A Letter from James Lucas;  Tarkwa, Ghana, West Africa  on Friday, January 22, 2008

SFMI—January 22, 2008
News from Ghana, West Africa
Jim & Fran Lucas and Timothy Spurling 

"...Greetings from Ghana! 
When we left Central Oregon, it was snowing; and the roads were very icy. 

Fred and Daniela braved the hazardous conditions and drove us to Portland on the eighth of January. We met there that evening with our son Rick, his wife and son. The following morning at 4:30 Fred took us to the airport. Tim Spurling met us at the airport, and his whole family was there to see him off. 

Now we are sweating in the warm African sun. We have been here now about nine days. Our heavenly Father undertook for us, and we had a fine flight over—meaning no problems. It took a long time, and we were very tired; but everything went well. The first flight was to Minneapolis; that flight took three and half hours. We were in the airport for almost three hours; then we flew to Amsterdam that took eight and half hours.

We had a seven hour wait in the airport; then we flew to Accra, Ghana.

Our friend Isaac Toffah and his wife Gloria were there to meet us. They gave us a very warm welcome, and Isaac is a costumes officer so we went through costumes very quickly. He said he had arranged for us a hotel close to the airport; that really was welcome news. After a long night sleep, Gloria then took us to the bus station. Fii a young man from Tarkwa was there to accompany us, and we waited about four hours for the bus. We left about three in the afternoon, and we arrived in Tarkwa about ten p.m. 

Our heavenly Father has manifested his grace to us in many ways. On the trip in March 2007 several people were saved. One of them is Fii (Friday); he is twenty-four years old, and he is growing in the Lord.

Another one is called Emanuel. He works at the gold mine, and he is engaged to Maryann Kangni’s sister. Her name is Comfort. Emanuel has built a house that they plan to live in, but he has insisted that we can use it until David’s house is finished. Not only did he insist we stay in his house; but he loaned us his car, a Suzuki. Because the kitchen is not quite ready yet, Comfort has been fixing food and sending it down to us with the young men that have been saved. Miller a very energetic, young man, who is well known for his soccer skills, comes and waits on us hand and foot. Fii also comes and Clement. These young men are hungry for the word of God and are servants at heart, and they are really looking after us. 

We had a meeting Sunday evening and two young men gave their lives to Jesus; one of them is Miller, the one mentioned above. The other one is called Derrick. 

We have had a problem getting cash because my debit card is a MasterCard, and they only use Visa here. We have opened up a bank account here in town, and we think we can work around this problem. 

We have been trying to get things ready in the apartment where we will be living. Since things move slowly in Africa, it can be a little frustrating if you expect matters to be completed quickly. Therefore, we are learning the blessing of patience. Since the internet in town is out today, I am putting this on a flash drive. I will carry it down Monday and send it. We are still trying to get hi speed internet into the apartment and a local phone that should be done before too long. 

We have really enjoyed the Ghanan food. They have a large variety, and all the dishes are very good. They cook with a lot of pepper sauce, and it is seasoned well. 

The three of us now have a Ghanan driver’s license. They normally do not issue them to foreigners; but because we are here with the mission, they allowed us to get them. It did take most of one day to get them, but praise the Lord we have them. 

There seems to be quite a few people interested in Bible training.  Please pray we will be able to get settled in and get things in order so we can start classes soon.  

Take courage; Jesus is coming soon. 

James, Francille and Tim"