GOOD NEWS FROM GHANA
Rev. Charles Nyane, director of the Word Alive Mission located in Takoradi, Ghana, sends word that the ministries of the mission are busy and growing.

Orphanage:  The orphanage is a safe harbor for children who fall under “the curse of the tenth child.” Certain villages in the rural Nzema area of Ghana deem the tenth child born into a family as a curse.  The orphanage takes in these children, and others in need of refuge, and provides a home and education for them.  There are no other institutions working for the cause of these orphaned children. Nicholas was an abandoned boy who was brought to the orphanage by a social welfare agency.  Upon his arrival, Nicholas was anemic, malnourished, unable to lift his arms or crawl, and was covered with sores. During the month of November, at the age of two years, with healing to his legs and feet – Nicholas has begun to walk.

 
Children and staff of Word Alive Orphanage

Currently, there are 15 children in residence at the orphanage.  Word Alive employs two social workers, one of whom are with the children 24 hours a day, as well as assistants who help with housekeeping duties, and security personnel. $30 per month will provide support for one child at the Word Alive Mission. Rev. Nyane states, “As we get a good support base, we are able to admit more children and take good care of them.” The mission is in the process of accepting another 15 children, in need of placement, during the early months of 2004.

Nursing School: The Word Alive School of Nursing, a training college for community health nurses, was inaugurated in 2001.  Presently, 68 students are enrolled in the first year of the nursing program and 48 in the second year.  The nursing school has won the admiration of the Ghanaian Government who has donated a small van to the school.  The success and growth of the school have required additions to the school structure and staff.

Church Planting: Word Alive continues to plant churches in the villages surrounding the mission.  During 2003, two churches were planted – one at Asanta and one at Tarkwa.  The Tarkwa Church, consisting of about 70 adults, held its first baptism during the month of November, followed by the first communion service for the congregation. “Oh, glory! What a lovely scene.” . . . Rev. Charles Nyane

Elementary School: The Living Stone Elementary School offers elementary education to children in villages surrounding the mission and is considered to be one of the top schools in the area.  During 2003, there was a tremendous increase in the number of students (over 40) within the various grades.  Mission donations allowed for the increase in staff salaries which greatly lifted the morale of the teachers and non-teaching staff. A bus was donated to the school enabling the students to return to their homes at a “decent time.”

COOK OFFERS VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Cook College and Theological School, located in Tempe, Arizona, has been empowering, educating, and enabling Native Americans for Christian Leadership since its founding in 1890.  The school offers opportunities for persons interested in short-term volunteer mission service:

• Grant Writer

• Development Associate/Fundraiser

• Admin. Assist. to Dean /Academic Affairs

• Conference Center Coordinator

• Cooks 

• Food Pantry Coordinator

• Instructors/Adjunct Faculty

• Office Assistant 

• Library Assistant

• Maintenance Worker

• Housekeeping

Please contact the NACCC offices (800) 262-1620 Ext: 17 for additional information.

“AIN’T GOD WONDERFUL!”
The Morgan Scott Project, located in Deer Lodge, Tennessee, serves the poor and elderly residents of Morgan and Scott Counties.  Jill Potter, the mission director, relays the following story:  “Once when delivering bread and a supply of cereal to our children’s ministry, I had a child come to me and thank me for the cereal.  I told her she was welcome and needed to remember to thank God for making this possible because He is the one who provides.  She looked at me and said, ‘You mean He gave this for you to give to us?’  And I said, ‘Yes,’ because in reality He did.  The child replied ‘ain’t God wonderful!’ And I had to agree.”

Morgan Scott is working to make the services of the mission more accessible to persons in need of assistance.  Therefore, Morgan Scott, along with the Salvation Army and the Big Emory Valley Baptist Association, is working to open a “help center” in Scott County late this spring or during the early summer months.  While finances and programming will remain separate, these groups will work together to improve the “system” of help that is offered to participants. The center will provide services to persons who would otherwise have no access to the mission programs or ministry.

Additionally, Morgan Scott is working toward the implementation of programming that will offer long-term solutions to those persons who are served by the mission.  Computers, software, office supplies, and volunteers familiar with grant writing are needed to assist mission clients with job training, expanding their career opportunities, or updating computer skills. 

Financial assistance with the implementation of this new program will be vital to its success.

SEAFARER’S FRIEND
Seafarer’s Friend serves the unmet needs of seafarer’s aboard commercial vessels in New England.  Since September 11^th, 2001, many ports have prohibited crewmembers from stepping ashore onto the facility property, effectively restricting seafarers to their vessels, even when they have clearance from the U.S. government.  Sailors are unable to use pay telephones to make contact with their families. Some have not spoken to family members in over a month.  To respond to this need, Seafarer’s Friend has purchased cell phones to take onboard ships when the crew is unable to come ashore.  This situation also leaves sailors unable to purchase toiletries and other necessities.  Material support is an important way to reach out to seafarers in need. Ditty Bags containing personal items required for long sea journeys are distributed by the mission. During the cold winter months, many sailors, who have come from much warmer lands, are unaccustomed to the severe winter weather.  Seafarer’s Friend boards ships with warm clothes and accessories.  These items do not just warm the seafarers, but also convey Christian charity. Collections of items for Ditty Bags are very much appreciated by the mission and are a wonderful project for mission groups, Sunday Schools, youth groups and men’s and women’s groups.  Please visit the Seafarer’s Friend website for Ditty Bag donation guidelines:  www.seafarersfriend.org  or contact the NACCC office:  (800) 262-1620 Ext: 17.

Prayer Requests
Mission volunteers from Congregational Churches across the US who will be traveling to Mission Mazahua, Mexico, in late February and early March.

Travancore Church Council, India, for improvements to the schools, hospital, and work with youth.  Also, continued prayers for the family after the loss of David Solomon.

Rev. John Carson, Associate Executive Secretary for Missions, as he travels to mission sites in Myanmar, India, Ghana, and Nigeria.

The Christian Mission in the Far East, Philippines, for the safety of mission leaders on the island of Mindanao.

Continued recovery of Awit Castillo, director of the Caring Community, NACC, Philippines, after a stroke the past summer.

Children served by the Honduran Mission’s feeding stations.

The Missionary Society of the NACCC - (800) 262-1620 Ext: 17
rmahnke@naccc.org