TEAM HEIDENREICH

Easter Picnic Fun

2011-05-18T04:16:00.001Z

Easter Weekend Revival!

2011-05-18T02:57:00.000Z

Easter Weekend Revival!

2011-05-18T02:55:00.002Z

The highlight of this year for me was certainly the Easter weekend.

Good Friday - We had a joint service in Takoradi with our three churches; Takoradi, Sekondi, and Shama. I was especially blessed to see the small van coming from Shama in the evening with more than 20 people coming to hear the Word of God along with our brothers and sisters from Sekondi as we had a great time in the word and fellowship.

Saturday - We did an evangelical outreach in Shama with the presentation of the movie “ The Passion of Christ” . Hundreds of people came to stand and to watch the sufferings of Christ before the crucifixion. Many received Christ in their hearts and several new people are now coming to church because of this outreach.

It is a blessing to see what started as an “outreach” develop into the Greater Grace Church of Shama! Abeiku received his “License to Preach” (the first step in ordination) this past January at the convention in Ashaiman. He is doing great and this guy has a Pastor’s heart, it is wonderful to be going out on outreach with him and watch him share the Word with people, taking his time, answering questions and sitting where they sit. Gilbert (one of the faithful young men in Bible College) and Renee Beland our faithful Canadian missionary help tremendously on the team.

Easter Sunday - We had a joint service in Takoradi again, you should have been there to watch us wave our white handkerchiefs for the joy we had to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Yes there is the crucifixion, but Sunday is coming… Church service was followed by food, games, fun, joy, laughter and great fellowship. We did tug-of-peace, musical chairs, dancing contest for the younger ones and for the ladies. But the funniest of all was biting the apple as it was hung on a thread. Some of the men even with their large mouths, no matter how hard they tried, squeezing their faces with real intentions to get at the fruit, could not even take a tiny bite at that apple…and it was so funny to watch them try in all kinds of ways. I am still laughing when I think about it.

Easter would not be Easter in Ghana without a football match which took place on “Easter Monday” with the Shama church against the Takoradi church. We all lost our voices cheering for each of our team. And joy of joy, not only Christ resurrected that weekend but the team from Shama also won the football match. There was jubilation in my heart. Takoradi will certainly call for another match…this is therefore to be continued…

Great things have been happening here in Takoradi, great things are now in the furnace of transformation and great plans are in the making for the near future.

Please pray with us as we continue to walk with Him receiving His grace on a moment by moment basis.

Pastor Henry Nkrumah

Thrills and Spills....Never a dull moment

2011-04-17T13:04:00.002Z

Please excuse the longer than normal delay in communicating to you. Things have been very "exciting" over the past several weeks.

Last you heard from me I was recovering from malaria in early February after returning from Ghana. After a few weeks recovery, I spent a weekend with Nikki at her university, which included a day of skiing of course. Unfortunately I tried to live in my past skills as a member of the U.S. Ski team and tried to "ride the rail". Not smart... actually I bounced off it more than I rode it, and found my self back in another hospital with a broken rib. It was comforting to have my "physician's assistant in training" daughter nurse me that evening.

On March 9th, while on the mend from my ski adventure, Katie and I were in our old Ford Aerostar at a stoplight, when we were rear ended by a big pickup truck. That meant an ambulance ride for both of us and another visit to the hospital where they told me they discovered 4 broken ribs. Katie suffered some whiplash and is recovering and now receiving physical therapy. Our old faithful Ford minivan was totaled and we are now hunting for a "new to us" used vehicle.

The other pastors in the church now joke that I am part of the "hospital visitation" team. Whether I like it or not! We are grateful that we do have insurance to cover most of the expenses, but not all.

We have realized the importance of not just praying for the safety of Sari in Jerusalem, Nikki at college, but for us here in Baltimore!

Family News

On a lighter note... Susan is enjoying teaching the K4 class at the Greater Grace Learning Center, Chuck is helping "make ends meet" by working for an on line book business that sells Bibles and Christians books in over 200 languages, Nikki is staying focused on her Physician Assistance studies in preparation at Desales Univ. for her Bachelors graduation in May, Sari is back from an exciting semester in Egypt/Turkey/Israel and has secured an internship in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for the summer, Katie is unable to play soccer because of the accident and is making the best of it, and Ryan has started playing baseball for the first time. You can read of Sari's adventures on theMessiah Universitywebsite or her Blog.

IN GHANA

We are receiving great reports from Pastor Henry and the team in Takoradi.

The new Sunday morning service at the Shama church have started and we are excited for the growth in Abeku's leadership skills and spiritual gifts as he leads the church there.

* Kofi Quayson is taking more leadership responsibilities by assisting Pastor Henry at the Takoradi and Sekondi churches.
* Abednego is assisting in Sekondi despite his eye trouble (see left column) and has now moved into our "dorm" which has helped his spiritual growth
* Bright continues to assist Pastor Henry with Bible College and preaching in Takoradi.
* Bible College offers 2 live classes taught by Pastor Henry and 3 video classes.
* We have received a few Ivorian refugees in the church due ot the fighting in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire only a few hours away.

Pastor Henry continues to show his leadership skills as he oversees the three churches and teaches and administrates the Bible College. Please continue to pray for his family in the same way you prayed for us while we were in Ghana. Henry's amazing wife, Baby, has taken a job to help support the family and take care of their four adopted children.

Urgent Prayer Request - Church Land

2010-10-13T03:05:00.000Z

Dear Friends,

As you may recall, currently the church and the Bible College in Takoradi are meeting at Pastor Henry’s house because the school where we have been renting has not allowed us back on a consistent basis since the student riots this summer.

The other day Pastor Henry called me to tell me that the chief in the area where we have been looking for land the past two years has finally agreed to sell us a nice piece of land. We are grateful that we have a nice piece of land, right in the main part of the town/village, with a nice view, and on firm ground.

As you are aware over the last several years we have been raising money to purchase this land and we are now at a crucial stage. I think you know I prefer not to make urgent request, but this is one of those times.

Because the oil companies moving into the area and purchasing land at more than double the values it is crucial that we take this opportunity to purchase it. It looks like the chief is giving us a last chance before he decides to sell out to the oil companies.

I am asking that you would consider helping us with an extra gift to raise the extra $2500 that we need to make this commitment. We need to do this within a week and ask that you would pray about it and see if the Lord leads you to help in this area.

If you do decide it would be greatly appreciated if you could just email me and tell me how much you can help so we can make a final decision.

God Bless and keep in touch.

Chuck

Takoradi Land Project

2010-10-05T00:24:00.000Z

2010-10-05T00:21:00.000Z

Takoradi Update - Sept. 2010

2010-10-05T00:19:00.001Z

“ Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. “ (2 Corinthians 2:14). This verse has been an encouragement to us for the past few weeks because God has really been faithful in bringing this Scripture to pass in our lives.

We have faced a lot of difficulties since July. Since then we have not been able to meet at the Technical School for church services or Bible College due to student riots at the school. For the past two months we have been meeting in my house and sometimes in my living room when it is raining outside. The thing that blesses me so much is to see the members of the church still coming out and having a great time even though we don’t have our usual place of worship. The Life in the Body of Christ has been intense and the Word of God is coming out with power and anointing. The enemy can take our place of worship but he cannot take the Word from us. We are determined to finish the semester whether we have a place or not.

After postponing Bible College for a week because of our building problem, we have now started classes and have about 18 students coming out to learn the Word of God. Somehow we manage to pack ourselves in my living room and do Applied Bible Doctrine and Discipleship of Grace video classes, and on my front porch for the live classes. The enemy cannot stop us. Keep us in prayer. We are praying for God to give us a permanent place of worship and have been discussing the possibility of a parcel of land with the local chief.

Two weeks ago on our way from church, my family and I were involved in a serious car accident. My whole family was in the car. The car was badly damaged by a reckless “trotro,” minivan driver but, thanks be to God we all escaped unharmed. The car is at the shop and probably will stay there for a while because we don’t have the funds (about $250) to fix it. We sensed “ the angel of the LORD truly encamps round about them that fear him, and delivers them “ (Psalms 34:7). This is what He did for us and we thank God that once again He was faithful to deliver us.
In the midst of all this we are more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37) and we plan to continue in this victory we have in Christ. Thank you all for your prayers and love and support.

God Bless, Pastor Henry Nkrumah

2010-10-05T00:18:00.001Z

Wow… America moves fast!

2010-10-05T00:16:00.002Z

Dear friends….

Wow… America moves fast! It seems that just yesterday we were packing our bags in Takoradi to come to Baltimore for a year. Since our arrival in June, we have had the privileged to visit many friends and family. At the same time we have had several challenges at the church in Takoradi. Thankfully Pastor Henry and the team of leaders have responded with great skill and grace.

Since our return, I have been reflecting on what Jesus said in John 15:13 about His friends: “ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” I have been thinking a lot about friends and those people who are important in our lives. In July I had the privileged of visiting a few of my college buddies in Oregon, and playing a round of golf at the Eugene Country Club with Casey Martin, the Univ. of Oregon golf coach. It was great to be able to be with friends that I have known since my early days as a young believer. As we shared old stories and time together I realized that these guys would lay down their lives for me, and I would do the same for them. I also consider it is an honor to count you as friends who have prayerfully followed our adventure of faith.

We have been experiencing a bit of “culture shock” as we enter a society that is foreign to us in many ways. Maybe you have never read the You Know You're A Missionary Kid When . . . but if you do you may get a feel for what we and our children are experiencing. We are living in an urban environment; something we have never done as a family. Susan is working outside the home for the first time in 22 years, teaching 4 year olds. Ryan is going to traditional school for the first time and playing on the soccer team; Katie is a freshman in high school and playing volleyball. Nikki is now in her professional phase of her Physician Assistant Program at Desales University and has started rotations at the local hospital, and Sari is studying journalism at Temple University in Philadelphia this semester.

Besides taking care of the “details” of re-entering America and assisting a friend’s start up company, I have been taking a few classes at Maryland Bible College, helping the Verticalink campus ministry, filling in at the Greater Grace Christian Academy teaching Bible to the juniors and seniors, and being available to help at the church when and where I can.

Please continue to keep us in prayer for:

Missions Support – We thank those who have continued to help us financially during our transition to the USA. We continue to be responsible for the ministry expenses in Ghana and encourage you to continue to support us and the ministry with your financial gifts.

New Church Building Fund – We are currently negotiating with the local chief for a parcel of land. The location is good, yet we need to raise additional funds to purchase the land and process the paperwork etc.

Health Insurance - Currently Chuck is uninsured and awaiting a reply on receiving health insurance while in the U.S. as his missionary plan expired. Susan’s insurance will also expire in 3 more months. Please pray we will receive affordable plans and acceptance despite Chuck’s diabetes.

Transition - For the whole family to adjust to living in our new culture.

Thank you again for being with us in your continued prayers, financial support, and encouragement. We would love to hear from you and be in touch, so please feel free to give us a call on our phone numbers below. Please let us know any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have.

God Bless,
Chuck & Susan Heidenreich

Praise Report

2010-07-27T13:59:00.003Z

Hi everyone,

We thank God that things have settled down in Takoradi at the school where we meet for church. They were able to have service with Pastor Scibelli and the visitors and had a great turnout.

We have found a great place to live in Baltimore. We will be renting the top 2 floors of a house in Baltimore just 5 minutes from the church! It is a blessing that it is from someone in the church who has made it affordable for us.

Today we leave to visit family in Colorado, San Diego, and Church will visit friends and supporters in Oregon.

God is Faithful!

Takoradi Student Riot - NEWSFLASH

2010-07-23T04:31:00.002Z

Tonight I received a call from Pastor Henry saying that there was a student riot at TTI, the school where we hold our church services in Takoradi. When they went to have our church service tonight, the police had the school closed off and they had the church service in the backyard of his house. According to him there were 3 students who were killed in the unrest. These ARE NOT our Bible College students, but the students of the Technical School where we rent a classroom for church services. Our heart goes out to those who may have been injured and their families.

Below is a news-link to a story, which is slim on details.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=186514

Pastor Scibelli and a team of pastors and leaders are arriving in Takoradi on Sunday for a three day "mini conference". We are grateful that we have planted two other churches and we will shift our meetings to the Sekondi church location until things calm down.

Thank you for your continued prayer as we are resettling in Baltimore. We are still praying for the Lord's perfect provision for housing. We have applications in for several apartments and are awaiting their approval of our applications. We have found the Baltimore rentals to be hard to get and much more costly than we had anticipated. Your continued prayers and any extra financial gifts during this time would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Chuck

Baltimore Update

2010-07-21T02:15:00.002Z

Hi everyone. Thanks for keeping us in prayer these past few weeks.. but keep it up.

Sunday Pastor Schaller spoke from Exodus 35:5 "Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass,". He shared on the virtues of having a "willing heart" to serve God. This is our desire as we are here in Baltimore and have already bee en presented with several opportunities to minster to people in church and surrounding area.

We have been busy looking for HIS perfect place for us to live as a family our prayer is that the Lord will open the door to this place.

We leave to see family the 27th of July and our prayer is that this issue can be resolved before we leave.

Tonight a group left for Ghana with Pastor Scibelli and they will be visiting the Takoradi Church next week. Pray for this time with the leaders and the church there.

Thanks for being with us. Chuck

Back in America

2010-07-05T23:46:00.002Z

Back in the USA

2010-07-05T23:38:00.003Z

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers as we make our transition to the USA for a year. As we left Takoradi we were very busy getting things in order in our personal and ministry life. When we met with our leaders, it was a blessing to see their positive attitude as they “step up” to the challenge of helping in the ministry in the Western Region of Ghana. Their eagerness to increase their ministry responsibilities was a confirmation to me that this is a good time to take a short leave. We trust God that as they are stretched in their faith and ministry, that the church will grow in our absence.

We arrived just in time for our annual Greater Grace World Outreach International Convention. The theme of the convention was “Numbering Our Days” from Psalm 90:12, where Moses challenges each of us to let God“ … teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom “. We have taken this to heart and are learning “to number our days “as we resettle here.

It has been such a blessing to be welcomed back to America with open arms and hearts by the body of Christ here in Baltimore. Although we are experiencing “culture shock” as we are resettling in the states, we are grateful for all the encouragement we received from the convention. There is a great video of our missions’ night service and celebration which will provide you a glimpse of the conference, at the link below.

We are seeking God’s leading and wisdom just as we did in Ghana and ask for your prayers for:

 Baltimore Housing - We still do not have permanent housing, but will stay through July with friends. We are asking God for a furnished apartment or house near the church to either be donated or made available at an affordable cost.

 Employment – Chuck has a few opportunities as a business consultant and we are seeking God’s wisdom on what will be the most beneficial, while having sufficient time to be “recharged” spiritually and physically.

 Missions Support – We continue to be responsible for the ministry expenses in Ghana while we are in the USA. So, we encourage you to continue to support us and the ministry with your financial gifts. It is quite a challenge to live on a “Third World” budget in America.

 Togo Conference – I am trying to raise an additional $300 in financial support in order to send 10 of our leaders to our leadership conference with Pastor Scibelli, our mission’s director, in Togo in Mid July. If you can assist with a financial gift please let me know via email.

Thank you again for being with us in your continued prayers, financial support, and encouragement. We would love to hear from you and be in touch, so please feel free to give us a call on our phone numbers below.

Please let us know any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have.

God Bless,

Chuck & Susan Heidenreich

HOW TO MAKE TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS:
Greater Grace World Outreach, 6025 Moravia Park Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21206.Attention Missions Department - The Heidenreich's. (Please write: The Heidenreich's in the Memo part of the check or in PayPal comments.)

Team Heidenreich Update - Tokyo/Ghana/Baltimore - June 4, 2010

2010-06-05T00:45:00.002Z

Dear friends,

Thank you for your prayers during the past several weeks. I have returned from my trip to the 2010 Global Missions Consultation in Tokyo and four days with a great missionary friend, Pastor Steve DeVries and the church in Seoul. The conference was an eye opener to the size of the worldwide mission movement. There were mission leaders from 140 countries with over 2,000 people attending. The fact that it was hosted in a country that is only 1% Christian was an indication of the great need to continue our efforts in evangelism, discipleship and planting churches. The conference theme of discipleship was emphasized in the messages and workshops as the crucial element in missions that changes lives, people groups, and nations. I posted a new Youtube video of the trip at the link below.

Tokyo Missions conference with missions leaders from 140 countries and visitng the GGWO church in Seoul, Korea.

In other news….

One Eye on Today…. Ghana
Now that I am back in Ghana, we have made a decision to return to Baltimore the last week of June. With many unknowns, we are taking this as a step of faith. Pastor Henry and the leaders here have informed the churches and we are placing things in motion to continue the work in our absence. Please pray specifically for Pastor Henry, Bright, Abeku, Kofi Quayson, Abednego, Mr. Amphes, Moses, Daniel, Baron and the others who will be taking on extra ministry responsibilities. Also, pray for the women’s ministry of which Susan has made great strides over the past few months.

For our last service in Takoradi we will join with all of our branch churches on June 13th. We will gather for our regular worship service and then fellowship and celebrate together the opening match of Ghana Black Stars World Cup Soccer!

One Eye on Tomorrow…. Baltimore
We continue to seek God’s provision as we have now set a return date to the USA. Continue to pray specifically for these areas:

 Baltimore Housing - We do not have permanent housing, but will stay through July with friends. We are still asking God for a furnished apartment or house near the church to either be donated or made available at an affordable cost.

 Transition – As we consider moving to a different culture from what we have known for the past eight years, there may be “culture shock” and ask for God’s wisdom as we adjust.

 Employment – Open doors for means of employment that will allow us to live simply, while having sufficient time to be “recharged” spiritually and physically.

We look forward to being together as a family again with our older girls.

Thank you again for being with us in your continued prayers, financial support, and encouragement. This is truly a time where we are being stretched spiritually and financially and we ask you to continue to be with us in fervency.

Please let us know any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have.

God Bless,

Chuck & Susan Heidenreich

Dubai/Tokyo/Seoul Trip - May 2010

2010-06-05T00:42:00.000Z

Team Heidenriech News from Dubai-enroute to Tokyo/Korea

2010-05-10T13:58:00.001Z

I am writing you from Dubai… Yes, Dubai! As I spend this Sunday here and looked out upon the city, saw peoples faces on the train in the shopping area I can’t help but fell “weird” about a place where you don’t see people going to church on Sunday and no one even celebrating Mothers Day. I see this Muslim city void of a church steeple, a cityscape of mosques with its opulence and wealth. The reality presses on my heart that there is nothing greater than the glorious Gospel of grace (2 Cor. 4:4) that can remove the veil over their eyes. Oh Lord, give us wisdom how to reach these people with your love.

On April 1st, Pastor Scibelli, GGWO Mission Director, called me to say that Pastor Schaller wanted to know if I would attend a mission conference in Tokyo in May, on behalf of Greater Grace World Outreach. I said, “Sure, whatever you say… but I know its April Fools day… I know you are “fooling”… so sure …” Well, he wasn’t joking! So, today I am on a layover in Dubai on my way to attend the 2010 Global Missions Consultation in Tokyo to commemorate the 100 years since the historical 1910 Edinburgh Missions Conference. I am honored to be asked to represent Greater Grace and join other mission agencies and churches that represent over 15,000 missionaries. I will be joined there by one of my great missionary friends, Pastor Steve DeVries from Seoul. After the conference, the Greater Grace Church in Korea is flying me to Seoul to assist with a 4 day seminar on family and marriage. Please keep us in you prayers as I will be traveling from now through May – 19th

In other news….

One Eye on Today…. Ghana
Last weekend we had our first joint church service in Sekondi. It was such a blessing for the Sekondi church to have the churches from Takoradi and Shama gather in their chapel to fellowship around the Word of God together.

One Eye on Tomorrow…. Baltimore
We continue to seek God’s provision in many ways in order to be able to spend a year long furlough in the USA. Continue to pray specifically for these areas:

 Baltimore Housing - We are asking God for a furnished apartment or house near the church to either be donated or made available at an affordable cost.

 Transition – As we consider moving to a different culture from what we have known for the past eight years, there may be “culture shock” and ask for God’s wisdom as we adjust.

 Employment – Open doors for means of employment that will allow us to live simply, while having sufficient time to be “recharged” spiritually and physically.

We are grateful that our daughter Sari, who has completed her studies in Washington DC, has found a small Baltimore apartment for her and Nikki for the summer. Please pray for Nikki as she finishes up her final exams at DeSales University this week. Also please lift up Susan’s father, Will, who has experienced failing health.

Thank you again for your prayers as we pass through uncharted territory. I believe this is what the Lord calls “faith”!! Please let us know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for this transition.

God Bless,
Chuck

Team Heidenreich - USA Furlough Update - April 25, 2010

2010-04-27T23:50:00.001Z

Dear Friends,

Nearly a month ago we sent you a newsletter telling of our desire to go home for a year-long furlough. Now, we would like to give you an update on what has happened since that newsletter. We will do our best to keep you updated in the coming weeks and would love to hear from you as well.

During my career at Spalding my boss, Scott Creelman, used to tell me…. “Chuck, you need to keep one eye on today and one eye on tomorrow”. I have always felt this to be great wisdom: Not loosing sight on the things God has for you today while having a vision for what God wants to do with your life tomorrow. So with that in mind …

One Eye on Today….
Today, Chuck preached on what many refer to as the “ Great Commission “ passage in Matthew 28: 18-20. The fact is it is really a “Great Promise“. We thank God for the promise than “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18). Our goal is that whatever we do here in Ghana that it would be sourced in Jesus Christ the promiser ... and that is truly great!

As a team we have had spiritual and physical attacks over the past weeks. Through these difficulties we have watched the team pull together and get through these times. In fact the churches here are doing as well as they ever have and we have seen several new visitors come to the church… and stay!

One Eye on Tomorrow….
As we explained in our recent newsletter we are seeking God’s provision in many ways before we set a return date to the USA.

Chuck has spent hours researching various housing and employment opportunities on the phone and internet, as well as communicating with many of you about our plans. We are grateful that every supporter that we have spoken to has said they will stay by our side during our furlough. Yet, this will cover only about half of the expenses we will need to live in the States. This is because the cost of living here is so much less than there. So please continue to keep us in prayer for:

 Baltimore Housing - We are asking God for a furnished apartment or house near the church to either be donated or made available at an affordable cost.

 Plane Tickets – Return tickets through a monetary gift, ($4,000 needed) or donations of frequent flyer miles for tickets. Specifically we are looking for United Airline miles that could be transferred to Chuck’s frequent flyer account # 00301213891. Please let us know immediately if you can help in this area.

 Transition – As we consider moving to a different culture from what we have known for the past eight years, there may be “culture shock” and ask for God’s wisdom as we adjust.

 Employment – Our desire is to live as simply we can, but realize that Chuck will need to work in order to make ends meet. Please pray for wisdom and direction in these areas.

The other week I spoke on the phone with Pastor Schaller, the pastor of GGWO. We discussed our desire to return to the USA for a season. He said something I appreciate…. “I can see that you want to be like a duck, skimming the water of the pond and not getting in too deep so you can get out to the mission field again.” To that we say Amen!

As we said earlier, we have truly not passed this way before and are excited to see how God “works” it out. Please let us know any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have.

God Bless,

Chuck & Susan Heidenreich

NEWSFLASH - TEAM HEIDENREICH PLANNING TO COME TO AMERICA FOR A YEAR

2010-04-09T16:48:00.002Z

NEWSFLASH!!!!!!!!!! - TEAM HEIDENREICH IS COMING TO AMERICA FOR A YEAR… READ MORE….

March 29, 2010

Dear Friends and Blog followers,

As I wrote the April newsletter (see link on the right) and sorted through pictures, I couldn’t help but feel that this is a newsletter of celebration and beginnings. The cover of the newsletter speaks about life as a series of “beginnings,” so we are “beginning” another stage in our walk of faith. As one of our faithful friends through the years, I hope you will take a few extra minutes to read this blog post with the same prayerful heart you have always shown us.

We are excited about what God is doing here in the church after having just celebrated five years since we started the church and the graduation of several students. But, now, after nearly eight years on the mission field and with much prayer and soul searching, we are preparing to go to Baltimore at the end of June for a year-long “furlough” in the U.S. and then return to Takoradi to continue to help facilitate growth in the church and follow the calling on our lives to serve full time in overseas missions. As you may be aware, many missionaries traditionally take four years in the mission field and then return for a year at home. Over the past eight years we have never done this but have continued to serve for most of the year while taking shorter trips to attend mission conferences, get encouragement, visit family, attend to medical issues, and participate in fundraising . But, we believe with the church now having established roots that it is God’s timing for us to take a year to be in Baltimore. We have been blessed with a very capable assistant, Pastor Henry, who we have all confidence in to continue to help the ministry grow in our absence.

While away from Ghana, we will still need to financially support the church, the pastor, and the Ghanaian missionaries who we have with us. In addition, resettling in the U.S. will obviously have its expenses, plus we will need to save for our return to Ghana in a year. There are many details of how this will work and it is requiring as much faith to come home to the U.S. as it did for us to leave 8 years ago! Our desire is to live in the U.S. as we do here: simply and with minimal expenses. We know that the U.S. will have its added expenses so we are looking towards other means of supporting ourselves financially in addition to receiving continued missions support. Therefore, we pray that those who have supported us financially will continue to do so in order to continue the church growth.

We look forward to being around our home church, which has many new attendees and has undergone several changes since we’ve been away. It will be good for us to be a part of the Body of Christ at GGWO in Baltimore, take some refresher classes in the Bible College, and be involved in volunteering and minister as the Lord leads. In addition to volunteering in the church Chuck plans to help with the campus ministry, Verticalink, which has outreaches at five of the major college campuses in Baltimore area.

In recent months we have seen the effects of the worldwide economic slowdown in the support we receive from donors. This has negatively affected how much we can support and help the church and people here, and this troubles our hearts. Therefore we ask that you would pray about helping in the following areas:

 Church Support - Help supporting the three churches that have been planted specifically on a consistent basis. No matter how small or large the gift is, it would help the churches tremendously.

 Ghana House Rent – One year house rent in advance to keep our house and store our “things” and vehicle until our return. (Approx $3,000)

 Plane Tickets – Return tickets through a monetary gift or donations of frequent flyer miles for tickets. Please let us know immediately. (Approx $4,000)

 Baltimore Housing - We are asking God for a furnished apartment or house near the church to either be donated or made available through a “house sitting“ service We would like to have this set before we set a final date to return. Our family is smaller than when we left for the mission field and we are willing to be as mobile as necessary to keep our expenses down. If you have any ideas – friends who maybe willing to help with this – please let us know.

We know the lives we live in Ghana may be different than yours, but in essence our lives are really no different. Yes, we have different geography, climate, electricity and water challenges, yet we have the same Lord that continues His promise to be faithful to us (1 Thes. 5:24) whether in Ghana or America!

Please let us know any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have. We have truly not passed this way before and are excited to see what the Lord will reveal to us as we take this step of faith.

God Bless, Chuck & Susan Heidenreich

You and Me Village Outreach

2010-04-09T16:47:00.001Z

“You and Me” Village Outreach

2010-04-09T16:46:00.000Z

On Saturday March 29th the team from our Shama church, led by brother Abeku took us to another fishing village outside Shama called “You and Me”. We had an awesome time of evangelism in the small fishing village where we found the peoples hearts to be open to the Gospel. Several received Christ and we plan to continue reaching out to these areas with the message of the grace of God.

GGWO Liberia Trip - Jan. 2010

2010-02-26T00:39:00.000Z

Life's Simple Pleasures ,,, water and electricity

2010-02-25T00:02:00.002Z

Today we had water flowing from the tap for the first time in 3 weeks, although the electricity was off for the hottest three hours of the afternoon we are grateful to the supporters who helped us buy a generator a few years back.... so Ryan is getting better at pull starting it to start! Life is good.. internet even works today.. Amen. A great day on evangelism, good night of visitation with church members. Thank for all yor prayers, Chuck

5 Year Anniversary Celebration & Joint Church Service

2010-02-16T14:41:00.000Z

2010-01-20T01:11:00.001Z

5th Anniversary Celebration - Graduation

2010-01-19T00:39:00.002Z

Thank you for praying for our 5th Anniversary Celebration Weekend. We had a great day on Saturday January 9th as we presented four Bible College Degrees (4 years) and three Certificates (2 years) in the presence of Pastor Scibelli from Maryland Bible College in the USA and a dozen visiting pastors from Greater Grace as well as several other churches in Takoradi. It was a great time to meet many family members of these students who have faithfully supported them as they have pursued their Bible College training. Please continue to pray for these students as some will continue and others will be seeking the Lord’s direction and wisdom for their future in ministry. We are excited about our next semester schedule which will allow us to have five classes. Pastor Chuck

2010-01-07T23:09:00.001Z

2010-01-07T23:08:00.001Z

5 Year Anniversary Celebration & Joint Church Service

2010-01-07T23:07:00.001Z

This weekend we will be celebrating 5 years of ministry in the Western Region of Ghana. We will also hold our first graduation of our Bible College in Takoradi where we will graduate four students with 4 Year Degrees and three others with 2 Year Certificates. It will be an honor celebrate with these faithful students and their families. Please pray for this weekend as we will have Pastor Scibelli, GGWO Missions Director, who is still en route from the USA after being delayed in London because of the snow storm. It will be great to have several of our Ghanaian pastors who have been so much a part of our ministry through their prayers and encouragement. Three of other Greater Grace missionaries from Benin will also be with us.

It was a joy to welcome Nikki &Sari with a joint service and food fellowship with our churches from Takoradi, Sekondi, Shama, and other friends visiting from Daboase. It was a festive time of celebration as we were still in the Christmas spirit. A few days later we enjoyed a late night New Year Eve service as we brought the new year in together as a church in worship and song. The YouTube video may give you some idea of our worship service here.

Chuck

2009-12-22T23:03:00.000Z

ENTIRE "Team Heidenreich" Christmas in Ghana

2009-12-22T22:33:00.005Z

We are thankful that we could use up ALL our frequent flyer miles to bring Nikki & Sari here for Christmas. They will be here until the middle of January.

We hope you enjoy our Christmas letter which can be accessed at the link on the right of the blog.

Have great Christmas! Chuck

Merry Christmas & News : Baptism/Bible College

2009-12-22T19:55:00.005Z

Merry Christmas from Ghana!

I pray by now you have received our Christmas news in the mail. So, I just wanted to give you a quick update on few church happenings and notes of encouragement of what the Lord is doing through our ministry here in Ghana.

Christmas Baptism… a Takoradi December tradition!
This last Sunday we continued our Christmas tradition by having a baptism at the beach. We joined together 15 people from out churches in Takoradi, Sekondi, Shama, and Daboase. It was great to see so many take steps of faith and public professions of their commitment Along with the rejoicing in the baptism, there was much swimming and serious football (soccer to you westerners). I posted a YouTube video.

Maryland Bible College of Takoradi - Fall Semester

It is encouraging to see the growth in maturity and understanding of our 25 Bible College students who have been faithful throughout the semester. These students represent not only our church but six different churches in the area. So we are truly being "ecumenical" in teaching the finished work message of grace in our region. Four of these students will be receiving four year Degrees and three at our January graduation ceremony.

5 Year Anniversary Celebration and Bible College Graduation

The weekend of January 9 & 10^th we will be celebrating 5 years of ministry in the Western Region of Ghana. We ill also hold our first graduation in Takoradi to honor the faithful students and their families. Please pray for this weekend as we will have Pastor Scibelli, GGWO Missions Director, and several visiting pastors her to celebrate with us.

Have a Blessed Christmas.

Chuck, Susan, Nikki, Sari, Katie and Ryan Heidenreich

Preacher Boy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T21:42:00.000Z

Wow. I just returned from a great Thursday night “Preacher Boy” service in Takoradi. We have been having our young disciples preach once a month on Thursday nights and it is a great encouragement.

Since they do not celebrate American Thanksgiving in Ghana, I asked the guys to share a thought on Thanksgiving. Abednego spoke encouraging words form Psalm 26:7 on publishing with the voice of thanksgiving and telling of the wonderful works of God. Bright shared from his heart about the abundance of what I have in life is not as important than who has us, God.

I am thankful for the lives of these young men and others who are growing in their spiritual gifts.

Chuck

Reflections on Southern Africa

2009-11-18T23:51:00.002Z

Whether in Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, or Botswana I heard a common cry from rich and poor, apartheid or free, failure or success…. “Does God Love me? “ I am thankful that our missionaries and churches are there to say …. “Yes, God loves you; let me show you how much. “ This eternal and simple message can be lost in what we hear in the world each day. The churches are not just preaching it but ministering God’s love to people of all different social, economic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. When people hear and understand of this great love of God that is waiting to be shed abroad in their hearts (Romans 5:5), they are greatly encouraged, and so are we.

One of the things that I enjoyed most was the outreach to the Univ. of Pretoria. It reminded me so much of where I was spiritually just after receiving Christ in 1979 the week before I attended the Univ. of Oregon (Go Ducks!). One day on campus in Pretoria I approached a girl to say hello and I noticed that she was nearly getting ready to break out in tears. I was thinking that since the students were in the middle of taking their final exams that maybe she had just gotten out of a bad exam. I simply began to talk to her and said “you seem like you are having a hard day, I am a pastor is there anything I can help you with?” She responded by saying, “This is the worse day of my life, coming here was the biggest mistake I could have made”. She proceeded to break out in tears and tell how she had come to the university to be with her boyfriends, who had not been faithful to her. She was truly heartbroken and although a Christian she simply needed to hear that God loved her that day. Wow, being in the right place at the right time! I quickly got Barbara and Tlhoki to come and talk to her and that was awesome.

Botswana- Church Planting Trip

2009-11-18T23:44:00.000Z

Gaborone, Botswana- Church Planting Trip

2009-11-18T23:42:00.000Z

It joked with Susan, that it was as though we had left San Diego (Pretoria - hot, dry, green) and driven to Phoenix, Arizona (Botswana - Hotter, dryer, and brown) as 12 of us ventured four hours west of Pretoria to the capital city of Gaborone. Pastor Manny and a team are visiting there monthly, with a vision to start a church in one neighborhood near the city. After a long day of evangelism, we had a great turnout for an outdoor service with nearly 30 people in attendance. In this country known for it’s diamonds, we found something more beautiful in the hearts of people who responded to the grace message of God’s love. Please pray as those from the Pretoria church to take the next steps to begin a permanent ministry in Botswana.

GGWO Pretoria - S. Africa - Church & Univ. of Pretoria Outreach

2009-11-18T23:41:00.000Z

GGWO Nellmapius Township - S. Africa - Church & Outreach

2009-11-18T23:39:00.000Z

Pretoria - South Africa

2009-11-18T23:36:00.000Z

I must admit that I had many preconceived notions of South Africa and had often joked it was really “Southern Europe”. So, as our “caravan” of people led by Pastor Scibelli flew from Zambia to “S.A.” I arrived with much anticipation. It was truly the most mixed of any African country I have visited; culturally, racially, and economically. Many of those now in the church were college students at Univ. of Pretoria and have now graduated and are working, taking Bible College classes, and serving in the church. Pastor Manny leads a great group of diverse people who I found to be; warm, welcoming, sprit filled, and with a great heart for expanding GGWO in that region of the world. Pastor Scibelli’s preaching on the subject of “love” during this time was a great encouragement to all of us.

Lilongwe, Malawi

2009-11-02T12:49:00.002Z

NEXT STOP MALAWI

2009-11-01T16:22:00.001Z

I am currently in Lilongwe Malawi with one leader named Wesley from the church in Lusaka. We have been having a great time in fellowship together, eating local food for lunch and he is eating my American “bachelor food” …a.ka. Top Ramen Chinese noodles in the evening.

Praise God for the great provision at the centrally located Baptist Guest House where we are lodging. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s leading as we are check out the city for a future GGWO church.

We have taken Acts 9:6 , “ Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”, as our theme verse for this trip. As we started in the city God clearly showed us that we were to go to the outlying areas of the city. So, we have been taking the local buses to the outlying “compound” or “areas” as they call them here. It seems this is where most people live. We went 35 minutes one direction on Saturday and then today, Sunday, we headed 30 minutes the other way. In all honest we didn’t really know where God was heading except that we wanted to find a school where many churches may be meeting and we could just drop in and out of different services just to see how they worship here. So we boarded the old beat up bus and headed out of town. While on the bus we say a nicely dressed man with his family who looked like he was going to church. So we talked to him and he invited us to his church. The church at least had the name grace in it, so we figured why not.

We worshiped with them as they sang most of the song in the local language. Then we heard a good message on grace. They church was very welcoming and honored to have us. The pastors confided in us that they were still taking correspondence courses and that Bible College training was greatly needed in the country. There seem to be some Bible colleges, but not in the local churches and for free.

After that we headed back to another area where we grabbed a quick snack (coke & biscuits as usual) and then evangelized throughout the neighborhood for a while. Walking once again, which we have done a lot of, we came across a football match and watched for a while. We met some Zambian pastors and a missionary from the UK and they shared about one another ministry and spoke of church planting etc.

Malawi is MUCH drier than Ghana so the heat doesn’t bother you as much. It feels a lot like San Diego California! But, I am sure I am getting back to my African weight with all the walking. Above are a few pictures of the city and surrounding.

Keep us in prayer as Wesley will be with me for another day before he heads back to Zambia via bus, with a stopover to see his family in the eastern part of Zambia. I will have another day before I fly back to pray, study, and relax a day before we head to South Africa and Botswana.

Zambia

2009-11-01T16:17:00.001Z

LUSAKA – EVANGELISM/CHURCH/BIBLE COLLEGE

2009-10-31T17:00:00.001Z

It was great to be in Lusaka for a week and have time for evangelism, hear awesome teaching in Bible College, preaching in church, and have special sessions for the church leaders and Pastors.

It seems that most churches have a certain “spot” where the church first began to evangelize. For the Lusaka ministry it was the main post office in the middle of the city. We spent several afternoons there talking to people about ho much God loved them. Zambia was previously it was known as “Northern Rhodesia” and it was great to be there their 45^th Independence Day. It was fun to be there with a larger missions team and so many Zambian leaders.

2009-10-31T16:58:00.001Z

NEXT STOP KITWE – THE “COPPER BELT” OF ZAMBIA

2009-10-31T16:55:00.000Z

The cites of Kitwe and Ndola are nearly 6 hours north of the capital Lusaka, near the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Known as the “Copper Belt” because of their copper mining this is the city where Adam and Melinda Speedy and their little boy Micah have been called to church plant. In addition they have a trained national named Emilio who is there serving with them.

In so many ways it reminds me of Takoradi and the way we left Ashaiman after a few years to venture 6 hours away and begin church planting another unreached region of the country. It was so good to be with 25 other Zambian pastors and have some AMAZING leadership session with Pastor Scibelli. It was also fun to stay at the Methodist Training Center where I shared a house with Pastor Scibelli, Pastor Renaldo, and Pastor Joe Roche. This made for some extra early morning and late night discussions on missions and leadership.

Melinda is also a diabetic on the same insulin pump, so it was funny as maybe our pump would sound a reminder alarm and we would look at each other and say …”Was that your pump or mine?” and then just kind of laugh.

2009-10-31T15:49:00.000Z

TAKORADI CHURCH LAND UPDATE

2009-10-31T15:44:00.000Z

Well, in Africa everything still depends on the village chief. After getting the “ runaround “ for two weeks from the Survey Department, who kept sayings they had to get the village chief to sign off on the final land sale documents, but he was out of town. Pastor Henry finally went to meet the chief two days ago himself only to find out that the land we were looking to buy had already been sold.

The GOOD NEWS is that the chief has some other lands that he is now showing Pastor Henry, for about the same price, and we are believing God that we will get something even better. So, please continue to pray of Gods wisdom and strength for Pastor Henry as he watches the church and continues the quest to obtain our own piece of land for the church.

LUSAKA – NATIONAL “GRACE MOMENTS” RADIO PROGRAM

2009-10-31T15:42:00.000Z

It was great to be able to preach on the 30-minute radio program broadcast from the government radio station that reaches all corners of Zambia. I preached on faith and it was satisfying when that afternoon on evangelism someone asked Barbara Hill…” Are you the people on the radio today where the pastor talked about faith? It was really good.” It is stories like that which encourage us to go forward preaching!

2009-10-20T10:39:00.000Z

Safe Arrival!

2009-10-20T10:30:00.000Z

Thanks to a special gift I had the joy of flying from Takoradi to Accra, which was a special treat to see where we minister from the air! After visiting with my dear friend Pastor John in Ashaiman God blessed me with an awesome seat on the upper deck of a 747, and after a quick stop in Lagos Nigeria I was off to Johannesburg South Africa. After a 6 hour layover next stop … Lusaka, Zambia where I was warmly greeted by Pastor Renaldo and off to the “mission team house” with the Charity, the Arman family, Pastor Joe Roche, plus Dave & Jamie Lee Ryan who are also visiting .. and all the associated kids. It reminds me a lot of our house when our kids were younger…. 3 little girls running around and trying to learn to walk everywhere! Plus it is great to see Barbara Hill and Carol Demaris on the team.

Since arriving he has had me teaching all his Bible College classes with up to 75 students in the classes, preaching, doing morning leadership devotionals, lunch raps, and radio! It is great for the church here in Southern Africa to see other missionaries from other parts of Africa with the same vision. They are a very warm people and have really responded to the grace message.

Thanks for keeping me in prayer, it is always great to be stretched by God in our capacity and grow in our walk with him.

We look towards the safe arrival of Pastor Scibelli on Thursday and then I have a great expectation form God to receive from him messages of encouragement and edification.

Please also pray for Pastor Henry as he is in the final stages of purchasing a parcel of land for our future church building. Pray for Gods wisdom, no hassles with documents being processed with me out of the country, and honesty with the officials we are dealing with. See our Building flyer link on the right.

Chuck

Upcoming Trip to Southern Africa - Oct. 15 - Nov. 12

2009-10-08T11:55:00.000Z

Pastor Scibelli, our mission’s director, has often encouraged me to visit our churches in southern and eastern Africa, and it seems that this is the best time period in our spiritual journey to do this. So, we prayed and God has provided the means for me to take a trip to visit our churches in Zambia & South Africa as well as take “vision trips “into Malawi and Botswana where we do not have GGWO churches or Bible Colleges. Our missionaries in Zambia and South have been taking regular trips with a good response to our ministry in Botswana and Malawi. Please pray for final preparations as I depart on Oct. 15 for a month long trip to these countries. Pray for wisdom for the leaders of the churches here, safety in travels, and protection for Susan, Katie, and Ryan they are here in Ghana.

I plan to post in the blog when I can get an internet connection, so keep checking back.

God Bless, Chuck

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU .. POST A COMMENT

2009-10-02T16:47:00.000Z

We would love to know you are enjoying our blog .. so please feel free to leave a comment!

Daboase Church Service

2009-09-17T16:58:00.000Z

DABOASE VILLAGE CHURCH

2009-09-16T23:05:00.002Z

Our newest church in the farming community of Daboase is located about a 45 minute drive from our home in Takoradi. After initially hearing our Grace Hour radio program we began to visit and minister to a small group of people there. They had never heard the grace message and have responded to the message that we bring. Most people in the community live very simple lives of farming of palm nuts, cassava, yams, and other local foods. They are very loving people and open to hear the Gospel. Mr. Owusu, one of our Bible College students from our Sekondi church has been going there for two days during the week, spending he night with the people and doing a church service on Tuesday nights. Yesterday I travelled with Pastor Henry & Abeku to meet all the people there. The response was great to the message of God's love constraining us and holding us, never letting us go (2 Cor. 5: 14 ). The usual group of 12 - 15 on the porch of the house where we meet continued to grow as we began the service. Nearly 35 adults with equally as many children listened to my open air preaching and it was a great time of fellowship. The core group of 15 - 20 adults will be joining us this Sunday in Takoradi for our joint church service where we gather all the churches together for fellowship. Please pray for these humble people and God's wisdom in leading them. Chuck

Spring/Summer Newsletter

2009-09-11T15:35:00.001Z

If you would like to see our Spring/Summer 2009 Newsletter click on the link below:

Spring/Summer News

2009-08-22T00:17:00.000Z

MISSIONS, MOUNTAINS, AND REFLECTIONS

2009-08-22T00:09:00.000Z

So what do mountains have to do with Africa Missions???

This year's trip to the U.S. was a very personal year of reflection; it will be 30 years on September 9th since I received Christ as my personal savior riding a chair lift while skiing at Mt. Hood. That chair lift ride changed my life! This summer I had a chance to go skiing for one day on Mt. Hood. I ran in to an old U.S. Ski Team friends, Bruce Bolesky, and take a few runs with him. We reminisced about the past & I thought about how much God has changed my life. I also spent a few days with some college friends, another U.S. Ski Team pal, and Phil Goodman in Seattle.

Susan and I celebrated 25 years of marriage, and ten years of leaving my business career to seek God's will in ministry.

2009-08-21T23:40:00.001Z

2009-08-21T23:15:00.000Z

Chuck – Happy Returns!

2009-08-21T23:10:00.000Z

As a missionary our heart is often torn between our desire to be at home in America and our calling to a foreign mission field. So, with great anticipation we returned to Ghana where we saw in the churches and leaders the faithfulness of God, had continued during our absence.

Back in Ghana, Pastor Henry and the leaders that the Lord has given to us, had done a great job leading the churches. It is encouraging to me to see God working in the lives of these people. Since our return in early August we have been settling into our schedule of evangelism, visitation, and weekly radio program. We have had a great candlelight prayer meeting in Sekondi and a joint church service Sunday, with many of the people from the churches in Takoradi, Sekondi, Shama, and Daboase. I have been preaching upon the theme “God doesn’t change, but God changes us! “ (Hebrews 13:5-8). It is great to see the response of the people the Lord has blessed us with. We are also kicking off our Bible College semester this Sunday with an orientation. We are praying the Lord will provide 50 students who are willing to be trained in the message of God’s love and grace. Please continue to pray that our churches will take “deep root” these coming months and in the year ahead.

I just posted some new photos and videos on the links noted below. You are invited to browse and see more of what God is doing here.

Thank you again for joining us in prayer and support for the ministry of the grace message to the Western part of Ghana. Chuck

Heidenreich Website - www.teamheidenreich.org

"You Tube" page: http://www.youtube.com/chuckheid

New Photo's posted on Webshots at: http://community.webshots.com/user/chuckheid

News from Pastor Henry Back in Ghana

2009-08-21T23:03:00.000Z

The past few weeks have been exciting and awesome. We've had a wonderful time in the word and prayer and also Body life fellowship. Pastor Scibelli visited us here in Takoradi with a few of the pastors from Ghana. We had 3 days of evangelism with him and these pastors. We went to Tarkwa about an hour and half from Takoradi and we are praying to have a church there soon. From there 13 of us from Takoradi went with him to Togo, Lome for their annual conference. Seven of these 13 people are leaders in our church. Our time in Lome was so good. We heard messages from several pastors from our churches in different parts of Africa. For some of our people, this was the first time in Lome, so it was good for them to see what the Lord is doing in these different parts of Africa. Many of them gave testimonies about how great a time it was for them, how God gave them a vision for missions, and how it brought them close together in fellowship. Please continue to pray for our leaders here, that God will keep them in the vision we have for the Western Region of Ghana. Pastor Henry Nkrumah

Susan – The “Wimp” ???

2009-08-21T22:32:00.000Z

Call me a wimpy missionary but by the time June rolls around I am missing my family and church in America so much I am chomping at the bit to get home. I am so thankful that we have been able to go home every summer for the past seven years. It is difficult for me to imagine not being able to do that. Being in Baltimore during the International Convention and participating in many church activities has recharged me for another year of missions. I feel that it is crucial to spend time with family as well as being so far away is not easy for us or them … especially for Nikki and Sari. It is so great to catch up with our daughters and I am thankful that they are doing well in America without us being there. Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s trip home possible! Susan

Back in Ghana

2009-08-11T17:46:00.000Z

Hi friends! After a great trip to visit our families and churches in the USA we are now back in Takoradi. We are excited to be back with the churches here and to spend time with those who have been "holding the ropes" while we have been gone. They have done a great job and we are excited to see how many of the young men and women have grown in the Lord. We thank God for Pastor Scibelli's visit here in our absence and for the 13 of those who travelled to Togo for the conference in July. Thanks for your prayers. Chuck, Susan, Katie, and Ryan

TEAM HEIDENREICH IN AMERICA!!

2009-06-26T17:28:00.000Z

Hi friends... well we have been re-united with our family in Baltimore. If you would like to catch up with you and we haven't seen you yet, please feel free to call us on our mobile phones we are using while we are here:

Chuck - 443- 630-2840
Susan - 443-630-8008

We will be traveling to Colorado, San Diego, Baltimore, and back to Boston before we depart in early August.

Chuck

Team Heidenreich - Our Story

2009-06-13T04:09:00.000Z

Heidenreich Reflections on MIssions

2009-06-02T15:23:00.000Z

Greeting to you from “cool ” Ghana. It actually got down to the low 80's the other day.. burrrrrr. All kidding aside, we are all doing well and are looking forward to our upcoming trip to the U.S. We were not sure we would be able to go to the USA this summer, but we have been greatly blessed to witness how the Lord has touched people to help us re-unite with our oldest girls and other family and friends.

This is the time of year when we reflect on what the Lord has done in our ministry. As we remember the events and special moments of the past year, we realize how greatly God has blessed us. Sometimes we know we could have done better, but we have to just laugh at the silly things we wish we had never done. Yet, we are also thankful for the lessons learned!

We hope you enjoy the Youtube video as we reflect of our "faith adventure" in responding to God's calling to serve on the mission field in Ghana.

Thank you for being there to “hold the ropes” in prayer as you are our partners helping us minister to the people. Your encouragement is crucial to our spiritual motivation in serving the Lord here in Ghana.

In Calvary's Love, Chuck

Ryan the Carpenter

2009-05-28T07:30:00.000Z

Ryan has been working on designing this idea of having a swing/bench in the back yard for 2 weeks. He has been banging nails with the old termite infested scrap wood & is now ready to do his school work there!

I am quite proud of him. I bought him a bunch of nails, a saw and then he hammered away. The only part I did was tie the bowline knot!

Chuck

2009-05-17T00:50:00.000Z

Painting Sekondi Church

2009-05-17T00:07:00.000Z

Last weekend we had a great time at the school classroom where we rent for the Sekondi Church. Pastor Henry bought paint and myself along with Ryan, Mr. Owusu, Baron, Abednego, and Wilson were there to paint. We had a great time.. and it came out nice and nobody fell off a ladder! The next week our visitor from Spain, Adriana, brought us a financial gift from her church and we were able to buy nearly twenty new plastic chairs. We praise God for the growing church in Sekondi!

Ryans 12th Birthday

2009-05-16T15:31:00.001Z

Well, for those of you who missed it, Ryan's birthday was Saturday May 9th. We had a nice joint party with his friend Marlon and a great group of kids.

I hate Mosquitos

2009-05-16T15:24:00.000Z

Well, it seems the malaria mosquito that got me last week now got Katie. After being down for a few days last week it seems Katie now has the symptoms. So, for those of you who are fearing swine flu, this is something we experience on occasion and is not much different than the common flu. The key is to treat it early. So, keep Katie in prayer and I am sure she will be back on her feet in a few days. God Bless, Chuck

Visitor from Spain

2009-05-13T16:41:00.000Z

This week we have a vistor from Barcelona, Spain called Adriana Domuta. She has been recieving our newsletters on the internet for several years and decided to come and spend time with our family and the team here in Takoradi. She is originally from Romania where she was a part of the Greater Grace Church. She and her husband now live in Barcelona Spain where she is a flight attendant, so it is easy for her to visit us! Here she is seen with Renee Beland on evangelism in New Takoradi.

2009-05-09T22:06:00.000Z

Sportspower Liberia Trip

2009-05-07T17:42:00.000Z

Thank you for praying for my recent trip to Liberia with Sportspower International. This is a ministry which uses the avenue of basketball to reach the world with the message of salvation in Christ. I had an eventful 10-day trip acting as the Liaison, a.k.a. “manager” for the basketball team.

After 15 years of civil war, Sportspower was the first team of foreign players, besides African football teams, to visit the country. Due to the strong historical relationship between America and Liberia, basketball is the second most popular sport in the country. This cannot be said for any other country in Africa, except maybe Angola. Therefore the appearance of an American team with former NBA, European and college players, plus basketball showman and Guinness Book of world record holder Bruce Crevier was quite an event for the country.

After I arrived a few days early to finalize the schedule with the Sports Ministry and take care of logistics, do some PR and radio interviews, the team arrived. Our first day we had the honor of meeting with Vice President Boakai, plus a lot of handshaking with the Senators and House of Representative members. They were all very supportive of us bringing the Gospel to help the youth of their country.

After that the hard work of ministry and basketball began. Bill Alexson and the team conducted clinics for the professional and amateur teams and coaches, which provided a great opportunity to share the gospel. The Sportspower Team played against the top 3 professional teams in the country, and then played the Liberian National Team and was victorious in all the games!

While I was in Monrovia I was also able to have three special teaching times with the pastors and leaders of the Liberian Greater Grace Churches. The church was blessed to have all the players worship with them on Easter Sunday. It was a great experience for the Sportspower team to fellowship in a Liberian church service. I was able to share a message that started with Bethlehem, went to the cross, and ended at the resurrection… all places that are now empty! They are places where Christ revealed the power of God and places that had been designed for one purpose, but God used them for another. The manger was really a feeding trough but God used it to as a manger, the cross had a purpose to crucify the unjust but it was used to crucify the just, the tomb was owned by Joseph of Aramathea but God had a different purpose. What is our purpose? Are we available to be used by God for His purpose??

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
In Calvary’s Love, Chuck

2009-05-07T13:32:00.001Z

A Start

2009-05-07T00:12:00.000Z

Hi there. This a start to a blog for Team Heidenreich. I am testing out Blogger and Wordpress to see which is easier to use. God Bless. Pastor Chuck