January Newsletter

The heavens declare the glory of God.-Psalm 19:1

Pictures:

Standing in a dry river bed. We took a two hour walking safari tour through the African plain. Quite an experience!

The start of our two hour tour.

We are ready to spot the elephants.

I'll drive

African Bush Buck. Our guide said that in English we call them Bambie.

One of the many monkeys we saw on the safari.

Trust me there is an African Crocodile in the pic.

Along for the ride.

Our faithful truck. It made it through two safaris and a twelve hour round trip car ride without a flat tire; a minor miracle in Africa.

Sunrise outside of Nalerigu.

Happy New Year from Mole National Park

Julia's rocking the sun glasses as she looks for elephants.

Termites anyone?

Entrance to the game reserve

We are ready for our safari.

Warthog. Where's tamone?

Who needs to pay for signs when you can just make your own.

Hello, from an African elephant.

I think I've seen this in a movie somewhere

We were praying he wouldn't charge.

I'm ready for my close up.

Sums up Africa perfectly. In the middle of this elephant reserve is a soccer game being played.

The End

Story:
Julia and I had the incredible privledge of ringing in the New Year's at Mole National Park. Mole is an elephant game reserve in Ghana. We spent two days and nights at a hostel on top of a mountain overlooking a game reserve. We took two driving tours and one walking tour through the game reserve and saw a plethora of animals. We saw warthogs, monkeys, baboons, bush bucks, crocodiles, and most importantly elephants. In the evenings we would sit by the pool and watch warthogs, bush bucks and elephants graze in the valley below; it was an amazing experience. During our time at Mole I meditated on the verse which says, "the heavens declare the glory of God." I am in awe of the simple fact that God is shouting at us through His creation. He is shouting at us through blue expanse on the horizon. He is shouting at us through the chirping of the crickets in the early morning hours. He is shouting at us through the grazing of animals on the African plane. He is shouting at us through majestic sunsets. He is shouting at us through star filled skies. He is shouting at us through the wind blowing through the trees. He is shouting, "I AM GLORIOUS. Open your eyes and worship me. I am worthy of all praise, honor and glory. I AM GLORIOUS!" Julia and I are learning to see the glory of God in nature. We are constantly learning that the heavens declare the glory of God.

Devotionals:
Identity in Christ
New Year's Resolution

Prayer Requests:
1) Please pray we would be diligent in language study. Pray we would have ears to hear the details of the language, tongues to speak, and discipline/determination to put in the hours necessary to learn Mamprulli.

2) The culture of Ghana is very different from the United States and at times we experience culture shock. Pray we would begin to learn, understand and appreciate Ghanaian culture. Pray we would have wisdom to navigate the culture and humility to laugh at ourselves when we make mistakes.

3) T has begun having tea with a group of young men who are Muslims. These afternoon tea sessions have led to good conversations, language practice, and the beginnings of friendships. Please pray T would form a relationship with these men and he would be able to share Jesus with them. Pray the Father would draw these men to Himself.

4) Julia will begin working with the missionary kids on the compound in the coming weeks. She has graciously volunteered to teach a middle and high school student, please pray for her as she prepares to take on this task. Pray she would be able to minister and teach the two students.

5) Please pray that we grow in wisdom and stature with God and man.

Thank you for holding the rope for us.

We love you,

The Welchs