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Today as we write you, can you take a moment to imagine yourself here in Ghana with us?  We'd sure enjoy sitting down and sharing with you with a loaf of banana bread straight from the oven (made from bananas grown locally) and a cup of Brazilian coffee. 

Luiza, who is turning 1 year old on March 17th will be eating as much of it as you would share with her. All the while, Lucas is probably drawing a picture for you or waiting to take you to his room to play.

You will be able to see that God has surrounded us with wonderful people not only in the U.S. and Brazil to make our work possible but here in Kumasi, Ghana as well.  It is quite hot here, running about 94 degrees in the day, but getting to 75 at night.  Tonight thunder rolls and the wind is strong in this unusually rainy dry season.  Did I tell you that it's really hot here these days, it is hot here!  You may wish that you were not in this imaginery visit since we've not had running water for a few days so I'm ready for a shower :) or even a run out in the rain with a bar of soap.

Each day we have moments of a strong sense of awareness of the prayers of the people that are caring for us. We know that the right people receiving this will be moved again this month to share an investment into the work that God has called us to do. We ask for your prayers as well as your gifts. It is clear after a few minutes visiting with us that it's only through God that we can do anything here. We are so limited, in such a time of learning and adjustment, yet at the same time confident that we are right where He has sent us.

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A friend introduced me to Moro, a hard working Ghanaian man that makes his living as a driver. After we exchanged the usual greetings in Twi, Moro apologetically asked me if I could help his 10 month old daughter, who had been sick for almost eight months. After listening to his description of what seemed to be asthma, I asked him if he could take me to the child. And so we drove, through thick traffic, into a highly impoverished area of Kumasi, where old colonial style buildings that once stood tall, were overtaken by chaotic urbanization. We walked into this compound, a typical Ghanaian home, where many families share the same building in a very small area. Moro’s daughter was playing with an empty bottle and a wooden spoon, crawling from one side to the other on the dirt, surrounded by many other children.  I could not help but notice the amazement in some of the moms’ eyes, or the amusement in others, in seeing this auburoni (Twi word for ‘person from a distant land’) walking into their home with a doctor-basket (my local version of a doctor briefcase). After examining this content malnourished little girl, and hearing her story from her mom, I sat down with them to talk. Now picture me sitting in this very dusty and moldy room, using all my vocabulary in Twi trying to explain to them not only how to treat, but also how to keep their daughter from having asthma attacks so often. In a place where access to information is a luxury, they seemed to eat every word in an attempt to help their baby to grow strong. Afterwards, I was invited to share a meal with their next door neighbor and did so: cooked green plantain and kantumere (local version of mashed turnip greens) with lots of palm oil. Right there, sitting on the dirt (they insisted on bringing me a chair, although none of them were using one), using our hands to eat from the same bowl, I understood more about Jesus’ love. As for Moro’s daughter, please pray that this precious little girl will grow strong not only in her body, but also in the knowledge of the Holy Spirit as her parents find salvation in our Lord.

Let us run with Perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus… (Hebrews 12:1)

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The godly are like trees that bear life-giving fruit, and those who save lives are wise. Proverbs 11:30 NLT

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You are an integral part of our work here and we want to be actively in dialogue with you.  Email us and let us know your thought and ideas.  We are in need of your prayers.  Stand especially for Andrew's health as he has been sick the majority of the time these last 6 months.  We need you and appreciate you so much! Thank you!

With lots of love,
Andrew & Juliana
Lucas and Luiza



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