Brother Tom; Leader of men!

  This is Tom... He was responsible for the daily devotionals (as this was a Church-led mission trip). I had never met this guy until this trip, but can tell you that he made an impact on my life!! The daily devotionals were given in hotel lobbies, in parking lots, in vans, and en route... without fail!!!

  Tom led the team in devotions each morning, which helped participants to focus on the work at hand.

  He was awake before anyone else, and made sure we had coffee brewing before anything else!! I would travel around the world with this man any time... any where!!!

  It is inspiring to do mission work with a group of dedicated Christians, weather it be medical work or disaster relief. The shear honesty and depth of caring is unparalleled. This particular trip was led by F.A.M.E. The Fellowship of Associates of Medical Evangelism.

Agricultural Development

  One of Ghana Christian Mission's projects is agricultural development to create employment and generate income for the church members.

  

  The members of three churches in Ghana--- Akraman,Gakope and Accra-North Christian churches had been working together on a pineapple project with seed money provided by IDES-International Disaster and Emergency Services.The farm is at Akraman in the Eastern Region of Ghana. 

We took a tour of the Pineapple farm owned by the Ghana Christian Mission. These pineapples are sold to locations such as Europe, and the money is used for ministry in Ghana. 

  This is a crucial part of doing mission work... sustainable resources,  which support jobs for the locals thereby developing their independence, and helping them to ascend from poverty.

Cause for Celebration

  One of our first encounters with the locals of the rural Volta region, was our attendance at the Christ In Youth conference, which was being held in a cleared field outside of Accra.

  We drove for nearly two hours to this gathering, as was the case with all of our scheduled trips, and encountered a large group of Ghanaian people worshiping, in their own fashion, with dancing and singing into the night.

 There was never a shortage of grace and goodwill amongst these people. Their hospitality towards us was amazing, seeing as how they were surrounded by poverty.

On the Road again!

   Loading and unloading the vehicles was a chore that was encountered on every single day of our trip. We stayed at different locations almost every night.

  Although we all knew that this was not a vacation, we knew that this was essential work that we were doing, and everyone pitched in to help with the loading of supplies.

The Journey Begin's

Accra, West Africa... September 2005.

  Well, here we are arriving at the airport in Accra, Ghana, West Africa... tired after a long flight from Amsterdam. We were shuttled into the terminal by armed guards in the middle of the night, and stood in line for hours, but all went well and we were ready for a good nights rest.

  One of the ministers that had joined us, had lost his luggage and would have to wait another day to get his bags.

  Outside the terminal we were beseiged by many of the locals offering help with our bags... of course in the hopes of getting a tip from these 'rich Americans'.

  I was struck in awe by the size of the crowd we encountered, literally thousands, but was soon made aware of the profound poverty that holds this region at bay. 

  We as Americans take so much for granted here in the states. These people were willing to load our gear, and even join us for weeks on end as helpers for just a few dollars. (I was to later find the same atmosphere on similar trips to Haiti.)