MSN: News & Updates

July 2008
BACK IN ACCRA, GHANA
Dear Friends,

We’re currently in Accra, Ghana with a little down time trying to figure out our way around town. There are noreal street signs so you just have to go by landmark like thepharmacy called Pills and Tabs, or the lumberyard next to the termite hill. We’re not kidding about that one. There were stacks of lumber next to a termite hill. That onemade us smile. One thing we are enjoying about Accra and Ghana in general is the people we have met. They’re warm, wonderful and many of them love the Lord.

There's also no separation of church and state here which means if you’re the owner of the only major grocery store and you want to play Christian music you can. So imagine our shock pushing the cart down the isle and suddenly hearing the entire place filled with the worship song “Shout to Lord”. We really enjoyed our time at the supermarket.

Accra is a major city that is growing like crazy. There is construction everywhere. The church is well established and it’s why we prefer the rural areas that have never heard the name of Jesus. We do enjoy being able to return to Accra and some the comforts the city provides. Whether you’re in a city or the bush there are always people around us that need to receive Christ. Read a great example of this in the story below titled "John the Baptist, Jesus and Me". -- Blessings, Cathy and Stuart Greer

LORD, IT'S HARD TO BE HUMBLED

After our last newsletter the Lord spoke to us clearly that it was totally inappropriate for us to expose the weaknesses of our contact in Togo, who is also a believer. Ouch!. We may have been right in our discernment but we did not handle it correctly. It was so wrong and we were heartbroken. Have you ever heard the song, “Lord it’s hard to be humble?” I can tell you it's harder to be humbled by the Lord but correction always comes for our good and we’re learning. Thanks to a dream from the Lord we were finally able to let ourselves off the hook and move on. Wow, a sharp reminder to handle you're brother and sister's carefully. After all we're talking about His bride. We so appreciate your continued prayers and support. We need them!

JOHN THE BAPTIST, JESUS AND ME.
We were able to attend an international church in Accra on Sunday. We really enjoyed it. The pastor that spoke was from Holland. There were many people there other countries

including Ghana. The worship was in English and included a few familiar songs. Again, due to the heavy accents and the unfamiliar surroundings I found myself unable to really focus. So I just opened the bible and began to read about the ministry of John the Baptist. I was suddenly overwhelmed by what I was reading and my heart began to burn. I realized John’s ministry was my ministry and that Stuart and I are here to prepare the way of the Lord. Just like John we are here to make room for others to encounter the living God. We are here to testify like John that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Again, like John we are here to declare His Kingdom and give testimony to the fact that He longs to baptize you with His Spirit. I was so encouraged that the Lord was speaking to me.

Suddenly, I looked over at a man in another row. He was visibly oppressed. My heart broke and I could feel his burden. I knew his story was long and he was lost. After the message closed I went to him immediately. His story was a long string of betrayals and abuses. He was practically homeless, his frame was weak, and his body was aged by years of poor choices and sin. He was blind in one eye from someone beating him up. He reminded me of so many of the homeless that we ministered to every month for years in Santa Ana, California. I finally said, "Look you've lived your life, you've been in charge of it and look what has happened? Where are you at with God?" The first thing he said, “I haven’t been to church in a long time so I came here and this is my second time.” Whenever you hear someone start talking about Church when you ask a question about God it usually means they have no relationship with Him. So I told him, "I don't care how many times you had been to church, a matter of fact forget church for a moment." He was surprised by my comment and began to listen. We went on to talk about a personal relationship with God. I asked him if he had ever asked the Lord to forgive him of his sin. You could see the shame as he responded sheepishly, “You don’t know what I have done.” Then came the excuses, “I think I am like this because of my childhood.” I finally just challenged him to get saved. He agreed that he desperately needed to get saved and gave

his life to Christ. We introduced him to the pastor of the church and encouraged him to come forward for prayer and to keep coming back.

You know so many of us attend church assuming the person next to us knows the Lord but that's not true. People wander in all the time because of life circumstances or maybe even come because their children are at an age where they feel they need something spiritual. I have actually run into this one a lot. Keep your eyes open in church and let’s catch the ones that jump into our boat! I left the church that morning rejoicing and excited that I could be a part of what just happen.

As I pondered the things the Lord had shown me during the service and the immediate opportunity to lead someone to Christ I was reminded again, John’s ministry is our ministry. We are all called to prepare the way of the Lord. It’s the Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son all working together that birth a new believer and all we have to do is be a voice like John the Baptist. We have to open our mouths. Paul says it this way, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! -- Romans 10:14-15. Raise your voice like John who said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” All I did was say the same thing to a man sitting in church and the Lord came. Raise your voice today and prepare the way for someone to have an encounter with Jesus. Amen?