JEFF’S JOURNAL
(February 2011)
Mission Accomplished, We’re Headed Home
In the movies and TV shows, usually they’re quickly in and out and done with whatever it is that they need to deal with. But in the past ten years or more, serials have come out that never end. Some last for a season, some longer. (Perhaps some of you’ve seen “24 Hours”, as an example.) But in our mission for Christ in Africa, it never, never ends. This can result in the well-known donor/ do-gooder “burnout syndrome”. The relentless needs of others can wear out the most ardent missionary if he is not careful. Even our Lord at least once told His disciples to come away and rest on a deserted beach by the sea of Galilee. Of course, this didn’t exactly work out that way, did it? I’ve always really admired Jesus’ great attitude when faced with so many hurting, curious and persistent people at their getaway spot. He just put on His ministry mindset and went to work. This is why the internal empowering of the same Spirit that helped Jesus do that must be allowed to fill and lead us here in Ghana. Otherwise….major burnout and stress will always tell, in some manner or other, unless properly dealt with. Jesus certainly had so much stress, and so did Paul. Yet neither burned out, but rather burned brighter and brighter. Please pray that we will likewise shine ever more brightly in the Dark Continent, because the darker the darkness, the more bright and brilliant the light in contrast. We are all headed for one real home – heaven – and our mission to serve Christ with every breath isn’t over until our life is done. Carpe Diem, for Christ, my brothers in arms!
NEWS!NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!
- Health and Weather Update. We have never seen so much rain so early. This has really mitigated the heat and our bronchial infections have considerably eased. My health has been good, and Sherrie is improving. Thanks for the prayers.
- To Bolgatanga & Back. Since my daughter Abby and her husband Adam live in that far northern regional capital city of the Upper East region of Ghana, it had long been my intent to revisit and encourage them there. The last visit was in July, 2010. Also, Jennie, Johnny and Laura needed to cross over into Burkina Fasso to renew their visitor visas. It was a great journey, and you can read about it in detail on Jennie and Johnny’s blog, www.Jerwog.com, with many pictures of camels, crocodiles and so forth, since, on our return, we spent on day at the Mole game park. (No, there are not giant moles, but big African elephants do dwell there.) It was really encouraging to see the school operating at Bolga, and preach to the assemblies saints. This 700 mile trip was navigated safely by God’s grace, and we arrived home March 7th, having departed March 4th.
- Legal Update. Full trial starts March 24th. I – and others – will need to testify. Pray for my memory to serve me well, and for a new judge. Before our previous lawyer died on Christmas Day, he told me that the judge was biased and not trustworthy. We’ve petitioned the Chief Justice of Ghana to assign a different judge to our case. Pray! Please also pray for our new lady lawyer, Nana Ajdoa, to have super wisdom and insight. There are actually two cases. The other is against me as the defendant, a wrongful dismissal suit by a handicapped man whom left us and was never employed in the first place! (His wife still waves hello every time she sees us!)
- Rental Resolutions! Thanks for prayers here as well. I was able to negotiate with Jessica and Attah’s landlord, an old Lebanese friend who used to be our neighbor. He had been threatening: 1st, to sell the house. 2nd, to raise the rent to $600 mth., from $350, which he had promised. Now he has relented and taken the $350 for another year. In the meantime, our own landlady threated to raise our rent by $200 per month, but after much negotiations, has taken $600, the original agreed upon amount for five years. We did secretly have the Kumasi city rent control office come and assess our house, and they calculated that only $350 was a fair monthly rental amount. I was able to befriend the boss of that office and give some tracts to him. His name is Mike Kwabena. So we are now settled in for another year before the fun starts again.
- Caleb and Lamissi are in Hohoe. The Lantames have now had two assemblies with his mom and some others in that place. So a new congregation has now begun in another regional capital. Hurrah!
- Lost students. We’ve sadly seen several of our students leave this past month. One was due to lack of funds for monthly feeding, and others for various other reasons.
- Generous Gifts. We want to sincerely thank some of you who have made this month a much better than average one financially. A few extra gifts from individuals and some churches have helped us: 1. Keep running the school. 2. Pay much needed rent for several houses for the Lord’s work in Hohoe, Accra, and here in Kumasi. And more!
- Wa. One of the saints here in Kumasi drives a Ford van we gave him to support his family. Every week he goes to Wa, the Upper West regional capital. Simultaneously, Attah has been able to get a Bible study with a man from Wa, who now lives here. He’s a KNUST classmate of one of our convert’s daughters, Dorcas, who is also Jessica’s good friend. Dorcas helped a year in our school, in 1998. I immersed her dad and appointed him an elder in the 1980s, in the church we started at Sunyani, but, sadly, he subsequently dropped out. Anyway, pray for a new work to soon start in yet another regional capital of Ghana.
- Good News! Our website, www.gloryinghana.com is now back in action. It should soon be brimming full with new photos and lessons, plus all of Jeff’s Journals. A BIG thanks to Larry Miller of Billings, Montana, for this valuable service.
- In closing: Please pray for the Lord to open all of northern Africa, including Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan, plus the Arab countries, to the gospel. Many young men, (who Christ also died for), are fighting and dying in these nations for their political freedom from such tyrants as Muburak of Egypt and Libya’s Qaddafi, one of the worst of them, who’s singlehandedly ruled that country for 41 years! (Check out a very informative article on the New American magazine webpage about him.) Coming south, in our neighboring country of Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), since losing a fair election last year, their president has killed hundreds of opponents and secretly stuffed their murdered bodies into public morgues, rather than step down. In Zimbabwe, Mugabe has ruined that beautiful country! Political freedoms usually precede religious freedom, and only with decent rulers can long-term mission work thrive. We have been praying for God to open great, huge doors for evangelism that none can shut. May we, the Lord’s righteous army, be ready to enter those nations expeditiously with the gospel of glory. God can do it!
Serving King Jesus… and loving it!
Jeff & Sherrie Hostetter
Our email: hostetter@4U.com.gh & telephone: 011233322026878
