A letter from Joseph in Ghana and a reply from Char

Dear sister Char & everyone at OJP,Warmest greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ. It is quite inspiring to read the Conversation between Char and Pastor Jean! We hope that in the future we will be able to join the online yahoo conference as we had did in the past.We are just curious - were you able to send the Christmas package yet? We also pray daily that the Father will deliver the Rebate safely to Silvana, so that she can use part as she planned to help us to pray the remaining rent, which will provide us with electricity. Extend our greetings, love and thanks to your families and to the rest of the brethren there! Your brother,Joseph & the brethren here

Dear Brother Joseph,

We have been checking the mail every day in eager anticipation of the rebate check. We thought that it would come by now because they said it was mailed on October 31st. The very day it comes we will put it in the bank and then send it to you the next day by ikobo. We hope that the landlord will act swiftly after he receives the payment, so you can have electricity soon. Felicia said that the Father told her today that the rebate check will come very soon.

Yesterday Therese and I went shopping for more Christmas gifts for your children. Nikki gave us the money to buy them. Now each child has a few small toys to be sent with the package we are mailing to you. Today I am going to wrap the presents in Christmas paper and put their names on the present, so the children can have the fun of opening them on Christmas Day. We are praying for each of them. We also will include some candy for the Christmas feast for the children and for the adults who like candy. Brother, we believe we are going to be able to send at least $150 for the Christmas feast since Nikki said she will contribute to that as well. We will send that money by ikobo some time in December. What a joy to honor Jesus together on this Birthday Feast Day, the King's Feast - a feast from the King, a feast for the King.

If the children want to swap gifts, then we will not mind if they do that. We tried to buy something that we thought a child that age might like to have. We are sending extra batteries for the presents that take batteries, such as the little remote controlled cars for Koseh and Cyril and the musical toy for Mawupelonu. The shirt that we bought for Mawutoh and Kafui are worn by teenage girls here, so we hope that they like them. They are just a simple tee-shirt with a design on them, such as is commonly worn in America. To Agbalavi we gave a fashion doll set rather than a shirt. To Aisha we gave a small paint book with interesting designs inside. Elikplim's present is very pretty. It is a little pair of gloves with a toy necklace. It is to play dressing up, and also she will receive a little toy dishes set. Reine has a colorful tamborine/xylophone set, and Ameivie has a baby doll with a few bottles. When you hold up the bottle to the baby's mouth, the milk seems to disappear. The baby outfit that we bought for (coming) Newborn Baby Assiongbo can be worn by either a girl or a boy. For Precious we chose a spy night scope, for Makafui some soft sports balls. They can be used inside the house, if you allow, because they are small and they are soft. The playdough that we bought for Kouevigah is something that little children in America like to play with. You make shapes with it, and then put it back in the little containers to keep soft after you are finished playing with it, so you can use it again. Each child also gets a few other very small presents besides the ones I am mentioning. Of course we normally keep presents a secret, but we thought that you and the parents might like to know about the little gift coming to their children. We also have a few little gifts for the house, that all of you can share. After the new year, we will see if we can find out about sending some clothes.

We wanted to ask you, is there a shop near you that sells second-hand clothing? How far are you from shops and from town and how far are you from the internet cafe? How is everything on the farm? We very much look forward to meeting with you in Yahoo, Joseph. We have been thinking about how you are able to get to town. How much does it cost for a motor scooter there? How much for a adult sized bicycle? How much would it cost to get shoes for the children and all the adults? We think it might be less expensive to buy these items in Ghana rather than to buy them here and pay the postage to mail them, but we will see which is best. We are always thinking of all of you, dear Joseph, and praying for all of you. We would like to have a picture of all of you, so we could see the names of each person and the each child, since you are all our brothers and sisters.

God bless you! We look forward to hearing from you again soon. We will send an email when the rebate money comes, so you will know that it is arriving by ikobo the next day.

With love in Jesus,
Char

Father, please bless Brother Joseph and the Believers with him. Provide what they need, Father, for their daily needs. Let their crops grow well. Let the families feel the joy of Your Holy Spirit, as they live together in Jesus' name.