Dear Friends in Christ:   Greetings from Ghana !

Spiritual Madness:

For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. 2Cor 5:13

Some thought Paul was a madman because of his zeal in the gospel. He was so willing to give everything he had to the cause of Christ, that it often put his own life at great risk, and certainly meant constant hardships and persecution. Paul would claim, to the Corinthians, that if his labors for the gospel made it seem that he was “beside himself”, it was all for God (or for God’s glory). Actually there was nothing about Paul’s work for the gospel that could be considered “madness”, but rather he was far more sane than many professing Christians, who believe in an eternal judgment in Hell for all those who reject Christ, and yet do little, if anything, to warn their perishing friends. Albert Barnes comments about “Spiritual madness”, saying, “The highest instances of madness in the world are those who walk over an eternal hell without apprehension or alarm.” May the Lord direct us to greater zeal in the gospel, so that others might remark that we also are “beside ourselves”, for we would then be following the pattern and example of our Lord himself, of whom his own friends said the same thing (Mark 3:20).

Gospel Opportunities:

The opportunities to make the gospel known more widely continue to abound for us here in Ghana . We have continued with our Saturday evangelistic outreaches in nearby villages, and continue to see much interest in the gospel. We frequently have the joy and privilege of leading others to place their trust in Christ as their only hope for heaven. We make it our practice to return to the same village for two or three weeks of gospel tract distribution to ensure that we cover the ground well with the good seed of God’s word. Then we often speak with the town officials to seek permission to come and preach the gospel on a Saturday evening. This is when most will be at home from farming. We have yet to be turned down (PTL!). Our last gospel presentation was in “Dominase” and we had a crowd of about 200 that gathered to listen. We gave strong appeals to them to take Christ as their personal Savior, and we can not be sure whether some turned in with the offer of eternal life, but their was a very enthusiastic response to our offering them John 3:16 Seed Sowers texts. The crowd became so riotous, as they all tried to press forward and snatch one for themselves that I thought they would crush us, but fortunately we were able to provide one for each adult in the group and still make it home safely. This coming Saturday we will be in a neighoring village called “Ajamasu” (population approx. 2000) to preach the gospel again.

Brother Emmanuel invited me to preach to the students at the school where he teaches, but unfortunately I was not feeling well on the morning I was to go preach, but we have made arrangements to visit the school in two weeks time to share the gospel with these students. Each day the Lord grants us opportunities to hold forth the word of life to the people we meet, and to preach the gospel whereever we go. Just tonight, as I was returning from a bible study in the village, a construction worker, who has been working on the building next door to where I stay, stopped me to ask if I could provide him a bible. I invited him to come to the house for a minute while I fetched a New Testatment for him. While we walked together I was able to share the gospel with him, and told him if I was to give him a bible he must promise to read it everyday, to which he heartily agreed. I am certain that if I had a million bibles to give away, they would all be gone in short order, in this spiritually hungry land.

Assembly Growth:

In January we were pleased to see six of our young people obey the Lord in baptism, having made a clear confession of their personal faith in Christ. Joseph has started another study with the young believers bible class, taking them through the Emmaus course “What the bible teaches”. Heather has been getting as many as 70 or more in her Sunday school class. This leaves few remaining adults for the Family Bible Hour, and we have been pleased to see some of the men growing spiritually as they minister the word of God to others. Ofori and Emmanuel are two that appear to have much to offer spiritually as they stir up the gift that is in them. We are meeting with four of the more mature brethren to work together on a survey of the Old Testament, with the purpose of equipping them with better bible skills, and to prepare them for shepherding the little flock here in Kumasi . We have challenged all in the church to memorize 1Peter by the end of April, and many of the young people are working diligently to complete the challenge. We are hosting a naming ceremony for Ofori and Alice ’s baby girl this coming Saturday, and this will afford a good opportunity to share Ofori and Alice’s joy, and to share the gospel with all their friends and family. Sister Rose has been working hard at her new “Kings Kitchen Canteen”, and along with trying to raise two young children on her own, she is often very weary in the way. Jonas is seeking to apply for University. Frank has been assisting with the Friday night teen work, and also village bible studies, and it is great to see his growth and contributions. The Koehle family have now left us and returned to Canada, and we are very grateful for their generous help in so many ways for the work here.

Serving Christ for the furtherance of the gospel,

Daniel Webster

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24