We would like to thank all of you for your prayers and your concern on my (Steve) behalf. There hasn’t been any re-occurrence of the memory loss; we thank the Lord for that.
Our plane ride from JFK to Accra was a little bumpy. We were glad to arrive with all eight pieces of luggage on August 9th. The first item on our agenda was to go the Ministries to drop off the papers for the renewal of the Child Center through the Social Welfare office. We needed to take our luggage to the hotel before we went to the Ministries. Several years ago we became acquainted with an airport taxi driver by the name of Bismarck. At the time we were not aware that he was the manager of the taxi fleet that serviced the airport. He is very nice and we have used his services many times. Bismarck has a Mercedes Benz Sprint van that is big enough to hold us and our luggage. After we off loaded the luggage at the hotel we headed to the Ministries.
We were not as lucky at the Ministry. I was informed that we needed a cover letter from the Social Welfare office in Tamale. The officer was very kind and gave us an extension so we could go to Tamale and get the cover letter. While we were in Accra we went to the Cultural Center on High Street and did a little shopping. The following day Bismarck drove us to Koforidua to the bead market.
We flew to Tamale on August 12th. Red was waiting to pick us up. Red was not able to pick us up in Accra because his father was gravely ill. We arrived in Yendi around 6pm.
August 13th was first Sunday we were back in Yendi. Timothy Niligrini and Brother Francis from Duuni had already made arrangements to visit the congregation at Jakpumba which worked out great for us.
The Church invited them to come and see if there was anything that could be done to get one of the church members who had reportedly become a soothsayer to repent and come back to the Church. Brother Jacob had personally told the church members that went to visit him that he had fulfilled all the requirements to become a soothsayer which involves a great deal of money and sacrifices. His said he became a soothsayer because he hadn’t felt good for several years and his family and the soothsayers convinced him the cause of the sickness was because he was a Christian and he refused to become a soothsayer. The soothsayer also told him that if he didn’t become a soothsayer he would become crippled and blind. Oh, how Satan is alive and well! He still deceives people today. Please pray for our brother that he will come back to the Lord. We wanted to visit with Jacob personally but he was not around.
We journeyed to the congregation that meets at Bitamondo, east of Yendi on August 20th. The brethren were happy to have us visit them. I taught a lesson from Matthew chapter 7 about wolves in sheep clothing and producing good fruit. I finished the lesson with the wise and foolish man building their house. They were happy to introduce us to the new converts the Lord had added to the Church. The congregation had decided to go house to house praying for the families and showing they were interested in the lives of the people. Ten women were converted. Several of them are widows.
On Sunday the 27th we visited the congregation at Nalongni. I gave a lesson that dealt with borrowing and lending and how we are to conduct ourselves in business. You can imagine what kind of questions this subject generated. Timothy Niligrini, Divine Gmalan, and I had fun answering the questions. When we arrived at the church building we noticed half the roof was off the family house adjacent to the church building. After services we inquired about the damage. The roof blew off during a strong storm in May. The man is old is poor. He supports his family making and selling wooden stools, chairs, and hoe handles. We decided that we needed to help so we provided tin, rafter material, and nails so the roof can be repaired. The man and his younger wife were very happy! I’m reminded of the scripture to “…do good to all men…” .
Nineteen men were present for the classes in July. On the August class day 32 were present. There were 14 baptisms and 1 restored in the month of July. Fifteen village churches received a visit in August. Those baptized in August totaled 8 with 6 souls restored to the Church. The increasing of the price of gasoline and diesel has necessitated the need to increase the travel allowance we give to the church leaders so they can come to the monthly class. Some of the far away brothers are charged as much as 18 GH Cedis (equal to $4.50 ) for their lorry fare which would be far too much for most Northerners to afford considering the minimum wage is $2.50 a day; that is a day not an hour! We are grateful to those who help with evangelism.
Thanks again for your support and prayers. Please be sure to check out the new website. You can sign up for the daily Yendi Notes at: www.ghanamissionfund.org
Aaron and Melissa, our son and daughter-in-law have added a picture glossary to the web page. Click on a word and a picture will appear to show you what we are talking about. If it wasn’t for all our children it would be very difficult for us to do the Lord’s work in Yendi.
In His service,
Stephen and Kandie Taylor
DONATIONS CAN BE SENT TO: JIMMY STROUD, 406 SANTANA DRIVE, ATHENS, ALABAMA 35611
THIS WORK IS OVERSEEN BY THE ELDERS AT WEST HOBBS STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST, ATHENS ALABAMA 35611
