Here in this part of Ghana, it is the start of farming season. This is a very busy time of year for our villagers, when the farmers are out preparing the ground for planting. A farmer in the northern region of Ghana grows mainly maize, groundnuts (peanuts), corn, yam, cassava, tomatoes, lettuce, pepper, onions, and watermelons.
In this newsletter, I want to introduce you to a few of the farmers that I have gotten to know in one of our villages.
Samuel
Samuel is a fine young man, hardworking, and has a heart to serve God. He lost his father at a young age and carries the responsibility of caring for his mother and three other siblings. He worked all during the dry season with a riverside garden, which unfortunately was destroyed by a flood when we had an unusually hard rain. This year it is his desire to extend his farm and grow groundnuts to better provide for his family.
Even though life isn’t easy for Samuel, he is faithful to serve God in the church by leading worship, children’s Sunday School, and Bible study. He is one of our potential leaders and is excited to be a part of our healthy leadership training. We are waiting in anticipation to see what God has planned for him in the ministry.
Also, a praise from this past Sunday: Samuel’s mother attended church for the first time and accepted Christ!
Isaac
In January, we were looking for a pastor to preach in two of our struggling village churches. The leadership team decided that maybe it was time to use our own villagers to minister in our churches.
We approached Isaac, and he was willing to say yes to being a pastor. Since Isaac has never been trained as a pastor, I felt it was very important that Pastor George mentor him.
John
Every Tuesday, I spend the afternoon in this village, ministering to the children. My translator is a young man by the name of John. John and his family have been attending the church since it was first started back in 2010. John is now twenty-one and a very active member in the church. He blows me away by his faith and his knowledge of the Bible. The young Muslim men are constantly ganging up on him and trying to get him to convert to Islam. However, he continues to be faithful and let his light shine for God.
Really, John is an outstanding young man. He started out as my translator, but he started taking an interest in the kids’ ministry, and as I give him more opportunities to do more, he is always willing to do it. Now, I feel John is the reason the kids continue to come back. He is really, truly the heart of the Tuesday ministry.
God at Work
It is absolutely amazing to see God working in the lives of these young men. Many people may be quick to overlook them because they don’t have a full education, but I have so much I can learn from them and their walk in faith. They have grown up defending their faith to the Muslims, are continuously persecuted for their faith, and are treated like outsiders. However, they continue to stay faithful to God.
Pray for all of our fifteen potential leaders that, through this training, they will allow God to transform their lives. Also, pray for our leadership team that God will provide us with the wisdom and the strength as we train the future leaders of our churches. Pray for me, especially, as I lead the ministry team in this new direction of leadership training.
