The Lord has been so good to us! He certainly gives us more blessings than we deserve. When we came home for furlough, our needs list was very long! Sometimes you wonder how everything is going to work out. But God never fails to provide for those who patiently wait upon Him, (Ps. 37:7). One of the things that we have learned living in Africa is to wait patiently upon our God. Everything in Africa moves at a casual pace which is good in some ways. However, it can be very frustrating to Americans.
I was finally able to get my new hearing aids after a long wait. Now, I have to patiently adjust to the new sounds of these highly advanced digital aids. In the long run I believe they will help me to hear better, though my hearing continues to grow worse over time. If I lose any more hearing, the next step will be to have a cochlear implant because I am almost beyond the use of hearing aids. But I praise the Lord for His grace and the burden that He has put in my heart for the deaf to hear the Gospel through sign language.
Hannah, our 11 year old, has received her first pair of hearing aids. She had hearing loss before we went to Africa, but not enough to require aids. But now they are needed and she can hear much better with them. Becky got some new molds, but is waiting to get new aids when we get some more funds raised. The audiologists cleaned up her old ones and adjusted them to have more power.
Next week Rachael, Hannah and myself will be going to the optometrist for eyeglasses. All three of us need reading glasses. I am getting where I cannot read the fine print. Soon, we hope to get all of the children caught up with their dental work, and then Mom & Dad will need to go before we get back to Africa.
The work in Cape Coast continues to move forward. We are happy to hear good reports concerning the services and visitors continue to come. The church had the meeting for the member involved in marital problems and all went well. The member confessed his sin to the church and repented. All the church members forgave him and received him with love. But do continue to pray for this brother and his wife to put it all behind and for their marriage to be strengthened. I will be needing to counsel them when we get back to Ghana.
Again, we thank you for your prayers for our ministry in Ghana. May the Lord bless you all for your faithfulness.
Bro. Johnny Widener
