In the HOPE seat – Mrs. Esther Cynthia Ayemle Quayeson

We are a church that belives in Jesus christ and the followers and We are a church that belives in Jesus christ

Hello and welcome. This is “in the Hope Seat”. Today we are interacting with a unique mother of our time. She would be sharing with us her role as a mother and also share some highlights from the HOPE Congregation and more. Mother, you are welcome.

 

[audio:https://hopepresby.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/In_the_HOPE_Seat-Mrs_Esther_Quayson.mp3]

PERSONAL

IMG_5936- EdiQ.Briefly tell us about yourself and your family?
 A. My name is Mrs. Esther Cynthia, Ayemle Quayson. I am the seventh child of Mr. John Steven Teye Aryeh of Prampram and Mrs. Mercy Alemawo Dzartei Aryeh of Old Ningo all of blessed memory. I was born on the 11th of October in 1954. I attended Abossey Okai Roman Catholic School and Middle School. And then I went to St. Mary’s Secondary School and then to St. Louis Secondary School for my Sixth Form education. I studied Librarianship at the University of Ghana and worked with Ghana Library Board for 25 years. I am married to Mr. Nathan Tetteh Quayson; a nice gentleman from Krobo Odumase. God has really blessed us with two young men and two young women.
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Q. So mummy, the two young men and the two young women, who is the first and what are their  names?
 A. The first one is called Kofi Sam. Kofi Sam, when he finished his University education, he travelled abroad to seek greener pastures, … now he’s back trying to find his feet in Ghana. The second one is Winston. He is a System’s Administrator at Calibration Company Ltd., an IT firm. Then the third one is Natasha. Natasha is an Assistant Administrator Officer at National Petroleum Authority. And the last one…(my name sake, Esther), is in her final year at the University of Ghana studying Librarianship.
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Q. What is this thing with Librarianship?
A. It’s very good job when you are a librarian. You get access to so many literatures. You read a lot, you know everything of every little thing of everything.

Q. Does it mean to say you love to read?
A. Yes, to be a librarian, you should love reading other than that, you would have difficulties.

Q. So do you have a personal library in your home?
A. Yes I do

Q. Where exactly did you study librarianship?
A. At Ghana Library Board. That’s where I worked for 25years.

Q. Ok…until you came on retirement?
A. Not really. I came on early retirement to take care of the family. [To take care of the children? and the family and of course daddy]

Q. Why did you do that?
A. In fact, when we moved into the Estates [Sakumono], I found out that going to Accra and coming back every day was very stressful and the children were left on their own from school; they come home and nobody is in the house, no supervision, so coupled with their daddy being transferred to Aflao, We discussed the issue and then, at the end of it all, we decided I had to stop work because it was stressful for me and at that time I had developed a backache that was healing and I had to go every morning in and out and it was stressful so my husband  agreed that I should stop and come home.

Q. So having made this sacrifice, how do you feel? Seeing your children today, is it worth it?
A. It is worth it. I feel so good. I feel so good, that when I see them, they are now grown and they haven’t disgraced me.

Q. Let’s take Natasha for instance. She ministers. How do you feel when you see her and you are sitting in the congregation and she is ministering God to you?
A. At times, tears role down my cheeks and then, I quickly wipe it off, feeling inside me that God has been very faithful with the family and especially with this young woman.

Presenter “She is one of your proud efforts right? You know, she is somebody who makes the church proud. Because when she starts to minister to us, we all feel very good.  I don’t know all your children personally but I know Esther as well and I think she is also a vibrant young woman. I think your sacrifice is really paying off… bless you mom…,”

Q.  As a mother, you  have some good moments and some bad moments. Can you tell us some of those sad moments as a mother”.
natashaA. I experienced a sad, a sad moment in my life when, one day, when Natasha was two years old. One night, I prepared hot water in a very big jug. I put it high on the table. I was going to get a flask and pour the water into it. As soon as I got into the room, I heard shouts. When I came out, Natasha had poured the hot water that I prepared with the electric coil [heater]. [Fortunately]  I had removed the heater from it and I had covered it, so she thought it was some beverage. She poured the hot water on her but God being so good [and] God knowing that He would use her one day, saved her life and she didn’t die. A happy experience also concerns her… In fact, her birth was very easy. I didn’t suffer too much and even the nurses at the hospital were amazed how quickly she came out.

Q. How do you relate with them? Are you a disciplinarian who doesn’t smile with them or are you the feemo ni e oya, or ma gbe mo… or is it love ?
A. I talk to them, I talk to them and when they are not listening then… I apply the rod.

Q. So ma, having being a woman who has taken a decision to sacrifice your job, to in fact place your children as priority over your job, what kind of advice will you give to parents and the youth today.
A. Well, I will tell parents to sacrifice a bit and spend quality time with the children, converse with them, ask them of the difficulties that they face in school in life, in fact the parents should be very close to their children and then be friend their friends. That is very important. Parents should befriend their children’s friends, so they would know the type of friends that they have and they can advise.

Q. How many years have you been a member of the HOPE Congregation?
A. For 17 years. We came to this Estates, in 1996 and then that same January, that same year, I joined the church. By that time, the church was in the Holy Child School.

Q. So  did you come with daddy ?
A. We came all together with daddy but at that time, daddy had been transferred to Aflao so he comes on weekends to accompany us to church

Q. But you were a Presbyterian before coming her?
A. Yes, yes, a Presbyterian before Ramsea Presbyterian Church at Bubuashie

Q. What kind of significant improvement, what kind of history do you have to tell us.
A. When we came, it was a small church worshipping in the classroom. And as the years went by, it started, the church started to grow very very fast up till now.

Q. So you’ve experienced our Reverends, our men of God? Rev. Erasmus Odonkor and Rev. Puplampu?
A. Yes, yes, we came at a time when Rev Erasmus Odonkor was the minister

Q. In the church, what roles do you play?
A. Yes, I was once, the Women’s Fellowship President and then a Presbyter and a chairperson of the campus ministry committee.

Q.  But now you are not?
A. No.

Q. Have you gone on retirement on that one too?
A. Since my husband was transferred again to Elubu in the Western Region, I decided I had to go with him.

Q. Did you go with the children as well?
A. No; not with the children. I went with my husband and the children now that, I mean, they are grown, they can do things for themselves, they know what is good and what is bad, em, I went with daddy to Elubu

Q. It looks like daddy’s transfer has been playing a major role in the lives… what does daddy do?
A. Daddy is a public servant working with GRA, Ghana Revenue Authority that requires travelling around the country

Q. What is the effect of the travels on the children?
A.  Well, you know in every house, the man is the head of the family and when the man is not around, and the woman or the wife cannot take control of the children, there would be problems, so if daddy not being around, I should be around so that I can take good care of the children.

Q. Having been part of the Women Fellowship, how do you assess the women fellowship in your time and then now ?

A.  Well, in my time, the membership was not as great as it is now and it was like a small family and we really, we really knew each other, we knew each other’s houses and we, we visited but now that the congregation has grown, the fellowship has also grown, well, it is a little bit difficult trying to be intimate with every, every person.

Q. You look good, you look good and you look young. What is your secret?
A. My secret is that I depend mostly on the word of God. In everything that I do; I go down on my knees, every little problem that I have, the first person that I go to is the Lord on my knees and ask him for directions and always, I try to be happy because , its, is a remedy, being happy, telling yourself that you have to be happy, once, I always say that once I have Jesus, I have everything so I am always happy. And on the other hand, I don’t eat junk food. I eat good food as little as that. I avoid too much oil, especially palm oil in my food. And sugar, I don’t take white sugar. I use molasis as my sugar and in fact as at now, I try to eat the food that are highly beneficial for my blood group.

Presenter “That’s a good secret. I have taken some good stuff from you today ma, honestly I am blessed. But ma you see, I like the way you are talking, I like your… I like you ma, l like you. How about joining maybe one of those confirmation classes or something so that some people can experience you and learn some few things from you… because now the children are grown”

Mrs. Quayson – Yes, the children are grown but daddy is still on transfer so pray for daddy. When he’s transferred in Accra then we can all join…

Q.  I am to believe that you have trained your children so well that in your absence, even in daddy’s absence, they are taking good care of themselves and they are not embarrassing you, they are not embarrassing God.
A. One time a lady called me and told me that I should thank God for the lives of the children that He [God] has given to us because she said she has been watching them and she wants to tell me that I shouldn’t be worried and that they are taking good care of themselves.

Q. Before we leave what advice do you have for us the little disrespectful and strong willed children who disobey our parent at every little opportunity and for those of our fathers and our mothers who think that getting a job is the ultimate or that money is everything.

A. Please, our children in training that we are teaching you the ways of God. You are being observed. All of your going out and your coming is being observed, even in darkness, whatever you do, you are being observed and then people would identify your parents and say what is his child doing. So please endeavor as children of God and children of Christian parents not to do anything to embarrass them.

Presenter: Thank you very much. God bless you.

Q. What is your favorite hymn?
A. Favorite song. That’s one women fellowship song in dangme.

Yesu ke, tsatse he nyam ji motsu eni ne obge nya. 2x
Motsi Motsu ke bo ajo mi motsu,
ke hesi ba mi motsu, ne po ko to mo ho we jraasi no le jo ono

Song Interpretation:
Christ said, what honors God is for you to do His work and finish it. 2x
Work, work with happiness,
Work and with humility,
Work and don’t be tired for the heavenly crown is what awaits you

Presenter: O ma, you’ve blessed my soul. You’ve taken me back to my routes.  You’ve taken me way back.

Ladies and gentlemen. That was a good one. I feel home away from home and you know, let me just end by saying… what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul. We see that our mother here Mrs. Esther Ayemle Quayson, she gave up what the world would be craving for, she gave up the world just to raise her children and today, she is so proud and she can stand and say that yes “I can leave these children for so long and they would not embarrass me”

A statement like that makes you have faith in the God whom you’ve been believing because you know that, when you train a child the way he/she should go, he would not depart from it. So mummy, today we are saying a big thank you.

I think you are a role model to many mother who have taking wrong turns or made wrong choices of choosing their jobs over their children and then end up having their children going wayward and issues like that.

Thank you very much, we pray that God bless you, bless your children and bless your home. Bless your children so that, He can empower you all, so that the goodness you are pursuing, He will continue to encourage and strengthen you that through that you may be blessed. Amen…

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2 Comments
  1. Godsway Kwasi zoboku

    Mrs Quayson has been a true blessing to me. She was one of the few mothers I had in the church who didn’t only care about her children but all children in the church. Her words of advise, encouragement and support has contributed to making me what I am today. Mommy, may God continue to bless you and meet you at the point of your needs. Your ‘children’ are all over the world making you proud. We love you.

  2. Well done faithful servent. May you stay under the blessings of God

    Well done Mrs Quayson. Your husband will be transferred to Accra next year. Amen!!!

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