Croc by the tail!

Austin Ball and John Burwell are two brave young men that are willing to step out of the comforts of home to come and serve the Lord Jesus in Ghana. They have been doing a fine job up to now but they will be taking on
more responsability for the next month. Then Tim Spurling will join them in July, Lord willing Mike and Faith Ball will be coming in August. Like the picture reveals they are quite willing but just a little nervous. Francille and I will be flying to Oregon the 22ed of June, a week from today. Please pray for John and Austin. Francille and I also would like you to pray for us to be able to step quickly into what our Father has for us in the future.
We know that Jesus is coming soon and we want to be faithful until he comes.
James and Francille

Timothy Spurling, John Burwell, and John Kwamy heading north to make discilpes. They are now up there and things seem to be going quite well. They have about ten students and everyone seems to be enjoying the teaching. Many of them don’t know how to read or write. That makes it a real challenge to teach them. There are many unreached tribes in this area, so lets pray that our Father will prepare labors for the harvest.

You sat on his idol!

Jesus is Lord!

You just sat on their idol!
This is what my interpreter said to me. While we were in the northern district where we traveled to check out un- reached tribes. Francille and Janelle made up several loaves of banana bread and sent up with us; this and some medical supplies were given to different chiefs that we visited in four different villages. In the one village we found the chief sitting under a shade tree, we presented the gift to him and he was very pleased so I began to share the gospel with him. He was interested, so after about ten minutes of sharing, I asked him if he would like his people to hear this message? He said, yes, so I suggested that he send a messenger to invite the people and he did. While we were waiting I decided I would like a picture with him, so I sat down beside him at the foot of the tree, there was a flat rock there so I sat on it. It broke and it turned out this was one of their idols. When the people gathered we preached about God our creator and how we are the work of his hands and how wrong it is for us to worship the creation or things that we make. There was another larger idol standing just behind the chief. I wasn’t going to say anything about it but the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let me not address it. I told the Chief if he wanted the blessing of God on him and his village he must destroy that idol. One young man spoke up and said that he would destroy it; the Chief said in a very convicting voice that if he did that he would go crazy. These men could destroy it. (I had destroyed one already and nothing happened to me.) I told him I would be glad to destroy it, at first he seemed almost willing but later said no it was his fathers and he couldn’t destroy it. Some day soon, Lord willing, it will be destroyed and the people will come to Jesus. Our trip was a very informative time. We were gone for about six days. We found the Gonjar tribe, which is a large tribe, to be un reached. Most of them are Muslims but some are idol worshipers. The Birifor also is a very large tribe with just a few Christians among them. Through a brother we had discipled in Tarkwa (John Kwame) we met Peter Tungjie who is a Birifor, a very fine Christian man and who invited us up to teach disciples.

So much has happened in the past months, the Voetburgs have returned home and that has been a big change. Skip was a lot of help in so many ways, helping teach in the disciple classes and in the evangelism. The absence of the Voetburg’s has been felt, by many in the community; I have missed Tate or Brooks coming up from time to time just to give us a hug. I miss the times we spent in prayer in the mornings. However we also have received others coming over to help in the ministry. John Burwell and Austin Ball have joined our team and they have been a great blessing. Their enthusiasm and zeal is encouraging; they are developing their ministry of the word and the preaching of the gospel. They have been a good addition to the team. Tim Spurling and Clement have been enjoying having more young men to work with.

We have seen Tarkwa saturated with gospel literature. We have about 14 gospel tracts that Skip and I have written. These tracts, carry messages that deal with a variety of doctrinal errors and at the same time bring in the gospel. People readily receive them and read them and we hear many good comments about them. They are often asking for new ones. We have several good fishing holes where we go and evangelize. The people are accustomed to our coming and come out to hear the word of God, we have five such places scattered throughout the community. There have been several conversions and most of the ones we are discipling are coming from these fishing holes. The disciples are multiplying; we are now working with the sixth group here in Tarkwa. Several of the men we discipled are now helping with the teaching; Matthias, Clement, and Austin are helping me here. Our Heavenly Father has sent three up to the northern region, Tim Spurling (from Washington), John Burwell (from Montana), and John Kuamy (African.) to make disciples for five weeks. The needs up there are great. After the five weeks we will access the situation. Then try to determine what the will of our Lord Jesus is, as far as future ministry in the area. It seems the work is going on well with the disciples in Togo, also in the Volta region of Ghana.

Francille, Janelle, and I will be returning to the States in June. We have been praying for someone to come and help in the work here and we are glad to report that Mike Ball and family announced that they are coming in August. Please be praying for them, they still have six children at home and that will be a big endeavor to transfer them from Wyoming to Ghana. Having families on the mission field is a good thing; they will be a good testimony of a godly family unit.

We want to thank all of you who pray for us and support us in the work our Lord Jesus will reward you for your labor of love.

In Jesus,
James and Francille Lucas

“I want to repent before I leave here tonight.”

“I want to repent before I leave here tonight.”

This is what Alex said after hearing the gospel preached and having asked many questions concerning salvation. I told him go and sin no more. He is now a different man he has the joy of the Lord Jesus and is hungry for the word of God.

Charles with tears in his eyes said;

“I want to thank you from the Lord Jesus for all that you have done because now I know the Lord Jesus before this discipleship course I was religious but now I am righteous.”
That was Friday the last day of the five- week course. Then Sunday during our service he went up front and brought an excellent teaching on following the Spirit and not fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Charles is the one on your left. Hyacinth is on the right.

Tarkwa——-November 1st

dscoo579We have been doing a lot of evangelism, our Father has been showing me to teach the people like Jesus did he didn’t wait until they were converted to teach them, look at the sermon on the mt. Like it says in 2 Tim.2:24-26 “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;” Some times we just open the bible and begin to teach. Yesterday we went back to one place for the third time; the same people are still coming and they are full of questions, we were there for two hours. We have about three places like this now where we are teaching and preaching and the people always want us to come back. I believe we will have healthier conversions when people are fully prepared. We have always been told that the sinners cannot understand spiritual things. This may be true if we are limited to our ability to teach them, however the Holy Spirit is quite capable of bringing understanding even to those who are in gross darkness.

Greetings from Tarka!

The Lord He is God.

We are now teaching our forth disciple group.
The evangelism has been going well especially in a village about five miles ouy of town called
Tebrebree. One brother in our third disciple group is from there (we call him II Samuel because we had I Samuel in our second group : ) and we have been going out there for some time now. Two men from there are now in this fourth group.

Our Father is training us how to reach the people. We have been writing gospel tracts that address some of the erroneous doctrines that are taught. One is titled THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL, another is titled
JESUS, we ask the question is Jesus God or just a man? One is titled ONE STEP it speaks of repentance, then one is titled DOES GOD HAVE A MOTHER? And one is titled THE MAN FROM GALLIEE.

Several of the disciples have been joining in on the evangelism. This an important part of their training.

I will share more later.
James

Update for July!

This past weekend we finished up our second five week training program.
Five made it all the through, Mattias, Samuel, Mathew, Janelle and Dora. We also had several visitors along the way who we encouraged to come back for the next one. We are very encouraged and can see the Lord’s marvelous work in each one! One brother, Samuel, we preached to in bar just 2 months ago has now been delivered from his drinking and smoking. Another one who attended the classes, Ma Dora, who used to be a Pentecostal pastor but was recently born-again thanked us profusely for all the teachings, and said “because if I would not have heard this word I would still be a false prophetess today!”

We also held our first baptism this last Sunday! Three were going to be baptized, Clement, Samuel and Mattias, and after we were about to finish Ma Dora stepped forward and said the Lord had touched her heart and she too wanted to obey the Lord in baptism! We were very thankful for all of the wonderful testimonies each one shared.

We have set the date for our next Discipleship training program, August 4th. Please be in prayer that the Lord would raise up those who he would have attend.

Thank you all for your prayers! They are much needed and appreciated!

God bless!

Discipleship class!

Prayer Warriors

Dear Prayer Warriors,

The weapons of our warfare are mighty to the pulling down of strong holds!
The forces of darkness are fleeing before us not for anything that we are doing but simply because you are praying.

We are grateful for your faithfulness to pray for the outreach of the gospel and the making of disciples in West Africa. We also are grateful for those who have sent monetary support the expenses have been many but our Father has been supplying abundantly. We have been here almost five months now and the gates of hell are weakening. Some have been saved from their sin and inroads have been made into the hearts of several who should be saved soon.

We have had the privilege to disciple some very fine Christians who our Father is using to set the captive free and now they by the grace of God are better equipped to establish the believers in the word of God. Emanuel, Seana, Job and Maurice are from Togo and John lives in a small town in the Volta region of Ghana. Clement is from here (Tarkwa) and works for Francille and I. Soryn Votberg and her sister Prentiss also took the discipleship course. Tim Spurling and Skip Votberg helped me teach. We did an intense five week course that includes over one hundred hrs of teaching. We also went out with the gospel three times a week, plus we had three afternoons of work either working on the premises or on the small piece of land that we have for a garden. Everybody worked hard and maintained excellent attitudes.

June the ninth is the date set to start our next disciple group. Please pray our Father will bring us some more faithful people to disciple, also pray for the disciples that have now retuned to their homes that they will also begin soon teaching others. We have been praying for seventy disciples to go through out Ghana and make disciples, counting our selves we now have thirteen, that only leaves fifty seven to go and if we are all faithful that will happen soon. Our Granddaughter Janelle will be arriving here Friday to join our team. We are looking forward to her coming, she will be a tremendous blessing to have here she wants to serve the Lord and she will be a lot of encouragement to her Grandma.
She is about twenty three years old now and I am sure the young people will love her. There are also two young men from the training program in Bend, Oregon praying about coming to help in the work here. Keep praying our Father in heaven is hearing you. Don’t forget to pray for twelve to be called to the un reached tribes.

Thank you for praying for our heath and protection, so far we have had very
little sickness, Tim got malaria first then Prentiss came down with it but the
malaria here doesn’t seem has bad as the Kenyan malaria. That may sound like a
lot but with this many people living in the tropics its nothing. Please keep
praying. Our Lord Jesus is always watching over us because of your prayers. For
example we were asked to get a good health certificate from a doctor in order to
get our residence papers. Francille, Tim and I
went down to the local hospital and they were taking blood for tests. Everything
was going quite normal, they with drew blood from Tim and he watched them,
then they released the rubber band around his arm. The stool he was sitting on
was quite high, the next thing I knew he was falling, he had fainted for some
reason, he hit the floor at my feet. His head hit the floor with a sickening sound.
I turned him over, he had a huge gash on his forehead, he was out cold and
wasn’t breathing. I pounded on his chest and there was no response, his jaws
were locked tight but I managed to open his mouth and blew air in and as soon
as it came into him he regained consciousness. Here again I thank you for
praying, Tim was almost taken from us but our Lord Jesus has a work for him.
He is fine now, he had to have stitches, while they were putting them in, I told
Tim he looked like an American foot ball.

David and Marion Kangni arrived from Germany with their daughter Annie, they
were very surprised on how much work has been done on the place. We are glad
to hear that they are praying about returning to Ghana to help in the work of our
Lord Jesus. They really love the Lord and have a good vision for the people of
West Africa. We really enjoy their fellowship.

In Jesus,
James and Francille Lucas