prayers

Just wanted to summon your prayers...

1. There is major flooding in the upper east and northern regions in Ghana. I'm not sure how bad, but through various sources who have contacts up there the rains have damaged the incoming crop, as it is harvest season right now, so there is a food shortage. Also the flooding has caused people to loose everything in their houses and the houses themselves. It is a praise that we have rain because the damn is rising now and our electricity crisis is getting slightly better. However these people are struggling.

2. I have to share an intereting God story with you all to give Him some cool glory! I was supposed to travel yesterday, Friday Sept.7 up north to Wa in the upper west region to work on a video with the Russells' a mission society missionary family. On my way to the airport I stopped to drop off a video I just completed for The Marriage Course in Ghana (that's another story). The office I dropped the video off at is the SIM, Serving in Mission, mission agency office. I'm friends with a couple of the missionares there including Ruby, the director of SIM. We were talking and she's the one who informed me about the severe flooding in the upper west. She has lived in Ghana over 25 years 20 of those in the North, so she has friends who are like family up there. In our conversation she realized I was going to Wa via Tamale. Picture this in your head...Tamale is north east...Wa is north west.

I was going to take the plane to Tamale and then catch a six hour bus ride over to Wa and I was headed to the airport to buy my ticket to leave Friday morning. (this was thursday morning when I saw ruby). So as we talked she wanted to know if it would work out if we flew together up to Tamale, in the east, and i rode with her and another missionary to collect footage of the damage that's been done by the flooding. They would take the footage and use that to help get out information out about what the needs are. Of course the Russells were expecting me this Saturday, today, and I couldn't get through to them to see if coming next weekend would be ok with their schedules. So my plan was to wait until mid afternoon Thursday and see if Bess Russell was able to get through. She didn't so i headed to the airport to go ahead and buy the ticket for Friday, I got there and all the seats were sold out, the earliest I could leave is Sunday the 9th, tomorrow. So I called Ruby, not having talked to the Russells yet, and told her I was flying tomorrow. Then Bess texted me and their whole family has strep and wanted to know if I could wait and come the following weekend. So I called Ruby and told her and she said, ok, we'll fly together Sunday morning and I'll ride with them across the north to get footage and they'll drop me in Wa. I don't know if this story comes across amazing as it was to experience it, but getting logistics to work that quick here could only be done supernaturally! So all this to say, please pray for Ruby, Sherri and myself this next week as we go around to see about ways in which people can help those who have lost everything. Ruby and Sherri both work for SIM and some of their pastors they work with have lost houses, fortunately right now we don't know about the loss of life...

3. After I travel with Ruby and Sherri to get information about the flooding I will work with the Russells to tell God's stories of what's going on in WA. Please pray for this video as they will be going back in December to use this to show people what Wa looks like and the people God has put in their pathway in the past two years as they've served here in Ghana. Bess is a nurse by proffession and is homeschooling their 8 year old son, Isaac. God has put her in situations where He's used the nursing skills such as helping a little girl who is an amuptee. John, the husband, is a pastor and works with Ghanaian pastors in the Wa circuit. They helped start a church in an area that has never heard the Gospel. That's hard for me to wrap my mind around living in the globalized information superhighway life . But they have tried to work with indeginous people in the city who have a heart for rural ministry. Their team of locals and themselves set out to find areas where no one has shared about a personal relationship with Jesus and all that it means. Join me in praying that what needs to be communicated would. That God would be glorified through what the Russells allow Him to do through them.

4. I don't know how long I'll be gone. Probably at least two-three weeks and then I will take the bus back down to Accra. It's a 15 hour ride so please pray for safety and for traveling mercies as things break down frequently here. I'm excited though riding public transport is fun and exciting!

Ok- that's it. Thanks so much for your continued support through prayer. I wanted to share recently I've been praying Philipians 1:9 over individual people...it's pretty cool :)

love to all of you and yes i'm in my new house and it's great! my roomate's name is suzanne and it's been great getting to know her and a blessing to have another single girl to hang out with!

Margaret