Another year has rolled around and we find ourselves back in Ghana. It has been 24 years since we first arrived in Yendi. The Lord and our team of loyal supporters have been very good to us. We are thankful to each of you who have supported us with love, prayers and financial aid. Without you we would not be able to continue the work.
We started our trip to Ghana from the Huntsville airport in Alabama. We had a short flight to Atlanta with a 3 hour layover. From Atlanta we flew into JFK airport in New York where we had another 3 hour layover. The trip from JFK to Accra takes 9 to 10 hours depending upon the tail winds. We were fortunate on this flight because we got to Accra 40 minutes early. From Accra we flew to Tamale which is an hour flight. Red was waiting at the airport to pick us up and drove us to Yendi. It takes about 2 ½ hours to get from the airport to Yendi. On our return trip we will fly from Accra to Amsterdam then to Atlanta and finally home to Alabama. The return flight will take longer but there were no flights flying straight from Accra to the US without a 10 hour layover in JFK. All 8 pieces of luggage arrived; we breezed through customs. Bismark, one of the airport drivers, was waiting for us with a van and lots of people to help us load the luggage.
We spent several days in Accra going to the ministries, getting our plane tickets for the flight up to Tamale, and shopping. We purchased a Starlink satellite kit (internet) before leaving Ghana last December. The manager of the place where we stay at agreed to allow us to leave it at the building until we returned.
While we were in Tamale we took the opportunity to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. We were not 10 miles out of Tamale headed towards Yendi when we had a blowout on the rear tire. I think it was because the tire pressure was low and it got too hot. We were lucky; the spare tire was in good shape; it didn’t take long for us to change it and we were back on the road to Yendi.
When we arrived at the compound the first item of business was to greet Skeeter (the monkey) and let him out of his cage. He quickly jumped onto Kandie’s arm and clung to it. When Skeeter is happy to see us he blows little puffs of air from his lower lip. Our kids joke that they have another brother; Skeeter the monkey!! Ha, Ha!
We worshipped at Kulkpeni on Sunday, the 16th. Somewhere along I (Steve) picked up a head cold and cough so I was feeling poorly. I was not disappointed when the brethren didn’t put me on the schedule to teach or preach. At the end of the service they did give me a few minutes of time to greet the congregation and extend the well wishes that were sent to them from the brethren in the states. In this culture you cannot give a higher compliment than sending greetings.
All the workers were happy to see us when they arrived for work on Monday. It is always great to talk with everyone and find out about their families or the goings on in Yendi.
I contracted Red to build a 6 ft. tall metal tower with a couple shelves to set my Starlink satellite dish on. I put the tower on the flat cement roof over the porch on the north side of the mission house. I put cement blocks on the lower shelf to hold the table in place in case of high winds. It worked out wonderfully. This Starlink kit includes the 15in X 24in disk, 75ft cable, and the power and router. This system works out wonderfully for us. Now we don’t have to worry about getting a fast connection to send out the Yendi Notes. We can even use our American cell phones on the Wi-Fi settings.
We have had to make two trips to Tamale already. The first Wednesday night at Kulkpeni Timothy Niligrini told the Konkomba Bibles had finally come to Ghana and that they were selling them in Tamale. This prompted us to plan a trip to Tamale ASAP. We also needed to pay for the new tires.. We went to GILLBT (Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation) to purchase 20 cases of Konkomba bibles (360 Bibles). The bibles cost 90 GH Cedis (equal $6 USD) each. I went to go to the Nurses and Midwifery Office to renew my PIN for my nurse’s license. When we went back to Tamale a few days later we purchased another 20 cases of Bibles. We are storing them in the apartment attached to the main house. Our second trip was to finish all the errands we did not get done on our first trip.
We visited the congregation at Kpanjamba on the 23rdof the month. I taught a lesson encouraging the congregation to set realistic goals for the church to make for the year.
On the 28th the monthly Evangelists and church Leaders class was held at Kulkpeni. There were 27 men present for this class. The men reported that 5 people were added to the Church and 2 were restored. That’s wonderful! The men were happy with the greetings that I brought them from the folks in the states. I also told them that our son-in-law, Marcus Holladay and our grandson Evan, will be coming to help us with the work at the end of March. The men were excited! They love to have visitors come. Timothy and I set up the schedule for Marcus and Evan which included night preaching and VBS.
The Church members and Leaders have been waiting for 3-4 years for a new printing of the Konkomba Bibles. At the class I presented each church leader and evangelist with a new Bible. The men were very happy to get the bibles. I presented a children’s lesson to the men using the flip charts the ladies made for us. This lesson was about Sarai and Hagar from Genesis
Chapter 16. Next month we plan to follow up with another flip chart dealing with Isaac.
Thanks again for all you do for us. It is really appreciated. We look forward to another year of doing the Lord’s work here in Yendi. May God bless!
In His service,
Stephen and Kandie Taylor
