We have returned home from another great visit! We traveled with some folks from Chapel of the Cross in Westborough, Massachusetts. Mick’s daughter Kelly has settled out there and serves on the missions team at Chapel. She, David, and Diane joined us on our adventure to glean some wisdom from our Ghanaian partnership. They shared some of their experiences:
http://www.chapelofthecross.com/ghana
It was a blessing to introduce our new friends from Mass to our great friends in Ghana!
/Ken
Tuesday
There are many signs in Ho, but Jes and I found one that caught our
eye. “Dr. DZ. M.D.” What we found was not, as you might expect, the
medical version of the Discovery Zone beloved in our youth, but
instead we arrive at a white picket fence one house off the main
street. I brushed aside a dust-filled white and blue patterned curtain
and greeted two nurses no older than 20. Explaining my place as a
fourth-year medical student from America they responded by pointing
behind us. We turned to find a man in the dark corner of the house,
slouched comfortably in the ubiquitous plastic chairs which appear
anywhere and anytime in Ghana. His smile first cracked at the corners
broke to reveal teeth that would make the Cheshire cat swoon. Dr. DZ,
as we learned, trained as a surgeon in Poland, moved back near his
home town in Ghana to practice and now runs this road-side clinic we
have happened across. We spent nearly an hour with him as he told us
his herbal cures for malaria, dehydration, wellness, etc. When asked
what Ghana needs for better health care he replied, “Doctors, more
than resources… Doctors” He goes on to tell us that the Volta
Region, all of which refers to one hospital, has one orthopedist, one
dermatologist, and one ophthalmologist. Before we left I asked for
advice as I start a career in medicine and he said “have courage…
know your limits but when there is decision and you have to make it…
HAVE COURAGE.” I will take that forward to every patient I see.
Wednesday
“Doc…. DOC…” Not something a fourth-year medical student is
trained to hear yet. This is yesterday, in Hli Have, and one of the
villagers led us to a 98 year old woman they said was having chest
pain. Stat troponins, Nitrates, Morphine, EKG, Chest Xray, Aspirin,
O2… None of them? How about an ambulance. No ambulance? Hmm… taxi?
Ken and I probably consumed half a liter of dust on our taxi ride
in… An autobike? A 98 year old on a motorcycle?! My mind raced and
was already humbled by a lack of options. I approached my first
Ghanaian patient and met a frail woman, wrapped in blue. It was
amazing to think when I placed my stethoscope on her it was one of few
to ever do so, if not the only one. Crackles, small breaths, normal
heart. This is what I imagine 98 years of breathing dust sounds like.
There is nothing I can do but it doesn’t change the smile and thanks
in her eyes and I feel that gut check of knowing a 5 minute visit will
never replace a lifetime without health care, and take a new respect
for medical personnel who have the courage to live their lives with
this struggle. I have seen great adaptation and most importantly
unquenchable happiness here. In America we often get caught up in a
battle to be flawless. Here they accept health as a part of life, and
though there is much to be done to better the health standard,
adaptation is my lesson today. At the municipal hospital we saw how to
give pitocin, not by measuring, but by counting drops per minute, and
four beds in each isolation room. Yet when talking to the pharmacist,
he quoted me number of malaria rates, the sensitivity and specificity
of HIV testing, and the extent of their electronic medical record. The
adaptation speaks for itself.
Today:
“How many years do you have?”
“At least 55,” Johnny translates.
He explains that the man remembers the independence so he’s at least that old.
“He is the oldest of six… At least 60.”
That’s as close as we got to discovering about this man the elders of
Kunyowu took us to because he is coughing up green for 2 months. Not
allowed to go for a week in the U.S., this man’s pneumonia is a fact
of life. Disparity may describe the difference between our cultures,
but it does not describe theirs. And being a part of their culture if
only for a week fills me with gratitude to know the difference.
Ryan Lafollette
January 19, 2012
When we sit to write we stare into the distance. Our friends gently prod us to get the day’s blog done. Still we stare.
Tonight’s view is from the patio on which we have been eating our meals at the Bob Coffie Hotel. After dinner I sat in this spot with my feet up on the iron rails and watched 5 of the finest young adults I have known walk across the street to hold a mini health clinic. Doc Ryan, Jes, Madison, Kelsey, and Johnson went to aid the baby I carried in a sling on my back a few days ago. He has a boil on the back of his head that needed attention. I waited for them and went to the team and prayed for Ryan and the baby. I closed with ‘NOW we are Ghanaian.’ Our friends here pray and invite the Lord into all they do. At my other home, in America, we forget to do that.
That was the end of a long and very hot day.
We spent the first part of our morning at the school where Felicia, a dear friend of this EHBC/CCC mission team, teaches. Jes led us and grew us in our teaching skills. We read the same book we read to the children at Brilliant Academy. It is called Whoever You Are. It tied in beautifully with the letters-to-new-friends that Jes had the students write to their American friends at Fay-El in Manlius. The boys generally drew cars and trucks. The girls drew pictures of mango trees and people. They were eager to learn and well behaved. Our friend Felicia runs a tight ship. The school is wonderful, but woefully short on supplies by any standards.
Our next stop was to say hello to Brilliant Academy, administer the anti-parasitic Albendazole to 265 children and teachers, and say goodbye to Brilliant Academy. When Kenkaiser (yes I spelled that correctly in Ghanaian) arrived behind the group of us, the children erupted in joy. He blessed the children with a football (the black and white round kind) Leaving after such a short, short, short visit was difficult for us all and brought tears to more than a few. I made the mistake of waving to Evans as I do at home for “bye-bye” and I was saying ‘va’ , which means ‘come’. Evans is a teenager who melted my heart on Tuesday. This boy pulled his chair next to mine (from the back of the open sided palm-frond pavilion) and leaned in and asked me what I was willing to do for this school. He wanted books. When I waved va/come Evans watched me and looked confused and kept eye contact with me and started to follow the crowd to meet up with me. I realized what I had done and changed my wave to the open-palm parade float wave. I was at once embarrassed and so sad. In July, I, or someone I trust, will hand Evans the books I will be purchasing for him and his fellow students.
Our next stop was a ‘village-that-started-with-a-K’ (Jes said so). Here we were greeted with a newly expanded palm frond canopy and drumming. There was a bore hole ceremony and another line of medication and vitamin hand-outs. Ken, 2 villagers, Kelsey, Lauren, and I walked the paths half a mile that took the villagers to the only source of water available before the bore hole was dug. It was hot. I mean it was HOT. Very hot. The girls and I talked about what it would be like to carry the water on our heads on this path in this heat. We were silent most of the walk. When we arrived at the spot we found a large dry field. It had dried up completely in November. Nothing could enable me describe to you what it was like, taking in that sight of the dry field combined with the image in my mind of the fresh water I had just seen pouring out of the pump as our friend Abraham pumped water during the ceremony. Perhaps when I tell you in person through my tears (or when Ken does, or Lauren does, or Kelsey does) you will get the picture I am trying to paint for you from this porch in Ho, Ghana.
And yet it gets even better…
While we were away on our water hole walk, Doc Ryan was aiding an elderly man who was suffering with pneumonia. As we headed back into the village ryan greeted us one by one and asked if we had antibiotics (it would be a 3 hour drive one way to pick up meds and it would be dark soon and we were leaving the next morning to catch our plane in Accra). Ryan had faith that Papa Bear, who was still at the parched water-hole site, would have the medication he needed in his McGuyver bag. THE absolute miracle of the day (of at least several) is that Ken did indeed have antibiotics with him in case one of us got ill. Ryan, through our interpreter, Johnny, explained to the elderly man how to take the medication. We left the village-that-started-with-a-K at peace knowing he was going to be well soon.
Our drive home was filled with conversations with our Ghanaian friends who had traveled to the schools and villages with us. Each of us spent time with someone and learned about the bush, plants, wildlife, villages, peoples, dirt, and life we passed as we drove back to the hotel. Our last dinner on the porch was spent ‘sharing.’ Each night a leader posed the question ‘what was the best part of your day?’ or ‘in what way did you see God work through someone today?’
I cried as I tried to tell my story from the day. Ok, I didn’t cry. I couldn’t speak. I wept. Some of you have seen that. It is ugly. Luckily it was very dark on the porch.
This is my last night here.
My heart is heavy.
Part sadness. Part fullness.
Because a I have to leave this place and these people and
because I have experienced this place and these people.
-e
I’m not a very good writer. I’ve been putting off writing this little blog post for days now- I’m at a complete loss of words while trying to describe what I’ve experienced the past week- it’s like when you stand at the top of a mountain and try to take a picture of the view. The result is always a bland, fuzzy little picture that won’t impress anyone in the least. So bear with me as I show you the fuzzy little picture- the truth is that you really have to come experience the the culture, the people, the smiles, the music, the people of Ghana- you have to stand on top of the mountain to really see how gorgeous the view is.
This morning we woke up, ate our eggs and toast and hopped on the bus. We drove down a super bumpy, wide, red dirt road for two hours to Mark Collins School where we were met by about nine hundred students in blue uniforms. Our team was introduced to the teachers and then some of us were led over to sing with the children. Standing in the center of a circle of nine hundred Ghanian children dancing and singing in their language- Ewe, was an incredible experience. The joy spread and time kinda stopped for a minute. We handed out anti-parasitic medicine to all all the children- marking their hands and then putting the pill in their mouth and instructing them to chew- “Dwi! Dwi!”. The teens laughed at us and one of them was like “ha ha- you can say chew.” we are all more alike than we think. I have a feeling this is just the beginning for me- I feel completely at home here, and I bet I’ll be back soon- but next time I hope I can stay much longer.
Madison Searles
5…4….3……… Yells of “Teacher, Madam, Teacher”…2…1….and …. EMBRACE!
And I was there….I had made it back….my favorite place on earth!
The first thing I noticed as I was excitingly embraced by these two small children, that soon turned into five, then ten, then twenty and so on was thinking to myself “I love this, this is my moment….THIS…is my happy place!”, I had been anticipating this for what seemed like eternity, I could have stayed in that moment forever.
We had finally arrived at Brilliant Academy and I couldn’t have been filled with any more joy than I was in the moment. As the embrace slowly loosened and I began walking to the rest of the assembled children and teachers to embark on my day I already knew the hours were passing too quickly.
As I taught my lesson and every short sentence that I spoke was translated into Ewe I had a hard time not becoming distracted listening to this lovely language. It was hard to focus because I found myself lost, taking in every smiling face that smiling at me as I taught. When I told the children that were working hard to connect each one of them individually to their own pen pal in the US, I was moved by their excitement.
Later, as I sat on the ground with a sleeping baby on my lap and thirty plus children surrounding me in a loving mob, singing to me songs of the Lord, I closed my eyes and prayed simply, as there were no other words ” thank you God, thank you, this is just what I needed, just at this moment, THANK YOU GOD.”
I had more and more of these moments as we continued throughout our da. Babies laughing, children running and making their toys from tree leaves, big ones taking care of little ones, a seven year old, who can speak three languages, reading to me in the most clear and articulate English out of any Ghanaian I have met..in these moments and so many others, I could see God. Truly, in those moments it was as if I had already made it home, as far as I was concerned, this was perfection, I could spend eternity in these moments.
As we pulled away from our teaching posts at then end of the day, my heart ached. Genuinely ached…I don’t want to leave, I kept thinking “one more song, one more conversation, one more Q&A, one more hug….just one more”. As we climbed on the bus the only thing that kept my feet moving was the knowledge that we would be back on Thursday, and on Thursday I wouldn’t just be sharing these moments with Kelsey, Lauren, Erica, Madison and Kelly but I would be sharing them with our whole team. I only pray they get the same joy and contentment that I do from being in this place.
I couldn’t imagine the day to get any better….and there I was putting God in a box again. As we enjoyed our evening putting on a Young Life club, Ghana style, I found myself dancing and singing, worshipping without any reservation. I felt myself longing for the embrace of my Ghanaian brothers and sisters and feeling theirs and the Lord’s love radiating through their bodies into mine. Another perfect, happy place.
As I contemplate this it astounds me. At home I am not a hugger, you can can ask any of the high schoolers I work with. I have this feeling at home that hugs are overdone, they are so much less genuine when you hug people throughout the day and every time you see them. I am more into the grand embrace for a specific and intended reason or at just the right moment, when it is truly needed. But a hug every greeting throughout the day, that to me seems unnecessary and insincere. But here in Ghana, I long for those moments and it leaving me questioning why.
I think it is because here in Ghana, hugs aren’t an overrated greeting or just for show, they are genuine. They are love. Love transferring from one person to another. It as if when you hug someone you are sending an instant message to God and he is sending one right back to your heart. He is saying, “you are loved, you are dear to me and I cherish you!”
I think we Americans, most of us at least, are missing that element. From now on when hug someone I will hug them in the idea that, that hug is connecting me and the other person directly to the Lord, to His embrace. Hugging will no longer be a formality, it will be an honor, a thing to cherish, a moment to pray for someone and love them genuinely without reservation. Akpe na mawu……give glory to the Lord!
Jes Sudol
I’m apologizing ahead of time for how long this is!
This is my second time in Ghana, and I must start by saying that this time, things are different. Not in a bad way whatsoever, but in a way where I can see God working in me, and through me. My first time in Ghana was my first time away from home, and my first time out of the country. I was only 17 then, a high school senior with so much more to learn. I experienced things I never had before, and I viewed Ghana as this exotic, far away land.
I knew this trip was different from my first trip when we were on the bus, leaving the airport heading towards the hotel. As I looked out the window, I saw familiar sites, but inside, I didn’t have the excited feeling I had felt once before. This time, I wasn’t shocked or amazed by a palm tree or small village. When I saw these things, it felt like I was home, driving in town, seeing things that were a part of my everyday life. This trip, I have realized that Ghana is my second home. And because if this, this trip can be all about serving the people of Ghana, and not about my wants. This time, I can fully devote myself to using God’s love to help others.
Now, here’s what we did today:
Today was a day that was surely blessed by the Lord. We started our morning with a breakfast of toast, omelets, oatmeal, and fresh fruit from the market (we are truly spoiled here in Ghana). Once breakfast was finished, the woman of the group were measured by a seamstress because dresses are being made for us as a gift from our friends here. After that, five of us hopped on the bus and headed to a school called the Brilliant Academy. On the way, we picked up our friends Johnson and Redeemer, and our friend Bless met us there. When we arrived, we were greeted with a warn welcome full of smiling faces and shouting children. Brilliant Academy is not how you would imagine a typical school. The classrooms are little huts with straw roofs and dirt floors. How can children learn like that, you Americans out there might ask? Well let me tell you, the children and teachers at Brilliant Academy smarter than most Americans their age. Many children can speak 3-4 languages and one class of 10 year old students were learning about the oxidization levels of the elements. It’s called Brilliant Academy for a reason! In comparison to America, the people in Ghana have much less material things, yet they are so much happier than us Americans could ever be. You could have a billion dollars and still not be as happy as my Ghanian friends! While at Brilliant, we read the children stories and painted their hands and placed them on a white sheet to send back to a school in America. We spent the afternoon drinking fresh coconut milk and spending one on one time with all of the children. There is no greater joy than sitting on the ground with a baby on your lap, completely surrounded and smothered by children, singing songs of praise. At Brilliant, we met so many new friends who will always have a spot in our hearts. Then John Doe, the founder of Brilliant Academy, announced that each of us would be teaching the students. None of us had prepared a lesson, so we all had to improv. I talked about animals and showed the kids pictures of my dogs. The children said that they were the most beautiful dogs they have ever seen! I discussed snow and New York and talked about the differences in water in Ghana and water in America. At the end of my lesson, I taught the children the Macarena, and then we all pretended to be chickens. The children even taught me how to dance like a Ghanian, and laughed when I tried to dance. Though this could be seen as embarrassing, I was willing to do whatever it took to make the children laugh. Everyone wrapped up their lessons and we were on our way back to the hotel.
At 7, the whole team got on the bus and headed to a youth service in Ho. Tonight, the youth service was conducted by our team, and was similar to YoungLife club. We arrived and immediately began singing and dancing and praising God in the way of the Ghanians, full of joy and passion. We taught the Ghanians how to play a game, we taught them a song in sign language, and the choir (Jes, Lauren, Kelly, Madison, Mick, and I) sang the group a song in Ewe (a Ghanian language). We then sat and listened while Pastor David and Lauren shared a message. We ended the meeting with more singing and even more dancing. When the service was done, and most people had cleared the room, Jes, Lauren, and I danced without any reserve to the beautiful music. It was an experience I will NEVER forget. I couldn’t stop smiling, and never wanted to stop dancing and praising the Lord. We all said goodbye to our friends and got on the bus. On the bus, Lauren, Barb and I sang Elvis songs and I thought to myself, “Could this day get any better?”. And it did. When we returned the hotel, we gathered on the porch and shared french fries and laughs. Two things need to be explained. First, it is that the French fries in Ghana are the best French fries in the entire world. And second, most of the laughing was at me (side note, I did not graduate last in my class, thank you very much Mick).
I love being in Ghana, and I hope that one day, all of my friends and family will get to see what Ghana is really like. Ghana is a country that is filled with kind and generous friends, all who love the Lord with everything inside of them. Akpe na mawu! Thanks be to God!
Hi mom and dad!
Saturday, January 14th
I set my alarm for 1:15 am (old time) when I went to bed last night, so I could get ready by 6:45 (Ghana time). Ken, Jes (from NY) and I walked into the market in Ho to get fruit for breakfast. We bought 4 of the most amazing pineapples I have ever tasted, a watermelon and 2 bags for $5.00. After breakfast we met up with several of the local Ghanaian pastors, their wives, a young child and a nurse from a local village health clinic.
I had the pleasure of sitting with the nurse, Eunice, on our 2.5 hour drive to the villages we would be visiting. We talked at length about the health care system (or lack thereof) in Ghana and in the United States. She told me about the clinic that she serves in the southern part of the Volta region. It was started about a year ago as a partnership between the Ghanaian government and WHO (World Health Organization). She runs a child welfare clinic and family planning clinic (that includes AIDS prevention education). She would also like to start an antenatal clinic (prenatal care). I asked her what she saw as the most important needs of the clinic. She was quick to answer “Lights”. There is no electricity in the area so she uses a small battery powered lantern to read in the evenings and if there are any emergencies in the building. She said that she would like to have a solar panel for power. The second need is for medication. The most prevalent illness that she sees is malaria and she often does not have the medication necessary to treat it. The third need is for an exam table so that she could start the antenatal clinic. I found myself praying often during the day for God to show us how we can help in this situation. We will be going to her clinic in Hil Have on Wednesday and I am sure there will be plenty more to write then!
We visited one small village in Wli that had a well fixed this year (paid for by Eastern Hills/CrossRoads). It had been put in by another organization but had not been working for 3 or 4 years. There was a small ceremony in which the elders of the community thanked the team for the fresh water that is so vital to their health. We all had so much fun visiting with the children who swarmed us to see themselves on our cameras!
We then headed to a larger village in Wli. They served us lunch in one of their homes and then we participated in a church service with lots of dancing and singing. God was so obviously alive and with us in the church. After the church service the team handed out vitamins and de-worming medication. The children were in one line and the adults in another. Each person would go through the line and were marked with an X to indicate they had received the medication. One of my favorite moments of the day was during the medication distribution. The children surrounded me at one point while I was taking pictures. I was able to learn their names and talk to them about my children and how they were the same age as they were. We also visited another well whose repair was funded by the Eastern Hills/CrossRoads team. I attempted to carry one of the water bowls, empty of course, and I don’t know how they do it!!!
We have many pictures to share when we get back, but here are a few to tease you all! We are so blessed being here, God is working in all of us. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow!
Kelly (for Diane and David)
Nay ma way nyo! My Lord is good!
I had never been out of the country before (I don’t really count Canada!) and now I find myself completely out of my element in Ghana.
But the thing about Ghana is, that there is no such thing as “being out of my element.” The beautiful people here welcome everyone with such love that you forget that this is the very first time you have met them! They feel like family because they ARE family! We are brothers and sisters in Christ and it has been the most incredible experience of my life to praise our Father together.
It has been absolutely amazing to sing and dance and laugh with the Ghanaians both at the church in Wli (vlee) and at Great Commission Church. They have no schedule, no rules for worship and they dance before the Lord with unrestrained passion and joy! The smiles on their faces as they pour out praise is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! As I watch them dance, laugh and wave their bandannas; all I can think of is that soon, all the sons and daughters of Christ in every country will come together to worship the Savior of the world. Soon, we will all be in heaven praising Jesus the way we were always meant to. Soon, the American Christians will dance for the Lord with the Ghanaian Christians for all eternity.
I may never see my new friends on this earth again. But I can’t wait until I get to worship our Creator with them in heaven.
-Lauren
P.S. Barb has the strength of ten young men and is the most hilarious person I know!
Love you Barb!!! 
Erfwa…for all of you who have never been blessed with a visit to Ho, Ghana, this means “Hello” in Ewe, the language of our African friends. So, this have been another great day, a three hour worship service at the Great Commission Church International here in Ho. As we entered the church, the drums, keyboard and voices filled the air with music and words of praise. Never any question that we are in a church where the love of God, friends, family and visitors will dominate the service. The welcome is physically expressed by hugs, smiles, and handshakes. I have never experienced anything like it. Perhaps that is the way we will be welcomed in Heaven in a similar manner. Our introductions take about 20 minutes as each and every person is welcomed individually with words of gratitude and praise. Our dear friend Albright presented the message and Daniel closed the service with a summation of his health care initiative. Medicine was distributed, followed with a brief mission meeting, and then a “Bag lunch to go.” Mick invited the minister and the church leaders to attend tomorrow’s conference here at the hotel. We had an afternoon of “free time” where some of us went swimming and visited the outdoor market where Ken, for the second time today bought fresh pineapple and watermelon for our pleasure and nourishment. I am making this short as these young girls, you know who you are, Lauren and Kelsey, are giving me a hard time so I moved to another table. Now it is my turn to get them back. They are just having too much fun! So glad I made the decision to come to Ghana. Barb Hile
The tears started flowing when we got off the bus to check the first well after a 2 hour bus ride. They have not stopped since. It was much like the helping-the-starving-children-ads you see on television. The beautiful little ones swarmed around us. We took photos of their precious faces and showed them on the screens of our digital cameras. I witnessed a human child seeing herself for what was possibly the first time, and what was certainly the first time in a while. The giggles that came from these mouths were sweet sweet music. At this spot the adults were reticent. As the EHBC leaders and village elders were coordinating the well check-up ‘ceremony’ as it were, an older woman finally came to me and said ‘welcome’. It was my first interaction alone with someone our team didn’t already know. The other village women hesitated for a few more minutes while I stood, overwhelmed and tearing up, biting back a headache, with ‘my’ woman. I wanted to go back to the children. I stood with her but welcome seemed to be her only English word. The ceremony broke us up, but she stared at me while we were half entertaining the little ones/ half engaged in the goings-on at the well. I carried an awkward smile. I was moved. But had no idea about what. As I was photographing the little ones I heard ‘Mirror mirror mirror mirror’ as clearly as I heard the children giggle. ‘mirror mirror mirror mirror.’Ok, seriously Lord. And I do mean that as statement and not question. Seriously. You want me to go 6 more days without being able to check my teeth for specks of rice? Do you know how unfair that is to the rest of the team? Ok, fine. But you expect me to go to the bus, get my mirror and hand it to a complete stranger who doesn’t seem to be thrilled we are here in the first place? I came back from the bus, walked to the woman and kissed her cheek. I unsnapped the case and showed her her beautiful face. She and the women around her cooed in delight. I put my sunglasses over my eyes and walked quickly to the bus. I was safe from the Holy Spirit there. Our next stop was Wli, friends of EHBC but new to me. We were greeted by music pouring from the church, greeted in someone’s home by a meal of chicken and rice, greeted by smiling faces and hospitality. After lunch, we walked into the church. There was a small boy of about 6 laid across 2 chairs. His mother was gathering him in her arms and I saw that he was severely disabled. She was removing him from the church before the service that was being held to welcome us. The holy spirit was heavy in that village and in that worship-filled building in particular. He so clearly told me to find that boy and pray for him. He told me and told me and told me. I sat. I saw the bottle of oil on the stand near the band and wanted to grab it and anoint him. I sat. I convinced myself that I heard or read on our itinerary that we would be in Wli twice this week and I would find him the second time. We will NOT be going back to Wli this week.The tears are still flowing. God is growing me here. I will listen. I will no longer sit.
Has the holy spirit been whispering your own ‘mirror, mirror, mirror” in your ear? Please do not sit. I challenge you, stand and hand the mirror over.
Erica
—————— if that was too much, try this:
Today was my first full day in Ghana. It felt like about 3 full days. When you travel half way across the globe that is a good thing, fitting a lot into each day. Today took us to Wli. On the way to Wli, we stopped at a well that we had dug. Ken tells us the only clean water had been about 1/2 mile ‘thataway’ over his shoulder. It is hot and dry right now. The idea of walking 1/2 a mile with gallons of water on my head about made me woozy. And I’m kinda guessing that ‘clean water’ was not nearly as clean as the beautiful water flowing from that pump. The children here were precious and the adults grateful. We moved on to Wli after this brief stop. In Wli we were graciously greeted with a meal of chicken and rice in pastor Anthony Osei’s home. From there we moved to the church where we watched the women and men dance and worship. Mick Keville gave a sermon which was translated for the congregation. After the service we met with a mass rush of children and adults for deworming medications and a dietary supplement for the adults. Under Ken’s and Doc Ryan’s guidance, Madison handed out small orange pills to the littles while Kelsey marked their hands with an x to indicate they had taken their meds. The rest of us were busy documenting the event with photos. The children were mesmerized by their own faces on the screens. Barb Hile spent the last few minutes of the visit giving back and hand massage to the pastor’s wife who had been suffering with pain in her shoulders. After Ken was able to finally pull us away from the children and corral us onto the bus, we had another well stop. This is one that had been repaired. The elders came out to greet us and thank us. They made a plea for a second well to be dug as this well serves a large community of 1000. They brought a basket of bananas to us to show their gratitude. We prayed over the well and headed back on the 3 hour journey to Ho. It was An emotional day, for some of us newcomers especially. We all look forward to tomorrow’s church service at Albright’s church and to everything the week holds for us and the people of Ho. I ask for your prayer for our health and safe travels. I ask for you to pray that each of us here harkened to the call of the Holy Spirit and that the Lord’s work is accomplished. That those things we do not have planned as a team, but that the Lord has planned, we will step up and move on. Pray that we will be used mightily. Thank you friends, your support and prayer truly have made this possible.Erica
