About Our Mission.

The Story

16 years ago Drew's grandmother went on a mission trip to a village in Ghana called Bawku. While there she had a wonderful time visiting all the villages in the area with her eyeglass clinic that ministered to the Muslim community. During her stay she had the opportunity to get to know a man named Nicholas Salifu. Nicholas was the pastor of the local villages and had an amazing zeal for the Lord. After getting to know him and his family my grandma made the connection that he had two children that were right around the same ages as Drew and his sister, Sarah. Upon making this connection an idea was introduced that Nicholas’s children, James and Monica, should become pen palls with each other. So, what began as a few letters being sent back and forth soon developed into a relationship that would last the rest of their lives. Now with the progression of technology, 16 years later, they are able to communicate way more frequently thanks to facebook, skype and email. This has opened up many doors to dive even further into each others lives and pursue a deeper relationship. About a year ago there was a thought of some day being able to meet face to face and pursue the Lord together. This idea soon became a reality as doors began to open everywhere. Talks with James' dad soon brought all of these ideas into a reality. He introduced ministry opportunities that were available like visiting local churches and offering encouragement, lining a well or even building a new central church. A date was determined, a budget was developed and we began the planning of a once in a life time experience of building bridges and glorifying God. Since then, Drew Helm, Dan Devine, Zach Sunderland and Kate Hedgpeth have been meeting nearly once a week to work out all the details and continue to grow in our friendship in the Lord.

There are two different projects that can be accomplished while we are there which I mentioned before. Lining the well would be a great opportunity to get our hands dirty and provide the local villages with a more stable source of water. It takes a large amount of cement and iron rods, which would come out to be a $500 project. With this money we would purchase the supplies when we arrived and then spend multiple days there finishing the project. The other project available is Building a church. This project would be a lot more extensive but even more fruitful. Currently most churches through Nicholas’s ministry are held under a tree or within clay/dirt huts. They recognize that a church is not defined by the building they are in but instead the people they are with. This being said when the weather prevails it can be a bit limiting and daunting to maintain a church. Right now they are seeking to build a central cement building that can be used for many years to come through whatever weather comes their way. They have already laid the foundation but now need to build the structure. If we pursued this project it would cost around $3,400 to fully complete it and we would purchase the supplies when we arrive and then take them up to their local village, 10 hours north of the city. Both of these projects are an additional cost on top of our other expenses but and will be pursued depending on how God provides.

We look forward to keeping all of you updated as we progress with this mission and welcome any and all feedback that you might have. If you have any questions, concerns or comments you can contact any of us - visit our "About Us" page for phone numbers and emails.