lOG

DIRECT MAIL TO GHANA FORWARDING AGENT; NEWSLETTER

Miss Dorothy Eunson P.Oc Box 5722 ; AEicra N,m Ghana

Mrsc Tom Barkes 603 Twin Brook Lane Joppa, MD 21085

DOROTHY EUNSON NEWSLETTER

Vera Henderson ^8^^ Tellson PI. Orlando, FL 32806

VOLUME 2
Dear Friends in Christ,

NUMBER #3

February 8, 1979

able to get a tanker to come and fill the storage tank and outdoor bapitstry
at the college. Last week, we got ourhhouse tanks filled city to stretch what is in the tanks. Glenda, I and the

Greetings to you in Jesus* name in this New Year? Abeka, the "suburb" we live in, is in the midst of its second water shortage within six weeks. The pumping station is having some trouble with worn-out equipment, so in the last ten days we have had water in the pipes only twice, and those were in the middle of the night. Today, for the second time, we were

Adjeis also share lots of empty jugs to fetch water from other places in the
There is a "will" (water-hol^ near here,

but sometimes the students go and not enough water has seeped in for them to get bath water. We had a similar, shorter shortage before Christmas. At least, we" are thankful for the electricity being steady all this time. Se had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Season. The highlight was the annual Christmas church convention from December 21 to 24c Beforehand, I had -

been involved trying to organize transportation, not only for our congregation, but five others. Such efforts strained my desire for settled plans to the breaking point. People want to know hov/ much it costs before they commit them

selves^ to go, and drivers will not give you a price until they know how many pe

ople will gol Then some want to reserve places, assuring yo^ they will pay later and others drop out at the last minute. One group of five gave their money to a man who ran off with it. For another group of four, the sister of the preacher was killed in a lorry accident the very day of departure, so that cancelled their going. We were fortunate to be allowed to buy a bloc of JO advance tickets on the state bus. When I arrived at the sister church whose members were going on that bus, they were still there and it was less than an hour till departure. I
nearly had a heart attack on the spot. You might, too, if you understood the

He herded members on the private lorry like sheep, and then sent the others running down the road to catch a taxi. They all made it and so did wei We-had three carloads from Abeka, go to stay. Joseph came just for Sat urday evening to preach and brought two others. Christian, another man, the Bridges and I all had rooms in resthouses. Mine had a bedroom, plus access to a bath, sitting room with dinigg table and a fridge that ran at night. There wa,s a water bucket and one light bulb for all these areas. I was glad I had taken
a couple candles along.

difficulties of Accra transport.

If I was frantic, so was the local preacher.

We drove about I2 miles to the convention shed, erected right at the vil lage of thehhost church. In fact, they had restacked their cement blocks to
provide a wind-break on two sides of the shedo The shed was built around two

big palm trees, 109 yards from the ocean. Nothing but sand underfoot. We had to cross a soft spot each time. Carl got stuck twice, but I escaped. A rented
generator furnished power for an amplifier and light bulbs
were short so some slept on benches or on the sando

Accommotations

As usual, services were late

in starting but no one seemed to mindn Thirteen churches were represented by

anywhere present, accepted a fetish from 2 to 25. At the evening services between 250 to 3OO people were including some visitors from the village. Six people from Azizania Christ and were baptized. The widow of a Dzebetato member who has been priestess also gave her life wholly to Christ^ In numbers and warmtn

of fellowship, it was the best convention yetl We Praise GodJ The total offering
was also endouraging. Three of the churches were new since the last convention and were formally accepted into the brotherhhodr Another new church was repre sented, but no one knows much about them yet. Christian and I plan to visit themo They used very little English at this convention, so on Saturday night we asked one of our Abeka young men to translate for us Americans and Nigerians. That was much more meaningful It was the first time for Glenda and the children ajid she really enjoyed it. On Christmas Day we had church here at the college. The congregation from nearby Akweteman joined us, as did their sister church from Nkwanta-kese, north of Kumasiabout I70 miles from here. They hadn't gone home from the convention

yetc

It was a lovely,

joyous 2-J hour service

On New Wear's Day, we of Abeka

walked to Akweteman and shared another fine service with them.

On Christmas evening the Adjeis, Bridges, three students and a young church member shared a very simple dinner here at my house. Glenda and I prepared it
together, but my dining room is jigger. On New Year's Eve, our church had its first Watch Night service from 8:30 to 1. It is so easy to plan a four or five hour service here. Iffthe youth had had their way , we would have continued for a couple more hhursi We even can celled one prayer period and a filmstrip to close when we did? One young girl stayed all night with me and four young men stayed at the college.

p I want to share with you our visit to was the driving. church at Other Nkwanta-kese be I fore the convention. My main contribution than that
just enjoyed the hospitality of our hosts,

Christian Adjei, Alfred Yeboah,

the more distant church and I left Accra Saturday morning.

on ohe hotel where Christian might stay.

local young men)_the Aketeman preacher who is the e facto leader of

We stopped at Nkawkav/
In Kumasi by

went around to geeet some of Bro. Ohene Djan's relatives, and checked

fried plaintain or whatever each one fancied.

Then we drove on a miserable road about

informing them of the preaching that night, we continued on to our host village. We soayed in the family compound of Bro,Ohene Djan. I had a nice big bed-sitting
school compound, they had fixed up a special toilet for us to use with a bucket, a wooden fraine and a cardboard box nicely painted. Everything was so convenient
a_one in my room,,

twelve miles to visit one village where another small church is located..After

room, which meant someone in the house was doubling up somewhere else. The bath ing compound was right in "the same area and exceptionally clean. In a nearby

easily stay right in the village.

and^comfortable, that Christian, who uses a wheelchair, decided that he could

ket was ready.

We used kerosene lamps or candles in the evening,

Someone would notify us when our morning and evening bath buc

As a mark of courtesy, I was served meals

noon Bros. -Djan and Yeboah visiited a h.arvest service in another village, but Christian restec and I v/rote letters. In the early evening Christian conducted a ^question a.nd ansv/er ^peri od for- some of the cliurch and then we repeated the

where tne churcn meets v/jiiie their cv/n building slov/ly takes shape. In the after

Saturday evening we snowed .filmstrips in the center of town and Bro. Alfred preached. Sunday ravorning v/e enjoyed regular services in the school house

filmstrips and preachiiig service in tne cenxei' of the town. In addition to the narvGloih-- k:indr:e:ss of the family to us, their Christian

joy wa,s constantly eviderit,

Ma/ry timed during the day, those busy in the compound

At 5 each morning they gathered in one room

would start to sing togethein-

held in that villageto return to Accra-

and^ sang songs and shared scripture ^A-3rrjes. Their whole attitude nust lifted us up in^the Lord. We Iook forward to the Easter convention because it will be
We accepted a nev; studon. from Dsebetato Christian Church at the middle of

It was with reluctance that we left them on Monday morning

the first term.. His scholastic ability matches his dedication? Sears'order for Joseph Nsian's house arrived in January4nd Carl has sched

uled^ each student for two hours* labour each week.

-

Joseph's taxi arrived in Nov.

and is earning a comfortable l i ving for hinu.

We liave liad two outdoor preaching services by the church in the neighborhood

Several people made inquiries or commitments of some degree, but it is very hard to really integrate them into the local bodyo We have encouraging number, of nev/
attendents through the influence of friends.

college library in the last five years..

We learned, with regret, that more than 100 books have disappeared from the

If any group would like to perform a

If you have access to free pocket

special service for us, I can send them a list of two or three books with all necessary information to buy or order them and then to mail them to Ghana. Re

member how appreciated calendars are hereo

calendars, you can slip a few in a letter. It is better not to send them with the names and addresses of your church printed on them.

The year 1978 has been the most interesting and challenging of my life. I
pray, that for you, too, 1979 will be an even richer one as we walk and work

with the Lord wherever we live,

God bless you all!!

In Christian Love

Dorothy

First Christian Church

2565 East Kaley Avenue Orlando, FL 32806

DOROTHY EUNSON NEWSLETTER

VOL.

NUMBER 33

Orlando, Florida Permit No. 3081

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Horizons

Mission Services

BOX 177

Kempton, IN <+601^9

,^

job
DIRECT MAIL TO GHANAs

Miss Dorothy Eunson P.O. Box 5722 Accra N, Ghana

FORWARDING AGENT: Mrs. Tom Barkes

603 Twin Brook Lane

NEWSLETTER; Vera Henderson Tellson PI.

Joppa, MD

21085

Orlando, FL 32806

DOROTHY EUNSON NEWSLETTER

VOLUME 2
Dear Friends in Christ,

NUMBER 3^

May 28, 1979

complete their courses.

Six more weeks of school!

But now it is time to let you know what has been

On the nsimed Sunday, we had .

Graduation will be June 16 and 12 men will

happening in the last three months.

ship service with the sermon being on Christian marriage^ Then Christian Adjei called the young couple to the front and had them say some of the wedding vows that you are familiar with. They didn't use rings but the groom did give his
prayed for them. After that, we arranged the chairs in a big circle and en- ^ joyed singing and dancing in the traditional African style of Christian worship. We also enjoyed a drink of Kool-Aid furnished by the Americans. We pray that their life together will be strong and happy in the Lord, and that other young people planning marriage will follow their example of simplicity, Easter weekend, we enjoyed the church convention in Nkwanta-kese, 180
miles from here. 'About 60 people from the churches east of Accra, and some from Accra, rode north on the all night train. The train ride is a twelve
bride a white New Testament in token of his love. Then several church members

and the family of his wife-to-be.

young Christian workers completed all the customary rites between his family
wor

In March we had our first simple wedding in the church.

One of our ^

class on the train and were jammed beyond capacity. All the convention people were in one car and they had some drums v/ith them. They sang Christian songs until midnight and resumed singing at dawn. When they reached Kumasi, they had several hours wait before they finally got transportation to the village.
They were exhausted!

hour ordeal.

Bridges and I drove our cars a day or two later.

They rode third

The total attendance was smaller than usual, but larger than expected

because of the distance, added expense, and the change of currency here in March that resulted in the government's taking 30^ of whatever cash you had in
hand. The fellowship was good for all of us and the worship was a help. . I missed Sat. and Sim, morning sessions because of taking some sick people eleven
miles to Kumasi for medical care. The sick man was the host preacher. He had

been unable to do anything during the convention. On Easter the doctor di agnosed a bleeding ulcer. Unable to get attention at the local hospital, we
drove^another hour and a half to a mission run hospital.
to Accra this weekend, after three weeks illness.

He is to come home

During the convention, I had a big room to myselfthe same one I had
on our December visit there. There were convention people in three other rooms around the same courtyard, and the host fairiily in another room. One

night I had to go out, and there were several people sleeping on mats right in
the courtyard. The grandmother of the house cooked a lot of food and worked constantly to make everyone feel welcome. I had food from the house a couple times and prepared my own some times. On our last trip to Lome I bought a tiny one-burner gas camping ring for such occasions. A special treat was the plentiful supply of delicious avocadoes people kept bringing to us. Bananas, too. I learned several things about eating some easy-to-prepare-and-store
Ghanaian foods that will make i t even easier in the future.

in a different house and got along just fine, too.

Three mature Gh^aian men

Bridges stayed

and seven young men from Abeka went, too. They told me that each night after service, they would sing and pray together for a while before they slept. Much time in the general business meeting was spent in discussing funerals. Even though it has been discussed before, some still wanted to make it obli gatory for each church to contribute a certain amount any time a member died in any church. As before, the conclusion was that such gifts were to be voluntary, A funeral is a very important thing in this society and it brings disgrace on the family if it is not properly done. Therefore, the local church is disgraced, if they can't provide adequate help v/]ie;n the deceased is their
member. One illiterate elder insisted that he didn't want his pagan relatives
to even touch his dead body.

In April, three young adults who had been attending services^for some
time were immersed. Three young girls, v/ho are Sunday School pupils, also decided to give their lives to Christ and were baptized. Their initial re asons for wanting to follow Christ were very typical of what we find here. "Because Jesusiwill protect me from danger"; because Jesus will answer my prayers for what I need,* because Jesus will help me solve my problems." We
talked to them about sin and the need for salvation. Each girl confessed

openly some things she was guilty of and seemed to understand that after Christ cleansed her from sin, the Holy Spirit would help her to live a new life. One girl's mother said, "If this changes my daughter, we will all

begun to attend worship services faithfully and two bring their younger_brothers
Christian, a freshman student, and I paid a visit to the congregation at

come to your church",,

Let's pray for her Christian life^

The girls have

Ayinase that wanted to join the Christian Churches brotherhoods

also about 175 miles and at least 35 were dusty, unpaved miles.

That trip was

Arrangements

had been made for Christian to stay in a local hotel (like a rooming house)
and I to stay in the government resthouse. The hotel had several steps be
so we swapped rooms tween rooms and the rest-house was all on the same level, to make i t e,asier for the wheelchair.

We shared services with the little group Sunday morning and showed filmstrips and preached in the town in the evenings After that we had g, nice talk with the elderly preacher. Although he has been associated with some

strange religious groups, his current desire to follow what the Bible says
seem genuine. Since our visit, most of the members have gone to other churches because they didn't want to leave their emphasis on supernatural manisfestations of spiritual power. Now the man will have to begin over
again, but this time on the firm foundation of the Word of God^

The car, (inside and out),our clothes, hair and skin were coated with
red-brown dust when we got back to Accra. Dorit know when I've been so dirty. My skin showed the dirt more than my companions!*

Our annual college lectureship was on the practical side of ministering

to churches. Our attendance was somewhat better than the last few years.

It was held on a weekend to allow more weekend preachers to attend. One graduate and I cooperated in a workshop on Sunday Schools,. This year for the first time the college asked every student to spend two weeks of his Easter break serving with a local church and reporting back on his experiences Most enjoyed it very much By all means, some got val

uable practical experience that they would not have gotten otherwise.

One of

the Nigerian students served here in Abekas and he worked very hard, especially

the days many of us were gone to the convention^ Ke even put in his report the hours he spent trying to deal with a former student who has mental problemsr

(This fellow comes back periodically and makes a real nuisance of himself).
Also the members asked him if they were going to have a Good Friday service. None had been planned, but he got busy that very day and_notified those tha;^
wer^^stTTl" here and nalT a fine service with many visitors that night. We thank God that he will not be a lazy preacher* Well, here we are at the point when I have to start summarizing. Joseph's little house is coming along fine. We are not certain, but hope he can move in by graduation. Our severe water shortage lasted 11 weeks. The water came back March 8. That was a red letter day for us. Still not stable but at least no tankers are needed,,rbought 100 rolls "waste" toilet
tissue for calendars. ^ tBridg:es go on furlough June 23 and I'LL be the only

American at the college until Kalbs' arrival in August. I need new tires. Here, one is $200 on the black markets None in Togo in March..-The Lord has blessed us through you in a marvelous way financially.we are praying He will send us some people to help in the work as well as the money. God
bless you all.

Please pray for little David and Seth Kalbj sons of Barbara and David, They both have ear infections that demand the insertion of tubes into the

ears.

This has serious implications for thei^/;future service in Ghana.

Two boxes of supplies arrived in April that I had mailed in August

in Pa..Two had arrived before Christmas^ I wonder when the other 8 or 9 will arrive. If some are lost, I'm glad these are not. These contained

mimeo ink,duplicator stencils, soccer balls, curtains for dormitories, library and two classrooms, replacement parts for Alladin lamp and others.
Love in Christ, Dorothy

First Christian Church

2565 East Kaley Avenue Orlando, FL 32806

DOROTHY EUNSON NEWSLETTER

Non-profit Org.
UaS. Postage
PAID

Orlando, Florida

VOL. 2

NUMBER 3^'-

Permit No. 3O8I

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Horizons

Mission. Services
Box 177

Kempton, ITT 460^9

DIRECT MAIL TO GHANA: '

Miss Dorothy Eunson P.O. Box 5722

0^

FORWARDING AGENT
Mrs. Tom Barkes 603 Twin Brook Lane

1 ^ ^ ''' ^^^9

Vera Henderson 4844 Tellson PI.

NEWSLETTER:

Accra N, Ghana

Joppa, MD
VOLUME 2

21085
NUMBER 35

Orlando, FL

32806

DOROTHY EUNSON NEWSLETTER

October 15, 1979

Dear Christian Friends,

More than four months have passed since I have written a general newsletter.

hope it doesn't change into an annual letter!

the shorter letter that she sends out with receipts every month.

to a church or group that sends regular checks to Barbara Barkes have access to

At least those of you who belong

At

It is probably good I didn't write sooner, for the news has changed rapidly.

in the college. We will be very sorry to lose their friendship, their knowledge and experience, but the obstacles led them to conclude that the Lord was closing
ber 1, packing his personal books and papers and helping us as he can in the work. It is a big disappointment not to be able to visit the churches, but a continuing petrol shortage makes that impossible. More about that later. Please pray that
God will show them a new area of service soon.

this writing--the David Kalb family is unable to return to Ghana to work with us
David is in Ghana now and will remain until Octo

this door of service to them.

David's sister and brother-in-law, David and Deborah Couch, are doing their best
to complete preparations to come to Ghana and share in the work. They are work

ing on raising support now. They can be reached c/o P.O. Box 108, Smithville, Indiana, 47458--Phone (812) 824-9202. For more than two months the government of Ghana was not granting any new residence visas at all. However, about two weeks
ago, they settled on a policy and procedure, so we have obtained the first forms to apply for a visa for them. We ask your prayers for tKe Couch's preparations,
both here and in the States.

The Carl Bridges' family returned to the states in late June for their furlough. Until the Couches can come, then, Christian Adjei, Joseph Nsiah and I will do as much as we can of the work. One of our June graduates from Nigeria, who served for two years as office secretary on a part time basis, will be working for the college full time until the end of November. We hope that by the time he must leave, one of the new students will be able to take upon a part time basis. Please pray for our phsical, emotional and spiritual strength to do the work God
has set before us.

The other upheaval in our lives since the last newsletter was the change of gov officers in the armed forces took over the reins. A number of people lost their lives in the struggle for power or when caught looting. We heard gunfire for two days, but were in no imminent danger. The African Revolutionary Command has been busy since then "cleaning house"--punishing people who have ruined the country
economically through their illegal dealings. Eight were executed, including three former heads of state, and many more have been imprisoned. Be assured, however, that life for us and the comman man goes on much as usual. There have been some interruptions in marketing of food, but much of that was due to expected reluct
Nobody likes to lose his profit, even when
Meat and fish are two of the

ernment here on June 4.

In the most violent coup in Ghana's history, some young

ance to return to reasonable prices.

it seems essential to the survival of the nation.

products that are still scarce.

The temporary suspension of the granting of new This is to prevent the escape

visas was an outcome of the change in government. We non-Africans had to take part in a special registration (as we did nine years ago), and every resident leav

ing the country still has to get an exit permit.

of those who are still under investigation by the government.

In spite of all this, we had a fine graduation for twelve students on June 16. Six of those were Nigerian students whose support had been arranged by Reggie Thomas. He was able to come with six family members and friends (and then go north to Kumasi the following week for ten days of evangelism. One happy sur prise to Joseph Nsidiwas the granting of his Master's Degree from Cincinnati Christian Seminary. Reggie had been able to bring it on the plane. All the visitors, the Bridges, Christian and Agnes Adjei, and Joseph ate a late evening
dinner at my house afterwards.

Bridges left on June 23. The Kumasi group came back through for one day long enough for supper, baths and a rush back to the airport. One couple missed their
plane and spent an extra weekend with me.

reduced. For most of the summer, my private car has been limited to 6 gallons a weeiCo Actually I didn't use even that much because it is too hard to get it, I 11 give you last week as an example: early Sunday morning (6 a,m,) I drove the car to the filling station and parked it in the queue and locked it. I walked maybe half a mile and then was fortunate to get a taxi ride to within a
mile of home.

As soon as they left, our already rationed petrol (gasoline) was more strictly

very pleasant experience,

At b:iO Tuesday morning I started out for the station.

night in the car Monday evening,, one of the church fellows who works adjacent to the filling station just stayed - there after work and watched it until morning.

It was a beautiful cool, sunny morning and the last mile was a Sunday evening, Kwame, our watchman friend for one college house, left church in the middle of the evening service and spent the

was at the station by 6 a.m. and because the queue was more orderly than usual.
I had my 6 gallons by 7:30 a.m.

and then a Ghanaian lady in a big car picked up five of us who were walking.

I walked about one mile

an hour off from 1:30 to 2:30. Sometimes I make mistakes and get to places after they are closed, but it has worked out O.K. most of the time. I eat my lunch in
the car whenever it is convenient.

and take water and a simple lunch along. Government offices are open from 8 to 3 with a lunch break from 12:00 to 12:30. Some stores are open from 11 to 6 with

I can stretch out a tankful for two weeks.

I write down all my errands in order

Christian is Acting Principal and doing an excellent job.

care of the radio program entirely.

place along with the dealing with the government offices, purchase of government
Christian and Joseph simply divided up David's assigned courses. It makes a heavy load for us along with our work in the local church and in the brotherhood.
When the

I am doing the financial books in Glenda's

David

He and Joseph take

Kalb is teaching one crash course in I Corinthians while he is here.

allotments of "essential Commodities" and other errands she used to do.

Otherwise,

petrol comes back, we hope to make a few visits before the convention. In spite of petrol troubles, I have been giving a few driving lessons to three young men
cbure^T -They are-doing very well, but need lots of practice and that is
limited by current conditions.

has begun plans for the Christmas convention, which we will host here.

We will be glad when God makes it possible for us to have help. With our limited numbers and the petrol shortage, we are unable to make any village church visits at presento We did attend one meeting of leaders in August. Our local church

The local church has had a grand summer. Four teams of young men help with needed visitation, and I know this has helped keep the high attendances and bring new members. We really praise the Lord for what He is doing here! Last Sunday evening we had a special service for the youth who will soon return to secondary schools, many of them boarders. Attendance was so high we had to double up three people to two chairs. Joseph Nsiah moved into his new house August 24th. Thank you for the gifts making it possible, even to the sewing of curtains by the Bloomsburg ladies.

More good news--school reopened September 4. During vacation we had two separate days of testing and interviews. On the 4th we^ had only 4 new students, but nine 01 the ten old ones returned. By this writin^^^ the first year class is up to 14
and the tenth old student came back, too. here where I live have kept loneliness at a minimum.

Some good American and British missionary friends and Ghanaian friends right

you have sent.

Bridges, and Couch's.

Please continue your prayers for us here at the college, for Kalbs
God bless you for helping us to serve Him here in Ghana.
In His Service, Dorothy

Thanks for all the letters

First Christian Church

2565 East Kaley Avenue

Orlando, FL
VOL. 2

32806

Non-profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

DOROTHY EUNSON NEWSLETTER

NUMBER 35
Horizons

Orlando, Florida
Permit No. 3081

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Mission. Services
Box 177

Kempton, IK 460^9