I have met with the African Hope Board Members several times over the last month for many reasons. Primarily we are attempting to operate the ministries of African Hope in a more efficient manner. We are also attempting to fund more schools, orphanages, churches and events to better serve more students, teachers, orphans, pastors and new believers. Ministry is growing in Africa and in the USA. Our prayers have been for God to grant the wisdom and discernment needed to do all of this efficiently. We are believing God to deliver on His vision to come to fruition in 2010. We accept that His answers to these prayers may seem backwards/upside down/contrary to what we might accept as the norm. So we continue to pray for greater wisdom in operating multiple ministries on multiple continents.

Two pastors mentored over the previous two years are planting strong churches in Ghana. These men have been sacrificing for the Kingdom for many years and the fruit of their sacrifice has been growing new churches. Pastor Joseph has traveled several hours from his church in Ashongman to a potential plant in Ephenia. As he is doing the initial research and contacts for this new church he has experienced very intense spiritual battle. He remains standing in this battle and moving forward to do Kingdom Building in this new area. Pastor Joseph sent me this text message three days ago;

Daddy, is not being easy. still struggling financially with hunger n thirst. pls support. Have a joyous n blissful Christmas. Thanks. Joseph

That night I arranged an impromptu African Hope Board Meeting where I made a motion to cut my salary by one third. Money needed to go to ministries has increased, pastors need assistance in outreaches, and we desire to minister to even more needy people in 2010. The motion was passed unanimously; even Kim voted to cut my salary by one third. African Hope is much more than the Budd family and there are many expenses for performing this Ministry of Hope.

As I travel back and forth to Africa this year I will be available for speaking opportunities in the USA. This calendar will be posted soon on the website. Your Pastor needs a day off and we are happy to come and share what God is doing in Ghana, West Africa. The Budds will be doing additional fundraising to raise the ministry to another level in the battle for Kingdom Building. Look for an enhanced website very soon to focus on projects; schools, churches and multipurpose facilities. We will also offering opportunities to sponsor Pastors, teachers, students and events in 2010. It is going to be a banner year as we GO and GROW. Do you want to be part of this exciting ministry?

Keep Praying,

Pastor Charlie

Please prayerfully consider a special year end donation to this ministry. Your tax deductible gift must be post marked by December 31st. You can also use the secure African Hope website that offers PayPal for a simple online donation.

Wisdom has had another milestone in his care. On Monday his congenital cataract was removed from his right eye and a corrective lens implanted in his left eye. After 10 years he has light coming into his right eye. Doctors are not sure what can happen with 10 years of no sight but we believe in another miracle in Wisdom’s life. His foster parents needed to travel to Michigan for the procedure which was donated entirely. There has been very much traveling for the foster parents who go to where the treatments, procedures, care, therapy and doctors are located. All the doctors, hospitals, clinic’s time, treatment and care are donated. Thanks to these special people who love Wisdom and are now making plans on returning him to his family in Ghana. Cynthia, Wisdom’s mother, is truly thankful for all that has been done for her son. Although she misses Wisdom, she is happy he is here in the USA getting the much needed care that could not be acquired in Ghana. Additionally, Wisdom’s foster parents have made it possible for his brother, Dominic, to attend a quality school, Hope Academy, in Gomoa Fetteh. In January Wisdom has follow up appointments with his heart doctor in Cincinnati and the optometrist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We are praying that we can begin the process of returning Wisdom to his home after these doctor visits.

Back in Ghana Pastor Joseph has been having some serious battles. Not so surprising this has begun with his outreach to yet another community. The village of Ephenia is his current area for launching a new church. Just planting would not be enough! We have been planning on this for over a year and now Joseph has reached out to this community and has experienced almost daily setbacks. Some setbacks are in the newly evangelized area, some in the church in Ashongman, some with his health, some with his personal relationships, some financial and other in his traveling. As Pastor Joseph battles for this new church to be established he keeps smiling, he knows that the enemy does not want to give up this territory. A full week of daytime outreach activities and nightly revival meetings is planned for March 2010. Joseph and I will be there… will you?

Keep praying,

Pastor Charlie

Boris Budd.  You probably have heard or seen that name somewhere if you live in Whatcom County.  But who is he?  An acquaintance?  A forgotten friend?  A local celebrity?  WHY IS THAT NAME SOOOOO FAMILIAR!?!?

Let me clue you in:

Boris Budd is a local singer/songwriter who can usually be found pounding out his own politically charged anthems,  praising deserving local talent, attending local bands’ shows, coordinating local charity events, reviewing locally released albums and hosting a local music podcast for local music rag What’s Up! Magazine.  The key word here is local, unless you couldn’t tell.  Boris Budd works tirelessly to not only promote his own music and his band, The Water Boarders,  he also works just as hard to promote all facets of the Whatcom County music scene.  Naturally, someone with so much time and effort invested in local music (and who has such a delightful alliteration for a name) is bound to come up in conversation when the topic of local music is brought up and is probably why, if you live in Bellingham, you recognize that name.

Boris Budd will be performing Friday, December 18 at Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro with Shawnee Kilgore and Luke Warm and the Moderates.  The doors are at 10:30pm and there is a $4 with all proceeds going to the Whatcom Volunteer Center.

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays!

The Budd’s have truly enjoyed the last 6 months as we have traveled extensively to share the testimony of what God is doing through this mission. Over the previous 6 weeks we have also been renovating our old house in an attempt to establish a base here in the USA. With excitement I want to report we have completed both. Last Sunday we spoke at our last scheduled church, then last night Kim and I hung the last set of curtains.

One of the small pleasures for Kim is to retrieve the mail each day. Yesterday was no exception, after lunch she walks to the end of the driveway to fetch the mail. We were just back from speaking to banks about refinancing our home. This will enable us to do ministry on multiple continents. Having no other debt other than the house and with perfect credit there will be no difficulty in doing the refinance. Up until this week there just had been no time to go through this process. Included in the sales fliers, Christmas cards and the utility bill was a letter from a church partner of African Hope. The church has been a long time supporter of African Hope and we have many dear, long time friends attending this local church. Kim read the mail and then asked me to come into the office so we could discuss something. The letter announced that they will continue to prayerfully support this family and ministry but are no longer financially supporting African Hope.

We praise God that through this tough economic time, through all this transition and throughout this year that this is the only set back in monthly donations to African Hope. We recently have had several new partners in monthly finance but this money has already been allocated to additional programs. We also praise God that the fundraising has been very successful this year; ministry in Ghana cannot be suspended while we are away from the country. Pastors are being supported, programs are being funded, children’s school fees are being paid and much more. The planning for 2010 Youth Rally (July) is already underway in Ghana!

If you have been considering a special donation or becoming a monthly financial partner with African Hope we need you to prayerfully consider beginning today. Next year promises to be our greatest year of outreach…we are praying for 10,000 new believers as we go about Kingdom Building in the USA and through out Africa.

Keep Praying,

Pastor Charlie

Harold Budd’s Quiet World

You can hear an audio version of this blog with Harold Budd’s music.

When Daniel Lanois, the producer of U2, Bob Dylan and Peter Gabriel first heard Harold Budd, he hadn’t yet met him.

Daniel Lanois:  For The Plateax of Mirror , I never even met him (laughter), cause he did recordings, like two track piano recordings.  Some with Brian [Eno].  Some on his own. And then Brian would take these tapes and come up to Canada and we would proceed to treat them, manipulate them, and transform them the best we could.  And all I ever knew about Harold was the little bit of talking that he would do preceding takes.  And I always imagined this big, burley American with a strong voice.  Cause he talks like, “Well Brian, I think I’ll do another one now.”  And sort of like a radio announcer from the 50’s, you know talks like this and plays bongos by night.  So (laughter) I had this image of a very strange, big Paul Bunyan guy who played like feathers on the piano.

Daniel Lanois, along with Brian Eno, produced Harold Budd’s early albums, The Plateax of Mirror and The Pearl, making the pianist a legend in the ambient world.  Yet he started out as a jazz drummer in the 1950s, then became a student of Schoenberg style serialism.  Against that backdrop, Harold Budd revolted the only way he could, by making that he called, “pretty music.”

Harold Budd:  I will tell you at the time to use the word pretty music was kind of a political statement.  It was against the received wisdom of what avant guard music was at the time which was confrontational and purposely without….ugly is what I call it. I just wanted candy.  I was not expressing my inner being.  I was just not doing anything except trying to make it as devastatingly pretty as I possibly could.

He’s done that on a series of albums, including The White Arcades, The Room and Lovely Thunder.  Harold Budd takes an unassuming, intuitive approach to a music that’s about the space between the notes.  Sitting at a piano in a studio, he plays a chord.

Harold Budd: If I play a chord, let’s say this one. [Plays]  Okay you have this sort of unstable thing happening down here and I let that have a life of it’s own and where does it got from there [plays] Perfectly nice sound on it’s own.  Has no relationship to the one before it and my job as a performer is to make sure they occur at the right time.

I’ve been in many of Harold Budd’s homes over the last 25 years, but I only saw a piano once, covered with books and papers.

Harold Budd: The piano is aesthetically awful.  It is an ugly thing. Form follows function perfectly and it is just awful.

Yet he plays it so beautifully. In the new millennium, Harold Budd, now aged 73, continues composing.  He’s released recent collaborations with Robin Guthrie and Clive Wright, and authored a few solo piano albums, most recently, a download release called Perhaps.  Harold Budd will be playing solo piano live on Echoes on Tuesday, December 15.  This has been an Echo Location, Soundings for New Music.

John Diliberto ((( echoes )))

Winter has arrived and the cold temperature is quite an adjustment. The Budds are all shivering. So is our house guest from South Africa, Cyan Eve. This 17 yr. old is a friend of the family who had lived in Ghana until June. His trip here is the first time off of African soil. He bought a winter coat yesterday.

Sunday was a great day as I was privileged to speak at a small, yet growing, church in Lancaster that was founded by many long time friends. The time of testimony was awesome and very well received. Feed back has been great and we have already scheduled a return date for speaking. It is with great pleasure that I am able to serve the body of Christ in this capacity. It is so gratifying to share in sermon, ministry, assisting in VBS programs/church camps, conferences, workshops/retreats and Kingdom Building with the church in the USA and in Africa.

This also keeps us traveling… a lot!

Similar to last year few years I will be traveling and away from the family, sometimes for a month at a time. This has prompted us to change our home base back to the USA where Kim and children will have access to family, security, support groups, electricity, water, internet, roads, safety, doctors and dentist. I will be ministering through out the USA and the African Continent in 2010. My travel calendar looks like this:

January / February – Pastor Michael coming to USA for evangelical outreach (African missionary to USA)

March / April – Outreach to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana

* Pastor Conferences, Nightly revivals, Sunday Celebration Services

May – USA speaking opportunities

June – Ghana Outreach Teams

July – 2010 Youth Rally Ghana

August / September – Outreach to South Africa and Malawi

October – 2010 Youth Rally Liberia

November – 2010 Youth Rally Sierra Leon

December – Nigeria ??

It will be a busy year, but we are already planning for all the follow up in 2011.

All of this is coming together and all we need now is you! Please consider how you may be part of this huge outreach surge in 2010. African Hope Partnership possibilities;

* Participate-join us one or more of the outreaches
* Pray-keep us in your prayers as we reach out in ministry and evangelism
* Partner in finance-become a monthly donor to African Hope
* Sponsor-a school child, an African Pastor, building projects, or a teacher
* Invite us to share at your church

Thanks to all of you who have been partnering with us over the years.

Keep praying,

Pastor Charlie

Prayerfully consider a year end tax deductible financial gift to African Hope

www.africanhope.com has Paypal for security.

We Give Thanks!!

1Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ, who hath enabled me, in that he accounted me faithful, having put me into the ministry.

My latest blessing was to return 3 yr old David Larty to his family in Ghana.

David had been in the USA for surgery to repair bilateral hip displacement suffered at his breech birth. He also needed a bone to be shortened in his left leg. After all these donated procedures being completed it was time for his foster family to part with this sweet courageous boy. David not being able to walk, crawl, sit or scoot since birth; now after 12 months in the USA he was able to run to his family who met us at the airport in Ghana. God is so Good!

October was a month of blessing for another boy we have in the USA for medical attention. 10 yr old, Wisdom received a heart catheterization to correct a birth defect. The large patent ductus arteriosus; a vessel failed to close after birth causing abnormal blood circulation between heart and lungs was corrected at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. He also received hearing aid devices that allow him to hear at 100%. After a few months of speech therapy he will be returning to his family in Gomoa Fetteh. I know Wisdom’s foster parents will miss him dearly but are excited that he will be re united with his mother and live a productive life in West Africa.

The National Missionary Convention was held just last week and we met with friends from all over the world. African Hope is continually asked to speak through out the USA and has also been petitioned to visit several additional African nations. Invitations to share include the 4 corners of the USA any many cities in between;

Seattle Washington Portland Maine

Longbeach, California Naples, Florida

The previous 5 months have been invested in speaking and sharing in the USA. African Hope will continue fund raising as time allows for traveling in the USA. Please contact us through our website www.africanhope.com to request speaking dates. Plans being made for African Hope in 2010 include traveling to multiple African nations; Malawi, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana. Invites to Kenya, Ivory Coast and Nigeria are also being considered. It will be a year of invitation and multiplication as we visit to share and expand African Hope through;

Evangelical crusades and revivals

Youth Rally

Participating in Pastor Conferences

Development of rural schools and orphanages

Development of rural libraries

Assisting children with extreme medical needs

As we look forward we are truly excited what God gas done through this ministry in 2009. Many rural churches have been planted, hundreds of baptisms, several pastors in Ghana are now matured and training others in Kingdom Building. On July 1, Youth Rally 2009 saw over 10,000 attending and over 1,000 first time decisions. The church in Ghana is growing! Praise God!

Thanksgiving is a daily practice for this ministry; we pray you will begin daily prayers of thanks for the miracle of living this life. We also thank you for your continued prayerful support of this ministry. Please consider a year end tax deductible donation to this ministry of Hope.

Keep praying,

Pastor Charlie

Dear Friends and Family,

I would like to thank everyone for your prayerful and financial support for my trip to Ghana. It was amazing and I couldn’t have done it without you!

I left on a Thursday from New York, and from there I had a direct flight to Accra. In New York I met most of the team of 30. We all come from many different countries and backgrounds. I was really happy to see some familiar faces. As I was boarding the plane, Delta gave me a new boarding pass. I hoped that was a good thing. I continued with some friends from previous years and looked for my seat number. I then realized that it was in first class! I got bumped up to first class! As you can imagine I was ecstatic. It was a huge blessing being able to lay out flat and sleep during the 11 hour plane ride that normally seems to go on forever. This all happened before I was in Africa. It was the first of many blessings.

As we arrived at the Village of Hope Orphanage I suddenly realized how truly happy I was to be home. We had the weekend to just relax and get acquainted with the kids and each other. Knowing most of the children already I was really excited seeing how the younger ones had grown. Along with some of the older kids at VOH, who over the past 5 years have become some of my closest friends. The first few days of art camp I assisted the preschool teacher. We did more craft like things, like making finger puppets, tambourines with beads and string, and a lot of picture coloring. The last few days, I assisted in art classes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. I had a blast learning with the kids! We did finger painting, worked with some clay, and also did some dancing! The team this year was amazing, not only were we able to teach the students many things about art, but also many aspects of the Creator of all beautiful things, our God.

During my trip I not only stayed at the Village of Hope, but I was also able to visit some other missionaries and friends in Accra. My last weekend in Ghana I spent doing worship ministry with my youth group and Elim International Family Church. That was a really encouraging time as well.

My trip home to Ghana was very busy, exciting and encouraging. I enjoyed every minute of it! I have a few ideas in mind for missions next year, but I am open to anywhere God would have me go. At the moment I’m thinking… Serbia? Malawi? Cambodia? We’ll see.

Thank you again!

Emily

Wow! It’s time to go to Ghana and return David to his mother, Gertrude. Three year old David has had bilateral hip replacement surgery, two additional surgeries on shortening one of his legs and last week had a pin and screw removed. He is one tough child. You see he was born breech and they pulled his hips from the sockets at his birth. His life would have been miserable as he would have struggled with displaced hips and the pain associated with every movement. Now he is healed through surgeries and the love of foster parents who have been with him through his one year ordeal. It is my extreme honor and pleasure to return David home. He loves to run and ride his Big Wheel! I look forward to seeing him RUN to his mother at the airport. God is so good!

Operation Hope has assisted many children with extreme medical/surgical needs. This is just on of the ministries of African Hope that we pray will expand through out 2010. Wisdom is now the only child currently in the USA receiving medical care. Last week he received a much needed cardiac catheter procedure that repaired a leaky valve. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital donated everything needed for this procedure! Praise God! November 9th he will have a cataract removed and a corrective lens inserted in his other eye. These procedures are donated through a doctor in Ann Arbor. Wisdom is also in need of hearing aids and we are praying for the Lord to provide them prior to his return to Ghana in a few months.

This trip also has me in a:

* Three Day Revival Service
* Preaching at three different churches
* Delivering supplies and meeting with the pastors supported by African Hope
* Finalizing logistics for June Outreach Team
* Radio Interview
* Meeting at two orphanages supported by African Hope
* Meeting @ Schools supported by African Hope
* Paying School Fees for Several Children Supported by African Hope
* Beginning plans to do outreach to Liberia with Ghana Pastors
* Investigate a school building project for 2010
* Visiting many Moslem friends as they begin Ramadan

While away it is also very possible that my daughter, Jessica, will bless me with my first grandchild. Isaiah is due to arrive any time. God keeps blessing me abundantly!

Keep praying,

Pastor Charlie

I won’t be listing anyone who is still living for privacy purposes as this is a public blog. Therefore, I’ll start with my grandparents which I’ll title “Level 3.” My parents would have been “Level 2″ and I would be “Level 1.”

Edward Matthew Hennessy + Mary Louise Callan

Edward Matthew Hennessy

• born: 23 Jul 1906 Elmira, Chemung County, NY
• died: 4 Sep 1968 Elmira, Chemung County, NY
• parents: William D Hennessy and Ellen Gallivan

Mary Louise Hennessy

• born: 13 Jul 1904 Binghamton, Broome County, NY
• died: 9 May 1990 Rochester, Monroe County, NY
• parents: William Callan and Anna Grace Unkown

Edward and Mary had a daughter in July 1947 (mom) in Elmira, Chemung County, NY. She married into the Nelson family and has three daughters none of which are married yet. Edward enlisted in the army as a medic during WWII and later owned a liquor store in Elmira, NY. Much later after his death, Mary moved to Rochester, NY to be closer to their daughter and encountered many health problems, but lived long enough to play with all three of her granddaughters, the youngest being only 3 years old when she passed.

I haven’t sorted through many of grandma Hennessy’s photos as Mom can’t identify many of the people in the photos. However, thats my next big task (although much less daunting than the Nelson side of the family).

Here is the information that my mom sent me a few years ago concerning our family history, surprisingly it’s very succint (unlike th way mom usually speaks…just kidding mom):

“Your maternal Grandarents: Grandmother, Mary Louise Callan Hennessy, born 6/13/04 in Binghamtom, N.Y., died 5/9/90 in Rochester, N.Y. High school graduate, worked as dental assistant until married, housewife and then worked during holidays at husband’s business. U.S. citizen, middle class, Roman Catholic. Grandfather, Edward Matthew Hennessy, born 7/23/06 in Elmira, N.Y., died 9/4/68 in Elmira, N.Y. Education, graduated from Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in business. Jobs: stockbroker and business owner. Medic in U.S. army, stationed in Germany in WW2. U.S. citizen, middle class, Roman Catholic.”

Eric Verner Nelson Sr. + Norma Elizabeth Heisserer

Eric Verner Nelson Sr.

• born: 20 Jun 1903 Brattleboro, Windam County, VT
• died: 20 Jun 1977 Binghamton, Broome County, NY
• parents: Carl John Nelson and Clara Carlsson
• buried: Calvary Cemetery in Binghamton, Broome County, NY

Norma Elizabeth Heisserer

• born: 5 Sep 1910 Oran, Scott County, MO
• died: 23 Apr 1994 Binghamton, Broome County, NY
• parents: Theon Simon Heisserer and Mary Valeria Wommack

They were married on 19 Nov 1938 in St. Louis, MO where they met while Norma was working as a secretary at the Vulcan Group where Eric was a salesman. Eric and Norma had three sons. One born 3 Jun 1939 Lyons, Wayne County, NY who married into the Budd family. He passed away on 2 Nov 2005. Their second son was born in Mar 1941 in Portsmouth, Scioto County, OH who married into the Stanek family and had two daughters both married (married into the Griffiths family and the Ivan family). Their third son was born in Jun 1945 in Binghamton, Broome County, NY (dad).

As a child Norma accidentally burned the farmhouse down in Oran. She later attended Washington University in St. Louis for interior design, but did not graduate. I have a great amount of information and photos of grandma Norma’s including, but definitely not limited to (because it seems grandma kept everything): newspaper clippings, Heisserer family birth records, photos, magazine clippings, love letters from Eric, wedding announcements, an old travel journal, etc.

Here’s what dad wrote me about grandpa and grandma Nelson:

“My father, Eric Verner Nelson, was born on June 20, 1903, in Brattleboro, Vt. After graduating from high school, he turned down a college scholarship to Middlebury College in Vermont in order to work. College wasn’t as important back then. I believe that his first job was in the shoe business in Brattleboro. He was too young to serve in World War I. In the 1920’s, he moved to New York City where he was a stock broker. In the late 1920’s, he attended law school at night at the Brooklyn Law School for two years. With the stock market crash in 1929, and the depression, he was transferred down south, and had to end his law school. At one point in the 1930’s, he started his own business trying to sell airplane tires, but the business failed. According to my dad, it failed because the product was too good. The tires lasted so long that there was no repeat business. Sometime in the 1930s, he became a salesman for Vulcan Corporation, a company that made ‘lasts’ for shoes, and also shoe heels at the time. “Lasts” are the models on which shoes are made. He got married to grandma Nelson in 1938 when they were both living in St. Louis, Missouri. Mom was working for Vulcan Corp. as a secretary at the time.

“Grandma Nelson, maiden name Norma Elizabeth Heisserer, was born on September 5, 1910, in Oran, Missouri. She was one of seven children, four girls and three boys. You have met a few of them. Aunt Gladys was the oldest and lived in Niagara Falls; Uncle Hal lived in many places and stayed with us over one Christmas when he was 88 years old; Aunt Kate is still alive and living in Sun City, Arizona. It is Kate’s children that we met when we visited Chicago a few years ago. We also stayed with her son Tom Smith in St. Louis. Her daughter Mary came to the memorial mass for Grandma Nelson and stayed for a while at the reception in Tony’s back yard.

“In 1923, grandma Nelson accidentally started a fire which burned the family house down in Oran. The family then moved to St. Louis. Mom graduated from high school and attended Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in interior design, for about two years. She didn’t finish college, but I don’t know the reasons. I don’t know anything about the next few years, other than that she was working in St. Louis with Vulcan as a secretary when she met my father, and that they were married in 1938.

“They moved to Lyons, New York, about one hour east of Rochester, shortly after they were married, because my father was transferred. Your uncle Eric was born in Lyons on June 3, 1939. They were transferred again because they were living in Portsmouth, Ohio when your uncle Tony was born on March 14, 1941. When the United States got involved in World War II at the end of 1941, my father tried to enlist, but they wouldn’t let him, apparently because he was too old.  My mother was furious at him for trying to enlist with two young children. My father continued to work for Vulcan Corp. for the rest of his career.  By 1945, he had been made vice president of sales. They moved to Binghamton around 1944. I was born on June 27, 1945, in Binghamton. My parents continued to live in Binghamton for the rest of their lives. My dad retired in 1969. At the time, he was senior vice president of the company and general manager of the two old plants that the company had in Binghamton. He had been asked several times to move to Cincinnati, Ohio, where the company had its headquarters, but he didn’t want to move again. He liked it in Binghamton.

“My father died on June 20, 1977, i.e. on his 74th birthday. Although he liked reading about religion, he did not adhere to any particular religion.  He was probably an agnostic, i.e. not knowing whether or not there is a god. He was definitely not a believer in Christ as god. My mother on the other hand was a devout Catholic, who went to church every day during Lent, often taking us kids with her. She could often be seen saying her rosary when she had nothing else to do.”

Grandma Norma kept EVERYTHING! This is the wedding announcement from what I’m assuming is St. Louis or Scott County newspaper:

“Norma Heisserer is Wed to Eric V. Nelson

“Miss Norma Elizabeth Heisserer, daughter of Mrs. Theon S. Heisserer, 19 North Taylor avenue, and Eric V. Nelson of Rochester, N.Y., formerly of St. Louis were married Saturday evening Nov. 19, in the rectory of the St. Louis Cathedral. The Rev. Sylvester Tucker performed the ceremony. The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Carlson Nelson of Brattleboro, Vt.

“Mrs. Warren E. Brown was her sister’s only attendant and Noel Rorby was best man. Only the immediate families attended the wedding.

“The bride wore a simple black wool gown, with a jacket of old rose velveteen trimmed with a collar of skunk. She carried a skunk muff and wore a hat to match her jacket. Her flowers were a corsage of orchid and lilies of the valley.

“A small reception was given at the bride’s home after the ceremony.

“The bride is a graduate of the Academy of the Visitation, attended Washington University and studied art in New York. Mr. Nelson is a graduate of Columbia University, and attended St. Lawrence University, also in New York.”

Busy! Busy! Busy!

Ghana

Emily is just back from Ghana after weeks of ministry at Village of Hope Orphanage, visiting friends, meeting with other missionaries, visiting church groups and making plans for her return in 2010. She is now planning on visiting other missionary friends in the field who live in Malawi, South Africa, Belgrade, and New Zealand.

Pastor Joseph had a very successful 3 day event in which many joined his church and 4 were baptized. He is working with a school being built in the area and has big plans for additional outreach. He is working hard in Ashongman!

Pastor Sampson is preparing for us to visit Gomoa Fetteh in 2010.

USA

Florida

The June 2010 Outreach Team is developing and moving forward. Possibly 20 people will be on the June 2010 team. Will you be the 21st member of the team?

Ohio

Getting caught up on local ministry needs and preparing for the National Missionary Convention in Peoria. We have a few Sunday dates open for speaking in Ohio churches. Contact us and we will share the testimony of African Hope from the pulpit, in your adult classes or other group situations. As a family we are still doing much traveling as we share testimony minister in our supporting churches. Home school is in full swing and the children are excited about their new studies. They also enjoy the perks of having a library, the Internet and electricity all the time. Kim enjoys the encouragement and social aspects of the local home school organization. School will be disrupted sometime next month as we are moving from our current location, the “School House” in Bremen. Special thanks to mark and Valerie who have been gracious host and shared their home to the Budd family. It is my extreme pleasure to announce that 3 yr. old David Lartey is returning to Ghana with me on October 1st. He has successfully completed multiple surgeries to have his hips corrected and a leg bone shortened. Davis is now able to walk, run, ride a bike and function normally. He will be reunited with his mother October 2nd after a one year absence. It will be a wonderful re union. Thanks to all who have assisted with Operation Hope and helped change the lives of many Ghanaian children with extreme surgical needs.

Wisdom was blessed yesterday with a notification from The Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati that they will be performing and donating his much needed heart catheter surgery. He is also scheduled to have a cataract removed, additional dentistry and fitted for hearing aids. He has been a blessing to many, especially his USA parents, Jack and Betsy.

Special thanks to every one of the partners of African Hope who have maintained your prayerful and financial support. We praise God for all of you who are sacrificing to maintain this Ministry of Hope. We are excited to announce that several new monthly financial partners have recently come on board during this tough economic time. Thank God for the ability to share the Hope of the nations, the love of God, through His son, Jesus Christ, whether it is across the street or across the ocean. God has been expanding this ministry over the years and we are eagerly seeking Him for what the future has in store. Pray with us this month as God continues to reveal how to manage the continued growth of this Ministry of Hope.

Prayer

Pastor Joseph’s outreach conference September 2-6

Pastor Sampson outreach/Bible study to Kroboykir (Moslem Village)

Larabanga leadership

Traveling and health mercies for Budd family

2 Florida ministry teams preparing for June 2010 Outreach to Ghana

Kim and Charlie’s parent’s health

Pastor Charlie scheduled trip to Ghana October 1st

Praise

Emily Budd successful ministry outreach to Village of Hope Orphanage

Emily Budd already planning her next ministry outreach

Pastor Joseph outreach conference

Larabanga Library has electric, Internet, 2 computers and an additional sponsor

USA doctors, dentist, medical specialist and pharmacies (we missed them in Ghana)

Home school has began with full time electric, public libraries and Internet (also missed)

This ministry of Hope has been busy in many states of the USA and several areas of Ghana. This is just a highlight of this week.

Ghana

Ashongman

Dear Pastor Charlie, we are making preparations for the next Life In The Spirit Conference coming on from the 2 of September to 6, with the theme ‘THE POWER OF INFLUENCE’ from ROMANS 8:14 with both water and HOLY GHOST baptism. Please kindly remember us with your prayers. We are praying for you and family and hoping to see you soon. The LORD richly reward you for all your services in HIS vineyard.

Pastor Joseph

Gomoa Fetteh

Emily Budd is ministering at Village of Hope orphanage. During her stay she will be assisting with grades 5, 6, and 7 teaching several art classes. Her update will be posted when she returns later this month. She has been involved with this project for 4 years and more info can be found at www.childrensartvillage.org

Larabanga

God has truly blessed this ministry with answering prayers, many times with answers we did not expect. Another organization has brought electric, Internet and computers to Larabanga. This long range goal has been accomplished through others who are also promising a water supply to Larabanga. Praise God!! Our dear friends in this area are now able to access unlimited information through the internet. No amount of books could have supplied this resource for seeing how wonderful and vast is the universe created by God Almighty! With World Vision drilling additional wells in this area and other small NGOs assisting in providing educational materials, it is clear that this very rural area no longer needs the support from African Hope. What were 10 year goals for this area of ministry has been completed in less than three years. God is so good!

USA

Ohio

Tuesday was jammed packed!

Youth Pastor Brett from Naples Christian Church visited Howell Park in Bremen Ohio.

Here we were joined by Wisdom and his foster family, the Schumachers. After enjoying the playground and the beautiful day we returned to our home to play Rock Band and enjoy a time of fellowship. Much of the discussion concerned the June 2010 Ghana Outreach Trip to the Central Region of Ghana.

Home Front

It has been a busy summer with doctors and dentist. Natalie was the only one with no cavities. The dental work done in Ghana on Charlie had to be redone and has been a painful/expensive ordeal. He has one more root canal and an inlay to be replaced over the next month… ouch.

Florida

Titusville

Youth Pastor Kevin is gearing up for the African Hope 2010 Outreach meeting. He has 12 ready to GO! He is excited because his wife is in Ghana right now and has been given the OK from Ghana for the adoption of their 11 yr old Ghanaian daughter. Yep, they have adopted a beautiful orphan girl and now await processing from Homeland Security to finalize the transfer to USA.

Naples

Naples Christian Church has been a vital partner of African Hope for many years. Now they are sending another Ghana Outreach Team in 2010. Kim and I are returning to Naples later this month for a long weekend of talks on how the affiliation with African Hope will be growing in the future.

Dear Family and Friends,

This summer, I will be traveling back to Ghana to do ministry at the Village of Hope Orphanage (VOH). As some of you may already know, The Village of Hope is very near and dear to my heart. VOH consist of over two hundred children that live among 8 houses with their “families”. On campus they have a medical clinic that services the surrounding village. Also on campus, Hope Academy, with over 500 students, teaches preschool through high school, and is acclaimed as one of the best schools in Ghana. In recent years their 9th grade students have taken their proficiency test for high school and nearly half have scored 100%! The Academy has just starting up a high school that is the only one presently in the surrounding villages. The house parents and staff teach that with a good education, high hopes, and a firm foundation in Christ, they will be the future leaders Of Ghana and the world. I completely and totally agree with this teaching; knowing that God has already brought each and every one of these children so far.

Over the past few years, I’ve had multiple opportunities to become, as they say, one of them. As often as I can, I go to assist with the multiple different ministries I enjoy

* assisting the house mothers making clothing for the children
* helping the kids with their homework
* tutoring a child that is behind in school
* doing office work for the clinic and the Academy
* I take every opportunity to spend time with these beautiful children

As orphans, feelings such as abandonment and loneliness are very common. One of the biggest things I can do for them is just spend time with them.

This August I have the chance to travel back to my beloved Village! August 7th thru 12th, Children’s Art Village (www.childrensartvillage.net) will be holding an art camp for these wonderful children. CAV will have art teachers from all professions that volunteer, and have many different types of arts classes at VOH. This summer will be the 3rd art camp that I have attended, and I absolutely love it! The children don’t have the same type of opportunities as children in the USA to learn to be creative and to express themselves artistically. I feel that Children’s Art Village has given them an amazing chance to do discover and learn many new talents. In previous years I’ve been completely sponsored by Children’s Art Village. This year, they are providing my room, board, and transportation while in Ghana. This year they have asked me to supply $2,000.00 for my plane ticket and to put towards the fund for art supplies.
Right now I would ask that you would consider supporting me financially, and also supporting me with your prayers. For me, 2000 seems pretty big. But I know that I have a big God! And with your help, I can do it. So please prayerfully consider what you may be able to do to help me accomplish this goal. Thank you for your time and support.

Sincerely,

Emily Budd

For those who desire to support me financially, please send your donation to

African Hope
PO Box 1123
Lancaster, Ohio 43130

Please place a small note in the envelope to say it is for Emily, and it will go towards this trip. If I receive any extra, it will go towards a trip to Belgrade that I am planning for October/November. I’m hoping to minister to the High School on a message of abstinence. Also, I plan to volunteer in one of the only Christian churches in the area.

Florida

Preston and I are in SW Florida this week, returning from a week at Lake Aurora Camp. Lots of fun and lots of decisions! Total of 18 baptisms makes for a good week, as many rededications make it an awesome week. Several of the counselors had a personal breakthrough; three churches want us to come and share testimony. Tomorrow we will be at Naples Christian Church for Ghana Food Night, a fund raiser that will introduce the June 2010 outreach trip to Ghana. Just Sunday night we were in Titusville, FL where many began their preparation for coming to Ghana next year.

Ohio

Kim, Emily, Natalie, and Daniel are doing a VBS on the Ohio River at Middleport. Pastor Al has many of his people wanting to come to Ghana in 2010. We are praying for great things to happen this week on the river!

Wisdom has been to the Dentist and had 4 teeth pulled, ouch! He is now awaiting a heart procedure; Wisdom has large patent ductus arteriosus. This is a congenital heart defect where the vessel (ductus arteriosus) fails to close after birth causing abnormal blood circulation between the heart and lungs. We are praying for a cardiologist for this procedure.

Ghana

Pastor Joseph reports attendance over 100 each week and outreach plans to Afienya, the next church plant in 2010. He is now raising funds to purchase land for his church ($10,000). Just a few weeks ago he had a Baptism Celebration for 18 new believers.

In the Northern Region the village of Larabanga is preparing for my return October 3rd. I have a need for 2 laptop computers for placement in the African Hope Library Larabanga. They have completed the electric installation and I have promised computers.

Where you are!

God is alive and wants to have a relationship with you!

Keep Praying

Pastor Charlie

Ephesians 6:18

Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people. — Contemporary English Version

Just before leaving Ghana I traveled to the Northern Region to one of my favorite villages, Larabanga. Much time was invested into future plans for expansion of the African Hope Library and multiple projects in this area. Sadik, the Imam’s son, has partnered with this ministry of hope and has been coordinating these projects. Larabanga has been a ministry focus area for several years and many long term relationships have been developed. Just yesterday I received a text message from my friend Sadik… technology is our friend.

After a week in Larabanga I had contracted a fast growing fungus and I was suffering from heat rash on 50% of my body. It was a pleasure to get into my vehicle and crank up the windows and turn the air conditioner on high. The 15 hour ride home quickly became a bit more complicated than previous trips when the power steering belt broke. Controlling the 4 wheel drive vehicle became quite difficult over the rough dirt roads. The repairs were only at the end of the trip and even with the AC on high I was sweating. This had happened before and I knew that it was going to be a long trip. Half way through the trip my severe heat rash was growing, itching and burning, further irritating the growth of the fungus. I was miserable! Additional complications occurred half way through the trip, the other two belts on the engine broke. I was without electrical system and my A/C was gone. The front windows are electric so they remained closed and the rear widows were rolled down; boy was I sweating and covered in dust. My brake lights did not work, the head lights were dead and there was no horn; gladly only 3 hours of the trip was in the dark. As I reached my front gate I was at the end of my endurance. As Kim opened the gate she laughed; knowing the car had just barely made it home. All I could do was laugh! The trip had been full of spiritual battles with many victories.

The text message yesterday from Sadik reminded me of the last trip from his village. Now I am getting excited about my October trip to Ghana to visit Larabanga. Much is planned for this trip and I hopefully will be able to report the progress being made on many fronts after my return. I am truly missing my friends in this area also… maybe you want to come with me to meet them.

Oh yea, just two weeks ago my rashes and fungus finally subsided. Praise God!

Keep praying,

Pastor Charlie

As we travel to a different church each week we are excited to meet up with our dear friends. Some we have known for decades, others we have only met recently. Each church has its own personality and we are blessed to share our testimony in many diverse congregations. So far this furlough we been at a Church of Christ, a Four Square Church, a Church of God and a Baptist Church; all are very special, all have people that have traveled to Ghana and all love Jesus. June 7th was a very special day as we traveled to The First Baptist Church of Waynesville, Ohio.

Our relationship with this church is through Margie and Bob. Two years ago they agreed to be a foster parent to Rebecca, a Ghanaian orphan needing surgery to her left leg to enable her to walk correctly. Rebecca is a beautiful 8 year old who has been through multiple surgeries, and now is the adopted daughter of Margie and Bob. This real life story is one of those that are exceedingly, abundantly more than we could have thought or imagined. Margie and Bob fell in love with Rebecca as she was going through her first surgery. As they prayed about adopting her they were prompted by the Holy Spirit to consider adopting a Ghanaian boy from the same orphanage. This did happen and 8 year old Timothy was adopted also. Timothy has an eleven year old sister, Esther, who also now is the adopted daughter of Margie and Bob. That’s right; three orphans from Ghana have been adopted and now live with their seven (7) other brothers and sisters. This is a very special family that has three biological children and 7 adopted children. Praise God!

Sunday, after preaching the second service, an invitation was given and several responded, but one came forward to make a first time decision to accept Christ as their personal Savior. It was Esther! This beautiful eleven year old Ghanaian girl wanted to dedicate her life to Christ. Praise God!

Each week of travel holds blessings as the Budds share testimony concerning the blessings of how God is working through this ministry of Hope to change lives here in the USA, in Africa and all over the world. Please take today to show someone God’s love. Share your Hope with someone who needs to know God loves them.

Keep Praying

Pastor Charlie

Bonjour,

Le décès de David Carradine m’ayant fait repenser à Kill Bill, et en particulier au deuxième volume que je préfère, je me suis demandé si je ne pouvais pas en faire une étude un peu approfondie. Le sujet est donc Bill. Ceci n’est pas un hommage mais une sorte de coïncidence puisque j’avais envie d’écrire sur un film. C’est un peu macabre comme introduction mais bon….

En premier lieu, si Bill est le héros du film (cf: le titre) ou du moins le personnage le plus important, son apparition n’a lieu qu’à la fin du 1e film et le visage caché. On ne le découvre réellement que dans le Volume 2 ainsi que sa relation avec Béatrice. C’est paradoxalement, un personnage parfait et probablement le plus humain de tous.

C’est en effet le seul personnage qui fasse intervenir la notion d’amour au cours d’une discussion, les autres n’envisageant que la mort. Il prend soin personnages qu’il aime, refuse qu’Elle tue Béatrice dans son sommeil, propose son aide à son frère avec qui il est en froid “depuis longtemps” tout cela sans demander aucune contrepartie. On le voit aussi tenir à la fin du premier film Sofie dans ses bras dans une attitude protectrice. De même, il s’occupe de sa fille qu’il éduque d’une façon certes peu conventionnelle puisque on ressent sans cesse l’influence de son ancienne profession mais avec une sincérité sans cesse mise en avant. Il prend avec pédagogie des exemples dans les actions de sa fille pour introduire les concepts de vie et de morts comme on le voit à travers l’exemple du poisson. On ressent aussi que Bill cherche à éviter la confrontation fatale avec Béatrice qu’il a lui-même emmené auprès de son maître, ce qui ne fut pas sans conséquence pour lui.

Néanmoins, ce côté hagiographique n’apparaît pas au début du film lorsqu’on le voit commanditer et accomplir le massacre dans la chapelle des deux pins. On devine à demi-mot que c’est par jalousie mais son air goguenard atténue la force de sa passion pour Béatrice à tel point qu’on en vient à douter que ça soit le motif principal de l’exécution. Pourtant, au cours du film, son humanité apparaît et l’intensité de sa passion culmine à la fin une fois qu’il aura été mortellement blessé. Bill éprouve des difficultés à exprimer cette passion face à Béatrice froide et mortelle parce qu’il a été élevé dans la négation du sentiment. C’est aussi pour cela qu’il a du mal à expliquer quelque chose d’aussi simple que l’amour à Béatrice qui a reçu la même éducation que lui et qui a les yeux obscurcis par la vengeance. Lorsque Bill est blessé mortellement, l’adrénaline chute dans le corps de Béatrice et elle comprend enfin la teneur des sentiments de son ancien amant mais à ce moment c’est trop tard et elle pleure. Bill comprend cela et essaye de mourir dignement.

 Si la mort de Bill marque la fin du film, l’épilogue entre Béatrice et sa fille B.B. est surprenant puisque nous voyons la Mariée entre rires et larmes dans la salle de bains. Là, je pense que Béatrice se rend compte du chemin parcouru et n’est pas si mécontente de cela. En effet, si Bill est un personnage très humain, la Mariée ne l’est pas du tout et je pense qu’elle ne parvient pas à prendre conscience du sel de la facture qui vient d’être réglée (Bill signifiant une note, une addition donc par extension une dette ou un règlement de compte en anglais. Un des rédacteurs de Wikipedia dont je tire l’information rajoute le terme salée que je trouve très approprié ici).

Voici donc un billet plus court que d’habitude mais peut-être un peu plus dense et j’espère tout aussi intéressant.

Sur ce,

Florent

Do you remember Wisdom? The 10 year old boy from Ghana who was miraculously healed from being deaf and mute is in the USA for multiple health issues. He requires speech therapy as he has only had the ability to hear and speak for one year. Wisdom also has a cataract that needs removed, serious dental needs and proper nutrition; he is only 38 pounds and 46.5 inches tall. He has met with several doctors during his short time here in USA for all the medical needs mentioned, what was also discovered was an abnormality with his heart. The condition is called large patent ductus arteriosus; it is where a vessel fails to close after birth and allows abnormal blood circulation between the heart and lungs. This surgery can be done with a heart catheter and children have been able to return to school three days after the procedure.

God has been prompting us for over a year to get Wisdom to the USA for medical treatment. We were aware of many needs, but not the heart issue. This was hidden from us and now being discovered it can be corrected. Praise God! Please pray for Wisdom as he receives his needed care, also pray for his foster parents, Jack and Betsy.

Another small boy, three year old, David, now awaits his final surgery in September to remove a pin and a screw from his successful hip surgeries. This final step to recovery will allow him to return to his mother in Ghana. He and I have tentative plans to return to Ghana on October 1, 2009. The tickets are purchased and we believe that he will be ready for the journey home. While in Ghana I will be traveling to several of our ministry locations, speaking in several churches and being honored by the chieftaincy of Larabanga in the Northern Region. Why don’t you make plans to come with me on this two week whirlwind tour of Ghana and the ministries of Hope?

For any that are interested please reply ASAP! Airline tickets must be purchased by the first of July and other logistics must be set in motion. Another all men’s team is forming for January 2010. Info will be available soon. For those interested in the June 2010 short-term outreach please contact Kim to schedule a time to meet with us within the next 60 days. We are now scheduling churches for Sunday Services. Let us come to share testimony on what God is doing all over the world and in your neighborhood.

Keep praying

Pastor Charlie

kim@africanhope.com

We thank all of you from all around the world who prayerfully support this ministry. Your prayers have carried us through the last several weeks as we relocate to USA for our 2009 Furlough Tour. As we land in the USA we begin with nothing to put together a household, a ministry office, a home school and a home. A special thanks to Mark and Val for allowing the Budd family into their home and life. Thanks also to John and Elizabeth for the much needed Pontiac Van donated though them. As we work through the next several week we are needing furnishings for the house, bikes for the four children, and an Xbox 360 .

This weekend will be the Ohio Memorial service for my father, the Florida service was 2 weeks ago. Several of you have asked for details so they are added below. Thanks to all of you who have sent condolences and prayers for us through this situation.

Keep Praying,

Pastor Charlie
614.390.6088

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James M. Budd
Celebration of Life

Saturday May 23rd
Jim Smith’s House from 2PM until ?

Please bring a snack/side to share, we will have Chicken and beverages.

Address: 2411 Beverly Hills Dr.  Lancaster, OH 43130

Home Phone: 740-205-2104

Click for a Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2411+Beverly+Hills+Dr.++lancaster,+oh+43130&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=kkkDSu6vAeCLtgfsx-GHBw&ll=39.75463,-82.564423&spn=0.010376,0.027895&z=16&iwloc=A

If you have not seen the memorial wall for him, please go to this URL: http://jamesmbuddjr.lifememory.com/