G H A N A - The Unexpected Mission

I'm Home

2006-06-17T18:08:00.000-04:00

I’m home I think I’ve recovered. Not a whole lot of jet lag to deal with – I think that has something to do with not sleeping on the plane, coming home and staying awake until the time you normally go to bed.

It was a long 2 days of travel. Tuesday morning began with us getting our visa’s successfully and then running over to Nathaniel’s wife’s parents home to say hello. From there we went back to Nathaniel’s house, loaded up the car with 3 people’s luggage, 3 djembes and 5 people – Me, Matt, Dr. Phil, Nathaniel and his driver. The djembes sat on our laps in the car – a tight fit for all of us for about 3 hours.

We were blessed at the border crossing as we were met there by one of Nathaniel’s friends from Togo. He assisted us in getting across but we still had to “bribe” several people along the way to make it through without having to pull all of the luggage out for inspection. We had nothing to hide – we were just short on time. Once through we also had to stop several times and change drivers – Nathaniel’s driver doesn’t have an international driver’s license and each time we came up on a “police stop” we would stop the car, they would get out a pretend they had to “pee”, and then switch places in the car. Call it God’s sovereign plan or whatever, but they both happened to be wearing white shirts and dark pants so that from a distance the police would not be able to tell what we were doing. They could very easily change spots without getting caught.

We arrived at the airport and got through customs there with no issues at all. In fact the customs agent was quite excited that I had purchased a djembe and was explaining how to take care of it while he threw stickers on the luggage. The flights were ok. Long flights, long layovers and glad to be home.

On the flight from Germany to D.C. I sat next to a girl from Daytona who had just graduated from Embry Riddle with a degree in air traffic control. It was interesting talking to her about flying, directing traffic, etc. She brought up that she had been on a 17 day tour of Europe and had purchased some rosaries from the Vatican. That gave me an opportunity to share with her a little bit about the difference between salvation by works and the truth – salvation by grace through faith, nothing more and nothing less.

Upon arrival in Tampa, Matt’s wife Christie, Joel, Sarah, John & Kendra and the boys were all there to greet us. It was like our own welcome home party. Thanks guys for coming to greet us! I really appreciated that since I was coming home to an empty house.

Yesterday was spent running errands, doing laundry and cleaning up my unpacking mess from the night before. Today was spent with continued laundry, cleaning house, setting up a new pool and waiting – waiting for my girls to get home. They should be home within the next hour or so. I am very excited to see them.

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at church in the morning and I really look forward to sharing with you all of the stories, photos, and experiences. This is a trip that has been well worth it – even with the explosion included. Everyone, yes EVERYONE, needs to visit a third world country in their lifetime. We really do have it good here in America. I will never again take for granted the MANY things I have in life – air conditioning, an enclosed home, 2 cars, 2 tv’s, 2 computers and hundreds more at the office, etc. But the most important things that I share in common with my Ghanaian brothers & Sisters are these: my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and my family. If you have these two things, you need nothing more. God saw it fit to give me each of these and I know that these are things he can never take away.

I’m sure that as I reflect over the coming weeks, I’ll have more thoughts to share. Thank you all for your prayers and for those of you who have supported me financially in this venture – your money was not spent in vain. Thank you for your contribution to this life changing trip. Without your support I would have never been able to experience God in a whole new way. I sincerely look forward to returning to Ghana & Togo in the future to continue what God has begun through Matt & I – “Africa, Computers, & Missions”.

Love to all,

Scott

Explosion!

2006-06-13T13:50:00.000-04:00

June 13, 2006 - 5:46 p.m. Togo Time

Yep, thatâs rightâ¦ explosion. More to come in a few lines.

As I said yesterday morning, we spent most of the morning relaxing. Dr. Phil and I had a nice chat about investment strategies. I enjoyed our discussion and it was good to see throughout our discussion that we each had some of the same philosophies.

We did some site seeing as well. We drove down to the harbor. That was pretty cool. Everyday the women go down there and wait for the fishermen to return from the ocean with their catch and the women then bicker and bargain to try and buy the fish so that they can resell it to stores, on the streets and to restaurants.

Togo was formed under German authority so there is a lot of German influence here even though they are very close with France at this time. We had lunch at a German Restaurant. I had boiled bratwurst. MMM MMM Good.

As we were going to the headquarters for New Harvest International Ministries the Explosion occurred. We had stopped to get some bottled water and upon returning to the van I asked Nathaniel how long until we got to the NHIM headquarters â he said 5 minutes. Well I couldnât last that long. I begged Nathaniel to find a place to stop â Praise God we were close to his house. I ran upstairs only to find a toilet with no paper and not working water but in times like this you gotta do what you gotta do. Nathaniel brought paper and also 2 huge buckets of water to be used for flushing. There would have been and explosion in the car had we not been able to stop when we did. It hit that quickly. I was not the only one though. It went through all of us â Keith, Linda, Matt, and Dr. Phil as well.

We then were able to continue to the NHIM headquarters. It is a pretty nice little compound and Nathaniel has a great vision for reaching all of West Africa through this ministry. Matt and I are already thinking of ways we can assist the ministry through the use of technology.

Despite all of us not feeling real well â God enabled us to visit a church last night. Both Dr. Phil and Keith spoke. Dr. Phil on sin and the need to cleanse our lives of it while Keith began to cast vision for the Togolese people to reach beyond their comfort zone and to move out amongst the nations with the Gospel.

This morning we were all felling better but we ate a light breakfast anyway to be safe. We began the day by going to the market â wow â what an experience. The second we walked in we were surrounded with people trying to hawk the wares. It was a pretty cool experience though. I think I have learned how to say ânoâ rather forcefully.

We had lunch at a different German place today by the beach and we were able to buy a few other souvenirs there as well without the pressure of the market dudes all over us.

Tonight we will be visiting another church; Keith will be preaching again. Upon our return to the hotel tonight, Matt and I will be packing up and heading back to Accra to catch our flight. Be praying for us as we will be passing though Frankfurt and the World Cup has that place jammed with people. Also be praying for our visas â we went the Ghanaian embassy today to have our visas changed so that we could enter Ghana tomorrow morning. They said they will not be ready until tomorrow morning. We will need to leave here by 11:00 a.m. in order to be sure we have enough time to get through to Accra.

So, that being said â this will probably be the last posting until I return home on Thursday evening. Once home I will update you on the blog so that you all know we arrived safely.

I thank you all for your prayers while on this trip. Has it been worth it? Definitely! God has shown me more than I could have imagined about reaching the nations for Him. As I reflect upon this trip on the way home, I need to come up with ways to express everything that has occurred. There is no way that writing it in a blog could even come close to reality. Words on a screen just cannot do this justice. I donât even think spoken words could express my feelings. Iâll share more upon my return though.

I Love You All!
Scott

Update

2006-06-12T07:17:00.000-04:00

Ok - is this really a mission trip or a vacation. This hotel is like a resort. We will be staying here for the duration of our stay in Togo. Like I said earlier - Nathaniel feels it would be best for us to stay here due to security reasons. We do have internet access in the internet cafe at a rate of about $4 per hour so I will update the next few days on a regular basis.

Nathaniel is currently out renting a van for all of us. We will probably head out the beach or pool to do some relaxation until he arrives. Breakfast was good - French pastries, eggs, juice, and... instant coffee. AHHH!!!

We're head out...

Scott

The Next Morning

2006-06-12T07:09:00.000-04:00

June 12, 2006 â 8:25 a.m. Togo Time

Ok â itâs a great day after a great nights rest. Matt is just getting out of bed and waking up as I type.

Yesterday morning began with worship at Adonai Chapel. Matt and I, along with almost everyone else from the US (the GCA contingent), we shuffled on stage and we each had a chance to greet the congregation. I also sang âWe Fall Downâ. Their music was LOUD and there was some dancing during the service. They also took up a special offering for the Student Missions division of Global Evangelical Church â this is the ministry that sent the students earlier in the week to the northern Muslim areas for evangelism purposes. Overall the worship time was sweet and we even sang a familiar song in âAgnus Deiâ.

After service Pastor Bright summoned us to his office for a visit. I can assume that there was no real purpose to this time as we were in there for about and hour and a half and probably spoke with him no more than 10 minutes total as he was attending to his flock and their needs.

We checked out of our hotel and then were taken to Lunch at the local Mobil â On The Run filling station. Matt & I split a pizza with Dr. Phil. Oh â it wasnât quite pizza from home but it was enough to fulfill the craving for home.

After some time at Emmanuel & Maryâs home we, (Keith, Linda, Matt, Dr. Phil, Nathanial and myself) all boarded up on the van and a car and headed for the Ghana/Togo border. This was to be a short 3 hour trip and as I said last night turned out much longer. Keith and Lindaâs driver got lost and we waited for them at the border for a little less than an hour and while waiting there were hustlers all around us fighting over who was going to assist us in taking our luggage across the border. They were literally screaming at each other as to who had rights to us. Kinda scary.

Dr. Phil and I also went to the immigration office to see what the process would be to get across the border only to discover that K, L, M, & I all had single entry visas for Ghana; meaning that once we crossed the border into Togo we could not come back to Ghana without paying $100 each. Eventually we did find the others and we decided to go to the local Global Evangelical Church there to see if they had any advice or could offer us assistance in getting across. Let me say that God is good. The pastor there was very welcoming. It just so happened that he has a member of his church that works on the border and she was able to assist us in getting across. Once though the paperwork we had to âBribeâ the gate keeper to go through the last gate to the main road. Iâll just say this â There is no way I can type out and describe the experience â just let it be known that God gets all of the Glory for bringing us through there with no harm.

As we were driving toward the boarder God gave me a great analogy. I was watching the moon rise over the horizon â it was full and beautiful. As I watched the moon I saw that at times my view was obstructed by clouds, then clear, then clouds, then clear, etc. What I saw was this: As sin enters our life (the clouds) our view of and relationship with God becomes cloudy. As we repent the âcloudsâ go away but this is a never ending process. Sin will always creep into our life no matter how hard we try not too â Christ is the only perfect one without sin. But no matter how often we sin; just like the moon rises again each night reflecting Godâs Glory, so is Godâs grace and mercy new each morning when we wake up.

The hotel we are at in Togo is very secure. Nathanial has told us that Togo is a very corrupt country and that we should not try to speak or build trust with anyone. He has chosen this hotel for us because it is one where all of the governmental officials stay frequently. We walked in the front door and couldnât believe we were actually staying here. It is very beautiful. Nice rooms, gorgeous artwork in the lobby. By the way â everyone here speaks French so this will be fun.

Since I had access to a phone I called April, Kendyl and Logan. It was so good to hear there sweet voices. It has really made me miss them even more. I am excited to get home Thursday to anxiously await their arrival home on Saturday evening. I canât wait to hold them in my arms and be a âwholeâ family again. As I called they were getting ready to go for a horse and buggy ride â something I never got to do while being at the farm! To my girls: mellowooâ (I Love You in Ewewe).

Today we will be going to the Ghanaian Embassy to try and rectify our Visa issues so that we can reenter Ghana without paying additional funds. Please be praying for us as we do this. We do not have a lot of money with us and do not want to have Nathanial pay for this either.

We are trusting in God for his will and provision while looking forward to what he is going to show and teach us in the next few days. Our great desire is to see Psalm 135:13 revealed to us: âYour name, O Lord, endures forever, Your Renown, O Lord, through all generationsâ.

Off to breakfast.

Mia Dogo!
Scott

Worship to Worry

2006-06-12T07:08:00.000-04:00

June 11, 2006 â 11:06 p.m. Togo Time

What a dayâ¦ Iâm not going to go into to much right now as it is late. We began our trip to Togo at 4:00 p.m. and arrived here about 10:30 p.m. â this was a trip that was supposed to take less than 3 hours. Letâs just say that Matt and I swear that we were smuggled across the border from Ghana to Togo even though we know thatâs not really what happened.

We are tired and going to bed soon. Iâll share more in the morning.

Love to all!
Scott

Road Trip

2006-06-12T06:56:00.000-04:00

June 10, 2006 â 10:36 p.m. Ghana Time

I said we didnât know what we were doing today and we found out this morning when we left the hotel compound around 10:00 a.m. We crowded 13 of us into a van and another 5 in an SUV and headed out for a drive to an old castle in Cape Coast. This is a town west of Accra. Little did we know it would take 3 hours to get there and even longer to get home.

The roads in Ghana are not good. There are potholes everywhere and it is not uncommon to have to drive on the shoulder of the road to avoid all of the potholes. Needless to say we spent most of the trip bouncing right, left, up, down and any other direction you can think of. We have also been fumigated. We sucked in every speck of dust tossed our way as well as diesel fumes. ALL of the vehicles here run on diesel. Iâll just say it this way: I canât wait to blow my nose in the morning and see what comes out. Right now it is so dry that I have nothing to blow out.

The castle was actually quite cool. It sits up on a small ridge right on the coast. The waves were rolling crashing on the cliffs & rocks with thunderous force. Keith and I thought of Franklin â they had to be 10-20 foot waves â not that we would have wanted him surfing there in the rough waters killing himself on the rocks or anythingâ¦ We went down into the dungeons where the slaves were kept until auction. After the auction they were taken on small boats out to the ships where they were force to lay side by side for the journey across the ocean. The slave trade was officially ended in Ghana by the British in 1844 with a document signed in this very castle.

The tour probably only took about an hour but the trip was well worth it as we were able to get many photos of the Ghanaian people along the way. Photos of fishing villages, mud hut villages, extreme poverty. We also saw many people dressed in black as Saturday is typically the day for funerals. We saw many along the way and they seemed to be all out parties with music playing and the people dancing. Also on the way home we saw people on the side of the road selling âgrass cuttersâ. Iâll let you try and figure out what that was. We also stopped for coconuts.

Traffic was an absolute nightmare coming back to Accra as EVERYONE was returning from the market. We didnât arrive at the Global Evangelical Training Center until 8:00 p.m. While there we had dinner and were presented with gifts. We were all given African clothing.

Tomorrow Matt & I will be attending the English service at Adonai Chapel. Keith is preaching at another church so He and Linda will be there. Matt will be giving a word of greeting and I will be singing some sort of song â probably âWe Fall Downâ as it is a simple song that they may be able to pick up rather quickly.

We are supposed to check out of the hotel at 11:30 and sometime tomorrow we will be leaving for Togo. We probably will not have access to the internet while in Togo. Iâll just keep on blogging on my laptop and post them when I can. Matt and I fly out at 7:00 p.m. Ghana time Wednesday evening. Be praying for our trip home. I will say this. Today was the first day that I really began to long for home, more specifically the food from home â a nice Chiliâs burger, some ice cream and some real coffee â not the instant stuff we have had for breakfast each morning.

I pray all is well for you back home and canât wait to share with you our trip upon returning.

By the wayâ¦ âgrass cutterâ is a huge rat. They sell it whole or cut up and smoked. Yuck.

Good Night!
Scott

Hungry

2006-06-12T06:51:00.000-04:00

June 9, 2006 â 9:32 p.m. Ghana Time

Ohâ¦ Iâm hungry. I didnât have much lunch or dinner. Lunch was, again, chicken and rice. Dinner was fish & chicken covered in some type of spinach sauce with casabas. What is a casaba? It is some kind of root that looks like a huge potato but really doesnât have much taste. Think of a potato with the consistency of corn bread. Iâm not sure that does it justice but it will have to do. Needless to say I am right now eating my daily treat that April so kindly sent along. Each day I have had something from April and the girls for me to open and enjoy. I have had both notes of encouragement and also food treats. Todayâs was Hersey Kissables. MMM!!! BROWN FOOD GROUP!!! Iâll also be cracking open, for the first time all trip, my jar of peanut butter.

Ok â Iâm also hungry for more. More of Christ. I canât even express in words what I am thinking. I donât even know what to think. Keith keeps asking Matt and I, âNow do you see what I am talking about?â Yes, Keith, I do but I still canât process everything. The last summit session this morning was incredible. I wonât go into more only because I havenât even processed it all yet. Even more so I have been trying to process all that Keith has to say. Imagine that, right? Wow â I think the only way to process this is to let God work in me for that to happen, I need your prayers.

This afternoon Matt and I went back to Adonai Chapel to do our final class with them. We were asked to share some motivational words with them. I shared from the June 4th blog where I wrote about how we need not worry from day to day for our provisions. I stated that I wasnât sure how to relate to the People of Ghana because of the vast difference in our worlds. I explained that even though we look like we have everything we could ever want in America, we still struggle with the same things as they do. We worry how we will pay our bills, we worry about where a meal might come from. We all are charged with pursuing His Kingdom and righteousness and that is how we can relate â We serve the same Great, Big, Huge, Almighty, Powerful, Providing, Loving, Caring God. And if we are faithful to our God, we can do great things for Him by His strength and power.

After leaving there we visited a short time with Pastor Bright and his family. We were at his home for about an hour and a half, sitting on the front porch chatting about life. What life is like here in Ghana and the USA. Pastor Brightâs wife, Doris, served us âDigestiveâ cookies and fruit juice. It was a sweet time of fellowship in the Lord. They share pictures of their time ministering in the northern Volta Region. A time when they were living in the remote villages without electricity and running water. They have a great love for the people in that region and I sense a great desire for them to return there one day to minister.

Daniel, our driver, tracked us down early this morning to present us with a gift. Each of us recâd some Africa attire. Matt & I have matching shirts and Keith and Linda have matching outfits as well, Keith a shirt and Linda a dress. We immediately ran up to our rooms and changed our clothes for the day. We recâd many compliments on our attire. We were extremely touched by Danielâs thoughtfulness. Giving gifts is a part of this culture and we will be leaving a gift for Daniel and others as well.
Tomorrow we have a day off â it will be spent as a pleasure day. We are not sure yet what we will be doing but I have heard that we could be going to a National Park or to the Market. Weâll just take the day as it comes.

April, Kendyl, & Logan â I pray that all is well there in PA. Iâm sure you are all having a tremendous time even though the person who makes trips like that fun is missing â ME! I yearn for a good cup of coffee on the farm at the kitchen table. All that I have been able to get where we are staying is instant coffee. YUCK!

I love you!
Scott

Discipleship - The Need

2006-06-12T06:50:00.000-04:00

June 8, 2006 â 9:57 p.m. Ghana time

Another day has come and gone in the country of Ghana and the regions of West Africa. Our prayer is that this part of the world will not be the same after today. While I was not in the morning session of the Summit, the afternoon session was extremely eye opening for the church leaders of West Africa as well as us from Riverside. The pastors here have seen just how much they need to have solid discipleship in their churches, raising up leaders who will stand for Truth in the face of Islam which is quickly sneaking into this area and taking hold. The church here is characterized here by being 100 miles wide and only 1 foot deep â meaning that there are a lot of people who say they believe but they are very shallow in their beliefs which can result in their conversion to Islam.

As Riverside, we have seen that we are doing many things correctly in reaching out to our Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria, and the Ends of the Earth â but we also have an long way to go. We, as a church, need to be planting churches. I could really begin preaching like Keith here but for the sake of sleep and your boredom Iâll not go there this evening.

We did head to the Internet CafÃ© tonight but I couldnât get last nightâs blog posted. I emailed to Pastor Mike in hope that he would be able to do it for me.

I did read an email from Aprilâs mom â If I am reading and understanding it correctly, she has accepted Christ as her Savior. If I remember right, I asked all of you to be praying for this before I left and our prayers have been answered!

Kendyl â I wish I could have been there for this very special occasion but as you will learn, God is sovereign in His timing and I have tears in my eyes â tears of joy â knowing that you have discovered the most precious gift that could ever be given to you: the gift of eternal life. This gift has been given to you for free with no strings attached. This is a gift that will never be taken from you. You have done nothing to earn this salvation. You have been freely given salvation by professing your belief by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as THE Savior. You have not earned salvation through any act or deed other than your simple belief. Just as the Moon reflects the awesome beauty of the Sun, may your life be a reflection of Godâs Glory to everyone you meet in your Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria, and the Ends of the Earth. I love you!

April â God is faithful. I love when prayers are answered. Thank you for being diligent in your faith and being an example that our girls can use as a model for their lives. One down (or is that up?) and one to go!

Logan â youâre next. Mommy, Daddy and many other people will be fervently praying for the day of your salvation. May Sissy, Mommy & Daddy live our lives as a living testimony of what Christ can do. I canât wait to pray with you that prayer of salvation!
Ok â not that Iâm done being sappyâ¦ Mattâs teaching went very well today. We taught Excel using a personal budget as an example. We spent the afternoon at the summit and the evening at the Internet CafÃ©.

Food today??? It was a rough day for me. Breakfast was fine but lunch was that fish thing again â the steak cut and the tail section. I just couldnât do it. Dinner tonight was fried chicken, black eyed peas and fried plantains. I ate one of two pieces of chicken â I didnât know what one of the pieces was and it didnât look too appetizing. I did venture out and eat the fried plantains. They were pretty good. Anyway â I have had my share of beef jerky and granola bars tonight.

As I sign off I give all praise and glory to the one very one who sacrificed everything so that Kendyl could have eternal life!

Mia Dogo!
Scott

A Full Day

2006-06-12T06:49:00.000-04:00

June 7, 2006 10:54 p.m. Ghana Time

What a full day. Today was the first real teaching day for Matt and I. We were asked to teach Microsoft Word in about 2 hours of time. 2 HOURS!!! Big job for little people. Matt drove the computer while I taught. We went over the basic screen layout, File Menu, Edit Menu and the Help Menu and our 2 hours we up. Tomorrow we will be teaching Excel in the same time frame.

We have established a great relationship with our driver, Daniel. He has been assigned to all of the Americans and drives us wherever we need to go. We have been teaching him American slang â for instance: the driving here is a very impatient style. Much worse than the impatience we see in the US. They actually force their way into traffic and no one gets upset â itâs the way to drive here. We have been taught him such things as âwhere did you learn to drive?â and âthatâs coolâ. He has been teaching us the Ewewe language. âMi Dasiâ means thank you. âMia Dogoâ means I will see you again. We have also been asking him to teach us some of their praise songs. Too many new Ewewe words to remember â the phonetic sounds get very confusing. Daniel also said that on Friday we will where African Clothing. I would be honored to do so.

Today was also the first day of the West Africa Church Planting Summit. I donât remember if I mentioned this previously or not, but the guys from GCA had not recâd their luggage (I think) until this evening. In their luggage were all of the notes for the Summit that were to be handed out to the participants. The first day went well though. There are Pastors here from Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cote dâIvore, Togo, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, and 3 others. The Main point today was that worship is missions. Without worship, missions will not exist. Worship of God calls us to tell others of His grace and mercy, leading them to a personal relationship with Christ. Christians are worshippers of the Almighty God, as we worship, we go and tell other potential worshippers about Him, they believe and then repeat the cycle. But â before we can go and tell others, our lives must be lean of our âIdolsâ; the things that keep us from a closer relationship with the Almighty Father. Those idols can be the usual things that everyone thinks of: Sex, Drugs, etc. but they can also be things that are good such as success in ministry that overtakes and drives the life of a pastor. Success in ministry in and of itself is good but becomes and idol when that is what we strive for vs. glorifying God and out of that glorification of God, success comes.

Tonight was our time with the youth at Adonai Chapel. Matt & Keith both spoke on what a leader is like. Each of them did a tremendous job and they were very well received. I played âMr. Videoâ and was taking phones and video of everything. We had the awesome privilege of participating in Africa worship. The youth âdrum corpâ played their drums and WOW â what an awesome beat. We also have a special greeting for Riverside from the Youth of Adonai Chapel.

We also ran into some cultural issues during the seminar today. Not us directly but they are issues which will be addressed tomorrow. During the morning session they had opening ceremonies and the Americans were considered guests of honor during those opening ceremonies. During the afternoon session there were some of the African people who took offense to us sitting in the same place as the morning session â a place considered for people of honor. It was also said that we were not participating and making connections with the people there either. Tomorrow we will be looking for ways to integrate ourselves amongst the pastors and try to break down any barriers that may have gone up. Culture has a lot to do with missions and you MUST be aware of yourself and the local culture at all times.

We did have a time of prayer at the end of the day which was pretty exciting. You could literally hear Tribes, Tongues and Nations all praying together. Even though some may have been offended by our cultural unawereness, today was a day which was not about black or white; it was about one color and one color only: RED. We are all brothers unified by the redeeming red blood of Christ, all seeking one goal: to see Gods Glory shine to all parts of this world in all tribes, tongues and nations.

April, Kendyl and Logan â as each day passes I miss you more and more. My prayer is that as each day passes and the âmissâ grows, that I would grow more and more like Christ and come back as a changed, new and improved husband and daddy.

Mia Dogo!
Scott

Internet Cafe

2006-06-06T15:49:00.000-04:00

Hey gang... sorry for the delay in getting these posted. we have been anxious to communicate but have been unable to get to an internet cafe. we are all doing well and are having a great time... see below for my personal experiences. We'll post more as we can get to the cafe.

scott

Introductions...

2006-06-06T15:47:00.000-04:00

June 6, 2006 4:50 p.m. Ghana time

Not too much happened today. You get a break from reading my book. Oatmeal was for breakfast, Fried chicken and âchipsâ (French fries) for lunch. We have been desperately seeking an internet connection. There is not a cafÃ© close by. This afternoon we spoke with Amos, a native Ghanaian who has worked with youth here for 15 years. He specifically wanted to speak with Matt and I to express the way the internet is increasingly degrading their society. For many, many years the people of this country have been dependant on the British and have ingrained in them a sense of having to depend on someone. Many of the youth here are searching for that dependence on the internet â looking for someone to nurture and praise them. The people that they find this from are the sex industries. Needless to say, they are beginning to see many of the same sin issues here that we have in America.

This morning we went to Adonai Chapel to begin our computer training. We arrived about 9:30 and class was already in session. The students in the class are all students who will be going on to college and they are eager to learn computers. We were asked to introduce them to the many uses of computers and were given about 20 minutes to do so. I was able to show them how we use technology in our worship services by projecting song lyrics on the screen and also using graphic design to communicate church announcements. We also led a short discussion on what they thought computers could be used for and many of the students have an excellent handle on how computers are used for just about everything. Some suggested that they could be used for transportation, for finance/accounting, for architectural design, and many others. I explained that I used computers every day in our schools to keep track of our students lunch money and what they were eating for each and every meal. I think that they were quite amazed that we serve both breakfast and lunch in our schools.

Matt and I were also asked to speak tomorrow night to the Youth. They are currently going through John Maxwellâs âThe Heart of a Leaderâ. Matt will be doing most of the presentation and will be tying in what we have been learning at home in 1st Timothy about the qualifications of an Elder, why they are important and how we can look at Christ as the ultimate example of a humble leader who serves and puts others first. Go Preacher Matt!

Tonight we will be going back to Adonai Chapel for their worship team rehearsal in order to assist with their sound. One thing I noticed today during a service being held while we were training in the computer center â they run things VERY VERY VERY VERY LOUD!!!!!! There is a great risk of damaged hearing for all. They have to be running over 115 decibels. Exposure to that level of sound consistently for 15-20 minutes could begin to damage a personâs hearing. One thing I struggle with is this: Is the loudness a cultural thing? Their services are very loud even without the amplification. I want to approach the safety issues of louness but I also donât want to offend them.

We also met the guys from Global Church Advancement this morning. They are from Orlando and are hear to present the Church Planting Summit for West Africa. Very bright guys. Even Keith felt overwhelmed being in their presence. Those of you who know Keith know that that is a big deal. When they arrived last night, their luggage did not arrive with them. In their luggage was all of the material for the Summit. We are praying that it would arrive today.

I am beginning to feel overwhelmed with everything that is going on. The multiple people we have met, the Summit beginning, the culture, the teaching, the vision of where we are going as Riverside Fellowship in Missions, trying to figure out how we can best assist Global Evangelical Church and more specifically Adonai Chapel with meeting their needs for technology, and I can go on and on. This is big, real big and I feel so small in the vast responsibility we have been given in the Great Commission. There is so much to be done yet we are only one church body with 4 people in Ghana at the current moment. God is the one who has brought us here and we are desperately seeking Him for direction on what direction to focus.

A, K, & L â I love you and miss you. April â continue to be patient, rely on Christ. Kendyl â Keep working on your 2nd tooth and did you go for the bone walk yet? Logan â Donât you dare kiss me, I donât want ANY kisses!!! Give yourselves hugs and kisses from me!

Love to all,
Scott

We have a plan... Kinda

2006-06-06T15:46:00.000-04:00

June 5, 2006 â 10:08 p.m. Ghana Time

Today was a day that began with uncertainty as each previous day has. So far, each day has not had a set plan. We have taken each day as it came and remained flexible to the schedule. We had breakfast and for the 3rd day in a row there was a box of corn flakes on the table with no milk. Ok â there was milk, one very small can of evaporated milk â FOR ALL 4 OF US!!! We had the usual fried egg with cold pork & beans. Lunch was a spaghetti noodle with a tomato meat sauce which had a very nice spice kick to it. That was probably the one meal I have enjoyed most since we have been here. Dinner â this was interesting. Lots of rice with a tomato sauce on the side and fish. It still had the skin on it and I had a âsteakâ cut and then the tail section on my plate. The bones were still in and obviously I skinned it first. I ate the steak cut but just couldnât bring myself to dig into the tail section. It was a mild fish, not bad.

After breakfast Matt and I talked with Jonathan. He is one of the workers here at the conference center. By the way, I mentioned earlier that the conference center was kinda run down. That is the construction quality of the building. This building was built 7 years ago and looks like it was built in the 70âs. Anyway, we also spoke with Jonathan at length yesterday as well. He is a nice guy, 42 years old but looks like he could be much younger â maybe early 30âs. He as a wife and two children, a boy 3 years old and a girl 4 months old. He live on the outskirts of town â I relate it to Pasco county. He lives in a newly developing area but this are does not yet have electricity. He said it will cost himself and his neighbors about 15,000,000 citiâs (their currency) to have 6 poles placed and then they have to pay for the wire for the poles and their homes as well. One todayâs exchange rate was 9020 citiâs to one American Dollar. We have been asking about their culture and also encouraging him to ask us about ours. We talked about snow and cold weather, basketball and the rules of the game, transportation and how he gets to and from work and various other topics. It has been enjoyable getting to know him.

Shortly after this conversation, Quesy showed up from Global Evangelical Church. He is one of the leaders of this church denomination. He was checking on us to be sure we had everything we needed and also suggested that we go into the city for a couple of hours. Our driver took us into downtown Accra. The street corners are filled with people selling anything from toilet paper to pens to water to fruit to sunglasses. They just walk in between the lanes of traffic hawking their goods. Other roads are filled with small shacks selling furniture, bikes, golf clubs, pottery and many other things. We took a tour of the presidential memorial museum honoring the first president of Ghana. It is a very small museum filled with artifacts of his rule during which he brought Ghana to independence as a country. He is a man held in high regard. It is amazing to believe that his country is really only 50 years old.

During the tour of the museum our guide was very careful to explain the path to independence but also incorporated some of her own religious beliefs into her discussion. This opened it up for us as well. We left her with some literature directing her to the website www.twowaystolive.com. Check it out â pretty cool stuff.

After coming back to the conference center for lunch we were taken to the headquarters of Global Evangelical Church and met with the Moderator, Emmanuel. He in charge of all Pastors within the denomination, their training, etc. While we were there Nathaniel also arrived. He had been in Togo. Nathaniel is our contact for this whole trip, is based out of New Port Richey and is President of New Harvest Mission International. While we were at GEC Headquarters there was a group of 30 college students heading to the northern regions to evangelize. I have never in my life seen a more passionate group of college students. They were driving two nice Mercedes Benz vans. These vans were purchased with money raised by these students, specifically for this trip. They sang a worship song before they left and we also had the honor of praying for them as the left. We will continue to pray for them as they are out. They return home on the 15th, just as Matt and I will.

After leaving the GEC headquarters we were driven to Adonai Chapel where Matt and I will be teaching in the Riverside Computer center. We looked around and saw the building we, Riverside Fellowship, built with the money we sent over. The computer lab is in this part of the building. We are still not positive what we will be teaching but will begin the day tomorrow with an assessment of the equipment, inventorying their needs and making plans for future expansion of the lab and campus technologies. We will also be assessing the GEC headquarters. We will also be discussing with the education coordinator for GEC, Caffey, the goals for our classes.

Tomorrow evening we will be attending the rehearsal of their worship team and assisting their sound team with any tuning and adjustments to their system. I really look forward to assisting in this manner as this is an area that I didnât even think we could help with.

After dinner the rest of the North American team began to arrive. We met and had dinner with Phil. Phil sits on the board of directors for Nathanielâs ministry, New Harvest Ministries International. Great guy and does he have mission stories to tell! While we were speaking with him, Jean arrived from Rwanda. John is a pastor there and spent part of his growing up years in the US. His parents were refugees from all of the unrest that rocked the country in past years. Rwanda is now so safe that Compassion International has moved their African offices from Nairobi to Rwanda.

Today was really a day of orientation and even though we were going all day, it was also a day of rest. I was really moved today by the mere fact that here I am in Accra, Ghana meeting another brother from New Port Richey in Phil, later meeting a fellow brother in Christ, John, from Rwanda and then visiting the Riverside Computer Center all while there were passionate college students leaving for the north for evangelism. Today I experienced praying with every tribe, tongue and nation and I saw âYour Renown, O Lord, through all generationsâ and I saw that there are people truly believe that âYour name, O Lord, endures foreverâ.

I know that we havenât been able to get internet access and you all have been patiently waiting for updates. The internet here is not reliable and while we were at the GEC headquarters the connection was down.

April, Kendyl, Logan and Christie â We have all been praying for you. Praying that while we are away you would use this time to grow closer to Him. We know and understand that you may be worried, concerned and possibly nervous that you have not heard from us â please know that we are doing what we can to try and communicate back to you.

Love and Miss you all!
Scott

the book...

2006-06-06T15:45:00.000-04:00

Sunday, June 4, 2006 â 5:53 p.m. Ghana Time

After a decent night of sleep we awoke this morning to attend a church in the city of Tema which is about 30 Kilometers outside of Accra. Pastor Bright was asked to preach there this morning in honor of Assistant Pastor Appreciation Day. He spoke on 1st Timothy5:17-19 where it talks about giving the elders who preach and teach double honor. Very effective message and, of course, Keith is already developing his twist on it and how that will apply to Riverside. There were actually 2 services â a modern and then a traditional.

We were a bit late for the modern service and we arrived just as the preaching was to begin. Upon our arrival we were escorted directly to seats on the stage and introduced to the congregation. Keith was also asked to say a few words of greeting to the congregation. During their giving time they sang the from the days of Integrity Musicâs popularity called âBe Magnifiedâ. I am only to assume that they used these type of songs at the beginning of the service.

The 2nd service was a more traditional type service with dancing, a processional, and it was all conducted in the Ewewe language. We didnât understand anything in that service. I spent a good portion of time taking video of the building, the service, the people and the surrounding area. There are two other churches literally right next door. Each of them loud enough to be heard at our church.

I was particularly moved during the 2nd service with their time of giving back to God. Just by observing the area homes as we arrived in the area of the church, we could tell that the Ghanaian people from this church do not have any discretionary income whatsoever. During their giving time they marched, danced, and sang their way to the front of the church to place their monetary tithes into 2 collection bins while others brought offerings of homemade breads and other foods to the altar.

What really moved me was the Joy with which they were giving. They could not wait to give and they did so with smiles on their faces. They truly understand 2nd Corinthians 9:6-7 where Paul says:

My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver.

The church building is a very modern church building but still in the process of construction. All of the outside walls have yet to be completed as well as the balcony. Just an observation here - It is astonishing to think that they are allowed to meet in this building while it is still under construction and we, in building our facility at Riverside were basically not allowed to meet in the building during the whole construction process.

Between services we were asked to wait in the Pastorâs office with the churchâs pastor and Pastor Bright. We were served some cookies that reminded me of shortbread and a drink called Amstel Malta. It is produced by the same people who produce the Amstel brand of beer and is basically a carbonated Malt flavored soda. April â you would like it. I enjoyed it and I have to admit, I initially thought we were being served a beer.

The music at this particular church was modern in that they had a sound system. Gene â we have a potential mission trip for you. There was lotâs of feedback through out the service poor control of the Mains vs. the individual channels. It was also quite loud. Pack your bags Gene! Seriously though â they have use of this system and are slowly purchasing new parts, but they need some basic training on the simple theories of running sound transparently: enhancing worship vs. distracting worship. I may have an opportunity later in the week to go back there and give some simple training. Please be praying for that.

After the service we traveled to Pastor Brightâs house and were welcomed by his family. Along the way we stopped along the street and Pastor Bright purchased some Coconuts. The streets are filled with shops and surprisingly the vast majority were closed because it was Sunday. These are not strip malls by any means. We are used to seeing Subways, Cell Phone stores, Publix, etc. These are literally little 2 or 3 sided shacks with people actually making things, cooking food to be sold, etc. If the vehicle is stopped on the road in traffic, the people will actually come up to the vehicle and try to sell you things. Most of the businesses incorporate God and Christianity into the business through either the name of the business or a slogan on the side of the shack. About 70% of the people in this area, Accra, are Christian. Weâll be going back to the market areas later during our stay here.

Letâs go back to the coconuts. Again â this is me speaking so donât keel over on me April. I drank the coconut milk directly out of the coconut. Upon arrival at Pastor Brightâs home, our driver took a machete to the coconuts and chopped the tops off to make it easy for us to drink the milk. Ok â now maybe Iâm an idiot but did you know that coconut milk was clear? I thought milk was milk and milk to me is white so then why is coconut milk called Milk? Heck if I know! The milk was ok. Itâs not something that I would go out of my way to ask for. Very plain tasting with a sort of bitter aftertaste. Now I know that this could be one of those âDuhâ moments but Iâm going to do this anyway: The coconut tasted like just like the milk with a consistency of a wet cheese? Does that make sense? Fresh coconut tastes nothing like the dried stuff we eat in the states. I was also surprised at how little âmeatâ there is inside of a coconut. I had a few bites and politely declined any more.

Ok â now that I am back from dinner it is 10:50 p.m. We ate a late lunch therefore we ate a light, late dinner at 7:00. Where was I for all that time? Have any of you ever spent time with Keith? WOW! Talk about a man with a passion to see Godâs glory shine throughout every tribe, tongue and nation. Holy cow! Ok, sorry. I know the only place there are Holy Cows are in Indiaâ¦ Right, Keith?

I was reminded tonight that the things we saw, the people, the homes, the churches â these are all things of the city. When we get a chance to head out of the city we will see poverty on a much greater scale. As we were driving down the highway to and from the church we passed what I would call a homeless or squatter community â a community made up of whatever the people could find for shelter. There were hundreds of people in this community. Just up the âtrailâ from this community was the âbathroomâ where we actually saw people walking over to this huge field, pulling down their pants, squatting and doing their business.

As part of the Global focus of missions, how do we relate to people like this? In America we really have no concept of what it is like to live like this. We are blessed to have the things we have but in reality, when it comes down to having all that we need to survive, the Great Provider is all we need. He will give shelter, no matter how humble. He will give income, no matter how dirty the job. He will give food, no matter how unappetizing it may be. God promises to give us all that we need in Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus says:
âTherefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isnât there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Arenât you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, wonât he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? So then, donât worry saying, âWhat will we eat?â or âWhat will we drink?â or âWhat will we wear?â For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

So back to the original question: How do relate to these people? And even more so, how do we spread the gospel to those that arenât Christians, especially those in the Northern, poorer regions of Ghana where the Muslims have a great stronghold. Here is howâ¦ We need to continue doing what Keith, Linda, Matt and I are doing: training the local leaders who can relate to the people of Accra, Tema, and the rest of Ghana and West Africa. By us coming over to train in theology, technology, leadership, etc., the Pastors will be better equipped and more able to express the Gospel message in a manner of total truth without presenting the false doctrine that is penetrating the church in Ghana. Doctrine that takes away from the very simple message of salvation: The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ by believing in Him by grace through faith.

We begin our training sessions tomorrow and I am also hoping that I will have internet access as well. I am able to see wireless networks around us but I am not able to hack into them for access.

I truly missed worshipping with my family this morning. My Riverside family, but even more so my immediate family: April, Kendyl & Logan. I miss your hugs and kisses but know that those missed hugs and kisses have a purpose. A purpose that make me, your husband and daddy more like Christ.

I love you all!
Scott

We're \here

2006-06-06T15:43:00.000-04:00

June 3, 2006 4:59 pm Florida Time

Weâre here. All the flights were very smooth. From Frankfurt to Accra, Ghana we flew directly through the middle of the Sahara Desert. We arrived around 5:00 p.m. Ghana time. We are 4 hours ahead of you. Are we exhausted. The customs/immigration process is kinda a joke. The ask how long you will be here and then stamp your passport. Keithâs dude held him for about 5 minutes or so. I guess the dude was taking his sweet time. Keith and Linda warned us about the people that would be around trying to carry our bags for us, etc. They are quite aggressive. They just kinda take âem right out of your hand. I had a dude follow me out of the airport but we rudely walked away. We didnât even ask him if he knew Jesus as his Savior. Hmmmâ¦ What kind of impression does that leave? (Iâm jokingâ¦)

Oh â April, Rick & Julieâ¦ You all will be so proud of me. I have been branching out with my taste buds. Thursday night before I left I was at a friends house for dinner. There were cucumbers and tomatoes chopped up in the salad. I ATE THEM!!!! Me â Mr. âI only eat from the brown food group.â I also ate yogurt for breakfast on the plane this morning â strawberry banana. It wasnât bad. I guess the older I get the healthier I get.

Anyway â Bright (the pastor of the church we are partnered with here) picked us up at the airport. We stopped at a hotel restaurant for a beverage. I had fresh squeezed orange juice. After that they brought us to our âhotelâ. Iâll post separate photos of my room. Very simple, old, and run down â BUT this is one of the best places around. They also have a kitchen where they prepared Chicken and Rice. They gave us this sauce to put on the rice. It was a tomato based sauce, spiced with white pepper, green peppers and a few other things. It was very good.

We are being picked up for church at 7:00 A.M. Ghana time. Very early seeing that I havenât slept since I woke up Friday Morning. We will be meeting with Bright and his folks tomorrow to go over the plans for the week.

That being said â Iâm going to sleep after I ask you to pray for us in the following way: Pray that we would not be overcome by culture shock. I want to see the culture for what it is, pick up on the various things they do and use those things as starting blocks to build relationships with the guys we will be working with.

Good night nowâ¦
Scott

Delayed...

2006-06-06T15:42:00.000-04:00

June 3, 2006 5:51 AM Florida Time

Yep â thatâs right we were delayed. Not out of Tampa but out of DC. We sat on the tarmac awaiting departure for about 2 and a half hours. AHHHH!!! I guess there was bad weather throughout New York and we had to wait for it to pass. We also had to wait for all of the other planes in the holding patterns to clear as well.

We arrived in Frankfurt around 4:30 AM Florida time and got right on our plane to Ghana. One hard seat to the next without any real stretch time. Not even enough time for me to search out the âB & Bâ that I was so longing for. I guess Iâll have to wait for the trip home for that.

Linda seemed to get some sleep on the overnight flight. Keith, Matt and Myself all were awake through most of the night. We caught little 10 minute naps here and there. The flight was very crowded. Ten seats across 3-4-3. Matt and I were in the middle of the set of 4 seats. Not very much room.

Cool thing on the DC and Frankfurt flights though. I sat next to a woman from St. Petersburg on the way to DC. She is in the National Guard and is a Nurse. She has been all over the world not only for that but also on various mission trips. If I remember correctly she was from a Free Methodist background.

On the Frankfurt flight we had a whole group of people on the plane from Virginia who were going on a mission trip to Nigeria. There they will be working with an orphanage. If you all are checking the blog â Hello! Riversideâs Ghana crew is praying for you!

Iâm going back to my verse â the 2nd halfâ¦ Your renown, O Lord, through all generations. We have seen that in the various groups we have met so far. All generations! Itâs pretty sweet to see all ages serving for His Glory! Not serving because we have to for salvation purposes, but serving because we are saved and we want to see others come to know the saving grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Oh â we can actually follow the progress of our flight on the screens throughout the cabin. The fastest speed that I saw was 624 mph at an altitude of 37,000 feet. There are also maps on the screen showing where we are currently located.

April â we flew about 60 miles east of Altoona. I thought of you guys and prayed for you as we flew by!

Kendyl and Logan â Daddy misses you. I am going to Africa to serve God and to teach other pastors like Pastor Frank and Pastor Mike how to use a computer.

Iâm going to settle in, thrown on some tunes, sit back, relax, enjoy the flight.

Love yaâll,
Scott

Outta Here

2006-06-02T08:15:00.000-04:00

The day is really here. I'll spend the next 26 hours in airplanes and airports all for God's Glory!

I'm going to try and keep this short. I've never been one to get "nervous" in a physical way and I'm not sure if this is nervousness or not but my stomach has been upset all morning - not real bad, just a "yuck" feeling. Pray that it would go away and not make the trip miserable.

I also want to share with you what I'll be pondering while in the air:

Renown: The quality of being widely honored and acclaimed; fame
Forever: For everlasting time; eternally

Those are two key words from the verse I shared last time: Psalm 135:13 - "Your name, O Lord, endures forever, Your renown, O Lord, through all generations."

I mentioned last time that Matt and I would be teaching classes together. I did get some further detail on the classes. When they said "Intro to computers" they meant "Intro to Computers". Like - how to power up the machine, what computers can do, etc. Same basic stuff for Word and Excel as well.

Also - who is Matt? Matt is a young dude from our church who is married to Christie. Cool couple. They both serve as small group leaders at Lifeline - our Wednesday night youth ministry. Matt also serves on the Media team as a Sound Tech. He has a degree in computer science and will be my partner in crime for the trip. Christie gets to stay home and pray for us - a very important role, I might add.

We are also going over with Keith and Linda Johns. You want to talk about a couple who truly understands the Glory of God - WOW! Keith is the Missions Director for Riverside Fellowship and also is an very well known artist - you can see his work here: www.keithmartinjohns.com. I am really looking forward to spending time with them as they truly exibit a passion for God and seeing others form a personal relationship with Him.

Ok - final thing. Pray for April, Kendyl and Logan. Kendyl has been very forward in her questions about having a personal relationship with Christ. Pray for wisdom as April will explain the Gospel message in a way that it will be very clear. Essentially - I believe Kendyl is on verge of salvation! Pray also for Logan that she would also be listening and seeds would planted in her as well.

All for His Kingdom!
Scott

The Day is Coming

2006-05-31T23:21:00.000-04:00

Well, it’s almost here. Departure day. I find myself anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time. Anxious because I can’t wait to go to this place called Ghana, Africa. Nervous because I don’t know what to expect. And excited because I have the awesome privilege and responsibility of teaching Pastor’s how to use technology with the end result being that they can more effectively and efficiently study and teach their people about our Awesome God.

By the way – I have NO IDEA what kind of food we’ll be eating. I sure hope they have stuff from the Brown Food Group - Chocolate (Cocoa is a main export from Ghana), Beef, Potatoes. I mean come on – you know me. I’m a picky eater right? That’s why I’m bringing Peanut Butter, Granola Bars, Beef Jerky and a few other choice “Brown” foods. Our former Pastor was in Ghana in 2003 and I remember him showing a picture of a red fish on a plate. It still had scales, the head, the eyes, the tail, the fins, etc. and there were flies all over it. When they put their fork into it – yep, bugs ran everywhere from under the fish. I can see it now – my skinny 185 lbs will be down to my super skinny 160 lbs of my early 20’s.

Oh – those classes I will be teaching… You know as much about them as I do. I have no idea what we (Matt and I) will be teaching. I have had one email from Vincent who is my contact there and he tells me that they have Microsoft Word, Excel, and some Anti-Virus software. So – that is something you can keep in your prayers for me – that Matt and I would be able to come up with a few classes upon our arrival that would be of benefit to the Ghanaian Pastors.

Speaking of prayers – here are a few other things to be praying for:

Safe travel – we leave Tampa at 1:25 Friday and arrive in Accra, Ghana around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Ghana time is 4 hours ahead of us here in Florida.
The West Africa Church Planting Summit – While we are there, I will also be assisting with the Audio/Video needs of this summit. There are church leaders from all different denominations coming to Accra, Ghana for this summit. Steve Childers, one of the leading authorities on Church Planting will be speaking. If you would like more info on him and his organization, see www.gca.cc.
My Tongue – Huh? You don’t get that? Sarcasm is not a good thing in Ghana. They don’t get it and they think it is rude, and they are right – sarcasm is rude. But it is such a part of our everyday life in America that we really don’t notice it. Pray that I would be careful with the things I say and at the same time pray that I would be able to adapt to their culture and not offend with my actions as well.
My Spirit – I am really looking forward to this trip because I know God is using me to further His Kingdom, but I am even more excited to see how He is going to change me. I want to be made more like Christ. I want Him to be the Potter and me the clay so that I can be molded into His image.
For April, Kendyl & Logan – They left this past Sunday morning for PA. They went to April’s Grandmother’s farm. We were just there 2 months or so ago to attend the funeral for April’s grandfather. This is the first time that April will be there for an extended period without Pappy being there to tease her. Pray for her comfort. Pray for patience as she deals with Kendyl and Logan and their 40 questions about everything. Pray for Kendyl and Logan – that they would obey mommy, make daddy proud and also have opportunities to learn more about God as He is so evident in His creation in the mountains surrounding the farm.

Ok – it’s 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday and I haven’t even begun to think about packing so – I’m not going to think about it. I’m going to bed. I’m not checking my postings for typo’s so I plead for you forgiveness in advance.

“Your name, O Lord, endures forever, Your Renown, O Lord, though all generations.” Psalm 135:13 That is the verse I am meditating on throughout this trip and I pray that God would show me new things everyday about His Renown!

For His Glory!

Scott