Presentations for the team

The team for the Dayton UMC 2013 mission, decked out in our new stoles commemorating the work in the Fosse Circuit.  Also pictured are Charlie and Mary Kay Jackson, our missionary friends assigned to Ghana that we met last year. 

Our presentation ceremony on the veranda of the Baptist Guest House in Accra.

The new church at Korko

The same events were also taking place at our other work location this year.  Cam brought the message to the new church while Joseph translated.  Both sites were blessed with new pavilions for worship.

Again, the entire team helps to present our gifts of Bibles for all ages and a bicycle for the Caretaker pastor.  Cathy is doing the honors for the youth illustrated Bibles.

Julie praying at Korko.

Notice the man with the traditional clothing next to Cam.  This is the chief of the village and the donor of the land for the pavilion.  He declared that this would be his church, a great turn of events for the Korko Methodists.

Sunday at Nweneso No. 3

Sunday is always a great day as we get to worship in the new churches we plant or expand through our ministry.  These photos are from the Nweneso No. 3 service.  (Notice the new spelling... we finally got it right for this village!)

Curt brought the message to forty seven adults and a number of children too mobile to count accurately.  This site is on a slope so the first order of business will be to level the land for the floor.








The entire team got into the act of presenting the Bibles, bicycle, children's materials and such. The Caretaker accepted the gifts from our church with grace.  His English was actually quite good. We look forward to seeing him and this church next year.

Celebration and dance at Nweneso No. 3

Yes, there is a Nweneso No. 1 and Nweneso No. 2 - just down the road from which we came.

Sue closes the service with prayer. She has been taking  all the pictures today.

A Welcome Visitor

Saturday night the Bishop of the Kumasi Diocese stopped by the mission house with his wife to personally thank the team and the Dayton United Methodist Church for the work we have accomplished in his region.  Not just this year but for the last six years of successful church planting and bringing new souls to Christ. His encouragement was a blessing to all.

Our second well this year completed!

Saturday was the last day for medical clinics and construction, children's ministry and preaching the Gospel. Also on Saturday, we stopped by the site where the second well was just completed. We will depart for the USA before the dedication ceremony with the Bishop.

Joseph is giving it the first go.

Bob led us in a brief dedication of our own before we headed back to the mission house. With our travel schedule, we will not get to see the third well site for this year at all.

The Dayton team with our Ghanaian nurses

The Gospel presentations...

With the distances out to this year's villages, we continue the practice of presenting the gospel message throughout the day rather than very late into the night. Here Isaac has begun the presentation to those gathered. You can see the structure that we are borrowing for the medical clinic in the background.

The very best part of all is when you see the faces of the villagers when they find salavation!  Praise God!

Korko medical clinics

By this second day at our Korko clinic we were really hitting our stride. The medical team saw 190 patients today! The village continues to be blessed!

Once a patient has an encounter form completed, they move over to vitals.  Julie begins that process by gathering height and weight. Our nurses then continue with things like blood pressure, temperature and triage.

The construction continues...

Our guys arrived early for a big push today to set the trusses built Thursday and complete the framing.

Everything gets done by hand here!  Teamwork between the villagers, our local carpenters and the Dayton team make it possible to set these very heavy green wood trusses with little other than brute strength.

Number five (of six) going up...

Attaching purlins and cross bracing completes the framing portion of the structure.  Next up for Saturday will be the metal sheeting.  If all goes well, we will be dedicating this building on Sunday.

Another pavilion for Winneso

Today we begin our second pavilion. With only three days to finish it, we will be pressed!  Counting on lots of help from the village, we have high hopes that we will be able to dedicate it on Sunday. Wood arrives and truss construction begins. Holes have to be dug for the steel poles that support the structure. The poles are set with concrete mixed on the ground. ... But there is always time for the people who come out to see what we are up to!

The first day at Korko

As with the other days, the medical clinic, pharmacy and lab are set up. Patients are seen and free medicine is dispensed. While waiting their turn, the villagers hear the message of the Gospel and are offered the chance to commit themselves to Christ..  

Teaching the children

Again we had the opportunity to go into some of the school classrooms and tell the children about Jesus. Bible stories and the path to salvation were both presented.

Bob has the undivided attention from the class with John 3:16. Isaac continued and at the conclusion, all present recited the sinners prayer.

Preaching at the clinic

We certainly do not want to miss an opportunity to bring the message of the Gospel.  Sizing the moment with the large groups waiting to see a doctor, Glenn is sharing the message of salvation with Isaac translating.

Eighty two adults committed or recommitted their lives to Jesus Christ from among the first to arrive for treatment.

Day two at the Winneso medical clinic

The medical clinic continues with another very busy day. Over 160 people were seen by the doctors and over 500 prescriptions were filled this day alone. Here Julie is recording vitals while Doctor Curt works with a villager.

Our reason for coming to Ghana!

The reason we come to Ghana is to share the love of Jesus Christ.  Through the medical missions, the children's ministry and just everything we do here we try to point to Jesus.  This is our attempt to share the love of God as Jesus might have done. Wherever we are working we intend to share the message of the Gospel.

Here Isaac is presenting the message to the people gathered in the "waiting area" of our medical clinic. Many are saved!  Today was interesting because many more men than we typically see stepped forward. They are usually less bold and less yielded to the Holy Spirit.

Pavilion construction

The first pavilion to be built this year was well underway by the time we arrived.  With two to complete before Sunday dedications, our  Ghanaian carpenter friend Yeboah started early and has made excellent progress with his team.  By Sunday, we should be ready to celebrate the first service of the new churches in Wenniso#3 and Korko under their new pavilion structure.

Children's Ministry at Winneso

It always begins with tentative interactions, but children's ministry always quickly warms up to energetic play. Bubbles give way to quieter time with coloring pages which recount Bible stories. Then the group reads to them as a means of sharing the Gospel.  Here Julie is meeting the school children for the first time. Below, Bob is working on coloring pages and pointing out the message.

All ages love to color, probably their first encounter with crayons.  Sometimes even the adults join in!

The first day of ministry at Winneso #3

Our ministry in the villages this year begins with the medical clinic at Winneso #3. Spoken just as it is written, this village is the third Winneso in the area - and far too small to find on a map.  Rural and poor, the doctors are warmly welcomed. Using our Ghanaian friends and nurses, we are able to communicate out here where little English is spoken. Over the course of the day, more than one hundred villagers were cared for and received prescriptions.

In triage, our nursing team members also work along side Ghanaian nurses for history and vitals. One of our newest teammates, nurse Cathy is experiencing her first day of "ends of the Earth" medical missions.

The return to Offinso

We also visited the church at Offinso planted last year. They are still meeting in a school classroom.  One day they will be larger and ready for their own pavilion. Cam Gongwer brought the message.

Baby Karen

At Ayensua, Tom again got to see his friend Job from last year. Tom was able to lead Job to Christ in 2012 when he gave his witness during the Crusades one night. Here he is holding Job's daughter Karen, named after Tom's wife who is residing with the Lord.

1. This was a wonderful reunion. She was naked as at birth when I first picked her up and Job came and wrestled a dress on her. I was so excited that I forgot I still had my backpack on. I had just a moment to visit with Job, his wife, son Christopher, and Karen. We also visited "old baby" Fredrick and his mom. Many familiar faces in the vilage.
2.  

The return to Ayensua

Half of our group on Sunday went another direction to visit the two churches planted last year. The first was Ayensua Fufuo, where a lively congregation was enjoying services under their new pavilion. Though humble in the beginning, a pavilion can be transformed into a beautiful church.  Compare this to the progress at Atwima Mim below where after five years is nearly complete.

Tom brought the message to the Ayensua Methodists this day.  Here he is preparing to begin as the young lady in the background asked to present a special song.  Notice the "offering plate" in the forground.