Cline Connection summer_2011
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Vol. 18 Issue. 01
US:
Beacon House USA Attn. Scott Danner
7343 Ridge Rd. Lexington, NC 27295
336-764-1900 sdanner@bhusa.org
Africa:
Beacon House Ghana PMB KA 97
Airport, Accra Ghana
(Skype:pcnghana) clines@bhusa.org
Akwaaba! 1
Fundraising Reminder 1
Books and Stuff 2
Preschool teacher need-ed
3
Exciting News! 4
Inside this issue:
Akwaaba! Friends and Fellow Servants
Summer 2011
B e a c o n H o u s e U S A
Clines-n-Ghana Serving the Kingdom Through the Saints
Over the years we have made many life-long
friendships in Ghana with most beginning as
commitments to Christ. It is rare that we can
get so many of our friends together in one place
because they are usually very busy with their
lives of service to our Lord. Three of these folks;
Stephen Nomosour, Joe Afututse, and Sammy
Asiedu worked with me on building the campus
for Ghana Christian University. Each now oper-
ates their businesses, owns property, and
homes. God has blessed them for their sacrifices
and hard work over the years. However, they
know that being blessed is not a conclusion but
a point where one is given an opportunity to
pass on something worth more than gold.
Without hesitation, I often say that I could
not have completed the campus without their
commitment to something more than just a
paycheck. They were committed to helping me,
as well the other missionaries, faculty, and staff
achieve a goal that God placed on our hearts. In
time, they too have caught the vision of Christ,
through GCU, and continue to participate in
that vision.
Catching a vision is the founda-
tion of ministry because it is a sus-
taining element through life’s tough
times. Ministry vision drives us to
achieve that which God has placed on
our hearts and can only achieve
through Him. Catching the vision of
ministry to the point where not par-
ticipating in it is uncomfortable is
really a blessing, although at times it
may seem like a burden. If you think
about it, Jesus did not say he is not a
burden just that his burden was light
(Mat 11:30). Jesus will not ask of us
what we cannot do but does demand
what we can do.
The vision of Beacon House that
God has placed on the hearts of our
missionaries, supporters, and prayer
partners may not be a small burden
but when shared through the yoke of
our faith it becomes light.
Now that we have purchased
land for the church/school near Vea
we need to move on to moving our
missionaries, the Akurugus, to Vea.
Our goal is to have them set up by
Jan. In order to do this we need to
raise money to support their rent. In
time, the school will provide income
but for now we need to help them get
started. We found a two bedroom
block house near the land but the
rent is $250/mth. I originally thought
this to be high but after further re-
search found this to be reasonable in
the area. All rent in Ghana requires
2 year’s advance.
Fundraising Reminder:
Please do not forget to help us raise funds for a mission vehicle. There is no cost
to you. All those unwanted or obsolete electronic devices can be sent to one address
and we will receive a donation. Print out a flyer and take it to work.
Go here for more: http://clinefamily.us/fundraising/recycle/
PAGE 2 VOL. 18 ISSUE . 01
Thank you for the wonderful book drive this
year for the work in northern Ghana. Out of the
hundreds of books we received over the last year we
also received new educational materials. Pictures
are, as the saying goes, worth a thousand words.
Sometimes they are even priceless, like when teach-
ing about Jesus.
We gave David some material consisting of a
series of picture cards relating Old Testament sto-
ries and the Life of Christ. These types of material
are wonderful with non-native English speakers.
David and Ursula can use the pictures to tell the
stories in the Gurenne language. If anyone has ever
done any cross-cultural/language work you will un-
derstand that some words simply do not translate.
Before our friends in Pioneer Bible Translators can
put together the translations, front line missionar-
ies like the Akurugus, will use picture stories to
communicate and learn local phrases for things like
baptism, holy trinity, savior, i.e. core doctrine. Then
they will pass that information on to the profession-
al translators.
Years ago David and Ursula heard the Word as
Ursula attended a literacy class that used similar
material. She would learn a new subject and then
share what she was learning with her husband.
When Heather first asked Ursula and two of her
friends if they would like to join a bible study she
was leading, their response was: “God…Jesus, they
are men so NO, we do not what to hear about them.
No God that is a man will even care about us.” After
much prayer as to how God wanted me to reach the-
se women, God put on my heart to ask them if there
was anything they would like me to teach them.
They came back to me and asked if I could teach
Heather is giving David Akurugu some Sunday School materi-
al to be used in their work up north.
them how to write their names so no man would never
again be their witness or have to use their fingerprints as a
signature. A trade was in the works!
It was through picture stories like the ones above that
God used through me to teach the ladies about the God who
loved Ruth, a village girl like them, and Esther, who be-
came a great chief's wife. What particularly touched Ursula
was that God trusted young Mary, a woman, to give birth
and care for His son Jesus. Additionally, that Jesus, a man,
loved them so much that He sacrificed his life, so they
would never again be separated from God.
Teaching people about Jesus, no matter where you are,
is not complicated. In most cases, it is simple as telling a
story. Sometimes it is your story and sometimes those that
God gave us in the Bible. Heather and I may be missionar-
ies to a foreign land telling the stories of Jesus and the sal-
vation He offers. Even so, someone in the US told those sto-
ries too, inspiring people to participate in foreign missions
so another not fortunate enough to be born in a great coun-
try like ours to hear of Jesus.
Technology is changing the way we reach people for
Christ. In the coming years, it will be more efficient to use
laptops and video to tell the story. As we recently found out
the hard way, shipping is becoming too expensive to bring
paper material to Ghana. However, where one door closes
another opens. The price of laptops and projectors has fall-
en dramatically. We can now deliver translated material to
Ghana in CDs, or even via the Internet, so field evangelists
from GCU can tell the stories of Jesus to hundreds, even
thousands, at a time. A projector, laptop, and small genera-
tor donated by a supporter in FL has helped with the evan-
gelization of many people in remote villages in Ghana, To-
go, and Liberia. Technology may have changed but the mes-
sage will always be the same.
Such a little Beacon
House Blessing! The
lactose free formula,
donated to BH by US
sponsors, was just what
she needed to get those
chubby cheeks. Without
your help she would
have never had a
chance. She continues
to gain weight and grow
stronger. When you
hold her you can’t help
but wonder how God is
going to work in her life,
for He has good plans
for us!
Books and Stuff
PAGE 3 VOL. 18 ISSUE . 01
Heather teaching art with the children at Beacon House. Lady in
the foreground is Lynn, one of many great volunteers we are blessed
with occasionally.
For Beacon House to have long term volunteers, we will
need a quota. PC is filling out the Ghana Immigration
Quota Application. A quota basically stipulates how
many expatriates an organization can bring into Ghana
for any extended period (over 90 days). See below for
opportunities for you to get on our quota and volunteer
with BH-Ghana.
David Akurugru is preaching to villagers in Vea. The Frafra
people separate men, women, and children (of a certain age) in
public gatherings such as this presentation; very much similar
to the Muslims in the area. Here, the children are to the right
and left of the speaker. There are many “shared” traditions
among the people from many different faiths. Planting New Tes-
tament Christianity will be a long road indeed!
Beacon House Needs a Preschool
Teacher!
Lynn and all our volunteers are a blessing to us at
BH. They come and serve as often as they can while on
other business in Ghana. Some are here with their
spouses, some are working on graduate degrees, while
others are here just working. While each volunteer is
cherished and are a huge benefit to the children, regu-
larity is non-existent. We cannot schedule classes with
any amount of consistency month-to-month. We need a
female pre-school teacher, or two, to come for an extended
period.
Our little ones are desperate for an English preschool
teacher to help them develop all their skills. Most all the
kids at BH have been through trauma and need the con-
sistency and love that a preschool teacher could give them.
The schedule would be Monday to Friday, teaching from
7:30am to 11:30am and taking a break at snack time. Ages
would be three to five year olds. Three year olds would
only join the class from 7:30 to 9:00. This schedule is flexi-
ble to your teaching style.
If we could get a teacher, retired, newly graduated, or
someone having experience teaching young children. You
need to be flexible and creative as we have limited materi-
al! We would love for you to come and serve for 1-2 years.
Your service would be such a blessing to the kids and to
the ministry of Beacon House. Heather home schools
Jaden and cannot be at Beacon House to teach the pre-
schools everyday and truly needs help in this area.
Heather can help them quickly come up to speed on the
curriculum and the culture. You would need to raise your
support for tickets and monthly funds. We would help you
to find housing as we have for other volunteers who have
served.
If you feel God’s calling let us know, and we will do all
we can to help you through the steps needed to come.
Your friendly vehicle fundraiser reminder!
Go to: http://clinefamily.us/fundraising/recycle/
7343 Ridge Rd. Lexington, NC 27295
US Phone: 336-764-1900
Skype: 336-793-2443 (pcnghana) E-mail: clines@bhusa.org
Treasurer: sdanner@bhusa.org
http:\\clinefamily.us
http:\\beaconhouseusa.org
Prayers
1. Pray that we can find a church willing to partner with David
and Ursula in the north of Ghana.
2. Pray for our fundraising effort towards a mission vehicle. Also,
go to our website and print out some flyers and give them to
friends and co-workers.
3. Keep Kayla in your prayers. She is in her second year of college
and doing well.
4. We need a preschool teacher to serve at Beacon House from 7:30
to 11:30 M-F. If you feel the calling or know someone that would
come to Ghana for 9 months to 2 years please contact us. Sup-
port need to be raised is around 1,500 for a single per-month.
5. Pray we can find a health insurance policy we can afford and
will cover Kayla in the US.
Praises
1. Join us in rejoicing over our Ghanaian ministry partners.
2. For new opportunities for the students at Ghana Christian Uni-
versity to bring the good news of Christ throughout Ghana and
beyond.
3. We are close to having funds needed for a water well and wall
on the land close to the college that will one day be the perma-
nent location for Beacon House. The building now currently
being used is rented and does not have a secure future. We’ve unfurled our flags at GCU! I think every-
one knows the two end flags, Ghana and USA.
The flag next to the Ghana flag is the universi-
ty’s and after that is the flag for the University
of Wales, our academic partner. Mr. Nortey, the
office manager for GCU is pictured with me.
Exciting News!
Over the years Heather and I have been involved in
a number of different communities based projects, start-
ing schools and Little League Baseball, even playing in
international theater groups to raise funds for various
projects. For the most part, we have been known in the
community as the Christian college missionaries. Each
project exposed our work and ourselves to people out-
side of the mission community. This is as it should be.
This past May long time benefactors of Beacon
House came to us with a proposal. Out of respect for
their desire to remain anonymous we will not use their
names here. We call them “the A’s” when speaking in a
mixed company in Ghana. Over the years, they have
watched our work and us. Mr. A was impressed with my
using a business model, the School of Community De-
velopment, as a tool for evangelism. The A’s noticed that
Heather and I engaged the Ghanaian community as co-
workers helping to build their society for Christ.
During a conversation, they indicated a desire to
partner with us so that we could remain in Ghana doing
the work God put on our hearts. Hearing of our difficul-
ties of late with housing and our personal vehicle fail-
ing, they offered to let us stay in one of their houses rent
free and use of a company vehicle. The vehicle is for per-
sonal use in and around Accra as it cannot take some of
the roads we travel on. Therefore, we still need a mis-
sion vehicle.
This is exciting for us in many ways. The A’s compa-
ny has over 57,000 employees in West Africa and is con-
tinuing to expand into other countries. The one thing
they asked was for me (PC) to help Mr. A set up a train-
ing institute for his company. This actually works quite
well with what I teach at GCU and will help with net-
working for the college. In fact, there is a possibility for
some of our graduates to be a part of their expansion in
West Africa. All of their offices have devotions three
days per week. The A’s are Christians and put Christ
first in all they do. Theirs is a quintessential Business
as Mission company. Mrs. A has also been Heather’s
prayer partner for four years.
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