Sherry and Bob Sims, retired Southern Baptist missionaries, could have never imagined when they married in 1964 they would spend 25 years of their lives in the west African country of Ghana.
Mrs. Sims said she felt the call to pursue international missions work while a junior at the University of Southern Mississippi, but her then-new boyfriend, Bob, although a devout Christian, had no inclination to be a missionary.
Married shortly after college, Mrs. Sims said she “tucked away her desire,” and decided her role as wife and mother to three children was what God wanted for her. But in 1972 God revealed His true plans for the family.
Sims was working as the manager of the hardware department at a local Sears when the couple decided to attend a conference at Ridgecrest Conference Center in Ridgecrest, N.C.
Signs of the call
“We thought at the time it was unusual for Bob to be given two weeks of vacation back-to-back,” Mrs. Sims said of their first sign of God’s plan.
Unaware the conference topic was international missions, the Simses soon realized that was no coincidence either. Sims said he felt the call to international missions, but questioned how he as a businessman could make a contribution on the field.
Once again, another door opened when a speaker mentioned as an afterthought that his missions field was seeking a businessman to come on board.
The Simses, who now live in Mobile, were first scheduled to serve in Saigon, but were re-
assigned to Ghana.
“We had no idea where Ghana was and had to look it up on a map,” Sims said, noting he had hardly been outside Alabama before his missions stint.
After selling everything they owned, the Simses and their three young children moved to Ghana Dec. 28, 1973.
“We quickly learned that there was nothing glamorous about missions work,” Sims said, recalling military takeovers, unsanitary conditions, armed soldiers, food shortages and language and social barriers.
“We were fortunate this was an English-speaking country, although there were many tribal dialects,” Sims said.
The Simses lived in Accra, Ghana’s capital, and Sims’ job as business manager entailed everything from serving as liaison between the government and the missionaries to ordering supplies for the hospital the missionaries ran in a rural area.
Mrs. Sims, an accomplished musician, incorporated her musical skills throughout their tenure. After her “child-rearing days,” she began missions work of her own, including working with women in prison.
“The ministry was similar to a Bible school class as we would have Bible lessons and sing songs,” she said.
The Simses’ missions work included supporting new pastors with the building of churches.
“Ghana became our home, and we were very sad to leave,” Sims said. “We’ve had a harder time adjusting to returning to Alabama than we had moving over there. The hardest thing we’ve had to get used to is knowing that we won’t be going back to serve. We’ve learned from our experience that God has a plan for all of us.”
The Simses are members of Fulton Road Baptist Church, Mobile, where Sims serves as Sunday School superintendent and Mrs. Sims sings in the choir and teaches GAs.
Share with others: