Hello Again Friends, I wanted to tell you a little bit about our work in Africa. How it got started what has been accomplished and how that fits into the context of being a bi vocational pastor.
In June 2002. Gates of Praise Ministries was just doing its thing. Ministering in down town Fall River, MA to the folks that were a part of our congregation and those that past by our open store front, in the evening we taught our seminary classes. One of our seminary students had a burden for children’s ministry and Africa, based on that we (my wife) arranged for our student to do both through a friend named Albert Saah.
All was good until two weeks before the trip when our student’s job cancelled her vacation. I told my wife Esther, “I am going,” she said, “you just started a new job, you have no vacation time and the ticket is not transferable.” The ticket was transferred, the vacation was granted and off to Africa I went. The only problem for Albert was that he had no idea what to do with me.
Thank God for Prayer. He prayed, God told him to call John Attipoe, (at 4 am) They prayed together. God told Attipoe to call Samuel Ayamba. Aymaba would make arrangements for a pastor conference. He would have been pessimistic but….
Six months earlier a prophet had said to Ayamba “God is going to bring a white man into your life within the next several months, you are to receive him, he will become a life long friend.” We are life long friends.
Still two weeks turns into one week fast. But God had started a work. I met with the Ashimain Ministry Association when I arrived. They rightly asked, “who are you, what are you doing here.” My response was that I was a colleague, a fellow pastor of a small church that I had gifting in preaching and teaching and a measure of the prophetic” They said “fine” “we will receive you”
The first day of the conference was shocking, 160 church leaders showed up. “We have spend several months preparing other conferences and have not had nearly as many leaders come.” “God was doing a work.
The conference teachings were built around ministers taking care of their families and appropriate use of church discipline. These were needed messages.
I also preached at several sites of Victory Bible College a few different churches and even rival services. It really was glorious. More than 5,000 people were ministered to during that week. I have never preached in front of more than 200 people in the states.
I leave again in Two Weeks, but before I move on I should tell you about the rain.
Because we had no clue as to what we were doing we went to African in the rainy season. But it did not rain. This was testimony itself to many who were attending to the work of God. God had been moving in Words of Knowledge all week. The most significant was the revealing of a woman who had been abandoned by her husband the year before. God accurately told the woman of the situation and how her willingness to reject bitterness had been a testimony to the young women of the congregation. I believed that the woman’s rejection of bitterness had protected her against cancer.
Pastor Ayamba could not have been more elated at what God was doing. For months he had ministered to this woman about rejecting bitterness. It was fun to witness. But back to the rain, Friday was going to be our last service. We had planned to minister to the sick on that night. On Thursday God told me to tell the congregation that it was going to rain on Friday and that we needed to pray tonight. He said this to me just as the service was closing. To my shame I missed it. I did not stop the service and pray for the sick. On Friday it rained, it flooded, we lost electricity. It is impossible for me to describe how much and how fast the rain came. Gutters that we 2 feet wide and three feet deep filled and overflowed in minutes, but God is good. In the evening it slowed. People came to church, we prayed for their physical infirmities and God did his work before our eyes. How great and mighty is He. It was a real lesson for me.
I hope to blog you more of the story of Africa before I leave. If you want to send me some money I would appreciate it. I will be using vacation time and I will not get paid at all from my substance abuse counseling job at all. The tickets have been paid by Faith Fellowship and Gates of Praise Fall River.
One last thing. When this testimony occurred I was so blessed. I knew God wanted me to go back. But I was only getting two weeks vacation a year. I prayed to God, I said Lord if you want me to do missions work around the world you have to give me four weeks vacation a year. Two weeks later the Board of Directors of Riverwood Mental Health met. They approved a motion to give all employees with more than two years employment four weeks vacation per year. That time has allowed me to make four other trips to Africa, including one with my wife, Esther and son David.
