Jim and Nina Bice:

Mission Trip to Ghana

by Nina Bice

As two of the youth group leaders at our church, Grace Baptist Church in Laurel, MD, Jim and I had the opportunity to travel with our youth group on a missions trip to Ghana, West Africa in June 2009. Our team was comprised of four adult leaders and nine youth, between the ages of 11 and 17. The purpose of our trip was to work with missionaries sent by our church, Kurt and Barb Mathews, who have an established ministry in Ghana. Kurt and Barb have worked at church planting in the Ho region, northeast of the capital, Accra, for over twelve years. A few years ago, they and their five children moved to the small village of Helepke. They are currently ministering at HASU Baptist Church.

Our main objectives during this trip were to help the church with the Vacation Bible School (VBS), a week-long program for children in Helekpe and the surrounding villages, as well as a week-long camp for the teens in the church. Both were successful, with over 200 children in attendance at VBS. The youth camp was more intimate, with 42 people in attendance, including our youth members. While there, we also conducted soccer clinics, which drew large crowds. We were able to present the high school with new soccer balls and 30+ soccer jerseys (jerseys courtesy of Bernadette and Richard). We also helped to build a new building for the elementary school. We were also able to visit an orphanage, called Volta Home. There, we received a tour of the grounds by the man who runs the orphanage and visited with the small children living there. One way for them to raise funds is a yam farm; at the time of our trip, the farm had over a thousand yam plants.

The youth camp, in particular, was a success. The goal of this camp was to help minister to the teenagers of HASU Baptist Church. During this week of camp, our youth made some great, lasting friendships with the Ghanaian youth. Activities included Bible lessons, discussion groups, craft sessions, and game time. By the end of camp, our teens were learning Ewe, the local dialect, from their new friends, and the Ghanaian youth were polishing up their English skills.

While nearly everyone who knows me also knows that I am no great lover of either snakes or hot weather, both of which are common to Helepke, my desire to go and serve the Mathews family and the Ghanaian people far outweighed my personal fears. In addition, if nine teenagers could be so selfless as to give up the comforts of indoor plumbing, air conditioning, iPods, cell phones, email, and many other things for two weeks, then we, as youth group leaders, could certainly step up and do the same! It was an incredibly rewarding and life changing experience, and I look forward to returning to Helekpe soon!