2021 YEAR IN REVIEW
We began 2021 with seven days of fasting and prayer (from the 11th to the 17th of January) with the intention of moving forward to the next level of achievement and to prepare ourselves spiritually for the year ahead. Staff of MLI, and some of our volunteers, met each day for fellowship and to seek God’s guidance. We were confident and hopeful for a successful year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to disrupt our plans and had a negative impact financially on all of our missions.
As an organization that relies heavily on donor support to carry out our activities, we suffered a major setback in our ability to provide the support and services so desperately needed in our community. We could not implement many of the activities as planned, however, some modest gains were made through the grace and mercy of God! We remain grateful to God and our faithful partners who stood firmly with us in the mist of these difficult times.
Water Project (Boreholes)
Access to clean water still remains a huge challenge in most of the rural communities in Ghana. Many of these communities still drink from an unclean stream which eventually dries up during the dry season. Others compete with cattle and other wild animals for water from the same source.
During the year under review, we constructed one borehole for the people of Asuboi-Maase. The progress of the project is about 85% complete.
Medical Outreach
In partnership with the Doron Medical Center, we were able to embark on several community medical outreach missions. In the mist of financial and logistical challenges, we were able to mobilize resources to distribute hand sanitizer and face masks to the people of Dedukorpe and Asikasu-Odumase. We are grateful for our partnership with the Church at Rancho Bernardo, in San Diego, U.S.A who helped us accomplish this. This outreach has equipped the members of these communities with some safety equipment and measures to help curb the spread of the virus, as well as encouraging them with the Word of God. There has also been a positive impact on their lives through the show of love and compassion and the feeling that someone out there is thinking about, not only their spiritual growth, but also their physical well-being.
Special Emergency Covid-19 Relief Project
We were blessed to receive support from the Church at Rancho Bernardo (CRB) to embark on our Emergency Covid-19 Relief Project in the Dedukorpe and Asikasu-Odumase communities. We provided food packages to about 200 families, which consisted of 5 kilo bags of rice, tin fish, tin tomatoes and 5-liter bottles of oil, for the two communities. Most of the beneficiaries of these food packages are widows, orphans, and the very poor and needy in the community. We also distributed hand sanitizer and face masks to over 1,000 people in these two communities.
Jesus Film Show / Evangelism
Meaningful Life International continues to reach out to many Communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ; preaching salvation and preparing souls for the second Coming of our Lord and Savior. Our Jesus Film Show outreaches have laid the foundation for Church planting in some of these communities.
During the year under review, we organized one film show in partnership with the Hill Top Church International at Newland Taxi rank, and also embarked on a door to door evangelism campaign with the Ochs team in the Ada community and surrounding areas. A number of gospel tracts were shared and the sick prayed for. Through the film show project, many lives have been impacted with the Gospel and many souls encountered the healing power of God as they experience Jesus healing the sick.
Church Planting
MLI, in partnership with the Harvest Missions Chapel Assemblies of God International, and the Ochs team, planted a new church at Agorkpo, a suburb of Big Ada. The Church is doing well, and the congregation is growing by God’s Grace! We recently donated a number of plastic chairs to this church, as well as donating chairs to the church in Angornya.
Community Education
MLI works hard to combine our humanitarian aid-driven projects (the borehole projects) with an equally important empowerment component. We seek to stifle dependency and promote personal development through a meaningful relationship with God. So, in addition to going into the communities to drill boreholes, our organization also ensures that the community members are well trained on how to properly care for and maintain the boreholes. This training stresses the importance of community ownership, basic hygiene, and accountability.
This year, we embarked on community education in Asuboi-Maase and Asikasu-Odumaase in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Summer Teams
The impact of summer teams to the Missions field over the years has been life transforming. During the year under review, we received some incredible summer teams who came to serve in missions with us. We hosted the Oches family and friends from the U.S.A who came to serve with us in June 2021. Together, we ministered in orphanages and special needs schools, engaged in community outreach, provided free medical care, evangelized, and planted a new church in the village of Agorkpo. Over 900 lives were positively impacted as a result of this outreach.
We also successfully hosted Dr. Ken Lenz, the board chairman of MLI, U.S.A and his wife who were here to serve our ministry and spread the Good News with us.
Special Annual Christmas Outreach
This year’s special Annual Christmas outreach (SACO) will be held in Asikasu-Odumase, a deprived community in the Upper West Akim District of the Eastern Region of Ghana. On the 25th of December, a Christmas party will be organized for the entire community. We will serve food, drinks, snacks, candies, and water to about 800 people. We will also distribute used clothing and footwear to those who are in need. The widows and pastors are especially included at this event. About 30 widows and 10 pastors will receive gift packs from our ministry. The school children of the village are also provided with school supplies to help them in their education.