Thursday outreach in Ghana

Jerry preaching with rope trick to about 50 + students and teachers

While out talking to people we came across some folks pounding Cassava to make Fu Fu

Singing the "traveling song" a local favorite

puppet skit with Esther,Linda and Jerry

Another pic of kids watching the puppets

Today the team started the day with some teaching on the “Unity of the Spirit”, learning that God’s blessing comes along with unity among brethren.

For our afternoon evangelism efforts we walked from the house, spreading out in each direction. This gave us a chance to meet many of the neighbors, and let them know about our church now meeting in their area, and invite them to come along to our Sunday meetings. Many promised to come on Sunday, and it is evident that many around the area are aware of the white man that has moved into their area.

We have decided to have our Sunday school class outside of the compound this coming Sunday, so that those passing by will see, and perhaps feel more welcome to join us. There are plenty of children who gather and play just outside our compound, and so we hope by having a visible Sunday school presence we will attract more children to attend.

When passing out tracts some of us went into a schoolyard where the children flocked around to collect tracts and meet the Obruni’s (white folks). It was an impressive sight to see 12 year old Jerry Hood use a rope illusion to teach the gospel message to a crowd of about 50 children who had surrounded him. I talked with one of the teachers, explaining our mission, and he asked if we could come and do a program for the children, but unfortunately I had to turn him down, since our schedule was already full. As we left the school many of the children followed us, and joined in some enthusiastic singing. It must have been quite a sight seeing five white people walking together through the neighborhood, with perhaps 50 children in tow and all singing. Further down the road I met with another school teacher from yet another school, who also made an invitation to us to preach to the children at his school. I said if he called me, I would be willing to come and preach to the children sometime. Opportunities abound everywhere to preach the gospel in Ghana!

Once all returned to the house, we had a quick meal before jumping on the bus, and driving the 1.5 hour trek to reach Adumasa, where the team ministered the gospel to the children who meet for the children’s club there. Two of the girls Esther and Bethany shared their testimony, and one of the young men on our team JJ preached the gospel using the paint-board. Linda and company did a short puppet presentation as well. We did not get back to the house until around 10pm, and enjoyed a quick snack, so all could get ready for bed early. Tomorrow we must leave by 5:45am to reach a high school where our team will preach to a crowd of 1000 or more students, while others go to another school and preach to another group of several hundred students. It will be a long and busy day tomorrow, and we trust that we shall know the Lord’s blessing, and the salvation of precious souls.  Please Pray for the preaching..

-Daniel

Openair work along with New Ham school

Here is a Tro-Tro filled with about 40 children going to the school

Heidi,Bethany,Meghan and Tim singing "Our God is so BIG!"

This is our second sketchboard message this one is being done By JJ

Craig leading along with Heidi,JJ, Caleb at Ham School

Team members with some of the children from New Ham school

Wednesday June 13

Our day began today by getting on the bus at 6:45 to go to New Ham International school , an hour or so drive away. The traffic was bumper to bumper and 2 lanes turned into 4 lanes along the way as people tried to crowd their vehicles ahead of one another to get to their destinations. We arrived safe and sound at the school where the children were seated and singing in an outdoor courtyard , awaiting our arrival.
Our program began with enthusiastic singing and clapping led by Craig. Afterwards Jerry, Esther and Linda performed a puppet skit. Many of the children had never seen a puppet play before and although they may not have caught all the English words, they definitely understood the fun. Jerry did the rope trick to tell the gospel message with Daniel A. interpreting for him. It was interesting to observe one of the teachers going about the courtyard with a small stick in his hand used occasionally to tap at an inattentive or restless child. All the children sat patiently and listened to Tim give a sketch board gospel message. At the end of our 90min stay the children were in happy possession of a wordless book whose message had been explained to them by Craig . We all stood for a photo with the students. The headmistress thanked us and presented us with a gift from the school of a lunch of eggs, tomatoes and onions and a bag of rice. This is quite a generous gift from people who don’t have very much money . The teachers and some of the students carried our food and escorted us to our bus. It is a Ghanian custom of courtesy to accompany a guest part way on their journey after a visit.
We returned to Daniel W. ‘s for lunch and then got back on to the bus to go to downtown Kumasi for open air sketch board preaching and gospel tract distribution. We also have learned 2 Ghanian songs and sang them for the people around. Many were very pleased to hear us singing in their language. Almost all our tracts were thankfully received, and few were declined. Often we were approached to talk and sometimes because the Ghanians think that all white people are rich, they would ask for money or some kind of gift. One instance that I relate was a young group of men calling out “Give us money!” I responded that the message I was sharing was worth more than any money,, and that I had spent already much of my money to come to Ghana to tell them about God’s free gift because the people of Ghana are so precious. They were very happy to hear this and smiled and waved me on. Our drive in rush hour stop and go traffic allowed many opportunities to hand out tracts through our bus window to passers- by who gladly received them!
Two of our team members gave their testimonies of how they became Christians at the Wednesday night meeting here at the Assembly. Brian and Bruce blessed us with their willingness to get up in public and speak . I know it wasn 't easy . ;) This was a busy day, but we know that our time was well spent and one day we will see the reward of this investment.

Ron's Message to the Team

Dear 2012 TnT'rs

It has been a great encouragement for me personally to read and hear firsthand how the Lord has used you as a team to present and represent the Lord Jesus Christ in Ireland and to encourage and build up His church.

Even though I wasn’t involved directly with the team this year while you were in Ireland, please know from all the reports I’ve received, the team has been successful. You have accomplished the good work of evangelism as you have distributed the magazines and "The Mass" booklet, and personally been a witness at the doors, on the street, and at the kids clubs. While it is the Lord who will reward you, I want to personally express our thanks to you for being willing to take the steps of faith that brought you to Ireland in the first place and the ones you’ve had to take day by day while you’ve been there.

The Lord Jesus told His disciples in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit -- fruit that will last.” As we know from the context this verse doesn’t speak about salvation but rather of serving the Saviour. I trust that you have truly sensed that it was indeed the Lord who led you to get involved this year. I trust that as you obeyed the Lord in going with the gospel throughout that you have been encouraged by the immediate and visible fruit that you have seen. Please know that the greater fruit of all this serving and sowing, the “fruit that will last”, will only be really understood and appreciated as it’s revealed to you in eternity.

And as I’ve already said, it is the Lord who will bring His abundant reward for faithful service and eternal fruit with Him. In the meanwhile, I trust you already have a sense of being rewarded not only through the response to the work you have done, but also through the relationships you have experienced with your fellow team members, Irish believers and the missionaries.

I trust you had a memorable last night together with each other, the saints and the missionaries. As you return to your homes remember to water with prayer all the seed that has been sown trusting the Lord for the increase. As you return to your home assemblies, recount with joy the good work the Lord has accomplished in you and through you and don’t discount the possibility that you might be called upon to provide fresh vision and leadership for evangelism in your area. Don’t forget to thank those who faithfully supported and prayed for you. As they have expressed their partnership with you, be sure to share with them the results of that faithfulness.

Again, my thanks to each one of you for your participation in the 2012 TnT Team outreach.

Every blessing
Ron

PS   The photo of the Yorkshire puddings made my mouth water! You'd think Matt and Frank almost know what they're doing.

Last update! Kid's club and Farewell banquet

 Kid's club playing with the parachute

 Kid's club

 Kassi leading singing at Kid's club

 More singing

 Jen doing the rope trick for the kids

 Bethany telling the wordless book story at Kid's club

 Little miss Rose Gleeson

 Our fabulous chefs Frank and Matt

 Farewell Banquet

The Team with some from Shankill assembly

Hello,

This is one of if not the last day for updates from TnT Ireland.

Today, after devotions the team spent most of the day at Glen Maris helping with odd tasks. The girls spent their time helping in the office while the guys assembled a grill for the church's use. After lunch with a few of the local believers, the team prepared for kid's club this afternoon.

The kid's club was attended by 5 kids who all seemed to enjoy themselves. The team played some games, sang some songs and then explained the wordless book; asking questions and giving prizes. The kids were presented with the gospel, which was the most important part. 

Afterward the team returned and helped set up for the farewell banquet that the church is holding. Frank and Matt outdid themselves making a delicious meal of roast beef with potatoes and veg. Fellowship over the meal was nice, while the good-byes afterward were sad. Tomorrow Ben, Jen, and Bethany will head to the airport to fly home, while Nathan and Kassi will be taking a bus to Newcastle West to help with outreach at the Cork Agricultural Fair this weekend. 

Please pray for safety as the team travels home, and to Newcastle West. Please pray for everyone that has been contacted and talked to this week. Pray for the Shankill assembly as they will head back to Dublin on Sunday to hand out Mass books at the end of the Eucharistic conference. 

TnT Team

Wednesday update

Greetings from Shankill,

Today the team finished delivering the 4you magazines in the morning. We were blessed to have Sheelagh drive the team around, and work with the team to deliver the magazines.  After lunch the team headed out and did doors. Most people who opened their doors were not very responsive today. Kassi and Regina talked to a man named Michael, who is going through a hard time in his life but is considering coming to Shankill Bible Church for the gospel meeting on Sunday morning.  Please pray for Michael, that the Spirit will guide him and work in his life. In the evening there was a prayer meeting at Shankill Bible Church. Nathan, Kassi and Bethany each had an opportunity to share about what made them come to Ireland, what they liked about Ireland, what they didn’t like, what they have learned so far, and what they will implement when they get back home. After the 3 members shared, Frank shared a small devotional from John 3:16.

Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for us, as we have one more day left as a team. Pray for that it will not rain tomorrow, as we host Kids Club.   

Whole team assembled ready for action

Team members teaching "our God is so BIG"

Openair preaching in Dwabeng which attracted many

Beloved Brethren,
Firstly, thank you all for your prayers, they are of inestimable value to us as we labour in the gospel here in Ghana. Our day today went well, and as a bonus it was also less hot than usual. After spending time in the morning in fellowship, singing, prayer, and Bible study (in Acts), we had a Ghanaian dish for lunch, called peanut soup. This soup has peanuts, tomatoes, and chicken in it, and in spite of sounding like a rather odd assortment of flavours, actually tasted quite good. After lunch we all piled onto the bus (which thankfully has air conditioning), and headed to Dwabeng to do some evangelism.
At Dwabeng we split up, with some of the team setting up the sketchboard and presenting the gospel to the group that had gathered, while others of us roamed the streets passing out tracts and talking to people. You could pray for us that we would have good communication with the Ghanaians. English is their second language, and so some of them speak very limited English with very heavy accents. This makes it difficult to have very comprehensive conversations with some of them. We are very thankful for our Ghanaian brethren who have sacrificed their time to come with us to translate and to evangelize alongside us. Today all of the elders from the assembly, Ofori, Emmanuel, and Shadrach, all made time to come with us. Daniel Adjei, along with three teenagers from the church, Stephen, Isaac, and Philemon joined us, and have been a great help and encouragement both yesterday and today. Pray for the Ghanaian people, many of whom are trusting in their own goodness, and in their works for their salvation, that their hearts would be open to the true gospel, and to trust in Christ alone for their salvation.
Tonight after supper we went to Crown Prince School for the Tuesday night ‘Kid’s Club’. It is really amazing that this worked out at all, because it was originally going to be cancelled because of the likelihood of rain, but we went ahead with it, and prayed and God held the rain off for the Kid’s Club. We sang with the children, who were very enthusiastic, and shared the gospel via a puppet show and a sketchboard presentation. We handed out little gifts at the end, and the children are all bringing friends next week, so pray for open hearts and understanding of the gospel message.
There is much more I could say, but we are leaving early tomorrow to go to a school, so I must leave off typing now. Continue steadfastly in prayer for us, and for Ghana itself. There are so many people here who are willing to talk about the gospel, and so many opportunities to share Christ with the people. Pray the Lord of the harvest will send out labourers into this field. I am reminded, in the midst of our schedule of evangelism, of the infinite beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the enduring power of the “glorious gospel of the blessed God”. I am amazed at the counsels of God in Christ, to craft a plan so marvelous as the gospel, that so exceedingly glorifies God, and so wonderfully meets the creature’s deepest need. It is simple enough for a child to grasp, and so deep that a lifetime is not sufficient to marvel in it. We can only wonder at God’s unbounded goodness, and thank Him for His eternal love in Jesus Christ. May it claim our heart more fully, that we shall always be witnesses of Him, whether at home, or to the ends of the earth, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Hallelujah, what a Saviour! Good night, dear brethren.

All of the Ghana team is now together PTL

Meghan with school kids

Tim doing rope trick with school kids

Emmanuel (one of the elders of the Assembly) doing his first sketchboard message

In a note of praise, JJ finally arrived to join the team as did the Hood’s luggage. The Accra airport was kind enough to send the luggage over to Kumasi where JJ was flying in, and Tim was able to collect the baggage while collecting JJ!
We began our first day of regular work as a team today. The day started off with a challenging devotion from Daniel on being filled with the Holy Spirit. Daniel will be going through a series with us on The Book of Acts for our morning devotions and his exhortation to understand and practice being filled with the Holy Spirit was a perfect way to preface our work. As some prepared lunch, a group of us went out into the neighborhood of Quarry, the area where we are staying, to familiarize ourselves with our surroundings as well as to pass out some Gospel literature. After lunch we were joined by two of the elders and three young men from the Believer’s Assembly and the team went out to their first major Evangelistic outreach in the town of Buokrom. The team split up into four groups, each lead by Ghanaian believers from the assembly. We went into all four directions of the area passing out Gospel tracts and striking up conversations with whomever was willing and able to speak with us. While most Ghanaian s do speak English, their native (and primary) speaking language is Twee. This can cause somewhat of a problem when sharing the Gospel but we thank the Lord for our Ghanaian brothers who were able to help translate when we were having difficulty communicating. The schools located in the center of Buokrom were dismissed right around the time that we arrived, causing a myriad of children swarming various group members requesting tracts. Tim was even able to give a large group gospel presentation using the “Three Rope Trick”. We were all impressed by how open and eager everyone in the entire town was to receive the tracts and listen to the Gospel. There seems to great confusion regarding earning one’s salvation through good works rather than trusting in the finished work of Christ ALONE for salvation. Please pray for clarity of speech for the team and understanding for the Ghanaian s as we seek to properly express the Gospel and to show the through the Word of God that they can do nothing to earn God’s salvation; the only way to God is through Jesus Christ.
After a delicious traditional Trinidadian dinner made by Cisley, we ended the evening with some further Evangelism training from Tim, regarding the use of the paintboard and the rope trick in the open air. It was encouraging to see various members of the Ghanaian Assembly participate in the training. The training was concluded with a solid gospel presentation from one of the Assembly elders, Emmanuel, using the paintboard. We look forward to what the Lord is going to do in the coming days with our new found tools from the training session. Please continue to lift us up before the Lord for safety, wisdom and boldness in the Gospel as we continue to proclaim the message of the cross.
Craig