My Life in Ghana (May Newsletter)
Hooray for the month of May! It went by slow at first, but then as soon as we all realized it, it was ending. Like April, there wasn’t a lot of crazy things happening or going on. Especially in comparison to sleeping in a van during thunderstorms up North, but God is still at work in the mission here in Ghana.
The 4th Quarter of school is up and running at BCA and has had its ups and downs so far. My students have seemed to “hit the wall” in regards to doing school work and following things they know to do. All of this is because it’s the last quarter of the year and they’d rather be anywhere than school at this time. They’re also at the age where they think “I know it all and why do I have to do things this way?” It makes me think, “Was I this way around 13-15 years old?” If so, mom and dad, I’m sorry for acting that way. However, God gives me the strength to get through the tough days, along with the rest of the staff here. So please pray that not just my students, but all the students at BCA press on and finish the quarter STRONG!
There have been a lot of new additions to the group here in Ghana as well. If you remember, two new babies were born in May, Ethan on the 5th and Wendy on the 9th. They’re both cousins because Ethan’s dad is Wendy’s mother older brother (I hope that didn’t confuse anyoneJ). So this is a definite praise to God for these new children. Another addition was to the Hostetter household when Caleb Wilson (15 years old) came from Missouri to join the family. I went with Mr. and Mrs. H, Jessica and Attah Osebreh to Accra to pick Caleb and Laura Swift (another volunteer from the States who helps out in the school and supports the mission) up on the 20th from the airport. We spent the night in Accra, since we didn’t leave the airport until around 7:30 and so they could get a good night rest in a hotel. We headed back to Kumasi the next day since our school break which started on the 16th ended on that Wednesday (21st). The other new additions are Augustina and Emmanuel, because both decided to be immersed into Christ!!!! So there are two new creations walking around here in Kumasi, Praise God!!!!
Most of us at the house also went to Akokaso, the village I went to when I first came to Ghana on the 25th of this month. Mr. H took us there to go and discuss with the people why the Christian school had ended and wanted to have a discussion about what needed to be done. However, this trip wasn’t as good as expected. People didn’t show up as they were suppose to, so Mr. H said, “lets go everyone.” We got in the van to head back to Kumasi, but a truck was stuck in mud on one of the last bad places before we would get to the “real” road. The reason the roads were bad is because the rainy season has just started and all the roads to villages are dirt, so when you put the two together, you get really bad roads. To top it off, people are trying to build bridges during this time of the year in villages because it’s almost election time and people want other people to vote for them! They seem to not think that it would be smart to build the bridges when it’s not the rainy season in Ghana. So if you think politics are bad in the States, well, they’re the same in Ghana. With the truck being stuck, we had to turn around to go back to the people in Akokaso and Mr. H was going to preach. Again, people where coming in late, falling asleep, etc. which is why it’s hard to get people really committed to village evangelism because the people don’t see a lot of importance in being serious about assembling together and hearing the Word preached. This has kind of been a problem for the assembly there, which is another reason why we visited them. With this trip not being so much of a success, Mr. H plans to go back in June to hopefully have everyone there and discuss the plans of Christian education and the state of the believers there.
Finally, as Memorial Day was on the 26th I began to think a little bit on it while it Ghana. Maybe not in thinking about actual war veterans, which I’m not saying is bad to think about, I’m very thankful to the people that defend our freedom, it’s just I was thinking in different terms this time. I was thinking about spiritual veterans that we read about in the Bible. Thinking about battles they fought and how they relied on God for victory during these times. I would encourage you all to read some of these victories, whether you read in the Old Testament or New Testament, you will see spiritual veterans and there trust in God to have ultimate victory. We all have victory, because Christ died for us and saved us from sin, so I would encourage you all to start studies with people and tell them the Good News. I know that when I get back I’m definitely going to start studying with people as soon as I can to tell them how great and awesome of a God we serve. With that said, the upcoming month of June will be my last full month in Ghana! I can’t believe it! It’s hard to believe that my time here is coming to an end.
However, I know God is going to do some great things during that time, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it in next month’s newsletter! Until then, here are some prayer requests:
- Assembly in Akokaso
- Augustina and Emmanuel’s walk with the Lord as New Creations
- BCA Students to finish the 4th Quarter STRONG
- Caleb Wilson to get adjusted to everything here in Ghana
- Mrs. H is planning on going to India the first week in June to get knee surgery, pray that she is able to get her Passport released so she can travel, plane ticket, successful surgery, recovery, etc.
- Continual focus on serving Him and being in His Word
I hope this newsletter has been an encouragement to you all and hope you’re all doing great in the Lord. Until the next one, stay focused on Him!
In Christ,
Travis
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