Your face looks a lot better than it did last Wednesday

There are so many things I could be writing about. I am not sure where to begin.

Today was a heavy day. I mean that physically, but even more so spiritually. We began by heading out into the city of Takoradi to do more street evangelism. The common thought of the team is that it is getting easier the more we do it. We are learning more about the people and how to communicate specifically to their needs. I could tell of all the incredible stories of the day, but I do not want to be up too late. It is currently 12:16 here and we will be getting up early to do more ministry. I will share of Emily and I's experience.

We split of into groups and Emily, myself, Salume (translator), and Pastor Daniel went together. We did not waste any time. Within seconds we began talking with some ladies in their 30's. While we were talking a man came and kept interupting us while we were preaching the gospel. He seemed to know why we were here, and he asked us to come to his house to present the gospel. The man was obviously intoxicated, and seemed a bit mentally unstable. Pastor Daniel continued to ask him to leave so we could finish sharing with the women, and that we would visit him as soon as we finished. We eventually prayed with the women to rededicate their lives to Jesus, and to make Jesus not only their Savior, but LORD of their lives. It was awesome. When we finished we met with the tipsy man in the green shirt (cannot remember his name). It took us a while to get to the point because he continued to argue that the church wronged him and that is why he turned to alcohol (he admitted to alcoholism). We tried to explain that Jesus was not responisble for the churches actions and that alcohol is the result of his own actions and not the church. Once he calmed down we explained more about the gospel. After a series of testimonies and serious intense conversation, Emily prayed with him to receive Christ. He also claims he will be attending our host church this Sunday. We hope we see him there. The man followed us the rest of our time while we evangelized and helped us explain the gospel to other Ghanians. It was great. The next man we met also accepted Christ. He was in his sixties and said, "I believe this is the change I have been waiting for. I know my life is not right." We prayed with him and it was very powerful and very sincere. Praise God.

I don't know exactly what it is, but it seems that it was not until this trip that I truly understood the urgency of what we are doing. We have been sent by God to preach the news of Jesus Christ. There is NO greater calling in this world. I think in America evangelism is sometimes looked down upon. I think there are a lot of factors that play into that attitude, but I believe I have truly regained focus. This being said we discussed in our team devos tonight that we cannot measure our success by numbers. Whether 300 or simply 1 person gets saved, our mission is succesful simply because we are in God's will and he has called every single one of us to be in Ghana. Our success is measure not by numbers, but by our willingness to submit to our God.

One more thought...

The spirit of God has been heavy upon us. We have been so blessed by being a part of the Ghana worship services. I believe every single Christian must experience an African worship service before they die. It is indescribable. It can only be experienced. Trust me, my words would not do it any justice. Tonight we were able to be a part of all woman's service. During the service Kim shared her tesmimony and Mel preached. Kim's testimony was very powerful and truly moved some of the women. After Mel preached Pastor Daniel came up to preach with fire. The next few moments are hard to describe. Let's put it this way. There was healing. Spiritual and emotional healing. The Holy Spirit was so thick, Emily Kennedy put it best when she said "You can just feel it, and you know. You know it's God."


Ok, just one more thought.

One of the most profound things I have learned from the Ghanian people is humility. Whenever we drive anywhere Pastor Daniel always stops, and thanks God for his grace, his mercy, and for our safety. They thank God for everything they have, in every situation. It is pretty incredible. We have a lot to learn from the people of Ghana.

There is so much more, but I will stop here.

Pray for us. Tomorrow is going to be a difficult day. We will be seperating into 5 groups and preaching and 5 different churches. God is truly stretching us out of our comfort zones.


Praise God.

-Matt