Mission Field:
Tuobodom
Ghana, West Africa
Missionary Letter:
May 2010
Greetings from your Stateside Missionaries:
We have some awesome news and an urgent prayer request. We have been setting up a very busy summer schedule with several Vacation Bible Schools, camp meetings and mission conferences.
We want to thank our Lord and Savior for His mercy, grace and goodness to us while being home. We would like to report on some of the awesome things that God is doing in Ghana. The work in Tuobodom and Adutwie is moving forward very well.
Adutwie: In Adutwie they have been working on acquiring some land to build a church. They were originally offered one building lot for a very reasonable amount. But we want more than just one building lot, we were asking for 10 building lots. They have negotiated with the chief to see what he would be wiling to do. So pray that they would give us the 10 building lots.
Tuobodom: There has been peace in the village for some time now, but it is only because the one chief is not in the village. The Military has gone and there are a few extra police officers.
The church has been doing very well. Easter has always been a big day in Ghana. Pastor George and Pastor Ameyaw reported that God was smiling on the church Easter Sunday. They said that there were 1150 children and 450 adults in attendance. God moved in the lives of 30 people, and they prayed to receive Christ. Pastor George told me that since then 10 people have been baptized. Praise the Lord for this great news.
The children’s Bible club attendance was beginning to slide, but workers have done extra visitation and the attendance has increased.
Last Sunday was the 14th anniversary of Calvary Baptist Church in Techiman, our mother church, and the Tuobodom church attended this special service with 100 people in attendance.
Peterson Family news: We have a busy schedule coming up with meetings in Maine, Connecticut, and Texas. I would covet your prayers as we will be on the road for many miles.
We do have to inform you all about a medical issue. Dona went in for her routine physical to our family doctor who found her to be in good health, but wanted to check her thyroid. He remembered that she had elevated levels back in 2005, with a follow up test showing normal levels. In April, he did a thyroid function test which showed elevated levels. The doctor wanted her to go for a thyroid scan which revealed that there was a problem. Her thyroid has a lump (nodule) on the left side, and the right side is not functioning properly. We had a meeting with a specialist that said she has variant form of Graves’ disease called Marine-Lenhart Syndrome. This syndrome is where one lobe of the thyroid produces the hormone even when the brain says there is enough. The doctor asked Dona many question like - has she been hot? She said from time to time but figured that was hot flashes because she is 54. The doctor asked if she was tired, and she yes, but thought that was from working different shifts. He then checked to see if she had lost strength in her legs and arms, and he told her that she has some lost strength. He recommended that the thyroid be treated while we are still in the states.
Dona will be going to Cooley Dickenson Hospital on June 14th to take a radioactive iodine pill. This radioactive iodine will be absorbed by the thyroid. It will take some time, but the pill should cause the thyroid cells to die, and therefore reduce the hormone produced by the thyroid. The doctor said that Dona should have no contact with children and pregnant women for at least 7 days. She will going up to her sister’s house in Vermont for the week. The radioactivity should be completely out of her system within 2 weeks. The doctor wants her to come in for another examination in 6 to 8 weeks. The thyroid should have reduced by then and he will test her blood for the thyroid hormone. He will then start to monitor her thyroid hormone levels for the next 6 months to make sure that they have the right hormone levels. He said that it is a slow, but necessary process. This will unfortunately push back our return to Ghana to January of 2011the earliest.
Please pray for Dona! The doctor has promised that she will have much more energy when this is done. He also said that the history from our primary care physician shows that she has been dealing with this since at least 2001! We will have to pay some insurance deductibles and other expenses. Please for provision of these funds.
God is in control and knows why these things happen when they do. Pray for wisdom in using this continued time in the states wisely.
Finally, we praise God that our increase of support level, since being home on furlough. We have raised $500 to this point, with just $500 more to go to be fully supported. Thank you for your prayers.
In His Service,
Jim, Dona, Rebecca, and Julia