Tema, Ghana

A Redemption Miracle

Dear Mission Partners,

I’m coming to you on the last night of the final meeting of our Gospel Campaign here in Tema - Ashaiman, Ghana where over 300,000 people flooded the field - a reclaimed garbage dump. There could not have been a more appropriate site for the redemption miracle that took place this week. Many thousands of people were saved, healed, delivered and baptized into the Holy Spirit. It reminds me of the verse that we read this morning in our team devotions from Romans 15:19, “ In mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God…I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.” This week, the “full-Gospel” package has been delivered, and the local leaders have told me that the region has been shaken.

Tonight, after preaching the Gospel and praying for the sick, we heard wonderful testimonies. One young lady said that she had been unable to turn her neck without pain and as a result her grandmother had made a little necklace for her to wear. This necklace was to be a “protection” from pain for her neck – a superstitious charm. Tonight, Jesus healed her completely! She asked me to cut the necklace off, which I did.

We also prayed for huge boxes of prayer requests tonight (many of which were sent in by many of you – our partners around the world). There, in that atmosphere of faith and miracles, 300,000 people lifted their voices and prayed over those requests. I am sure the Lord has heard and answered. Before praying for the nation and pronouncing a blessing for the local believers (which I always do on the final night of a campaign like this), I asked a friend, Brian Guerin, who is a guest this week – a personal friend and a powerful prophetic minister – to share what he had seen prophetically for the region. He delivered a powerful word, and the people received it with joy. I am sure that Tema & Ashaiman will never be the same again.

Thank you for praying for us this week. We are already hard at work preparing the next crusade that will take place here in West Africa. Please continue to pray for us as we keep pressing forward, proclaiming the name of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

Yours in the Gospel, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda

Together with Reinhard Bonnke, Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team

Beauty For Ashes

Dear Mission Partners,

We experienced a wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, both in the Fire Conference this morning and in the Gospel Crusade tonight here in Tema- Ashaiman, Ghana which was attended by 200,000 people! When you see the beautiful pictures of the massive crowd it’s easy to forget that we are meeting on a dumpsite. Just a few feet away they are burning trash, and goats are rummaging for food. It is truly “beauty for ashes.” We are surrounded by slums in one of the most dangerous parts of Ghana where even the police hesitate to go. I can’t say everything publicly, but there is one thing I can tell you - what is happening here is really extraordinary and significant for this region. We are making spiritual history here.

Tonight, after preaching the Gospel and praying for the sick, we heard wonderful miracle testimonies.

• One blind man, who was led around by a little boy for years, was healed tonight. He could see perfectly!

• As I was interviewing one person, the crowd began to erupt with cheers to the point that I could not hear the person I was talking to. I looked out and saw a man walking to the platform with his crutch held high. I invited him onto the platform and found that he had not been able to walk without this crutch for months, but Jesus healed him tonight!

• A woman came with a fibroid, vision problems and pain all over her body. She left restored!

• And many more…

I have been hearing of many other miracle testimonies that were never shared publicly. My driver is one. He was thrilled to share with me that he had been suffering with terrible pain in his neck for many years, but last night as I was praying for the sick, the pain vanished and has not returned. In fact, when I asked for a show of hands of those who have experienced a supernatural healing this week, literally thousands of hands went up! It reminds me of what the Scriptures say about the ministry of Jesus – that if everything was recorded, “…even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:25).” Well, Jesus is still performing more miracles than we can count.

Tomorrow is the final meeting of this Gospel crusade, and we are anticipating one more huge harvest. Please continue to pray for us. The best is yet to come!

Yours in the Gospel, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda

Together with Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team

Curses Broken!

Dear Mission Partners,

I have just returned from the crusade field here in Tema- Ashaiman, Ghana where 120,000 people were in attendance – and it’s only the second day (have a look at the picture below)! I preached on the blood of Jesus before we saw the demonstration of that power – curses broken, sicknesses healed and many people delivered!

• A woman who was paralyzed on the left side from a stroke, received a total healing!

• A man who was hunched over, unable to walk upright without excruciating pain, was brought to the meeting tonight in a taxi. Jesus touched him. All pain left. He walked upright for the first time in over a year!

• A young boy whose sickness left him paralyzed and partially blind was made perfectly well tonight. He walked on the platform without even a limp and said his vision had returned to normal. All sickness was gone! (see the picture)

• A woman who suffered from painful ulcers said that as we prayed yesterday, she felt a sensation like ice going through her body and suddenly all the pain was gone. She didn’t give her testimony yesterday because she wanted to wait and see if the pain would return, but for the first time in two years the pain did not return. Hallelujah!

This morning our Fire Conference continued to build momentum as Rev. Peter Vandenberg and Rev. Brian Guerin ministered powerful words to the pastors and church workers. They were greatly encouraged and very hungry. Tomorrow we will pray for them to receive the Baptism into the Holy Spirit and fire!

There are now only two more days of harvest ahead of us here. Thank you for continuing to pray for us earnestly. Many souls are in the balance.

Yours in the Gospel,

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
Together with Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team

Photos by Oleksandr Volyk

It's Harvest Time!

Dear Mission Partners,

Today our Gospel Crusade began here in Ghana, West Africa. There has been so much interest in the region that we have full working committees in two cities; Tema and Ashaiman. It’s almost like two crusades happening simultaneously. This is something we have never done before.

Our team has done such an outstanding job in preparing the crusade field in the middle of an overgrown city that has almost no options for a gathering of this size.  

The field we are meeting on is literally a dumpsite with open sewage running through it, surrounded by slums. Our team brought in gravel to cover parts of the field where deep mud would make the swampy ground unusable. They built a little bridge ((see picture below)) where those from the slums could walk across the deep sewage gullies.

When the ground was cleared, shacks had to be moved to make room. One family even gladly allowed their residence to be demolished so the crusade ground could be cleared. We gladly compensated them for their sacrifice. The outcome will be eternal fruit.

Our amazing team has overcome so many enormous obstacles! Any one of these would have stopped most people, yet they pushed through, and tonight, all of the hard work finally paid off when the opening meeting was attended by 90,000 people! Many thousands made decisions to follow Jesus tonight, and the IT department is already hard at work, as I write this, in putting the contact information of the new converts into our follow-up system database. It’s harvest time!

This morning the Fire Conference also began with Peter van den Berg and Russell Benson ministering to pastors and church leaders. Both sessions were excellent, and I can already see that the impartation meeting on Saturday morning is going to be extraordinary.

Please continue to pray for us – we are just getting started. I expect something historic to take place this week. We covet your prayers.

More to come.

Yours in the Gospel,

Daniel Kolenda

Together with the whole CfaN team

Arrival - Tema, Ghana

Upon the Christ for all Nations team's arrival in Ghana, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda shares about the expectations for the upcoming, four days of powerful, evangelistic outreach in the Tema - Ashaiman area! Please, continue to pray and come back here for daily updates on what God is doing in Ghana!

Tema, Ghana

Local History

Prior to Ghana's independence a small fishing village called Torman was identified to become the site of this ultra modern seaport. Development began in 1952 when the government acquired a significant area of land close to the original harbour. The local inhabitants were relocated to a fishing village roughly 1.9 miles away. The harbour was officially opened a decade later in 1962, and in subsequent decades Tema grew into the industrial core of Ghana. This sparked a large population influx adding pressure to the new region. Tema's significance as a port is reflected by the need for a special policing unit of Ghana's Police Service to be devoted entirely to the city.



Faith and Syncretism

In the 19th century, Presbyterian and Methodist missionaries laid the foundation for evangelisation. The installation of schools played a major role in spreading the Gospel. To this day, Christian schools play an important role in the state education system. Approximately 40 percent of the population adhere to traditional natural religions, 30 percent are Muslims. About 20 percent belong to evangelical churches (e.g. Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals and Charismatics) and 10 percent are Catholic, a large number of those living in the Ashanti region. Other sources claim a Christian population of 60 percent and only 22 percent of those adhering to natural religions.



The Tema Metropolitan District

The majority of the approximately 25 million Ghanaians have received a good education and grow up multilingual. It is not exception for Ghanaians to speak three to five languages fluently. The official language is English, but there are almost 80 different languages and dialects. Our CfaN-West Africa-Director also comes from Ghana. Tema is located 16 miles east of Accra the capital of Ghana.  Locally nicknamed the 'Harbour Town', Tema has the largest seaport in Ghana and is the eleventh populous settlement in the country with 161,612 people.  This is a strategic trading centre in the country with an extensive road and rail network, factories and an oil refinery.