You've Got to Love Me to Come This Far

I am thankful for our last trip to Ghana. I was tired and needed rest before I could write this final report. I’ve enjoyed time back with family and eating plenty of food for Thanksgiving. I hope all of you had a wonderful time to give thanks for the blessings in your life.

I am so thankful that I had the chance to see so many wonderful things. The highlights of my last week were:
1. Seeing people with Buruli Ulcer getting better
2. Speaking on the radio about why I came to Ghana and being able to preach on JLife 95.5 FM.
3. Seeing more wells that we’ve completed. One well is in a village called Domeabra was especially memorable.
4. Spending a day of rest with good friend, Jim Niquette and his family
5. Knowing that a new church has a floor in Singini

1. Seeing Improvements with Buruli Ulcer
The highlight for the last week was to see the early results of the work to make a difference against a neglected tropical disease called Buruli Ulcer. It is a flesh eating disease that is similar to leprosy. We had money in Rotary grant 71926 to prototype early detection and early care of people. Early detection is taking a survey or census to find people who are sick with the disease. Early care is trying to find people with the early stages of the disease instead of waiting until it gets really bad.

The quick answer is that we saw amazing results in the lives of people in one district of Ghana called Asunafo South District (A Sue Nah Foo South). The district health director and her staff trained community volunteer health workers to survey their communities for people suffering from Buruli Ulcer. They found about fifty-four people who are now getting treatment. The ulcers are shrinking and the people are encouraged after receiving antibiotic treatment. One man had the disease for over twenty-five years.
It takes seventy days of antibiotic injections to fight the disease. We funded this work with just $15,000. We hope to raise more money to give people hope, help, and better health.


The “before” and “after” of a teenaged girl is shown left. She will still need therapy to prevent disability. The class to help her minimize scarring and disability was prototyped in the Dormaa District mentioned below by ALM.
We also went to the Dormaa District to see the results of a new educational program created by American Leprosy Missions (ALM) to teach people how to care for the Buruli ulcer and prevent the usual disability from the scaring that comes when the skin heals from the ulcer. I was amazed how people were improving with less scarring and more mobility. Our next Rotary grant, 25176, will be working in both of these districts in the Brong Ahafo Region. The miracle is that the training envisioned by our next grant was developed simultaneously by wonderful and smart people at American Leprosy Missions. We will be using that training and material from the World Health Organization to help people have better lives after this disease.

2. Speaking and Preaching on JLife 95.5 FM
It was truly an experience to speak on the radio in Ghana. It was my first time. I was interviewed and asked why I come to Ghana and what I do. I was asked about my church and Rotary. Rev. David Donkor asked me to explain what we do through the church and what we do through Rotary. The signal for the Christian radio station reaches into three different regions of Ghana. We’ve recorded the audio portion of my sermon if anyone is interested.

3. Seeing more wells that we’ve finished
A really special village is Domeabra-krum. The town’s name means “You got to love me to come this far!” The name also means that the village is not near anything. It took us two hours to come and go to Domeabra-krum. It is in the rain forest outside of Sunyani. I kept asking “Are we there yet?” The road to Domeabra was rough and narrow. We stopped at a wooden sign with the village name on it. We didn’t see any houses. The borehole was located slightly off of the “road” in the rain forest. We had to walk downhill to reach any houses and visit with the people. They gave us three big bunches of big bananas called plantains. I told one of the mothers (above) “Me Do” which means that I loved her and her village. I believe that I’ve traveled to many places around Ghana that deserve a name like Domeabra. Most of those wells are funded by Rotary matching grant 69051.

We also visited a well donated because I spoke at a Christmas United Methodist Women’s banquet last December. I preached on the blessing of a church and a well to a village. An anonymous donor who heard that presentation gave us money for one church and one well! The new well is at Domsesere in central Ghana. It is a very poor community and needed more water to drink.

4. Spending time with friends
I have friends all over Ghana. It is a pleasure to spend time with them. This trip, we had time with Jim Niquette and his family. Jim Niquette is the director of Water in Africa and previously worked for the Carter Centre in Ghana. We worked together to eradicate guinea worm and now are focused on Buruli Ulcer. I didn’t preach and I didn’t work when I was at Jim’s home. Jim’s wife, son and daughter are a real joy, too. I look forward to introducing my wife and oldest daughter to many of them in January.

5. Singini Church has a floor
The people of Singini can worship God in a church with a floor now. We started the church in February. The walls went up in March. The roof went on in April. The walls were plastered in September and November. The floor was just finished this month. We still need to get the doors and windows for the church installed in January.

The photos showing the church construction can be seen here. Click on picture.

Building New Church at Singini in Ghana

Ghana Trip for First Week Nov. 7

Wow! What a trip.

Kenny Lovelace joined me for his third trip to Ghana. We don’t know where to start. It has been amazing and inspiring. We are tired. We just haven’t had the energy to write a praise report because we go from daybreak into the night. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, it did.

We went straight to a Buruli Ulcer Conference in Accra after we landed on Monday afternoon. Experts from all over West Africa came to discuss the impact of farming, gold mining, pollution, and oil and gas exploration on the soil and water near communities suffering with Buruali Ulcer. Areas with Buruli Ulcer seem to have a lot of disturbed land with similar soil types. We had a dinner meeting Dr. Kingsley Siedu, the director of Buruli Ulcer at the World Health Organization (WHO), Jim Niquette of W.A.T.E.R, Dr. Julien Ake and Idris Buabeng of MAP International . I took a lot of notes and tried to understand how we could make a difference as pastors and Rotarians. I explained how humanitarian grants work through the Rotary Foundation. Dr. Siedu gave me an understanding of the needs for neglected tropical diseases like Buruli Ulcer.

We flew on a jet for the first time to Tamale from Accra on Tuesday, November 8th. We met Michael Anakese from W.A.T.E.R., Frank Kumah, a water contractor, and several Rotarians when we flew into Tamale on Starbow Airlines. Starbow is a brand new airline in Ghana! Michael and Frank joined our team. I was impressed how much the oil business is impacting Accra and the airport. I’ve never seen so many people and so many planes at the domestic terminal.

We had a wonderful breakfast with friends in Tamale. We stopped by to give our regards to Dr. Jim Murphy and Dr. Ken Sagoe at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. We promised that we would bring a surgeon one day. We also were amazed at the improvements being made to the hospital.

We arrived in Walewale by the early afternoon on Tuesday. We checked on a broken hand pump on a hand dug well in Sagadugu. The pump foot valve was jammed with a rope used to fetch water with a bucket after the protective well cover was taken off. Pastor Ibrahim urged us to go straight to the new church at Singini for a service at 5 pm. We checked out the partially finished concrete floor. We had to preach by flashlight because the generator would not work because of a short in the wiring. We gave the church two Mango Trees. The men and women each are responsible for one of the trees. It will be a competition for each church to see whether the men’s or women’s mango tree grows the fastest.

On Wednesday, November 9th, we went on a 4-wheeling trip almost all the way to the east to Togo in the East Mamprusi District where Rotary matching grant 69066 has paid to finish eleven boreholes and complete two new ones. I think I’ve been to the most remote place in Ghana on each trip to dedicate a well, but this trip took the prize. We drove on a dusty, bumpy road for two hours to get to the goat trail through the millet fields that took us to a village of five hundred in Tagbini. It was extremely remote. I don’t know how anyone ever found that village.

The chief explained that he was very eager to get the pump installed. Frank Kumah explained that the concrete had cured for two weeks and needed one more week to be really strong. The chief pleaded and we couldn’t say no. We took the pump and the pipes and the rods out of a grass hut and proceeded to install the water pump with Michael and Frank leading the way. A roar of excitement erupted from the chief and the people of Tagbini at the sound and sight of the first drops of clean water. That borehole is the first well in that village. It is hard to describe the gratitude of the people to receive water to drink. The chief gave us two chickens, two yams, and a sheep to thank us the new well. He also promised that they would wait one more week to use to well…

We finished up the first stop by noon on Wednesday and realized that we had twelve more villages to visit. We wondered if every village to be visited would require so much travel time to reach. The answer was most definitely “Yes!” We climbed mountains where a well was drilled between rocks at Sakogu. We had the crazy idea to install another pump. The farmer who stored all of the pipes and pump equipment was off at the farm when we decided to get started. We took only about one hour to get Sakogu’s water flowing. The treat was eating water melon when we were getting close to having achieved our goal of fresh water. The kids and women cheered when the pump poured forth the water! That cheer makes all of the effort worthwhile.

We drove on a dry river bed to get to Gballa near Gambaga. Gballa has no road to the village. You “can’t get there from here when” it is raining. I don’t know how the drill rig ever made it down the river bed that was full of rocks. One of the boreholes is located at the witch’s camp in Gambaga where I preached in 2006. If you love the outdoors and going places where trucks should not be able to go, then you need to take a ride in the African bush with us!

I was very impressed with our partnership with the Northern Regional Poverty Reduction Program and the Tamale Rotary Club. We turned the money for five new boreholes into thirteen new boreholes because of our partnership. All of the communities that were receiving the gift of new wells (boreholes) really needed water.

We drove quickly back down that bumpy, dirt road to our Sagadugu church for a evening service that started around 6:30 PM. It is so exciting to be preaching in our home churches. Sagadugu welcomed us with open arms. The church was full. I told the women of Sagadugu that my wife, Susan, and daughter, Missy, will be coming in January. The women cheered the prospect of getting meet some of my family.
We prayed for many people that night. A young school teacher fell when she had a stroke. She had not been able to speak or teach at the elementary school since the stroke. We prayed to cast out a deaf and mute spirit. She was able to say a few words so we prayed for her again. She was freely talking and laughing with the children and other women the next day. She was completely transformed.

Thursday and Friday, were busy days of baptisms for me while Kenny and Michael went around repairing wells and boreholes in the area. We baptized ninety-seven (97) people in three villages over two days:
• 22 in Singini
• 30 in Sagadugu
• 45 in Takora Yilli (Friday)

Kenny and Michael repaired seven wells or boreholes in Sagadugu (3), Bugiya (1), and Guakudow (2). I helped when I wasn’t baptizing, talking, or preaching! We left for Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region on Thursday afternoon. Kenny and Michael went shopping for a used motorcycle for Pastor Ibrahim, our dedicated pastor who started the new Singini church. It was inspiring to see the roof on the Singini Church and the concrete floor being finished. It still needs doors and windows. A family from Rocky Mount UMC helped to build the church. We also had contributions from Boones Mill Christian Church and Epworth UMC. They had success while I actually tried to nap for an hour at the luxurious Sand Garden’s Hotel!

Our goal was to meet the new Rotarians in the Bolgatanga Goodwill Rotary Club to present them with a new club banner donated by Rotarians in Watertown, NY. We also decided that we would present the goat given by the chief of Tagbini. We thought it was probably the first Rotary meeting where a goat was given to the club president! Kenny and I were later informed that our goat was actually a sheep. We have learned that goats and sheep in Ghana look a lot alike. I hope we will be able to tell an old goat from a sheep in the future! We encouraged the new Rotary club to serve the people of northeastern Ghana well.

We drove back to Walewale on Friday morning to get to preach some more. We checked into my favorite hotel in Walewale where we came on my very first mission trip to Ghana. We loaded the pickup truck with the motorcycle, three 100 kilo bags of maize, four mango trees, three large bags of used clothing, four soccer balls, and partridge in a pear tree. The partridge didn’t fit, because had two local pastors and a chicken in the truck with us. We also gave two mango trees to each church for a total of fourteen trees.

The loaded pickup truck headed out to a new village, Takora Yilli, where Pastor Paul traveled to preach. Pastor Paul Kaba was given a motorcycle last March by Jon Morris’s Baptist Church in Roanoke. Pastor Paul’s new motorcycle enables him to reach new villages with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was thankful for a fairly straight and smooth goat trail to Takora Yilli. We met the chief and prayed for his blind eldest brother. I preached on Jesus Christ, grace, faith, power of prayer, salvation, baptism, and the core tenets of our faith. We baptized under a tree and gave out food after the baptisms. The amazing fact is that the village has two mosques and yet we received a warm welcome. The chief was also baptized. We presented the chief a soccer ball paid for by Peter Coats with his Facebook group called Matchbox Cars for Ghana! The chief gave us land for a church and suggested that we build it quickly on solid ground.



We drove back to Walewale to give the motorcycle to Pastor Ibrahim. We had to get a mechanic to fix a few things and change the oil. Pastor Ibrahim almost busted a gut wanting to show his family the new means of transportation for their church and village. We now have two pastors with motorcycles. I think we will have more new church starts soon. The rest of the pastors are telling us that they could preach more often with a motorcycle as well. With God’s help it will be possible to reach more villages.

We preached in Diani on Friday night. We used light provided by the generator to preach. We had forty people accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior at the end of the service. The two women who received their sight and hearing in 2005 were really energized at the service. They came up to me and the one told me that she could still see and the other told me that she could still hear (all in the name of Jesus Christ.) One of the young men asked if we could paint the church and another asked for the Diani Church roof to be strengthened with more rafters. I took some time with Kenny to tell him the stories of preaching under tree in 2006 with a kerosene lantern. The sermon was about declaring the victories in the future and serving God.

On Saturday, November 12th, we drove to Bugiya where we saw a broken pump on a hand dug well located by the school and our church. We stopped to make a repair. It took a few minutes to get that well working again. We also made a stop in Guakudow where we repaired two wells and gave the chief two mango trees for the new church. One of the pipes was dropped by an elderly man helping us. We lowered a teenager down sitting on a stick to grab the lost piece of pipe. We got the teenager in and out of well safely. We had a good visit with the chief and took pictures. The chief dressed up in his finest and now wants a picture on our return trip. We took the short cut through the African bush toward Tamale to head south. We soon regretted our short cut, because he had a lot of diversions and big holes. We survived that road as well.

We had lunch in Tamale around 1 PM with the Tamale Rotarians: Joe Mumuni, President Anas Sulemana, and Alex Kpodo. I told them about our trip to the East Mamprusi villages and how proud I was of them for selecting villages with such as need for clean water. They are eager for more humanitarian grants. I told them that we would probably work with them again in 2013. We traveled to Sunyani on Saturday afternoon after spending some time in the Tamale market.

We preached in two churches on Sunday morning in Sunyani. One was a church comprised mainly of university students. I preached on serving God using your spiritual gifts. The youth church held their services in English. They had great drums and keyboard. I dreamed about having my January mission team singing in that church. The second church was a pole building with wooden boards for walls and a dirt floor. The pastor told me that it was harvest Sunday and that I needed to do a good job preaching about giving back to God. I preached about Hannah promises Samuel to God before she knew she would have a son. I also preached on John 15 and Luke 10. Kenny also preached at both churches with a lot of power. The second service lasted until 1:30 PM. They basically kept going until they raised 1,200 Ghana Cedis and fifteen bags of cement. The church probably had 35 adults. Kenny and I were impressed with the amount of money that a poor church raised in one day for a new church.


We took time to have lunch before we went to J.Life at 95.5 FM. We were interviewed on the radio for about one hour. Bishop David Donkor asked about New Hope United Methodist Church in Franklin County, Virginia. He also asked how I came to be a missionary in Ghana. He asked Kenny why he had come three times to Ghana. I had a chance to preach on Joshua 1 and Jeremiah 1 about being strong and courageous and that God will be with us forever.

Our next week will focus on Buruli Ulcer disease by checking on the communities that need our help to fight the disease that is similar to leprosy. We will be going to the two districts that will be the focus on Rotary matching grant 25176.

See Good Come Out of Evil

Today is the tenth anniversary of September 11^th. We have many ways to remember this anniversary. We can harbor anger and not be willing to forgive those who attacked America. In fact, we can hate all Muslims and think that it is the patriotic thing to do. Our forefathers did not believe that hate was required to be good Americans. In fact, many of them came to America so that they would be free to worship God in the way that they believed. Now, worshipping God in a different way is considered to be evil. How did that happen?

The destruction of the World Trade Center towers on September 11^th made me afraid of all Muslims. I had anger in my heart toward Osama bin Ladin and the other members of Al Qaeda. I was also told bad things about the Muslim people in northern Ghana by the southerners. The southerners told me how backward and evil the northerners were. I also learned a lot about Muslims in emails that are forwarded a thousand times without checking the facts of whether or not the information in the email about Muslims are accurate. It was easy to read the newspaper and listen to the TV news to find reasons to hate or be afraid of Muslims.

Muslims get married and have children just like we do. Muslims also love and dream of a better future just like we do. Muslims are faithful or sin just like we do. Muslims forget about God at times just like we do. There are short and tall Muslims. There are rich and poor Muslims. Muslims have big and small families. Muslim women seem to be more faithful to God just like the Christian women raising their families here. Muslims also laugh and cry. Muslims rejoice and come together to grieve the life of a friend. It would be possible for us to be friends with Muslims if they lived and worked in our communities. I believe that Jesus Christ is the way, truth and the life. I also believe that the way to reach Muslims is with the love of Jesus Christ and not with hate, anger and fear.

I would probably still be afraid of all Muslims if I didn’t meet them face to face in Ghana. I realized that Muslims love their children and their family and their God just like we do. The Muslims have the same hopes and dreams for the future as Americans. The difference is that Americans have a better chance of seeing their dreams come true. Muslims and Christians both have a desire to make a difference in this world. We all want to see the thirsty have water to drink, the hungry have food to eat, and the naked to have clothes to wear.

I’ve learned that Muslims are better at fasting and praying than Christians. Methodists are very methodical about eating. We have covered dish suppers. We have pancake breakfasts and spaghetti suppers to raise money. We eat donuts and drink coffee just to say hello. We sold hot dogs, cakes, and pies at the yard sale. Christians just eat all of the time. We also eat to remember Jesus Christ dying on the cross. We call it Holy Communion, but it is eating just the same. Christians pray when we want something from God. Muslims pray like clockwork every day. They even have people reminding them to pray on loudspeakers. Muslims will even get up early to pray before daybreak. Christians tend to pray before we go to sleep or before we eat. Christians are lucky to remember to pray each day. Perhaps, it would be good for us to have someone remind us to pray more often.

The Muslim faith believes in a doctrine of works. The Christian faith believes in a doctrine of grace. The Muslim faith believes that the good work of a person is put on a scale and compared with the sins that have been done. The Muslim will go to heaven if the good deeds overwhelm the bad things done in your lifetime. The Christian believes that we are sinners and can’t pay or work our way into heaven. It is by God’s grace because Jesus Christ died on the cross that we are loved so much that we will go to heaven. We serve God and our fellow man out of thanksgiving, not out of fear that the scales will go against us. The Muslim faith is a fear based faith. Muslims serve God because they are afraid of doing something wrong. The Christian faith is a love based faith. We take action because we are loved by Jesus Christ.

The attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the airline that crashed in Pennsylvania struck at the core of America. They attacked and killed Americans in America. They meant it for evil, but good stuff has come out of it, too. People united for a few weeks after the attacks. People also filled churches all over America for a few weeks. We are talking and learning about the Muslim faith. God was present during the death and destruction. Whenever God is with us in the tough times, God makes lemonade out of the lemons.

We continue to hear stories of the firemen and rescue workers who rushed to the World Trade Center to help those trapped in the buildings. Many of the first responders willingly put themselves in harm’s way so that other people could live. In fact, the firemen and policemen do that every day that they go to work. We have doctors and nurses who care for patients. We have missionaries in the USA and around the world who put the needs of the people before themselves. We live in a world where love conquers hate no matter what people say in the news. One of the beautiful things was the outpouring of love for strangers. Could the terrorists predict that their hate would generate love and kindness?

The same happened with Joseph when his brothers sold him to the slave traders. They meant it for evil, but God used that event for good. God’s favor remained with Joseph as he became a slave and later when he was put in jail. Joseph had a lot of time to think of whether to love or hate his brothers for what they did to him. In fact, his brothers were afraid that Joseph would hate them when they went to him for food because of the horrible drought and famine. The brothers didn’t know whether they would face Joseph with love and compassion or hatred for being sold into slavery. They thought that Joseph could repay evil for evil so they asked him to forgive them through messengers.

In Genesis 50:15-21 “When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him." 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, "Before your father died he commanded, saying, 17 'Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you." ' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants." 19 Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. 21 Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”

The response by Joseph in verses 19 and 20 are so powerful. Joseph tells his brothers that he was put in a position of power by God to help in the time of the famine. He also explained that the evil done by his brothers was turned into good by God so that thousands of people would not starve during the famine. Joseph told them not to be afraid. It would be logical that Joseph would greet his brothers with anger and hatred. Instead, Joseph saw the good and the way that God’s plan was still able to be implemented in spite of the evil committed on a seventeen year old boy.

What would have happened if Joseph had harbored hate for his brothers all of his life? He would not have been used by God because the hate would have blocked Joseph’s ability to listen to God’s call. Joseph realized that God used the evil done by his brothers to place Joseph in the right place at the right time. God’s plan for Joseph still happened even though Joseph experienced evil by his brothers and Potiphar’s wife. God still prevails in the end against evil.

It was necessary for Joseph to repay evil with love. Love conquered the evil and the hate. Love has conquered evil and hate after September 11^th. We can listen to the news at the people who have not forgiven and continue hate or we can see the signs of love and forgiveness that overcomes the hate. The Middle East is also being transformed hopefully in a good way. The people are demanding that love and compassion replace the society based on fear and hate in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and even Syria. People saw that hate is not the answer. It has taken America time to understand that war is not always the answer either.

Giving people hope, faith, and love is the answer. That is why Jesus Christ gave us the great commission in Matthew 28:18-19 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.”

What did Jesus command them to do? He commanded them to love! What did Jesus promise? He promised that he would be with us always. God was with Joseph as a slave and also in prison. God will be with us in the dark and scary days when evil seems to be winning out. We know that God is with us even to the end of the age. Joseph was able to explain to his brothers that their evil was turned into good by God. We are here to celebrate that the evil committed by the terrorists also is being turned into good.

We are able to see some of the good that God has brought, but I think it is too soon to see all of the goodness that God is doing to transform evil into love. My prayer is that Iraq and Pakistan and Afghanistan know peace, faith, and love. I will celebrate when people there are building more schools and planting more trees than land mines. I will celebrate when all of our troops are home from war and they are able to spend time loving their families instead of being at war.

Forgiveness is probably the hardest thing that we must do in our lives. First, we must forgive and love ourselves. Second, we must unconditionally forgive those who have harmed us. We don’t have to wait until the other person asks for forgiveness. Forgiveness can be between God and ourselves. We don’t have to allow the person to hurt us again after they are forgiven. We can remember to be careful, but to replace the evil with love and compassion.

The Apostle Peter asked how many times we must forgive those who have harmed us. Peter thought seven times was probably a good amount of times in Matthew 18:21-35. It says “21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.”

“26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

If we expect to be forgiven of our sins, we must forgive those who have sinned against us. The lack of forgiveness will create a wall between us and God as well as us and those that we love. We must be willing to love those who have done evil. Joseph had to forgive his brothers before he was able to show them compassion when they came asking for food to eat. Joseph had to forgive Potiphar’s wife before he could interpret the dreams of the cook and waiter and finally Pharaoh’s dreams. Joseph had to forgive the waiter or cupbearer when he forgot him after his promise of returning back to service for two years. Joseph had a lot of reasons to hate because of the evil things done to him, but what good would have been done by hating his brothers?

It is easy to say that Joseph should have forgiven his brothers so that God could use him to save thousands of people from starving to death. It is harder to say that we should forgive terrorists after they killed thousands of people on September 11^th. The tenth anniversary can be used as a day to remember the evil and the hatred or it can be used to celebrate that love conquers hate. I will celebrate the power of God’s love to melt anger and hatred away. In fact, God’s love turns evil into something good. If we don’t see the good that has come out of September 11^th, then we aren’t turning our eyes toward God.

Our country also must turn back toward God. It is time for us to acknowledge that God protects and blesses America. God will protect his faithful people and turn evil into something good. God is with us no matter what. Some people are celebrating September 12^th because that was the day that our country came together to heal, to care, and to love people we had never met. The best is yet to come. We will continue to see good come out of evil. We will see a day when the terrorists decide to lay down their arms and their bombs and pick a smiling child and see love shining in their eyes. We will see the day when people of different faiths come together because they see the love in each other. We may worship God in different ways, but God did not teach us how to hate. God taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves and to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.

It is time to stop fighting wars with tanks, guns, and bombs. It is time to fight evil with love. We are the people who can love those that should be hated. We are the people who will follow the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. We are the ones who can look into the eyes of the people whom we fear and see a neighbor and a friend. We can see people in need who need the love and compassion of Jesus Christ in their lives. The love of Jesus Christ draws Muslims to us if we serve people with that love in our hearts. I am no longer afraid to care and love our neighbors even when those neighbors are Muslim. I now see their children looking up at me with love in their eyes and realize that their love has conquered my fear. Muslims have asked me to pray in the name of Jesus Christ for someone who they love. I’ve experienced a common bond when I care about their health, welfare, and future. We are not strangers in this world, but we are a people who have more in common because we have the capacity to love. God will help us when we are afraid to share that love with one another.

Ending time in north and checking out more Rotary Deep Wells

March 19, 2011 Saturday

We had a busy morning. I had a knock on the door at daybreak from the Methodist pastor and his assistant from Walewale. They wanted to walk the land in Walewale where they’ve purchased land for a church and a parsonage. The land is on the current edge of town, but they rightly concluded that Walewale will grow up around the new church. They appealed for Bibles, a pair of steel drums, and funds for a new church building. We promised that we’d buy the Bibles and drums right away. We’d pray how to build another church.

We went back to the Moonlight Lodge to pick up Kofi Boakye. We took the motorcycle that we purchased in Bolgatanga to dedicate for use by the Bugiya Church pastor, Paul. It was exciting for the church elders and children to see a new motorcycle in the village. Paul preaches at two churches that are far apart. He will give his bicycle to one of our other pastors.

Our next stop was at the Guakudow new church construction. The masons were working on the “lintel” level of the church. The lintel level is a pour section of concrete above all of the walls. It gives the church walls more strength to hold up the roof. The chief of the village was there watching the construction. A woman who we called the “church mother” was also at the site. She brought food for the workers. She is also “overseeing” the construction so that every block is strong. She is really proud and excited about the new church.

We wiped anointing oil onto the windows and doors of the new church to ask God to make the building strong. We also prayed to God to protect the church and keep evil out of the building. The church mother helped us anoint the church with oil. We asked the church mother if she wanted to be the first person baptized in the new church. She said yes. The chief watched as we baptized her. Her baptism was such as meaningful moment. I asked the chief if he wanted to be next. He said no because he is still a Muslim, but I don’t think it will be long until he starts to come to church there to worship.

We traveled on a new road to get to Diani to give Pastor Elisha a bicycle. He wants to preach in a neighboring village, but needed a mode of transportation to go there to preach. He is seeing the excitement caused because Pastor Ibrihim is starting the Singini Church and Pastor Paul is starting the Guakudow Church. Pastor Elisha wants to be involved in the spiritual growth and renewal, too.

We drove to Gbani to see their damaged church. One-half of the church roof was blown off in a storm. The people have become discouraged and the pastor has left. We saw the damage to the church. We went to visit the chief. I told him that I remembered the day in September 2003 when I helped to baptize seventy-one people with about one hundred and fifty watching from the riverside. We prayed for God to bless his village and for his church to be resurrected. The church was built by World Harvest. Apparently, World Harvest has abandoned their efforts in northern Ghana. All of their churches are closed. I pray to find a way to get the roof back on this church. Gbani was one of the first villages I visited on my first mission trip to Africa. Gbani also is special because it is where I experienced my first mass baptisms under the leadership of Pastor Bill Barker.

We were finally on our way south after visiting many of the local churches. Our goal was to reach the three boreholes paid for by Rotary matching grant 69066 near Karaga. It took us about three hours to get there from Walewale. Most of the trip was on dirt roads that were under construction, of course. We couldn’t have made the trip in the rainy season. Two of the boreholes are in one village with the remaining borehole located at a neighboring village. The boreholes were really needed. The young local assemblyman accompanied us from the center of town to the boreholes. He gave us a speech that the boreholes were really needed and that a few more would also be appreciated.

It took us about two hours to make it to Tamale. We found a really nice Bible Book Store where we bought a case of English New Living Version of the Bible. We went to Gilbert’s Bible Translation Office to buy about 500 Mampruli language Bibles. The next goal was to buy three steel drums for three more churches: the Methodist Church start in Walewale, the resurrected church in Brubia, and the new church start in Guakudow. We sent Kofi Boakye back to Walewale with the Bibles and drums so that our churches could worship with praise music and God’s Word. Finally, we had a chance to eat a meal together in Tamale. We stayed with Dr. Seth Wanye in Tamale. He had stayed with my family in Virginia. It was great to have the chance to join him for dinner and be a guest in his house.

March 20, 2011 Sunday

We went to the Ebenezer Methodist Church in Tamale. We made it for Sunday School where they were discussing repentance. The worship service was a mix from early hymns from Charles Wesley in the 1700’s to rock and roaring local language praise songs. We had a good time. They had a wedding at the end of the service. We toured the Tamale Teaching Hospital and Tamale Eye Clinic with Dr. Wanye. They are building a brand new hospital and refurbishing the old one. The changes are exciting to see.

We drove from Tamale to Sunyani. It took almost the whole afternoon to travel to Sunyani. We stayed at the Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani which is a tourist hotel. It was nice to get some pampering after the “bush guest house” called the Moonlight Hotel in Walewale. We had hot and cold running water, air conditioning, and soft bed with two actual bed sheets. I met President Samuel Obour for dinner to talk about our goals for my visit. It was good to see him and catch up on the matching grant work. We will have an active couple of days reviewing our matching grants.

March 21, 2011 Monday

We were supposed to have a relaxing start for today. We are going to meet the Rotarians at 10 AM to inspect the mechanized boreholes. Instead, Pastor David Donkor knocked on my door at 6:45 AM. He convinces me to travel just outside of Sunyani (about one hour north) to his orphanage and school. Rev. Donkor talks on two cell phones while driving 120-140 kilometers per hour. I make a note to do the conversion to find out later how fast he was going. It is good that we know God because we are praying to get to the orphanage in one piece.

Rev. Donkor introduced us to his wife, Rose. She is full of energy and runs the orphanage. I’m glad that we took a few minutes to travel to the orphanage and school. They are raising chickens for the eggs and income. The orphanage also needs a deep well. He shows me. Jon and Kenny are completely entertained by the children. They latch onto Jon’s arm and do not want to let go. I tell Rev. Donkor that we need to leave at about 9:15 AM to get back in time to meet the Rotarians. Mike tells Rev. Donkor to relax and he’ll drive us back to town. We return at about 9:55 AM.

The Sunyani Central Rotarians arrive in a large bus from the Sunyani Polytechnic University for us to travel to the borehole (deep well) sites. The first stop is to the Sunyani Municipal Assembly Primary School. The Sunyani Central Rotarians have poured a lot of effort into this school. They partnered with Canadian Rotarians to build a fence to prevent squatters from taking more school land. They have other grants that added a computer lab, installed white boards in each classroom, and made other improvements to the school. Matching grant 69051 made for a mechanized borehole for the school. The school now has two large polytanks that are filled by the electric pump down the borehole. I visited this school in 2008. It is hard to recognize the place. Several of the classrooms have new roofs and the number of students at the school has increased. The school is an excellent showcase for the goals of Rotary to increase literacy and the health of children.

We travel next to the Notre Dame Girls Senior Secondary School in Fiapre near Sunyani. The school has over six hundred students and forty-five teachers. The school is growing and has a strong need for more clean water. We drilled a new borehole. It is also mechanized to pump the water into an overhead polytank. We met with the headmistress of the school, Ms. Lucy Donkor. She is “most grateful” for the assistance of the new borehole. She is very interested in hand washing stations to enable the girls to wash their hands with clean water. We tried to get a US Embassy grant to help with that goal, but we’ll try to find a way to improve the sanitation situation at the school as well. The headmistress and about fifty girls join us for the tour of the new borehole. We took a lot of pictures and one of the girls drank the water to celebrate our work. The school is a beautiful place where the teachers believe in hard work to get a good education. It is a great place for one of the Rotary deep wells!

The next stop is Sacred Heart Senior High School in Nsoatre, Ghana. We added a second mechanized borehole for the school near a girl’s dormitory that is being built. This is another fine school with about eight hundred students. I’m proud of the work being done to provide safe water to the future generation in Ghana.

Baptizing and Preaching Over Ghana

March 16, 2011 10:44 GMT

I am very tired so I will be quick and try to finish up before the day starts on Thursday. We met the Methodist mission team from Missouri for dinner last night. They brought picnic lunches that were packed at their hotel in Bolgatanga. I told them that we didn’t have any “restaurants” in Walewale that had safe food to eat. We set up some picnic tables in the guest house courtyard to eat with the mission team. Mary Kay Jackson is hosting the team as a Ghana missionary. We went to Singini first. It was dark by the time that we went to the village to see our new church building. It was also the first time that I had been in the village, too. I didn’t know the way. It felt a little different relying on mary Kay to show me a village in this part of Ghana.

My pastor, Ibrihim, felt called to preach the gospel to the people two villages away. Mary Kay went to the village and saw that it was good. My mission team leader, Kofi, also liked the spirit in the village. A special donor from Rocky Mount UMC is paying for the key construction for that church. We will get support from other churches to pay for benches, drums, Bibles, doors and windows. It was neat to see the reaction of the Missouri mission team finding a Methodist church in such a remote spot in the African bush.

We preached in Sagadugu for the evening service. Pastor Michael from MO, Kenny Lovelace, and I preached in Sagadugu. I preached about the great commission from Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I edified the pastor in Sagadugu. Ibrihim went to Singini to preach the gospel. Now, a new church is growing. I told them that I was excited that our churches are growing new churches.

We repaired four boreholes in Sagadugu and Sagadugu No. 2. The pump handles were broke or usually a very inexpensive part broke. The children filled the pump with rocks and dirt which made the repair more time consuming. It is great having Michael with us to get this work done. Kenny Lovelace is especially enjoying the pump repairs.

I talked with the chairman of the Water and Sanitation Committee about God blessing his children by keeping the boreholes working. I went to each borehole (deep well) with the chairman to tell him the things that needed to be done around the borehole. Most of them needed the weeds cut down, the concrete pad swept clean, and the soakway cleaned out. I explained that water should not be allowed to stand for a long time in the soakaway because it would give mosquitoes a chance to breed in the stagnant water. I also showed him where dirt needed to be added around the well so that the waste water would flow away from the borehole.

The chairman started talking fast in Mampruli with our pastor, Ibrihim, and another elder from Sagadugu. I finally asked Ibrihim what he was saying. The chairman was wondering why a white Christian would travel so far to tell him how to bless his children. I told the Chairman that with God’s help all things are possible. I also pointed to Michael standing tall pulling pipe out of the borehole. I explained that Michael from Water in Africa was black and that he had the knowledge to repair the boreholes. I told the chairman that it doesn’t require a white man to make a difference in Ghana. The chairman asked for God to richly bless us for our work. The amazing thing is that the chairman is Muslim. We were laughing and talking about how the people of Sagadugu can have a better life with clean water. The Muslims and Christians are working together to bless the village with a working pump! I believe this is the way to reduce conflict in this world. We must be willing to give people hope for the future for their children.

I met an old man who told me that I helped to baptize him “at the beginning of time” at the river baptisms at Gbani. He described the amazing day when people from Gbani and Sagadugu came together to worship and be baptized. He told me that he was the first one to be baptized that day. He also remembered that I came with my uncles: Bill and Johnny Barker. Uncle Bill Barker is a Baptist pastor near Atlanta, Georgia. They remember having people line both sides of the river and baptizing eighty-one (81) people. The “beginning of time” actually was September 2003. It made me feel old to be told that I was baptizing at the beginning of time.

We finally left the pump repairs to Michael. Michael had to purchase or make some of the parts for the borehole pumps. He dropped us off in Singini. Singini is about five miles or so away from Sagadugu away from any major road. In fact, Singini doesn’t have a road to the village. The road is more of a bush trail that is hard to follow unless you know your way. Singini is between two other villages: Nabulugu and Binduri. I haven’t been to either of those villages yet, but our new church will pull people from those villages.

Kenny Lovelace and Jon Morris preached first. They were preaching on the basic beliefs of our faith. I told them that they could pick any topic they wanted to preach on. I covered the rest. I covered faith, grace, prayer, Jesus, salvation, the Armor of God, fighting juju or witchcraft with the parts of the Armor of God (Ephesians 6), and finally baptism. I felt it was important to cover the key points of our faith before baptism so that they would understand what baptism means. We had women haul water in three buckets for us to use for the baptisms. I explained that it is possible to baptize by sprinkling, pouring, or dunking. We explained that it was impossible to find a river at the end of the dry season. It is not the quantity of water required for baptism, but rather what God does during baptism.

We baptized 70 people in Singini under the “preaching tree.” Kenny Lovelace, Ibrihim, and I were the ones baptizing. I grabbed three handfuls of water for “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the son Jesus Christ (Jesu), and the Holy Spirit.” Most of the people bent over in a worshipful way. I felt God’s presence in a strong way while we baptized. Jon Morris anointed each one with oil and prayed for each one after we baptized. Gabriel Alinga from Singini recorded their names in our book. He is a teenager. Someone else gave each person a pair of flip flops from Shiloh Baptist Church for the adults or a bracelet made from Glade Hill Baptist Church or New Hope United Methodist Church.

We preached at Diani tonight. At first, the church was empty except for a few children. I was told that many of the members thought that we would stop on our way from Sagadugu. They waited from 4:00 PM until we got there near 7 PM. We had a full church in a few minutes after our arrival. I took Jon Morris outside to tell him the stories of prior victories. We had a wonderful service that asked the people of Diani to follow the work happening in two of our other villages to start a new faith community. Michael also preached from Daniel.

I’m tired and will need to say more later.

March 17^th Thursday

Today was a glorious day for baptisms. Michael dropped us off at Diani so we could preach, teach and baptize. Michael fixed two more boreholes in Sagadugu while we were in Diani. The people lined bowls up in a line for the food distribution. We filled the bowls while people came for the worship service. All of the bowls of food were placed on the altar for us to bless after the service. I saw one of the women who were blind and now can see. She came to be baptized! She lives with her daughter now in Tinguri, a neighboring village.

I preached that it was my hope that Diani would start sharing the gospel with neighboring villages so that the love of Jesus Christ would shine all over Mamprusi land.

We baptized 63 in Diani today. I had expected about twenty or thirty people because 64 people were baptized in November 2010 by another mission team. Now, we have 127 people baptized in Diani. Kenny, Kofi, and I performed the baptisms. Pastor Elisha wrote the names in the book. Jon Morris anointed them with oil and prayed a blessing in their life. We danced and sang after the baptisms in Diani. I noticed that dancers danced the baptismal water around the church in a circle. The day would’ve been a blessing if we stopped after Diani.

Instead, we went to Nabari for baptisms as well. We preached almost the same message as we preached in Singini. We preached about faith, grace, salvation, baptism, prayer, and spiritual warfare. It was important use the preaching to prepare their minds for baptism. We found one of the young teenage boys to write the roll of people being baptized. We were able to videotape a lot of the baptisms. I hope the video captured the joy of baptism. We baptized 59 in the Nabari church.

An amazing thing happened when we went to greet the chief of Nabari. We told the chief that we baptized many in the church. The chief responded that he wanted to be baptized, too. He would become the first chief of the Mamprusi villages that I would baptize. I asked him if he would renounce Satan and the evil forces in his life. I also asked him to confess Jesus Christ as his personal savior. He did. We had him move to the end of his throne. We didn’t want to get his animal skin wet and I didn’t want to sit on his throne. We used some water to baptize him in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Afterwards, we started walking around the village to find Michael and his truck. The children walked around the village with us with every finger holding onto a different child. All of the children would try to hold onto us, but we only had so many fingers and arms to grab. We went around to the hand dug wells that were paid for by our first Rotary matching grant. Michael and his team of volunteers from the village were working on all of the hand pumps. They were able to get the pumps from three hand dug wells working again. Two of the men were from the church who took Michael around to fix the wells. They missed the baptismal service in the church so we decided to baptize them at the well that they just fixed. We pumped water out of the well and baptized both men in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It seemed so right to use the water from the repaired well.

We noticed a Mark II pump on a deep borehole near the school that needs another pipe and rod to reach the water in the dry season. It will take us two hours. We are hoping that we can find time come back to Nabari to help the deep borehole last through the end of the dry season.

It was getting late in the afternoon when we had the well pumps fixed and were able to get on the road to Bolgatanga. We decided that we would buy a motorcycle for Pastor Paul. Pastor Paul has been the faithful pastor of the Bugiya Church and the new church at Guakudow. The motorcycle will belong to the churches. The motorcycle was brand new and we will give it to him on Friday morning. We ended up praying for about seven Muslims who sold us the motorcycle or who put the battery into the motorcycle. They asked for God to bless their businesses. One asked for love. I prayed that the mechanic would be blessed so that he could provide for his family and that the work of his hands would be blessed. One of the men in their twenties asked if he could become a Christian. I recommended that he learn more about Jesus Christ at the Methodist Church or Assembly of God Church in town.

We rushed over to the Ebenezer Methodist Church in town to meet the “district superintendent” of the Bolgatanga District of the Ghana Methodist Church which includes the Walewale area of the West Mamprusi District. It was a short, but productive meeting. Next, we rushed to the Sand Gardens to allow the team to eat and me to meet with the Bolgatanga Goodwill Rotary Club which is being chartered. I encouraged them to continue the effort until they were completely chartered. I answered a lot of questions and told them that many people were wanting them to succeed.

I preached with Pastor Atia in the village of Goo outside of Bolgatanga. I preached with him in that village last year. It is a new church start. I preached on being united in faith, speaking in faith, being snared by the tongue, and much of the usual stuff for a new faith community – John 1, John 3, Romans 8, etc. Kenny and Jon noticed that the adults and kids were not as open as the people in our churches near Walewale. I explained that Pastor Atia is plowing ground so that seeds of faith could be planted at another time. It is tough breaking through in an unreached area. We said goodbye to Mary Kay Jackson and the team from Living Word of St. Louis, Missouri who went out to Goo with us.

March 18, 2011 Friday

We started our day late at 7:30 AM since we didn’t make it back from Bolgatanga until 12:15 AM. Our objective for this morning was to rededicate and sanctify the Bulbia Church. We drove toward the White Volta River from Walewale this morning toward Bulbia. I remembered preaching in Wungu on previous mission trips. I also remembered the road to Bulbia was a difficult one.

I was overcome with tears of joy when I saw the Bulbia Church. God awakened me in December to show me a vision of the damaged church in Bulbia. I was able to see it as if it was a movie. The message from God was that we needed to rebuild this church. I sent Kofi Boakye to the village to find out if anyone still worshipped God in that place. The answer was “Yes!” We went ahead with the plan to rebuild the church walls and roof. The walls were reinforced. The columns for the front and side porches were strong. The roof was well built. I grabbed Kofi and told him that I was so thankful for his work to get the church completed.

I met two young men in their twenties who are preaching in the resurrection church. They are Sam and Elisha. They told me that about seventy members were baptized last Easter by a missionary from Navrongo. The Bulbia Church has about 35 active members right now. We had a full church this morning, but we had Muslims and witches in attendance, too. They had come because we were going to give out food.

We had to move the bags of corn to the back rooms so that the people would concentrate on the message. I quickly realized that we had to consecrate the ground under the church. We prayed over the church and had the church members sing praises to God. It took a lot of work to get the people to move away from the altar and pulpit area so we could preach. I had to “plow the ground” to start preaching. The preaching was very hard because the church was being brought back alive. It will take time for it to become Holy Ground again. I preached as hard and strong as I could with the Help of the Holy Spirit. It was like riding a bicycle uphill without any gears. It is possible, but it was hard.

Jon Morris told me that I “preached like a Southern Baptist preacher.” I told them about the story of God waking me to get me to find a way to repair the Bulbia Church. God wanted to encourage and strengthen them. I asked the congregation why God did it. An old woman said it was by God’s grace! I told them that they had a choice to make. They needed to choose God or Satan. I couldn’t do it for them. Salvation is a free gift, but it is their decision.

I finally was led to ask how many wanted to confess the sinner’s prayer to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. About seventy or eighty raised their hands. They rejected Satan and accepted Jesus into their hearts. We baptized nineteen in Bubia. One of the baptisms was a witch who took off her talisman bracelet. The witch asked Jesus Christ in her life. We baptized her and anointed her with oil so she could be healed of physical problems caused by Satan.

We prayed for many people. Several people who were blind or in pain were healed. We also prayed for God to bless many children. We rested today from about 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM. The second half of our day is about to start. Talk to you soon.