Jeff's Journal

                              March -  2007 

       All the spiritual news and views from Kumasi, Capital of the ol' Asante Kingdom in Ghana.

 

(NEWS FLASH!  Salmonella sneakily struck again for the second time in five years, as this report, already late, was going to press.  Our entire household except for Sherrie, Abby and Jackson, were violently ill, including five of us who were hospitalized, including me. After a very difficult week, by God's sustaining grace, we are all recovered. Thanks to you who prayed for our recovery.  We are also thankful that Brittney was able to continue feeding Hannah, and her milk didn't try up.  She was sicker than anymone I've ever seen in all my years in Ghana, except for an AIDS patient.)

 

Seeing God's Hand at Work in the "Non-miraculous".

 

     Our God has not gone into retirement!  Do we really believe that God can bring about revival, renewal and even a spiritual revolution in our lifetime, right where we're at?  Or is that all just for the history books? Familiarity breeds contempt.  Even Jesus, though performing mighty miracles in their midst, was treated contemptuously. God's Hand at work was His right hand man, Jesus. But His own received Him not. They were blind to His glory and to what God was doing to bring in a new spiritual world order under the New Covenant.  The spiritual revolution passed them by.  All they could see was a Sabbath breaker, not the Lord of the Sabbath.  J.W McGarvey comments:

     "Jesus likens his miraculous healing of the paralytic man to God's constant works of sustenance, reproduction, healing and providence.  God has never rested, and never made distinctions between the days of our week..."

      Doesn't the Holy Spirit still know how to kindle prophetic fire in men? I believe He is still at work and I pray that you will see that work in our ministry in Ghana, and give Him your heartfelt thanks.  And trust God for the same there where you dwell, as well.

(See my poem, THE UNSEEN HAND, attached)

 

 Saints Aglow in Togo!

     On March 2, we excitedly headed off to Togo again, to encourage and be encouraged by the saints there. Evangelist Hammer - a.k.a Kwame Afakule - met us at the border, and for the next 48 hours we were immersed into "Hammer's world" where ancient juju beliefs are retreating before the "Hammer" strokes of the love and truth of King Jesus. Hammer is, simply put, awesome! Brent, Melissa, Alyssa, Benjith, Keziah and Sherrie and I were also very hospitably hosted by Hammer's wife and essential helpmate, Dela - despite her just recovering from surgery - as in some five star hotel she piled on loads of delicious African and American dishes. 

   As a highlight, we visited two very special faithful saints there in their own house and hut:

-  100 year old Mary, incredibly sweet and welcoming (she gave us special imported biscuits and cute little great-grandma kisses, and danced with the songs Hammer led! 

-  And Dorcas, one-legged and alone, yet still sweetly resigned to her suffering. Like Mary, all her hopes are pined on heaven and Jesus. The poverty with which woman daily copes is beyond description.  Dirt, a nearly empty well, filthy fly and sore covered undernourished children, crumbling mud huts whose interiors are hot as blast ovens, and obscene clay idols everywhere.

  We also saw the rapacious mining equipment gauging out ancestral farmland for phosphate, to enrich the elite fat-gats ruling the peasants with an iron-fist. We also entered the high walls of the prison in Vogan.   He had recently rescued one young mother from the prison who has cooked and eaten her child due to an evil demonic "voice" commanding her to do so!  (She was placed in a hospital.) And he still washes many ugly tropical ulcers and preaches and teaches weekly in the congregation that he stated that now averages over 215 every Lord's Day in assembly.  What joy to see my first convert faithfully shining in one of the most voodoo infested nations on earth.  I made a special effort in my preaching and teaching to uplift Hammer in the eyes of his people whom he so diligently serves.  As stated above, prophets are not honored in their own hometowns, and Vogan, the regional capital is Hammer's hometown. 

     Pray for the Afakules as they begin an ACE school with Bruno and Amy's able help this fall.  I was impressed by the level of involvement by the entire Afakule family in this ministry.  This trip takes 10 hours each way on some of the most dangerous roads (according to an international evaluation recently) in the world. Exhausted, but happy, we returned home safely on Monday evening.  (For your information, some of the finances given to us go into this Togo work, which is the only hope  for heaven for that hopeless, poverty stricken nation, unknown and overlooked in the world.)

 

Turning on the Beacon Lights in the Brong-Ahafo Rain Forest

     We are thrilled to have Laura Swift, of Chicago, come to visit us again.  Her involvement in this mission is making a big difference, and we want to have her see that wonderful working of God's Unseen hand for herself. Arriving in Ghana for a flying five day visit, we were able to take her up to Brong-Ahafo on some new roads built to serve another huge mine, Newmont Mine (600 million dollar investment so far) that is clear-cutting the forest and farms to extract gold.  Here in a land of tall timber and rolling hills, my family had invested much energy and time in the 80's an 90's establishing churches in humble hamlets scattered throughout.  So it was with joy that we went to inaugurate a new Christian school in association with the church in Korforidua.  Bro. S.Y Omane and his wife, with their youngest child, Augustina have moved into a building that was originally slated for a clinic.  Here, with IDES help, we have renovated the building for the new school, plus housing for the Omane family, and as an assembly hall for the saints. It lies about 2.5 hours north of Kumasi, or about 90 miles.  Some of the roads are little more than dirt tracks.

It is gratifying to think of elite, excellent Christian education being imparted in such a remote jungle area by a Ghanaian co-worker.

 

Faith Stregge - Newest Volunteer Arrives; Melissa Weggner Departs

   God continues providing us the needed volunteer help to fulfill our mandate to make disciples through Christian education.  When Melissa returned to Chicago briefly for Christmas, she was able to recruit a replacement.  Faith is a young lady with a  BA degree from Forest Park College, with a major in physics. She is also a runner, and has already started coaching our girls running program. She is full of energy and lots of excellent questions.  Having been born a Lutheran, she has been a truth seeker the past years, and really enjoys studying and discussing the Bible.  Pray as she exams her faith, particularly the subject of Christian immersion. 

Other News  

- We lost one student, Michael Azure(19), recently, over cheating.  Please pray for him, as he has other problems, and although a Christian, has not been doing well in his Christian walk. Michael left rather than retaking the test on which we had caught him cheating. Sad, after so much investment, but we trust he will come to his senses and return to Christ.

- Ghana's 50 Jubilee Independence Celebrations.  Ghana has celebrated her 50 years of independence from Great Britain.  Most Ghanaians celebrated with mixed feelings.  Looking at it overall, I am very grateful for the freedom we enjoy to preach the gospel and live an openly Christian life.  On other fronts, the country has a long way to go to achieve a better quality of life for its citizens.

- A Major Energy Crisis.  The hydroelectric dam, that provides more than half of the power for Ghana is so low on water behind it that we are experiencing severe power outages.  Every other day it is off for 12 hours, creating much hardship for all.  We are so thankful for our aging generator still running day after day.

 

     Thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers for this mission.  We appreciate it so much!  I have now sitting on my desk so many requests by our African evangelists for aid in housing, transportation and church development that it could crush me.  Yet I believe that our God will continue to supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, through you and others.  Keep shining brighter and brighter until the dawn rises fully and Christ comes again.

 

Peace and real joy In the mighty name of King Jesus, our glorious Lord and God!

Jeff Hostetter