Mission Team from West Memphis
Last week was a very busy and exciting time for us as we joined with a mission team from a church in West Memphis, AR. The church has an ongoing partnership with God’s Glory Baptist Church, and has been sending teams to Wa for several years. A few new churches have been started in outlying villages, and the team is always looking for new places to preach Good News and do good. Dani partnered with the team all week, and Phil came along whenever work allowed.

Encouraging new church plants
The Waale are considered an “unreached people group.” Most follow “folk Islam” or worship idols. Nevertheless, many are hearing the Good News and turning to God’s word. We visited a few young churches in small, rural villages. The first stop was Kperisi. Three summer missionaries are living there, encouraging and discipling the young church.

IMB Summer Missionaries in Kperisi

We visited many other churches the team had helped plant on previous trips. We stopped in Toassa, Tiza, and Je Yiri, each time encouraging the believers and praying for them.

With the children from a church plant in Toassa

With the children from a church plant in Toassa

Sharing Good News in Naasa and Polee
Dani joined the team, spending several nights in the small village of Naasa. At night the entire village gathered together. We explained our mission, taught them several songs, shared testimonies, and proclaimed the Good News by telling the story of God: from the creation of the world up through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We invited the people of Naasa to come to us the next day if they would like to become followers of Jesus. Many were riveted by this Good News, telling us they could not wait until tomorrow but wanted to accept Christ and have eternal life now! That very night! Praise the Lord!

The next day we remained by our tents, and many came to see us to learn more about Jesus. Some, who had believed our message the night before, even began to share the Good News with their friends the very next day! A teacher came to us from the local school. He had not heard us the previous night, but his friends shared our message with him. He left his school room IMMEDIATELY and came to visit us. This teacher was very excited and wanted to follow Jesus. He invited us back to his school, and there we obtained permission to share our testimonies, songs, and Good News with the entire 6th grade!

The school at Naasa, where we shared the Good News.

Back in Naasa, we spent much of the day answering questions for those who doubted, praying with those who wanted to receive Christ, and discipling new believers. They will soon begin meeting together as a church!

The team also visited the nearby village of Polee. Just like Naasa, there were no known followers of Jesus in Polee. As usual, we met with the village elders in order to obtain permission to share our Good News with the village. As we spoke, the elders were enthused, telling us they perceived we had a “treasure” and that it would be wrong for us to have such riches and not share it with them. The elders even invited a nearby village so they too could hear The Word of God.

The elders of Polee said they perceived we had “treasure”
and were very eager to hear our Good News

That night large crowds, hundreds of people, gathered in the dark to hear our stories and Good News. Again we shared songs, testimonies, and the Word of God. On hearing this message, some believed and were convicted to follow Jesus. Even after the American team leaves, the people of God’s Glory Baptist Church will meet with these new believers, discipling them and planting the church.

In Polee, Pastor Dan translates the Good News into Waale

Phil’s Research
Phil’s research continues to progress. Finally enough rain has come to begin planting! After planting on the research station last week, this week Phil and his team have been visiting the farmers who are participating in his research, taking soil samples and showing them how to plant and fertilize the corn, ground nut and pigeon pea.

Finally! The soil is moist enough to plant!

Note: We wrote this entry to post last week (6/12), but the internet was down.

Meeting with Prosper
Last Sunday afternoon, we met with a young Bible study leader from God’s Glory Baptist Church named Prosper. Knowing that we are ‘agronomists’, Prosper wanted to discuss growing Moringa oleifera. (Moringa is a fast-growing tree whose leaves, flowers, and seeds can be used as a nutritional supplement.) Though our conversation began with botany, we soon moved on to spiritual matters. By the time he left, we had spent several hours sharing testimonies of God’s goodness and encouraging one another from scripture. It is such a blessing to see and hear how God is working in his people!

Church planting leadership training
This week we participated in a church planting training: teaching and learning how to share the story of the Bible from creation to the church, the “Roman Road,” personal testimonies, and several other things. We spent the week with about ten young leaders from emerging churches in small villages near Wa. In the afternoons we divided into small groups and went out to share God’s word in Wa and the surrounding villages. Sometimes we talked to one person, at other times we were invited into houses where groups as large as 15-20 gathered to hear about Jesus! Many people said they now believed what we told them, others said they understood but are afraid to follow Jesus because they come from Muslim families. However, a few people heard our good news about abundant life as a follower of Jesus, and decided to become followers of Jesus themselves! Please pray especially for Joseph, a young man who joyfully accepted Christ, but is afraid of where he will live and how he will get food once his family finds out he is no longer a Muslim.

Now, the young leaders are going back to their own villages to train other Christians in the methods they learned this week. This training is part of a discipleship process that, by God’s grace, will result in indigenous, village churches which are equipped to plant new churches in other villages.

According to one source, there are over 160,000 Waala people in West Africa. Three years ago, there were only 320 Waala followers of Jesus. Since then that number has grown. However, all the believers we meet here tell us there are still many villages where NO ONE has ever heard the good news about Jesus.


Teams from America
This week we met a team of IMB (International Mission Board) summer missionaries that are coming to work in the Wala village of Kperisi. They helped with the leadership training this week, but will soon go to the village for one month. While there they will use literacy work and relational evangelism to reach people with the gospel. Please pray for them, especially for God’s grace in adjusting to their new environment. Village life is very different from what they are accustomed to and they will need God’s provision to be effective in their ministry.

This weekend, another small group is arriving from a church in West Memphis. They will also be sharing the good news in surrounding villages. We hope to join them. Please pray that God will prepare the hearts of those who will hear that they may be ready to respond to the gospel.


Pastor Seidu
Several days ago, we finally met , the senior pastor of God’s Glory Baptist Church. He left for the Netherlands just before we arrived in May and has been there for the last month. We had the chance to speak with him briefly after the prayer meeting. He was very welcoming and seemed sincerely glad to have us here.


Phil’s research
Phil’s research has been “on-hold” this week because there has not yet been enough rain to plant crops. The plots are marked, and the seed is ready, there is nothing more to do until it rains! We are praying for rain and trusting that God will bring the rain when the time is right. Though this has slowed the research process, Phil is making the most of this delay by serving with the church and learning more Waale and Dagaare.

Baptist Mid-Missions
We ventured out on the road to Tumu last Thursday in search of a Baptist missions compound that we had been told was on the out-skirts of town. We found it without too much trouble and had a nice visit with Jim and Rosie, some missionaries from New York who have been serving here since 2003. They are veteran missionaries, having lived in the Central African Republic and Ivory Coast before coming to Ghana. Currently, their main ministry is teaching at the Bible college for pastors-in-training run by Baptist Mid-Missions. Apparently, Baptist Mid-Missions is a missions organization affiliated with the “Regular Baptists” (check with Dr. Fairless if you want to know what that means) and has operated the Bible school and other ministries here in Wa for more than 50 years. Jim and Rosie seemed pleased to hear some American English and we enjoyed hearing about some of their many experiences here.

Rescue Mission

Last Tuesday Dani accompanied a friend from church, Felicia, to her home/workplace. Although only 22 years old, Felicia is the housemother for a group of teenage girls at the “Rescue Mission.” The girls are from nearby villages; some are orphans. None of them (Felicia included) ever attended school, so they are unable to read or write. For that reason, being part of the “Rescue Mission” is a huge blessing for these girls. During the day they learn vocational skills in sewing, so they will be able to make a living. The mission runs a small sewing shop, which generates enough income for the girls to buy food. When asked what the girls like to eat, the housemother responded, “Well, they really like to eat rice, but that is too expensive, so we usually have Tee Zed [cornmeal porridge].” The mission house has a spare room which was used as a school room, back when the mission had enough funds to hire an evening tutor. Now, we are looking into ways to help the girls get a new teacher. Please keep them in your prayers.

Motorbike License

Phil got his motorbike license today. He had been trying to arrange for someone to take him to the licensing office for the last two weeks. The man who went with him was surprised how quickly Phil was able to get the license (only two hours!). Our German housemate waited three or four hours and still had to go back the next day. In addition, Phil didn’t have to pay any extra “fees” or fill out extraneous paper work. (The license had been a prayer request for the last few days, and we think God gave Phil favor with the licensing officials). Phil is quite excited to have the license. He has access to a motorbike, so now he can go to the village on his own instead of relying on someone else to take him. Once we get a helmet for Dani, she’ll be able to come along as well.


Dagaare language (For John and Gary)

Due to the special request from some wonderful friends, we are sharing some Dagaare phrases with you all!

Angsomaa. (Good morning)
Esee. (Response to ‘good morning’)
YE de zimaane? (Was the night good?)
Eee. (Yes)

Fo ngmenaa. (Good afternoon to you)
Ngmenaa tae. (Response to ‘good afternoon’ [literally means ‘the sun has reached’])

Fo zimaane. (Good evening to you)
Zie maane. (Response to good evening)

Fo be song? (Are you well/How are you?)
N be song. (I am well/fine.)
Ka toma? (How’s work?/ And what about work?)

I yuori la bong? (What is your name?)
N yuori la ________ (my name is_________)
N nyE la yuomo lezare ne ata. (I am 23 years old. [Literally: I see 23 years])

N zannEE Dagaare. (I am learning Dagaare)
N gere dio. (I am going home)

N gere la ka n kpaare kpolo. (I am going to collect chicken feed)
OnO la a te bidEngdEngE sobO. (He is the first born)
N taa la donne ane noore. (I have animals and poultry.)
N daara kombie. (I am buying onions)
BadEr da kpi-e la. (Spider died)
Fo ninge. (Your face.)
John taa la ninge boO. (John has goat face)