Two Witness Ministries Bible School – Ghana 2003

Ghana	In March and April of 2003, we traveled to Mankessim, Ghana to teach New Testament Survey in the Open Door Bible School. Mankessim is a trade center about half an hour inland from Cape Coast. Although it is not the mother tongue, English is the official language of Ghana and generally understood by all. Except God The physical evidence of former missionaries to Ghana was very evident. Most cities and villages had either a Catholic, Anglican, or Methodist church building. Many businesses had religious names such as The Lord’s Barber Shop and God’s Blessings Restaurant. Religions of all kinds had high visibility in Ghana, and a special symbol interpreted as “Except (for) God” could be seen on buildings, signs, and clothing throughout the country.
Ghana had a long history of European intervention - first the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the English. During our stay we toured slave castles used by the Europeans to detain slaves before shipment. It was a very sad and sobering experience. Ghana gained independence from Great Britain in the late 1950s.	Slave castle at Cape Coast
Wendy teaching the morning class	The Bible school was held in our host pastor’s church building. Our students were very attentive, and we had some good question and answer sessions. Near the end of the course, Wendy invited the students to come to the blackboard and share a drawing in order to demonstrate something they had learned. The response was tremendous. The students were able to expand upon what we had taught them. They had internalized our teachings and were able to express those ideas with their own applications, words, and illustrations.
The trip was a great learning experience for us. We learned what it was like to live with and among the people. Although our standard of living was still higher than most in the community, we did experience living with only occasional electricity and occasional running water. We were very appreciative of the ceiling fan when it was running, and we lived without air conditioning - not bad for Obrunis (white people).	Drawing the bath water
Brian giving the message on Palm Sunday The morning class	We saw evidence of God's faithfulness in answer to our prayers for healing. Wendy was healed of a sore throat which had been bothering her. I was healed from a skin irritation which had accompanied my other trips to Africa. We also prayed for an 8 to 10 year old boy named Obed, the son a women in the night class. Obed’s hand was swollen to twice its normal size. He had white streaks running across his skin where it had been stretched and lacked pigment. His mother thought he may have been bitten by something the previous evening. I held his hand in mine and prayed for him in faith standing on the healing promises in the scriptures. After prayer his hand still appeared to be swollen. I told him I believed God had healed him, and asked him to come back the next evening to show his hand. The next night he came back to class with his mother, and his hand was completely normal. We praised God for answering our prayers!

We were truly blessed to be faculty in the Open Door Bible School, and we’re confident that God is doing a good work among the alumni in Ghana. God bless the students as they begin to teach others. May they be effectual in bringing true revival into the hearts of the people of Ghana.

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

Acts 5:42

Back