SORRY IT HAS BEEN SO LONG

Hello Everyone!!!  Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in whom we have obtained all spiritual blessings according to His riches in Glory. 

We must apologize for taking so long to update our blog spot.  Things have been quite hectic for us the past couple of months.  We have been enduring problems with water, electricity, internet connectivity, and the ever-present entanglements of bureaucratic red tape.  But surprisingly, we continue to trudge on. 

As we have informed recipients of our monthly newsletter, we had a gathering of over 25 former trokosi women for a time of fellowship, worship, Bible study and prayer.  (To view our newsletter, click on this link.)  Many of the women have not seen each other for years; thus, it was a joyous time for all.   At this gathering two representatives from the Ghanaian Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) were also present.  The CHRAJ officers spent some time sharing with the women their civil and legal rights under Ghanaian law.  Many of the women posed questions to the officers about domestic issues that they are confronting with regard to absentee fathers and inheritance rights.  It would seem that the tribal customs in most of Ghana tend to favor the families of the late husband; thereby, leaving the widows in many cases destitute, in spite of the fact that they are left to care for the children.  Much of the advice that was given to the women by the CHRAJ officers was well received and will prove to be helpful to many of the women.  Initially, we had hoped to make this gathering a monthly activity; however, logistical concerns have necessitated that we conducts these activities on a quarterly basis.  The next gathering will be sometime in August.  Please pray for many of the women as they are still struggling with a desire to come to Christ while fearing their traditional beliefs.

And so, our spiritual journey continues.  We will now turn our attention to the shrines themselves.  The issue of the shrines is a challenging one.  We will not only be encountering religious opposition, but there is a group called the Afrikania Mission (AM), whose sole mission is to preserve these pagan rituals and practices.  As a matter of fact, the AM is currently on a campaign to discredit any NGO that attempts to liberate women from these shrines.  The propaganda that they are spreading is that there are no trokosi slaves.  And given the fact that many supporters of the AM are government officials and part of the academia of this country, their influence should not be understated.  We plan to spend a great deal of time in the coming weeks praying and fasting.  As the Lord Jesus stated, “This kind can come forth by nothing but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:29 KJV)   Please continue to follow this blog spot as we will attempt to be more consistent in posting regularly from now on.

A note to our supporters:  we would like to express to you our undying love and gratitude for your support.  And now may the Grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all—always.

James & Denese