The only snafu that we ran into on our return to Ghana in late July was at the Huntsville Airport. We are all about trying to use and save money whether it be our own or the Lord’s. This time we purchased plane tickets that went from Huntsville to Detroit, then on to New York’s JFK Airport; we saved a substantial amount of money by flying this route. It has been years since we have flown through Detroit instead of Atlanta. As usual we had lots of extra luggage; this time we had ten pieces of checked luggage plus a child’s wheelchair. The first eight pieces of luggage went through the system without any problem, then the computer stopped accepting luggage. The ladies at the check in counter said that the plane was small and that this was a weight restricted flight which meant we could not take 3 pieces of luggage. The luggage that had been checked had already disappeared on the conveyor belt. We had no option to prioritize which pieces we could leave behind. We were happy that Jordan, our son that took us to the airport, had not left yet and he was able to take the luggage back home. We’re still not sure what we had to leave behind but I plan on asking Delta the next time we buy tickets if the plane has limited weight restrictions. We will fly out of Atlanta on our next trip and just think, we already have 3 pieces of luggage weighed and ready for our next trip!
During our flight Kandie started having some jaw pain where a wisdom tooth had been extracted 20 years ago. After arriving in Accra we settled into our room and headed for the Bethel Dental Office to have it checked out. The dentist said it was a piece of root from the wisdom tooth. He didn’t want to remove it that day (Friday) because he wanted her to stop taking her aspirin for a few days before the surgery. We made an appointment for the first thing Monday morning. Everything went smoothly and she hasn’t had any more problems.
The streets in Yendi are a mess because they are constructing a new road through town. The rainy season makes everything a sloppy, red mess. With the rain comes the wind and storms and that causes our electricity to go out. We just thank the Lord for our generator every time the power goes off.
Our time home this summer was very busy:
We attended our oldest grandson, Taylor’s graduation the day after we arrived in Alabama.
Two days later we were in Washington State and Oregon visiting family and reporting to a church that has been supporting us for many years.
A week later we spent 11 days in Houston,Texas helping our niece and nephew prepare and liquidate their parents estate. We always enjoy worshipping with the congregation at Lake Houston Church of Christ when we are in the Houston area; where Kandie’s brother Buz and wife Shelly attended.
The Verrett Family reunion was held in Lubbock, Texas in June. There are several members of the family who have supported the work in Ghana for years and we like to report to them as well. While we were attending the reunion our rental car sustained $8000.00 USD worth of damage from a baseball sized hail storm. There were vehicles with dents and broken windshields everywhere!
Next we went to Ohio to visit my (Steve’s) sister-in-law Joy, my (Steve’s) sister and her husband Judy and Gene, Kandie’s brother Paul and his wife Pam and to give a report on the work to the Bellefontaine congregation.
Limestone Bible Camp is always on our calendar for the 2nd week of July. What great fun!
The church leaders have reported the following information for the months of July and August.
In July- 25 men in attendance for the monthly class
15 people were baptized
There was 1 restored
In August- 33 men attended the monthly class
22 people were baptized
6 people were restored to the Church.
To attend this month’s class two men from the Saboba area had to pay 35.00 Cedis each to have their motorcycle and themselves transported by canoe across the flooded road. I provided them with extra funds to pay for the toll. Now that is dedication!
We have been teaching the monthly class material as I get it written. When we finish the lessons we are going to have it bound so we can distribute it to the churches so they can use it to teach the congregation. The 12 lesson booklet is entitled “God’s plan for Men and Women”. Timothy Niligrini has accepted the responsibility to translate the lessons into the Konkomba language which is going to be very helpful to the churches. Most church leaders can read Likpakpaaln (the Konkomba language) but many find it difficult to read English.
Our Sunday visitation of congregations has taken us to the villages of Bakpaba, Kulkpeni, Kpanjamba, and Jomoni. The lesson I used at all of these congregations deals with witchcraft, soothsayers, Juju (witchdoctors), and dreams.
Matching funds were provided to the congregations at Bakpaba and Jomoni to help with their buildings. We are grateful for your continued financial support which gives us the resources to provide matching funds for congregations wanting to build a church building.
FYI– The price of fuel has dropped from 24.00 Cedis/liter to 12.50 Cedis/liter but as you might expect the prices of everything are still high and growing higher; sound familiar. The church benches that I used to purchase for 40.00 Cedis are presently costing 100.00 Cedis and the quality of the wood is awful! I decided to buy extra lumber to strengthen the benches that I give to the Churches so they will last longer. Communion juice has tripled in price in the past two years. I subsidize the juice to half price to help the churches because 30.00-40.00 Cedis ($3.50) for 1 liter of juice is more than some congregations collect in a month. We are just grateful for your financial support so we can help the Churches as needed. Thank you!!
Please accept our thanks for your dedication to the work whether it is with prayers or financial support. We understand our country is going through hard times as well but you all have been faithful to this work. Kandie and I are very humbled by your confidence.
May God richly bless you as He has blessed us!
In His service,
Stephen and Kandie Taylor
