Time to go

On Monday we got everything in order and cleaned up at our house. In the evening we did a bible study at the Arts Center and it went really well. We did an exercise on learning to hear God speak. They all responded and really liked it. I will go back there tonight for another study. The team seemed to get on the plane alright this morning and should be back in NY soon, tomorrow after noon I leave for Senegal. The adventure continues....

Another interesting Sunday

The Sunday church service at the Arts Center was really fun. I believe the message preached was received well and encouraged everyone. We also had a great time of prayer with everyone afterward. It was a busy day because immediately after the service we went to Manchie for a time of evangelism.

Manchie is a farming village about an hour away from Accra. It is really beautiful scenery with green hills surrounding it in every direction. There were many palm trees and also many people farming plantains. We met with the local pastor there and walked around meeting people. We prayed for a woman with a skin disease and she said afterward she felt relief from her pain. Next we prayed with an old man who said he had pain (I think he said a urinary tract infection) for a very long time. After we prayed he said he felt a sensation inside his body and the pain left it was all gone! This was really encouraging.

Next there was a woman who walked with a cane. She describe a very bad accident she had and how her leg and knee were all twisted around. She said it pains her to walk and it has been this way for two years. We asked her if she wanted Jesus to heal her and she said yes, if he does I will get up and dance! So we said we would hold her to it. We prayed for some time and then asked her to get up and test it. She said all the pain was gone! She was excited but her leg was not completely straightened out. We prayed a bit more and she was walking around without the cane. It was not 100% well but she was sure happy the pain was gone. I played a song on my guitar and she began to dance and shake her booty all around. It gave everyone a huge smile and a good laugh.

Another cool encounter was with an old lady who had joint pains and blurred vision. She also stated that the pain was gone and her vision improved. I asked her to look at Dean and tell me if he was handsome or not to test the vision. She did and said he looked fine!

Finish strong

Pray we would have a strong finish, only a few days left here now. Last night we drove through the night back from Techiman. It was a rough ride and we did not rest well. Today we needed to do laundry and get things in order. We rested a bit and planned for the last few days. Plans are always pretty loose and we have learned to go with the flow. Tomorrow we will go back to the Arts Center Church and then after that drive to a nearby village called Manchi. There is a newer church there, and we will do some evangelism with them. We may go back there on Monday too but we are not sure yet. Tuesday the team returns to New York. We did hear some cool follow up news though. Our friend Philip works at the hospital were we prayed for all those guys. He went around and talked to some of them, and called the others. He said two were relesed and are doing great. The others he spoke with directly also said they were doing very well and were not experiencing any pain. The first boy I mentioned (that was outside the hospital) was putting full weight on his leg and walking around and said it was well! That was really encouraging to hear. Still being blown away....

Last day in Techiman

We started out by visiting a high school, we played a couple of worship songs and African dancing broke out. Dean joined in, then it was mass hysteria.  It was an exuberant time, and everybody had fun.  After that I shared a message about the prodigal son and then we prayed over the students, they all wanted to hear from God and have a relationship with Jesus. There was about 100 kids in all.  Dean also prayed with the Muslim professor.

From there, we went back to the Techiman Market.  It was another awesome day of seeing God move.  We went to a different section of the market and started off with worship. Again, a crowd gathered we starting praying for people.  Most of them were Muslim, and started a friendship with Jesus.  It is almost crazy how many miracles God showed today.  Each of the team reported that almost everybody we prayed for were healed.  We witnessed the miraculous healing of a hernia, a broken finger, knee problems, head and neck problems, asthma, body pain, arms, a wrist sprain, fevers, heart problems, and foot problems.  The Gospel was preached, many received Jesus, and many were healed! All I can say is God is awesome.

Day two in Techiman

This morning we went to the Techiman Market which is the largest of its kind in west Africa. We started off with a time of worship then a large crowd began to gather and Dean preached while Matt played his guitar. We went into a time of praying over people, each one of the team members layed hands on the sick and prayed. The crowd continued to grow, & by the time we were finished we prayed with over 70 people, many of which were Muslim.

Some of the notable healings were 5 people had vision restored, multiple heart and back problems fixed, stomach and lung problems, demonic opression as well as neurological problems. To sum it up, the gospel was preached, sick were healed and demons were cast out!

Next we went to a nearby school. There were children from ages 6-16. We met with the school master whom God healed from
joint pain after we prayed for him. Then they organized the children in one large crowd. We played some worship songs and taught them the words, & then we shared a message of relationship with Jesus. They all wanted it and we prayed for them. Then the team was arranged into 2 lines facing each other. We then asked the children to pass through as we prayed blessing over them, this took some time as we were told that there were around 1,000 kids! It was a funny & strange sensation to be surrounded by so many laughing and jumping children. There will be another meeting at the church tonight and we expect to see even more people come. Please continue to pray for us.

Trip to the western region

On wednesday morning we took a bus to the western region of Ghana to a town called Techiman. It took a long time but we left early. We met up with an old friend named Stephen who oversees a number of churches out here. In the evening we went to a church to preach and share a message. Before we left God showed us a vision of a storm turning in the spirit. We knew he was about to do some great things.


I got to lead some worship songs and preach. As I played I felt the strong presence of the Lord and God gave me a message which was different than what I prepared. It led into a time of ministry as we layed hands on and prayed for each person there. There were around 60 people and we saw and felt powerful physical manifestations of God's touch. Many fell to the ground and got filled with His Spirit and many reported being physically healed. Even the guard of the property, who was Muslim came in and asked for prayer when he saw what was going on. He invited Jesus into his life, and said he got healed. They later told me the message really inspired them and they were surprised with our simplicity and the anointing of God tht followed. (Many preachers here shout a lot and get all worked up, and put on a show) Another interesting thing was a big thunder storm came after this and it rained in the night. They said this is very abnormal because it is the dry season. It was a physical confirmation of what God showed usearlier. What a great time we had!

Day of Rest

We finally took a full day to rest, recharge and chill. We went to Kakum National Park to the south west of Ghana. It is one of the few rain forest reserves left. They have these amazing rope tension foot bridges, going from tree to tree. They are a hundred feet off the ground and you  feel like you are on top of the trees, it was awe inspiring. Dean was also attacked by ants!

A little relaxing and back to the arts center

We went back to the arts center for another time of evangelism. We prayed for a few people and then met a woman walking who had polio. We asked if we could pray for her and she invited us to follow her home. We did as we winded down the narrow alleyways it opened p to a courtyard with a bunch of people around. We prayed with her and she remarked she felt a jolt of power go through her hips. God spoke encouraging words to her and it seemed Jesus wanted to heal her broken heart. A friend nearby asked for prayer next. She hurt her arm and could not lift it up. After inviting Jesus in she got some healing! She raised her arm up and down a number of times and said it was much better. God also touched another lady who said she had fibroids. After, God spoke to our host Philip to start a bible study right there with that group and he said he would do that. He has vision to reach the people of this community and he said we really have encouraged him to jump in and follow up with all these new contacts. How great is God!

Sunday is church day!

We started the day out by going to the church at the arts center. On the way there we met some drum makes prayed with them and invited them to come out. They were really happy and did come out to get more prayer. I preached at the service and we had a chance to pray over every person there, there were around 50-60 people in all. Also some people came out who we met from evangelism earlier in the week. Actually the first woman I described from Wednesday was the first one waiting to get in the church! It was a good service and some reported to be healed and others to have had power encounters with Jesus.

After that one of the church members wanted to take us to his neighborhood called 'Babylon' It was interesting place filled with little shacks and guys who sold coconuts. Immediately I started playing guitar and a crowd gathered around us. The team started praying for a guy with a leg problem who limped up to us. As they were doing this I shared a simple gospel message. When I was finished the man turned to the crowed and said "God healed me!" and he strutted away without the limp! Needles to say this started a chain of events that blew us all away. People lined up and after each was prayed for we asked them to tell the crowd what had happened. One after another they proclaimed what God did! People were set free from back pain, joint pain, stomach problems, fevers, and 4 people were healed of poor and blurred vision. One woman said she saw what looked to be a line across her eyes and It was cleared up and she could see clearly. We were so amazed by this, and in all we prayed for around 25-30 people, all of whom got a taste of the goodness and love of Jesus! He is truly good!

Hospital visit and trip to the orphanage

We had a change of plans as we thought we would go back to the homeless area and do evangelism. Philip, our host, decided to take us to the hospital where he worked. As we approached the door we saw a kid with a cast on his leg and asked if we could pray for him. He agreed and as we did, he said he could feel movement and a power surge through his bones. We are not sure what actually happened as he was afraid to stand on it due to doctor's orders. After entering the hospital we saw a man with a cast on his ankle in the waiting area. He also wanted prayer. He too said he could feel power run through his leg. His foot was quite swollen and we could see it recede as we prayed. Again it was hard to tell what happened because he did not want to walk on it still. We proceeded to go into the ward and came across another man with a full leg cast. After we prayed for him he was very animated as he said he could feel a surge of energy go through his bones! We prayed for his wife next and God showed us a vision of her being dedicated as a baby to a fetish shrine. She confirmed that this was true and we prayed she would have a revelation of the love of Jesus. They were both visibly affected and moved by the encounter!
We decided to continue on upstairs and there was a hall filled with people in wheel chairs and on crutches. All of these men had been in some type of moto or car accident. We continued to pray for another 4 men all of whom said they experienced the touch and power of God. I think the coolest thing of the day was when we prayed with a kid who had split his lip in half all the way up to his nose. It was stitched together, but we learned he had serious jaw damage from a moto accident. As we prayed for him he was blasted by the Holy Spirit. He said he could feel his presence all through his jaw. The slit in his lip looked visibly improved after this, as it appeared to come together. He said the pain was also gone. Later the family even called us to say his condition was greatly improved and they asked that we keep praying for him and his follow up with the doctor. What a wild time we had at the hospital!
After that we visited with the children at Tom's orphanage. Sarah and Cecile had prepared games for them and so we all had a blast playing with the kids. They were so full of joy and encouraged us so much.

La bodi evangelism

La bodi is the area near where we are staying, which is on the outskirts of Accra. While walking through the area we met a school master for underprivileged children.  He invited us to come and see his school, and so we did. We told him we would come back later and bring school supplies because Don had packed a large number of pencils, pens and crayons. We returned later and brought the gifts along with a message.  As we began to share the gospel, he told us to wait.  He wanted to invite all the teachers to hear as well.  We shared about hearing God's voice and experiencing his love.  Next, we prayed for each one and God gave us words for them and they all said they could feel Gods power. One man got affected and we asked him "How do you feel?" and he exclaimed "I don't know, but it's good!" Also, we encouraged them about gathering for morning prayer and speaking encouraging words over the children.
In the evening we went to Downtown Accra to do evangelism with homeless people.  Tom has a church that meets in an alley there and they have been gathering for years to worship Jesus.  Some of the members of that church went to do evangelism with us.  Afterword we met with the church and prayed over each member. All of them needed physical healing of some kind. Some highlights from that evening were: one lady with malaria symptoms was relieved and a man had facial swelling visibly recede. One women said she could not see well, after prayer she said it improved. We continued to pray it would get better and cloudiness visibly lifted from her eyes. She then described my features and what I was doing. Another man has pains in his neck and throat and after persistent prayer he said it all went away. Praise Jesus, he still heals!!!!

Day two of Arts Center Evangelism

As we went back to the arts center we had another phenomenal time of evangelism. A church leader named Tony took us around to pray for people, as he also has a shop and works there. At first we took time to pray for him and ask God to give him boldness and a filling of the Holy Spirit. Afterward he said he felt a power and energy that he has never experienced before. Though normally timid, he was excited and bold as we went out! Again we prayed with over 30 people, many were healed and reported experiences with God. I want to highlight a few of the most dramatic things. One man reported he felt a surge of power as we prayed & he heard God speak to him. God said "I want you to give your whole life to me and serve me" The man was deeply moved and said he would give his whole life to Jesus!

Other cool things that happened were that we had may specific words, insight, and details into people's lives. God revealed these things to us to share with people so they would know his love for them. For one man, God showed us his desire to go to university and study a specific major, for another God revealed that there was specific heart break and disappointment, for another family history of idol worship. We also met two older Muslim men, who allowed us to pray for them. I am not sure what they were expecting but they definitely got some Jesus. God revealed to us that one of the mem was suffering from stomach pains. He said it was true so we asked Jesus to heal him. He lated shared the pains were gone and he could feel the power of God. Both of the men were excited and wanted a revelation of Jesus. Most of the people we encountered shared that they could physically feel the presence of God and had a tangible encounter with him! What an awesome time :^)

The Arts Center Evangelism

The Arts Center is a community of artisans that live near the beach in Accra. There is a whole village of make-shift shacks where people live around the collection of kiosk-structures for selling their goods. The conditions are not the best. There is a large variety of craftsmen and women, there are drum makers, seamstresses, wood carvers, painters, etc. Tom has had a church building there for the last three years and started the ministry work there in 2005. By the order of the police no one is allowed to build a church in the area, but Tom's has been the only one allowed to stay, which is a testimony to God's grace on this work.

Our first day of evangelism was amazing. We wandered through the maze of houses and were looking for a specific woman to pray with. We did not find her but ran into another woman who knew her. As we were talking to her God revealed to us some specific information about her life. It was simply that she had been experiencing pain in her head and was also having terrible dreams at night that were disturbing her ability to rest. She confirmed that these things were true so we asked her if we could pray for her for healing and for Jesus to reveal himself to her. She said yes and also called her family over for prayer. As we prayed for her, the power of God came on her in a tangible way, we could feel it and she collapsed . After a little while we she opened her eyes and shared about how she had a power encounter with God and was taken into a vision where Jesus revealed himself to her. After others witnessed what happened they began to tell their friends and soon others were asking if we would pray with them as well. The next girl we prayed for had a similar experience and began to weep when she came to. God also gave us other specific words about her life and detailed info about things she was going through, and she confirmed it was exactly true.

Next her friend Christie asked for prayer and  she also had a heavenly vision of people all around her singing. We could feel a surge of power as we prayed, and I believed God siad he was healing her back. I asked her about it and she said she had pains in her back before but they were now gone. She didn't even ask for this!  We prayed for a woman who was barren and wanted to conceive. God reveald some words for her life as well and she reported a physical sensation of his power going through her body. This continued on for a few hours where people kept coming and asking for prayer to know Jesus and get healing! I could go on but it was really wonderful to see God work!

We have arrived

We arrived in Accra Tuesday morning around 9:00AM. Everything went as smooth as can be. The flight was great, our bags arrived safe and our friend Tom was waiting for us at the airport! This was all an answer to prayer. They set us up to stay in a missionary's house who is currently on vacation in England. So we have been totally taken care of. We had a little time to adjust and get things in order and today we are going to the Arts Center in central Accra. This is where all the artisans work, it is also where Tom started a church in 2005. We are hoping for an exciting time of ministry there. We will keep you posted, and thanks for the prayers!

Ghana trip only a few days away

I will try to update this blog and keep everyone informed about what
is going on in our African adventure. The trip dates for Ghana are
January 24th - February 8th - 2011. The team consists of:
Dean Lundgren, Don Pulver, Matt Manuel, Sarah Cecile & Sarah Orr.
It should be an exciting time! Please pray for us and God's protection
and mercy over our travels in the next few days.
Thanks,
Matt