Monday
Eric Bonner here. WOW! Just beyond words. I feel like I’m having an out-of-the-body experience. I’ll save all the superlatives for later, though. On this post, I’ll just give a brief review of what I have done so far, and what my schedule looks like in the days to come…..I preached at the Fetteh Church yesterday morning. On the walk back to our cottage, there was a group of young men from the church who followed Adam and me home. Three of them in particular asked me numerous questions about my sermon. I have NEVER in 13 years of preaching had such a response to / such an interest in anything I had said from the pulpit.
I have arranged to meet with these guys at 3:00 this afternoon. They are all around 20. The one young man wanted to know if it was alright if he brought a couple of friends with him. Actually, all three of these individuals are Christian young men, and apparently want more Bible knowledge. The one says he wants to be a preacher and he wants me to teach him how to prepare a sermon. I have it on my schedule to meet with this group at 3:00 p.m. every day through Thursday. I am going to give them a 3-point basic outline on the text of 2 Timothy 4:1-2. I’ll pick another sample text for Tuesday, another for Wednesday, and so forth. Just basic homiletics stuff.
I preached at the Village of Hope Church last night. I preached on Barnabas.
Just now, I finished speaking to the teenagers at the Village of Hope at their chapel / devotional. There were about 125 youngsters in attendance. I will be with them every afternoon from 12:30 – 1:00. We talked about Philippians 1 today; Philippians 2 tomorrow; Philippians 3 Wednesday; Philippians 4 Thursday. I’m doing an extremely basic assessment of each chapter, and also some q&a with them.
I get the little kids in chapel at 2:30 this afternoon, and every other afternoon at 2:30 this week. That will be quite an experience I am sure.
Again, a sprint down to the cottage at 3:00 after the “kiddies” devotional to meet my young men with that 2 Timothy 4 study.
At 6:00 each evening this week, I will be spending 30-45 minutes in each of the Village houses. I had a great meeting and prayer session with the woman who is the head over the house-parents, and she set this up for me.
Then around 7:00 tonight it’s back to Fetteh where I preached yesterday morning. They are having services there every night this week. Celestial singing! I cannot wait to hear those angelic voices again tonight. Preaching there yesterday morning was the highlight of my 13 year career in the pulpit, and preaching with an interpreter was not as scary as I imagined it might be. God always makes a way.
I will sleep well tonight, but for now, “miles to go” before I can even begin to think about that. Thanks to those of you reading this who made this trip possible for me. I am just trying to make myself totally available to God to be used by Him in whatever way He sees fit. The opportunities here are limitless.
Praise be to God!
Eric Bonner - - 1:41 p.m. Ghana time, Monday, March 17, 2008
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Monday 6:43 Ghana Time
Greetings to all of my family,
(Shafiyq, Corey, Karisma, and Shafiyq) How is everything at home? I miss all of you from the bottom of my heart. It is very HOT here, but I am enjoying the interaction with all of the children (some come from surrounding villages). Karisma, I have not been able to e-mail you because the computer lab has been closed. I will try again tomorrow (Tuesday) or I will call. I was in one of the kindergarten classes today and children are all the same no matter where you are. I taught them some educational songs w/ movements and they thought I was so funny. I love all of you and I can’t wait to get back home to see you. Stay sweet!
Love,
Stephanie
6:55 p.m.
Blog beginning 7:17 Ghana Time
Hi from Ghana to Kaye & family,
First, Kaye, it was wonderful to hear your voice last night. Technology is amazing—it was like I was in the backyard with you—so clear. We do have to go to a specific spot next to the preschool to have the phone work properly. Also, Austin, sorry to hear you have been very sick. I hope that you are feeling better today. This was the first day at clinic. It went very well for us. It was particularly helpful to have Dorian there to take the “hard” cases for eyeglasses. We managed to keep up with the crowd pretty well. The people we serve are amazing. Friendly and appreciative . We have made a point to learn a few phrases of the tribal language, Twi (pronounced chree). It has been well received & helps to instantly build a bond between ourselves & the people we are trying to serve. A great & totally rewarding day. Praise be to God!!
Love to all. David 8:30
________________________________________________________________________
8:28 Ghana time – Michelle
Hello to all from Africa – It continues to amaze me that I am here. I woke up this morning and I was STILL IN AFRICA. What was even more amazing is that I woke up shortly after 6 am and was not grumpy about it. Walking to the wells and seeing the young children getting water and cooking food for the day was a humbling yet joyous event. I was privileged to work in both the school and the clinic today and can not express the multitude of moments that God reminded me how precious each of the souls here are to Him, and that the privilege we live in does not compare to the passion they have for their God.
Love to my family and thanks for allowing me this time to give of myself to God. Abigail I can not wait to color with you and David I am looking forward to watching you scooter around. I love you much, take care of your Dad.
Michelle/Mom
9:30pm
Hi to our Church Family!
The preschoolers were just as adorable as I remembered. What a thrill it was when the teachers saw me and came running to hug me…tight…real tight!!! I am so thankful to Michael and Timothy for their help so that I could come again and buy as many new toys as the trunks could hold! It seemed like I brought so much. But when I looked at the bare rooms that house 110 preschoolers, it didn’t look like much at all!
I really wish we had some shelving in the office to organize things enough to be usable. If someone could just UPS several large bookshelves over here before we leave, that would be great! heehee
Yesterday, when I opened my Bible, a saw a note a little boy wrote to me last year. His name was Wisdom. (I sat with Knowledge this year and Wisdom last year….) After church I asked several kids if they knew where Wisdom was, but no one could find him.
Tonight Joyce, Gail and I went to one of the houses for their evening devo. We just picked one. As the closing they sang to us, “We love you with the love of the Lord.” Then the house mother said she knew we wouldn’t remember everyone’s name, but maybe we’d remember one or two and went around the circle of 20 or so kids and told us their names. One child was named Wisdom. Yep! It was him. He was quite pleased that I still had my note. I got another note from a girl-Honam-today. However, several in our group did. Bill Bryant’s note had 5 hearts colored in and David Gentry’s only had 3 and they weren’t colored in. Guess we know who is attracting the girls more! (The older ladies still love David!)
Thank you, church for your support, your prayers and your help in getting us ready to go. Thank you to those who came to the airport to see us off. This is really an incredible place. Watching the excitement of the “first-timers” has been so much fun. Thank you for keeping us covered in prayer
Hi, Glynn! I love you! Would someone call Glynn and see if he even knows to check the blog? Thanks.
Jean Ragland
==================
7AM Tuesday
Good morning everyone!
I just wanted to THANK everyone again for all of your help in supplying, counting, and repackaging all of the medicine!! They were very busy in the pharmacy yesterday, and it would have been unbelievably HARD if you all had not done so much of the work ahead of time! David and I had a great day in the eye clinic and were ever so grateful to be able to send anyone we needed over to Dorian!
One of the highlights of my day was getting to attend the devo at one of the homes last night. It’s pretty amazing to hear the prayers of the children and to know how sincerely they
praise and thank God for their home, food, and water and for peace in their country. It’s definitely not just something they say by rote! We love and appreciate all of you and thank you again for all of your prayers and support!
Joyce Phillips
8:00 a.m. Ghana time, Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Last night I walked up the hill to the Church of Christ that meets in the Fetteh village. The walk is about a mile each way. I walked up there in the dark. I could hear voices as I walked along the road to the village, but faces were impossible to see. An occasional flicker of fire light here and there. Voices, the sweet sounds of children playing, animal noises. It was so so so very dark, but it feels very peaceful. What little electricity there is that would usually illuminate (and I am using that word very loosely) the village was out last night, so finding the church building was a little bit difficult. Apparently, power outages are very routine here. Anyway, when I got to the church building, I found our brethren there, faithfully sitting there and participating as if nothing was wrong. No complaining about the darkness. No complaining about the smothering heat. I handed my flashlight to their preacher and he used it, along with a lantern someone had brought, to shed some light on the place. Still yet, it was dark as dark could be. One man sat next to me in the darkness and translated everything for me into English. He is such a good man. They are all such beautiful people.
I don’t know exactly how to explain this get-together in the darkness last night. It was some kind of a combo of church meeting / Bible study / prayer service. One of the main things they did was go over the sermon that I had preached the day before. Can you believe that? The minister, in all of this absolute darkness, with sweltering heat just suffocating us (at least I felt like it was suffocating me; it didn’t seem to affect them. They don’t even fan themselves) was quizzing them. His questions were, “What were the quotations from the American’s sermon? What were his lessons?” By this I gathered that he was getting them to repeat back to him the sermon’s three main points. Readily did they know the answers and quickly did they respond. Brothers and sisters, I just don’t know how to tell you how this affects me. I cannot believe that there is a place in the world where people are so hungry and thirsty for Bible knowledge and the things of God.
When we finished last night, I was asked to return for tonight’s church meeting. As I left to walk back down the hill, the mile trek back to our cottage, two young men were assigned to escort me home. I insisted that this was not necessary, but they would not take no for an answer. One of the young men who walked back with me is one of the aspiring 20 year-old preacher’s that I am meeting with at 3:00 in the afternoons.
So today’s schedule looks pretty much like yesterday’s schedule. Chapel for the teens at 12:30. Chapel for the younger ones at 2:30. My preacher training study with these young guys at 3:00. Another in-house devotional at 6:00, and then back up the hill to the Fetteh Church for our prayer meeting at 7:00 tonight, maybe in the dark again. Who knows?
I wish you could hear what I am hearing as I type these words. Oh my! God is so very, very real! - - Eric Bonner
***Oh! I have to share this. I had a young man pray for me yesterday in chapel, his prayer being that God would give me health and strength and keep me and my family all safe from snake bites. So Paige, baby, if you’re reading this, just know that we all have been prayed for so as to be protected from snake bites. I just love it! Isn’t that great?! In all my years, I have never had this specific request offered up to God on my behalf.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday night
We've had power problems. The national electrical grid has been less than 24/7. Its been more like 7/24 (say seven hours out of the last 24). We've been on the Village of Hope generator power since 7AM.
Even with the generator, the computer lab was without power. The computer lab is the only place to use the internet. One of the wall outlets in the computer lab was fried, it was black and the metal part of the plug vaporized. It has taken most of the day to find this problem and get it corrected. Adam McCall was very useful in helping troubleshoot and repair the circuits.
It is now 3:30 on Monday afternoon, and the computer lab is up and running. The following blogs were written last night. I've captured the nine comments on yesterday's blog to share with the team. We will enjoy reading them.
James
==================================
Blog beginning 8:40pm Sunday night
What a wonderful day of worship we had today. Many of us went to the village of Fettah for morning worship and class. The class was interpreted for us and Eric's sermon was interpreted for the Ghanaians. The singing was incredible. If Keith could get us to sing like that...well, it was amazing.
Eric preached at the Village of Hope at the evening service. Most of us were sitting by at least one of the kids during church. If you didn't go sit with them, they came and sat with you. I sat with Knowledge - yes that was his name. We got all the trunks unloaded and sorted and I spent the rest of my afternoon with Faustina, the Preschool Director. It has been so fun to see some children we remember from past visits. Several hit the beach this afternoon and we are all ready to start early and work hard tomorrow.
Jean
8:40pm Sunday
============
Hello from Africa! So far, this has been one of the best experiences of my life...and it is only Sunday night at 9pm (Knoxville time=5 pm). Getting off the airplane and to the Village of Hope vans was an experience of a lifetime! We had to walk fast and ward off many, many persistant hands wanting to push the carts (for tips). Driving to the VOH, we saw everything from street vendors with their goods balanced on their heads to a medical college.
The kids here are fantastic. They are all smiles and eager to talk. You can not walk anywhere with a box, package or bag without one of the young boys coming to help you carry your load. At church tonight, the kids came over to sit beside us. Their voices outweighed ours in worshipping with song.
Eric Bonner's message this morning included how we, as Christians, need to serve others from the "overflow". I thought I was on this trip to serve....that it was God's plan--His trip---but the purpose was to come serve. I had an epiphany as I sat through the service and listened to Eric, the singing and took in the sights of this beautiful place......rather than here to serve, we are here to have our cup filled so that we will be ready to serve from the overflow upon our return. So far, I'm at the brim.
Beth
9pm Sunday
========
This trip has surpassed all my expectations so far and it's only Sunday. I find it hard to find the words to express my surprise and amazement during the morning service in Fettah this morning. The singing was beyond amazing- I found myself with tears and it still fills my heart when I remember how they sounded!By an amazing coincidence I shared the flight to Accra from Amsterdam with a gentleman who was originally from Ghana but, had lived for 25 years in Canada. I got my first experience with speaking the language and he actually knows someone from Morristown, TN! I know I am here to help but already I know I will be blessed many times over!
Teresa
9 pm Sunday
=========
God has certainly been blessing the village of hope. More buildings is one sign, but the smiles on the peoples faces and a child speaking of God easily in conversation is what really stood out to me. Four years ago when I was here last I met a boy named Dana who was twelve. We have written a few letters back and forth over the years. Now Dana is fifteen and in eighth grade. He wants to be an accountant or an artist.
The clinic starts tomorrow. Time to go to bed.
Dorian
10:10 Sunday
Even with the generator, the computer lab was without power. The computer lab is the only place to use the internet. One of the wall outlets in the computer lab was fried, it was black and the metal part of the plug vaporized. It has taken most of the day to find this problem and get it corrected. Adam McCall was very useful in helping troubleshoot and repair the circuits.
It is now 3:30 on Monday afternoon, and the computer lab is up and running. The following blogs were written last night. I've captured the nine comments on yesterday's blog to share with the team. We will enjoy reading them.
James
==================================
Blog beginning 8:40pm Sunday night
What a wonderful day of worship we had today. Many of us went to the village of Fettah for morning worship and class. The class was interpreted for us and Eric's sermon was interpreted for the Ghanaians. The singing was incredible. If Keith could get us to sing like that...well, it was amazing.
Eric preached at the Village of Hope at the evening service. Most of us were sitting by at least one of the kids during church. If you didn't go sit with them, they came and sat with you. I sat with Knowledge - yes that was his name. We got all the trunks unloaded and sorted and I spent the rest of my afternoon with Faustina, the Preschool Director. It has been so fun to see some children we remember from past visits. Several hit the beach this afternoon and we are all ready to start early and work hard tomorrow.
Jean
8:40pm Sunday
============
Hello from Africa! So far, this has been one of the best experiences of my life...and it is only Sunday night at 9pm (Knoxville time=5 pm). Getting off the airplane and to the Village of Hope vans was an experience of a lifetime! We had to walk fast and ward off many, many persistant hands wanting to push the carts (for tips). Driving to the VOH, we saw everything from street vendors with their goods balanced on their heads to a medical college.
The kids here are fantastic. They are all smiles and eager to talk. You can not walk anywhere with a box, package or bag without one of the young boys coming to help you carry your load. At church tonight, the kids came over to sit beside us. Their voices outweighed ours in worshipping with song.
Eric Bonner's message this morning included how we, as Christians, need to serve others from the "overflow". I thought I was on this trip to serve....that it was God's plan--His trip---but the purpose was to come serve. I had an epiphany as I sat through the service and listened to Eric, the singing and took in the sights of this beautiful place......rather than here to serve, we are here to have our cup filled so that we will be ready to serve from the overflow upon our return. So far, I'm at the brim.
Beth
9pm Sunday
========
This trip has surpassed all my expectations so far and it's only Sunday. I find it hard to find the words to express my surprise and amazement during the morning service in Fettah this morning. The singing was beyond amazing- I found myself with tears and it still fills my heart when I remember how they sounded!By an amazing coincidence I shared the flight to Accra from Amsterdam with a gentleman who was originally from Ghana but, had lived for 25 years in Canada. I got my first experience with speaking the language and he actually knows someone from Morristown, TN! I know I am here to help but already I know I will be blessed many times over!
Teresa
9 pm Sunday
=========
God has certainly been blessing the village of hope. More buildings is one sign, but the smiles on the peoples faces and a child speaking of God easily in conversation is what really stood out to me. Four years ago when I was here last I met a boy named Dana who was twelve. We have written a few letters back and forth over the years. Now Dana is fifteen and in eighth grade. He wants to be an accountant or an artist.
The clinic starts tomorrow. Time to go to bed.
Dorian
10:10 Sunday
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday from Ghana
This is the first effort to Blog from Ghana this year. Its proving to require a little more patience than normal.
------------------------
Some comments from the travelers:
Smoak here... I got yelled at by the soldiers for not having my visa but no prison time. Jordan and Adam are at the beach. Getting ready to here Eric preach at Fetteh, travelling thousands of miles to hear a Knoxville preacher is weird. A little kid in Detroit kept taking Jordans picture on his cell phone because of the hat and sunglasses.
The flights were long but every thing went smooth. No one is sick. Praise God for all. Dorian
I am so thankful to be arrived safely in Africa for many reasons, not least of which is the knowledge that I do not have to get back on the plane for another week! My traveling companions are fabulous and the organization of the group has been impressive. So far all of Africa has been dark but I am looking forward to today and seeing this beautiful country of God's creation in the morning light. My heart reaches out to my people back home - little and big. Loving you much. - Michelle
I am no longer afraid to fly! By the time we boarded in Amsterdam,I was ready to go! I am feeling great and ready to help in any way possible. I love you and miss you already-Teresa
-----------------
We'll try to post often.
James
------------------------
Some comments from the travelers:
Smoak here... I got yelled at by the soldiers for not having my visa but no prison time. Jordan and Adam are at the beach. Getting ready to here Eric preach at Fetteh, travelling thousands of miles to hear a Knoxville preacher is weird. A little kid in Detroit kept taking Jordans picture on his cell phone because of the hat and sunglasses.
The flights were long but every thing went smooth. No one is sick. Praise God for all. Dorian
I am so thankful to be arrived safely in Africa for many reasons, not least of which is the knowledge that I do not have to get back on the plane for another week! My traveling companions are fabulous and the organization of the group has been impressive. So far all of Africa has been dark but I am looking forward to today and seeing this beautiful country of God's creation in the morning light. My heart reaches out to my people back home - little and big. Loving you much. - Michelle
I am no longer afraid to fly! By the time we boarded in Amsterdam,I was ready to go! I am feeling great and ready to help in any way possible. I love you and miss you already-Teresa
-----------------
We'll try to post often.
James
Monday, March 10, 2008
Ghana Missions
Many at Farragut, have been busy with plans and preparations for the forthcoming medical and educational mission trip to the Village of Hope in Ghana, West Africa.
One of the labor intensive activities in preparation for this trip is the repackaging of over $200,000 worth of medicines. This is done in order to conserve space and allow the attending physicians and their assistants to dispense medications in the most efficient manner.
Thanks to David Gentry and Joyce Phillips for coordinating this part of the project, as well as the many volunteers who have worked so diligently.
Another portion of the Ghana trip is generally referred to as the "Eyeglasses Project". In addition to prescription glasses donated to this effort, the ECHO’s class raised over $300 for "drugstore readers" which were purchased for about 50 cents a pair.
Thanks to Dorian Lane for procuring these and for his overall efforts including donating a much needed optical machine which he will take to Ghana and leave there for their continuing use.
The education team includes teachers and high school students that will work with the pre-school and reading programs. This team is working with the school administrators to focus on specific goals for the Hope Academy.
The medical team will be conducting a free four day clinic at the Village of Hope. The clinic staff will include local medical personnel as well. Medications during the clinic are provided free of charge. We anticipate seeing almost a thousand people during the clinic.
The group of 19 coordinated by James East, David Gentry, and Mike Phillips will leave on March 14th and return the 23rd. It’s not too late to give towards this effort. $9,600 has been contributed toward the goal of $10,000. Please pray for the safety of our group and for the people they will be ministering to in Africa.
Check this blog site for up-to-date communication with the Mission Team.
One of the labor intensive activities in preparation for this trip is the repackaging of over $200,000 worth of medicines. This is done in order to conserve space and allow the attending physicians and their assistants to dispense medications in the most efficient manner.
Thanks to David Gentry and Joyce Phillips for coordinating this part of the project, as well as the many volunteers who have worked so diligently.
Another portion of the Ghana trip is generally referred to as the "Eyeglasses Project". In addition to prescription glasses donated to this effort, the ECHO’s class raised over $300 for "drugstore readers" which were purchased for about 50 cents a pair.
Thanks to Dorian Lane for procuring these and for his overall efforts including donating a much needed optical machine which he will take to Ghana and leave there for their continuing use.
The education team includes teachers and high school students that will work with the pre-school and reading programs. This team is working with the school administrators to focus on specific goals for the Hope Academy.
The medical team will be conducting a free four day clinic at the Village of Hope. The clinic staff will include local medical personnel as well. Medications during the clinic are provided free of charge. We anticipate seeing almost a thousand people during the clinic.
The group of 19 coordinated by James East, David Gentry, and Mike Phillips will leave on March 14th and return the 23rd. It’s not too late to give towards this effort. $9,600 has been contributed toward the goal of $10,000. Please pray for the safety of our group and for the people they will be ministering to in Africa.
Check this blog site for up-to-date communication with the Mission Team.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Teacher Appreciation Dinner
"Daniel" and "Paul" made an appearance.
Entertainment was provided by Delilah & the Samsonites 
Dr. Joe Johnson, president emeritus, encouraged our teachers.
Celebraties such as, Audra Heatburn, showed up for "A Night at the Movies".
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
More from Woody' and his trip to Albania
Little cooler than the first of last week. Went to Lushija on Saturday where Tom Bonner praches. This was a planned meeting with some of the church leaders there and around Baret. Bill presented a lesson on leadership. Representatives from the Florance Bullivard Church of Christ in Florance Alabama were also there. They support the work in Baret and some of the small areas around Baret. Arton drove us down there in the Tirana church van. Return Saturday afternoon.
Tom Bonner is doing well. He and three other teachers are conducting the compaign in Lushija now also. I also talked with the preacher student from Lushija and he is doing well in the school now and has three more months to finish. The school needs to recruit more student by January.
Studies with my seven students are going well. We had a gathering Friday night of all the students in this year's studies and have a good turnout. I have one student complete the basic course and receive her certificate. She is continuing with the advanced cource.
See you Sunday, Lord willing.
woody
Tom Bonner is doing well. He and three other teachers are conducting the compaign in Lushija now also. I also talked with the preacher student from Lushija and he is doing well in the school now and has three more months to finish. The school needs to recruit more student by January.
Studies with my seven students are going well. We had a gathering Friday night of all the students in this year's studies and have a good turnout. I have one student complete the basic course and receive her certificate. She is continuing with the advanced cource.
See you Sunday, Lord willing.
woody
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