Togo and Ghana Summer 2022
Receive my greeting in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
On July 15, Generation Now Ministry traveled to West Africa for a summer mission in Togo and Ghana. A team of four people made the trip. We arrived the next day the 16th and our mission started Monday the 18th. We spent our time in Africa doing VBS (Vacation Bible School) and Soccer Tournament as platforms to share the gospel and bring communities together. It was a busy week for our team — we did four VBS’s in three different locations every morning and a soccer tournament every afternoon!
We had VBS at the following places:
Tsiko Bible Baptist Church- Tuesday and Wednesday
Dangni N’digbe (a mountain village)- Thursday
Dangni Kudragan (another mountain village)- Friday
We counted 653 kids in total. Among these kids, 314 don’t go to church anywhere. Nevertheless, they came because we promised to give away candies, Kool-Aid and (most importantly) school supplies for the upcoming year. We did a lot of singing, engaging in fun activities, and sharing the story of David from the Bible. All 653 kids received school supplies for the upcoming school year. At the end, we shared the Gospel and 236 kids accepted Jesus Christ. Praise God!
We had three days of soccer tournaments with four teams from four villages. All the players for this tournament were below 20 years old. Each team had 25 players in their roster. Before each game, we gathered all players in a room for Bible study . We studied the life of Joseph from Genesis 37. At the end of the study, we presented the Gospel and we saw 14 young players make a decision to follow Christ. I personally received many testimonies from the players about how the tournament and the Bible study had a positive impact in their lives. All teams received two soccer balls, which is a big deal for them. The two finalists received a New Testament Bible and 18 jerseys each for their team to use in the championship game. We distributed 200 Bible tracts (the plan of salvation) during the tournament.
Overall, I believe God answered our prayers about this trip. Everything went well according to the plan. Even though it was during the rainy season, God held off the rain so that we accomplished our goal for the mission trip. I went to Ghana for a one- day soccer tournament between four junior high schools. This was another wonderful opportunity for me to share the love of Christ with the students. About 450 students were present and all of them heard the Gospel. Many lives were changed! Praise God! The students were so happy not only for the opportunity I gave them to play soccer, but also for all of them to fellowship together.
During the VBS and soccer tournaments, I asked this question: “How many of you know that if Jesus return today you will go to heaven?” I saw many raise their hand. Then, I asked the following question: “Why you will go heaven?” These were the responses I received: “I never sinned before”, “I go to church”, “I don’t lie”, “I do good to my friends at school”, “I obey my parents”, “My dad is a Christian”, “I don’t steal.” These responses will sadly not take them to heaven. It is by grace through faith in Christ alone that grants us eternal life. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). However, here is the Good News: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Once you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, the Bible declares you become a child of God, and the Holy Spirit secures you forever. We have lot of work to do sharing the clear Gospel of Jesus.