We are thankful for the Lord and how He works through the lives of each one of us according to His purpose. We thank the Lord for the partnership we have in the gospel and how He has brought us together to serve His purpose. God be glorified! God bless you today and every day in the Lord. I would like to thank you all for your prayers in reference to the opportunity to go to Ghana, Africa in June. Praise God all went well here to get the necessary visa and it was a great blessing to meet with the brothers from Ghana and work together to bring people to Christ. I would like to thank Daingerfield church of Christ for inviting me to participate in this mission work for two weeks. God gave me the opportunity to room with Duane McGough, one of the elders, while in Ghana and it was great time to talk and be encouraged. Generally what would happen each day is that we eat breakfast and then go out to different villages each day with translators from the church and study the Word of God. Some places we went had prospects and others were using the opportunity that the Lord gave. The people of Ghana are receptive and they are willing to hear what you have to say about the Word of God. On one instance we started studying with three guys at a taxi stop and the next thing you know twelve more people appear to hear what is being taught. This happened in a city where there were no churches of Christ. We had two nights of preaching in this place and with the studies during the day the Lord blessed us with many new souls in Christ. We met that Sunday with the new converts and a preacher from the surrounding area will be going there to continue giving follow up and teaching them as they meet on Sundays.
These pictures above are from the village Afife. We were blessed to have the opportunity to be here and to participate in the first worship service in this village/city. Night preaching had up to 250 people from the community that came to hear the Word of God. There were two groups in this part of Ghana in the Volta Region; we were located in the Southern part and the other group in the Northern part of the Volta Region. The Lord blessed the efforts and the 324 people accepted the message and were baptized into Christ. Praise God for hearts receptive to the message. Be praying for these new brothers and sisters in Christ as the local congregations and preachers help strengthen them to grow in the Lord. There were also seven new congregations in places that had no church of Christ. We also had the opportunity to be on the radio each day while there. We would rotate throughout the week with the other brothers from the States where we were located. There were five other brothers with us where we were located in the Southern part. We were happy as well to know that one of the persons whom were listening to the radio called and requested a study and we had the opportunity to go and visit and now she is a sister in Christ. She had heard Duane teaching one morning and said that the Word of God had touched her heart.
The Lord also gave the opportunity for us to meet with many of the congregations while we were there. We were received very well and with much hospitality. Duane and I had the opportunity to worship on the first Sunday with the church in Agbatsivi, and on the second with Kpoglu. Duane taught the Bible classes and I had the opportunity to preach. The brothers and sisters in Christ are doing a great work. They are training their youth well and their faith is in action. In the picture above, you can notice the crabs that were given to us. We took them back to the hotel where we were staying and the cook fixed them right up for us. We invited the translators and their families to come. We are very thankful for our translators. They are wonderful brothers in Christ and very active in preaching and teaching. We made a great bond with them over the two weeks together.
Desire would usually translate for me in the night preaching, radio, and lectureship. Ebenezer would translate in the studies and preaching at the congregations. After the two weeks of evangelizing house to house there was a two day lectureship that we participated in at the congregation in Dzodze. It is a congregation that is very active in training as well as reaching the lost. The two day lectureship was held for church leaders, preachers, and their wives. Joyce Gant gave a class for the women in regards to the Sermon on the Mount and also taught the women how to make communion bread. We would also meet together for other lessons that were given. The topics that were requested from the churches in Ghana for us to speak on were church history, church autonomy, acapella singing, anointing oil, and Christian marriage. Each one of the members on our team spoke about these subjects. The men who made part of our team from the South were Duane McGough, John Coleman, Leon Bates, Willie Singleton, Richard McCormac and I. I spoke on the subject of Christian marriage. After each lesson that was taught, they would divide into three groups and then there would be a time of question and answer after each lesson. This is a short summary of what the Lord allowed us to be part of while in Ghana. I had the opportunity on the last day to meet up with the group that had gone to the Northern part of the Volta Region. It was great to see our brothers also very excited about what the Lord had done over the two weeks. We had a meal together at a restaurant beside the Airport before going into the Airport and going to our respective gates.
The church here in Brazil continues to grow and mature. Flavio, Guilherme, and Daniel rotated the preaching while I was in Africa. The church in Viamao is doing well and recently had five baptisms. The church in Novo Hamburgo continues growing and their couple s meeting had eleven couples last meeting, of which three of the couples were visitors for the first time. Be praying for the church in Teresopolis as the building they were in was robbed this past week and broken into. They are meeting at the building with Lucas for the time being until they find another place. It was becoming dangerous where they were meeting since most of the other places around them had already moved out because of the World Cup and the roads that will be built in the current location. Sonya, a listener of the radio program here, was baptized into Christ this past week as well at Teresopolis. Since I have been back we took part in the monthly couple s meeting and the Lord gave me the opportunity to preach and teach already. The Bible classes in homes has started as well and recently visited Antonio in the hospital who was with pneumonia. Juaneylla also was busy in my absence. I missed her and the girls. She also participated in a Women s retreat in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais. There were 100 women who participated in the retreat of which Ju was one of the speakers. She also has been invited to teach at the National Women s retreat this year. God continues to use her mightily with the gifts He has given here. I also ask you to be praying for me as I will be speaking at a lectureship in Curitiba, Brazil at the end of this month, and Ju will be teaching in Florinapolis in the beginning of the next month at a women s retreat. We are thankful for the opportunities the Lord is open and all the glory be to God! We are thankful for your partnership again with us in the gospel to reach the souls of Brazil. We know the opportunities that come to be used as instruments come from your prayers, love, and support. For this reason, it is the body of Christ and we need each other for the body to function correctly as we allow the Head (Christ) to use us according to His purpose and will. God bless you on this 4 th of July and may we never forget the freedom we received in Christ when we were buried with him in baptism and raised to new life. Amen. Keep fired up, Your missionaries, Mark, Juaneylla, Deborah & Barbara White