The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo on Sunday joined hundreds of Ghanaians in the United Kingdom to mark Ghana’s Independence Day celebration at the Living Springs International Church, London. Delivering his sermon on ‘Freedom’, Pastor Yaw Bamfo observed that “great things are going to happen in Ghana this year”, adding that “when the righteous rule the Lord rejoices.” He said “Ghanaians have demonstrated by our conduct and behavior that Ghana is indeed the black star of Africa and it must remain so.” He noted that at the start of the year “God gave a revelation that the year 2012 is a year of elevation and we are going higher.” Speaking directly to the NPP leader, Pastor Bamfo said “Nana, this is your year of elevation” which comment attracted a loud cheer from the packed church auditorium. He continued that Ghana enjoys all kinds of freedoms, political, media etc but the biggest of all freedoms is to know Jesus Christ observing that what the world needs today is hope and prosperity. He said “nobody can stop the will of God and even when evil people try to put obstacles in your way, the good people will listen to the voice of God in the end and do what is right.” He stressed that “our lives are lived in seasons and I am confident that a better season is ahead of the Ghanaian people.” Concluding, the man of God advised that “the trick is humility and submission to God and He will use you to do great things.” He prayed for Nana Akufo-Addo and wished him well in all his travels and endeavours adding that “the good Lord will see you through Nana.” On his part, the NPP Flag bearer thanked the leadership of the church and members for the warm reception showed him. He explained that he came to the United Kingdom on the invitation of the International Institute for Strategic Studies to deliver the 2012 Oppenheimer Lecture on the topic ‘the future of democracy in Africa and the Arab Spring’. He said “whilst in London I decided to join you to celebrate our Independence Day with a church service to thank God for his kindness and mercies over the years.” He made a humble appeal to the leadership and members of the church to pray for peaceful elections, for the stability and unity of our country to remain intact before, during and after the 2012 elections and for God to touch the hearts of those in charge of the elections, that they will conduct the elections in a free and fair manner to allow winners and losers to readily accept the outcome of the elections as the will of the people. He also asked for special prayers from the church for himself as he leads the NPP to win the votes of the majority of the Ghanaian people. He said “as you pray, I will humbly ask you to also say a prayer for your son, me, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, that God will continue to give me wisdom, courage and confidence to be able to do the work if God willing and the Ghanaian people so consenting I win the elections and become president. In conclusion Nana Addo said “I will like to end my brief speech with one of my favourite quotes from the Bible, that not all who call my name father, father shall enter into the kingdom of God but those who do according to the will of my father in heaven.