Sunday, October 11th – After breakfast we headed out for Sunday Service.
Our bus driver dropped us off on the main street and we walked the narrow dirt
road leading to the church. Along the way we passed railroad tracks that once
carried cocoa to Accra to be exported to other parts of the world. As we entered
the New Creation Baptist Church at Koforidua, the congregation was joyously
praising God. They greeted us warmly.
We were surprised to see that 80% of the congregation consisted of young people,
teenagers through mid thirties. This is of course an estimate because many
Ghanaians look much younger than their years. The Pastor in Charge is the
Rev. Thomas Abiah Ohenebeng who introduced Rev. Soaries who introduced
Rev. Gipson, Ministers Winfrey and Adams and Pastor Hicks. Our melodious
songstress, Ann Young graced us with Holy, Holy, Holy.
After the collection, we all did our holy dance before the Lord. Charles Corpening
was up leading our delegation of dancers, while LeRoy Carmichael watched
from the sidelines. Deacon Paul Opokie officiated the service and acted
as interpreter for both English and the Ghanaian languages. The preacher
was Deacon Gilbert Khafe who spoke on “Faith”. He told us that
without faith, it was impossible to please God. Faith is a gift. It teaches
us that God exists.
New Creation Baptist Church is currently under construction. It will be a three
story edifice. The first floor is the main sanctuary, the second will be
a computer lab, and the third will be a library, all open to the public.
Rev. Soaries pledged a continued relationship with the church and Pastor
Ohenebeng.
We checked out of the hotel and did some local touring of the area. Reginald
Nii Tackie Dodoo, Development Coordinator, Office of the Okyenhene, and
Staffer to the King who has been with us all week showed us his homeland.
We fondly refer to him as “Reggie”. Reggie took us to visit
his mother’s school. It is a private primary school named “The
Harvard International School”. Later we visited the 75 year old St.
George’s Cathedral, the oldest Catholic Church in Ghana. We were
met by Father Paul who gave us a tour. The church was 2000 worshipers and
holds two masses each Sunday.
We stopped at the foot of a mountain where many Ghanaians believe that the mountain is a God that protects the area. There is a shrine where a priestess practices sorcery. We were told that many Ghanaians travel here for advice and counsel from the priestess. We passed many miles of sacred grove where kings and chiefs are buried. The land is protected by the government.
We reached the town of Tafo, one of the oldest in Ghana. The land here is
very fertile for farming. Cocoa is one of the main crops. Ghana processes
40% of the beans grown and exports the remaining. Ghana chocolate is said
to be the best. (Hmmmm, I wonder if that this is where Godiva gets its
chocolate.) The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana is located here and is
owned by the British.
We were invited to the beautiful home of Mr. Kofi Amoabeng, owner of U T Financial
Services which is #3 on Ghana’s Club 100. We entered Mr. Amoabeng’s
gated home and made our way around the grounds to the pool area where we
fellowshipped and dined. King Okyenhene and the Queen Mother, Nana Aduturemwaa
Dokuaa were among the guests.
Towards the end of the evening, we were given an audience with the King. He
expressed his love for his pastor, Rev. Soaries and his appreciation for
the relationship which they have developed. He told us how much he appreciated
our coming to Ghana and thanked us for our support. The King told us the
story of how he met Rev. Soaries. The King said he has a friend who lives
in the States and who is a member of our Church. When his friend joined
the church, he was experiencing some personal problems. The friend told
him that after he heard and met Rev. Soaries , he became a better person.
The King told us that when he came to the States, he visited our church
and listened to the preacher who he thought was “so so”. He
reported this to his friend who said, “are you sure you heard Rev.
Soaries? Did he have a white patch in his head?” “No”,
said the King, “I guess I have to go back again.” He did, and
the King told us that his life has not been the same. At the end of one
of Rev. Soaries sermons, he stayed around to meet him and later joined
First Baptist. The King says that he has become a better, husband, father
and King. The King then entertained our questions and the evening ended.
We set out on our long three hour ride back to Accra along dark dirt winding
mountainous roads, and even though we had mechanical difficulties, God
and our great driver, Redeemer brought us safely to our hotel.