ISSUE 17 APRIL

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1 G H A N A H A R V E S T Go ye therefore and teach all na ons, bap zing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. (Ma hew 28:19 KJV) ISSUE 17 APRIL He is Risen! He is Risen indeed, HALLELUIAH!! Greetings in the name of our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, The rain is finally starting to fall in Ghana after the hottest month of the year came to a close. Hopefully this will mean a farewell to the over 100 degree temperatures. Since Pastor Nicholas Salifu was in Accra for about two weeks, you might think there wouldn t be much in the newsletter, but as you may have noticed in the March Report, the capable leaders carried on. Since January there have been more than eight deaths in the Kusasi churches. One of the members that had been ministered to, Jonathan Adabire, died while Nicolas was in Accra. Love Adugbila died at the end of March and Nicholas went to the hospital and brought her to her home for burial. A memorial service was held for the late Abigail Kutanga at the family house. Because of the Lenten season the service was short, but many people attended and the gospel was proclaimed to all. Many Muslim women attended the memorial service and listened attentively to the Word of God. Pastor Salifu took this opportunity to share the gospel. He said I make sure I tell my audience what Jesus has MUSLIM WOMEN AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICE done for me. When there is a Muslim audience, I tell them one time I was a Muslim and I know Islam is not a bad religion, but I have good news for you!. Evangelist Mark PROCESSION AT ABIGAILS SERVICE Awidaan dressed in traditional attire to read the liturgy and Nicholas preached from Revelation 21;1-4 where he exhorted the attendees to realize that the world is a temporal place and a permanent one will come where only the believers in Jesus will be the inheritors. During the service the family sits on the ground and the clergy forms a circle around them and offers prayers for them. When the service was EVANGELIST MARK AWIDAAN over, a group of men asked questions about how one could join the church and be saved. NICHOLAS PREACHING 1

2 And Nicholas used this opportune time to tell them who Jesus is and what He has done for all mankind. CLERGY PRAYING FOR THE FAMILY MEN INQUIRING ABOUT JOINING CHURCH SOPHIA AND JOHN Sophia Ajeeba and John Anaba, two students who enjoy Bible studies, visit Nicholas on a regular basis to get clarification on issues they do not understand. Pastor Salifu and some elders visit Madam Dorcas Gumnaba who was baptized just a few weeks ago. Madam Dorcas walks to church with a walking stick, a journey of about half a mile, which takes her more than an hour. Dorcas asked Pastor, when will I be ready to receive Holy Communion? She is being instructed and Nicholas told her as soon as you complete the instructional lessons, you will be eligible for communion. NICHOLAS AND MONICA Nicholas stayed with his daughters Monica and Dorcas while he was in Accra to get his visa. NICHOLAS, THE ELDERS, AND MADAM DORCAS GUMNABA Evangelist Mark Awidaan has the attention of the youth of Tengnoog Church as he leads them in Bible Studies MARK AND THE TENGNOOG YOUTH 2

3 There are many evangelism teams among the Kusasi churches. These three men, Daniel, Timothy, and Elijah go out on a regular basis. Through their witness more than ten people have been converted by the Holy Spirit. DANIEL, TIMOTHY, AND ELIJAH Daniel Aboko an elder in the Zuuku church spoke at the funeral of his late mother. Daniel said he is happy his mother was a Christian. She became a Christian three years ago. He likened her to the laborer who was hired to work in the masters farm late in the evening but received the same wage as those who were hired in the morning. Daniel ended his message by saying that those who have left the Christian faith have themselves to blame. He concluded by encouraging Muslims to come to Jesus because it is only Christ who can give real life. DANIEL ABOKO John Ayaawin of Kpaliga church addressed a gathering at Zuuku. There is much concern as to why men resist becoming Christians. He encouraged everyone to find a man and to share the Gospel with him. JOHN AYAAWIN There is obviously less resistance by women as is evidenced by the active women s fellowships in each church. BUGZUNDE WOMENS FELLOWSHIP A group of young boys attended one of the church gatherings. They are not Christians but have given their names because they want to know more about Jesus. Include them in your prayers. YOUNG NON CHRISTIAN BOYS 3

4 Many people congregated at the funeral of Kpaliga member Francis Abusanga. The chairman of Kpaliga, Jonathan, told the attendees, Who knows the next person to die after Francis? No one knows the next person, therefore everyone should be prepared. JONATHAN, CHAIRMAN OF KPALIGA CHURCH As is the custom in our country, many people of different faiths and backgrounds attend funerals. Since Francis had many friends there were also many non-christians in attendance who were blessed to hear the message of salvation. NON CHRISTIANS AT FRANCIS FUNERAL The Women's Fellowship sang in praise of what God has done for us, and Hanna Ayaawin sang a solo that moved everyone to understand that life belongs to God and we will not remain in this world forever. It was based on WOMENS FELLOWSHIP John 14:1-6 SOLOIST HANNA AYAAWIN Many people in the area have never been taught to read and write. A group of Nicholas neighbors came to his home to ask him to teach them how to read and write Kusaal. Since time will not allow Nicholas to teach them, he is going to arrange for someone else to do the teaching NEIGHBORS VISIT NICHOLAS The man with Nicholas is Abanga. He became a Christian six months ago following a memorial service held at Zuuku Church. Abanga has worshipped idols all of his life. When he heard that Christians have someone who has made all the sacrifices he needed, he was touched to become a Christian. ABANGA AND NICHOLAS 4

5 KPALIGA CHAPEL PROGRESS REPORT Construction of the Kpaliga Chapel is moving right along. Everyone is pitching in, men and women alike. The result will be a fine, sturdy, permanent structure, to be used for worshipping their risen Lord and Savior. Moses Ayadago is a hardworking mason helping build the church. Each person has a special job to do. WOMEN BRINGING MATERIALS MOLDING CEMENT BLOCKS FILLING MORTAR PAN MOSES AYADAGO MIXING MORTAR REST/NAP TIME 5

6 The executive board of the Kusasi Lutheran Church is making the final plans for the Easter Convention. This will be hosted by Kpaliga church and members of all the Kusasi churches will assemble for group activities which include Bible studies, various reports, discussions on teenage pregnancy, abortion (in a one month period there have been at least six cases reported, one is a member of the church), polygamy (the church is presently dealing with this issue), composition of new songs, dramas, baptisms, and Holy Communion. CHURCH COUNCIL EXECUTIVE BOARD Our Face of Ghana for this issue is MOSES ABUGBILLA. Moses Abugbilla like his fellow young men in his village Sakpanatenga was an illiterate (he could neither read nor write Kusaal, much less English). He enrolled in the literacy class that Ghana Institute of Linguistics Literacy and Bible Translation had organized and learned how to read and write Kusaal. In 1989 during an evangelism exercise in his village the Holy Spirit converted him. He was baptized four months later. Because he could read and write Kusaal he was encouraged to join the leadership training class. After a year s training Moses could lead worship service and preach. Moses was appointed to lead the Sakpanatenga church in Moses has MOSES ABUGBILLA served the following churches as their leader: Sakpanatenga, Tengdaantenga, Bugzunde, and currently he is the lay leader in charge of the Kpagogo congregation. He travels several miles three times a week to teach, lead worship service and preach. He attends the monthly leadership training class regularly and punctually. Mr. Moses Abugbila is married to Madam Mercy and they are blessed with six children. Mercy is very active in the Sakpanatenga church. All their children are active in the youth fellowship. The church is blessed to have lay leaders like Moses who are supporting Pastor Nicholas Salifu in nurturing, equipping and leading God s people as well as seeking the lost and leading them to Jesus. As you may know Ghana Harvest Inc. has a website Although partially under construction, there is quite a bit of information available on it. The different projects that Pastor Salifu is involved with will be kept up to date as well as what has been done and what the future goals are.. Soon contributions may be made by using your credit card in addition to sending a check through the mail. For quite a while now we have been blessed to have the cooperation of Trinity Lutheran Church in Bridgeton, MO in receiving the contributions for the ministry of Pastor Salifu. Through them all contributions have been tax deductible. The generosity of Trinity Church in accepting, recording and acknowledging contributions is something we will never forget. Ghana Harvest is now a registered non-profit corporation in the State of Illinois, and has filed for approval with the IRS. This process has taken quite a while and we are grateful to the Washington University School of Law for their assistance in handling all of the legal matters concerning our needs at no charge. 6

7 Effective April 8, 2012 our new mailing address is: GHANA HARVEST 143 HELEN PL. COLLINSVILLE, ILLINOIS All contributions will be acknowledged in a timely fashion as well as reported to Pastor Nicholas Salifu. Our intent is to operate totally on a volunteer basis. The newsletter will, of course, continue as it has in the past. If you have any questions about Ghana Harvest, please contact us. This transition has been planned for a long time and we thank God for being our guide through all the red tape and legal requirements. Ghana Harvest is controlled by a board of directors, most of which were selected by Nicholas and our sole purpose is to help his ministry grow and strengthen. I have come to the end of this letter and have but one thing left to say, HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! HALLELUIAH! phil 7