Pederson February 2023

Happy New Year! God’s mercies have been so evident already this year and I am so glad I get to share them with you! I ended up not being able to go straight to Ghana from Ethiopia, but instead I got redirected to Nairobi to get my visa. I spent a great month with my parents and friends I made when I was there 1½ years ago.

A short-term missionary and I put on a sleepover for all of the remaining resident girls (only 20!). I was encouraged by the growth I saw from one of the girls. Before the lights went out, the oldest girl led us all in prayer. I loved seeing her use her leadership for good!

Crazy girls!

I landed in Accra on February 1 and immediately started to sweat. I thank God for the air conditioning we have in our houses. It is fairly uncommon here in Ghana to send secondary students to a day school, thus the Rafiki School here only goes through grade nine. We are very busy despite that! Assembly in the morning is a beautiful time when the students sing the hymn of the week, get a short encouragement from one of their teachers, and then head off to class. As they are dismissed, they march off singing songs like “Onward, Christian Soldiers!”

Preschool assembly

I have been asked to sort through our shipment of books and get them to our libraries. I thank God for the librarian who is already here doing a great job. Please pray that I can encourage the teachers to cultivate a reading culture for our students and for themselves . I have also been asked to get the Widows Program up and running again. One of the groups is far in the north, so please pray that we can find a way to send them the Rafiki Bible Study, as well as develop fast, strong ties.

Rapt attention during Bible class

The resident students here are beautiful, inquisitive teenagers. I have been enjoying eating dinner with them and attending devotions. After devotions the other night I was teaching the girls line dancing and they were attempting to teach me more traditional moves. I was a better teacher than student. Please pray that God will soften their hearts to His Word and will and that they will be eager to learn more about Him. Please pray that I will get connected to the community here, listen to where God is leading me, and lead by my actions and words. Thank you all for your support and prayers!

Our dining hall (left) and cottages

Line dancing

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