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We thank you so much for your faithful support and prayers for the ministry here in West Africa.

Family news: It is with great joy (and a bit of surprise) that we write to inform you that our family is still on the GROW. By God’s grace, Michelle is due the later part of October of this year. But due to the problems in her last delivery that ended in an emergency C-section her doctor has advised her not to try to deliver naturally again. Therefore, on August 23, Michelle and our younger three children will fly back to the US for the delivery. I will remain in Ghana with Samantha until mid-September and then meet her there. A dear friend has already promised to help us pay for the plane tickets. We have very good health insurance in MA and will be staying with family while we are home so our costs will be minimal.

On June 12th I flew home alone for two weeks to attend our daughter Rosie’s graduation from high school and attend a MABMI board meeting in Dallas. Both of these meetings were wonderful. Rosie is now working at the Word of Life Inn for the summer and planning to attend the Bible Institute in the fall. I also had the joy of getting to meet the new pastor of my home church (my dad resigned last year) and of visiting our dear friends in the Pinecrest Baptist Church, in Stockbridge, GA. On furlough we lived in Stockbridge, and this precious church has become our second home. Currently, our eldest son Jonathan is living in Stockbridge and looking to make Georgia his home.

Ministry: This week we will be hosting Missionary Gilbert Anger from Australia for a pastor’s fellowship, a Bible conference, and a graduation service here in Techiman. Pastor Stephen Kyeremeh is our only graduate this year and feels called of God to work in our Spirit of Caleb outreach ministry in the 10/40 window.

We also have another Australian man here with us named Brad Meldrum. Brad is an English teacher seeking God’s will about coming to Ghana as a missionary. On July 14th, we will fly together to Monrovia, Liberia, to visit two of our missionaries serving there and expose him to another needy field. Please pray for God’s blessing and protection on this trip. Pastor Kennedy and Deacon Ben will be traveling with us.

Spirit of Caleb: Please pray for our upcoming missions’ conference in Niger and Burkina Faso on September 8-14, 2008. A group of pastors from all over West Africa will be meeting for missions training and evangelism outreach. The cost of the conference was estimated over $3,000 and two of our supporting churches have promised to help sponsor the conference.

For Eternity,
Steve Volante]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=145#145 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=144#144
Greetings from Camp Baptiste!

Where are we? We’re at International Christian Academy in Bouak, Cote d’Ivoire which is now a French military base named after the local French name for the school Ecole Baptiste (Baptist school). I told Wayne on our first night that if we squint a bit looking out of the window, the troops that go by look a little like the high school boys that used to roam the campus; many aren’t that much older.

We’ve spent most of these first 25 days just settling in and getting used to our surroundings twice! We arrived in Abidjan Tuesday evening, May 20, and drove up country, through Bouak, all the way to Korhogo (8 hours) where our project is centered. What a surprise we gave Abdoulaye, the PEDEBE* director when we arrived in his office on Thursday! He came by the house the next morning to discuss the project and assure us that many of the pastors had been praying for us and Monica during the past year. How blessed we felt to be an answer to their prayers.

*PEDEBE stands for Programme (program) d’Enseignement (of teaching) D'centralis (decentralized or by extension) des Eglises (of the churches) Baptistes (Baptist) Evang？liques (evangelical). Often we call this type of program TEE: Theological Education by Extension. Students remain at home but meet together regularly for training. They have studies to do each day in their workbooks our job is to re-type and print these 15 workbooks so the program can continue. Abdoulaye says 450 church leaders have taken courses through this program; the need continues to be great as there are currently 80 trained pastors for about 400 churches. We also promised to find the money to complete the project to get PEDEBE back on track.

After feeling somewhat settled in Torogo (the mission station outside of Korhogo), on Monday we moved three hours south to Bouak？ and Camp Baptiste. The plan is that we will live here and go up to Korhogo as needed; we hope to use the advantages of each place to further our ministry. For example e-mail: in Korhogo, we share one account on a slow dial-up system that means driving into town and sitting in a small office. The other day it took 25 minutes to check a bank account online each time the screen changed took almost a minute! In Bouak？ we have two choices: a wireless internet caf？ in town for 72￠ an hour (but the road to town is very rough and jarring and the connection went down while we were there) or the French military satellite system which I can access from my old ICA office for $5.42 an hour (but 13,000 troops have access to that, especially in the evening!). Here we have steady electricity; in Torogo we have hot water.

The funniest thing this week happened Tuesday while we were visiting the town orphanage. The directrice was filling out the paperwork for the newest baby who had arrived the night before. She asked Wayne for his name she named the new baby Dieudonn？ (God-given) Nelson!

We value your prayers for our adjustment(s) as we begin the PEDEBE project. Looking out at the campus (and seeing the troops, trucks and helicopters!), I can’t believe we are actually back!

We’re back!
Wayne & Melody Nelson

PS: June 14 we celebrate our 39th anniversary!]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=144#144 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=143#143
God has greatly blessed us over the past few weeks here in Ghana. We just hosted a 15 member ministry team from Pensacola Christian College. Each person on the team was greatly used in different ministries all over Ghana, from the capital city in Accra to the Upper East Region in Bolgatanga. I have enclosed a copy of their team leaders’ final report before leaving the field.

This week I am flying alone to the USA to attend my daughter Rosie’s graduation from High School, attend a MABMI board meeting in Dallas and preach at the Pinecrest Baptist Church in Atlanta. I will be gone for two weeks so please remember my wife and children in prayers as I leave them behind.

Thank you so much for your faithfulness in our lives and ministry!

For Eternity!
Steve

****************************************************************************

Report from Dr. John Reese, the Go-Forth team leader.

Ghana Update #6 - Tuesday, June 3rd

Well we’re back from our trip to the northlands of Ghana. The Lord smiled on our efforts, and we saw some great things done for His glory.

After our two evening rallies, we saw the culmination of the weekend’s work in a double service on Sunday Morning on the grounds of the future Calvary Baptist Church building in Bolga-Tonga. This is the land that the Campus Church 2007 Christmas Project helped to purchase. Pastor Peter and the church members send their special thanks for the generous gift. The location is prime and the potential for future growth is excellent.

What a thrill it was to see approximately 75 adults gather under tent-tops and lift our voices in praise to God. Our team provided special music as well as an instrumental prelude (flute and trumpet), and then we heard a challenging message on Nicodemus preached by Joel Porcher. Several responded to the evangelistic plea. Meanwhile, another 50 children met in a nearby area for children’s church.

After a break in which bags of water were provided for all in attendance, we transitioned into another service while half of the team joined a group going to the lake for a baptism. Dan Shepler preached on Daniel purposing to serve God, no matter the cost.

At the end of the second service, eleven people came forward for church membership and another five, including the interpreter, expressed interest in Bible School.

So altogether, our weekend outreach resulted in 30-40 solid decisions for Christ and eleven taking the next step toward baptism and church membership. What a thrill. All of this for a cost of $150 (U.S) to rent sound equipment , tents, and chairs.

The Lord has impressed us to pray with the missionaries about acquiring a portable sound system for the missionary team. The one we rented was of inferior quality (wireless mikes kept cutting out). A portable system would have multiple uses….every month, all of the missionary pastors in the region (20-25) gather for two days. They have a fellowship in the morning and then go soul-winning in the afternoon. It culminates with a special rally on Friday night. Partnering like this really encourages the local pastor and helps to build his flock (similar to our outreach this weekend).

So you see a good quality portable sound system would be a valuable asset (generators can be used where electricity is not available.) Other uses of the system would be su show evangelistic films as an outreach into the various communities.

A Chinese brand system with amplifier, pole speakers and five microphones could cost approximately $3,500. A better German made version would cost approximately $4,200 (U.S. funds).

After church, we enjoyed an excellent meal of chipped beef (well seasoned0 and rice or potato fires along with soft drinks. Our team of 15 plus the six national pastors and two missionaries ate for $100 (U.S.funds) The six national pastors have taken time out of their schedule to join us for this trip to the northlands. That way every American group going out on visitation had a national to guide, interpret and provide general safety. We never felt threatened in any way…This has been a very good arrangement; parents and friends can rest easy knowing that the missionaries have much foresight and have been very careful to look out for our wellbeing.

Speaking of safety, after lunch, we went to a crocodile pond and had the opportunity to kneel beside the crocodile for pictures (no he wasn’t dead, but he was distracted by the chicken waiting to provide lunch for the big boy (10 feet long; one of the crocs is 90 yrs old).

It didn’t take long for him to devour the bird. He eats at least six of them per day. If he’s hungry, he will chase ducks at night for additional snacks).

On Monday, we piled into the van for a trip to a game reserve on our way back to headquarters in Techiman. Ask the team members of the most memorable part of the trip to the national reserve and chances are, they will respond, “the bumpy dirt road”. It made the speed bumps at Wal Mart feel like a turnpike. In places, it was smoother to get off the road and travel through the ditch alongside the road. Little wonder everyone cheered when we returned to paved road on the way back to Techiman on Tuesday.

On Monday evening, we took a riding tour of parts of the 4,800 square km reserve. We spotted a number of antelope and water buck, but the highlight of that safari was getting the dual-wheeled 23 passenger van stuck. Thankfully, “many hands make van move out of mud puddle.” Good thing too because there wasn’t a tow truck within 200 miles probably. After a tasty supper on the veranda, we prepared to retire for the night as wart-hogs and antelope passed within 25-30 feet of the rooms where we stayed.

Early Tuesday, ten of the adventurous team members embarked on a guided walking tour. The guide carried a rifle just in case a bull elephant got ornery. While we were out, those who stayed back saw elephants and baboons up close as they wandered through the compound grounds.

The time has flown by even faster then we expected. We are tired but exhilarated at what the Lord has accomplished in these few short days. There are just three days of ministry left before we fly out of Accra early Friday morning. When we leave Techiman tomorrow, Erica will make her way to join the Ray Davis family in Tokoradi (sp?) for another two weeks. Joel will accompany us to Accra and then return to Techiman for another two weeks to labor with the missionaries before he returns to the States.

Due to travel and our staying in the missionary guest house in Accra the last two days where there is no internet access, this will be our last update from the field.

Thank you so very much for your prayer support during this mission trip. We’ve seen several specific instances where those prayers were very clearly and directly answered. And, surely, there are other answers to prayer of which we are not even aware. Your support for the team members will yield eternal dividends. Even our trip to the reserve turned out to be a divine juncture as my wife led two young men named Emmanuel and Komar to the Lord while we were there. If he and the scores of others who have responded to the Gospel message could somehow communicate to you, they would have thanksgiving on their lips that someone cared enough to support an endeavor like this. As team leaders and on behalf of the Go Forth Mission staff, we say THANK YOU!

As I compose this email, we are packed into the van on the return trip to Techiman. Seated beside me is one of the national pastors, Pastor Steve Sarfo Adu. He works with two village churches where there is no electricity, and the people live in mud huts. He rides a motorcycle between the two villages as he ministers. I’ve asked him to give you a message from the national pastors in Ghana. These will be the closing words of this commentary. Consider them carefully.

“I am very happy to see the team come to visit. I’m thankful for their safety. We are praying that the Lord will touch some of the visitors, and they will come to help us here. The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few.”

--Pastor Steve Sarfo Adu, village pastor in Boankron and Forikrom]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=143#143 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=142#142
Tuobodom:
The church has been doing really well. The spirit in the church has been changing in recent weeks for the better. We have seen many members coming out to both Sunday night services and Tuesday Prayer meeting and Bible Study. We have detected that many of our people are struggling with a lack of faith and difficulties in their prayer life. We have started a series of messages on these two topic areas. Please pray that these series will help our people.

The Childrens Bible club attendance has been running between 85 - 120 depending on if school is in session. When school is not in session, many of the children are going to the farm with their parents.

We have had a lot of tragedy in Tuobodom this last month. There have been at least 4 children hit by cars, and two have of them died of their injuries. One little girl was with her older sister when she broke free from her hand and was hit by a car and died four days later. The sister was attending our church. We went to the hospital to pray with the family the day before she passed away. The other child that died was also connected to our church, we found out later. Please pray for our village as the speeding vehicles are too much. The main street in Tuobodom is the main route used to get the Northern Region of Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.

Yesterday we had a church business meeting in which the church voted to place Ameyaw Daniel on the pastoral staff as a student pastor. Ameyaw has been working very hard in the church. He lives in Tuobodom and has been going around visiting the people on a regular basis. He is very active in all the ministries. Please for Ameyaw as he is in the Bible school.

We also want you all to pray for the Great Commission Training Center which will be starting this fall. This is a Twi Bible school, and there are 8 perspective students so far.

Adutwie:
This ministry has always been a blessing to us. We have had the chief of Adutwie coming to church now for the last three weeks. We have been going to him and talking about his relationship to God for years now. So when he started coming to church I was thrilled. His wife has been faithfully attending church since Easter.

We have three men who have applied to go to the Great Commission Training Center. This is a real blessing to us and to the church. Please for these three men: Samuel Mensah, Sarfo Mensah, and Mr Adams. When they finish their training, they will be able to run the village ministry there in Adutwie and the surrounding villages.

The childrens Bible club is been running strong in the village. Dona has 80 to 100 children coming very week.

Peterson family:
We are all doing okay. Dona has been having some back aches from time to time. Rebecca and Julia are fine. Dona is now schooling Julia at home. We are working at getting her up to speed in her schooling. We want her ready for school in America.

Some of you are probably asking about my health. I have about two more weeks of medication to take for the thyroid. The doctor wants to take me off the medication for several months to see if the thyroid has started to produce the hormone again. If the thyroid is working properly then I will be able to stop the medication completely. I am praying that the thyroid is now functioning properly, and I can stop the medication. I want to thank all of you for your prayers on my behalf.

Our stateside family is well. Rachel will be coming to Ghana on June 25th for her survey trip. Please pray for her trip. She is currently gathering her funds to come. Would consider what you could do financially help her come? She has a plan of being in Ghana as a missionary with Mount Abarim by 2010. She will be a big asset to the ministry here. She will be used in the Childrens and Womens ministries. She is hard working and a great helper. Please pray for her! Would you also consider her as a possible candidate for your missions family?

Finally, we have had a drop in our monthly support over this last year. Our support has dropped by $500 a month. This is now starting to put a crunch into our budget. We know that you all are having the same problems as we are with high fuel costs and food prices. Our fuel costs are now getting close to $6 a gallon. So pray for us, we are not able to raise additional support while on the field, and our planned furlough is not until next April. Pray that we will be able financially sustain things until then.

In His Service,
The Petersons - Jim, Dona, Rebecca, and Julia]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=142#142 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=141#141
We had a great ground breaking service today with three African Chief present, and all the Pastors from all of our village works with their deacons and a few delegates.

We started late due to rain but the service went from 11 AM to almost 4 PM.

Words cannot express the joy we had today. We have half the foundation laid and are stemming into the work.

Thanks for all your prayers!
Steve]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=141#141 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=140#140
Sorry for the long silence -- so many good things to write about but no time to write.

First -- On March 29 - April 5, I was in Burkina Faso and Niger. On March 30, 2008, I had the joy of visiting and preaching in Calvary Baptist International Church of Ouagadougou, with my co-worker Pastor James Peterson. Jim stayed behind in Ouagadougou to teach a theology class while I went forward to Niamey, Niger, to meet the president of the Independent Baptist pastor's fellowship. We had a wonderful trip and God opened many doors. Come to find out, Pastor Kumi, (the president of the Baptist fellowship) trained in Ghana under Missionary Bob Hayes, the same man God used to burden my heart fro Ghana. What a reunion we enjoyed. Lord willing we will return to Niger, in September, to meet the entire Baptist pastors fellowship to teach a series on Faith Promise Missions and explain the goals of the Spirit of Caleb ministry.

Second -- from April 7-11, I was back in Techiman teaching a modular class in our Bible school. What a blessing it is to teach hungry student who long to know the word of God.

Third -- on April 15, our church hosted a Spirit of Caleb delegate meeting. Pastors from Togo, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Ghana meet to plan our up coming meetings in our perspective countries. What a joy it was to meet with missions minded pastor from West Africa and plan new church plants and Bible Conferences.

Fourth -- on April 17 &18 the Brong / Ahafo pastor's fellowship meet in Techiman to help encourage the work in Bonkwae, lead by Pastor Atta Takyi. Fourteen pastors worked for two days sharing Christ door to door and showing videos and preaching in the night. The Lord blessed our labors and 38 people confessed Christ as Savior. Ten of the 38 were in church Sunday morning. Please pray as we follow up on the others as well.

Fifth -- Currently, I am in Accra taking Samantha to the Orthodontist for braces, OUCH!

Sixth -- This Sunday we are having a big ground breaking service in Techiman for our new church building. We already have half the foundation finished, but our schedule has not allowed us time to celebrate this wonderful occasion in the life of our church. Pray for good weather because we are meeting outside, "on the foundation" of the new church building. Pray that God's name would be honored greatly!

Seventh -- on Monday morning I am off again to Burkina Faso to teach a modular class on Mentoring. After this I am going on a survey trip to Bamako, Mali with a missionary friend, named Keith to look for a pastor God is mightily using to plant a strong Baptist church in this Islamic strong hold. Pray for our success and safety.

Serving The King in Africa!

Your Missionary,
Steve Volante]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=140#140 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=139#139
After radiation… it’s been almost a year!

On April 7 Monica finished radiation she did have to take five days off when the skin folds became very inflamed. But the 34 treatments are over! We celebrated on the way home by having pedicures; now our toes are ready for this beautiful sandal weather. Later that week Wayne and I ordered our tickets for Ivory Coast we leave on Monday, May 19 and arrive in Abidjan on May 20. What a year it has been.

A year ago we were waiting for enough money to buy round-trip tickets for an estimated six-month stay in Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). Thanks to all of you who kept up your support during our leave of absence, we were able to buy one-way tickets (and the price has gone up) and put only a small dent into our Ministry Account. A year ago, on the day after we found out we had a large enough gift to buy our tickets, Monica started the journey that led to her cancer diagnosis and treatment. So before we leave, we will be with her for her one-year diagnosis anniversary, May 17.

If you would like to follow Monica through the rest of her cancer journey, you can read her journal entries at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/moileigh and you can send her notes of encouragement in the guest book. Please continue to pray for her as she finishes her Herceptin treatment and builds up her strength. May she also know how God wants her to use this experience to encourage others.

We’d appreciate your prayers as we finish up our leave of absence. It turned out to be ten months long! I’m so glad we didn’t know it would last this long when it began last July the expected six months seemed way too long. April has been a challenge as we lost our health insurance on March 31. Thankfully, we are all set to go back on salary May 1. God has certainly taught us new lessons about trusting Him.

Thank you again for the many times you have prayed for us. May God continue to prepare us to serve Him well in Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) and because of your prayers and gifts, we serve on your behalf to help spread the Gospel in West Africa. I ask that God will use the difficulties and challenges of the last year to bring us enlargement in the year to come!

Preparing to go,
Wayne & Melody Nelson

Thanks for the encouragement you have given to Monica!]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=139#139 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=138#138
We trust that you all had a wonderful Easter. In Ghana, many churches have what is known as their “Easter Convention.” It is a big holiday that starts on Good Friday and sometimes lasts through Easter Monday. All over the world many people go to church, and for many, that is the only Sunday of the year they go to church. We plan to give everyone rice and stew after the Sunday morning service as an incentive for people to come. We made plans to feed 250 adults and 600 children. Our ladies worked together wonderfully on Saturday and early Sunday morning preparing the food. The men came together to work on the cleaning of the church property and the setting up of the tents and benches. We sent out a vehicle to pickup our church people from Adutwie. The service started late, but this did not discourage anyone. We had 225+ adults and 505+ children attending the service. Seven people come forward for salvation. This makes the work worth the time and effort. We rejoice with the angels as a soul is saved.

This Easter the total attendance at all the Calvary Baptist churches was just under 3500 people with 129 people receiving Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Join us in giving thanks to God for what He has done.

This week Pastor Steve Volante and I will be traveling to Burkina Faso. I will be teaching one of our Bible school students who is helping to start a church there with three other men. Pastor Steve is doing some investigation work on visas for country of Niger. This is one of several countries that he is looking at for the next church plant. Please pray for us as we are in Burkina Faso, and our families as they remain in Techiman. We will be returning on Saturday, April 5th.

One of our faithful members Sack, who had left the church, has returned. Sack is an active soul winner, and when we would have a baptism at the church, many of the people would say that it was Sack who led them to the Lord. We were excited when he return to work with us again. In the last three weeks during visitation in both Adutwie and Tuobodom he has led about 20 people to Christ. He also works with the children’s ministry which was hurting for helpers. Please pray that he will stay focused on the Lord.

Our church attendance has been improving. Our Sunday night service and Tuesday Bible Study and Prayer meeting have almost doubled over the past month.

Adutwie:
This is ministry is a joy to both Dona and myself. Last week (Palm Sunday) one of the men from this village was the preacher, and he challenged the people there with a good message. There are four men in this village who are looking at the possibility of attending the Twi Bible School. Please pray for these men.

Peterson Family:
Rachel is planning her survey trip to Ghana at the end of June. She is really excited about coming over again to see what God has been doing here. She is in the process of raising the money necessary to come. Rachel has committed herself to God, and is planning to come to Ghana full time in 2010. She graduated from PCC in 2005 with a degree in missions. She has a desire to work with the women’s and children’s ministries here. Rachel has a real heart for the Lord and will be a great asset to the ministry here. If you would like to help her, you can send any gift to her through our home church in Easthampton. Rachel will start her deputation process in the near future with the goal of 2010 in mind.

Dona, Rebecca, and Julia are all doing well. Rebecca has just finished her 3rd quarter of school, and is looking forward to finishing her freshman year. Julia will be starting exams next week, and after a short break, will start the last term for this year. Pray for her as we decide what to do for school next year.

Many of you are probably wondering about my health. The doctor requested another set of tests. About three weeks ago I was not feeling well and was experiencing tightness in the chest. We had another ECG done and it came back normal. The blood test revealed that the FT3 and FT4 have returned back to normal with the medication. The FT4 was almost to the high end, so he reduced the strength of the Thyroxine. He believes that this is temporary. He wants me to stay on the medication for another 3 months at which time he will stop the medication for some time, and do another blood test to see if the levels stay the same. If they do then we will be able to stop the medication. Please pray for my health as there are days that I know something is happening.

Dona’s sister Ruth has finished her radiation treatments for the tumors. I’m not sure when the chemotherapy will start. Thank you for your prayers on her behalf.

We love hearing from you and sharing in your excitement over your ministries there in the states. We are praying for you and thank you for your prayers and support for us.

In His Service,
Jim, Dona, Rebecca, and Julia]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=138#138 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=137#137
Please praise the Lord with us for the wonderful Resurrection Sunday we enjoyed here in Africa. The weather was perfect and the people came in their numbers to hear the word of God. We were so blessed!

In the Techiman church God Blessed us with 1,466 people, with 69 confessing Christ as Savior. Pastor Samuel and I preach to the adults and Pastor Miguel and his wife taught the children.

In the Ahansua church God Blessed us with 355 people, with 23 confessing Christ as Savior. Pastor Gyamfi preach to the adults and his wife taught the children.

In the Toubodom church God Blessed us with 725 people, with 7 confessing Christ as Savior. Pastor Jim Peterson preached to the adults and his wife taught the children.

In the Krobo church God Blessed us with 400 people, with 15 confessing Christ as Savior. Pastor Gilbert preached to the adults and his wife taught the children.

In the Bonlwai church God Blessed us with 452 people, with 15 confessing Christ as Savior. Pastor Atta Takyii preached to the adults and his wife taught the children.

So in total we had 3,398 people in the Techiman area churches, with 129 people confessing Christ as Savior.

Because my first wife, Laurie, died the day after Easter in 1997, (just after our first service on our church property in Techiman), I always beg God for comfort on this very day when I remember her home going. Today I could smile again toward heaven and tell her, "God is answering our prayers that we prayed so long ago!" That day in 1997 we had only one church in Techiman and only 220 people came to church that Easter Sunday. Eleven years later we stand in awe of what our God has done for us.

Please rejoice with us!

For Eternity,
Steve]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=137#137 http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=136#136
We rejoice this time of year as we remember our HOPE. Our Savior is a ALIVE.

The attached letter is our most recent update. Thank you for laboring with us in your prayers and giving.

A special note:
I have redone my address book and if you are receiving this email and do not wish to receive our updates any more we will not be offended. Please reply with remove in the subject line and we will honor your request. If you wish to continue to receive our letters, no action needs to be taken.

Lord Bless!
Jeff]]> no_email@example.com (doulos) http://www.graciouscall.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=136#136