…BUT THE GREATEST IS LOVE.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:13

Hello to all and Happy New Year!!

It is surreal to think we are now in 2022. I have wanted to send an update for some time, and have even started and stopped this very newsletter several times, but as you all know life can get busy. During the business of this season of life, The Lord has reminded me of an important truth from His Word, which is:

Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

With the vision to focus on helping provide a firmer educational foundation for children, I have had faith that this is what God has called me to do. I have had hope that The Lord will do a work here in this community that is beyond what I can ever do on my own….. But without LOVE, none of this is possible. Love must be the center and the standard. That is why I believe The Lord put “Sustaining Love KIDS” specifically on my heart to name this after-school program. Only His love can sustain. The past couple of months have been physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining, but His love has sustained through it all. I am excited to share with you more about what is happening here as I celebrate both trails and steps forward!!

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

It was my first time to celebrate Christmas here with my Ghana family! The two girls I live with helped me to host a little Christmas gathering with all our neighbor children and their families. It was a sweet time of fellowship, dancing, and eating fufu (which is a local dish). It was the first time for a few of my neighbor children to ever eat the cherished local dish due to not being able to afford it. My favorite part of the gathering, besides the dancing, was how we began with reading the Christmas story from Luke 2. This is a tradition my family does each year, and it was a blessing to share in that with my Ghana family.

LITERACY EVANGELISM

A unique opportunity presented itself to host an English class for a group of Muslim women in our area. I have known these ladies since I first came to Ghana, and our friendship has grown all through the relationship I have with a little girl named Rumana! One day, Rumana’s mother asked me to begin teaching her English. We were not very consistent at first, and it faded out. But it became obvious that this was something God has orchestrated. We are now meeting every Monday and Tuesday mornings with a few others that have shown interest. I have been blown away by their interest and commitment. This is the first time for any of them to do any kind of organized “learning”. They can only speak their local language but cannot read or write. Through our gatherings each week, they have opened, and I can see walls coming down. The one who is helping me to teach is the young man named Precious who has had a rollercoaster of a journey involving education as well. He is now back in the community to participate in a 10-month long course that will allow him to receive a certificate of completing school if he does well. For him to come back to the area was a humbling experience for him, but I have seen him have a sincere heart to leave behind his past and press on toward knowing and serving Christ with his life. He has been such an instrumental part in the English class with the Muslim ladies flow well because he can bridge the gap in the language barrier. It has been neat to witness God make these connections and continue to provide open doors to The Gospel through the platform of education.

THE LAUNCH

The day finally came when we officially launched the after-school program! All the praying, planning, and the meetings helped paved the way. I knew that there would be some challenges and bumps along the way, which there have been, but I am so thankful for how God has been faithful through it all. Just like any new adventure, it has taken us some time to work through issues to make things go as smooth as possible. Overall, the children who are coming to the program are eager and committed to coming. We have separated them into four different groups by the grade levels. We meet from 3:30-4:30 each day with the goal of focusing on literacy skills, group work activities, and most importantly sharing more about who Christ is through our actions, words, and love. The Lord has made a connection and partnership with one guy who has allowed us to use the location he is also launching a new school at. There is a wall around the structure in which they meet, but that is it. It is very basic, but we have been able to manage and contribute our own supplies and materials.

A small speed bump we have encountered is that we are now planning to relocate to a different area along with the school we have partnered with. It is an incomplete house with 6 rooms and electricity available. Our plan is to now occupy this different space for the time being. I have battled different doubts and concerns over the start of this program, and the enemy has tried to sway me away from the original vision The Lord placed on my heart. I share this as a testimony of how faithful God is, and how He is fighting the battle in my own heart and mind for me. Ultimately, the goal is to show the love of Christ to the children and their families in this area. The where, how, and when of doing a program such as this is not as necessary as the why. This is what The Lord is teaching me right now as we press on and listen to what it is He wants us to do in moving forward.

PRAISES

There is so much to be grateful for during a busy and chaotic season here! Since I have been here in Ghana, I have kept a secret prayer of one day having a mode of transportation to do ministry with. One day, I shared this with someone who has been faithful in supporting the ministry here. In God’s perfect timing and provision, I am now so humbled and excited to share that there are now wheels for Jesus available to me to use here! It is surreal to think about it sometimes. It really is difficult to express in words how this helps the work to move on here. I was able to get the vehicle simultaneously as the after-school program officially launched. Since there has been no place to store the learning materials and resources we have been using, I have been able to use the vehicle to load and transport every day to the program location. After the program closes each day, at least 12-16 students and some teachers pack inside the vehicle as we make a trip across the village to where they live. Having a vehicle has also created unique ways to minister and make connections with people anytime I head into the town down our rough dirt road, I am able to pick up people to give a ride into town. This has opened up spiritual conversations with those who can communicate in English, or just simple an act of love for those who cannot. One special day, one of my roommates and I was able to load up some of our neighbor children who had never left the village before. We took them to see the beach, which was an incredible experience. The way their eyes went wide, and voices went silent in complete awe of the wonder of God’s creation!! It was truly one of the most special days I have ever had here.

Nineveh, or, Nineveh

The Lord is turning toward you

Compassion or calamity

Will you heed the warning?

Fall on your knees, tear down your idols

When you choose surrender, you choose survival

Call on His name, turn from your violence

Out of the ashes, He will revive you

These are lyrics to a song that has become my prayer for the community of Zuime. My most special times of the day are the early morning hours that I rise to spend time with my Jesus before the day begins. During those moments, I soak in His love and fill my cup so that I have the strength to face the day with His love in me. I have focused on praying these lyrics specifically for Zuime. This is a harsh environment to be in with all the poverty, lack of education, lack of security, and lack of love and care for the precious children. My heart prayer is that all will call on His name and turn from their idols (whether it is an idol of stone or anything that is in place of the one true God) to know and surrender the only one who can revive to new life.

Thank you all for the continued love, prayers, support, and interest that has been expressed in what is happening on this side of the world. I know we are living in unique and unpredictable times, but I the one thing we can all cling to is His love in all things. My prayers are with all of you. Please feel free to reach out at any time!