November 2023 – Changing Lives, Transforming a Nation | The Vision Continues to Unfold
“To everything there is a season, A time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, and A time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)
A time to be born and a time to die; a time to weep and a time to laugh. Our foster parents, William and Xorve, seem to be specializing in babies. The Department of Social Welfare assigns children to foster parents. Twice we were told that young boys were going to be placed with them, but so far, we haven’t seen them. However, when they 
get a call about a baby, the baby does arrive. This is a great service to the community because many people won’t take a baby due to the extra expense and amount of care needed.
Kwabena was their first baby since being approved as foster parents. He’s now a happy 2-year-old, is in nursery school, and is doing very well. We expected he would be put up for adoption because either his mother nor any family could be found after he was abandoned in the hospital. So far nothing towards that has yet been done.
A couple of months ago, a sweet little two-month-old named Fidelia was placed with William and Xorve. Her mother was mentally handicapped and could not take her home from the hospital. Social Welfare was investigating the family situation. Right from the beginning you could see the bond between Fidelia and Xorve (picture). However, Fidelia developed a fever and was taken back to the hospital where she was born. The nurses were thrilled to see how much weight and strength she had gained. It was a shock to all when she didn’t respond to treatment and passed away later that night. William, Xorve, and the rest of the Anloga family were devastated and are grieving her loss but were glad they could fill her short life with love.
Another little newborn girl is now on her way to this family. We’re waiting to hear when she’ll arrive. We thank God that they are so willing to care for these little ones, especially after such a loss. Please keep them all in your prayers.
A time to plant and a time to build up. God is going to move in Adidome. Rev. Sharon Titian poured out her heart in prayer for this town. And it has continued to be on our hearts. We thank God that our new chief is a sincere Christian and a leader in the church he attends. After he was enstooled (put in place as chief), one of his first actions was to arrange a three-day crusade with an internationally known evangelist, Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, a friend of his. He asked the churches in Adidome to support him in this effort. The theme of the crusade was taken from Nehemiah 2:17-18, “It’s a New Dawn, Arise and Let’s Build.” During the crusade, our chief shared his Christian testimony and hopes for the town, for unity and peace where there were divisions, and for growth where there has been stagnation. On the last night, he made a declaration over the town, dedicating it to Christ, and declaring a new day of Christian chiefs, beginning with him. A wonderful side effect of the crusade was a movement of pastors coming together in support of the crusade. While all churches were invited, those participating in the planning are only a fraction. However, there is much greater number and more unity than we have experienced before. We still need to evaluate the effect on the people who attended. Please pray with us for a divine touch of God on Adidome, that we would be known for the presence of God.
Another area of recent growth is our farm on our Anloga property. We have struggled to find crops that grow well there. We are excited to report that recently we’ve had good crops of shallots, tomatoes, and okra. There is currently a small crop of sweet potatoes that also looks good. Fred has put a lot of time and effort into this project. Right now, they are preparing to plant a large field of shallots, which seems to be the very best crop for our land.