Time is flying.  One year ago, The Ghana Project was little more than a notion, a dream, a desire to reach out and help people forgotten by the rest of the world.  We were inspired, but had no idea what God could do through this notion.  A challenge had been issued.  People were asked to remember that Christmas was not a holiday for themselves.  It was not their birthday.  They were asked to remember that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and asked to give their gifts to him last year.  And people responded.  $190,000.00 was given to the Christmas Miracle Offering in 2010.  I won't claim to speak for him, but I'm pretty sure Jesus was happy with those gifts last Christmas.

I believe Jesus is also happy with how those gifts have been put to use.  Mary Kay Jackson visited some of the locations in northern Ghana where projects are underway.  She has reported major progress on many fronts.  Here are some of the highlights:

Construction of the secondary technical school building in Sakoti is well underway.  "The school is up to the lintel level," Mary Kay wrote, "The lintels should be formed and poured [this week].  Then the walls will be completed, roof trusses raised and the roof put on.  It looks really nice - the contractor is doing a high quality job!"  When she visited the construction site, Mary Kay also met with the village leaders.  "The Chief, the Landlord [a tribal leadership position - don't think of an American-style landlord], the Queen Mothers and the other elders were all quite pleased with the way the school is progressing," she wrote.  "The Landlord also said that the borehole near his home has been a huge blessing to those who live in his area."  The Ghana Project funded three boreholes in Sakoti.  This Christmas, villagers there have ready, reliable access to safe, clean water.  Last year they didn't.  Next year, their children will be able to go to high school.  All because of The Ghana Project.

Clean water is also flowing from a new borehole in the village of Yagcuri this Christmas.  And construction is underway on a sanitary latrine facility there too.  Mary Kay will visit that construction site in January.

Construction started, then stopped, and hopefully has started again on a bathroom facility for the primary and junior high school at Ebenezer Methodist Church in Bolgatonga.  The contractor began to dig for the foundation but was stopped by the Ghana Education Service.  Mary Kay informed us that "the GES says that the area is supposed to get three additional classrooms at some point."  That's good news.  So a meeting was planned last week to determine where to build the new bathrooms and work was set to "start again as soon as the location is set."

Mary Kay also reported, as I mentioned in a previous post, that the Paga Chapel is complete.  The Ghana Project is also supporting a chapel in Nagakenya.  Mary Kay reported that the church there has located land and is presently negotiating a final sale price.  Construction of that new chapel will, hopefully, begin soon.

Great things are happening for Jesus and his children in Ghana.  But these great things come at a price.  $190,000.00 may seem like a lot, but all of last year's Christmas Miracle Offering has been allocated for current projects.  The four boreholes completed so far, for example, cost over $30,000.00.  $100,000.00 is committed to the school in Sakoti; $20,000.00 to the bathroom facilities in Bolgatonga, and $15,000.00 for latrines in Yagcuri.  The price of the land purchase and construction of the chapel in Nagakenya are expected to total about $10,000.00.  We've also built dormitories at a school in Kumasi and completed the Paga Chapel.

The Ghana Project has started something big, as Mary Kay put it:

A lot is going on here, thanks to the generosity of your congregation.  There is a new hope in Sakoti and Yagzuri as they see development come to their communities.  There are people coming to Christ in Paga and Nagakenya because of the outreach of the Methodists in these communities, who have been encouraged by your generous gifts towards their chapels.  In fact, as you are gathering on Christmas Eve and taking up another collection for Ghana, the churches in Paga, Nagakenya, Navrongo and other nearby communities will be holding a revival (Dec. 23 to 26).  They will all be praying for you, even as you are praying for them – the Body of Christ at work all over the world!

Imagine that.  As we are celebrating Christmas and praying for them, the people of northern Ghana will be praying for us.  Let's follow through and create more miracles in the year to come.  More villages need clean water and, God willing, more boreholes will be drilled in 2012.  The Ghana Project hopes to continue to support schools and begin providing medical clinics or supplies.  But that all depends on you.

This year, on Christmas Eve, The Ghana Project is asking you to give your gifts to Jesus once again.  Please give to The Ghana Project.