Journey to Ghana
This month’s sharing comes from CIM Canada’s Chairperson of the Board, Tomson Chan, as he reflects on his mission trip to Ghana.
People say missions is a lifelong journey. I had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Ghana in December 2021 under the shadow of a global pandemic.
Due to COVID, we were not able to send mission teams to Ghana for more than two years. In this trip, Pastor Isaac Quan and I reconnected with the Evangelical Church of Ghana (ECG) National Leadership, local churches, and pastors and attended the wedding of Janice Wong, CIM International Worker in Ghana.
After months of preparations and multiple vaccines shots, we (Pastor Isaac and I) arrived in Accra safely and was picked up by our faithful brother, Daal at the airport. His warm smile and wonderful hospitality cast away our tiredness from the long hours of air travel.
We travelled together with Daal throughout the mission journey from the beginning to the end. We developed our brotherly bond through our time sharing and praying together.
As I returned back to Canada and recalled my faith journey in Ghana, I am grateful to God and His servants in Ghana:
…For the ECG National Leadership, I experienced their love and faithful ministry to all the churches and pastors around Ghana. Even with difficulties and day-to-day issues, they committed to upholding the ECG ministries in Ghana. The ECG leaders’ humility, flexibility and understanding strengthens our joint ministries.
…For the many local pastors, I am truly humbled by their dedication to God and their sacrifices for ministries. Due to inflation and limited income, many of them struggle to buy gas for motorbikes (indispensable to care for and minister to congregants spread out across rural Ghana). Some have trouble paying for utilities like electricity or rent.
…For our international worker: Janice Wong, I appreciated her taking the time right after the wedding to travel with us and visited many pastors and local churches.
…For the many local church leaders and congregations, I will never forget their fervent hearts that worshipped God in all circumstances. Even when one of the church buildings collapsed due to storm damage, they still gathered together to sing, dance and worship God, outside under a tree.
…For the many children, young people, and seniors, I will not forget their smiles and their joy in the Lord. Just like the song: the joy of the Lord is my strength.
The Joy of The LORD Is My Strength
The joy of the LORD is my strength (x4)
He heals the broken-hearted and they cry no more (x3)
The joy of the LORD is my strength!
Nehemiah 8:10
God used this missions trip to open my eyes and heart in a new way. I hope that one day soon, you may also visit Ghana yourself to connect with our ECG family.
This trip allowed me to better understand the challenges our Ghanian brothers and sisters face. After much prayer and discussion with the ECG leadership and CIM Board, we have set aside funding to support emergency ministry needs for the pastors and their families.
Some example of needs include: transportation costs or fixing motorbikes, rent or utilities supplication, emergency medical expenses, etc.
Please consider giving to the Ghana Ministry Fund today.
For more information, click here.
Thank you for your generosity, prayers and being a part of the global CIM community.
April Financials
1. General Fund - for general and administrative purposes, such as staff salaries
2. Designated Fund - for specific ministries in different field locations as designated (cannot be transferred between funds)
*All financial figures are in Canadian dollars and rounded to the nearest dollar
Pray With Us:
Continue to pray for peace in Ukraine. Pray for the protection for the House of Mercy staff as they take care of refugees who are leaving Ukraine. Pray for safety for the volunteers who deliver aid to the hot spots in other parts of the country.
Pray for guidance as the when is the best time to send STM teams overseas again.
Pray for the CIM families who have lost loved ones recently.