Back at it again. Kandie wants to know if I can relieve her from doing the notes again. Who can refuse? Don’t answer that. The power has just kicked back on so that we can get something done. It is amazing how unreliable the power situation is here. Thankfully, Steve and Kandie have a generator if the power does not immediately come back on. Nevertheless, one must press on.
As I am writing at 6:36 in the evening it is a cool 82 degrees according to the thermometer on the back porch. We got up this morning to threatening skies in the east and the thunderstorm brought its impact. By the time we were eating breakfast at 8:15, the rains became heavy with lightning and thunder all around. There was standing water in the front and back yards of the mission house. Steve said that some would probably not come to the seminar today due to the weather, but several had already started on their way so they would be there. Rain has a strange effect upon the Ghanaian population. They do not like to get wet and will not come out or hardly move until the rains cease. Some of the people who attended rode for 2 to 3 hours on motorcycles on awful roads to come to the seminar. Think about that the next time anyone thinks it is difficult to get to the services. One man named Daniel brought his wife and a church leader on a motorcycle three hours away. Three people on one motorcycle on bad roads in the rain to come to a monthly meeting. Let all that sink in!
Steve had to go early to check on a tire on the van before going to Kulkpeni, so he left in the old van. Kandie drove Zorash, Pam and myself in the pickup truck out to the church building to Kulkpeni. It is only 6 miles west of Yendi, but it had been raining and the potholes are now water filled chuckholes. Steve had loaded a bench from the child center in the bed of the truck for additional seating. As Kandie got on to the main road, Steve happened to be immediately behind her. Kandie was thrilled that she was ahead of Steve. Steve began to blow the horn at Kandie and she thought it was just to acknowledge that he was behind. Such was not the case. The bench in the back of the pickup had fallen out of the truck into the road and Steve had to stop and get it out of the road putting it up on the roof of the van. None of us had any idea that the bench had fallen out of the truck as the weather, the talk, and the noisy road conditions made it almost impossible to hear anything. O well, repaired bench coming soon.
The seminar is a monthly meeting of the preachers from the surrounding area. This meeting was unique in that for the first time the wives were invited to come to have a class while the preachers’ meeting was going on. Pam taught the ladies’ class and I gave a lesson from First and Second Timothy to encourage them as preachers and church leaders. Because it had rained and was slightly raining when the classes started at 10, the men met inside the church building and the ladies met in the pavilion in the middle of the property. Lunch was provided by Timothy’s wife, Rita. She cooked rice and chicken for all who wanted to eat. Each month the brethren report their progress in each local congregation at the seminar.
Here are the details for the month of April. There were 7 baptisms. There were 8 restorations. The total number of congregations represented is 29. There were 34 men not including Steve and myself and 29 women not including Pam, Kandie and Zorash. Steve said that he was very pleased with the number of people who came today, especially in view of the weather. The seminar ended around 2 pm so that the brethren could get back home before it got too late in the evening.
We all came back to the mission house for “luper” as Kandie said, which means lunch and supper. We did not chance eating the food prepared at Kulkpeni to avoid getting sick, so Kandie made eggplant spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. We are now munching on mango and toasted pecans. Kandie wanted me to say that toasted pecans are not native to Ghana. Pam brought the pecans to Ghana because Charity had told Pam that her dad loves pecans. You get the idea. Must keep the missionaries happy; amen to that.
May the Lord bless the work here and all its workers. These are people who struggle like anyone else, yet they are doing the Lord’s work for the good of their people.
Jimmy Clark
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