A Joyous Day in Prabon

Today we visited a small, new grace church in the village of Prabon – a 15-minute drive from Kumasi. This was one of the most enjoyable days of our trip. We preached in Prabon two years ago, at evening, open-air meetings. At that time the church didn’t have a building but today we met in their new – really new – building. It is constructed from rough-cut teak 2x4’s – just posts holding up the corrugated steel roof. There are no windows, walls or doors, and the breeze flows through, curtains flying in the wind; so refreshing on a hot day!

When we arrived, a good-sized group of children were having Sunday school in the shade of a tree. Inside, many grace believers from neighboring churches were gathered and a beautiful service was being conducted with singing and a choir and dancing. At Pastor Peter’s request, Elizabeth spoke to the congregation with Pastor Peter translating. He was dressed in a long, white, African tunic today – special for this Sunday. Elizabeth spoke so well, and Pastor Peter really seems to enjoy translating for her; they work well together. Leon preached the morning message, and it was also very well done.

The church gave Elizabeth a going away gift of a large piece of kente cloth. Hand-woven in a yellow, orange, black and red geometric design, it is a beautiful piece of fabric. A woman in the church is going to sew a dress for her; it will be ready before she leaves on Thursday. The women in all the churches have loved Elizabeth, and all of the children want to shake her hand. Everyone wants her email address.

The saints here, in all of these grace churches, are so appreciative of our visit. For twenty-five years they were standing for the message of grace, without ever knowing or meeting another grace believer or preacher. Our visits have encouraged them, confirmed the message that Pastor Peter has been preaching for these 25+ years, and given them a reason to have a joyous church celebration. They have enthusiastically invited their friends and neighbors to the services.

It was a joyous day in a little grace church on the edge of the rainforest, with a faithful young man as their pastor and an enthusiastic congregation meeting in their brand new, not quite finished, church building.

Dennis and Leon with church leaders in Prabon