Mission in Africa

Sarah Smith

In September 2009, Sarah Smith left Derbyshire and moved to Accra in Ghana to serve the Newfrontiers church there. This page will be updated with news from Sarah and details of how you can support her.

To hear Sarah explain a bit more about why she's going, where she's going and what she's going to be doing in Ghana, click here (15mins 4MB).
[A link is also available via Podcast page.]

8th January 2012

Watch the new video to see what's been happening with KidZone Ghana.

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17th November 2011

Hi everyone,

Some exciting news from KidZone Ghana!!!

At the end of last year we became friends with Eyram, a neighbour of ours.  He had moved to this area from the Volta Region (East Ghana) and soon began working for us as a guard, coming with us to church and also helping with the Saturday KidZone club. He was a great help and quickly picked up how we did things.  I was therefore sad when he announced at Easter that he was leaving to go back to the Volta Region.  We have kept in contact and he has returned once or twice to see his family here and we have spoken a few times on the phone.

A few Saturdays ago as we were playing games at the start of the club he walked in through the gate.  It was great to see him.  He said that he had made the 2 1/2 hour journey by trotro especially to come to see us and the club.  He was soon involved playing football and helping with the craft etc.  At the end of the session I was sitting talking to him about what he is now doing.  He said that he was now working with his brother in a church and also running a Saturday morning Kids club!  He then showed me some photos of the club and as I looked at them I was overwhelmed with what I saw.  He had gathered a group of children at his home every Saturday morning and then had modelled his club on what happens here.... playing games, reading bible stories, doing crafts, loving the children, having fun, not using a stick for discipline etc etc (the type of club that we are running is very different from anything else that the children here experience)

I am excited and encouraged by this growth in the work.  Eyram had worked alongside me for a season and had caught the vision and values of the club and for working with children.  He had then taken the structure and ideas from here and is now applying them where he is now living.  So a new club has been started and many more children are being loved, having fun and learning about Jesus.

We discussed other ideas that he could do and I gave him some more resources and money to buy a new football (on the photos they were playing football and other games with a completely flat ball) and I hope to be able to visit at some point.

I am encouraged by this and I hope you are as well.  I'm not sure what the next step will be but I'm asking God as to how other clubs can start in our churches... maybe I need to even produce some sort of KidZone manual!

Please continue to pray for KidZone and all the children and families that are involved.

Sarah

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24th October 2011

Hi Everyone,

It's always hard to believe you're putting on jumpers and turning up heating while here it keeps getting hotter and drier. However the other night the wind suddenly picked up, the temp dropped to 25c and  we had some welcome rain (which we of course carefully collected). Sadly the strong wind blew down our plantain which we were hoping would be flowering soon for a good crop.  Oh well - guess they will grow again!

I managed to create quite a scene a few days ago  -  I decided a whiteboard would be a really useful resource for Kidzone, to draw pictures while I'm telling a story etc. I knew they sold them on the main road about 30 mins walk from the house, so Rose and I set off to buy one from the stall. We decided the larger one would be better, and after sorting out the best and bargaining for it, paid up. The lady at the stall instructed the boy who helps her to carry to our car, but we told her we were walking - 'Can you walk?!' was her reply!  We assured her we could and set off with Rose carrying the easel and me the board, which being too big for under my arm I carried on my head. We of course got plenty of comments as we walked along and cheers from our neighbourse who always love it when we do something African!

Kidzone Ghana continues to go very well with new children attending each week. Most weeks we get around 45 but last week we hit 50 + which was quite a squeeze in our Kidzone room !  One of the toys is a plastic teaset, which along with miniature traditional stoves I bought in the market, are proving to be firm favourites. Each week I am presented with many 'plates of food' and 'cups of tea'.  It's great to be able to give the children a place to play with different toys and also teach them about Jesus. I love it when I hear them singing the songs we taught them, on their way home from school. I'm also continuing to try to get to know where they stay, and introduce myself to their parents. Recently we were able to take two mothers along to a guest service at church.

A new work is a Ladies' meeting once a week. Some are part of the church, others are friends and neightbours.  Each week we play a game, discuss a short Bible passage and pray for one another.  One of the challenges is trying to run the morning in 3 different languages!

The Monday Clinic at the church centre is providing many exciting stories as we pray for healing. Many who come are now leaving without waiting to see Dr Joe as God heals them.  This week a lady came who had been diagnosed with fibroids and cysts and was booked for surgery in 2 days. We prayed and she was encouraged to have a repeat scan - which showed everything to be normal and she is now planning to start a family! Also, Phillipine, a good friend, arrived at our house with a very sore ulcerated throat. After prayer she was able to swallow water and her throat looked completely well.

So much to praise God for!

So things are generally going well, although life in a different culture of course has its ups and downs, and the practical difficulties and frustrations of living here can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. It's always good to be able to share, and to thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Love, Sarah

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4th September 2011

Watch the video to see KidZone Ghana in action.

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10th May 2011

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry its been such a long time since I wrote a Sarah Snippets but I hope that most of you will have managed to get some news that I'm still alive here in Ghana!

From all the reports that I've had it sounds like you have had some wonderful weather in the UK recently.  Here it is as hot as ever although the rainy season has now started.  This brings down the temperature but also increases the number of mosquitoes around which isn't so much fun.

At the end of January Paul and Angela, friends from Church in the Peak, were sent out here to see how I am getting on.  It was great to see them, to be able to show them around and for them to experience life in Ghana.  One of the many things that we did together was to clear and paint a storage room on our plot which we are now able to use for different KidZone activities.  I have bought some benches and tables and after successfully ridding them of the beetles who seemed to want to eat them all up they are now very useful.

Every Saturday morning is KidZone Ghana!  From a small beginning of a few children coming round we now have an average of 35 children each week with our record so far at 42!! (yes that was all a bit hectic!)  When I updated the register last night I realised that since January this year we have had 90 different children attending!!  The session starts each week with free play using toys such as footballs, skipping ropes, hula hoops and some large plastic building blocks.  It's all good fun and I like the exercise that it gives to me although skipping in the heat really does wear you out very quickly.  Then we usually play a game together or use the parachute before sitting down for a drink.  For the bible teaching over the past few months we have looked the life of David and then the Easter story.  The children enjoy listening to the stories and I'm always impressed by how much they can remember. Next we have a craft time together, alternating between easy colouring activities and more complicated tasks involving scissors and glue.  The morning ends with singing before they head off home again.  Each week I walk home with some of the children so that I can find out where they live, greet their parents and build a relationship with the whole family.  Many of the children live in single rooms within the large uncompleted houses that are all around where we stay.  The environment is dusty and difficult and so its good to be able to give these children a different experience and a fun filled morning!  News about the club is certainly spreading and as well as children bringing their friends I also have parents stopping and asking if they can enrol their children whcih gives me a good opportunity to tell them why we are running the club.

As well as the Saturday club I have also started a reading/homework club after school on a Tuesday.  It's good to be able to share the books with the children and help them to know how to enjoy a book, look at the pictures and understand the story rather than just reading the words.  Some bring their homework and I often find it a challenge to work out exactly what they are being asked to do or understand the grammar exercise!

I also enjoy just spending time with our neighbours, chatting to them, making friends and sharing in their lives.  The other week a discussion with Eyram and Forgive ended up in a craft lesson to make a basket - from cutting down some leaves off our neighbours palm tree to the finished article.  Think I need some more practice at cutting things with a large machete but thankfully I completed the task with all my fingers still there!

The Monday clinic continues to go well and Rose has started antenatal classes as well.  It's been special to see babies safely born to ladies who have come to the sessions and been prayed for over the months.  We held a medical outreach on Easter Saturday and many people came for a health check and for a free consultation with a doctor.  As we have continued to pray for everyone who attends the clinic we have seen people healed and thank God for all he is doing.

During the Easter break I went on 2 mini trips to the Volta Region.  On the first trip, with Clare, we went to Wli waterfalls, the highest in West Africa and then to celebrate my birthday climbed Mount Afadjato.  All sounds very impressive but its only 886m high! but the path was straight up and boy it was hot.  The view from the top was worth it, one way looking over the flat landscape of Ghana and the other way over the forested mountains of Togo.  The second time I went with Ernestina and her children to Hohoe where her parents and family live.  It was an enjoyable and very interesting time observing how Ghanaian family life works.

Life here has it's many challenges from the climate to working through the many issues of culture, but I am doing ok.  I'm busy enjoying the work in my community and with the children and aiming to do whatever God puts before me each day.  I will be travelling back to the UK for your summer and am looking forward as always to being able to share with many of you more news and photos of my life here in Ghana and of course getting out in that wonderful English countryside!

Thank you for all you continued love, support and prayers

Sarah

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20th January 2011

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update with how things are here in Ghana.

It was good to be back in the UK over Christmas. I was glad to still find some snow to play in but was glad that it wasn't too much to stop me being able to travel around the country to see family and friends.

Returning to a hot climate is always a bit of a shock to the system but this time it was strange as when I stepped off the plane, I wasn't faced with the usual heat and humidity which causes you to instantly drip with sweat but instead it was dry and dusty and seemed to fill your lungs up with dust. The Harmattan has arrived! It's what is expected at this time of year but didn't seem to happen last year so is new for us. On a negative side everything is so covered in dust and it gets everywhere.... on a positive note the dust does shield some of the heat from the sun which is very hot at the moment and being less humid is lovely.

I've settled back quickly into the different things that I am involved with. Last Saturday we gathered 22 children for the children's club..... the most so far!! It's encouraging to have many of the same children coming every week and also to see them bringing their friends. Over the next few weeks we will be looking at the story of David and also making different things to use up the huge pile of craft resources that I brought back with me this time!

On Sunday afternoons I am back at Amanokrom at the church plant and on Mondays at the clinic which continues to grow.

Next week some friends from 'Church in the Peak' in Derbyshire are coming to visit. I'm looking forward to that and to being able to show them a bit of Ghana and all that I am involved with.

Then following that it is the 'Rebuilding the Nations' conference which gathers people not only from all the Newfrontiers churches here in Ghana but also from those across West Africa. It is a good time to meet people and to hear what God is doing across the nations.

Thank you all for your support and prayers

love Sarah

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1st December 2010

Hi everyone,

Well it's the 1st December.... I've found last years advent calendar and opened day one.... but it's sunny and very hot here in Ghana..... and those facts just don't seem to fit together! This morning I have been into the local market and there are one or two stalls with tinsel for sale and small plastic Christmas trees and we even heard one shop playing Christmas carols. But there really isn't much happening so far... I know so unlike the UK where Christmas things were in the shops even before I left to come back here.

My delayed return to Ghana did mean that I was able to enjoy the start of the Autumn colours and have a few extra walks which was great. I think if I lived here in Ghana all the time I would certainly miss the seasons. Here it's as hot as ever and very humid and thundery almost every afternoon. The sky goes dark and flashes about with lightening but before a single drop of rain falls to the ground it all seems to pass and the sun comes out again.

One of the things that I have enjoyed doing most since coming back is starting up the Saturday KidZone club again. Each week there have been 15-20 children coming ranging in age from toddlers to 11 years old. It's encouraging as they are beginning to bring their friends and we have had new children most weeks. They arrive from 9:00am and we start by playing with the footballs, skipping ropes, bean bags etc in our yard area. It's a good time just to be able to chat with the children and get to know them a little more. Then we usually play some team games either relay races, kick cricket or play with the parachute which I bought during the summer. At the end of this we are all very hot and thirsty so it's drink time. The children then all very enthusiastically carry out my things and we sit in the shade outside our compound. They all gather round for a bible story and discussion. Over the past few weeks we have learnt about David, Joshua, Esther, etc as we have thought about how God uses normal people to do special jobs for him. The children really enjoy listening to the stories and looking at the pictures and some of them are very good at remembering all that we have talked about on previous weeks. Then more fun and usually chaos with scissors, glue, paper etc as we make some craft activity which they really love doing. It's great fun to watch them running off home with their tissue paper butterfly flying behind them or their decorated memory verse cards in their hand. I really enjoy these times and am also trying to get down to where some of the children live at another time during the week to make friends, help with homework etc

Just before the summer Joe (a doctor and church elder) started a clinic at the church centre supported by Rose. This has been steadily growing as word has got out that it is happening. Every week 12-20 people attend and there are now about 90 people on the records. It provides a free consultation with a doctor and advice rather than the normal practice of having to pay for it. Ian and I have now started to offer to pray for everyone who attends. It's exciting and challenging and I feel a steep learning curve for me as I step out and trust God. It has also started some lively debates around the place about healing!

I have been joining the church 'New Creation Team' every Sunday afternoon and evening at our church plant at Amanokrom, which is about an hours drive up into the mountains. In the afternoon we spend time visiting people and inviting them to the evening meeting. I'm exploring being able to do something with the children during this time and trying to encourage the children to join in the worship time. It's exciting to be able to be a part of such things although many things are all so very different from how things work in the UK that I always have many many questions to work through when I come back home.

A week or so ago we had a free day and so I had tracked down a nature reserve in my guide book which we thought would be worth a visit. We eventually arrived 2 hours later and turned off the main road down a track... good job we have a 4WD as the track turned into more of a footpath. The book had talked about a reception, toilets and guided walks... in fact it was completely deserted. There had been some sort of tourist attraction there in the past as there were a couple of shelters now with their leaf roofs falling apart. Anyway we ate our sandwiches, covered ourselves with suntan cream and insect repellent and set off up a path which was uphill... up Krobo Mountain. Not really a mountain but a large rocky outcrop in the surrounding flat landscape. It was very hot work and the path not very clear, so at times we were pushing our way through grass that was head high. But the views were fantastic .... not a house/road in sight. We spent quite some time relaxing on a rock watching the birds and butterflies before heading back down again.

As we have got to know local people more, both those who live around us but also others who come to our house to sell us bread, bananas and fish, we have found ourselves increasing involved with their lives and trying our best to help them out of a variety of situations. These range from needing money for medicine, help with accommodation, family problems etc. It often takes some time to understand the situation due to the difference of culture and language. Finding money for accommodation is a real problem for many people as landlords ask for 1 or even 2 years rent in advance and as people earn a small amount of money and do not really have a culture or means of saving, they do not have the money when it is required. So we are trying to help out people where we can with the real need to ask God for wisdom in every situation.

We've had our first crop of plantain from garden! Unfortunately the tree fell over, but it still ripened and we ate it fried and it was yummy. We now have a much bigger plant with enormous fruit developing. We also have harvested our cassava and put the stalks back in in lengths of 30cm and they're already sprouting, despite no rain.

Well I hope that gives you a feel and update of what has gone on over the past few months... it feels like quite a lot has gone on!

I'm looking forward to returning to the UK in a few weeks and hope that there is a bit of snow left for me to play in!!!!!

Thank you for your support and prayers

Love Sarah

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20th October 2010

Hi everyone,

I left Manchester airport a week ago on a cold, foggy autumnal morning and arrived in Accra to a hot 29C, humid evening a few hours later. The drive back home from the airport is now familiar and it was so good to drive into our area and begin to meet and greet people. In fact so far my days seem to have been filled with being very warmly welcomed by everyone that I got to know last year... and even people who seem to know who I am but I'm sure I've not met them before!

It's been quite a busy and varied time so far, picking up where I left off a few months ago and also starting new things.

On Saturday we started 'KidZone Ghana' again and spent time playing various relay races in our yard, learning about Gideon and also enjoying playing with some of the new toys that I brought back with me. The big Lego blocks proved to be very popular. I really enjoy these times and know that once news gets out that we are meeting again then more children will start turning up again.

Back in July a medical clinic was started at the church building serving both members of the church, school staff and increasing numbers of locals. On Monday Ian and I joined the staff as prayers and people who attended the clinic were encouraged to come across to us for prayer for healing. It was an exciting time as we prayed and saw God at work.

Yesterday I was at New Nation School and was excitedly mobbed by groups of children as I arrived. It was good to see the children and catch up with the staff.

I've also been getting back into the early morning rain collecting!, drinking powered milk, sleeping under my mosquito net, long power cuts, eating vast quantities of bananas etc etc. It's good to be back!! In the coming weeks I'm planning to join up with Emmanuel and the New Creation Team to go out on evangelistic and church planting trips, pick up some jobs in the school, work on the KidZone group and well, do whatever comes my way.

So, that's a quick update. It was so good to see so many of you over the summer and to be able to catch up and tell you more about my life in Ghana. Thank you all for your continued love, support and prayers.

Sarah.

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1st August 2010

During the service on 1st August, Sarah shared about her life in Ghana. To listen to what she said click here. You can also view the photos that she refers to by clicking here.

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17th June 2010

Hi everyone,

I'm sitting here watching and marvelling at how tiny ants are able to carry a large termite up a vertical wall...I'm not sure what they are going to do with it when they reach the top. The rainy season has now started and along with the benefits of free water and slightly cooler weather, it also has brought out huge numbers of termites which spend the night flying around the lights outside our house before falling to the ground, losing their wings and dying. It was a horrible mess out here this morning...wings and dying termites everywhere... but plenty of food for the birds and lizards!

Anyway.... what have I been up to?

After many visits from local children knocking at our gate asking for me to come and play or to read them stories I decided to organise a more regular kids club. So, we have been meeting on a Saturday morning for about an hour to play games, read bible stories and do different crafts. At the moment about 15 children have been coming each time but this could easily increase as there are other children nearby. It’s been lots of fun …. is this the start of KidZone Ghana?! I decided that I could make some small bean bags to play games with. It all turned into a bit of a project involving collecting scraps of material from the dressmakers that I pass each day and then a trip into the market to buy the beans... I'm pleased with the result and know we will have lots of fun with them. So my room here is slowly filling up with children's resources/toys like my house was in Darley Dale!!

(The ants are now at the top of the wall and struggling to get the dead termite into the crack between the wall and ceiling.....I don't think it will fit.... hope they don't drop it and have to start the climb again!)

Over recent weeks I've also been exploring a little more other things that I might be able to be involved with. Last week I went to see Emmanuel (the church evangelist) and his wife Docia. We talked about the different outreach initiative and church plants that are happening and about the 'New Creation Team' that he leads. At the moment they are travelling to a village called Amanokrom on Sunday afternoons and a large town called Koforidia on Thursdays. At each place they walk around talking and praying for people and inviting them to an evening meeting. I joined them last Sunday and had a good time walking and talking with different people. I'm planning to go again at some point.

There are also several church plants happening in different places and I am travelling with a few others to a town called Hohoe in the Volta region tomorrow where there is a small group meeting. (well that's the plan... but I will only really believe it is really happening when we are on the bus.. as plans change so quickly here!) I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing but it will involve walking around talking to people and inviting them to come to the meeting on Sunday. I'm looking forward to seeing another part of Ghana and to be a part of all that God is doing there. Ernestina who helps us in our house comes from Hohoe and is very excited about being able to show me her town and introduce me to some of her family.

Also, City of God has a church plant at Adjanoa, a small village up in the hills about 1 hours travel away. Some years back they started a school as the nearest one is in Aburi, 4km away over the hills, so too far for the youngest children to walk. Various people have been there to help and teach, as far as I'm aware all unqualified teachers. In the last few weeks I have had various conversations about Adjanoa and the school there and was wondering if it is something that I could get involved with. I'm trying to work on being able to make a visit to the school soon.

(Well, the ants have done it! Not sure how but now all the ants and the termite have completely disappeared)

I'm still involved with different things at New Nation School and have just finished making lots of new maths worksheets which have pictures of Ghanaian money instead of English and am also now helping to lead sessions of the children's work at City of God Church on Sundays.

It’s been a busy, challenging and exciting time here in Ghana over the past few months. So much has happened which is hard to write about in a few words. I’m back in the UK at the end of July for a few weeks and am looking forward to being able to catch up with many of you, to share more about what has gone on and all that God has done.

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers….

love Sarah

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26th April 2010

Hi everyone,

Thought that it was about time that I sent further news from Ghana to update you on what is going on and what I have been up to. The months just seem to whiz by and it's hard to believe that you have had spring and that we are about to enter into May! Gets all very confusing when life here feels like one long hot summer season.

The end of last term was busy at New Nation School with reports being written and the older secondary children gearing up for their International GCSE and A level exams. I spent time checking the primary school reports and also testing the younger children on their recognition of High Frequency words. It took ages but did give me an opportunity to have a few one to one minutes with each child in the lower school which was good and has enabled me to get to know them all a bit more.

There have been some changes in the staff for a variety of reasons. Florence, who I have got to know quite well and have enjoyed spending time team teaching with has left the school to move to America to be with her husband. I'm sad that she has left but of course pleased that she is with him. Work has begun up at the new school site with the next phase of the building work.

Currently the secondary school is up on this site and the plan is that the upper juniors will also be there from September....seems a lot of work to do before then. Yesterday I was part of a team working to fill the foundations with concrete and so I spent the day carrying head pans of soil and rocks around. It was hard work but great fun and reminded me of my first trip to Ghana on the Life Change team in 2007. I am continuing to teach when I am needed and to help the teachers with new ideas and ways of teaching.

We were able to celebrate Easter with all the traditional food items - just! I made some hot cross buns which I feared would turn out to be hot cross rock cakes, but were actually quite yummy. Rose made a Simnel cake and also endeavoured to make some chocolate Easter eggs. The challenge in this was trying to get the especially produced unmeltable Ghanaian chocolate to melt! We had a good church meeting on Easter Sunday and this was followed by a church picnic on Easter Monday. It seems that it is the one day in the year that everyone in the country gets into holiday mood and heads off for a picnic and games.

Having completed the required courses(!) I am now a member of City of God Church here in Accra. This means that I can now lead sessions in the Sunday school which I have previously been only able to just help with. I'm working with the 5-11 year olds and each week there are about 40 children. It's very different from KidZone (the children's work I led in England) but I have been able to work with Kobby, who leads the work, to plan the teaching for this term and to introduce some new ideas. The home group that has begun meeting in our house is going well and we are getting to know each other more and have much fun as we teach each other songs in English and Twi. When there is the opportunity I enjoy travelling to our other churches in different areas and seeing what God is doing there. This Saturday we are hoping to travel up to a village near to Ho in the Volta Region (about 4 hours drive) for a medical outreach.

I was unsure what to do during the 3 week break from school over Easter as suddenly it felt like I had lots of free time but nothing planned. I decided that it was a good opportunity to go off and explore Ghana and so I headed off on two very different adventures! First I went on a 3 day mountain bike trip through the Eastern Region.(area north of Accra - the regions are all very confusingly named ie. east of the Eastern Region is the Volta Region!) A few months back I had made contact with the guys who run Aburi Bike Hire and had been out for a few hours with them. I had really enjoyed being out on a bike again and so I was keen to do more. Anyway, I had a great time travelling along surfaced roads, tracks and footpaths through forest, farmland, small villages and isolated houses, to waterfalls, mountains and to the edge of the Volta Lake. It was good to be with a local guide who was able to point out different plants and animals and help to chat to the locals on route. At times we seemed to cause quite a stir as children spotted us coming from a distance and then rushed out to meet us crying out 'Abruni! Abruni!' (a friendly term meaning 'white man') at times we felt like we must be famous! It was all quite hard work though and very hot but I enjoyed it and hope to be able to do more in the future.

After a day or two relaxing and sleeping I set off again, this time to the Western Region and the coast. I travelled with Rose into Accra and then set off by myself using taxis, bus, trotros (minibus) and shared taxis to eventually reach my first destination of Busua Beach after about 8 hours. I was a bit nervous about travelling by myself and finding the right trotro etc but found everyone always very willing to help and point me in the right direction. The western region is beautiful with long sandy beaches lined with palm trees between forested headlands and clear blue water. I spent my time walking along the beaches to local fishing villages, swimming in the warm sea and improving my surfing skills! I also walked to the lighthouse at Cape 3 Points which apparently is the closest land on earth to 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude - now that's an interesting fact for you! It was good to meet many different people and to see a very different part of the country to where I live and also to where I had been the previous week.

So it has been a busy few months but I am doing well and know that this is where God wants me at this time.

Please pray for....

New Nation School - for the staff and children and for my involvement with the teachers as I help in lessons and suggest ideas

City of God Church - for the leaders and for continuing involvement in the community

Me - for continued good health and safety, that I am able to build friendships with those who live near to our home and those who work at the school and for wisdom in all that I do in the school and church.

Thank you for your support and prayers

love Sarah

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25th February 2010

Hi everyone,

Well what a week last week was!!! First it was the Leadership Conference and then Rebuilding the Nations Conference as well as a house full of guests. So today I'm enjoying a quiet moment at home catching up with different things and writing emails. The electricity has been very on and off this week but thankfully we had power all last week during the conferences .. we thank God for that...especially as the generator is still not mended.

The Leadership Conference gathered leaders from the Newfrontiers churches across West Africa - currently there are churches in Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Benin and Ghana. It was great to meet people from these nations and to find out about their countries and the joys and difficulties of church planting in them. Some of the countries are Muslim dominated and so there is much difficulty and opposition to the church. In others the expression of Christianity is mainly very religious and mixed with local beliefs. There is much need to preach the gospel and to plant churches based on truth and New Testament values.

We heard many stories of situations where so called leaders and prophets charge people money for their time, for a word from God or for a prayer for healing. Edward Buria who has apostolic oversight of Kenya and East Africa was with us for a few days. He is pioneering some amazing projects in Kenya - take a look at www.edfri.org He also gave a powerful talk saying that it was time time to turn up the volume of prophecy here in Africa and challenging us to become a part of that!

A song sung many times at the conference and had us all dancing round the tent was..
'The church is moving on, it's moving on, it's moving on..... nothing's going to stop us now... it's moving on , it's moving on!!'

Last week we were celebrating the fact that we managed to catch a mouse in our house. It had been merrily eating all sorts of things from corners of t-shirts to corks, soap and plastic lids off our jars. Sadly either it has returned or it had a friend! They seem very difficult to catch and just seem to be able to eat the food off the traps without being caught. We think we might have to go and borrow a cat!

Also we are looking after a small hedgehog! One of the guards at the school found it and was keeping it in a cardboard box. Sadly he forgot about it for a couple of days so we have taken it in to look after it and fatten it up. We'll have to be careful to release him in a safe place though, otherwise he might end up as somebody's dinner!

Today our guests from Sierra Leone left and so I am busy washing bedding and towels and tidying up our home. Next week I will get back more into school and all that needs to be done there.

Love to you all and thanks for your continued prayers and support

Sarah

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7th February 2010

Hi everyone,

It was so good to be able to see and catch up with many of you when I was back in England over Christmas. Before flying I had been trying to explain to people here in Ghana that it was going to be cold in England and that I was hoping that it would snow at some point. So I was very excited when as we took off from Accra the pilot announced to us that the forecast was for 4 inches of snow in London on our arrival... and so there was!! In fact I seemed to spend my time in England enjoying walking and playing in the snow and looking at weather reports trying to work out if it was safe to travel. As much as I enjoyed it, I was sad that it prevented me from seeing as many of you as I might have done. Anyway, I'm now back here in the heat and thoughts of wearing multiple layers and sitting by open fires are far from my mind.

It has felt like it has taken me a few weeks to get back into things here, but I am now finding my feet again and picking up from where I left off last year. I seem to be spending more time working in the school and have been called in at the last minute to cover for teachers who were off sick. The school day is long from 7:30 until 3:30 and the children seem continually excited and full of energy so I didn't find them especially easy. But it is a great opportunity to get to know the children more and to understand how things work in the school. I have also been asked to help put some structure to the Art and PE curriculum and so I am busy observing lessons and meeting with the teachers. The maths books that I worked on last term seem to have gone down well with the students, parents and teachers. Teaching here seem very different from teaching either in the UK or in Burundi so I'm trying to draw on experience from both places and apply it here. I'm also helping with various admin type things and am currently sorting out the student record files.. that's over 500 of them! Work has also started on building further classrooms up at the new site with the aim of moving the upper junior classes to join the seniors as soon as possible.

One of the things I enjoy is meeting and talking with people as I walk to and from the school/church centre. At the moment I seem to be meeting lots of children on their way home from school who are all very keen to talk about what they have learnt. Some of them have even found where I live and so they come knocking at our gate and asking if I am coming out to play! So I have read stories, played noughts and crosses and introduced them to a version of Beetle Drive!

We now have a butterfly net at our house which has us running about our garden chasing after butterflies and other insects trying to catch them so we can identify them. Today caught an amazing bright metallic green wasp like thing - after taking many photos of it trying to capture that award winning photo, we identified it as a cuckoo wasp. There seems to be more mosquitoes about at the moment and reports of people getting malaria even though this is the dry season. So, we aren't looking forward to when the rains start. Today I noticed a new pile of sawdust under my bed and on closer investigation discovered that more of the slats of my bed are being slowly eaten away by beetles. So, I'm working on getting some new ones made - this time of harder and so less tasty wood. I'm getting better at recognising some of the local birds and wake up each morning to a loud dawn chorus from the bulbuls.

City of God church had a very busy time over the Christmas and New Year period. On Christmas eve they distributed 1000 food parcels to homes around the church centre. These parcels consisted of rice, a tin of fish, oil and tomato paste - all you need to make a special Christmas meal! Then they had a special guest service at the start of the year and many visitors attended. The church is growing rapidly with visitors each week and the vision for the year is to grow to a church base of 1000. It's exciting to be involved. Last night we started a new mid week group in our house. We gathered 9 people which included 3 of our neighbours!

Soon it is half term but we will be busy with first of all a Leadership College at church and then from Thursday till Sunday we have the annual Rebuilding the Nations Conference. This event is eagerly looked forward to by everyone and gathers people from the Newfrontiers churches across West Africa as well as anyone else who wants to attend. I'm expecting this to be a great time with visiting speakers including Edward Buria (Newfrontiers) from Kenya and Sam Amara (Newfrontiers) from Nigeria. Many people will be bringing their children and I am part of the children's team - I've no idea how many children there will be.

In recent weeks I seem to have watched hours of football as it has been the African Cup of Nations. Ghana is a football crazy country so there was much excitement when Ghana made it into the final. Sadly they were beaten by Egypt 1:0. Now everyone is looking forward to the World Cup later on in the year.

Please pray for.... for New Nation School - for the staff and children and for my involvement with the teachers as I help in lessons and suggest ideas, for City of God Church - for the leaders and for continuing involvement in the community and especially for the Rebuilding the Nation Conference, and for me - for continued good health and safety, that I am able to build friendships with those who live near to our home and those who work at the school and wisdom for all hat I do in the school.

Thank you for your support and prayers

love Sarah

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3rd December 2009

Hi,

Just a short e-mail this time with a brief update of various things.....

Today have spent the day rehearsing the Christmas production for school which will be performed to the parents next week. One for the preschool and Nursery 1 and 2 children - about 80 children in total and another one for classes 1 to 3 - about 150 children. Going for a simple nativity drama with some songs... all good fun! Had a trip to Madina market yesterday to buy a large quantity of material to make the costumes. Always an experience going to the market and travelling there by trotro.

Tonight Terry and Wendy Virgo arrive for the weekend. We are gathering leaders from the Newfroniers churches from Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana for what is being called a Rebuilding Leaders Weekend. It's breakfast with Wendy tomorrow, various meeting during the rest of the day and on Saturday and Sunday ending with them coming to our house for lunch. So a busy few days but I'm looking forward to them.

Tomorrow I collect my new orange outfit!! In a rather spontaneous moment ended up stopping at one of the many little tailors near our house. Before I knew it I was buying some material, designing a top and skirt and being measured!!

It's getting hotter!! Weather report says it will be 34C tomorrow - phew! I'm looking forward to feeling cold!

Bye for now

Sarah

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29th November 2009

Hi everyone,

I have another very exciting story to tell you from life here in Ghana.... I hope that you will be encouraged by it....

A fortnight or so ago during our Sunday church meeting we were praying together in small groups. The day before Rose and I had been talking about prophecy and she had challenged me to bring a word to someone that morning. As we at in our group I felt my attention drawn to the beautiful buttons on the dress of the lady opposite. As I have found this is often the starting point for me to bring a word, when the group broke up I rather nervously went up to the lady and said that as we had been praying I'd noticed her buttons and felt that God wanted to say to her that he had a specific job for her to do and that only she could do it. I didn't feel at the time that it was a very clear word but rather I'd just brought something in obedience.

Well today this lady and her husband were in the church meeting again with an amazing story. The husband has known John Kpikpi for many many years and they are very good friends. This is their story.....

One day at the beginning of last week the husband woke up not feeling very well and went out of the bedroom. His wife initially wasn't worried as he often gets up early but this time she felt a prompting to follow him. He told her he felt unwell and within a short amount of time he died in front of her. At this time God reminded her of the word that I had brought to her and it stirred faith within her to pray for his healing. This was the specific job that she had to do....pray for her husband to come alive again!!!! So she did for about 30mins and then he did!!!!!

I'm sure that you will agree that this is an amazing story and it was exciting to have both the husband and wife with us this morning telling us all the details. It certainly stirred much faith among us. For me ..... well.... I'm almost speechless!!!!! by their story but also by the fact that we never know how God will use the things that we say to people. As I said before.... I felt that what I'd said to the wife wasn't any sort of mega prophecy just a simple word.... but God had spoken and the end outcome was all very mega!!! It's certainly a lesson for me and has stirred me to continue to ask God for words and to bring them to people. I hope that this encourages you to do the same!!..... you never know what God is planning to do!!!

With much love

Sarah

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17th November 2009

Hi everyone,

Hope all is going well for you all. I just wanted to tell you about a couple of things - for your interest, prayers and encouragement......

Some weeks ago Emmanuel from City of God church prayed over the phone for a lady in Amanokrom, a small town in the mountains north of Accra, who was very ill with asthma. She was totally healed and as news spread the people of the town were very eager for Emmanuel to come to them. The first time he went 28 people gathered and there were more healings. The next week there were even more and now about 50 people are regularly gathering. Yesterday I travelled up to the village with John Kpikpi and a team from the church. After a time of worship, John spoke, sharing the gospel message and 38 people responded!! We then prayed for those who were sick and facing difficult situations. It was an exciting and new environment for me to be in - the birth of a new church. We are now praying that a leader emerges to head up the work there.

Every Friday morning at 6:00am John Kpikpi speaks on national TV on a programme called 'Rebuilding the Nations'. This is watched by many people across Ghana and in neighbouring countries and is a significant work in the church and a fantastic way of getting truth out to people. When the programme ends there are often phone calls with people wanting further help etc. Many of these have come from Kumasi, a large town in the middle of Ghana. So this week on Thursday and Friday we are holding a 'Rebuilding the Nation Conference' there. I'm going - not sure what will happen - but I'm sure that it will be good. Please pray for this conference. I'll write and tell you what happens!

I've finished the maths curriculum booklets that I was working and so am now working on my next major job - staff records. As this includes everyone who works in the school - teachers, TAs, cooks, cleaners, admin, drivers, security etc - its about 100 people! Should keep me busy for a while.

That's all for now

love Sarah

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23rd October 2009

Hi everyone,

Well its Friday morning and at the moment I'm at home working on my computer outside in the shade on our balcony. The day started sunny but is now clouding over although it is still hot. I'm getting used to it and most of the time there is a bit of a breeze so its ok. Strange to hear from people about lighting their fires at home and scraping ice from their cars. The only time I get a brief feeling of being cold is when I stick my head in the freezer!!

I'm doing fine and adjusting to life here in Ghana. As I get to know people I am feeling more settled and beginning to find my way around the place and how things are done.

Our home is nice although fairly strange in its outer design. Everything is built in concrete so they make things all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes. Ours looks like some kind of white ship?! I'm living with a English couple called Ian and Rose who I met when I came out to Ghana on the Life Change team in 2007. I've got my own room and bathroom which is slightly on the edge of the main house although attached... so can have my own space if I want to. Then there is a main room, 3 other bedrooms and a kitchen. When Ian and Rose came they had to do quite a lot of building work here to get the place sorted and we are now in the process of gathering plants and seeds to put into the garden to hide all the concrete and white walls. We are also busy collecting all our water from our washing etc to water the plants. We have to pay for our water which is then delivered and stored in a large plastic tank at the side of the house, so we are trying to save/reuse as much of it as we can. Today there were a couple of men working here levelling the ground when they suddenly called us. We went to see what was going on and they pointed to a large lizard that they had just killed!! Rose, who is a real animal lover, was horrified and then set about identifying it and educating them in the fact that they don't have to kill everything that moves.! The situation was only made better when they said that they wouldn't bury it but would find someone who would like to eat it.... so at least some good came out if the event!!! Everything seems to very quickly get covered in red dust and so it's best not to leave things out for long. We are able to eat well with lots of fruit and veg it's just a matter of buying it when you see it as its not always around. I enjoy stopping at some of the stalls on the way home from school and buying bananas, peanuts etc. If we drive more into the middle of Accra we can go to a large South African run supermarket type place which sells everything. So we go there occasionally to stock up on things and then buy fruit and veg more locally.

Most days I have been walking into the school/church site which takes about 20mins or so. It goes along a series of paths and roads past houses and small stalls. I'm getting known and its nice to exchange a hello/good morning with everyone as I pass. The primary school is at the church site and the secondary school is at the new site which is where I was working when I was out here before. It's a large school with about 530 children in it from pre school to A level. They wear a smart uniform of blue and white striped tops and the plan navy blue skirts or shorts. All the children are very friendly and I'm beginning to be more known around the school and am greeted with cries of 'Auntie Sarah' when I arrive. The teachers are all Ghanaians and vary in the amount of training that they have had. This week I've been into some of the classes and it's been a good way to get to know the children and the teachers and also to see how things are taught. I'm still exploring how best I can help out at the school as there is much I could help with. One of the things I've been working on so far is to add some new material to the maths curriculum that they are using. I've about finished that other than printing it out and then someone will get it photocopied and made into books for the children. I hope that it will be useful to them.

I'm enjoying being part of City of God Church, the Newfrontiers church here in Accra, and am getting to know people as well as the songs, clapping rhythms and the way of shuffling round in a circle at the front during some of the songs?! On Sundays the meeting starts at 10:00ish and gathers about 300 people. It starts with a lively time of worship with songs in different languages and then most Sundays John Kpikpi speaks. He has been teaching on a series on 'Discipleship' and has been speaking on Trusting God and Growing in Love which have been excellent. Most weeks there have been people saved and becoming Christians as well as healings. I'm also attending a 'Joining the Church' course which is held before the meeting on Sundays..... so it makes for a fairly long morning!! On Wednesday evening its our mid week group and then on Friday evening there is a church prayer meeting. It's so good to be here in a Newfrontiers church where the values and teaching are familiar to those of Church in the Peak.

This weekend I am travelling with Ian and Rose to another town called Ho as Ian is preaching at the Sunday meeting of the Newfrontiers church there. Its about 3 hours drive to get there but thankfully over the past few years the road has been dramatically improved. I'm looking forward to the journey and to seeing a little more of the county.

I'm missing being able to ride my bike in the wonderful Derbyshire countryside... in fact any exercise seems quite difficult to do other than the slow walk to school. But I have now borrowed a bike for a few weeks and so my plan is to go out for a quick whizz around the block either early in the morning or in the eve when it is cooler. Haven't quite managed it yet though!

Well, I hope that gives you a little more idea of what I'm up to.

Please pray for.... continued good health and for safety, direction in my help and involvement in the school and in other church projects and for building good relationships and friends with our neighbours, people who I see as I walk around, those in the church and the teachers at the school.

Will write again soon

love Sarah

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5th October 2009

Hi everyone,

Well I've completed week one of life in Ghana!!!! This is just a quick one to say I'm here, doing well and enjoying it!

My fight was fine other than the fact that my marmite nearly caused me to miss it!!! and I arrived safely without further hassle in Accra to the sights, smells and heat of Africa!

It's been a busy time so far. Meeting people, church meetings, time in the school, shopping and generally taking time to take in my new surroundings and all that is happening. It's hot and dusty- although we nearly got caught in a sudden torrential rain storm as we walked to the school the other day and had to escape by dashing into the nearest available shelter which was a small hut/shop... sadly wasn't very useful as we sat out the rain as the only thing on sale was hair extensions!!!!

The school is a major project of the church with about 500 children. I have been put straight to work sorting and adding some new material to the primary maths curriculum and have already attended 2 staff meetings!!!!

As I've written this it has gone dark and the night noises of insects, very loud music from radios all about as well as the sound of the man grinding corn in his hut outside our gate have started. You certainly have to get used to noise here!

I'm about to eat and then head off to a church prayer meeting. Tomorrow I'm going to a wedding... so better get out my posh African dress again!!

I'll write again soon with more details and news

Sarah

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