Our purpose for going

When I tell people that I am planning a missions trip to Africa, I always get the question "What will you be doing when you get there?" So I thought that I would share with those who read this blog what it is that we will be doing in Ghana and Togo. I am not sure exactly what we will be doing in Togo yet as I am still waiting to hear back from the missionaries in Togo as to what they will need me to do while there. I will likely be doing maintenance in the mission hospital as well as in other buildings that is used by the missionaries to minister to the people of Togo. I have recently heard that they are just about to break ground on a new hospital so I may actually get to work on the construction of the new building. My wife and girls will likely work alongside the missionary doctors and nurses as they tend to the needs of the locals. We will all have opportunities to work in the churches as Sunday School teachers and what not. There are any number of ways that we can be used and I am speculating that we will work in the above ways. God may have something totally different waiting for us to do, I can honestly say that regardless of what it is He has for us to do I will be excited and ready to serve. Ghana is a different story as I have had plenty of contact with the missionaries there. The list of need is long and will take a long time to complete (more time than we will be there). The list starts with Preaching and Teaching in 8 churches (not my strong suit);
Maintenance work on our Bible college property
-All the electrical wiring needs to be rewired because of lightning strikes
-fans, lights, electrical sockets, etc. for the main building and the dorms
-Support posts for a canopy need replaced
-guard shack is needed to be built
Construction work on Missionary House
-electrical work,
-floor tile
-plumbing
-cabinets
-windows
-drop ceiling installed
Other projects
-electrical wiring of houses in a nearby village that is in the process of receiving electricity.
House owners pay for their own electrical parts but need to pay electrician to install it.
This would be a free service and an opportunity to share Christ. There is almost
an unlimited # of villages that are in need of an electrician who would install electric
into their homes for free.
Well that is just a touch of what I could be doing for the next who know how many years of my life.
Things that my family will be doing (I also will be doing some of these things)
-teach S.S. and evening services at several of the churches
-teach English to village children and women
-minister to the current missionaries on the field in many different ways
-music ministry in the churches
-work with the Ghanaians side by side and share Christ in the villages
-host backyard Bible clubs
As you can see there are many many opportunities for my family and I to serve the people of Ghana while we are serving Christ. This is becoming a long post and I don't want you to get bored reading it so I am going to share one last thing that the missionaries in Ghana shared with us in relation to the needs in Ghana. "There are many more ministries that could be a part of your life here in Ghana. God is doing some great things and is bringing up some strong young leaders in the churches. We would love to have your family here indefinitely if God would allow." I do not know where this trip will lead but I look forward to what God will teach me and to see how He will work in the lives of my family and myself while we are in Ghana and Togo. Please pray that we will not take anything that happens for granted and that we will give all Glory to God as He sustains us throughout the process of preparing for this trip.

Gary Phillips and family