs. The library is an amazing place. The town of Ankaase is so blessed to have it here, but they do not yet understand its value to their community. That will take some time, but by God's grace, it will happen.

On Thursday and Friday, the team would have breakfast and devotions and then head to the library to process books sent by US donors. In the afternoons, we would do Bible stories and school lessons with the children.

Being in Ankaase has been very different than anything else this team has done. Everything here moves at a much slower pace and our evenings are free. It has been a wonderful and much needed time of rest for all of us.

We will be here until next Thursday and then we go back to Tamale until Aug 5. A small team from Visiting Orphans will join us on July 30. We are looking forward to meeting them and showing them around.

Tuesday, July 20 - Team Departures

2010-07-23T16:14:00.000-05:00

Early this morning, 12 of our team members boarded a small plane in Tamale and headed back to Accra to begin their journey home. It was very difficult to say good-bye to them and there were lots of tears and hugs. They went straight from airport in Accra to a village on the outskirts of town called Agbogbloshie. This is a village of more than 25,000 Dagomba who have settled into what the locals called "Sodom and Gomorrah". It is a dump, with raw sewer in the streets and houses made of sheet metal and cardboard. This is the village where Pastor Mohammed pastored a church for many years before relocating to the Northern Region. This is also the village where Cheryl Read and Richard Newman first served in Ghana. The village is adjacent to a local market, where the Dagomba come to sell their vegetables (mostly yam and shea butter).

In the middle of this madness is a small band of believers who meet in a concrete structure called All Souls Baptist Church. Some of them even sleep in the church, on long wooden benches. Together they struggle to survive in an almost impossible situation. The teams go there to encourage and strengthen them, but in the end, it is usually the Americans who are encouraged when they see such joy in the midst of such poverty and suffering. After visiting Agbogbloshie, the team spent a couple of hours at the market, where they were sure to spend the last of their pocket money on beads and machetes.

The remaining 8 team members decided to depart this day for a village near Kumasi, called Ankaase, where they were going to work with school children in a local library. We decided it would be too sad and lonely to be without our other team members at the guesthouse in Tamale.

A few hours into the trip, we were stopped at a road block by Ghanaian State Police, who showed our driver a radar gun (really? a radar gun?) and told him he was speeding. They insisted that he turn over his license, but our driver told them that he had left Tamale without it. They made him get out of the car and follow them to the back of the vehicle. In all honestly, I was a little frightenend. Here was one American woman with 7 college students and a bag full of money, sitting on the side of the road, with our driver on the verge of being arrested. Everything turned out fine though, when our driver paid the man 5 GHc as a bribe, and we went on our way.

Our way was supposed to take 4 hours, but 9 hours later, we were still trying to find our way to Ankaase in the dark. Not fun and a little stressful. If you've been to Africa, you know that when it gets dark, it is very dark as there are no street lights and many villages do not have electricity. Also, we were traveling on dirt roads.

We finally located the Gongwer house and unloaded our luggage. What a pleasant surprise to find a huge, three bedroom home with all the conveniences of home waiting for us! This place was like a bed and breakfast! For the first time in 20 days, we had hot water. Hot water!!!

After a good night's rest, we woke to find ourselves in a tropical paradise. We were in the home of American missionaries who have now moved to Accra. The weather here is so mild that we have to use blankets at nights for warmth! Who knew? And we have hot water!! We also have a wonderful house mom named Maggie who loves Jesus and loves to cook for "Obrunis" (white people). And to top it off, there's a porch swing.

And did I mention that we also have HOT WATER??!!??

Monday, July 19

2010-07-22T16:09:00.000-05:00

Today was the last day in Tamale for 12 of the 20 team members. They spent the morning at the local cultural center (market) and then went to visit a private orphan home called Hands of Mercy. Several of the team members had been serving at Hands of Mercy during the last two weeks.

Taylor and Stephanie have such a heart for the orphans here and they both spent their day holding babies at Anfaani Children's Home. Anfaani houses orphans from birth to age 2. This is the orphan home that IHH helps sponsor. Currently, there are 3 children who need to be sponsored. Two are newborn twin boys. In this culture, sometimes twins are seen as evil and are outcast from the village. Contact http://www.hopeheritage.org/ if you are interested in sponsorship.

Pastor Mohammed and Elisha joined us for dinner and we had a wonderful time of sharing and a few sad good-byes.

It was heartwarming to hear how lives (American and Ghanaian) have been touched during the last few weeks.

We thank God for the opportunity to serve Him in this way and we continually pray that He is glorified in everything we do.

Please continue to pray for those who are returning to the States as they begin to process everything they experienced and as they begin to seek God's plan for what He would have them do with all of this. This can be extremely overwhelming, especially for the first timers.

Also, some of you might to begin praying about joining one of our teams next year. The mission is always the same: go tell people about Jesus

Sunday - The Commissioning

2010-07-22T02:28:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, the team had the privilege of attending the formal commissioning service for the new church building in Sankpem village, a small remote mud-hut village in the Northern Region. The village is predominantly Muslim. The Christians there have been meeting under a tree for several years.

Upon arrival, Chris and Cheryl were taken to meet the Muslim Chief, something that is considered customary in this culture. After Cheryl cut the ribbon and everyone got settled in the new church building (a one room structure), we began to sing. Shortly after that, we began to hear very loud, rhythmic drumming. Boy, we were surprised when the Chief and his elders walked in, followed by the village drummer, who was announcing his arrival. The church leaders rushed to get a bench, which they placed right at the front. The team was sitting in the "choir" section, so we were facing one another.

After that, we began to hear more drumming and in came the cultural dancers. Wow! I cannot even describe that experience. I hope to post a video when we get home, so be sure and check back.

There was a guest preacher and lots of singing and dancing. The team had great fun joining the circle of dancers and most of them have decided that our churches back in the states could learn a lot from African worship.

Even though we had a lot of fun at the commissioning, the significance of what was happening was not lost. The church members have been praying for a church for many years and so have we. We thank God for his provision for Sankpem Church.

When Cheryl unveiled the plaque that was attached to the outside of the building, it read

"Hope Mission Church".

That pretty much says it all.

P.S. And as a thank you gift, we received a live goat as a gift from the Chief of the village. A. LIVE.GOAT.

A few team pics

2010-07-17T15:50:00.000-05:00

The Witch Camp

2010-07-16T18:08:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, we were taken by our friends from World Vision to visit a Witch Camp. The 35 old women who live there have been ostracized because they were accused of being witches.

This was a defining moment for the team as we were told by them that our visit added value to their lives. They sang songs for us and spoke blessings over us.

When we asked what their greatest need was, the answer was simply, "Food."

There are just no words.....

Thursday

2010-07-15T03:30:00.001-05:00

Team Update: Everyone is well and out doing mission work today. We thank God for His healing power for our team.

Fri-Sat-Sun

2010-07-12T06:01:00.001-05:00

It has been a very busy few days with the team in Tamale. We thank God for the safe arrival back in the US of Team 10. We thank God for the safe arrival of the FBC Team on Saturday morning. They enjoyed an excursion to Cape Coast and Kakum Rain Forest. They arrived in Tamale on Sunday and we had an orientation that afternoon. Their arrival brought a lot of encouragement to a team that has been struggling for a few days with illness, exhaustion, dehydration and mostly just spiritual warfare. I had to take one team member to the hospital to be tested for malaria, but it was negative, praise God. Out of 11 students, 8 have had high fever and vomiting. The good news is that it is a 24 hr virus and everyone is following the same course. By the grace of God, I have not been sick. All but one student is well now. I just cannot stress enough our need for prayer.

On Saturday, most of the team was able to go to Kushibo for the Good News Club Annual Congress, where they helped put on a program for about 200 village children. They taught Bible Stories, sang, and played with the children. GNC is very much like Awana and this was their annual ceremony. One little girl came and she had 104.5 fever and an infected wound, so we asked our driver, Fatawu to take her to the hospital, where she was treated for malaria and the infection. What a blessing to be able to provide this help in such a small way. The hospital visit and all the meds costs less than $20. The little girl is going to be okay.

Today (Monday), 15 out of 20 team members have gone to Sankpem village to do hut-to-hut evangelism. This means that they will join up with a Ghanaian team member (translator) and go to individual huts to tell the story of Jesus. We call this a panorama, because it gives an overview of the entire Word of God. This is very effective in introducing Muslims to Christianity. Please pray for those who will hear.

Tonight we begin 3 nights of a Youth Conference in Tarikpaa village, where we are expecting about 150 youth from surrounding villages. Martin Jones will speak each evening and then we will break out in small groups where the Americans and Ghanaians will teach on topics such as what our purpose is, what our mission is, etc. Please pray for this.

Also, it is good for the team to see your comments on the blog. They are very encouraging and they are getting through!

So far, this has been an incredible trip and I have been so blessed to have the privilege to not only be here, but also to watch as God transforms the lives of the team and also those who come to Christ. Even though the team has struggled this past week, there's not one team member who wants to go home. There is something very right about pouring yourself out for the Lord. There is something very right about giving yourself to help others. There is something very right about giving it all up for Him.

Thursday

2010-07-09T10:01:00.000-05:00

My how quickly things can change!

After our brief time at the internet cafe, the team went out to lunch at Swad's, a local fast-food restaurant. I am chuckling as I type this because "fast food" and Ghana just do not go together. The team enjoyed chicken sandwiches, french fries, fresh pineapple, steamed veggies and a few other wonderful foods.

On the way back to our guesthouse, three of the team members became ill. One fainted. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting and recovering. I took one team member to the hospital for a malaria test. Praise God it was negative! She was severely dehydrated. I am typing this on Friday afternoon and everyone is better today. I really think it is just sheer exhaustion and dehydration. It had nothing to do with the food we ate.

I gave everyone the choice on whether or not to go back out to Yipiliegu village for the crusade Thurs evening. Everyone wanted to go. (I stayed back with 3 sick team members). We praise God for the two people who accepted Christ. One woman in particular walked back and forth and back and forth in front of the bench, with her head and face completely covered by a scarf, trying to make a decision. Finally, she decided to follow Christ. The team was so excited to tell us all about it when they returned about 11:30pm.

We could really use your prayers for the health of the team. Also, another team is traveling here at this very moment and will arrive at 7:40am Sat Ghana time. This will be a team of 7 adults and one student from FBC Rockwall, TX. Please pray for their safe journey.

I cannot remember if I wrote an update about the sick woman we prayed for and sent to the hospital from Faandu. A local pastor took her to the hospital on his motorcycle the following morning and she was treated and released. The team pitched in and paid for her hospital visit and meds for a cost of about $25 USD. Amazing, isn't it?

Almost all the team members checked the blog when they were at the internet cafe and they really enjoyed reading your comments.\

Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Wednesday

2010-07-08T07:28:00.000-05:00

Today was our third day of VBS in Tarikpaa village school. We worked with the upper primary students today. The guys on the team are really having a lot of fun playing futbol with the children. I've never seen so many happy faces. Joseph gave piggy back rides all morning and the kids loved it!

After VBS, we went to see the Maize Farm Project. Wow. 7 acres of corn that will feed widows and orphans when harvested. Now, we just need to continue to pray for rain. When I wasn't looking Katie borrowed the farmer's shotgun and posed for the camera! I'm telling this because when you see the picture, it will look kinda scary. LOL

We went to see my friend, Pastor Tia, at the Ghana Bible Society this afternoon, where the children were served a drink called Malta, which is sort of like a non-alcoholic beer. It is very popular here, but most of us don't like it. Caleb said he didn't like it but he kept taking sips. Go figure. Several team members purchased Dagbani Bibles and without prompting many of them purchased an extra one or two to give to friends in the village who don't have one. Have I mentioned how much I love this team? They truly have a heart for God.

In the evening we went to Yipiliegu village for a crusade. This is a very hard place and no one came forward to receive Christ, which did not surprise Pastor Mohammed. Several of the young man have become Christians, but never publicly.

The team is doing well, although a few have had some minor health issues like headaches and stomachaches. Please continue to pray for our health and safety.

We miss you all, but we are having a great time and making wonderful memories.

And one more thing....could someone from the next team bring me some Dr. Pepper?

Tuesday

2010-07-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

The manager at the guesthouse has allowed me to use his personal laptop to get on the internet for a few minutes. This will be short and sweet and I don't even know if it will post. The internet is sporadic and slow.

Tuesday was an amazing day. We did VBS in Tarikpaa school again. The team did a great job and they even taught them how to sing Waka Waka.

We also visited Widow Salamatu and the two sick children I have written about before. The boy, Ishawu is walking and he greeted us with a smile but the most wonderful thing was to watch him walk about the mud-hut compound after sitting and lying for 6 years. A true miracle. The baby has been sick and I will be talking to the doctor to see about getting her more nutritional supplements. Our team nurse, Paige, treated some sores on the baby's arms and legs. This was difficult for all of us, but especially emotional for Paige. It was the most sobering moment of the entire trip. It was really quiet in the van on the way back to the guesthouse as we processed how much more difficult it is to see starving children in person than it is on television.

We went back to Faandu for a crusade. Paige and I were taken to a muc-hut deep in the village to pray for and try and treat a very sick woman. Paige was wonderful as I watched her not only assess the problem but gently pat the woman and speak soothing words to her even though the woman couldn't understand. She is going to be a great care-giver to her patients. After a lot of discussion and convincing, I was able to get the husband to agree to take the woman to the hospital today. I told him that if he would get her there the team would pay for her care. There are many superstitions and at first they refused, saying they were afraid of injections. We think she has some sort of infection caused by a tooth. I will try and update later.

There were many converts at the crusade and we thank God for them. Their first church service will be this Sunday and the pastor will continue to disciple the new believers from there.

Everyone is doing well and we thank you for your continued prayers.

Monday

2010-07-06T13:05:00.001-05:00

On Monday we conducted our first VBS program in the lower primary school at Tarikpaa village. The team divided the children into three groups: Bible storytelling, songs and games. It was such a blessing to hear the children singing "Da Na Se" a song they learned from Audrey, Elizabeth, Birgitte and other previous team members. It is a song in another language (Twi) and is similar to our song, Jesus Loves Me. The team did a great job! Joseph taught the children how to do "Hook Em Horns". I looked up and he had about 50 children with their hands in the air.

In the afternoon, we had the incredible privilege to accompany team member Richard Newman to the village of his World Vision sponsored child, Moses. We met the Chief and then went to the school. Richard and I were taken into a classroom full of children and Richard was told he had to identify the child. It really wasn't that hard to identify Moses because he was grinning like a cheshire cat, but trying to cover it. After introductions and lots of pictures, we all went to Moses' mud hut to meet the parents. Richard and his grandson Andrew received beautiful Ghanaian smocks and guinea eggs as gifts. I (Cheryl) had a run-in with a rather large gecko (lizard, chameleon?) that fell out of the tree and landed in the dirt beside me. It was funny later....much later.

In the evening we accompanied the members of FBC Shalom to the remote village of Faandu for a crusade. Pastor Mohammed and others have been working in this village for quite some time and have planted a small church there. It is a Muslim village. Rev. Wuni preached and at the end there were 12 adults and about the same number of children who decided to become Christians. They know very well that this means they will be shunned and even disowned from their families. That's okay thought, because the Christians there and at Shalom will take them in and disciple them. They have a new family now and a new home in Heaven one day.

Our team song leader, Jackie Castro, led the team in providing some special music for the crowd. They did such a great job and even swayed and clapped like Africans while singing!! So fun .

Kyle has now been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Bug Removal, meaning he has to sit by me and make sure the bugs that climb on me get removed immediately. He takes his job very seriously. :-) Kyle is the youngest on the team and such a delight. He wakes up singing and smiling and is that way all day.

Everyone is doing well and no one wants to come home yet. Once they discovered Fan Ice, they were all happy.

Sunday

2010-07-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

Today was a wonderful day. We worshipped with our brothers and sisters at Shalom Baptist Church in Tarikpaa. It was fun to bring new friends to meet old friends. We especially enjoyed hearing the Shalom choir, who are well known in this area. They have recorded a cassette and I hope to bring one home.

This afternoon was also wonderful, but very difficult. First we enjoyed a delicious lunch of chicken and rice. Then we visited the market for a few minutes where Karli and Kelli received some drumming lessons thanks to one of the Ghanaian vendors. After that, we went to two orphan homes and that's when it became difficult. One of the homes was a government home. When we walked in, about 15 toddlers came running down to hall to greet us. I think we had a pair of arms for every single child. There were about half a dozen bed babies and they just cuddled up when we held them. It was so hard to leave. We visited another home after that which was privately run. The children sang 2 beautiful songs. Again, hard to leave.

Right now we are in the home of Rev. Isaac Wuni and he was gracious enough to allow me to use his computer. His sweet wife Grace served us cold bottled drinks. They were so good!

Today the children also took a little adventure outside the guesthouse compound to get some Fan Ice, the local ice cream. I'm pretty sure the boy on the vendor bicycyle will camp outside our guesthouse after today.

Everyone is happy and doing well. This is such a great team. I wish we could post pictures but the internet is very slow. In fact, I don't even know if these posts are getting through.

Continue to pray for us. We will be going into the villages tomorrow and also to visit World Vision.

Saturday in Tamale

2010-07-03T15:27:00.000-05:00

Our 1st day in Tamale, started with a tour of the "city". Then a visit to Anfaani Children's Home. They now have eleven children with the addition of two-week-old twin boys. Tayler got to see "her" Nathan. Another highlight was watching Bethany play peek-a-boo, and listening to the laughter of the children in her game.

Paul heard of a unique opportunity. A gathering of various tribes, performing cultural music and dancing. The team first had to meet with the host chief. She is a white woman, originally from Port Arthur, Texas. She and her husband (as he described himself--"the one who carries the Chief's suitcase") split time in Ghana and their home in Louisville, Kentucky. They were very happy to see the team.

Chicken and Rice for Lunch.
Spaghetti for dinner.

Everyone is well.

All boxes arrived in Accra and are on the way to Tamale on a truck with Pastor Mohammed.

2010-07-03T06:51:00.001-05:00

Safe arrival in Tamale

We're Here!

2010-07-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

The team has arrived safely in Accra after a smooth and uneventful flight from Atlanta. Wow, flying straight here without a layover in London or Germany was wonderful!

We saw the Woodall boys, Jeff Arnold and Jonathan Hughes at the airport and it was nice to see their smiling faces. We were also greeted by some Ghanaian friends, including Pastor Mohammed, who escorted us to the GILLBT guesthouse. We just enjoyed our first Ghanaian meal of jolof rice and chicken. Now everyone is watching the Black Stars play in the World Cup.

I wonder if I should go ahead and tell them that we have 4:45am departure for Tamale tomorrow.

2010-07-01T18:22:00.001-05:00

All boarded for the first leg of our flight to Ghana. We're flying with God and Captain Rich.

2010-07-01T11:35:00.000-05:00

About to depart with an amazing team. Waka Waka!

Sent from my iPhone

The Mission

2010-06-26T21:53:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, July 1, 18 of 25 mission team members will depart for the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa. Our mission is to simply share the glory of God with the Dagomba tribe, an unreached people group. We do this primarily through Bible storytelling.

By God's grace, we will join our Ghanaian brothers and sisters from Shalom Baptist Church in Tarikpaa village in these acts of service:

~ visiting orphans and helping fulfill some of their needs
~ visiting widows and helping to provide a way for them to sustain themselves and their families
~VBS program in the local mud-hut village schools
~Partner with World Vision in serving at a local Witch Camp (women shunned from the village)
~Hut-to-Hut Evangelism
~Participation in the local Good News Sports Evangelism Program (350 kids)

This team is very aware that apart from God, we are nothing and can do nothing, but with God, all things are possible.

Please pray that during every moment of every day of this trip we would be surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit and that the light of Jesus Christ would shine brightly.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. Luke 19:10

The Good News Club

2010-06-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

The Ghana Mission Team will be joining Pastor Mohammed and Pastor Issah in reaching out to these children who are part the Good News Club of Shalom Baptist Church.

In an answer to prayer, God has provided soccer jerseys/shorts and soccer balls that we will have the privilege of distributing while in Ghana.

Please join us in praying for these children, many of whom have never heard of Jesus, to come to know the One True God.

Worship - African Style

2010-05-02T17:48:00.001-05:00

Easter in Africa

2010-04-18T07:53:00.000-05:00

On Easter Sunday, children from surrounding villages gathered at Kushibo Village, home of Heritage Baptist Church, to celebrate Jesus at an Easter Camp.

These children are part of the Good News Club, a child evangelism program which is overseen by Pastor Ziblim Mohammed and led by Pastor Issah, that reaches out to Muslim children living in remote mud-hut villages. The program has grown to over 350 children.

In the words of Pastor Mohammed:

Today many children are coming to church to hear the gospel, and Pastor Issah and I work tirelessly to make sure we train them to know the Lord and remain in Him. Continue to pray for us to be strengthen and that God will provide the needs of this ministry.

A Church for Zugu

2010-04-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

For over a year we have asked the Lord for a church to be planted in Zugu village, which is predominantly Muslim. Here is our latest report from IHH Missionary Pastor, Ziblim Mohammed.

As I was trying to share with you on the part of the survey done in Zugu village....95% of the people responded with faith that we should come and start Church in the community whilest other few who are devout Muslims says no,but since the majority carry the vote i can say with confident that we have already won the victory,because devil is a liar.

Let me disclose this man's name to you so you can pray for him. He is in the person of Alfa Iddrisu. He is muslim leader in Zugu community and he was not happy of our survey and plans to start a church in the community,but the chief as you know him was very happy and even most of his cabinet members express their happiness to see a church in the village. However, some of the old age says they are too old to become Christians,but we ask the question whether if their children want to accpt Christ they will allow them,and most of them said the will give their families freedom of worship except some few who said they are born Muslims therefore they cannot be born again into Christ. Pray also for such people.

Pray also for such people.

The Making of a Miracle

2010-03-10T16:21:00.000-06:00

Yushaw was five years old when I first heard about him last fall. He lives in the remote mud-hut village of Zugu, in the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa. This is a very poor Muslim village with no Christian influence.

When Yushaw's father died last year, his widow, Salmatu, had no way of providing food for her children. The children survived on hand-outs from other poverty-stricken villagers, but after awhile, they had no more food to share.

One day, my friend and co-worker on the mission field, Pastor Ziblim Mohammed, from a neighboring village was in Zugu, checking on widows and orphans when he came across Yushaw and his sister. He was suffering from severe malnutrition and not far from death. He could not walk. Here is one of the first pictures I received. Yushaw is on the right. Remember, he is five years old.

By the grace of God, Pastor Mohammed was able to get Yushaw and his sister to a local private hospital where they were treated for malnutrition. They were given nutritional supplements and food was purchased for their family from the local market. After a couple of months, here is what Yushaw looked like. But he still couldn't walk.

That was several months ago. Yushaw is now six years old. Just this past week a friend of mine went to Ghana and he went to see Widow Salamatu and her children. This is the picture he sent me as soon as he landed in the US.

And guess what? Now he can walk. And now I cannot stop thanking the One who made it all happen. Some of you were used by God to make it happen and I thank you for being obedient and especially for your kindness.

Beautiful Feet

2010-03-06T07:54:00.000-06:00

Death is often an unwelcome visitor in many mud-hut villages in the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa. The death of a father leaves the wife and children with no income or way of support. That translates into no food for the family.

Many times I have been asked why the other villagers do not "take in" the widow and her children, now viewed as orphans, and take care of them. The answer is simple. Most of them are unable to feed their own families, much less others.

So what happens to these widows and orphans? Many of them become sick and die way too soon. Some of them eventually die from starvation. Some of them find a way to eek out a meager existence by gleaning in nearby wheat fields. Some of them spend hours and hours in the bush picking up shea nuts, drying them, pounding them and the selling them in the local market for a few pennies. All of the children are put to work hauling water and searching for food, which means they do not attend school. It is a vicious vicious cycle.

THIS.IS.NOT.RIGHT. THIS. SHOULD. NOT. BE. SO.

Doesn't God's Word say that we are to help take care of them? Aren't we commanded to do more than just love with words? Aren't we told to visit them in their distress? Doesn't Jesus tell us that when we are serving them we are serving Him?

Let me say it again. Doesn't Jesus tell us that when we are serving them we are serving Him?

And when we do, God says:

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Mission Teams Forming Now!

2010-02-13T10:18:00.000-06:00

IHH is now accepting applications for the Ghana 2010 Summer Mission Teams.

These teams will travel to the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa to serve an unreached people group, the Dagomba tribe. Most of our mission will be in the mud-hut villages of Tarikpaa, Sankpem, Kushibo, and Zugu.

We will join a Ghanaian mission team, led by Pastor Ziblim Mohammed, in hut-to-hut evangelism, church planting, VBS and widow/orphan care.

If you are interested in joining us, please click here to complete a mission trip interest form.

Adijah and Ushaw

2010-02-03T05:30:00.000-06:00

Here is one of the first pictures I received of Adijah.

Here is Adijah and Ushaw as of yesterday:

I thank God for allowing us to know about these hurting children and allowing us to help them. Their mom is Muslim, but she knows that Jesus sent the nutritional food and healthcare.

Money for Maize

2010-01-30T18:06:00.000-06:00

The 2010 Ghana Mission Team is selling t-shirts to help raise funds for a Maize Farm Project located in the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa. The Maize Farm Project will help feed poverty-stricken widows living in mud-hut villages.

The tees are offered in the three colors above, in 100% pre-shrunk cotton. The logo is centered on the front of the shirt.

Order now choosing color/size on right sidebar.

Thank you for helping to feed hungry widows and their children.

Feeding the Orphans

2010-01-28T20:00:00.000-06:00

Look closely.....do you see Jesus in this picture?

Going to Ghana!

2010-01-09T19:17:00.000-06:00

Plans for the Ghana 2010 Mission Trip are well underway. If you are interested in joining the team, contact cheryl@hopeheritage.org for more information.

The trip is scheduled for July 2010. You may go for 10 days, 14 days or several weeks.

In order to get the best price, airline tickets must be reserved in the next few weeks. NO funds are due at this time.

The primary purpose of this mission is to help widows and orphans in their distress. We will also join with the national pastor of a local village church in helping to plant a church in a village where there are no Christians and no Christian influence.

Additional activities include hut-to-hut evangelism, a visit to Ghana Bible Society and ministry partnership with World Vision.

This trip is sponsored through International Hope and Heritage. Click here to learn more about IHH.

Hungry No More

2009-12-31T18:48:00.000-06:00

These pictures speak for themselves. And yes, this IS the same child.

Thank you to the anonymous donor who helped save the lives of these children.

October 2009 Photograph - unable to walk due to malnutrition

December 2009 Photograph - beginning to crawl

There are others. Click here if you want to help.

Widow Program Launched

2009-12-28T09:58:00.000-06:00

Please click here to read about the IHH Widow Care Program that will benefit widows in the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa.

Good News Clubs

2009-12-15T20:48:00.000-06:00

Dear Beloved in Christ,

Indeed,this is Good News to all!

I am sending you a report and photographs of the club's activities in Sankpem,one of our preaching station and mission field.On Sunday 13th December 09,Shalom Baptist Children moved with Pastor Issah to Joined the children of Sankpem to begin Xmas celebrations. They held Church service with the believing and unbelieving children in the community. A guest pastor named Niendow preached about the incarnation of Christ,after which they eat a common meal together. Later in the evening I joined them on the field to play games.The pictures you see are taken on the field during the games,you can see younger ladies line up for soccer and ampe games,pastor Issah also joined and lead the children to sing as you can see.

In my Mission Strategy Plan,this club is an advance team, they go with games which attract the attention of non-christian children,they also do Bible story telling,Scripture memorization and many more.I want you to pray for this club,because it exists to reach out to non-Christian children in ten (10) villages surrounding Tarikpaa.

As you pray think about these things:1. Soccer balls,currently the club has 10 soccer balls,but it will need more as we plan to extend to many communities. 2.jumping ropes. 3.Jessey (for kids) 4.Learning materials 5.Evangicubes.6.Funds.We all agree that the club cannot function well without money,especially it involved movement,Shalom Baptist Church children walks about six miles on foot to join their colleague children in other villages,if there is fund we can higher a bus for them so that they don't become too much tire of walking, even sometimes they reach home late in the night,you can imagine how dangerous to walk in bush area like our place, but the children are happy always to go out for this evangelistic programmes.I share this with you so can pray more for God to use these children in order to draw many more children to His kingdom and raise support to carry out the programmes successfully.

Our next Village is Kushibo,Kushibo is an Islamic stronghold,but the Christian children there are very active, Good News Club has planed to do programme there on the 26th of December 09,pray that there will be a turning point in this community after the programme.

Thank you,

Your co-laborer in the gospel,

Pastor Mohammed.

A New Life. A New Name

2009-12-09T18:11:00.000-06:00

In Ghanaian culture, names are very important and carry great meaning. The name is kept a secret until the Outdooring Ceremony, where friends and family gather to celebrate the birth of the child.

The birth of this child is especially meaningful because this family lost a 6 yr old daughter a year ago to malaria.

Posted by Pastor Ziblim Mohammed

Beloved Brethren,

It was a joyful celebration as believers gathered together on Monday morning to celebrate God's goodness and faithfulness to us as a family in Christ. As Dorcas and I was praying for a name that will be given to the newly born baby boy into our family, God gave us this name, Hanani.

Hanani is a Hebrew name and the meaning is Yahweh is Gracious. His Dagomba name is Chalpang,meaning forgive. Hanani was a brother of Nehemiah who reported the return exiles to Jerusalem reproach to Nehemiah. He was also one of the family leaders during the time of rebuilding the wall.

Pray that God's gracious hand will be upon Hanani and he will grow to Love and serve God with fear all his life on earth.

Thank you for your prayers in advance.

Pastor Mohammed

Update on Starving Children

2009-11-29T08:52:00.000-06:00

As reported by Pastor Mohammed of the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa:
My fear was that those children might have die before June 2010,but now by God's grace i have hope that they will not die because they are growing stronger each day,so there are situations which we can not wait.

As reported by Dr. Kuubiere of the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa:

Both have improved remarkably

2009-11-22T17:02:00.000-06:00

Please be aware that some of the pictures in this post are graphic and disturbing. Guard your heart.

This has been a very difficult post to write due to the sensitive subject matter that it contains. Sometimes there is a fine line between exploitation and information sharing and this is one of those times. After much prayer and consideration, I felt like this story was one that needed to be told. My prayer is that the harsh reality of what you see and read will break your heart and open your eyes to the plight of the widows and orphans in this world. These are real mothers who are hurting for their children. These are real children who are in physical pain due to lack of food.

In recent weeks, my dear friend, Pastor Ziblim Mohammed, has been surverying widows in several surrounding villages in order to assess their needs. He is serving on behalf of IHH to develop and implement a Widow Care Program that will be launched very soon. In the village of Zugu he found a young widow with 2 very sick children, both of whom could no longer walk due to severe malnutrition.

Without going into every detail, I will tell you that in a story that only God would write, those children were taken to a small private hospital in a nearby village to be taken care of. They arrived in critical condition and were immediately given liquid nutrition and medication for malaria and chest infections. After becoming stabilized, they were returned to their mud-hut village. Pastor Mohammed then traveled another 2 hours to get them some nutritional food from the local market. He will continue to monitor their progress and make sure they are fed.

These children, by the grace of God, are going to survive. Many others will not.

Please join me in praying for these children. They are Muslim, but now they have heard about Jesus. Thank you, Pastor Mohammed, for sharing God's love with them.

Adijah, age 1 1/2

Ishawu, age 4 yrs.

Widow Salamatu

This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress. James 1:27a

Baptism in Tarikpaa

2009-11-07T11:48:00.000-06:00

Dear Brethren,

"In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10. There is much joy in Shalom Baptist Church in Tarikpaa over the 18 young men and and ladies who have accepted the Lord as their savior and Lord and are added to the Church, i therefore called you to rejoice with us as we celebrate the victory of these people salvation,I spent three months teaching them in the enquerer class even when i was in seminary, and this is the result we are seeing today.When they heard that i was going to leave Accra and come to Tamale to work as home missionary,they were happy and said they will wait for me to come and guide them in their final decision ,making and arrange their Baptism.Upon my arrival in the North i organized them,thought them on two Sundays and then interviewed them to make sure they realy understand what they were doing, finally i called Rev.Isaac Issah Wuni, the principal of the Northern Ghana Baptist Theological Seminary and the senior Pastor of Koinonia Baptist Church in Tamale to come and Join pastor Stephen Napari of Shalom Baptist Church to officiate the initiation ceremony.

I am therefore sending you the pictures of Rev. Wuni and Pastor Stephen with some of the candidates and the candidates group picture.This is a confirmation that we are being obedient to the Lord's command in Matthew 28:19-20.I therefore call you to pray with these ones to grow in the Lord as i spend another time of teachings with them.

I want to assure you that if you can pray with Shalom Baptist Church and I as a missionary, i tell you the truth we will put the devil to shame, so even if you don't know what to do in order to support our ministry of evangelism and Church planting among the Dagomba people group in the North,but do as a favor to remember us in your prayer,that is very crucial to us.
I also want to use this opportunity to thank those of you who partner with us in prayer,encouragement and support this ministry financially,may the good Lord bless you,i encourages you to keep it up and continue the good work you are doing, because what you have seen is the reult of your prayer and support, I appeal to all our mission partners and those who think God has called them to rescue the perishing to join the Shalom family and pastor Mohammed to reach out to the unreach people groups in the North, especially the remote villages in the Savelugu West Corridor.

Thank you for now,

Pastor Mohammed, Missionary, Tamale Mission Field.

Love in Action

2009-10-31T17:43:00.000-05:00

Widow Ayi and Family

July 2009

Yahaya, the boy on the far right, has now received medical treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

The entire family has received healthcare

The family has also received 2 female goats, which in turn, helps provide much needed food

October 2009

This is the first day of school for these children. They had never been to school because they could not afford the uniforms or school fees.

So much for so many for so little

2009-10-16T21:30:00.000-05:00

Thank you to the sponsors of the African orphans for helping provide these much needed supplies.

Did you notice the little face to the left of the supplies, looking through the screen?

Ignore the date on the photo. It's Africa.....and those of you who have been there will understand.

If you want to help an orphan, please click on the link in the sidebar.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matt 25:40

Pastor Issah's Children's Ministry

2009-10-12T19:21:00.000-05:00

In Summer 2008, Pastor Issah (the tall one) shared with the team his vision of a sport's evangelism program for the children of Kushibo, Sankpem and Tarikpaa villages. He knew this would be an effective way to get the children interested in coming to church.

In Spring 2009, a friend of mine called and said he had just purchased boxes and boxes of soccer uniforms at a store that was going out of business and wondered if I knew anyone in Ghana who might could use them. Well, the answer lies in the photos above. Thank you, Ray, for your giving heart.

The Building of an African Church

2009-09-28T18:54:00.000-05:00

Sankpem is a small remote mud-hut village in the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa. It is a very poor village and many there are suffering because they do not have fresh water. The nearest fresh water source is 3 miles away. That means that instead of going to school, many of the young girls haul water.

Sankpem is also primarily a Muslim village. However, there is a small group of Christians who have been meeting together and worshipping under a big African tree for several years. They are small in number, but mighty in spirit.

Recently, a donation was made to help Sankpem begin building a church. In Africa, the walls and roof are built first. The "bricks" are handmade on site. Eventually, with more funding, a concrete floor will be hand-poured.

Here is the beginning of the beautiful Sankpem church:

Rebekah's Legacy

2009-09-26T08:21:00.000-05:00

Posted by Ghana team member, Stephanie

About a month after our trip to Ghana last year, my Ghanian friend, Rebekah, came down with a horrible case of malaria. Jesus ended up calling her Home after only a few days in the hospital. Her family and friends took her body to a little village just outside Tamale called Tuuningli. As her grave digger was digging, he began to ask questions about Rebekah's Jesus and by the time Rebekah's funeral was over and her body was buried, this grave digger had become a new follower of Jesus Christ! One year later, God has used this little grave digger to plant the only Christian church in this little village called Tuuningli.

God does things we can't understand that ultimately flourish with His glory. Praise the El Roi, the God who sees us, Who sees deeper and further than we can even begin to imagine.

"She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: 'You are the God who sees me,' for she said, 'I have now seen the One who sees me.'" Genesis 16:13 NIV

The Dagomba Tribe

2009-09-12T19:27:00.000-05:00

The Dagomba are a large people group living in northern Ghana. Their kingdom, called Dagbon, was established centuries ago and dominated an area near the Dagomba capital of Yendi.

They speak Dagbani, which is a Gur language.

The Dagomba make their living primarily through farming. Much of the land of the Dagbon is infertile and requires that a farm be left fallow for up to five years; therefore, Dagomba villages are somewhat small, leaving room for farms to be widely separated. Farmers use much fertilizer from the manure of the village cattle, and eventually the soil does become quite fertile, enabling the farms to be used year-round. However, farms located in the bush are used only for two or three years and then are left fallow. Since yams are the specialty crop, the Dagomba plant over 32 varieties. Farmers also grow crops such as maize, millet, rice, peanuts, and beans.

The Dagomba are not only skillful farmers, but also are fishermen and hunters, and some even engage in administrative and managerial work. Dagomba craftsmen are skilled tailors, traders, and makers of ropes and mats. Some also specialize as blacksmiths, butchers, and barbers. Parents send their young sons to be trained by these craftsmen. Through observation and practice, a boy will gradually learn a trade and assume his role in the new occupation.

In Dagomba society, villagers arrange their houses in a particular order. The chief (eldest man in the village) locates his dome-shaped hut in the center. His hut stands out above the rest. The village is divided into wards or quarters, all facing the chief's home. A quarter is identified by its head or by its dominating specialist group. For example, there may be a soldiers' quarter or a butchers' quarter. The commoners are scattered throughout the village in round or rectangular huts (for female and male, respectively); there is no physical separation of the commoners from the ruling class.

Drummers play an important role in the village, for they not only are musicians, but also are court historians. They must learn and retain much information. In most cases, a drummer's son follows in his father's footsteps, becoming a drummer and learning from his father the origin of the people and their kingdom.

What are their beliefs? Although almost half of the Dagomba follow the Islamic faith, many also believe in and worship additional spirits and gods. Each village sacrifices to its individual ancestral gods and the entire society collectively worships the more powerful gods. The Dagomba also practice witchcraft and consult diviners to rid themselves of curses. The Dagomba honor their ancestors with a pagan festival called Bugun, which means "fire" or "hell." The celebration begins with a great feast and culminates when the people gather together with lighted torches near a tree outside the community. There they recite the names of their ancestors and throw their torches into the tree.

Information obtained from The Joshua Project.