"My grace is enough, it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness." 2 Corinthians 12: 9 & 10

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Traveling to Ghana!


We thank God for the privilege of traveling to Ghana for our 3rd trip, to share CR!  We have heard God call us & have a group of 35+ people in Ghana who have started their Main Event Night at Maranatha Power Ministries! We are very thankful to CR @ SHBC & other individuals who gave $4,300 so that we can take CR Bibles, materials and bless this CR!  We thank the HOME RUN Team who has given hundreds of shirts & a movie to this CR!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away;
 the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to
 himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Our team, left to right:
Cyndi Clark, CR Leader & CR Inside State Rep, Norma & Steve Murphy, Ministry Leaders @ SHBC & State Rep for Tulsa County & Vicki Thompson, CR Leader

While on this trip, we need for you to be part of our daily prayer team. Below is a brief itinerary. We will be posting on our blog: http://CRtoGhana.blogspot.com from Ghana (depending on internet connections!) so we can stay connected with you and let you know how to specifically pray for us during our trip. We love to read your comments back to us too!   As you watch our journey realize when we are in Ghana, we are FIVE HOURS ahead of CST!  (If it is 9am in Tulsa it is 2pm in Ghana!)

Thursday, July 11     Depart Tulsa at noon, go through Dallas to JFK & then Accra!
Please pray; for safe travel from home to the airport and on each of our flights!  Pray we are able to sleep on the flight overnight…  Pray especially for our families we left at home:  for their protection, provision, strength & peace while we are out of the country!  Thank God for Steve, who birthday is today!  He will need strength & patience, the only guy on this team!!
   Philippians 4:6  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Friday, July 12 We arrive in Ghana @ 1:10pm.  We will be settling in at the Shiloah House & getting ready for church in the evening! Their Friday service lasts till 4am so hopefully we will nap sometime to stay awake that night!  Bishop Odai has contacted authorities in Ghana who run the prisons & believes we can share CR with the prison officials in Ghana!  
Please pray; that going thru customs in Ghana goes smoothly, that our luggage arrives on the same flight with us, that our travel in Ghana is safe and that we arrive somewhat rested & for reunions with those we met on previous trips!  Pray for the evening service that the message would be inspiring, encouraging & understood by all!  Pray prison officials accept our gift of rice, milk, soap, sugar & bread and let us speak with them about CR!
Philemon 1:6  “I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ!”

Saturday, July 13        We will be getting up very early to drive out into the villages to encourage the village pastors, share the gospel & give mosquito nets where needed!  We will return early enough in the day to get ready to show HOME RUN to the church family at  Maranatha Power Ministries!   We may be able to spend time with Pastors we have met previously who showed interest in CR, hoping they can stay to see HOME RUN!
Please pray we will stay healthy and that this trip to the villages would prove profitable for the Lord, for us as we go into the villages with the nets, pray we will be an example of openness & love, share truths from God and be an encouragement to the people. Pray people receive Christ & for safe travel for our team & pray the Ghanaians hear the many messages of HOME RUN!!
Matthew 19:26  “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!”

Sunday, July 14 We look forward to attending church at Maranatha Power Ministries! Steve will be preaching at one of the services and we will be sharing our testimonies in church and Sunday School classes!  We look forward to taking the Odais to lunch after church and then to attending CR at MPM from 4-6:30pm!
Please pray;.   Pray for our participation in the morning services & that God would touch lives, that people would be saved, for each of us as we teach a Sunday School class…  Pray for our time with Bishop & Valerie that we would enjoy a sweet fellowship with them, have time to discuss their ministry & any problems or questions they have about CR.  Pray for the leaders at MPM!!
Mark 12:30  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind & with all your strength! The second is this,
 love your neighbor as yourself!”

Monday, July 15   Day 1 of Training:   (9am-4pm)   We will have worship, prayer and include a testimony.  We will be addressing any questions or problems the MPM team is having & then train on “How to Lead Step Studies”!
Please pray;  that we will be understood on all levels, that we would “connect” with the people, that we will have the appropriate answers for their questions & deal with cultural issues!
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him & he will make your paths straight.”

Tuesday, July 16          Day 2 of Training, 9am-tpm  The 2nd day we will be working with their TEAM to answer questions, explain the TEAM structure, encourage & empower!
Please pray  that the Holy Spirit will convict our hearts and give us wisdom, direction & strength to share all God has done through this ministry, that we can explain the ministry & answer questions to their satisfaction!  Pray for Cynthia who will be cooking lunches for us these 2 days, taking care of us & our needs at the Shiloah House, as well!
    Romans 1:16  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:  first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

Wednesday, July 17     We would like to visit Lauren’s Light House and the Pearl House, ministries that were birthed through families at SHBC! 
Please pray; that the Holy Spirit is our guide and that we continue to be used for Christ.  Pray for us to continue to rely on God’s strength each day and that each night we continue to get the rest necessary to maintain our health and our stamina for the task we get to be a part of.  Pray for us as we preach (perhaps on the radio, on tv) & wherever we go!
Ephesians 2:10  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Thursday, July 18       We will completing the work in Ghana, packing and spend the afternoon saying good-bye & thank you to our hosts!  At 10:10pm we will leave Accra, Ghana heading to New York!
Please pray: for God’s presence to be felt, for the TEAM, for God to provide for all their needs that they would find healing personally & be able to share it with others!
Ephesians 5:1  “Be imitators of God, as beloved children, & walk in love, just as Christ also loved you & gave Himself up for us, an offering & a sacrifice to God.”

Friday, July 19    We arrive in Tulsa at 2:50pm!  Our plan is to be at CR @ SHBC by 7pm!
Please pray: that our experiences are just what God thinks we can handle and that we are open and honest with each other as we review all that we have seen, heard, smelled, touched, and tasted during this trip.  Please pray for rest and for our hearts to be forever changed by this experience. that our processing of our trip continues, that we would be open to how God has changed us during this adventure, for safe travels, for our good health to continue, for our connections to be smooth and for our energy to be enough for the trip home. Pray for the transition back to life in the US & that we make it safely to CR @ SHBC this night!
Ephesians 4:1  “Make every effort to keep the unity of the
Spirit thru the bond of peace.”

Thank you for being a part of our prayer team!  Thank you also to those who will be stepping in for us while we are out of the country at CR @ SHBC and our Life Group! Yes, we will see you on Friday at CR, July 19…!! 
                                                                              Norma, Steve, Cyndi & Vicki

Friday, June 21, 2013

CR @ SHBC Team to Ghana!!


Four from Southern Hills Baptist, Tulsa, OK will travel to Ghana 7/11/13 to 7/19/13 to train those at Maranatha Power Ministries to take their participants through the steps of Celebrate Recovery!  Please pray for all details of the trip to fall in place and for each of those who are traveling to be healthy, rested and prepared!  

Many thanks to the Celebrate Recovery at Southern Hills Baptist, Tulsa, OK who collected an offering for CR Bibles, materials, etc., where approximately $3,000 has been received!  We will be able to take CR Bibles, Participant Guides, Life's Healing Choices, shirts and more!  

Please pray for these who will be traveling to Ghana and doing the training:  Norma & Steve Murphy, Cyndi Pulchny Clark and Vicki Thompson!  Pray that all plans to train and materials needed will be prepared and ready to take with us, that we will be prepared to go, spiritually and physically, and pray that as we share from our own personal experience that all our lives will continue to be transformed through the power of Jesus Christ!  

UPDATE on CR in Ghana, West Africa...

Members from Maranatha Power Ministries have just completed their first year of the Celebrate Recovery Main Event Night!  They have now gone through all 25 of the lessons of the Celebrate Recovery curriculum and have asked that a team returns to train them in how to lead a step study!  

Please pray for this Celebrate Recovery:  for all those who attend and those in leadership!  The team has asked for more CR Bibles, Life's Healing Choices, Participant Guides, CR shirts and for money to fund Cafe Recovery on Sunday from 4-6:30pm.  Please lift up these brothers and sisters in Christ!!


Thursday, March 8, 2012

SHBC Team to Ghana!!

Please pray for this team from our church!! They left today for Ghana & will be ministering in the same church where we shared CR! Pray God will bless their every effort!! This team is also very familiar with CR & one is a leader at CR/pray they can encourage where seeds were planted!! Thank you, Lord!



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Friday, February 10, 2012

We're In Tulsa-2/10/12

We are home!! Thx for the prayers!!! We will keep blogging so you can know more! Continue now to pray for now 4-5 churches who plan to start a Main Event Night!!


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CR Training, Day 4-2/9/12

Today our participants led Large Group & Open Share! They did an amazing job & we enjoyed every moment! Pastor Maxwell taught Lesson 3, Hope & each of us left inspired! The ladies were blessed with a special time of sharing!! Pray for these ladies!!


Great to take a pic of all the participants at the training! God bless these amazing people as they step out to start CR!



Now we are packed & will leave Shiloh House in 30 minutes to head to the airport! We will be in Tulsa on 2/9/11 @ 1pm!

At the airport for dinner with the Odais before we board the plane!


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CR Training, Day 3-2/8/12

Today Steve & I shared our CR Testimony & then our team led open share groups again! A great time of healing & amazed at the level of sharing! The pastors are so excited & can't wait to have CR in their churches!



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