Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Closing Ceremony at Shalom Baptist Church

Sunday was a special day for the American and Ghanaian teams, along with the members of Shalom Baptist Church of Tarikpaa village.  It was our last day to see them before we returned to the US. We enjoyed a wonderful Closing Ceremony that included special music by the talented Shalom Voices Choir and a message from Pastor Mohammed.  There were lots of smiles and lots of dancing.

Our Shalom friends gifted us with beautiful beaded bracelets, shea butter, clothes and shoes as a way of expressing their gratitude for our visit.  We struggled to say our good-byes and we took tons of pictures to remember them by.

One of the highlights of the day was presenting a Bible to a young man named Mishael.  The Bible had been sent with us by one of his friends in the US who was on a previous mission team.  He was so overwhelmed that he was at a loss for words.  He told us that he had just been praying about that very thing.  He had been asking God for a Bible and here it was!  His former Bible was falling apart and he did not have the funds for a new one.

We spent Sunday afternoon visiting with friends who dropped by the guesthouse and packing up our things for an early Monday morning departure to Accra.

Leaving our Ghanaian friends and loved ones is hard on them and on us.  We have grown very close to them these past few weeks and some of us having know them for several years.  We know that we will stay close in heart and possibly even be able to communicate via email, but face-to-face is so much better.

Please continue to pray for Pastor Mohammed and the members of Shalom Baptist Church.  They are doing a great work in the Northern Region.  They have planted several village churches and according to Pastor Steven, their head pastor, they are willing to go even further to reach the "uttermost".  We thank the Lord for the opportunity to engage with them in God's Kingdom work.

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