June 2005
Dear Saints in Christ,
We warmly greet you again in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This
month has definitely had its shares of ups and downs. It has also been a very
busy month in getting things done as well.
We are happy to announce that our chapel will be meeting in a new location as of
June 5, 2005. We have a school near by that we have been working on having
built to safer standards and it’s finally ready for us to move in! We are all
very excited about this! This will save us a great amount financially too each
month, as we won’t have to be transporting all of the children to the other
side of town. They all will be able to walk to this location near where we
live. We too, will be able to just walk over to church. We will now be able
to have our kids club there at the school as well on Tues. nights and can avoid
any possible confrontations with the landlord. The landlord has not wanted the
kids club here for quite some time, and as it continues to grow, even though
his own children attend. We have been looking forward to this for quite some
time now. We know that many of you have been helping us to pray about this
option for some time now too. Thank you for your prayers in this area.
We are excited also to see more people interested in coming to the chapel lately
and they are very pleased with the teachings that they hear and quickly notice
the difference from the other churches in the area. We have also had many
shown an interest lately in getting baptized and also coming into fellowship at
the chapel. Also, now that we are moving our chapel into another area, this
area will give us further opportunities to invite the local area to come and
visit us as well. We currently have a lot of children that attend weekly but
without their parents.
As for our shipment, we wish that it was as good of news. We have found out
this month that our shipment (that we sent in Dec. 2004 to
been here since March 2005. However, the problem has been with the agent back
in
now been able to meet with the agent here in
impossible to get a hold of the agent in Canada, even though he knows that he
has agreed to pay this amount before we can get our items, but has not paid it
even though he said that he would right away. The Canadian agent keeps coming
up with story after story as to why he has not paid this amount. The new agent
here in
want to deal with the situation any further. We would greatly appreciate your
prayers in this regard and that the Canadian agent will pay the amount that he
should so that we can have our items released to us. He does not return our
messages either, which does not make it any easier either. We are in great
need of the items in the shipment and also for the work and people here in
We both have malaria now. Heather has a very mild case, apparently the smallest
case of malaria that you can get. As for Joseph he has been continuing to
struggle with his malaria. We both get tired easily (partially due to the heat
here too), feeling like we’re burning up and then the next minute freezing.
Yes, can you imagine us freezing in 30 plus degree weather! We both have a
difficult time in getting the appropriate amount of rest that we need to help
to improve too. Heather has finished her treatment for malaria, at the moment,
but Joseph continues to take more medication. Again, we would greatly
appreciate your prayers in this area as well. Also, many have been wondering
if one of us or both of us have been admitted into the hospital here. We are
pleased to say that neither of us has been admitted. We have to go to the
hospital regularly because our doctor’s office is inside of the hospital. We
hope this clears up any possible confusion.
We are happy to announce too that, as of today, we think that we have finally
repaired most of the things now that we needed to get done on the car, that we
purchased a month ago. We found out after we bought the car that the salesman
did not tell us about a lot of things about the car and have had to do a lot of
repairs on the car. The mechanics all seem to think that we will have a good
car though now. Joseph has spent most of his days in the last month at the car
shops. They are very slow workers here and are very limited in the tools that
they have. So like everything else here, it takes a long time and a lot of
patience to get things accomplished.
So, even though we have had more of a roller coaster month, we are still seeing
on how the Lord is working in the lives of the people here in
grateful to you for your prayers and encouragement to us for our work here in
In His hands and care,
Joseph and Heather Frimpong
July 2005
Dear Saints in Christ,
We would like to greet you again from
well in health and in spirit and are enjoying the summer days. Here in
are in the raining season, and for this month we have seen very little
sunshine, mostly rain and clouds. On one hand, the weather is not so hot, which
is really good. On the other hand, the rain has brought in more mosquitoes,
thus more malaria related cases. Weeds grow quite fast at this time and many
gutters are choked with rubbish thus becoming incubators for the mosquitoes and
it makes it easy to get sick, at this time, because of all the garbage flooding
onto the roads and things and it is not cleared away either.
We would also like to thank you for your continued prayers for us. We are
mindful daily that you are partners with us in this work of the Lord. We do
witness answers to your prayers for us, so please continue to bear us before
the Throne of Grace. Speaking of answer to prayers, on June 26th, our assembly
had a baptism for two young men who expressed desire to be baptized. There were
six candidates who wanted to get baptized and to come into fellowship. However,
due to various reasons, only two were able to be baptized. Prayer partners may
recall the name of Kofi Sadat, a young teenager, who was saved a few years ago
from a Muslim background. He was one of the candidates. We hope in the will of
the Lord to conduct another baptism soon. Please pray for them as they have now
been added to our fellowship and that they may grow spiritually and serve the
Lord with their spiritual gifts.
Daniel Webster, our co-worker, and Heather were each granted a one year work
permit by the government last month. We really thank you for praying for that!
They have now applied for a residence permit. After they are granted a
residence permit, they will have to apply for a non-quota status in order to
avoid paying a yearly fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00 USD). Dealing with
the government here is very difficult, cumbersome, and time consuming to say
the least! Almost each office you visit the employees don’t tell you exactly
what paperwork you are required to submit, and when you do submit your
application they reject it and make you go and come back again and again. We
have travelled to
various government offices seeking to obtain proper document. Joseph has not
heard anything about his dual-citizenship application that he submitted about
two months ago. We would appreciate it if you would please continue to pray
for these matters.
As to our goods that we shipped back in December and January, sadly we are
still
without them. Apprently, our shipping agent in
difficulties with the shipping company, thus the shipping company has been
withholding the container in Tema since March until the “demurrage” is paid. He
also changed the initial agent in Tema who should clear the goods for us. We
have now come up with the sufficient amount of money on our part to pay the
shipping company and the Ghana Shipping and Harbour Authority for them to
release the container to our new agent. However, the new agent is having
difficulties coming up with the proper paperwork and Randy Houston, our agent
in
to work with the agent to see what can be done to clear our goods. We are
praying that the price we now have yet to pay for customs and duty, and the fee
for the agent here will not be too expensive. Please, continue to pray
regarding this matter.
As to our health we are doing fine, except that Heather’s knees are continuing
to give her much pain.
In His service,
Joseph and Heather Frimpong
August 2005
Dear Saints in Christ,
Happy greetings to you from
We are very happy to announce that our shipment has finally arrived!!!! Yes, after eight months, numerous frustrations, phone calls, emails, confusion and emotions, we have finally received our items from our shipment and have them safe and sound in our
home. The containers themselves were badly damaged as they “toss” things around a lot at these shipping companies, but the actual items themselves were not damaged. It has been like Christmas in July for us!!! We have also been able to extend that “Christmas in July” to
many needy individuals here in
are in their own family never even give them anything. We look forward to
seeing many other smiling faces as we continue to give these items out as we see a need. Thank you once again for your donations that we have collected to ship here. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without you! Most importantly, thank you for your
prayers that we would receive our shipment. To this day, we still have not been able to get a hold of our Canadian agent, but at least we have our items now.
We have also had some very encouraging news as we continue to see the numbers of children and adults rise since we have moved to our new location for the chapel. We have had many people come to visit and end up staying as they have been looking for the
truth and practices of the Bible, as they have not seen this from the other numerous denominations here in Kumasi and surrounding areas. We now have over 50 children attending our “kids club” on Tuesday nights now too. This is a surprise but encouragement to us, especially as
this is the time where we have a lot of rain and many want to stay home, times where the kids are helping out on family farms, and also exam time at most of the schools. We have been doing “Question and Answer” nights for a number of weeks now and the children seem to look
forward to Tues. nights with attentive minds, as we do. They are able to ask a question or write it on paper and put it in a
container with a slit in the top of it, if they have a question. This has been
especially good for those who are shy or “too cool” to ask a question. The
questions have a wide range of topics, that’s for sure. We also have been
having a soccer game for an hour on Tues. nights before the singing and study time. They have also been enjoying this opportunity very much as well. We will be having our annual quiz on the last week of August and the first week of September, which we all
look forward to, especially the kids.
We are also very excited to be able to purchase a washer and dryer the last week of July. We will be able to use it hopefully by the first week in August. This will be very helpful as washing clothes by hand the last six months has been very “painful”
on the hands and legs, not to mention very time consuming. This has been another answer to prayer as well.
Daniel Webster, our co-worker, and Joseph are planning a training course for the next month or six weeks for some of the young men in our assembly that desire to learn more on how best to evangelize and preach the gospel. There are at least three Christian
men that have been attending school for the past year and now that they are on summer holidays, they want to use this time to learn. We are all quite excited about this opportunity as well.
As we continue to do the work here in
opportunity to do here in
Love in Christ,
Joseph & Heather Frimpong
September 2005
Dear Saints in Christ,
Greetings to you from
month has been another “creative” month, shall we say.
We have been continuing to have a number of the children come to the house on a
daily basis and to ask us numerous questions regarding any topic under the sun.
We have been encouraged by some, in particular, that would otherwise be too
shy to ask questions, especially in front of a group setting.
We are happy to say that we have continued to see a rise in the number of the
children coming out on our Tues. night kids club each week and Sunday School.
We have over 100 children’s names now on our attendance list but they don’t all
come each week. We usually have about half of that on an average week. We are
extremely pleased and happy to announce that we know of one 13 year old boy
that has become saved in the last few weeks and is now requesting to be
baptized. We have really been encouraged in the positive changes that we have
been seeing in him too in the last month. Others have also stepped forward and
have been requesting to be baptized now too, especially after we have been
discussing the importance of the step of obedience in baptism and the meaning
of it. This has been very encouraging to us. There are times where we wonder
if we are ever getting through, especially after some times where we have some
real “restless” children in attendance. So it’s refreshing to see that we are
actually getting the points across to some of them and more then we think at
times. God gives us this encouragement right when we need it! We have also
had a number of adults express their interest in coming to the chapel now too,
especially as they live so closely now to our new location. On Aug.30th we had
our six month quiz on Tues. night and the kids were very excited and
competitive in this area and worked hard to achieve the prizes rewarded to the
top three. It amazed us on how much many of the children studied and memorized
the first 39 chapters of Genesis so that in case there was a question of
“here’s the verse…where’s it found?” Many of them were able to give us the
chapter and the verse right on! Sept.6th will be the final round. For prizes,
we have agreed to promote “education” this time. First prize will be for us to
pay for one of their school fees for the first term, second prize a new school
bag with school supplies, and third prize a new school bag as well. They are
very excited about these prizes and are working very hard to achieve them! It
will be a challenging final round!
Our co-worker, Daniel Webster, and his landlord have been going to a nearby lake
for the past few months handing out tracks and witnessing to many people there.
This is a huge location for tourists as well and for vendors and things.
Joseph and some of the others from the chapel have been going the past few
weeks and have been having a very positive response and good time there.
Compared to
open to listening if we have the time, which we obviously make the time for
such an important discussion. This has been going over very well and many have
been very attentive to learn more and also to take some literature home with
them to read. No matter where we are here in
literature and things, usually most seem so eager to read it and come back the
next day or even later the same day with questions. Where else can you have
Bible studies in the middle of a mechanic shop while having our car repaired
and even the boss encourage it? This is one of the many ways and times when we
use the “Everyday Publication” resources and for free. We are appreciative of
those who are able to donate to Everyday Publications so that it has been
possible that we can do this as well here in
We have generally been in good health. Heather was put on some trial medication
and had some very difficult side effects and made her very ill and weak.
Thankfully, she is done that medication and is trying another trial medication.
After numerous blood work and numerous doctors they have continued to find
that Heather has a very high “ESR” rate and shows an infection of some sort and
somewhere. The problem is, they have been trying to treat her medically but
nothing has been helping and they have not been successful in locating where
the infection is. They had begun this study in
to do further as they came to the same point. Meanwhile, it continues to make
her very tired and little energy many days. We are praying that they will be
able to locate where the infection is and soon. She has also begun
physiotherapy treatments for her knees to see if that helps at all with her
knee pain. Joseph thought that he might be getting malaria once again and has
received treatment again for it and is feeling much better, thankfully. We
have been having a
time and usually during the evenings and that’s when the mosquitoes like our
flesh the most. So it makes it increasingly challenging to avoid these “little
creatures” that are ever-so-friendly. Heather told them the other night that
they didn’t help to pay our rent so they weren’t invited to stay with us in the
house and to get out. Needless to say, they didn’t listen, so we “took care of
them” compliments of Raid.
We thank you once again for your ongoing thoughts and prayers and greatly
appreciate them.
In His hands and care,
Joseph and Heather Frimpong