When local churches hold their annual Vacation Bible Schools over the hot summer months they can sometimes serve up to 100 children.
But for the eight-member mission group from the First Baptist Church of Oxford, they spent a whole month teaching close to 3,000 African children about Jesus Christ.
The team, made up of teens, college students and two church youth leaders, spent July 28-Aug. 28 in the west-African country of Ghana.
In partnership with the New Life Baptist Churches in the villages of Kasoa, Apam and Mumford and the Gospel Baptist Church in Ashaiman, the team filled their days with children ages 2-12.
First Baptist youth leaders Dan and Anita Wells, their daughter, Ashley, Jen Veloso, Ashley Landis, Brianna Kester, Brad Kester and Bree Vossen were willing to take the trip across the Atlantic to spread the Gospel.
They made crafts with the smaller children, performed puppet shows, Bible studies and devotionals from the early morning hours into the evening.
The program’s theme, Set Sail, made it easy for the children of the fishing villages, who primarily all speak English, to understand. Nearly 900 of the children made salvation decisions by the end of their stay in Ghana.
‘It came to a point where it was so hard to keep track (of who became saved) because there were so many,? Bree Vossen, 17, remembered.
Vossen said being a Christian in the African country didn’t make her feel unwelcome at all because Ghana is like a melting pot of religions.
Christianity accounts for 60 percent, while 15 percent are Muslim and 25 percent are traditional African religions.
‘They were very open to us being there,? she said.
The team’s biggest challenge, according to youth leader Dan Wells, was being re-energized to get up and give 110 percent each day.
‘We’d sit around the dinner table and we would all literally fall asleep while we’re eating,? he said.
But Wells said God always seemed to replenish their energy for the next day.
Another challenge was getting over 100 children from a Liberian refugee camp to where they were using a 15-passenger van.
Wells said they would have to pack 60-70 of the children in one van, and they never, ever complained.
Wells joked that his biggest challenge was remembering to use his bottled water to rinse his toothbrush off instead of the contaminated tap water.
Aside from their ministry work, the team got to participate in some fun cultural activities.
Brad Kester got to play with an adult soccer league, while Wells attended a couple’s ‘engagement party,? complete with a dowry.
Looking back on their successful trip, Wells said ‘the team couldn’t have done any better.?