Dear Congregation of Hull and our other congregations:
Judy and I would like to thank the congregations for your support, with your prayers and your giving to
support us while The Lord has been pleased to use us as assistants to Rev. & Mrs. Moore. We are enjoying
our stay here, and feel that The Lord has richly blessed us in our
labors here.
It has and is a learning experience for us the culture differences are great, the way many parents raise
their children is so different than what we are accustomed to. The parents provide their childrens` physical
needs until they are old enough to do some type of work. At that time they may send them to uncles & aunts,
or to live with a family which does not have a child in an age bracket they need, or they just plain are tired of
parental duties. The child is often left to all sorts of influences to decide which way that they would like to go.
The most important instruction is badly neglected, in short its makes one more thankful to have been raised in
a covenant home. It becomes apparent that when doing mission work in a country in which the Reformed
Doctrines have not been taught that the work has to go on for many years for people to be properly
instructed. There are still many in Ghana who is bound to idol worship. It is amazing, the strong grip the devil
has on these people and the power of Our Ancient Foe, but comforting for us knowing that Our God is
Almighty and in the end we have the victory in Christ.
There is a more distinct class difference in Ghana. There are the rich and the poor and a small number of
those who in America we would call middle class. There are homes bigger than the big homes in America, and
there are shelters, which can hardly be called homes. There are many Mercedes and B.M.W.s, but probably
only 10% of the people own a vehicle. Even this class distinction points to the end times and Christ`s soon
return. And as Christ`s we can have comfort that Our God is in control. Many leaders in the church world here
teach the people that if you are poor then you must not be a very devout Christian, for it is commonly taught
that blessings are in material things. In this we can see the power of our ancient foe, for many flock after
what are called prosperity preachers, who tell their followers if you pay me, different amounts are used, I will
pray for you and God will bless you with this or that amount. The same is done with healing, it makes one so
extremely angry until you confess that Our God is in control, and this also is His Sovereign Will. He sends
strong delusions that they will believe all sorts of lies. May we ever pray for the grace to be held faithful to
God`s infallible Word.
Judy and I are excited about coming home next month, we miss our children and grandchildren, we have
two grandsons who we have not yet seen, and our little granddaughter who was so critically sick when we left
is now doing very well. As well as the many friends and fellow church family that we have at Grandville. We
thank Our God for His protecting care and the grace to be content while we were in Ghana. Also as some
know we have volunteered to return to Ghana for some time, approximately until April or May. So as to help
complete the construction of a place in which we can accommodate those who worship with the mission here.
For a larger place is badly needed. Can you imagine having 100 to 120 people, adults and children in the living
room and dinning room and entry area? It is almost not possible anymore for Rev. Moore to see them all
when preaching. Rev. often comments on the singing, for people here love to sing and it almost brings tears
to ones eyes to hear the psalms being sung. The people are taught many praise songs as youths, many are
phrases taken from the Bible and are wonderful, but by learning the psalms their knowledge of the Bible also
increases. Often before the worship services we will sing four or more Psalter numbers, because of that they
are learning fast and many already request their favorite numbers.
We pray that God will strengthen the individual congregations, and continue to bless us as we continue to
travel the pilgrim journey upon which God has placed us in contentment and faith always looking for our day
of victory in Christ Our Savior. We ask for your continuing prayers for the mission here, and where ever the
Lord is pleased to send His Sovereign Word.
The Ghana Mission Volunteers;
John & Judy Bouma