Great Sendoff, Great Arrival in Ghana!

Rev. Martha Epstein writes: Our journey is off to a wonderful start. After many months of prayers, meetings, trainings and preparation we were commissioned in a beautiful service on August 31, 204 at the Ghana UMC in Bronx, NY. We gathered for a Spirit filled service which included lively music, festive dress and dancing. As part of the service we were witnesses to the renewal of wedding vows by the pastor of the church, Rev. Samuel Nketsia and his wife. All clergy present prayed over them that God would continue to bless them, their union and their family. After the ceremony we were blessed by Rev. Dixon's rendition of "I Want To Walk with Jesus" on the saxophone. Those present were then introduced by Rev. Ewoodzie, Director of NYAC, Mission & Outreach and an explanation of our mission summit trip was explained. The dedication service was led by Dr. Claude Gooding, the Director of NYAC Connectional Ministries and consisted of a litany adapted from "A Mission Journey: A Hanbook for Volunteers," a prayer and the presentation of a flashlight, commissioning us to go forth and be an exaple of Gods light in the world. The service continued then with a moving, inspiring sermon by Rev. Derrick-Lewis Noble, Director of the NYAC Congregational Development and Revitalization, during which time God's presence was palpable. it was the perfect way for us to begin the journey that God has set forth before us.

We praised God when we landed safely at the Accra Airport in Ghana just after 1 p.m. local time. The flight was uneventful and although not a lot of sleep had been had we were excited to have finally arrived. Before we boarded we received the blessing of prayer via a Conference Call by our interim Bishop, Bishop Irons. Although we were saddened by the fact that Bishop McLee was unable to join us due to his leave, we knew that he was praying for us just as we continue to pray for him. Many different emotions were felt as we landed; for some it was a coming home, for some the first time out of the USA. We were overjoyed to be met by Rev. Joseph Washington and he easily guided us toward our first destination, the Christian Center in the hills above Accra. God has certainly paved the way for us as we settled into rooms named like "Rest," "Faithful" and "Called." The hospitality has been very generous already and we are looking forward to our debriefing and meeting of the Bishop of the Ghana Methodist Church. Oh, and the chocolate we received as a welcoming gift was out of this world!