1. African Mission Evangelism Cline Connection Vol. 14 Issue. 1
Winter 08 US: African Mission Evangelism Attn. Scott Danner 7343
Ridge Rd. Lexington, NC 27295 336-764-1900 sdanner@ameghana.org US
WORKING FURLOUGH PC is coming to US for short working furlough This
is an unusual year for me in that I am coming to the US without my
family for a short working furlough. I have not done this in the
past because I like for the family to stay together as much as
possible but it cannot be helped this furlough cycle. As many of
you know we take 4-6 month furloughs every 21/2 to 3 years mostly
because of the work load here and the cost associated with travel.
Africa: African Mission Evangelism P.O. Box DD142 Dodowa, Ghana
828-398-0637 (Skype:pcnghana) patrickcline@ameghana.org Ghana has
improved much in the last 15 years and communication is one area
where the improvement makes such trips much easier on the family.
That is as long as Ghana Telecom can maintain their system well.
Inside this issue: PCs Working Furlough 1 Fundraising Drive 2
Project Hope 2 Scenes from the North 3 Witches, Fairies, and the
Boogeyman 4 Heather and the kids cannot come home with me this time
however because of their school responsibilities. We never intended
for Heather to stay at AIS but with much prodding from NICS (the
backing partner) and the fact that tuition for Kayla alone would be
$17,000 at Lincoln Community School (a secular international
school) made the decision one more based on realities of finance as
opposed to desire. Heathers heart (and as I I was caught in action
doing one of my many jobs at GCUC by a student working on a
yearbook for the college. Since I do not allow cell phones in the
classroom this budding Christian entrepreneur came to my office
under the pretenses of not being able to access his user account.
We had 30 computers and 10 printers donated to the college and are
now trying to build a new computer lab to house the units. I have
configured the new server and all we need now is $2000 to install
desks and chairs. Anyone interested in this project please send
donations to AME with Computer Lab in the Memo. write this; her
body) is in the orphanage work and the children in the far north of
Ghana. Heather is a wonderful wife and mother, often making
sacrifices where necessary for the mission. She would prefer to
work with Beacon House Orphanage and rescue babies from certain
death, or worse, than teaching at AIS but at this time in her life
AIS needs her. This is the current conflict in our lives in Ghana,
torn between that which we want to do and that which needs to be
done. Neither choice is wrong but each is laden with its own
anguishes. Contd pg. 3
2. PAGE 2 C LI N E C O N N E C T I O N V O L. 1 4 I S S U E . 1
SCD Happenings Occasionally I arrange for a special Chapel speaker
to come to GCUC and talk about issues related to holistic mission
practices on how we as Christians can affect positive change in our
society. This semester we had as special guest speaker, Roger
Rogowski, a retired community health specialist and former Mercy
Ships program director. He spoke about how the plan of salvation is
not only a spiritual path to free us from the grip of Satan but how
salvation also frees us from the bonds of poverty, bad health,
malnutrition, and the many other forms of societal degradation that
suppress our God-intended potential. The freedom we have in Christ
allows us to pursue the will of God and part of His will is to be
fruitful. God desires for us to be full of joy too not downtrodden
by the rules of a powerful religious elite. This is a message
Muslims need to hear! Drive to Pay Off Faculty House Eight years
ago we arranged for a loan to build the faculty house on the GCUC
campus in which we are now living. The house is for the college not
us, we only live there while in Ghana. This loan is through the
Church Development Fund and collateralized by Heathers aunt and
uncle. Over the years we have lived in this house we have saved an
enormous amount of money in terms of rent. The average rent for a
house that is livable, safe, and within driving distance is
$1800/month. That comes out to nearly $173,000 in rent for
something that would not be an asset for anyone but the home
owners. Instead we borrowed $30k and put in another $12k to build a
campus faculty house that will serve the kingdom for decades to
come. I think we made a wise business decision! MR. ROGOWSKI USED A
SLIDE PRESENTATION (THANK YOU JOHN BREMAN OF LAKE BUTLER, FL FOR
THE PROJECTOR) AND LECTURE TO BRING OUT THE SALIENT POINTS ON HOW
SATAN WANTS US ALL TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT AND SOME WAYS HE CAN
ACHIEVE THIS IS TO USE SOCIETYS NORMS TO MAKE US COVET THINGS THAT
ARE NOT WITHIN HIS WILL FOR US OR TO DIVIDE OUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM
FULL SERVICE. The payoff balance on the loan is about $19,900. We
recently refinanced the loan but have come to the conclusion that
if we do not soon pay off the loan we will begin to negate the
gains made by taking the loan in the first place. The monthly
payment is also needed in other areas of the mission as you will
see later in the newsletter. The number ONE item on the petition
list to our supporters is to pay this house off by August. Heather
wants to make more trips to the North as her teaching job allows
but each trip costs nearly $1000, roughly 4 months on the loan.
Help Heather to go by giving towards paying off the house. Earmark
all donations as GCUC House. churches and to the people of Vea. The
children in Vea loved the doggie dog shoes. I thought they looked
like rabbits! For most of the little ones this was the first time
they had ever received anything that was new. The funds raised were
used to assist Youth Alive with their feeding program for children
just north of Bolgatanga. This is an especially tough year for the
folks in the upper regions of Ghana because many food crops were
destroyed and they are now either depending on food-aid or buying
food from the south which is extremely expensive and not part of
their normal diet. Project Hope Since the devastating floods in Vea
the children at the American International School made it possible
to distribute over 7oo sandals and used clothing. Many bags of used
clothes were also given out to three nearby Christian Heather
helping a young boy in Vea find a new T-shirt and pick out a yellow
pair of doggie dog sandals with the help of Project Hope.
3. V O L. 1 4 I S S U E . 1 C LI N E C O N N E C T I O N PAGE 3
Furlough Contd I leave Ghana on the 15th of January, so by the time
you read this I probably will be in the US making my rounds to some
of our supporters in NC. Right now, I will be in the US until March
17th and return here for 3 weeks over the Easter Break. If enough
churches make speaking arrangements with me in the coming weeks to
justify the return trip and travel in the US I will return April
6th. The dollar has devalued to such an extent that the plane
ticket for me alone is $1700. Furthermore, my living budget in the
US is about $1300/mth. Please dont misunderstand me, I REALLY want
to speak to the churches but at the same time my pragmatic nature
reminds me that we have mission responsibilities that need finances
and our presence. Also, if the family comes home in June it would
be for only 6 weeks and the cost would be nearly $8k! There is the
possibility that Heather and Hunter could come to the US as Hunter
needs testing for his dyslexia to establish benchmarks and an
(Individual Educational Program (IEP). This is extremely important
to Hunter as he will be in 7th grade next year and the IEP is ever
so important for his educational progress. The testing is about
$1800 and with a plane ticket this short trip is $4k. Needless to
say we are relying on prayers Heather, and her second grade class
(yep, she only has 5 students now. Want a job?) have packed up some
clothing and sandals, called chalie-waties, for her annual trip to
the Upper East Region of Ghana near the Burkina Faso border. being
answered to give clear direction in this and ask that you petition
God on our behalf as well. Scenes of the Upper West Region The
people in Vea have suffered greatly since the Spring floods and are
in need of just about everything you can imagine. The floods also
created orphans so Heather and Romana went there rescuing more
children that lost their parents in the floods. Even though they
take every precaution possible, like only working through Social
Welfare and taking only children who have no family, there are
still dangers from people who want the children for slaves, or
worse, as well as those who are less than honorable. A fear in my
mind since the people from a French NGO called Zoes Ark, were
jailed in Chad for childtrafficking is that a similar thing would
happen to Heather and Romana. Knowing Africa the way I do, I am
quite sure that the locals hired set the French NGO workers up by
taking children from nearby refugee camps and putting them up as
orphans. Heather and Romana only use locals that have some
affiliation with the church or are graduates of our college in
conjunction with Ghanaian social workers. Something we both would
like to see at GCUC is a School of Sociology where a degree in
Social Work is offered. Anyone have some experience, an advanced
degree, and a desire to serve a mighty God? The children named the
shoes doggie dogs because of the face on the shoe top. For many
this was their first shoes and you could tell by all the cuts and
sores on their feet. Needless to say there were many happy kids,
and parents, the day Heather came to town! Mama Lartey is a
Christian lady that has taken in several street children and saved
one child from being killed as a fairy. Heather is giving her some
detergent and other household supplies to help with her work. She
also left school fees for one young child.
4. AFRICAN MISSION EVANGELISM US Address: 7343 Ridge Rd.
Lexington, NC 27295 US Phone: 336-764-1900 Skype: 828-398-0637
(pcnghana) E-mail: patrickcline@ameghana.org sdanner@ameghana.org
Ghana: P.O. Box DD142 Dodowa Ghana, Africa To: Establishing
Christian Education in Ghana http:www.ameghana.org Witches,
Fairies, and the Boogeyman During the years God has used our family
and mission to save many children by snatching them out of the
grips of certain death. With your help and the love of families we
gave them a future of hope through Jesus. However, the work is
never done. Over the past week Romana Testa of Beacon House and I
were in the Upper East region of Ghana rescuing seven children
which we will be able to place for adoption. Thirteen other
children will be placed in a new Christian children's home just
certified for 60 children it was started by a missionary couple
from Virginia. This year alone two young sisters were saved just
moments before they were to be killed for being witches. One little
boy was served poison by someone we call the boogeyman because he
did not die like his twin brother did during the first attempt.
They were poisoned for being fairies. His little life was in
constant danger from being condemned to death by the local juju
priest. If not for Mama Lartey he probably would be dead now.
Another set of twin boys also survived poisoning and we are now
looking for a family outside of Ghana to adopt them. Only with your
prayers and support can we continue to fight this spiritual battle!
Through continually teaching Gods word will these chains of a very
real demonic world be broken. Often we want quick returns on our
mission investment and quick ending wars against the evil one.
However, the adversary is not someone we can simply bomb into
defeat. The adversary is cunning and patient and will never end
until Jesus returns to claim his own in the final battle. Do not
become tired and give up because you cannot see an end to the
fight, in all likelihood you will pass the fight on to your
children. That is why EVERY child is important whether they are our
own blessings or someone elses supposed curse. With Gods help lives
are being changed the HOPE that only Jesus can give is being
received and new spiritual warriors are being nurtured. In Christs
Service, Heather
