CR Pastor, Apostle Odai!!

Words of thanks to SHBC & CR family from Apostle Odai!!

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Location:Airport By-Pass Rd,Accra,Ghana

10/5-PM-Goodbyes!!

Many many thanks to the staff at Maranatha Power Ministries, below!!






Pastor Steve, Alice, Pastor Julie & Pastor Steve!


Mr. Clemmons, Naomi, Norma & Isaac!



Our drivers/body guards!! Kingsley & Frank!



Norma, Cynthia & Steve!! Cynthia has the gift of hospitality & is an amazing cook! Found time for a cooking lesson & bringing some home!

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Location:Accra - Tema Motorway,Accra,Ghana

10/5-AM-Last trip to Villages!!

Apostle picked us up @ 5am with mosquito nets to take to Maame Dede Village! Apostle spoke with the chief & gained permission to give out the nets/then I gave the chief s net!



People in the village were so thankful for the nets! Josh spoke of life in Jesus & many received him as Savior! The village pastors , Gibson & Paul, will baptize the new believers soon!!















Saying goodbye to the village pastors!! God certainly blessed this village with over 100 nets, thanks to Kairos 10!! What beautiful, happy & content people!!

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Location:Accra - Tema Motorway,Accra,Ghana

10/4-Shopping with Valerie & Kingsley!

So very thankful Valerie & Kingsley were with this group of Americans!! We would have spent SO much more money than we did! Our white skin must have said, $$$!! Valerie & Kingsley were amazing to barter for us/my dolls & nativity will take us back to the market in our hearts & minds!!



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Location:Accra - Tema Motorway,Accra,Ghana

10/3-PM-Home Run & CR on Radio

Josh, Steve & I were excited to have an hour with Apostle Odai on the radio! We first explained Celebrate Recovery, Steve tied CR to the Prodigal Son story that should be called the Forgiving Father & we shared our website! The DJ for the station then asked about Home Run, from our earlier radio interview! We shared about the movie, the vision for the movie, that filming started today & the website: www.homerunthemovie.com



Yes... I look bad here!! I have no hair dryer & no curling iron! What is God trying to tell me?...


We will be on the radio again at 9pm for an hour!! Check it out!! Right... :)

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10/3-AM-Netting Papaaso #1 & 2

We left at 5am with 100 nets! After several meetings with MPM village Pastors we traveled to the first village! There were a hundred little children! They need clean well water, Christians!! Totally overwhelming to see the reality of how some people live! The women walk miles, carrying tubs of water back to their families... Sewage drains into these ponds!






We gave the little children candy, gave the moms a net for their family/you would have thought we had gold for them! If they understood, they would be thanking God for Kairos 10...! The village Pastors spoke to them of our life in Jesus & sang a song together in their native language! Pray for the male & female Pastors from MPM who work in these villages!!






Apostle Odai knew to gain permission from the village Chief to give the nets! He was appreciative & asked us to pray for books for the children & for a water well...!



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Location:Odum St,Accra,Ghana

10/2-2 Services & Sunday School...

At 7:30am we were at MPM for worship service & to hear Josh preach! The people truly enjoyed his teaching!






Norma taught Valerie's Sunday School class while Valerie translated into Twi! In the 2nd service Steve & Norma shared their CR testimony & Steve then preached! Apostle offered an invitatlion for salvation & rededication! 40-50 came forward! Pray for these people who responded!



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9/30-FINAL Preparation!

After Cynthia's fabulous breakfast we prepared to go to the villages to net another village Appstle has never visited! BUT, we all decided to finalize plans for our Saturday presentation to now 150 Pastors! So, we worked with the talented & ever so helpful staff @ MPM... Back to Shiloah House for dinner with Apostle. Watched Apostle on TV from his office @10pm... Amazing as he talked about CR, the Seminar tomorrow on 10/1, & showed the CR Bible on tv, even using it in his message!!! A CPR Pastor in the making!! Great service from 11pm-4am! (Apostle ushered us out by 1am!)

Location:Third Jct,Accra,Ghana

9/29-PM Villages & Service with Apostle

What an experience to visit the villages where Apostle has started churches & to see children at the school MPM started! We gave them candy & to thank us they sang songs in English: Jingle Bells.... Saw water wells drilled by SHBC & it's members! So touched by these people!!



Back to Shiloah House to get cleaned up!! Apostle picked us up at 6:30 for the Convention of Saints service we attended with him in Accra! What an experience!! No more than 10 white folk among perhaps 5,000 attending! Incredible day experiencing EXTREME poverty in village brothers & sisters in Christ & in pm believers with IMMENSE wealth in Ghana! Amazing to see ALL God is doing in this country! Home by 11pm! :)

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9/29-Radio in AM!!

Today, 9/29, we began the day with Apostle Odai speaking about Celebrate Recovery & Home Run on the radio with his wife Valerie, translating! Pastors Josh & Steve shared their struggles & about the Principles! Pray God brings the right Pastors on Saturday for the Seminar! Apostle told pastors on the radio that all Apostles, Bishops, Pastors & teachers /everyone needs CR!!! Incredible!!








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9/28-Preaching @ Maranatha Power Ministries

Pastors Josh & Steve preach tonight!!! (9/28) So proud!!! What a great church!! A perfect church for CR!! Love, love, love the worship but understand few words!!!!






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Location:Accra - Tema Motorway,Accra,Ghana

Settling in @ Shiloah House

Apostle Odai brought us to Shiloah House, we've unpacked @ rested a bit & waiting for Apostle to pick us up for dinner & to speak to 50-75 from his church! Also got to spend time with the fabulous bearers for Kairos 10 Jrwelry! Watch the video & meet them.... We have 1 hour until Apostle comes for us/some great quiet time out on this porch!!! Pray for us as we speak tonight & thank Hod for bringing us here! Will post the video later! Can't get it on now...). At dinner on the ocean with Pastor Odai.









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Location:Third Jct,Accra,Ghana

Leaving Atlanta for Ghana!

We got to have a great visit with the Shockley crew & are now on the plane! We are ready to meet the church family at Maranatha Power Ministries!!



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Location:S Inner Loop Rd,Atlanta,United States

CR to Ghana Prayer Guide!

 We thank God for the privilege of traveling to Ghana to share CR!  We have heard God call us…  Our trip dates are  9/27 to 10/6/11… 

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

We realized four years ago that God was calling us to take the ministry of Celebrate Recovery internationally.  Praying for God’s direction, it has become evident that God is making a way to bring Celebrate Recovery to Ghana and using us to bring the message to this country!  Last April, 2010 we had the privilege of spending time with Apostle Francis Odai from Maranatha Power Ministries while he and his wife, Valerie, were in Tulsa.  After visiting Celebrate Recovery @ SHBC they expressed interest in having this ministry at their church.  Since that time we have been planning and preparing to travel to Ghana.  On October 1, 2011 we will have a CR Seminar with Pastors from Ghana to share this ministry!  

While on this mission trip to Ghana, sharing Celebrate Recovery, we need and are asking for you to be part of our daily prayer team.  Each of us has been on mission trips before and are very much aware of the need for daily intercessory prayer!!

Below is a brief itinerary of this journey.  You can follow along day by day and pray for specific things.  We will be posting on this blog 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!

We SO appreciate your prayers and could not do this without them.  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!)

Tuesday, September 27    Our Team Departs Tulsa to Atlanta, 12:55PM/Delta - We arrive in Atlanta @ 3:48PM for a 3.5 hour layover  - Our next flight leaves Atlanta @ 7:30pm.

Please pray; for safe travel from home to the airport and on each of our flights, that Norma & Steve are able to have dinner & visit with their kids, the Shockleys, during the layover & that good-byes are joyous!

Philippians 4:6  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Wednesday, September 28 We arrive in Ghana @ 11:10am.  We will be teaching the Evening Service…  Topic:  “Developing the Leader in You!” @7pm…

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 the health of our team, that we will we get settled and begin to establish relationships with our hosts!  Pray for the evening service that our message would be inspiring, encouraging & understood by all!

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!”

Thursday, September 29 In the morning we will be speaking on the Radio & in the evening we will be speaking to leaders at Maranatha Power Ministries…

Please pray; we would learn more about the people and the source of some of the ongoing issues & problems they face in their culture & lives, us as we speak on the radio & evening service that we would make CR understood & seen as a needed ministry for the people of Ghana! 

Matthew 19:26  “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!”

Friday, September 30 In the morning we will be doing village outreach with mosquito nets and in the evening we will be going to the MPM service that lasts all night! 

Please pray;. 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!  Pray for our participation in the evening service & that God would touch lives…

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!”

Saturday, October 1 ONE DAY CR SEMINAR FOR PASTORS!  (9am-4pm)

Please pray; for us to be used by God, that we will be understood on all levels, that we would “connect” with the people, that these Pastors can see the benefit CR could have for their people, for those who will be attending this session- for their travel and for their hearts to be opened, that we will have the appropriate answers for their questions & that God moves these Pastors to desire to go home & encourage individuals to get involved in CR!

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 and he will make your paths straight.”

Sunday, October 2 We look forward to attending church at Maranatha Power Ministries & Josh will be preaching!

Please pray; that we will experience further, the people, the traditions, and the culture of the country, that the Holy Spirit will convict our hearts and give us wisdom, direction & strength to continue & for us as we speak & preach!  Pray for Josh, preaching in the service this morning!

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.”

Monday, October 3  We will visit villages on Monday in the morning & speak on 2 radio programs in the afternoon & evening.

Please pray; that the Holy Spirit is our guide these next three days 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 speak & preach on the radio & 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.”

Tuesday, October 4  We will get to be a part of a prayer & healing service at 10am, in the evening we will speaking to local Pastors at a Pastoral Meeting. 

Please pray:  for us as we experience this prayer & healing service with this church family, pray for God’s presence to be felt & for healing to take place, for each of us as we speak to the Pastors in the evening!

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.”

Wednesday, October 5 We will spend the day saying good-bye & thank you to our hosts!  Depart Accra, Ghana for Atlanta, 9:35pm… Delta (12 hr. flight)

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.

Ephesians 4:1  “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit thru the bond of peace.”

Thursday, October 6 Arrive Atlanta, 5:30am & Leave Atlanta at 8:30am to Tulsa.  Arrive Tulsa @ 9:36am

Please pray; 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!.

Thank you for being a part of our prayer team and for your understanding of how very important you are to this mission trip experience.  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!  We are praying for you, too.  We’re praying that God blesses you for sharing your prayers with us.  Yes, we will see you on Friday at CR, October 7, 2011…!!  Norma, Steve & Josh

Packing NOW!!!

Many thanks to all those who contributed financially so we could provide the CR Seminar for Pastors a week from this Saturday, on October 1!! Thanks to my Mom for doing the packing today!!! Wish she could go with us to tell Pastors in Ghana how God used CR to strengthen, grow & challeng her faith at age 90! Not sure what we would do without her service this week!! Thank you, Lord!!


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SHBC Ghana Team!!!!

Pray for this SHBC Tulsa team leaving today for Ghana! Pray for safe travel, for God to strengthen & guide them & that many would be healed physically, spiritually & emotionally in Christ's name! So proud of you all/praying you will be blessed & changed forever!


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Thanks, Jana!!!

We would not be prepared and ready to go without the help of Jana O'Guin!  Thanks, Jana, for sharing your wisdom, insight and numerous tips from your experience of taking CR to Kenya!  We met with Jana while we were at the Summit last week!  She answered a long list of our questions, we prayed and are very excited to be a part all God is doing in Ghana!  Know we are so very thankful for Jana's input!  Jana will be very much a part of all we do!!

4 Generations in CR!!!

We are preparing to go to Ghana to take CR & will be taking a testimony of how CR has healed & strengthened, by Jesus' power, now FOUR generations from our family! We had the privilege of sharing this testimony at the Celebrate Recovery Summit just a few weeks ago! All praise to God for the work only He could have done in us!! We know the people of Ghana will respond to this ministry!! Please pray for us on October 1..



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Location:S 13th E Ave,Jenks,United States

Ghana Meeting Yesterday

Norma, Steve, and myself had a great Ghana meeting yesterday. Right now we keep coming up with a whole lot of questions about how this is going to work out. Ok, to ask questions but glad we don't have to have it figured out, because God already does. Keep praying for us!

Visas!!!

We have our Visas and are so thankful plans continue without major problems!  Please continue to pray for all our plans so that we can take Celebrate Recovery to Ghana the end of September...  Pray for Apostle Odai as he invites other Pastors to attend on October 1, for those who will be planning for our trip from his church and for the Pastors who will be coming to the Seminar/that the message of Celebrate Recovery would be heard and understood!   Thank you for prayers for safe travel!  We truly appreciate each of you and your prayers!!  

Many thanks....

Many thanks to Molly Shockley, our youngest daughter!!...  Molly spent hours helping me create this blog so that everyone could follow this journey of taking CR to Ghana!  Molly and Blake have given us FOUR precious grandchildren and taught us so much about "transracial families"!!  Our little ones (ages 5, 4, 2 & 1) draw my heart to the children we will meet when we are in Ghana and I'm so thankful God has prepared our hearts in this way!   Thanks, Molly, for your help with this blog and for being used to prepare us!!

In Memory of Marilyn Eddy...

Many thanks to Bill Eddy and their family...  Marilyn has been a vital part of our CR ministry since 2001.  Marilyn went to be with the Lord the first of June.  She was a faithful follower of Jesus, a compassionate leader and served most recently as our Encourager Coach.  She will be forever missed.  Marilyn loved this ministry, poured her heart into many women and talked with everyone she knew about CR!  Many thanks to her family who chose to designate CR as the ministry to contribute to in her memory.  To date CR @ SHBC has received $1,370. for the purpose of sharing CR in Ghana!  So thankful for Marilyn's life, her witness and now the legacy that will go far into the future as CR is taken to Ghana!  Thanks, also, to those who contributed!

Pray for Preparation...

Josh, Steve and I are meeting weekly to plan and prepare to travel to Ghana!  We leave on September 27 and return on October 6!  We have airline tickets, have taken our vaccinations and have requested visas!  We are excited to go to Ghana and share about CR to the people! It is very exciting that a representative from International Christian Ministries and representatives with ISAAC are sharing with Pastors in Accra, Ghana about CR in an effort that they would join us for the Seminar!  Pray all the details fall into place so that we can be prepared to share what God puts on our hearts and that the people will hear!