My family just celebrated Thanksgiving here in Ghana, and as I think about my blessings, I have to thank God for all of you who faithfully support us financially. This has been a tumultuous year, yet throughout all the difficulties, our supporting churches have continued to be consistent in their giving. Many have had to sacrifice to make this possible, and I want to express my appreciation. Souls are being saved, and lives are being influenced for Christ. It is because your giving allows us to live here; you are laying up treasures in Heaven. God bless you!
I am also thankful that we have been able to start our children’s department Sunday school classes again. More than that, we were able to start two new children’s classes! This brings some much-needed relief for teachers who had classes with 50 children or more!
Sometimes small things help us to feel the love of God in a special way. Since I was a small boy, eating cranberry bread was one of the highlights of Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, in our nearly four years in Ghana, I had never seen cranberries here. Abbie learned that there were some at a particular store, got them secretly, and made cranberry bread as a surprise for me! What a treat! We even found cranberry sauce at a store this year. AnnaBeth and Ezekiel love it! Maybe one day we will convince Abbie to like it too!
It looks like the government will allow schools to reopen in January. By that time, most children in Ghana will have been out of school for 10 months! With school reopening, we should also be able to do Bible Clubs again, and I plan to start a Sunday afternoon program to get our children into soul-winning training and Bible memorization. We are so excited about the opportunities connected with reopening, but please pray for us. Challenges are sure to arise, and we need wisdom.
Fruit to Your Account
Sometimes you find a good “fishing hole” for soul winning. One day as I was going soul winning in a new area, I met a young man named Frank who was sitting in front of an electrical store. Frank turned out to be a church member, and though he was already saved, he gathered three of his friends and made them sit down to listen to me give them the Gospel.
No one trusted Christ that day, but I learned that six electrical apprentices work at that store. They all come to work on Saturday, and there usually is not enough work for all of them to do. That usually leaves at least one of them with enough free time to listen to the Gospel.
Over the last month and a half, Lawrence and Boateng have put their faith in Jesus alone to save them. Sarkodie has heard the Gospel, and while I think he understands what the Bible is teaching, he has a hard time believing that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, and that once you are saved, you are always saved. Solomon has heard a partial explanation of the Gospel, but I have not been able to finish it yet. I have not been able to witness to Isaac at all yet. Frank’s younger brother Elvis doesn’t go to our church, but he came to see his brother at the electrical store one day, heard the Gospel, and got saved!
Please pray for Sarkodie, Solomon, and Isaac to be saved and for all these young men to have the conviction to leave the churches teaching them false doctrine and to grow in Christ.
May God grant you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Yours for souls,
Micah Christiansen