Alabaster Projects - A home for our first Farm Projects
The Lord directed us to place it into the hands of missionaries King and Priscilla Hammond, A ministry known as ALABASTER PROJECTS, of Tamale, Ghana West Africa. Tamale is located in Northern Ghana.
Jerry and I were able to meet with King and Priscilla over the phone while they were in America and then King came to Kansas and learned to operate the Ford tractor.
Monday July 30th of 2007 Brother King wrote – "My Dear Brother Jerry and Debbie - Our eyes have seen marvelous things, the little Ford is not only in Ghana but all the way to Tamale. IT HAS ARRIVED!!!!!! This is a faith builder. When I drove into Bethany Village (The city that the Christians named –where the persecuted, orphans and widows go for help) this evening and saw it sitting on the grass my faith soared. We took a lot of pictures to send to you. We received the implements that go with the tractor plus two huge boxes and two smaller ones as well. Emmanuel working with FAME said there are two other large boxes to send to us. Debbie we at Alabaster Projects in Ghana are really grateful for your hearing God and obeying His commands. We have already stated a low-land rice farm in addition to our existing corn and peanut farm, these farm equipments are going to help us and many other farmers will benefit from your generous gifts to the nations. Thank you both again, you are a blessing." 
Alabaster Projects is involved in a compassion care ministry through dental and medical outreach programs. King shares that he is a lay dentist with a group that travels and has an outreach in Bethany Village. Bethany Village is a city of refuge-shelter-for those that have accepted Christ and as a result of that are being persecuted. In addition to these ministries, food from the farming projects is given to widows and orphans during the dry seasons when food is in short supply.
They are in the process of building a vocational school to cater to young girls and boys who are without education, without family support and most often without hope. King writes” The curriculum will include the teaching of skills that are relevant to the needs of the villagers such as; agriculture, animal husbandry, fish farming, arts, crafts and community health. So the ministry caters for the physical needs as well as the spiritual needs of the people – mainly Muslim.”
When I asked King to share with me what plans he has for a Farming/ Tractor ministry in Ghana, he expressed to me nearly what the Lord had placed on my mind several years ago when He ask me to prepare a tractor to help in Northern Ghana.
The Lord also blessed us with a new rear-tine tiller and canning supplies to aid King and Priscilla’s ministry. I received an e-mail letting me know that the supplies arrived safely after their 500 mile journey north to the remote area where they live.
King wrote “next year they will begin to learn to plant a new way, in rows because of the equipment that was sent”
Let me share with you a little of what he wrote in an earlier letter dated July 2006… “You are a blessing to the kingdom of God. It will be a great blessing to receive the tiller, the canning equipment and especially the Ford Tractor. The canning equipment we intend using to teach canning in the vocational school. Our agricultural activities have been held back because of the lack of a tractor, now all that will change when the tractor and the equipment arrive. We are truly blessed by your help and generosity. We will certainly send you many pictures and hopefully some of your supporters will come and see what impact your ministry is having in the North. The government of Ghana sent officers to come and see the vastness of the work we are doing here, as a result they gave us an immigration quota of 12 missionary families that can come. We are actively recruiting short term and long term missionaries to come and help us. We need agricultural workers, mechanics, teachers, handy men and general workers. We accept your help appreciatively. Thank you Debbie and Jerry.”
I must tell you that a part of me wants so much to go and do the hands on work with these people, but I know for the time being that I cannot go until my health is better. I know that God has called us to “gather their gifts” and that He will raise up those to go and help teach them to use what we are sending. Someday I will be strong enough to travel to Ghana and see the fields that they will plant with the supplies the Lord sends through “Gifts for the Nations.”
They could also ues an implement trailer as the government has passed a law stating that no tractor can haul their equipment behild the trator while traveling on a road. The trailer will not only help them with moving the tractor around but it will also aid them to haul their grain at harvest, you know there's plenty of time to share the gospel while they take the crops to town, you see in Ghana the people ride alongside their sacks of grain that they are taking to market. That gives the Christian Tractor Manager time to share, just as Phillip took time to share with the Ethiopian Eunuch while they traveled along....
The Lord has opened up a great opportunity for the gospel in Northern Ghana, King and Pricilla need our help and they appeal to us for both short term and long-term missionaries to come and run the various aspects of the ministry – farmers, medical and paramedical professionals, community workers, teachers, artisans. He states that they also need instructors for the various skills that they are going to teach at the vocational schools. If the Lord directs you to go and help them, please let us know and we will get you in touch with them. Debbie
