You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3
Hello dear friends,
I am writing this newsletter from a more comfortable environment than the previous one. Our seasons here have begun to shift from hot to “rainy” season. I personally enjoy this season because it provides relief from the day-to-day extreme heat. But unfortunately, it does bring more sickness because of the increased presence of mosquitos, which means malaria, along with people often experience a cough and head cold from the cooler evenings. Before the weather changed, I had been putting my mattress on the floor under a ceiling fan so that I would get the direct effect from the air blowing down on me…. This proved to be quite the excitement one night. I woke up abruptly in the middle of the night a few weeks ago to an insect crawling in my ear!! It was the most bazaar experience. It brought panic and discomfort. The situation is quite funny looking back on it, but at that moment, I was in such a tizzy! This reminded me how God, our Father, wants us to remain in perfect peace, even when circumstances are a bit chaotic or not going well. If we remain steadfast in Him and trust that He is good, then He can see us through those times of life that bring disruption.
Children’s Ministry
The last several weeks have been a sweet time for children’s ministry. We had some visitors come and spend time with us, along with a celebration for one of our teachers, Enyonam. The children prepared a song and choreography to surprise Enyonam with one afternoon. The children were also surprised to receive rice porridge and biscuits after their performance! God has been so faithful in providing resources and opportunities for seeds to be planted in these precious children’s lives. Through a connection last year, I had a visitor come and stay with me for a week. This young lady’s name is Kuukua. She has a passion for children’s ministry and had never been to Aflao, Volta Region before. She came and jumped right into ministry here and provided me companionship and fellowship for a time to do ministry along side with day-to-day. She was like a sponge, ready to absorb how things are here, the needs, challenges, and offered creative ways to strengthen the children’s ministry here by investing in the teachers here through conversations. There was another connection that was made through a visitor that Mama Florence had. It was her niece, Mylin. She also expressed interest in the Sustaining Love Kids children’s program. She came by several afternoons during her stay here to speak with the students and encourage them to stay in school, and she took a special interest in the young female students that wanted to become nurses because that is her background.
Teacher Workshops
It has been a goal of mine to connect and collaborate with the local schools in this area. God has provided these connections and I have been able to enter several schools as a volunteer to host teacher workshops. The most recent one was in Duta Basic school which is near to the Togo Border. The ice-breaker games are always a favorite for the teachers because it is not often, they too get to participate in such activities. By demonstrating different ways to interact and connect with students, it opens sincere conversations with the teachers to discuss and work through certain challenges they face in the classroom. The hope is to continue building relationships with these teachers and school administrators to Equip them with teaching methods that will also provide Christ-centered perspectives for them to consider implementing.
Outreach with Mama Florence
Since returning back in April, I have focused in on helping Mama Florence with her youth group at the church she has on her property. The youth that come to this church are from challenging home lives both physically and spiritually. It has been a goal to help them build deeper relationships with each other to help Bible discussions be more vulnerable. We have played volleyball, had movie nights, and hope to plan a community outreach to do together once school is on break. Mama has been so helpful in providing encouragement and resources for an elderly man named Lakpo, that many of you may be familiar with his story. He recently fell very sick. I took him to the hospital to be admitted due to the family negligence that resulted in his health decline. Mama has joined me several times to visit him, even though she herself faces certain physical challenges. We always have sweet time of fellowship, worship, and prayer to encourage Lakpo in his fight. We are trusting in God’s timing for all things, and hope to keep Lakpo comfortable as long as he is with us!
With a grateful heart, I say thank you all for the love, support, and prayers that have been poured into the ministry here in Ghana! Every day is The Lords. Giving thanks and Glory to Him for all He has done and continues to do. This month, there are exciting developments to look forward to. The teachers that I have been working hand in hand with all these years are finally graduating from teacher training college. We plan to make the 6-hour trip together for them to step foot on the campus which they have been doing distance learning from all four years of the program. This will be their first time to go beyond the capital Accra. After returning from this trip, there is a plan to host a sports team from Accra to put on a sports program for up to 50 students from different schools in the Zuime and Aflao area. The goal of this collaboration with the organization called: Impact Youth will be to allow the student to participate in a holistic sports and leadership program. I look forward to seeing how it all works out.
Sending Love and prayers to you all from Ghana. Feel free to reach out via email anytime with prayer requests or questions!
Your sister in Christ,
Chelsi
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