Now the Covid -19 has died down we were able to once again have the evangelistic seminar. The whole month of November was consumed with getting all the preparations made to make the event successful.
This year 417 people registered at the seminar. Thirty six congregations sent representatives to the seminar. That was a great number considering the cost of transportation has skyrocketed. The attendees must pay for their transport to and from the seminar. Those that attend are promised a place to sleep and 6 good meals. Did I mention the price of food has also gone up in Ghana as it has all over the world? This year the food we bought for the seminar about tripled in price compared to the last seminar in 2019. The bigger ticket items that we purchased were 525 loaves of bread, 125 lbs. of dried cowpeas, 900 lbs. of rice, 4 market sized hogs, and 46 gallons of vegetable oil. A total of 2,642 meals were prepared during the three day seminar.
The theme of this year’s seminar was: “What Will Your Answer Be?” The subjects that were discussed were: Preparing the Children for the Future of the Church, Evangelizing Locally, and Why Christians are Tempted to use Juju, Soothsaying, Prayer Camps and Traditional healers. The speakers were Brother Divine, Timothy Niligrini, and me. Waja Francis was to speak on marriage on the 24th but was unable to because one of his kids was sick. He was able to come on Friday so we had him do the morning devotion.
The seminar month is always very busy because we have to run down all the items that are needed to make the event run smoothly. We don’t have a local Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club where we can buy everything in large quantities at one time. There is no “one shop shopping here!” We have to painstakingly go around to each kiosk around town to find each item we need. If we can’t find it in Yendi we have to go to Tamale which is 60 miles away.
We thank God for our supporters who contributed to make the seminar a success. At the closing of the program Saturday morning one brother stood up to thank us for what we had done. I told the audience that we all should thank God for His help and the support of those in the States who made it possible.
The church leaders reported that 39 people baptized into Christ and 3 were restored to the Lord. We praise God!
During the month we visited three congregations. They were Nakpachee, Kulkpeni, and Kpamang. After services on the 6th at Nakpachee I was asked to lead in a naming ceremony for one of the church leaders’ new baby boy. The parents named the little boy Takai Njonaan. The name roughly means ”evening blessing”.
It has been a long time since I preached on Sunday morning at Kulkpeni. We were scheduled to visit Niliyuundo on the 13th but we were never able to confirm it with the church leader. At Kulkpeni I taught a lesson from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 to encourage the brethren.
On the 20th we traveled to Kpamang the village where Brother Divine lives and worships. Divine asked me to speak about the suffering and the current problems in the world. God will take care of His own people but we are told to expect suffering and persecution along the way.
By the time you get this Monthly Report we should be safely back home in Athens. We are grateful for you continued support this year. We know times are hard right now but you have been very good to stay with us. May God bless you for the sacrifices you make to support the work in Ghana!
We wish you a Happy New Year!
In His service,
Stephen and Kandie Taylor
DONATIONS CAN BE MADE OUT TO GHANA MISSION, C/O WEST HOBBS STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST, P.O. BOX 506, ATHENS, ALABAMA 35612
THIS WORK IS OVERSEEN BY THE ELDERSHIP OF WEST HOBBS STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST
WEBSITE:WWW.WESTHOBBSSTREETCHURCHOFCHRIST.ORG
