“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your Faithfulness. Lam. 3:22 – 23
Indeed the Lord’s faithfulness is incomparable and we at Biblical Discipleship & Growth Ministries, Fountain of Life Chapel International, together with my family can attest to it because we continue to benefit from it and we are very grateful to the Lord as always for all He has done and will be doing in the coming years. Truly speaking, it can Only be God Who is the centre of our achievements and precious partners like you.
We began the year 2022 on the Theme: DIVINE MERCY AND FAVOUR. Psalm 102:13 was revealed and directed by God Almighty in October 2021 and was duly launched during Christmas service on 25th December 2021.
CHURCH PLANTING.
During the year we conducted 64 Open Air Crusades in 16 targeted villages and led 615 souls to Christ. This became possible because we received donations which enabled us to purchase a video Projector, outdoor Projector Screen, Public Address System with 2 cordless mics, a generator with lighting system, 120 Ewe Bibles and 120 benches.
Of these Crusades in 16 villages, ten (10) churches were planted for Fountain of Life Chapel International, 2 for United Calvary Church, and 4 for Faith Chapel Ministry.
The 10 churches planted for Fountain of Life Chapel International are being led and overseen by 5 sponsored field leaders.
CHILDREN SUPPORT.
Every quarter, BDGM receives and distributes orphan children’s funds to sponsored children and their caregivers in the villages of Klokope and Kpevenu-Tsati for their food and basic needs. A team travels from Ho to these two communities to personally hand the funds and supplies to the beneficiary children’s caregivers and take pictures of children available at the time of visit.
Just last Thursday 23rd December, when the team was on their way to distribute children’s funds at Klokope, they saw parents of 8 years old Abel of Kutime who fell from a Cashew tree and had his jaw bone broken at his chin and both ears. Because there was no vehicle in the village at the time, the team had to suspend their mission and transport this young boy Abel to Adidome hospital. Unfortunately Abel was referred to Ho Teaching Hospital where he is now receiving treatment. Those are some of the interventions you cannot refuse to do.
As l write this report the good news that, this morning a second X-ray test was conducted on Abel before taking him to the theatre for surgery but to amazement of the doctors, there is no fracture of his jaw bones and so he was discharged. Glory to God for His answer to power prayer.
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
Many efforts and attempts were made over the years to get Clean water for the people of Klokope and Kpevenu-Tsati such as drilling boreholes and building of Rain Water harvesting tanks which didn’t work. With prayers for the Lord to touch the hearts of government authorities, today I wish to report that this year April, pipe borne water was extended to the 2 communities and has been finally commissioned on 16th December and for the first time the people of Klokope and Kpevenu-Tsati now drink fresh treated pipe borne water. To God be the glory, great things He has done and greater things He will do in the coming years for His people.
Emergency relief
Early February fire gutted 4 houses at Klokope in the middle of the night leaving 8 families homeless with all their personal effects including cooking utensils, 10 bags of maize, 2 motorbikes, and cash amount GHC2450 burnt to ashes.
Through personal appeals to local individuals and members of Fountain of Life we made a total donation of GHC4000 to cover cooking utensils, School uniforms, Exercise/notebooks and footwear.
Not only that, fortunately our international partners at Move City Church and Move Africa Inc. heard our cry and supported us to rebuild all four buildings by reroofing two buildings and rebuild from the scratch the other two making it possible for these families to move back into their homes. The Lord blesses all who donated to make this happen thereby putting a smile on their faces and showing the power of love demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Fountain of Life Chapel construction
Early this year we were prompted by an insider that our land permit is about to expire and the land will be rezoned. Because of its prime location, 2 businessmen were seriously and vigorously chasing after it. We quickly mobilized our meagre resources and got to work on casting the floor of our 600 seater Sanctuary we began 7 years ago from 20 – 22 April 2022.
Our Macedonian call attracted the Lord’s attention and on the 5th of May we received our first donation from our international partners Move City Church and Move Africa Inc. This enabled us to purchase materials such as iron rods, cement, woods, chippings etc to kick start raising pillars.
The authorities from the planning department who came round task us to complete the superstructure before the end of September to secure the land.
We were fired up when our international partners by God’s grace and love stood in the gap coming alongside conducting fundraisers and sending donations to us in June, July, August, and September making it possible for us to complete the superstructure. Glory to God. May the Lord bless them for every dime making it possible for the Sanctuary construction to progress steadily.
At the local level we got donations of bags of cements all these made it possible for how far we have come. Between May and August the Lord has been so good to us that, we had good weather most of the time during the day which made it possible for the pace at which the work progresses.
As l write we received donations for the fabrication of the trusses in November thereby putting the trusses fabricator to work in waiting for the roofing. God is good all the time.
In October after spending time in His presence for direction, the Lord gave me the theme for 2023 as a sub-theme of 2022. It is: 2023 and BEYOND, SPREADING GOD’S LOVE: Listening, Generosity, Encouraging, Kindness and Praying John 13:34 – 35
In November, we appealed to 5 local sponsors for support to enable us to launch the Theme during our Christmas Service on 25th December.
God being so kind we received a donation of 65 pieces of 5 kg rice, 65 pieces of 5 kg gari, 100 pieces of tin fish and 72 bottles of oil on Saturday, 24th December and duly launched it during Sunday 25th December service by donating to the people we intended. Beneficiary target people who could not join us at the service, because their depravity were visited after church by our team in their homes and the items presented and prayers said for them.
THE WAY FORWARD.
We have divided Ho into 12 target areas or suburbs for monthly outreach by identifying deprived locations in these suburbs.
PRAYER
May I express our heartfelt appreciation to you and your family for your huge contribution to the success of BDGM and Fountain of Life Chapel International 2022 ministry projects and programmes.
Psalms 100:4-5 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”
We pray that anything upon which you lay your hands shall flourish uncommonly, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
Category: Testimonials
During construction on the Fountain of Life Chapel, our Mason whose name is Godsway, made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour!
He previously did not go to church, and had not made this decision – so we rejoice along with heaven, and for him and his family.
Please take a moment and say a prayer for Godsway the concrete mason, and celebrate with us, praising God that He is working in more than just the physical construction, but also in the spiritual construction – building people’s hearts.
Categories
MISSION TRIP TESTIMONY – APRIL WOOD
When Pastor Jesse announced there were still openings for people to join an upcoming mission trip to Africa, I thought “What a great opportunity for Jon and I to serve the Lord together!” We immediately agreed to go to our first meeting that day so we could see “what it was all about” and then talk about it more afterwards. Our good friends Sean and Angela even volunteered to take care of our three children before we even knew if the trip was possible for us. The whole idea of going on a mission trip together was spur of the moment but we were trusting God to open doors if it was His will.
Now Jon only needed to do two things in order to be able to go. He needed to get approval from his boss at work and he needed to request 10 days off from a group called B-troop, a volunteer opportunity that he had committed to almost a year prior. The approval from work came easy, but B-troop just couldn’t change their schedule to work with the dates Jon needed off. We were both so broken hearted! It was obvious Jon couldn’t go, so I didn’t give it a second thought. I figured we’d just try again next time. But then Jon told me I should consider going without him. He said, “B-troop is my obstacle. Not yours.” Now if you know me well, you would know that I like to live in my very small comfort zone. Going on a mission trip with a group of people I barely knew at the time… to teach women and children who don’t speak english… about things they have never heard of before…in a country I had never been before…without my husband even there……THAT was DEFINITELY out of my comfort zone!
I prayed for God to give me a clear answer on whether I should go or not. I couldn’t imagine doing something so big without Jon right there beside me. But God spoke to my heart. From the beginning I believed that if it was God’s will, then He would send us…both. But I never once thought, what if He only sent one of us? God made me realize that if Jon and I were to go together, I would lean on him, instead of Him, to guide me through the trip, or to help me when i’m feeling lost, or to step up for me if I didn’t feel capable of doing something. So although my flesh was still unsure, I eventually decided on going without him. For days I kept thinking I have no idea what to expect or what I would be doing there, or if I would even be good at it if I did know. Needless to say, I had built up a lot of anxiety about going! But a couple days later, a wise man saw my anxious heart at church and said “You will have no idea what you are doing. Nobody will, not even them!” And that was my confirmation from God that this was going to happen and that I needed to go alone. After that, everything fell into place fast!
The last week before leaving was a blur and nothing seemed real until we finally landed in Ghana, Africa. I felt my comfort zone disappear and my anxiety was no longer there. I felt God’s love cover me and He gave me peace and excitement and wonder all at the same time. These feelings stayed with me for the next 10 days (maybe even longer!). Although I might have gotten nervous once or twice while teaching, I never once felt a restricting comfort zone or a pounding anxiety attack. I heard God speak loudly and clearly and I felt His presence among the people there every day! It was one of the most amazing blessings God has given me. I was able to see people come to Christ right before my eyes!! I was able to see others worship Him with passion and joy, and they had so much love within their hearts that they couldn’t help but share it with those around them. They had no comfort zones or anxiety about sharing God’s love and joy.
My heart will never be the same. I have fallen in love with everything about Africa, especially the women and children I now know and hope to see again soon. Because of this trip, God has renewed and filled my heart with even more love for Him. He has given me the confidence to continue to step out of my comfort zone in the future. I’ve always known blessings come in obedience, but this mission trip definitely opened my eyes to things I never knew I could be blessed with.
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8