Saying Goodbye
On Sunday we said goodbye to our friends in Wa. In typical Ghanaian style, this required spending about 10 hours and taking about 50 photographs. First, we publicly brought greetings from First Baptist Church of Gainesville and said farewell to the God's Glory Baptist Church. Later in the afternoon we visited the homes of many friends and prayed with each of them. Finally, we visited a pastor to donate our possessions for the orphanage. We also entrusted some funds to the care of the church, for use in missions other kingdom work.

Saying Goodbye to friends at God's Glory Baptist Church

Accra
On Monday we made the 12-hour drive from Wa to Accra, the capitol of Ghana. Tuesday we visited the University of Ghana at Legon and met with a friend to explore downtown Accra. The main mode of transportation in the city is the "trotro", a crowded van-taxi. As you can see, Accra is quite a bustling place.

Accra is a busy place

Home
On Wednesday we caught our plane from Accra and eventually landed in Orlando, Florida, after traveling for more than 24 hours! We are thankful the Lord granted us safety in our travels and are glad to have a few weeks to visit family. We plan to return to Gainesville on Wednesday, August 19th.

Speaking
For the next two weeks we will visit family throughout central Florida. We have already been invited by several churches in the area to speak on missions and share the wonderful news of what God is doing in northern Ghana. Praise the Lord! Please pray that we will be able to effectively communicate what we have witnessed in a way that inspires others to be on mission with the Lord!

Driver’s License
By God’s grace, Phil was able to trade his learner’s permit for a permanent motorbike license last Wednesday. He arrived at the drivers’ license office around 9am (the office is supposed to open at 8am) and waited an hour for the “big man” to arrive so the process could begin. After completing a challenging written exam, Phil waited around for another hour or two until the “big man” could approve him to move on to the practical exam. The practical exam only entailed one thing: driving the motorbike in a circle around the parking lot. After waiting one more hour, Phil met with the “big man” once again to take a road sign test. In the end, it was nearly 3pm before he finally had the license in hand. However, many who came to the office that day left empty-handed, so we thank God for granting Phil favor throughout the process. Thank you all for your prayers.

“Handing over the Stick”
(“Handing over the stick” is a term used in participatory research to describe passing the responsibility and control of research to local participants.)
On Saturday morning Phil had a final meeting with Vincent, the technician taking responsibility for his research. Phil has spent much of the last two weeks preparing a fieldwork plan/calendar with Vincent and clarifying important details about the research. Many graduate students would be nervous about leaving their research entirely in someone else’s hands. However, God has blessed the transition process and we are confident the technicians will carry out the remainder of the work well. Praise God for His faithfulness!

By Prayer
We have had several opportunities to minister to our neighbors through prayer this week. Dani met with a group of street girls at the Rescue Mission and encouraged them through prayer. Phil met with a ‘young’ believer from church, mentored him a little, and prayed with him several times this week. Yesterday a young woman came to help Dani run an errand. The woman was very frightened about some spiritual warfare she was undergoing. Someone told her “witches” had cursed her and were trying to harm her. Although this woman did not know very much about God, she was carrying a rosary for “protection.” Dani shared with this young woman how God is stronger than any force of evil in this world and how we can ask for God’s protection in Jesus’ name. They talked and prayed together. Afterward, the woman seemed at peace. They continued on their errand and, upon arriving safely, the woman asked that they should pray and thank God for their safe journey.

Praying with the street girls at the Rescue Mission

Returning to Florida
It’s hard to believe our stay in Ghana is nearly over. The time has passed so quickly! We look forward to seeing our friends and family, but we will miss the friends we have made here. Our journey back to Florida begins on Monday, when our host drives us to Accra. On Tuesday, we hope to do some sight-seeing. Then we’re off to the airport on Wednesday and on to the US. God has truly blessed us through our experiences this summer. To him be the glory, great things he has done! Please pray for us to have safe travels to Accra and Florida.