Tying Up Loose Ends

The VIM Team had one of our final meetings after worship yesterday. Even after a morning of high praise and worship, the Team was eager to get together to prepare for our departure two weeks from today!!!! One of the team members -- whose name I won't say -- is so excited that she had a tummy ache! I have to confess that I'm pretty excited too. Although I've done personal missions to Ghana in the past -- being part of a Team puts an entirely different spin on it. I think it'll be a lot more work for me as the Team Leader and Pastor -- but the fellowship, the shared delight of the journey, the joining of spirits and hands in laboring for the Lord, will make it well worth the sweat and probable tears. At the meeting yesterday, we talked about assignments -- those of you who missed the meeting -- well let's say it like this -- I hope you like the assignments we gave you (BIG SMILE!!!!) We decided on a theme for our daily devotions, "Building the Kingdom of God -- Together!" Every day one team member will be responsible for leading the VIM group in morning and evening devotion. We also set up a daily rotation schedule for "blogging." You'll be getting daily updates of the mission (when we have internet access). So PLEASE visit this site regularly to find out where we are and what we're doing. Other assignments include: getting us to and through the airport, including customs; coordinating gifts for our hosts and Ghanian Team Members; daily photographer and/or videographer; and more!
We have one more formal meeting schedule before take off! The main purpose of that meeting will be to pack our bags. Since we'll be doing missions in two locations several hundred miles apart from each other, we want to make sure that we pack the supplies, materials, give aways, etc. so that our host for the second week can meet us at the airport and take those bags with them so we don't have to carry them to Kumasi where we will be serving the first week.
As always, please keep us in your prayers.

Photo: VIM Team at Commissiong Service with Host Pastor Rev. Peace Donkor

Blessings and Peace,
Pastor

We are counting down to departure

Hello All,

Two weeks and counting and we will be on our way! Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers as we touch hopefully many lives in Africa.

Blessings and Peace,
Debbie

Celebration and Auction a Grand Success!

All praise, glory and honor to our Father in Heaven! Not that I needed any convincing, but after this past weekend, I am FULLY persuaded that Our God can do anything but fail. I often think about how God used 12 "nobodies" and made them 11 "Somebodies" simply because they were willing to trust and obey Him inspite of the illogic of their venture -- to make disciples of the world! If God can use 1st century fisherman, carpenters and even despised tax collectors, how much more will He use us to advance the Kingdom of God, if we are willing to be used! The Heroes of the Faith Celebration and Silent Auction is a testment to the sufficiency of His grace to those who believe. When we started work on this project to raise funds for our very soon to happen mission to Ghana, there were (and always will be) a few naysayers who probably thought we had bitten off more than we could chew. But God did it Again! Showed himself to be a faithful rewarder to those who diligently seek Him. Not only did we meet our fundraising goal for the auction, but more importantly, we were able to meaningfuly bless our honorees; men and women of God, who serve pass their blessings on to others in our community for no other reason then God delivered and blessed them and now they are compelled to pass the blessing on. Congratulations Gregory Wimms of the Victims Rights Foundation, Judith Clark of Women Who Care Ministries and The Reverends Irvin and Thelma Nolan of Heart 2 Heart 2 Heart Ministries. You are an inspiration to us. God bless you.

Twenty-Three Days and Counting

Twenty-three days and counting! The Team is getting ready for our first mission to Ghana, West Africa. This has been a dream for many at the church and finally it's coming to past. We've been working hard at raising funds, building our relationship as a Team, coordinating the ministry plans with our hosts in Ghana and passing on our excitement to the congregation! It's been challenging. It's been great. It's been a miracle! Everyone on the Team has tremendous faith in God; but watching God in action through this Team has been one of the highlights of the pre-mission. In two months we have raised more than $7,000. Our goal is $10,000. Tomorrow evening is our biggest and final collective fundraising project where we will honor individuals in our community who are unashamedly Christian and serve the residents of this community and have impacted the quality of life for many through their selfless giving. Honorees include: Greg Wims, founder, Victims Rights Foundation, Irvin and Thelma Nolan, founders, Heart 2 Heart 2 Heart Ministries and Judith Clark, founder, Women Who Care Ministries. We are also hosting a silent auction and we believe God is going to bless us beyond our imagination thereby allowing us to be an even greater blessing to our two host churches in Ghana: World Anointed Christian Church International in Accra and Word Anointed Christian Missions International in Esiama, Ghana. We'll probably spend most of this evening getting ready for the auction tomorrow! Pray for us! God is good.

Please visit this blog as often as you can. Beginning today, we will share our next three weeks of preparation for our departure and mission. We will also blog from Ghana (whenever we are able to access an internet cafe) and share photos and about our experiences with our church family and community. We also want to hear from you -- especially words of encouragement and prayers.

May God Bless You Richly -- Always,

Pastor

VIM Team (l-r): Debbie Stevenson, Pastor Stevens, Helene Thompson, Brenda Webb, Cheryl Gooden, and Ray Hopkins. Missing from the photo, Team Assistant Doris Howard

Blessings and Peace,

Pastor Stevens