Tommy Harrison has been doing mission work in Ghana on and off for the past 24 years. In the 80s and 90s, he would leave his business in Alabama and come out with his wife to work in Nalerigu for a few months at a time.
Several years ago, after his wife passed away, Tommy moved to Nalerigu and became a full-time, independent missionary. No organization supports him financially – Tommy has dedicated his life to sharing Christ’s love with the people of Northern Ghana.
Tommy’s ministry is very unique. He works with the maintenance crew at the hospital, helping with repairs and construction. He takes his John Deere tractor out to remote villages to help them plow their fields (and bring in their harvest). He teaches farmers better farming techniques and he himself farms about 6 acres. The locals help him harvest his corn and soybeans and he saves the harvest until the dry season. When villages’ food supplies get low he begins distributing his harvest among them.
Meeting physical needs isn’t all Tommy does for the people. He took it upon himself to learn Mampruli (in his 70s mind you!) and has established 3 preaching points in remote villages. Each Sunday he visits a different preaching point and shares the Gospel. He also sponsors young men who attend the Baptist Seminary with the goal of returning to the remote locations and pastoring churches.
When I look at Tommy’s life and the impact he has, I am humbled. So many people’s lives have been made better thanks to the sacrifices Tommy has made. More importantly, people have gained assurance of eternal life with Christ thanks to the message Tommy has brought.
Talk to Tommy about his work and you’ll see that he is in no way arrogant about his role. When you point out how much sacrifice he has made, he quickly dismisses it. He points out how hard the lives of the rural West Africans are as they live by subsistence farming and poverty. “I’m just trying to help out” he says.
Following are some images of Tommy and his work that I took both this year and last:
