JUNE NEWSLETTER

 MINISTRY UPDATES

 

HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH

 During the period under review, we organized a Career Guidance and Counselling session for the students of the Okuapemman Senior High School in Akropong in the Eastern Region of Ghana. A total of about one thousand students were in attendance.

 Our team of facilitators took the time to provide guidance and helped these students to cast a vision for the future.  The team assuaged the worries, uncertainties, and anxieties that characterize young people of this age bracket. The students were spoken to on the importance of venturing into a career that does not become a burden to them but a source of joy. They were also advised to brandish their talents and skills as secondary support to the career they have in plan.

It was a beautiful experience being a voice of hope and encouragement for these young ones.  Most of the questions the students asked had to do with parental consent to their career choices, the bridge between education and skills like sewing, hairdressing, and soccer among others.  The students were thrilled and cannot wait for yet another opportunity of this kind.

As we express our gratitude to the partners who supported us financially and any other forms,  we want to encourage you our faithful partners to continue to help us to reach out to many more of this young generation to help shape their lives for a better future.

JESUS FILM SHOW

 In line with our vision, we partnered with the Shiloh Christ Life Church in Afienya in the Greater Accra Region to show the film “War Room”, a compelling drama with humor and heart that explores the power that prayer can have on marriages, parenting, careers, friendships, and every other area of our lives. At the end of the movie, we had a discussion session and the impact was amazing.

We have many more churches and communities in rural areas that need these kinds of programs to strengthen the churches and to reach out to more souls for the kingdom of God. Please partner with us to spread the gospel through our film show project.

 

 

AFATSAGBLEVE COMMUNITY NOW HAS ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER!

Meaningful Life International has taken up the challenge to provide safe drinking water for deprived communities by drilling boreholes in such communities. Currently, Meaningful Life International has drilled over fifty (50) boreholes for deprived communities across the country. The latest community to benefit from our borehole projects is Afatsagbleve in the Volta region of Ghana. This community now has access to clean drinking water after more than 100 years of drinking from unwholesome water sources. Today, women and children do not have to travel long distances to fetch water from ponds and rivers for household usage. This is a huge relief! The joy and excitements on the faces of the people tell it all.

 

 

 

The provision of safe water is very key in our daily lives.

Everyone has a right to safe drinking water.

The borehole drilled in the Afatsagbleve Community came about by the prayers of us all and was made possible with the support of Brother Aaron Reinicke and the Church Rancho Bernando, a non-denominational church in North County San Diego led by Pastor Jared Herd.

Your contribution and all you do, supporting us in prayers and such helps us to fulfill our mission of creating a brighter and safer future for all and above all bringing them the gospel of Christ.

 

Excited to see the next life-changing and community-impacting mandate we will embark on?

Stay with us in prayer and support as we partner with the Friends of Africa this August for another fantastic event that would help individuals see themselves as God sees them, (that is they are valuable and worthwhile before him) by uplifting their Spirits through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, their minds through leadership development and their bodies by bringing medical care and water to their doorsteps to enable them have a vision for life

There are many more such communities who are waiting to have a taste of fresh water for the first time in their lives. Would you be part of this history-making? We would be glad to partner with you.

Click here: https://www.meaningfullifeinternational.org/  to know more about us.

You can send us a message via mail at meaningfulifemissions@gmail.com

You can also call us at +233 24 157 7649

MAY NEWSLETTER

 RESTORE CONFERENCE 2023

Meaningful Life International in partnership with Rev. Steve Madsen, the founder of Cornerstone Fellowship USA, successfully organized a leadership conference dubbed RESTORE CONFERENCE 2023. The main idea of the conference was to rejuvenate, revive and empower the church and cooperate leaders for effective service.

The conference, which had over a hundred {100} people drawn from different churches and organizations attending was organized in two parts.  The first one was held on April 20^th through to April 22^nd, 2023 at the Eli Beach Resort in Keta in the Volta region of Ghana. About 50 participants were present at this conference. The second part of the conference took place from April 24^th through to April 26^th, 2023 at the Noda Hotel in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. Over 50 people also attended this event. The accommodation and feeding cost of the six [6] days conference was fully sponsored by Rev. Steve Madsen and his partners.  

Rev. Madsen who was the main conference speaker taught participants using bible characters like Moses, David, and the 3 Marys. Participants were grouped into smaller numbers of five [5] people during focus group discussions after each presentation.

This conference offered an opportunity for participants to socialize, relax, refresh, and revitalize for effective ministry.  

The impact of this conference was felt by all participants with the hunger for more. Every participant left the conference with maximum satisfaction. It is not surprising that they are already looking forward to the next Restore conference!

Meaningful Life International would like to thank Rev. Madsen and his faithful partners and friends for facilitating this important Restore Conference 2023. On behalf of the over 100 participants who turned up for this conference, we say God richly bless you.  

Partner with us today to bring meaning to the lives of people especially the less privileged in society.

 

DONATE TODAY

At https://www.meaningfullifeinternational.org/  Or mail your support to 

Meaningful Life USA

P.O. Box 6321 Vallejo, 

CA. 94591

Or

Meaningful Life International 

P.O. Box CE 11092 

Tema, Ghana

meaningfulifemissions@gmail.com

 

Thank You!

PATRICIA A. HENAKU (Part 2)

PATRICIA AKUFFO-HENAKU

Patricia has served with Meaningful Life International as an intern for a month now and the time is up for her to go back to school. We have really enjoyed doing ministry with her and we have been so blessed by her stay with us! 

Here is the concluding part of her journal...

"...Work started out very well on my first day. During my first week, i worked with the Administrator. The work here involved finance & day-to-day accounts, HR and Administration. I did a lot of inventories and filing of payment vouchers (basically paper work) throughout the first week. The work here was a lot, and the pace at which i worked was different from the pace here. So for the first week, that was my major challenge. Soon, i got used to the flow and quickly adapted.

Next, i moved to the Projects Department to assist the Projects Director in charge of Operations. I was really challenged here because the work here had a lot to do with Social Works. I got to know more about MLI's ministry activities in the rural communities of Ghana, the strategy MLI has adopted in working with these different people groups and the impact they have had on the people in these communities. We had long discussions about projects, and i was given the opportunity to draft a proposal for the first time; and it was good.  From the Projects Department, i moved to the Front desk.

The most exciting part so far has been my time in the Executive Director’s office. I was his protege personal assistant for a week. Rev. Dr. Godwin Ahlijah is fun to be with. I had the opportunity to interview him and learn about his ministry as a Reverend Minster and his involvement with Missions over the years. My time with him made me appreciate service to God more. He always emphasized that God is the secrete behind his success, and i agree with him. Only God can sustain someone with a lot of positions like Rev. Dr. Ahlijah. Through him, God has shown me that i can trust Him (God) to lead and control my life.

Slowly, the period for my internship was coming to an end. The thought of leaving this beautiful family made me teary. I spent my last week at Meaningful Life International in the Executive Project Director’s office. He is in charge of Media & Graphic Design, IT, Public relations & News Updates and Summer Teams. He is such an amazing person to work with. I had the opportunity to put together PowerPoint presentations, write ups for their weekly blog and Monthly newsletter, and a New Year’s message for their Ministry Partners. I also helped to design some flyers and create subtitles for a Documentary Video he was working on. I have learnt a lot of things outside my field of study, and they are skills that are definitely going to be helpful and instrumental in my profession as a social worker.

All in all, my internship with Meaningful Life International has been exciting, fulfilling and totally amazing! One thing that stood out for me was their Morning Devotions and Prayer Sessions. In general, i would say that it has been a great blessing to have had this opportunity to intern at Meaningful Life International. Though there were a few challenges, it is a great place to work; wonderful people and a peaceful Holy Spirit-filled atmosphere. I have enjoyed my time here and I hope to be back for another internship."

PATRICIA AKUFFO-HENAKU

(Part 1)

Meaningful Life International believes that EVERY individual has the potential to fulfill their God-given dream when given the right opportunities, direction and support. In that light, MLI runs a system where Students from the University would come and serve with us for a period of time as interns.

This year, we are very privileged to have Patricia Akuffo-Henaku, a second year Social Work & Sociology student of the University of Ghana, Legon, serving with us. Patricia believes that MLI has the perfect Spiritual and Professional environment that is grooming her for her future career as a Social Worker. This she believes will empower her with the right tools to go out and make a positive change in the lives of people everywhere she goes.

This is her story...

"Before gaining admission into the University, i had no idea about Social Work. Whenever i saw people working with NGOs or Non-Profit Organizations, i always wondered what they studied back in the University. However, i have always had a keen interest in issues on human rights, women and children, health and international relations. In connection to this, i participated in the 'Model United Nations’ as well as a 'Mock AU Conference' which were organized to mark the celebration of the Day for the African Child. These platforms exposed me to so much as a teenager. I read about international issues, learnt how to make sound arguments, learnt the rules of procedure used in these international organizations, how to negotiate, how to prepare position papers, do research, and so many other things.

After gaining admission to the University and doing a little research on what i was going to study there (Social Work), i felt strongly that God was directing my path and giving me a chance to develop myself in my field of interest.

I heard about Meaningful Life International and about their ministry in the rural communities of Ghana through my mother. I have a personal believe that God gives everyone an opportunity to make a change everywhere they go, so this was a perfect opportunity for me to learn more and have some experience and practice in social work. So i decided to do my internship with Meaningful Life International. 

I started work as an intern on the 5th of January this year; and i must say that i have really enjoyed working here so far. Before i joined Meaningful Life, i thought the working environment was going to be the typical very strict and busy working environment. I expected to have strict supervisors and colleagues who simply did not have time for any other thing apart from work. I thought working here was really going to strain me. But no! Rather, every one was so down to earth and lovely. Every one here is like family..."

We will bring you Part 2 of Patricia's profile in our next publication... Stay Blessed!!

Hard Ground

Two nights ago, our Meaningful Life International team had the privilege to visit Aburi (a-bree) at the invitation of a pastor there who heard about one of our recent outreaches. He wanted our help to reach as many people as possible in his town. This pastor has been serving there for over 15 years and like so many places in Ghana, it is "hard ground," a spiritually dark place.

This isn't always obvious because you will see lots of churches in Ghana and many of the businesses (roadside kiosks) have biblical references in their names and often refer to a Bible verse - even the bars or "spots" as they are called here. There is the appearance of a Christian presence but quite frequently the people who confess their devotion to Jesus mix their Christian worship with their traditional forms of idolatry. (This happens back home in the US but it is even more subtle there.)

The drive into Aburi from Accra is beautiful. It reminds me of a drive into the Smoky Mountains. The road is narrow with frequent switch-backs as you climb the mountain. This particular road looked very modern. It was clean and well paved with attractive developed areas on either side of the road. We passed the presidential lodge, which has a stunning view of the valley below. With just a bit of daydreaming, I could forget that I was in Ghana and imagine a place of much greater comfort. The visions of comfort didn't last long. Soon we were in the center of Aburi.


The heartbeat of the town is the chiefs palace. It is an old structure with a more modern building next to it where the chief holds his council meetings. Downtown is congested with people and structures. The roads are very narrow and difficult to pass because of the open gutters that line both sides of the roads.

We found just enough room in the parking place by the chief's quarters to set up our projector, screen, computer and speaker. The power was out, so we had to use a generator. The only problem was, it wouldn't start. We quietly waited and prayed while someone from the town made some repairs. Just before the light of day vanished the generator started and we finished checking our equipment.

Smoke began to flow from the projector and we quickly unplugged. The generator was running but in a way that the voltage was spiking. Again we worked and prayed and waited but we were unsuccessful in getting the generator to function properly.

By God's grace, the power came back on and we had a backup projector. Now it was completely dark and a crowd began to form, curious about what we were up to.

We showed a film about four people that had died and were on their way to final judgement. Satan was there making his case that they all belonged to him. The people were riveted to the screen as the pastor added his commentary and gave everyone the opportunity to receive Jesus. From this "hard ground" about 50 people responded and provided contact information so the pastor could do follow-up with them later in the week.

We were thrilled to see the Lord move in the lives of these people. The thought of one young man has stuck with me - he was broken and frustrated by his addiction to alcohol. He wants to quit but can't seem to win the battle. He appeared sober but I could smell the truth of what he was telling us. We prayed intensely over him and trust that he will find complete freedom in Jesus.

In the last picture above, you will see a portion of a round, white structure in the bottom left corner. This is the shrine where the chief and villagers pour out their drink offerings to their idols. The middle portion of the shrine is filled with fragments of the glass bottles used in the offerings. You may think the generator and projector problems were merely equipment issues. I am convinced it was spiritual.

Satan works to keep those who are his and he wants to frustrate the work of God's people because it is through our work that the Lord redeems His children from Satan's slavery. In every village that practices idol worship at shrines like the one above, we have had serious equipment challenges when these shrines are the film show.

As we drove out of town, our vehicle drove extremely rough - as if the tires were horribly out of balance and the brakes were struggling to do their work. We prayed and gave thanks to Jesus for His victory that night and as we came down out of the hills to the valley floor, our car once again drove as smoothly as it had earlier in the day.

We praise God for allowing us to see His work and victory over the darkness!