Guess what happens...
          when eight boys who have spent years being awakened in the middle of the night, forced to work 16 hours a day on Lake Volta, are given a comfortable bed to sleep in and are allowed to run and swim and play and explore during the day...

Guess what happens...
          when eight boys who were once given only one small meal a day are fed three nutritious meals daily....

Guess what happens...
          when eight boys are given the medicine and clean water they need in order to recover from the illnesses and parasites they contracted in the waters of the lake...

Guess what happens...
          when eight boys who were once abused and mistreated are shown love and acceptance and are told that God has a plan for their lives...

They grow!

Well-rested, well-nourished, healthy, happy boys GROW!  As we gather with our families this season, we recognize that the physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional growth we have witnessed in eight precious boys this year is among our greatest blessings.  We are thankful to God for each of you whose contributions to The Father's House have made that growth possible.   As the boys continue to grow and as we look toward rescuing more children in the future, our needs grow as well...new shoes, new clothes, towels, school and craft supplies, a guard house, a bigger staff, more kitchen equipment, a larger, more dependable vehicle...just to name a few.  Please consider making a donation to help cover the cost of these items.

Eight growing boys are very grateful for you...and so are we!

"From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing."
Jeremiah 30:19

If you prefer, you can donate Target or Wal-Mart gift cards by mailing them to:

Father's House International Ghana

PO Box 481077

Charlotte, NC 28269

As a surprise for the boys, Celestine (Pastor David's wife) dressed Mama Chanda and Dada Jake up in traditional Ghanaian fashion. We think they fit in just great! What do you think?

There is a lot of "boy" at The Father's House!

 Eight boys live there, and the soccer field out front is full of even more boys every afternoon. Then there is Pappa Jake and Christian, our watchman. Jeremiah Banini comes home and stays there during his breaks from college in Accra.

It FEELS like a house full of boys! They are making swords out of cardboard and sticks, bow and arrows out of sticks and the elastic bands from underwear. They have built a go-cart out of wood, wooden wheels and the works, and an elaborate drum set out of cans. They build forts out of sticks and palm fronds. They build soccer trophies out of coffee cans and cardboard.

I laughed about this with Momma Chanda. You know, some girls have got it, some don't. Chanda Crout has got "it." She is the perfect house Momma for a bunch of pre-teen boys. I believe it is safe to say she MAY have been a bit of a tom-boy back in the day. O my goodness, those boys love her!

Jake is the perfect Pappa for them: quiet, kind, firm when he has to be. Just what Heaven ordered! Christian has them helping in the garden. He is so good with them.

When we were all there--myself, Paul, Teddy, Trea, and Jeremiah it was pretty funny. Jake and Chanda had gone back to the U.S. for a break, and poor Julie (the boys' cook) was the only girl in the house most of the time! Jeremiah and the young men with me had to lock the door to their room at night because the boys--all early risers--were "attacking" them at dawn, bursting into their rooms with pillows and the like to pummel them while they slept. I, of course, was immune to these attacks as I had sided with the boys.

Like I said, lots of testosterone!

I wonder what a house full of girls will feel like. As much laughter I am sure, but I can't picture the bow and arrows. Especially the bow with the elastic waistband string!

by Jeff Miller, Father's House Co-founder

I never saw that movie, but if ever there was a "band of brothers"...

I was with the Father's House boys, day and night, for 11 nights. No doubt, Jake and Chanda have seen a skirmish or two, but in 11 days of being with these boys, I never even saw an argument. These boys play together, learn together, work together, build together, and bunk together. Never saw one argument.

I wonder about the bond they share. All of them were slaves. All of them know the pain of suffering on the lake, crying at night over their mothers, the ache of rejection that comes with feeling abandoned, sold, betrayed, forsaken. They talk together about the boys they know who are still on the lake. They pray for them and long to go back to the lake and see their friends rescued. They all share the same trauma.

And they share the same joy! They have been rescued. They live in a home where they are fed. They are loved. They have their own beds, their own footlockers with clothes and shoes in them. The English they have learned is amazing. They have their own soccer team that won every game while we were there! Soon they are going to school together. Pity the kid who picks on one of them at school--I believe he may have seven others on his hands!

And they have a revelation of God's heart for them. They know He is a rescuing, redeeming Father and they believe in His Son.

I look into the future and I see these young men carrying that ministry of reconciliation, redemption back into the villages they came from, proclaiming the love of God, the power of His forgiveness, the hope He alone can bring. I see them going into their villages, back to the lake, two by two, bringing the message of this God who rescues the lost, who is a Father to the Fatherless.

I see them taking the next group of boys brought into the Father's House under their wing, mentoring them, encouraging them, looking after them. Teaching them what they know of the Lord Jesus. I like thinking about the future these boys have, the impact they can have on a nation. They are truly a "band of brothers."

by Jeff Miller, Father's House Co-founder