Note: It seems as I played this back, the photo quality is quite poor...probably best to play it in a small screen rather than enlarge it. In case it is really bad, you can try this link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151320878355284&set=vb.705135283&type=2&theater
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Video!
Creating this video was a wonderful time for me to reflect and debrief. Enjoy!
Note: It seems as I played this back, the photo quality is quite poor...probably best to play it in a small screen rather than enlarge it. In case it is really bad, you can try this link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151320878355284&set=vb.705135283&type=2&theater
Note: It seems as I played this back, the photo quality is quite poor...probably best to play it in a small screen rather than enlarge it. In case it is really bad, you can try this link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151320878355284&set=vb.705135283&type=2&theater
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Pictures!
I hope that you are all able to get to some of our pictures through these links.
Once our photo presentation is ready, I will be sure to post it here for you to enjoy :)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151285045645284.794392.705135283&type=3&l=fb5c5dde07
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151285498025284.794428.705135283&type=3&l=a4a6ef6f94
Once our photo presentation is ready, I will be sure to post it here for you to enjoy :)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151285045645284.794392.705135283&type=3&l=fb5c5dde07
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151285498025284.794428.705135283&type=3&l=a4a6ef6f94
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Mission complete...or is it?
Monday our flight was booked for 11:30pm...our itinerary included a whole free day in Accra.
Most of the team left together on the bus with Simon and Stephen at 10am that morning for the International Cultural Centre for several hours of shopping fun/harassment :). The vendors are very 'friendly' by wanting to become your best friend so that you won't leave their 'shop'. Paul said that you start the barter process at about 1/2 the asking price. The vendors will even go so far as to follow you to the bus to try to get your sale. Paul refused to buy from anyone that called him 'Daddy' as many would :). Jambe drums, carvings, fabrics, maps, etc...made their way into our suitcases and as carry on for the flight home.
Seven of us left on a separate bus left at 9am to spend the day with 19 Compassion sponsored kids. We picked them up at the church that hosts the Compassion project and provides all the volunteers who work with the kids. It was arranged that we spent the day with them at a park where the boys played football (soccer) with Joe, Russ, Sam, Ryan and Nolan, the girls taught Jacqueline and I a couple of games, and when they all jumped into a shallow pool to play for a majority of our day, some of us watched and chatted with the workers or learned some Ghanaian board games. Jacqueline and I even had the opportunity to have a beautiful 6 month baby, Michelle, strapped onto our backs Ghanaian style :). We had lunch at a restaurant where we ate inside instead of on the patio because many of these kids have never sat around cloth covered tables to eat dinner the way we did that day. Waiting for our fabulous chicken and rice lunch, Russ taught the infamous 'Skinner-ma-rinky-dinky-dink song' that was a favorite up in Tinga, and then many of the children stood and sang songs for us. A boy named Maxwell (Prince's best friend), stood and sang the old familiar song 'Jesus My Savior', and as we started to sing along with him, we noticed his eyes well up with tears. The sound of us all singing together in that restaurant was beautiful and he was overwhelmed in that moment (as was I), but he kept leading us, and when he sat, he bent his head and quickly pinched his eyes to stop the tears and wipe them away...a very powerful moment...one I will never forget!!! We ended our lunch with Ryan juggling 3 tomatoes for the kids :). Once we said our goodbyes, the seven of us squeezed in about 45 power-shopping minutes to find some souvenirs. After spending most of all our Ghanian Cedis at the roadside market, we had to pay to refuel the bus. There was a bit of a nervous moment when we found out that they didn't accept the US funds or credit cards we had, but God saw that we had just enough Cedis to cover it!
The reason that we made this visit is because Joe and I have sponsored a 13 year old boy named Prince through the Compassion program for the past 6 years. He is one of 7 children in his family, but he lives in a west side poor section of Accra with his grandmother while the rest of his family lives approximately 2 hours away. He is the only child in his family that goes to school and that is why he is there. Compassion provides for his medical, dental and educational needs and they visit their neighbourhoods and family homes often to check in with his family to be sure all his other needs are met. We visited Prince last May, and at that time visited the church and they explained the program, visited his class (and the Lord helped me recognize him out of the whole class as they asked us to 'find' him amongst the 50 some uniformed kids), and visited his family before taking him to lunch. When we arrived at the church this time and walked upstairs to meet the kids waiting for us, Prince came down several of the steps toward us wearing the shirt and baseball we gave him last time, and welcomed us with a really big hug...Wow!!! When I signed the guest register again this year, I noticed that no other sponsor had visited their project since we had last been there. 98% of sponsors all over the world never have a chance to meet their sponsored kids...we feel SO blessed to have been able to do that twice so far, and hopefully we'll be back again :). I still have to get better at writing letters to him...all the kids look so forward to letters sent by their sponsors! Encouragement and love is what each one of us needs.
At 6 we enjoyed a final team dinner at the hotel, suitcases were packed back onto the little pick up and bus, and after 15 flying hours, 9-10 hours spent airports checking in, waiting for our connection and picking up bags, and a final 1 hour drive back to Uxbridge, we will be home! (Some of will have more drive times to their homes in Markham, Burkes Falls and Stouffville).
Home. A place God has blessed us with to live with and love our families, fellowship with our friends, tand work doing what God has given us to do so that we can provide. Provide not only for ourselves, but for our extended family and friends in various places all around the world...waiting to see what God has for us to be and do next...being His hands and feet in everything we do.
When I started this blog, I spoke about how quickly this project came together. God opened David's eyes to the need for this church to be built in Tinga. God put the desire in our hearts to be available for this mission. God arranged that a bulk of the funds was ready and available to be used for this project, and He provided the funds to our donors who helped see the additional financial needs were met. God worked through those of you who carried us with your prayers and support. Now we look forward to hearing about the work He does not only in the lives of those who walk through this new church's doors, but in the entire community of Tinga (David's Ephasus), and to the world beyond as He works through His people.
On this trip we were privileged to witness the new believers in the remote village of Babatok baptized. Shawn was baptized the following Sunday in Subinso, and Joe & I are thrilled that this Sunday as we were enroute by bus to Accra, our daughter Brittany was baptized with 625 others in Australia at Hillsong Church's Vision Sunday evening service. God is working everywhere in a mighty way!
Our work is not done. We must all continue to lift up in prayer the needs of this new church in Tinga, Peter and the new believers forming a church in Babatok, Pastor Rans and the church in Subinso, and all the other churches represented by the pastors and elders we worked along side for this build..that the right leaders are chosen for the new churches and that they all stay on course being everything God has for all of them being part of The Church in this world.
God bless you all!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Most of the team left together on the bus with Simon and Stephen at 10am that morning for the International Cultural Centre for several hours of shopping fun/harassment :). The vendors are very 'friendly' by wanting to become your best friend so that you won't leave their 'shop'. Paul said that you start the barter process at about 1/2 the asking price. The vendors will even go so far as to follow you to the bus to try to get your sale. Paul refused to buy from anyone that called him 'Daddy' as many would :). Jambe drums, carvings, fabrics, maps, etc...made their way into our suitcases and as carry on for the flight home.
Seven of us left on a separate bus left at 9am to spend the day with 19 Compassion sponsored kids. We picked them up at the church that hosts the Compassion project and provides all the volunteers who work with the kids. It was arranged that we spent the day with them at a park where the boys played football (soccer) with Joe, Russ, Sam, Ryan and Nolan, the girls taught Jacqueline and I a couple of games, and when they all jumped into a shallow pool to play for a majority of our day, some of us watched and chatted with the workers or learned some Ghanaian board games. Jacqueline and I even had the opportunity to have a beautiful 6 month baby, Michelle, strapped onto our backs Ghanaian style :). We had lunch at a restaurant where we ate inside instead of on the patio because many of these kids have never sat around cloth covered tables to eat dinner the way we did that day. Waiting for our fabulous chicken and rice lunch, Russ taught the infamous 'Skinner-ma-rinky-dinky-dink song' that was a favorite up in Tinga, and then many of the children stood and sang songs for us. A boy named Maxwell (Prince's best friend), stood and sang the old familiar song 'Jesus My Savior', and as we started to sing along with him, we noticed his eyes well up with tears. The sound of us all singing together in that restaurant was beautiful and he was overwhelmed in that moment (as was I), but he kept leading us, and when he sat, he bent his head and quickly pinched his eyes to stop the tears and wipe them away...a very powerful moment...one I will never forget!!! We ended our lunch with Ryan juggling 3 tomatoes for the kids :). Once we said our goodbyes, the seven of us squeezed in about 45 power-shopping minutes to find some souvenirs. After spending most of all our Ghanian Cedis at the roadside market, we had to pay to refuel the bus. There was a bit of a nervous moment when we found out that they didn't accept the US funds or credit cards we had, but God saw that we had just enough Cedis to cover it!
The reason that we made this visit is because Joe and I have sponsored a 13 year old boy named Prince through the Compassion program for the past 6 years. He is one of 7 children in his family, but he lives in a west side poor section of Accra with his grandmother while the rest of his family lives approximately 2 hours away. He is the only child in his family that goes to school and that is why he is there. Compassion provides for his medical, dental and educational needs and they visit their neighbourhoods and family homes often to check in with his family to be sure all his other needs are met. We visited Prince last May, and at that time visited the church and they explained the program, visited his class (and the Lord helped me recognize him out of the whole class as they asked us to 'find' him amongst the 50 some uniformed kids), and visited his family before taking him to lunch. When we arrived at the church this time and walked upstairs to meet the kids waiting for us, Prince came down several of the steps toward us wearing the shirt and baseball we gave him last time, and welcomed us with a really big hug...Wow!!! When I signed the guest register again this year, I noticed that no other sponsor had visited their project since we had last been there. 98% of sponsors all over the world never have a chance to meet their sponsored kids...we feel SO blessed to have been able to do that twice so far, and hopefully we'll be back again :). I still have to get better at writing letters to him...all the kids look so forward to letters sent by their sponsors! Encouragement and love is what each one of us needs.
At 6 we enjoyed a final team dinner at the hotel, suitcases were packed back onto the little pick up and bus, and after 15 flying hours, 9-10 hours spent airports checking in, waiting for our connection and picking up bags, and a final 1 hour drive back to Uxbridge, we will be home! (Some of will have more drive times to their homes in Markham, Burkes Falls and Stouffville).
Home. A place God has blessed us with to live with and love our families, fellowship with our friends, tand work doing what God has given us to do so that we can provide. Provide not only for ourselves, but for our extended family and friends in various places all around the world...waiting to see what God has for us to be and do next...being His hands and feet in everything we do.
When I started this blog, I spoke about how quickly this project came together. God opened David's eyes to the need for this church to be built in Tinga. God put the desire in our hearts to be available for this mission. God arranged that a bulk of the funds was ready and available to be used for this project, and He provided the funds to our donors who helped see the additional financial needs were met. God worked through those of you who carried us with your prayers and support. Now we look forward to hearing about the work He does not only in the lives of those who walk through this new church's doors, but in the entire community of Tinga (David's Ephasus), and to the world beyond as He works through His people.
On this trip we were privileged to witness the new believers in the remote village of Babatok baptized. Shawn was baptized the following Sunday in Subinso, and Joe & I are thrilled that this Sunday as we were enroute by bus to Accra, our daughter Brittany was baptized with 625 others in Australia at Hillsong Church's Vision Sunday evening service. God is working everywhere in a mighty way!
Our work is not done. We must all continue to lift up in prayer the needs of this new church in Tinga, Peter and the new believers forming a church in Babatok, Pastor Rans and the church in Subinso, and all the other churches represented by the pastors and elders we worked along side for this build..that the right leaders are chosen for the new churches and that they all stay on course being everything God has for all of them being part of The Church in this world.
God bless you all!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Sunday Bus Trip
Almost record time! Arrived in Accra in 9 hours! Only one refueling/restroom break...although that meant there was a mad rush to the bathroom at the hotel when we got here :)
We saw the sun rise from beneath some low lying clouds. It was beautiful to see...it rises so fast you can see it happening in mere moments. The sun is SO big here and with the haze, it really is a round ball that you can actually look at.
Simon navigated the speed bumps, animals, people, roadside breakdowns, traffic and crazy bumpy red sand roads under construction as we approached Accra. The applause we gave when we arrived safely was very well deserved. Stephen did great keeping up with us with his sky high load of luggage. They did a great job tarping and tying it down...with the roughest roads ever, the entire load got here.
Our 'on board' meals were fabulous! I mentioned the fried egg sandwiches and mangoes for breakfast, Simon bought bananas for us at the toll stop which we enjoyed mid-morning and later mid-afternoon, and lunch was incredible tuna salad sandwiches on the super fresh bread, meat pies, and crackers & cheese. Doug & Pat were in for a special surprise at lunch...all trip they noticed that we were never served the ends of the loaves (the crusts), and they love them. They had mentioned that to Brenda and guess what was in a special bag marked with their names...tuna sandwiches made with only the crusts! How special is that! Brenda, you are amazing to have taken note and done that for them!!! Sweet!
Rooms were assigned at the Earl Beam Hotel and we enjoyed sitting by the pool while some of the guys dared go in. The pumps weren't on, there were many 'floaty things' and it was pretty cloudy. The guys didn't care...it was refreshing. Glenn said it tasted 'sweet'!?!
A nice dinner was served at 6, and the Ghana quarter final game was on. Cards were played while others relaxed in the dining room while the game was on.
Tomorrow, most of the team will be heading to the market to shop, while 7 of us will be picked up by a bus to take Prince, our Compassion sponsored child, and his classmates who are part of the program, to an amusement park for the day. Ellen, the volunteer that I really enjoyed on our last visit will be with us, along with some others. I am really excited about it :)
Our flight is due out at 11:30pm tomorrow night. Pray that it happens on time and that our connection is too...the weather in Europe has caused Heathrow to be at 50% according to the BBC news here.
G'Night! And thank you for all of your prayers :)
We saw the sun rise from beneath some low lying clouds. It was beautiful to see...it rises so fast you can see it happening in mere moments. The sun is SO big here and with the haze, it really is a round ball that you can actually look at.
Simon navigated the speed bumps, animals, people, roadside breakdowns, traffic and crazy bumpy red sand roads under construction as we approached Accra. The applause we gave when we arrived safely was very well deserved. Stephen did great keeping up with us with his sky high load of luggage. They did a great job tarping and tying it down...with the roughest roads ever, the entire load got here.
Our 'on board' meals were fabulous! I mentioned the fried egg sandwiches and mangoes for breakfast, Simon bought bananas for us at the toll stop which we enjoyed mid-morning and later mid-afternoon, and lunch was incredible tuna salad sandwiches on the super fresh bread, meat pies, and crackers & cheese. Doug & Pat were in for a special surprise at lunch...all trip they noticed that we were never served the ends of the loaves (the crusts), and they love them. They had mentioned that to Brenda and guess what was in a special bag marked with their names...tuna sandwiches made with only the crusts! How special is that! Brenda, you are amazing to have taken note and done that for them!!! Sweet!
Rooms were assigned at the Earl Beam Hotel and we enjoyed sitting by the pool while some of the guys dared go in. The pumps weren't on, there were many 'floaty things' and it was pretty cloudy. The guys didn't care...it was refreshing. Glenn said it tasted 'sweet'!?!
A nice dinner was served at 6, and the Ghana quarter final game was on. Cards were played while others relaxed in the dining room while the game was on.
Tomorrow, most of the team will be heading to the market to shop, while 7 of us will be picked up by a bus to take Prince, our Compassion sponsored child, and his classmates who are part of the program, to an amusement park for the day. Ellen, the volunteer that I really enjoyed on our last visit will be with us, along with some others. I am really excited about it :)
Our flight is due out at 11:30pm tomorrow night. Pray that it happens on time and that our connection is too...the weather in Europe has caused Heathrow to be at 50% according to the BBC news here.
G'Night! And thank you for all of your prayers :)
Wrap Up Saturday & Sunday's Departure
The day started just like the previous 11 workdays...breakfast at 6:30 am, loaded and leaving on the bus and stake truck at 7:15, but today was special. The Ghanaian pastors loaded a couple of drums into the back of the stake truck and started drumming...they sang and beat the drums through the entire 1/2 hour drive, and even went beyond the work site so that the entire main street of Tinga would hear them. Unfortunately the donut lady did not some to the site, and many were disappointed that they couldn't enjoy their last opportunity to eat one as they have the previous few days. This was our final day and the last time we would see Tinga on this trip, and for some of us, probably the last time we would ever see it in person ever.
The trusses were completed, the purlins started and all the tents, chairs and tools were packed away. Ebenezer rents a house nearby and some of his men will continue to stay in the temporary shack built on the property in order to watch over things and complete the church over the next weeks.
Bev, Pat, Linda and I stayed in Carpenter to pack up all the remaining school supplies, clothing and finalize the gift packages for the workers. At 11 we headed to Tinga with Brenda, Carol and Stephen with our final jobsite lunch. Doug prayed a blessing over the food. It was a powerful prayer of thanks...starting with the word 'Wow'. We have enjoyed an incredible trip covered with so much blessing! Health, strength, protection, inspiration, joy, and more!!! The nurse from the local clinic, who is also a Tinga church member, brought each Canadian a bottled Ghana Malt drink. We were very honored by her gift to us, and it looked very refreshing, but once we started taking off the bottle caps and we sipped it, realized it was warm (almost hot), and it quickly failed at being a new favorite. The Ghanaians were more than happy to finish them for us...none of it went to waste. Pictures were taken of the entire group inside the church, and then our Canadian team had photos on the front steps. It became a really fun time as jokes were made as we all stood in the hot, hot sun. Carol carefully took photos with about 10 cameras (I suppose if there were that many taken with so many cameras, we figured we'd get at least one with everyone at their best :))
Some of the kids from our school classes happened by the worksite and were able to see us off. They looked so good in their day clothes! We are so used to seeing them dressed in their ragged orange and brown uniforms. Not one seemed to be able to look at Russ and Jack without automatically starting the actions for the 'Skinner-ma-rinky-dinky-dink' song. (I think we are all concerned that they must think its our national anthem, theme song or a traditional Canadian greeting :)). It's really is one of the funniest things to see!!!
Waving goodbye to the kids that were there, and seeing the building grow distant was tough, but we were quickly distracted with another special Ghanaian scene on the main street while we passed. At the street side outdoor butcher shop, was a cow head laying on the ground...long horns, brains and possible intestines sitting right next to it. As we exited town, we made a quick stop to the medical clinic to thank them for the malt drink and continued on our last trip south back to Carpenter. Most of the men returned on the stake truck as the Ghanaians picked up with the drumming and singing as they had done on the way in that morning, but now they had shovels and aluminum tubing from the tents to use to create more and louder instruments. It was such a joyful way to end our project!
Back in Carpenter by about 1:30, we had the afternoon to rest, reflect, pack our bags, and at 4:30, the most exciting football (soccer) game was on...some of us against some of the Ghanian pastors!!! It was a great time spent in the hot sun, and when it wound down, the score was 2-2...a tie! We'll have to schedule a tie breaking match when we come back :). Russ discovered he wasn't as young as he once was...unfortunately his Achilles tendon 'popped' (those around him heard it...he said it felt like someone kicked him hard in the back of the ankle, but no one was around). He has handled it really well and tonight we all prayed for a speedy recovery, and that travel goes well for him.
All showered and cleaned up, and we had our final banquet in the convention centre with not only us and the Ghanaian pastors like we are used to, but also with Ebenezer, his crew, Tinga volunteers and Carpenter staff. Abraham, the chef, served us at the buffet tables...'Carpenter Vegetable soup' made with only ingredients grown here, Rice, Guinea Fowl, Telapia fillets and fish, and the most exciting part of the table, the opportunity to join in with the Ghanaians if we dared try one of their favorite foods, 'Grasscutters' (kind of like our groundhogs or possums). I didn't hear of anyone who actually did.
After we were all fed, we enjoyed taking time to thank everyone who made this project possible, gave our gifts and were each blessed with a Ghanaian dress or shirt. Many of us put them on and took photos under the centre gazebo, and some played a final card game together.
Not long after we started settling in for the night, the winds came up, thunder and lighting was seen and heard, and then the rains came! They came hard and fast. Another memorable African experience for everyone :)
Due to have our luggage ready for the truck at 5:45am and to be on the bus at 6 the next morning, it was a surprise to hear Stephen backing up the truck to the compound at 4:40, open the squeeky front gate, and turn on the exterior walkway lights. Everyone quickly started to scurry around to get ready sooner than they had planned. Stephen obviously knew that it would take longer than 15 minutes to pack all our suitcases into the back of the small Nissan pick up. We were on the bus several minutes early, drove up to the kitchen, and our breakfast and lunch foods were loaded into the bus. The pastors were standing there, they sang a song of blessing over us, David prayed, and we sadly waved goodbye. Leaving was sad for all of us, but especially for Sam and Jacqueline. Their son Pete was standing with the pastors waving goodbye. He is staying until mid-April to work at the different stations within the compound and to help with upcoming conferences. I asked if he would blog his adventure...it didn't sound promising :(. What an amazing opportunity for him, and I would just love to hear all about it :)
We are safely on our way, enjoying our fried egg sandwiches on fresh baked bread, and beautiful mangoes. Russ is able to put some weight on his foot today and he rested well through the night. God is Good!
The trusses were completed, the purlins started and all the tents, chairs and tools were packed away. Ebenezer rents a house nearby and some of his men will continue to stay in the temporary shack built on the property in order to watch over things and complete the church over the next weeks.
Bev, Pat, Linda and I stayed in Carpenter to pack up all the remaining school supplies, clothing and finalize the gift packages for the workers. At 11 we headed to Tinga with Brenda, Carol and Stephen with our final jobsite lunch. Doug prayed a blessing over the food. It was a powerful prayer of thanks...starting with the word 'Wow'. We have enjoyed an incredible trip covered with so much blessing! Health, strength, protection, inspiration, joy, and more!!! The nurse from the local clinic, who is also a Tinga church member, brought each Canadian a bottled Ghana Malt drink. We were very honored by her gift to us, and it looked very refreshing, but once we started taking off the bottle caps and we sipped it, realized it was warm (almost hot), and it quickly failed at being a new favorite. The Ghanaians were more than happy to finish them for us...none of it went to waste. Pictures were taken of the entire group inside the church, and then our Canadian team had photos on the front steps. It became a really fun time as jokes were made as we all stood in the hot, hot sun. Carol carefully took photos with about 10 cameras (I suppose if there were that many taken with so many cameras, we figured we'd get at least one with everyone at their best :))
Some of the kids from our school classes happened by the worksite and were able to see us off. They looked so good in their day clothes! We are so used to seeing them dressed in their ragged orange and brown uniforms. Not one seemed to be able to look at Russ and Jack without automatically starting the actions for the 'Skinner-ma-rinky-dinky-dink' song. (I think we are all concerned that they must think its our national anthem, theme song or a traditional Canadian greeting :)). It's really is one of the funniest things to see!!!
Waving goodbye to the kids that were there, and seeing the building grow distant was tough, but we were quickly distracted with another special Ghanaian scene on the main street while we passed. At the street side outdoor butcher shop, was a cow head laying on the ground...long horns, brains and possible intestines sitting right next to it. As we exited town, we made a quick stop to the medical clinic to thank them for the malt drink and continued on our last trip south back to Carpenter. Most of the men returned on the stake truck as the Ghanaians picked up with the drumming and singing as they had done on the way in that morning, but now they had shovels and aluminum tubing from the tents to use to create more and louder instruments. It was such a joyful way to end our project!
Back in Carpenter by about 1:30, we had the afternoon to rest, reflect, pack our bags, and at 4:30, the most exciting football (soccer) game was on...some of us against some of the Ghanian pastors!!! It was a great time spent in the hot sun, and when it wound down, the score was 2-2...a tie! We'll have to schedule a tie breaking match when we come back :). Russ discovered he wasn't as young as he once was...unfortunately his Achilles tendon 'popped' (those around him heard it...he said it felt like someone kicked him hard in the back of the ankle, but no one was around). He has handled it really well and tonight we all prayed for a speedy recovery, and that travel goes well for him.
All showered and cleaned up, and we had our final banquet in the convention centre with not only us and the Ghanaian pastors like we are used to, but also with Ebenezer, his crew, Tinga volunteers and Carpenter staff. Abraham, the chef, served us at the buffet tables...'Carpenter Vegetable soup' made with only ingredients grown here, Rice, Guinea Fowl, Telapia fillets and fish, and the most exciting part of the table, the opportunity to join in with the Ghanaians if we dared try one of their favorite foods, 'Grasscutters' (kind of like our groundhogs or possums). I didn't hear of anyone who actually did.
After we were all fed, we enjoyed taking time to thank everyone who made this project possible, gave our gifts and were each blessed with a Ghanaian dress or shirt. Many of us put them on and took photos under the centre gazebo, and some played a final card game together.
Not long after we started settling in for the night, the winds came up, thunder and lighting was seen and heard, and then the rains came! They came hard and fast. Another memorable African experience for everyone :)
Due to have our luggage ready for the truck at 5:45am and to be on the bus at 6 the next morning, it was a surprise to hear Stephen backing up the truck to the compound at 4:40, open the squeeky front gate, and turn on the exterior walkway lights. Everyone quickly started to scurry around to get ready sooner than they had planned. Stephen obviously knew that it would take longer than 15 minutes to pack all our suitcases into the back of the small Nissan pick up. We were on the bus several minutes early, drove up to the kitchen, and our breakfast and lunch foods were loaded into the bus. The pastors were standing there, they sang a song of blessing over us, David prayed, and we sadly waved goodbye. Leaving was sad for all of us, but especially for Sam and Jacqueline. Their son Pete was standing with the pastors waving goodbye. He is staying until mid-April to work at the different stations within the compound and to help with upcoming conferences. I asked if he would blog his adventure...it didn't sound promising :(. What an amazing opportunity for him, and I would just love to hear all about it :)
We are safely on our way, enjoying our fried egg sandwiches on fresh baked bread, and beautiful mangoes. Russ is able to put some weight on his foot today and he rested well through the night. God is Good!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Final Friday
It's hard to believe that we will be leaving Carpenter in less than 36 hours. Like Joe would say, 'It's happy-sad'.
Happy because of all the work accomplished in building a church building and touching children's hearts in a 'very unique town.' (Tinga). David continues to call it 'Ephasus'. Tomorrow, we have three more trusses to raise and purlins to install to be ready for tin. Although this building required 3 days of foundation/floor preparation that Subinso didn't, we will be leaving only 1 day behind where we were at when we left Subinso last May. Things have gone much faster than David and Ebenezer ever expected! God has blessed us with health and a strong dedicated team who gave it their all!
Happy that the Muslim chief and elders welcomed us two weeks ago, and came today to accept our gift of school supplies, and in return they have us a huge gift (physically and monetarily)...a cow!
Happy that representatives from the district school board joined us this morning and heard the cry for more teachers for these schools...both from the chief and from David. All children across the country write the same acceptance exams to further their education. These children are trying to learn with 1/2 the teachers they need and very limited resources, while the children in Accra have a surplus of teachers and additional classes to help them have the advantage. Like David said to the area reps, the system is putting the children in this northern region in a position to only be the labourers for those in the south, yet they personally have the potential to be ministers of government, doctors, nurses, etc...if given the chance.
Happy that 5 people watching us and watching the building go up came to us wanting to find God!
Happy that we had the chance to meet Alex...one of the original visionaries and founding board members of NEA. He is an engineer and was the director of the the electric power system that runs Tamale (an area that is now almost 1 million people). He is now retired, but continues to stay busy with the many projects underway.
Happy for the opportunity to be a small part in the huge plan that God has for this part of the world and for The Church across the world. What a privilege it has been to hear David share how God works, and to know that the same God that did miraculous things in the Bible, still does them here, and back at home too if we would just listen, watch and allow Him to reveal himself! Tonight we were invited into the Mensah's home for popcorn and dessert that Brenda, Carol and Abraham had prepared. It was a wonderful social time with David sharing many stories about the house and how it came to be what it is today, his hunting expeditions and other things, but the spiritual lessons and challenges set out for us in regards to praying, fasting and being able to sleep well will never be forgotten. Knowing that no matter the challenges the next day holds, David shared that he sleeps well and he carries no stress or tension because he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is doing what God has called him to do, and whatever happens is in God's hands and for the greater purpose. Satan is always knocking at the door trying to get in by doing things like creating doubts by attempting to discredit work being done corporately, or through a foothold he has in someone's life that they are working with, but they stand firm that Satan has to flee in Jesus' name. The battle is won.
Happy to go home to be with our family, friends, work and church...ready to do what God has called us to do in our routines and do it all as unto Him...being His hands and feet everyday.
Sad because a part of us is left here once again.
Sad because we do not know if we are meant to be get to see these friends once again.
Sad because of the tears we saw in some of the young children's eyes when they realized we were leaving as they clambered around us and the truck when we pulled away from the school yard for the last time. Some of their faces will be forever etched in my mind. I pray that God keeps those faces clear in my mind so that even if forget their names (some of which I could never quite pronounce just right), that I remember to pray for them and be thankful for what they have taught me!
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Happy because of all the work accomplished in building a church building and touching children's hearts in a 'very unique town.' (Tinga). David continues to call it 'Ephasus'. Tomorrow, we have three more trusses to raise and purlins to install to be ready for tin. Although this building required 3 days of foundation/floor preparation that Subinso didn't, we will be leaving only 1 day behind where we were at when we left Subinso last May. Things have gone much faster than David and Ebenezer ever expected! God has blessed us with health and a strong dedicated team who gave it their all!
Happy that the Muslim chief and elders welcomed us two weeks ago, and came today to accept our gift of school supplies, and in return they have us a huge gift (physically and monetarily)...a cow!
Happy that representatives from the district school board joined us this morning and heard the cry for more teachers for these schools...both from the chief and from David. All children across the country write the same acceptance exams to further their education. These children are trying to learn with 1/2 the teachers they need and very limited resources, while the children in Accra have a surplus of teachers and additional classes to help them have the advantage. Like David said to the area reps, the system is putting the children in this northern region in a position to only be the labourers for those in the south, yet they personally have the potential to be ministers of government, doctors, nurses, etc...if given the chance.
Happy that 5 people watching us and watching the building go up came to us wanting to find God!
Happy that we had the chance to meet Alex...one of the original visionaries and founding board members of NEA. He is an engineer and was the director of the the electric power system that runs Tamale (an area that is now almost 1 million people). He is now retired, but continues to stay busy with the many projects underway.
Happy for the opportunity to be a small part in the huge plan that God has for this part of the world and for The Church across the world. What a privilege it has been to hear David share how God works, and to know that the same God that did miraculous things in the Bible, still does them here, and back at home too if we would just listen, watch and allow Him to reveal himself! Tonight we were invited into the Mensah's home for popcorn and dessert that Brenda, Carol and Abraham had prepared. It was a wonderful social time with David sharing many stories about the house and how it came to be what it is today, his hunting expeditions and other things, but the spiritual lessons and challenges set out for us in regards to praying, fasting and being able to sleep well will never be forgotten. Knowing that no matter the challenges the next day holds, David shared that he sleeps well and he carries no stress or tension because he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is doing what God has called him to do, and whatever happens is in God's hands and for the greater purpose. Satan is always knocking at the door trying to get in by doing things like creating doubts by attempting to discredit work being done corporately, or through a foothold he has in someone's life that they are working with, but they stand firm that Satan has to flee in Jesus' name. The battle is won.
Happy to go home to be with our family, friends, work and church...ready to do what God has called us to do in our routines and do it all as unto Him...being His hands and feet everyday.
Sad because a part of us is left here once again.
Sad because we do not know if we are meant to be get to see these friends once again.
Sad because of the tears we saw in some of the young children's eyes when they realized we were leaving as they clambered around us and the truck when we pulled away from the school yard for the last time. Some of their faces will be forever etched in my mind. I pray that God keeps those faces clear in my mind so that even if forget their names (some of which I could never quite pronounce just right), that I remember to pray for them and be thankful for what they have taught me!
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Friday, February 3, 2012
Character Thursday
Another hot but breezy (therefore dusty!) day. Everyone headed to Tinga this morning, but another one of us quickly realized they were not 100% and had to sit it out, and went back to Carpenter with the little truck early. By the end of tonight, it looks like they will be fine to be back with is tomorrow.
All brick peaks are complete and the truss parts are all cut and numbered ready for assembly.
The primary classes seemed to have gone well, but Master Emmanuel did say to Shawn and I this morning that this morning only 10 from our class arrived to assembly at 7:40 this morning. He indicated that it was because we were here and the kids weren't being 'caned' for being late. That opened up an opportunity for Shawn and I to share that we were disappointed to hear that they were taking advantage of us in that way. Shawn shared how they needed to rise to the occasion for the couple of weeks with us here to learn as much as they could. They wouldn't have understood every word said, but they picked up on the theme of what we were saying. The rest of the class we kept them busy with dictation, drawing, a word search and Playdoh as we explored shapes and family.
Our junior high kids special guests today were Josh and Nolan! They shared their experiences with school, working to afford school, their aspirations and what they like/dislike about an employer. Nolan encouraged them to pursue whatever it is they really want to do, no matter what anyone else might say to discourage them. Josh shared that 'The hardest thing to do is to do the right thing when no one is watching'. That opened up for me a wonderful opportunity speak about character and they were quick to feed me great words like loyalty and honesty. I then quietly asked the class 'what happened here yesterday' (referring to the grabbing and stealing incident with our craft supplies). One boy answered, 'All of your flowers went missing' and one of the girls said 'please forgive us'. When I said 'I forgive you', the entire class said 'Thank you Madam'. We continued to speak about peer pressure as well. It was a wonderful class and their homework for me is to write a fable/story using an imaginary character and including in it a character lesson. I can't wait to hear them tomorrow.
We confirmed with Brenda the appropriateness of our gifts for the teachers and the school tomorrow. It will be our last school day, and some of the elders will be there to accept them along the teachers. Thank you for all your generous donations...we had plenty to use and leave with them, and still some left here for Brenda to distribute where needed.
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All brick peaks are complete and the truss parts are all cut and numbered ready for assembly.
The primary classes seemed to have gone well, but Master Emmanuel did say to Shawn and I this morning that this morning only 10 from our class arrived to assembly at 7:40 this morning. He indicated that it was because we were here and the kids weren't being 'caned' for being late. That opened up an opportunity for Shawn and I to share that we were disappointed to hear that they were taking advantage of us in that way. Shawn shared how they needed to rise to the occasion for the couple of weeks with us here to learn as much as they could. They wouldn't have understood every word said, but they picked up on the theme of what we were saying. The rest of the class we kept them busy with dictation, drawing, a word search and Playdoh as we explored shapes and family.
Our junior high kids special guests today were Josh and Nolan! They shared their experiences with school, working to afford school, their aspirations and what they like/dislike about an employer. Nolan encouraged them to pursue whatever it is they really want to do, no matter what anyone else might say to discourage them. Josh shared that 'The hardest thing to do is to do the right thing when no one is watching'. That opened up for me a wonderful opportunity speak about character and they were quick to feed me great words like loyalty and honesty. I then quietly asked the class 'what happened here yesterday' (referring to the grabbing and stealing incident with our craft supplies). One boy answered, 'All of your flowers went missing' and one of the girls said 'please forgive us'. When I said 'I forgive you', the entire class said 'Thank you Madam'. We continued to speak about peer pressure as well. It was a wonderful class and their homework for me is to write a fable/story using an imaginary character and including in it a character lesson. I can't wait to hear them tomorrow.
We confirmed with Brenda the appropriateness of our gifts for the teachers and the school tomorrow. It will be our last school day, and some of the elders will be there to accept them along the teachers. Thank you for all your generous donations...we had plenty to use and leave with them, and still some left here for Brenda to distribute where needed.
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Thursday, February 2, 2012
Lost in translation Wednesday
Today our topic on class was about weather...the concept of snow and icy roads is definitely lost in translation. Describing negative degree temperatures as you compare it to their refrigerator or deep freeze, still doesn't seem to help it register...it's hard for me to comprehend while we are here :)
Keith was our guest speaker in our junior high classes...the firefighter profession was also somewhat also lost in translation. Here, only large cities have fire trucks so many hadn't really seen a fire trucks and/or firefighters , and as their teacher Mary would restate what Keith would say so they could better understand, the story and descriptions would change as she tried to help everyone understand as much as they could. I was quite intrigued by his explanation of the different roles firefighters play and the ranks of command. His love for what did for 33 years, his thankfulness to God for being alive today, and his emotion expressed when he spoke about the 323 firefighters lost in the 9-11 disaster came across very well. One of the kids in Bev's class said he'd like to be a firefighter once he heard his story.
I chose to do a craft with my junior high kids once Keith was done and all went well until they asked for one more pipe cleaner as they left the class seeing as I had some extra. Unfortunately I know that my instruction of only 1 more per person was not lost in translation, but some chose to be dishonest and grab what they could...the very common mob/grab what you can get mentality kicked in. It also seems that someone also walked out with my entire bag of paper flowers. I expressed my disappointment to those that remained (although they probably weren't the guilty).8 I am now planning to discuss character, honesty and integrity after tomorrow's guest speakers...we'll see what happens. One of the girls from the class passed by the worksite as she was fetching water and I spoke to her for a moment...those watching thought she was going to say something about the incident, but instead I just spoke to her about other things...I want to speak to the class as a whole about it.
At the build site, the entire top bond beam is now complete. The front wall has the peak bricked and the back wall should be done tomorrow. Trusses are being planned out and may start going up tomorrow depending how solid the front wall is setting. Last year we had high humidity and rain a couple of times, and this would allow more time for curing...this year is very dry, so the walls seem to be more brittle seeing as the mortar dries very quickly.
Today I heard that the building crew has been enjoying donuts each morning (shaped like large Timbits)...some are crispy and some are covered in sugar. Doug was a gentleman and saved one for Pat's lunch...she shared with Bev and I...yummy!!!
We were back to the Carpenter by 4 tonight and showers were taken quickly because our dinner was served 1 1/2 hours early so that we were done in time for the 6pm Ghana game in the African Cup tournament.
While some watched the game in the convention centre, the kids were playing 'football' (our soccer) outside with Nolan, Ryan, Josh, and even Jack! I sat on the front stoop with a few other kids as they made some Ghana flags that they would attach to sticks and wave when Ghana scored. The night was quiet as usual except for the occassional rumble of a truck passing by, but the sounds of cheers and moans in reaction to the game from the conference centre and the village were heard as well. The game was a tie.
Everyone was on site and teaching today, and feeling very well although one was on light duty today because he wasn't quite 100%.
Thank you for continued prayers as we head into these last 3 work days, and I look forward to hearing how Groundhog day went today...early or late spring in the forecast? (Although we should hardly be asking that since we have hardly even had winter this year!) On a personal note, Happy Birthday Dad :) !!!
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Keith was our guest speaker in our junior high classes...the firefighter profession was also somewhat also lost in translation. Here, only large cities have fire trucks so many hadn't really seen a fire trucks and/or firefighters , and as their teacher Mary would restate what Keith would say so they could better understand, the story and descriptions would change as she tried to help everyone understand as much as they could. I was quite intrigued by his explanation of the different roles firefighters play and the ranks of command. His love for what did for 33 years, his thankfulness to God for being alive today, and his emotion expressed when he spoke about the 323 firefighters lost in the 9-11 disaster came across very well. One of the kids in Bev's class said he'd like to be a firefighter once he heard his story.
I chose to do a craft with my junior high kids once Keith was done and all went well until they asked for one more pipe cleaner as they left the class seeing as I had some extra. Unfortunately I know that my instruction of only 1 more per person was not lost in translation, but some chose to be dishonest and grab what they could...the very common mob/grab what you can get mentality kicked in. It also seems that someone also walked out with my entire bag of paper flowers. I expressed my disappointment to those that remained (although they probably weren't the guilty).8 I am now planning to discuss character, honesty and integrity after tomorrow's guest speakers...we'll see what happens. One of the girls from the class passed by the worksite as she was fetching water and I spoke to her for a moment...those watching thought she was going to say something about the incident, but instead I just spoke to her about other things...I want to speak to the class as a whole about it.
At the build site, the entire top bond beam is now complete. The front wall has the peak bricked and the back wall should be done tomorrow. Trusses are being planned out and may start going up tomorrow depending how solid the front wall is setting. Last year we had high humidity and rain a couple of times, and this would allow more time for curing...this year is very dry, so the walls seem to be more brittle seeing as the mortar dries very quickly.
Today I heard that the building crew has been enjoying donuts each morning (shaped like large Timbits)...some are crispy and some are covered in sugar. Doug was a gentleman and saved one for Pat's lunch...she shared with Bev and I...yummy!!!
We were back to the Carpenter by 4 tonight and showers were taken quickly because our dinner was served 1 1/2 hours early so that we were done in time for the 6pm Ghana game in the African Cup tournament.
While some watched the game in the convention centre, the kids were playing 'football' (our soccer) outside with Nolan, Ryan, Josh, and even Jack! I sat on the front stoop with a few other kids as they made some Ghana flags that they would attach to sticks and wave when Ghana scored. The night was quiet as usual except for the occassional rumble of a truck passing by, but the sounds of cheers and moans in reaction to the game from the conference centre and the village were heard as well. The game was a tie.
Everyone was on site and teaching today, and feeling very well although one was on light duty today because he wasn't quite 100%.
Thank you for continued prayers as we head into these last 3 work days, and I look forward to hearing how Groundhog day went today...early or late spring in the forecast? (Although we should hardly be asking that since we have hardly even had winter this year!) On a personal note, Happy Birthday Dad :) !!!
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Transportation Tuesday
Transportation was our teaching theme for today in the school. I love that when Pat asked her class 'How did I get here' and they answered 'By bus'. She was sure to explain the actual route from Canada to Ghana involved planes to cross the 'big water' as well...I suppose to them it looks like we did get here by bus as that is the way we arrive each day :). Donnie and Glenn taught us how to build a good paper airplane and by the end of today you saw most everyone in the primary schools playing with them outside.
Our junior high 'profession' speakers were Joe and Ebenezer...carpenters and business men. Yesterday David spoke about the many years of hard work it took to get his doctorate to do what he does today. Today, Ebenezer encouraged them by saying that if you like a trade and work hard to learn it, you can succeed at that and do well! Not everyone needs to be a lawyer, doctor, engineer, etc... The trades are always needed, and as Joe's boss said to him years ago, 'You'll never see a computer swing a hammer'. Ghana is growing in development, and Ebenezer has been to most of the different areas of the country to work on various projects.
Back at the worksite, Linda helped systemize the flow of concrete for the pouring of the top bond beam. Once it was flowing well, the framers of the forms were having a hard time staying ahead of the pour. They worked extremely hard today! The team earned their dinner tonight working later than usual to meet their goals so that tomorrow everyone is back in Carpenter in time to watch the next Ghana match in the African Cup...motivation gets a lot done :)
Today over 200 names of all the donors for this project were written on the blocks...thank you for all your support! Without each one we wouldn't be here building, teaching and donating approx. $5000 towards school scholarships.
Ebenezer introduced Brenda to a young teen today names Rita. She has lost her mother, father and brother and is living with friends. For this reason she dropped out of school last year. He also introduced her to the elder of the Tinga church and one of the members who is a nurse that works at the Tinga medical clinic...she will be sure that Rita gets her lunches if she starts to go to school once again. Looks like I might have a new girl in class tomorrow!
Our evening routine after dinner has been that some of us join the Ghanians who watch the African Cup games in the conference centre, some prepare school lessons and sharpen pencils for the next school day, some head back to our compound to play scrabble or cards, and Nolan, Josh and Shawn (and sometimes Donnie, Tim and Pete) stay around the main compound in their spare time and into the evening to play with the kids from Carpenter. After a hard days work, they seem to be the only ones that have the energy to do that! And to think...'God never sleeps. Simply staggering' (Louie Giglio).
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Our junior high 'profession' speakers were Joe and Ebenezer...carpenters and business men. Yesterday David spoke about the many years of hard work it took to get his doctorate to do what he does today. Today, Ebenezer encouraged them by saying that if you like a trade and work hard to learn it, you can succeed at that and do well! Not everyone needs to be a lawyer, doctor, engineer, etc... The trades are always needed, and as Joe's boss said to him years ago, 'You'll never see a computer swing a hammer'. Ghana is growing in development, and Ebenezer has been to most of the different areas of the country to work on various projects.
Back at the worksite, Linda helped systemize the flow of concrete for the pouring of the top bond beam. Once it was flowing well, the framers of the forms were having a hard time staying ahead of the pour. They worked extremely hard today! The team earned their dinner tonight working later than usual to meet their goals so that tomorrow everyone is back in Carpenter in time to watch the next Ghana match in the African Cup...motivation gets a lot done :)
Today over 200 names of all the donors for this project were written on the blocks...thank you for all your support! Without each one we wouldn't be here building, teaching and donating approx. $5000 towards school scholarships.
Ebenezer introduced Brenda to a young teen today names Rita. She has lost her mother, father and brother and is living with friends. For this reason she dropped out of school last year. He also introduced her to the elder of the Tinga church and one of the members who is a nurse that works at the Tinga medical clinic...she will be sure that Rita gets her lunches if she starts to go to school once again. Looks like I might have a new girl in class tomorrow!
Our evening routine after dinner has been that some of us join the Ghanians who watch the African Cup games in the conference centre, some prepare school lessons and sharpen pencils for the next school day, some head back to our compound to play scrabble or cards, and Nolan, Josh and Shawn (and sometimes Donnie, Tim and Pete) stay around the main compound in their spare time and into the evening to play with the kids from Carpenter. After a hard days work, they seem to be the only ones that have the energy to do that! And to think...'God never sleeps. Simply staggering' (Louie Giglio).
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday #2
Everyone was back to work and school today. The morning started with a nice refreshing breeze, but it wasn't long before the day grew very hot under a bright African sun. We have mostly has slightly overcast although bright skies so far, but today was strong direct sun. Some of the team is a slightly pinker version of themselves by the end of today. One member of the team did have to stay back at the compound today as he was unwell through the night...hopefully some rest today and he'll be back on his feet real soon.
Bev and I gave our P5 and P6 classes word search puzzles today. They had never seen one before, and once they got started, there was no stopping them! They didn't even want to stop to go for break...many stayed the whole break working diligently at it...even the teachers took a sheet and got in to it. I had given my Grade 7 class some last Friday, and today they showed me how they had completed them through the weekend! I wish I had more to give them.
Today's lesson in our junior high school classes was really special. Russ and Jack thought of the idea of bringing in different team members to the class to talk about their profession...what it took to get where they are at; what they like about it; what the challenges are...food for thought as these young people start thinking about their future.
Dr. David Mensah, both area chief and director of NEA, was our speaker today. Bev's class joined mine to hear him. It was so great hearing his educational background, his roles and how NEA is there to help them afford an education if they cannot. He asked them directly how many had lost their father (9 of approx. 50), lost their mother (3) and lost both parents (1). He encouraged them to work hard...it's not about being the smartest or the fastest to learn, it's about being willing to work hard and not give up. He was very inspiring and encouraging. He then went to Russ and Jack's class to do the same.
More of the bond beams were framed an poured today, and they called in some brick makers to make some more bricks. It was interesting to watch them work...they worked very hard. Those bricks are now curing in the sun.
Midday, a Ghanaian man approached Joe and asked if there were any bulletins or information on the church. Joe referred him to David who spoke to him. When I arrived for lunch, David had gathered some of the elders and pastors to pray for the man as he accepted the Lord and chose to join the church! You never know what a day will hold when you are just making yourself available doing what you are gifted to do :)
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Bev and I gave our P5 and P6 classes word search puzzles today. They had never seen one before, and once they got started, there was no stopping them! They didn't even want to stop to go for break...many stayed the whole break working diligently at it...even the teachers took a sheet and got in to it. I had given my Grade 7 class some last Friday, and today they showed me how they had completed them through the weekend! I wish I had more to give them.
Today's lesson in our junior high school classes was really special. Russ and Jack thought of the idea of bringing in different team members to the class to talk about their profession...what it took to get where they are at; what they like about it; what the challenges are...food for thought as these young people start thinking about their future.
Dr. David Mensah, both area chief and director of NEA, was our speaker today. Bev's class joined mine to hear him. It was so great hearing his educational background, his roles and how NEA is there to help them afford an education if they cannot. He asked them directly how many had lost their father (9 of approx. 50), lost their mother (3) and lost both parents (1). He encouraged them to work hard...it's not about being the smartest or the fastest to learn, it's about being willing to work hard and not give up. He was very inspiring and encouraging. He then went to Russ and Jack's class to do the same.
More of the bond beams were framed an poured today, and they called in some brick makers to make some more bricks. It was interesting to watch them work...they worked very hard. Those bricks are now curing in the sun.
Midday, a Ghanaian man approached Joe and asked if there were any bulletins or information on the church. Joe referred him to David who spoke to him. When I arrived for lunch, David had gathered some of the elders and pastors to pray for the man as he accepted the Lord and chose to join the church! You never know what a day will hold when you are just making yourself available doing what you are gifted to do :)
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Monday, January 30, 2012
Celebration Sunday
We were welcomed by a beautiful fresh breeze this morning...beautifully fresh!
Another wonderful breakfast prepared us for the 1/2 hour bus ride to the church we helped build last May in Subinso. Being welcomed by some of last year's volunteers that aren't working for with us this year was SO special...it really felt like home :) Sammy was one of the men that Joe worked with most of the time last year. He had hernia surgery last October when the Medical team was here, so he was unable to help this year. Our Sam brought him a hard hat to replace the one that broke last year on the jobsite. We were able to meet his wife and son as well. Jonas was there too in his traditional robes. Special to Linda and I was seeing Elvis again...he was 16 when we were here last May, and although small, he amazed us with his hard work and great attitude. Now 17, he is awaiting the opportunity to go to school. I had him speak to Brenda to be sure he understands the process required to qualify for a scholarship...apparently he was too late applying for this coming year. After working in the schools this past week, I was amazed at his ability to understand us and how well he spoke English and engaged in conversation. He certainly has a piece of my heart.
The service was beautiful. The sanctuary was full so the children stood at the doors until they were welcomed to sit on the steps on the platform. They were fun to watch. Singing their doxology, we then sang ours to open the service (Every night before dinner we've been singing it for the pastors to learn ...'Praise God from who all blessings flow...') The drums and dancing then started as they worshiped with Abraham (in the wheelchair) leading, testimonies were shared with words and song, when the offering was taken there was more music and dancing, and then Jacob opened up the sermon introducing Rans as the little bird who's song even the elders listen for. (Rans is quite a bit smaller than Jacob).
Rans shared the story of two ants he watched one day. The ants normally travel in armies yet there two ants were alone. As he watched he noticed that one was not moving well...it appeared he had a hurt leg. The second ant was well, but was watching over the crippled one. The sun was hot, so the healthy ant pushed the crippled one under a leaf into the shade. The story was about how we need to care for each other. When Noah built the ark, it was to save humanity as God ordered him to...he obeyed by availing himself to God's instructions. He compared the new church building to the ark. Sitting right in the middle of Subinso No.1 & Subinso No.2, the church is like an ark to help save the people of the area. People available to help other people...just like the ant did...just as we did by helping fund and build a building they would not have been able to afford for many many years on their own.
The commissioning occurred at the end of the service with representatives of the chief helping cut the ribbon and David annointing the front door with oil. We then mingled with everyone again before meeting under the mango tree where we had lunch every day the year before. Brenda had made her amazing sandwiches and banana muffins for us to have lunch.
Pete and I pulled away from the group for a few minutes to bring a family some gifts from Cassie and Elizabeth who had met last them last year. When we walked up to their house, the parents were laying on the cool concrete of their porch and Malia (the young girl they had spent time with) was just being bathed. I introduced ourselves by saying Malia's name, and they immediately recognized us as friends. Malia looked around and found some pants to put on and her sister put a green dress over her head. Her mother then asked that sister to get a different dress out of the house...a really pretty cream coloured one...obviously her best dress. While they were dressing Malia in front of us, they brought us chairs to sit on. Once Malia was dressed, we showed her and all the kids that gathered around the pictures that Cassie and Elizabeth had printed of them from last year. The older kids immediately recognized them and named Madam Cassie and Madam Elizabeth. It was so amazing :). They hadn't forgotten! We then took pictures, left them their gift and left them a very happy family. Thank you Cassie and Elizabeth for that opportunity.
After lunch we walked down the highway to the creek that runs between Subinso No.1 and Subinso No.2 and Jacob and Peter walked into the waters with Shawn Noble as he was baptized. David's words of instruction, prayers and blessing were words that worked in all our hearts. It was very special.
Coming back to the compound, many of us had a nap and at 5 the teachers met up to review the coming week's plans. Before we ate dinner, David had us gather around to pray for needs shared by us and the young pastors...another beautiful moment. Dinner was fabulous once again.
Rested, inspired and ready for more hard work this coming week, everyone continues to be doing very well! Thank you all!
Kim
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Another wonderful breakfast prepared us for the 1/2 hour bus ride to the church we helped build last May in Subinso. Being welcomed by some of last year's volunteers that aren't working for with us this year was SO special...it really felt like home :) Sammy was one of the men that Joe worked with most of the time last year. He had hernia surgery last October when the Medical team was here, so he was unable to help this year. Our Sam brought him a hard hat to replace the one that broke last year on the jobsite. We were able to meet his wife and son as well. Jonas was there too in his traditional robes. Special to Linda and I was seeing Elvis again...he was 16 when we were here last May, and although small, he amazed us with his hard work and great attitude. Now 17, he is awaiting the opportunity to go to school. I had him speak to Brenda to be sure he understands the process required to qualify for a scholarship...apparently he was too late applying for this coming year. After working in the schools this past week, I was amazed at his ability to understand us and how well he spoke English and engaged in conversation. He certainly has a piece of my heart.
The service was beautiful. The sanctuary was full so the children stood at the doors until they were welcomed to sit on the steps on the platform. They were fun to watch. Singing their doxology, we then sang ours to open the service (Every night before dinner we've been singing it for the pastors to learn ...'Praise God from who all blessings flow...') The drums and dancing then started as they worshiped with Abraham (in the wheelchair) leading, testimonies were shared with words and song, when the offering was taken there was more music and dancing, and then Jacob opened up the sermon introducing Rans as the little bird who's song even the elders listen for. (Rans is quite a bit smaller than Jacob).
Rans shared the story of two ants he watched one day. The ants normally travel in armies yet there two ants were alone. As he watched he noticed that one was not moving well...it appeared he had a hurt leg. The second ant was well, but was watching over the crippled one. The sun was hot, so the healthy ant pushed the crippled one under a leaf into the shade. The story was about how we need to care for each other. When Noah built the ark, it was to save humanity as God ordered him to...he obeyed by availing himself to God's instructions. He compared the new church building to the ark. Sitting right in the middle of Subinso No.1 & Subinso No.2, the church is like an ark to help save the people of the area. People available to help other people...just like the ant did...just as we did by helping fund and build a building they would not have been able to afford for many many years on their own.
The commissioning occurred at the end of the service with representatives of the chief helping cut the ribbon and David annointing the front door with oil. We then mingled with everyone again before meeting under the mango tree where we had lunch every day the year before. Brenda had made her amazing sandwiches and banana muffins for us to have lunch.
Pete and I pulled away from the group for a few minutes to bring a family some gifts from Cassie and Elizabeth who had met last them last year. When we walked up to their house, the parents were laying on the cool concrete of their porch and Malia (the young girl they had spent time with) was just being bathed. I introduced ourselves by saying Malia's name, and they immediately recognized us as friends. Malia looked around and found some pants to put on and her sister put a green dress over her head. Her mother then asked that sister to get a different dress out of the house...a really pretty cream coloured one...obviously her best dress. While they were dressing Malia in front of us, they brought us chairs to sit on. Once Malia was dressed, we showed her and all the kids that gathered around the pictures that Cassie and Elizabeth had printed of them from last year. The older kids immediately recognized them and named Madam Cassie and Madam Elizabeth. It was so amazing :). They hadn't forgotten! We then took pictures, left them their gift and left them a very happy family. Thank you Cassie and Elizabeth for that opportunity.
After lunch we walked down the highway to the creek that runs between Subinso No.1 and Subinso No.2 and Jacob and Peter walked into the waters with Shawn Noble as he was baptized. David's words of instruction, prayers and blessing were words that worked in all our hearts. It was very special.
Coming back to the compound, many of us had a nap and at 5 the teachers met up to review the coming week's plans. Before we ate dinner, David had us gather around to pray for needs shared by us and the young pastors...another beautiful moment. Dinner was fabulous once again.
Rested, inspired and ready for more hard work this coming week, everyone continues to be doing very well! Thank you all!
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Friday & Saturday - Days of Peace, Reconciliation and Organization
The larger villages have 'market day' on a certain day of the week...in Tinga it's on Friday and is just up the hill north of the building site. Dried herbs, tomatoes, corn (maize), millets, small and large fish and many other things I couldn't identify are laid out on tables and tarps on the ground. As you walk through the maze of the market, you see new and used clothing, sandals made of rubber tires, beautiful fabrics and other nick-nacks piled on tarps or in booths. Different from Subinso were the Nigerian women selling their wares too. They do stand out from the Ghanaians because of their dress, style of hair and tattoos on their faces. I had noticed some of their beautiful young teens girls and children walking on a path by the school fetching water throughout the week. I never would have thought that the women from 2 West African countries could look so different.
Some of the ladies on the team bought fabric, but the most special thing found at the market was another special story...a lady, Veronica, approached Jacqueline excitedly thinking that Jacqueline she was Susan from the medical team. She was excited to share that she was doing well after her hernia operation last year :). It was also special for us teachers to see some our students there to and some introduced some of us to their families.
David did not join us in Tinga today as he was called to the Peace Centre at New Longoro to be the mediator and final decision maker for some chiefs. He has been instrumental in resolving large conflicts in the past, but he admitted tonight that he was nervous about this meeting. For the first time ever, he brought in his Bible and quoted scripture...'Blessed are the peacemakers...' and a Proverb as well. Part way through the meeting, one of the men stood and apologized for he felt he was the main reason they were all there. Other men opened up too as David invited them all to share their part so that he could make a wise decision. Many years of hurt, anger and frustration were released and as David said, 'They were cleansed of it all', and they hugged each other and when the meeting was over, it was like a celebration or party! Amazing!
David also shared how many of the churches here have started by drunken men who are looking for a way to overcome their drinking. As a drunk, these men beat their wives and children, and do not work as they should on their farms to provide for their family. Out of their desperate need, they come to Jesus and He does. They are new men...whole families and communities are affected and others want the same transformation and the churches grow. Brenda said that the pastors are tracking the new churches and their number of members to determine where the next build project is needed first.
David also spoke about how God uses all of our abilities...we are all extremely important to the work happening here. There is no favoritism for any of the teams that come out. The medical team is no more important than the build team or the teaching team, or vice versa, etc...God uses all of our talents and abilities and our availability is a blessing to many.
The bond beam on the south side of church was framed and poured on Friday and all the painting and creasoting is complete. Saturday the north side bond beam was completed. Things continue to go very well.
Friday was craft day in the school...for some of us it was a great day, but as Jack said tonight after dinner 'There are days that the teachers win, and days that the children win...today the children won'. The funniest story and craziest part of their day was when a lizard (gecko) came into their class and 50 grade 1 kids were moving desks to kill it, stepping on it, and finally went outside to get rocks to stone it. Those children beat not only the teachers today, but the lizard too. Hearing Jack tell the story is extremely funny!!!
Kindness and manners..our lesson in class Friday. I started by praising them for the great respect they show to their elders and they appreciated that with big smiles. Then I added a big 'but' and spoke about how they treated each other. We wrote on the board words that describe kindness and they then drew pictures showing acts of kindness. When it was time to do their craft, the usual grabbing and mobbing for materials happened once again (manners and kindness forgotten), so we waited until they settled into their desks again before we continued to let them move on in their craft and as the class watched me, I took up one of the boys crafts...instead of 3 stickers like he should have had, he had seven...I just looked at him and said 'why?'. He was not the only one who had taken more than they should...you could see the shame coming over their faces. Our disappointment and discussion about not being able to trust them humbled them and the rest of the class time went much better. The actual student I challenged later came to me to say 'sorry', and I was so glad that we could show them discipline without the traditional caning or hitting they are used to. A great lesson learned...we'll see how they are on Monday once again.
Saturday must have been he hottest day here yet...not sure of the exact temperature, but the sun was very intense midday. Being Saturday, the teachers were not in class, but joined with the construction team and some of them worked on the building site, while others returned to the school to repair desks at the primary school. A few of the students were there to watch, and one was even sitting at his desk reading...many of them really want to learn...if they make it to higher levels of education as they come through the education system here in northern Ghana, they have really done well!
Glenn, Pat, Bev and I stayed on Carpenter to sort through the school supplies we brought along with the supplies we brought last May and things Brenda had from previous teams. It was a full day, but work that we 'Beavers' really enjoyed doing...not much brings us more pleasure than organizing things :)
Dinner was special as we celebrated Sam & Pete's birthdays with streamers, balloons, party poppers and chocolate cakes Brenda lovingly baked for them today along with banana muffins for the Ghanaians who do not like chocolate!!!
The dinner hall emptied quickly because the 2nd game for Ghana was playing in the African Cup. First half 0-0, and second half ended 2-0 for Ghana. I enjoy their reactions when Ghana scores ;). I hang around trying to get a great picture of their reactions, but it happens so quickly that I haven't really caught it yet.
Tomorrow we get to sleep in with breakfast at 8 instead of 6:30, and we will be heading to Subinso for thier commissioning service, and possibly another baptism. It will be so great to worship in the building we built last May, and I'm sure we will see some familiar faces that we haven't seen yet. I also have a special delivery from Cassie and Elizabeth to give to a family that they got to know last year :)
Everyone is ready for a day of rest, and thankfully everyone is doing very well :)
Walking to dinner Saturday night, there was an amazing African sunset!
Thank you again for all your thoughts, support and prayers,
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Some of the ladies on the team bought fabric, but the most special thing found at the market was another special story...a lady, Veronica, approached Jacqueline excitedly thinking that Jacqueline she was Susan from the medical team. She was excited to share that she was doing well after her hernia operation last year :). It was also special for us teachers to see some our students there to and some introduced some of us to their families.
David did not join us in Tinga today as he was called to the Peace Centre at New Longoro to be the mediator and final decision maker for some chiefs. He has been instrumental in resolving large conflicts in the past, but he admitted tonight that he was nervous about this meeting. For the first time ever, he brought in his Bible and quoted scripture...'Blessed are the peacemakers...' and a Proverb as well. Part way through the meeting, one of the men stood and apologized for he felt he was the main reason they were all there. Other men opened up too as David invited them all to share their part so that he could make a wise decision. Many years of hurt, anger and frustration were released and as David said, 'They were cleansed of it all', and they hugged each other and when the meeting was over, it was like a celebration or party! Amazing!
David also shared how many of the churches here have started by drunken men who are looking for a way to overcome their drinking. As a drunk, these men beat their wives and children, and do not work as they should on their farms to provide for their family. Out of their desperate need, they come to Jesus and He does. They are new men...whole families and communities are affected and others want the same transformation and the churches grow. Brenda said that the pastors are tracking the new churches and their number of members to determine where the next build project is needed first.
David also spoke about how God uses all of our abilities...we are all extremely important to the work happening here. There is no favoritism for any of the teams that come out. The medical team is no more important than the build team or the teaching team, or vice versa, etc...God uses all of our talents and abilities and our availability is a blessing to many.
The bond beam on the south side of church was framed and poured on Friday and all the painting and creasoting is complete. Saturday the north side bond beam was completed. Things continue to go very well.
Friday was craft day in the school...for some of us it was a great day, but as Jack said tonight after dinner 'There are days that the teachers win, and days that the children win...today the children won'. The funniest story and craziest part of their day was when a lizard (gecko) came into their class and 50 grade 1 kids were moving desks to kill it, stepping on it, and finally went outside to get rocks to stone it. Those children beat not only the teachers today, but the lizard too. Hearing Jack tell the story is extremely funny!!!
Kindness and manners..our lesson in class Friday. I started by praising them for the great respect they show to their elders and they appreciated that with big smiles. Then I added a big 'but' and spoke about how they treated each other. We wrote on the board words that describe kindness and they then drew pictures showing acts of kindness. When it was time to do their craft, the usual grabbing and mobbing for materials happened once again (manners and kindness forgotten), so we waited until they settled into their desks again before we continued to let them move on in their craft and as the class watched me, I took up one of the boys crafts...instead of 3 stickers like he should have had, he had seven...I just looked at him and said 'why?'. He was not the only one who had taken more than they should...you could see the shame coming over their faces. Our disappointment and discussion about not being able to trust them humbled them and the rest of the class time went much better. The actual student I challenged later came to me to say 'sorry', and I was so glad that we could show them discipline without the traditional caning or hitting they are used to. A great lesson learned...we'll see how they are on Monday once again.
Saturday must have been he hottest day here yet...not sure of the exact temperature, but the sun was very intense midday. Being Saturday, the teachers were not in class, but joined with the construction team and some of them worked on the building site, while others returned to the school to repair desks at the primary school. A few of the students were there to watch, and one was even sitting at his desk reading...many of them really want to learn...if they make it to higher levels of education as they come through the education system here in northern Ghana, they have really done well!
Glenn, Pat, Bev and I stayed on Carpenter to sort through the school supplies we brought along with the supplies we brought last May and things Brenda had from previous teams. It was a full day, but work that we 'Beavers' really enjoyed doing...not much brings us more pleasure than organizing things :)
Dinner was special as we celebrated Sam & Pete's birthdays with streamers, balloons, party poppers and chocolate cakes Brenda lovingly baked for them today along with banana muffins for the Ghanaians who do not like chocolate!!!
The dinner hall emptied quickly because the 2nd game for Ghana was playing in the African Cup. First half 0-0, and second half ended 2-0 for Ghana. I enjoy their reactions when Ghana scores ;). I hang around trying to get a great picture of their reactions, but it happens so quickly that I haven't really caught it yet.
Tomorrow we get to sleep in with breakfast at 8 instead of 6:30, and we will be heading to Subinso for thier commissioning service, and possibly another baptism. It will be so great to worship in the building we built last May, and I'm sure we will see some familiar faces that we haven't seen yet. I also have a special delivery from Cassie and Elizabeth to give to a family that they got to know last year :)
Everyone is ready for a day of rest, and thankfully everyone is doing very well :)
Walking to dinner Saturday night, there was an amazing African sunset!
Thank you again for all your thoughts, support and prayers,
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thankful Thursday
Imagine this...35 degrees in the shade, cool bottles of water and hot homemade/homegrown/pesticide & hormone-free meals and fresh fruit served three times a day. These are just some of the material things we are thankful for everyday while we are here :). The biggest blessing being here iwatching and listening to David and Brenda as they encourage us, love the people here and show us by example what love, true gratitude and servant hearts look like.
Just this morning on the drive into Tinga, we were following David up the road and many of us saw a hawk-like bird fly at his truck. It had lodged itself between his driver side mirror and the window, but David shares that if it's legs hadn't been caught like that, it would have flown straight into his face and probably caused an accident. When asking David about it, his first words were to thank God for His protection. (He grabbed the bird and kept it...someone enjoyed it as a meal today).
Something really special when we got to the school yard this morning was meeting Aziz. He is a boy in Bev's Primary 5 class. Posted on the wall in the classroom are the kid's marks for first term...Aziz is one of the top kids in his class. He has managed to do this even though his past year he was in hospital for treatment and a second time for surgery! Aziz was presented to the 2010 Medical Team unable to speak or swallow anything. I may be wrong on some of the exact details, but I understand that the medical team thought he may have been poisoned by something and sent him with funds to the hospital for treatment. He was being fed by a feeding tube in his stomach when David & Brenda saw him last April in Tinga, and NEA helped subsidize the family's savings to afford the surgery he needed. We could see the scar on the left side of his neck/collarbone area and he is well today. Just another example of another beautiful life saved with the help of our annual Ghana Medical Team!!!
On the building site, the window frames are all installed, all the walls are going up quickly and the bond beam will be framed and poured tomorrow. It really is amazing how many hands and motivated hearts make things happen!
Classes continue and progress is made. Today both Bev and I loved working with our small groups in the late morning session. To sit under a tree around a table, have a chance to really get to look each student in the eye, get a better chance to know their names, and really see how they are doing and having a chance to work on helping them is so special...this kind of teaching is so much more the type of teaching I am designed for. I pray that these 45 minute sessions really help each one of them, and in turn the class as a whole.
Out of today's session, Bev and I have decided that tomorrow's lesson topic in the class will be 'kindness' and 'manners'. The children here are extremely respectful to authority and their elders, but not so nice to each other. They won't let us carry our bags and jump up to help if we go to move a chair or anything like that, but when another child is struggling or makes a mistake in their schoolwork, they make jeering comments and may even hit that student on the head while telling them they should know the answer! They come by it honestly though...the teachers speak very gruffly to them, hit them on the head to get their attention or in discipline, hurry them along in their work and even in their printed materials or in sentences on the board they write things like 'If you are late to class, your teacher will beat you'. (This was a sample of a compound sentence). I'm not sure what effect my lesson or heart shaped craft may have on them, but hopefully along with the way we handle them and conduct class, they will at least see there is another way to deal with things. I will be using the verses on what love is from 1 Corinthians 13. We'll see what happens!!!
After dinner, Glenn was sharing with Carol Mensah how much things have changed since he was here in 2000. The fact that the Ghanaian pastors were once again gathered in the conference hall to watch the African Cup, almost a dozen channels are available to anyone who might have a tv connected to an antenna or even a satellite (we've seen them perched on mud huts), and the fact that cell phones are about half as common as we are used to in Canada is truly amazing. Today as we teachers headed back to Carpenter, we saw at least 500 cattle on both sides of the road being led by the African equivalent of shepherds/cowboys. Stephen stopped our truck and we got out to take pictures to see not only the hundreds of cows, but the herdsmen work. They didn't have horses, but they had staffs, wore long traditional dress and headpieces and called out orders to the cattle to cross the road or move around. You could see that they travel and sleep under the stars as they herd the cows...they had tied their sleeping mats and bags on the backs of some of the cows like you would a donkey. The craziest part of the picture was that as one of these herdsmen were leading some of the cattle across the road, he was talking on a cell phone!!!
Another great day...everyone continues to feel well (no one has been sick at all that I have heard!), but today it seems that Jack may have been bit on his back by some ants or something. He felt the burning sensation on the drive home, Bev gave him an antihistamine, and although I forgot to ask about it at dinner, he certainly seemed just fine this evening :)
We appreciate your prayers and we are aware that God is answering them as we continue to work our way through our assignments with grateful hearts and with an eye to see what God is doing through it all...both in us, and in those around us!
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Just this morning on the drive into Tinga, we were following David up the road and many of us saw a hawk-like bird fly at his truck. It had lodged itself between his driver side mirror and the window, but David shares that if it's legs hadn't been caught like that, it would have flown straight into his face and probably caused an accident. When asking David about it, his first words were to thank God for His protection. (He grabbed the bird and kept it...someone enjoyed it as a meal today).
Something really special when we got to the school yard this morning was meeting Aziz. He is a boy in Bev's Primary 5 class. Posted on the wall in the classroom are the kid's marks for first term...Aziz is one of the top kids in his class. He has managed to do this even though his past year he was in hospital for treatment and a second time for surgery! Aziz was presented to the 2010 Medical Team unable to speak or swallow anything. I may be wrong on some of the exact details, but I understand that the medical team thought he may have been poisoned by something and sent him with funds to the hospital for treatment. He was being fed by a feeding tube in his stomach when David & Brenda saw him last April in Tinga, and NEA helped subsidize the family's savings to afford the surgery he needed. We could see the scar on the left side of his neck/collarbone area and he is well today. Just another example of another beautiful life saved with the help of our annual Ghana Medical Team!!!
On the building site, the window frames are all installed, all the walls are going up quickly and the bond beam will be framed and poured tomorrow. It really is amazing how many hands and motivated hearts make things happen!
Classes continue and progress is made. Today both Bev and I loved working with our small groups in the late morning session. To sit under a tree around a table, have a chance to really get to look each student in the eye, get a better chance to know their names, and really see how they are doing and having a chance to work on helping them is so special...this kind of teaching is so much more the type of teaching I am designed for. I pray that these 45 minute sessions really help each one of them, and in turn the class as a whole.
Out of today's session, Bev and I have decided that tomorrow's lesson topic in the class will be 'kindness' and 'manners'. The children here are extremely respectful to authority and their elders, but not so nice to each other. They won't let us carry our bags and jump up to help if we go to move a chair or anything like that, but when another child is struggling or makes a mistake in their schoolwork, they make jeering comments and may even hit that student on the head while telling them they should know the answer! They come by it honestly though...the teachers speak very gruffly to them, hit them on the head to get their attention or in discipline, hurry them along in their work and even in their printed materials or in sentences on the board they write things like 'If you are late to class, your teacher will beat you'. (This was a sample of a compound sentence). I'm not sure what effect my lesson or heart shaped craft may have on them, but hopefully along with the way we handle them and conduct class, they will at least see there is another way to deal with things. I will be using the verses on what love is from 1 Corinthians 13. We'll see what happens!!!
After dinner, Glenn was sharing with Carol Mensah how much things have changed since he was here in 2000. The fact that the Ghanaian pastors were once again gathered in the conference hall to watch the African Cup, almost a dozen channels are available to anyone who might have a tv connected to an antenna or even a satellite (we've seen them perched on mud huts), and the fact that cell phones are about half as common as we are used to in Canada is truly amazing. Today as we teachers headed back to Carpenter, we saw at least 500 cattle on both sides of the road being led by the African equivalent of shepherds/cowboys. Stephen stopped our truck and we got out to take pictures to see not only the hundreds of cows, but the herdsmen work. They didn't have horses, but they had staffs, wore long traditional dress and headpieces and called out orders to the cattle to cross the road or move around. You could see that they travel and sleep under the stars as they herd the cows...they had tied their sleeping mats and bags on the backs of some of the cows like you would a donkey. The craziest part of the picture was that as one of these herdsmen were leading some of the cattle across the road, he was talking on a cell phone!!!
Another great day...everyone continues to feel well (no one has been sick at all that I have heard!), but today it seems that Jack may have been bit on his back by some ants or something. He felt the burning sensation on the drive home, Bev gave him an antihistamine, and although I forgot to ask about it at dinner, he certainly seemed just fine this evening :)
We appreciate your prayers and we are aware that God is answering them as we continue to work our way through our assignments with grateful hearts and with an eye to see what God is doing through it all...both in us, and in those around us!
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Walls up Wednesday!
Driving back to the jobsite for lunch just after noon today, we teachers were amazed at the progress the builders were making! By lunch the one side of the main section of the church was 4-5 blocks high and the window openings were being created. The second side was about 2 blocks high. David reminded us at supper that he thought that the very hard job of pouring the floor would be the extent of this week's work, and the walls would only be started next week...the builder's reminded him that they were hoping to have the roof on like the Subinso project, even of this one started in a less prepared state. Experience, and less hot and humid weather would makes the way for this build to go more quickly than Subinso, plus we had to have to get the walls up because we have to write all our donors names on them!!!
Thankfully, everyone is well and blisters are still the biggest injury I've heard of. Keith is doing a great job taking care of doctoring them up as best as possible.
Back at the school, we continue to evaluate our programs and we teachers have met, shared and tried to help each other out...it's a great team!
Jack and Russ who teach Primary 1 in a seperate building from the rest of us are champs! Tag teaming their lessons in class and to cover moments when the neighbouring kindergarten class doesn't have a teacher (or she is taking time to check them out in their class), being seen leading the kids from the classroom marching and chanting 'Ghana loves football, Canada loves hockey' and having the kids so fired up that we had to struggle to get to the truck for our lunch time pick up! (Today as Bev and I slid into the back seat and quickly shut our doors, we took a deep breath, and as we looked at each other we commented that we were getting a taste of what it must be like to be a rock-star, and why they need body guards! It was crazy!!!), Jack and Russ have also been able to get order in their class of over 50 kids the instant they put up their 'trunks' to sing 'Skinner-marinky-dinky-dink'! They are a lot of fun and they are doing some great teaching! They are diligent at preparing their lessons...even when it means spending their evening drawing 50+ elephants on paper for the students to colour the next day. In the afternoon they tackle the opposite spectrum by teaching Junior High 3 (Grade 9)!
Glenn and Donnie are in Primary 2 and are a dynamic duo. Donnie admits having a challenge understanding the kids sometimes, but they watch his every move and even though they hardly know Glenn's name, they know Donnie's...sometimes calling him Johnny. Their humour and fun loving attitude attracts even the teacher to class. The teacher is taking notes, wants to know all the songs and even colours his own coloring sheet along with the kids!
Brenda has Primary 3 all on her own. She is the most experienced and it shows...her class seems to always be attentive and her black board is neatly organized with all kinds of great lessons. Another advantage she has is that she can recognize 2 of the 3 dialects spoken in the class and can ask them to 'sit down' and say other commands in their native language. She has been such a great help to us with her advice, organization and by supplying so many additional school supplies from precious teams over the years.
Pat is alone in Primary 4. She has a smaller class of 22 in a tiny classroom that was most likely designed as a storage room or office. Her blackboard is 1/2 the size of ours and the room is very narrow...fortunately there are windows and a door for light and circulation. Pat's creative and practical ideas balanced with a whole lot of singing, praise and love is fabulous! She beams when she shares stories from her class and inspires us all!
Bev and Ryan are in Primary 5, and have monitoring systems in place to keep their class in order...advice on how to walk between the aisles to see the work bring done and how to hand out stickers without creating a mob are great! In the afternoon they cover Junior High 2 (Grade 8)...these students speak english well and are learning how to compose compound sentences, but when it comes to writing, many are lost. Try doing dictation of basic words that they can read and put into sentences, but they can't understand what you are saying because of your accent! The blank look on their faces is really surprising and it's hard to figure out how to handle it.
Shawn and I are in Primary 6 and my challenge is coming up with enough teaching material, songs and activities to cover 4 hours of teaching time in English alone, and how to make it understandable to all 35. I have a young man, Kussain who really is brilliant...he understands our accent and repeats what we say so the rest can understand, shows us where and how to find or do things, and takes charge in the class when he feels we are not. Honestly he is a great help, but it's hard to set up lessons when you have a couple that are advanced, many others who are far behind and the rest somewhere in the middle. (I hope he continues to help me now that just today I denied his request to buy him a bicycle!). I'm excited about tomorrow when we try changing it up a by teaching the class the first 2 hours, have them take their 1/2 hour brunch break and then take 5 at a time in a small group outside to really be able to get to know them individually, and be able to meet their needs in an almost one on one situation. I am still wondering about how to go to work with my Junior high 1 (Grade 7) class tomorrow...although some in the class look to be 16 at least, when Ryan came in to help me pass the last 15 minutes of class by helping me teach them how to make a simple paper airplane, we found they couldn't even follow simple instructions to fold up the paper. Communication and lack of creativity seem to our biggest challenges...our accents and them not ever having been offered the opportunity to think creatively in a classroom (everything is learned by repetition) is really a challenge to overcome.
Ryan and Shawn are going to attempt to help with the kindergarten for the first time time tomorrow as Bev and I try to do our small groups teaching...I pray that it goes really well for them!
Thank you for your continued prayers! We are enjoying good health, the weather is fabulous, the bugs are few and far between, and Abraham is doing a fantastic job creating great meals for us!!!
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thankfully, everyone is well and blisters are still the biggest injury I've heard of. Keith is doing a great job taking care of doctoring them up as best as possible.
Back at the school, we continue to evaluate our programs and we teachers have met, shared and tried to help each other out...it's a great team!
Jack and Russ who teach Primary 1 in a seperate building from the rest of us are champs! Tag teaming their lessons in class and to cover moments when the neighbouring kindergarten class doesn't have a teacher (or she is taking time to check them out in their class), being seen leading the kids from the classroom marching and chanting 'Ghana loves football, Canada loves hockey' and having the kids so fired up that we had to struggle to get to the truck for our lunch time pick up! (Today as Bev and I slid into the back seat and quickly shut our doors, we took a deep breath, and as we looked at each other we commented that we were getting a taste of what it must be like to be a rock-star, and why they need body guards! It was crazy!!!), Jack and Russ have also been able to get order in their class of over 50 kids the instant they put up their 'trunks' to sing 'Skinner-marinky-dinky-dink'! They are a lot of fun and they are doing some great teaching! They are diligent at preparing their lessons...even when it means spending their evening drawing 50+ elephants on paper for the students to colour the next day. In the afternoon they tackle the opposite spectrum by teaching Junior High 3 (Grade 9)!
Glenn and Donnie are in Primary 2 and are a dynamic duo. Donnie admits having a challenge understanding the kids sometimes, but they watch his every move and even though they hardly know Glenn's name, they know Donnie's...sometimes calling him Johnny. Their humour and fun loving attitude attracts even the teacher to class. The teacher is taking notes, wants to know all the songs and even colours his own coloring sheet along with the kids!
Brenda has Primary 3 all on her own. She is the most experienced and it shows...her class seems to always be attentive and her black board is neatly organized with all kinds of great lessons. Another advantage she has is that she can recognize 2 of the 3 dialects spoken in the class and can ask them to 'sit down' and say other commands in their native language. She has been such a great help to us with her advice, organization and by supplying so many additional school supplies from precious teams over the years.
Pat is alone in Primary 4. She has a smaller class of 22 in a tiny classroom that was most likely designed as a storage room or office. Her blackboard is 1/2 the size of ours and the room is very narrow...fortunately there are windows and a door for light and circulation. Pat's creative and practical ideas balanced with a whole lot of singing, praise and love is fabulous! She beams when she shares stories from her class and inspires us all!
Bev and Ryan are in Primary 5, and have monitoring systems in place to keep their class in order...advice on how to walk between the aisles to see the work bring done and how to hand out stickers without creating a mob are great! In the afternoon they cover Junior High 2 (Grade 8)...these students speak english well and are learning how to compose compound sentences, but when it comes to writing, many are lost. Try doing dictation of basic words that they can read and put into sentences, but they can't understand what you are saying because of your accent! The blank look on their faces is really surprising and it's hard to figure out how to handle it.
Shawn and I are in Primary 6 and my challenge is coming up with enough teaching material, songs and activities to cover 4 hours of teaching time in English alone, and how to make it understandable to all 35. I have a young man, Kussain who really is brilliant...he understands our accent and repeats what we say so the rest can understand, shows us where and how to find or do things, and takes charge in the class when he feels we are not. Honestly he is a great help, but it's hard to set up lessons when you have a couple that are advanced, many others who are far behind and the rest somewhere in the middle. (I hope he continues to help me now that just today I denied his request to buy him a bicycle!). I'm excited about tomorrow when we try changing it up a by teaching the class the first 2 hours, have them take their 1/2 hour brunch break and then take 5 at a time in a small group outside to really be able to get to know them individually, and be able to meet their needs in an almost one on one situation. I am still wondering about how to go to work with my Junior high 1 (Grade 7) class tomorrow...although some in the class look to be 16 at least, when Ryan came in to help me pass the last 15 minutes of class by helping me teach them how to make a simple paper airplane, we found they couldn't even follow simple instructions to fold up the paper. Communication and lack of creativity seem to our biggest challenges...our accents and them not ever having been offered the opportunity to think creatively in a classroom (everything is learned by repetition) is really a challenge to overcome.
Ryan and Shawn are going to attempt to help with the kindergarten for the first time time tomorrow as Bev and I try to do our small groups teaching...I pray that it goes really well for them!
Thank you for your continued prayers! We are enjoying good health, the weather is fabulous, the bugs are few and far between, and Abraham is doing a fantastic job creating great meals for us!!!
Kim
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tournament Tuesday
Today was an early start for an early ending day...we had to leave the jobsite by 3 so that the Ghanaians could get back to the compound in time to watch the 4:00 start of the African Cup...a bi-annual three week tournament played between 16 African countries. Ghana was playing against Botswana...apparently a highly favored match to watch! (I write this as I sit in the conference building watching it with them...they get pretty fired up when they score! Off their chairs and everything!!!). Ghana just won!
Our morning started with a 6:30 am breakfast and a 7:15 departure time. The bus dropped us to the school so the building team got to see the very excited children awaiting our arrival. Shawn and I covered the Grade 6 class from 8am-noon, and I was alone in the Grade 7 class in the afternoon from 1:15-2. Let's just say there were moments I really felt that we were doing just great, and other moments where I wondered what I could possibly be doing there! I think all the teachers would agree that tomorrow we will be even more prepared. Sharing our day's experiences was very valuable...not only was it encouraging that everyone felt much the same way, but great tips and tricks were also shared.
I suppose what Harvey Mackay says is true:
"One sure-fire way to stay creative: force yourself to learn something new." I am certainly learning something new, and need to be creative!
The building team was busy with more concrete poured on the floor, and window and door frames were built. Things are moving along very well. The only injuries this far seems to be some blistering from hammering the very hard African mohogamy wood, or from sharpening hundreds of pencils for the teachers :)
Thank you all for your continuing thoughts and prayers.
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Our morning started with a 6:30 am breakfast and a 7:15 departure time. The bus dropped us to the school so the building team got to see the very excited children awaiting our arrival. Shawn and I covered the Grade 6 class from 8am-noon, and I was alone in the Grade 7 class in the afternoon from 1:15-2. Let's just say there were moments I really felt that we were doing just great, and other moments where I wondered what I could possibly be doing there! I think all the teachers would agree that tomorrow we will be even more prepared. Sharing our day's experiences was very valuable...not only was it encouraging that everyone felt much the same way, but great tips and tricks were also shared.
I suppose what Harvey Mackay says is true:
"One sure-fire way to stay creative: force yourself to learn something new." I am certainly learning something new, and need to be creative!
The building team was busy with more concrete poured on the floor, and window and door frames were built. Things are moving along very well. The only injuries this far seems to be some blistering from hammering the very hard African mohogamy wood, or from sharpening hundreds of pencils for the teachers :)
Thank you all for your continuing thoughts and prayers.
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Orientation Monday
Sitting at dinner tonight, Tim said something that sums things up..."I feel like I've already been here for a week". He explained that he had seen and done so much already, that it felt that way.
Today was a sleep-in day (breakfast was set for 8 am) because we would be starting the day by meeting the chief of Tinga as is customary for us to do since we'd be working in his village. The drive to Tinga was only about 30 minutes north of Carpenter, and I must say that I was very surprised when we entered the town!
David called Tinga a place of commerce...our Ephasus. As we entered the town, there were many attractive new buildings being built with brick and tin...much like what we would be building. Cell phone towers were part of the landscape and we saw a beautiful mango tree being cut down with a chain saw to make room for another build. Along the very busy main street, it was very unusual for us to see young children (aged 8-12) exchanging money with the vendors as they bought their rice sauce lunches that they carried in plastic bags or steel or plastic containers they brought with them. Familiar were the goats, sheep and chickens running around, but to see stores selling 'authorized chemicals' (whatever that meant) and most anything else you could think of, along with cars, motorbikes and trucks lining the street, was very different from the northern villages we have spent time in. One store was selling machinery used for crushing rocks into gravel, and the biggest surprise was that the vendors were Chinese!
Quite recently gold has been discovered just east of the town of Tinga, so it acts as a gateway to many getting in on the action. It really reminded me of the fictional historic novels I read long ago about the gold rush days with pioneers and settlers coming from all over to find their fortune. In this true story, the settlers are the Chinese who have rented space and built neighborhoods to live in.
All of that being said, it makes Tinga a very important town in the region. It is growing and developing quickly, and the church we are building and the people we are affecting through both building the church and in the time we spend with their kids in the schools is very important. The town is very Muslim, and the chief himself has just returned from Mecca... An Alhaja. That being said, I must say that meeting this chief was the best chief meeting I've been to yet! They were very welcoming, and his admiration and respect for David was overwhelming. He repeatedly shared how David is a caring chief who works hard for the people in his villages and doesn't do anything for his own benefit. The amazing thing to David is that although David is a higher ranked chief in this area, this highly influential Muslim chief had David, a Christian man, sit in his chair...a chair that no one else not of the Muslim faith should even touch as it is considered very sacred. Not only had this same chief and his elder invited David to stay in their best accomodations last April when David held a Christian conference there, the chief also offered that the church be built on some of the best land in town...right beside the river that divides the two sides of town which makes it very accessible to everyone there. The chief also spoke of driving through Subinso last May when we were building the church there, and when he was passing back through on his way home only a few days later the building was almost complete...he was very impressed and is thrilled that we we're now doing the same in his village and even said something about throwing us a party! Think about this for a second...a Muslim chief is happy and welcoming of us building a Christian church in his town. God works in mysterious ways!
Heading back to the worksite, we first took time to check out the river where not only do the villagers wash clothes, swim and fish the telapia that David (NEA) put in there, it is also home to crocodiles! Despite the presence of the crocodiles, the fish are thriving...again, God works in mysterious ways. These fish produce needed protein for the villagers and are part of the program that David plans to being to many more villages. Although we were warned of the danger of the crocodiles, this morning they seemed interested in nothing else but basking in the sun.
The floor of the church was not yet tamped or poured, so a lot of tamping, forming and hard mixing was done so that many wheelbarrows of concrete could be leveled to finish the floor. About 1/2 of it got done today despite our late morning start due to the visit to the chief.
The 10 of us that are working in the schools (including Brenda), made our way to the school where we met the teachers of not only the primary school that we expected to be working in, but of the junior high school as well (grade 7 to 9). We sat in the classes and asked to observe so that we would know how to set up our lesson plan to start tomorrow, but really we instead were the observed and created quite the distraction to their day. Donnie is of very special interest to the kids seeing as he himself is only 12. We then spent the afternoon pairing up, setting the schedule and assigning the classes. We will have our work cut out for us as there are only 3 teachers for grades 1 to 6, so while three classes are being taught, three classes are unsupervised and apparently doing nothing. One of the teachers who started in September, didn't even seem to know the kids names in his own classes, and another was home sick and never came in at all so we have no idea about what those classes look like or what they know or don't know. On a personal note, I am not a teacher...not my gifting...but I am willing, and very thankful for Bev and Joyce who lovingly prepared lesson guidelines and supplies for us, for Brenda who helped me pick story books to read, for Jacqueline who helped choose and teach me songs to use, and for Shawn (my co-teacher) who, being in his twenties, is familiar with the books and songs we will use with our Gr.6 morning and Gr. 7 afternoon classes!
Whatever work we are assigned to do in this next 2 weeks, we need to remember that the real reason we are here has nothing to do with the actual building or the lesson plans, it's all about the people. As it says in Ezekiel 3:15, "... I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.". To really help them, we must feel their emotions and respond in love. God will do the rest.
P.S. Tonight after dinner, David shared that Gabriel's (one of the young pastors working with us) uncle died today, so he would not be with us for right now. This uncle suffered of a large hernia and although was on the list for surgery these past two years, fear kept him from showing up for it. It seems that this is what now caused his death. Pray for Gabriel and his family at this time as they deal with his very unnecessary death.
Until tomorrow,
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Today was a sleep-in day (breakfast was set for 8 am) because we would be starting the day by meeting the chief of Tinga as is customary for us to do since we'd be working in his village. The drive to Tinga was only about 30 minutes north of Carpenter, and I must say that I was very surprised when we entered the town!
David called Tinga a place of commerce...our Ephasus. As we entered the town, there were many attractive new buildings being built with brick and tin...much like what we would be building. Cell phone towers were part of the landscape and we saw a beautiful mango tree being cut down with a chain saw to make room for another build. Along the very busy main street, it was very unusual for us to see young children (aged 8-12) exchanging money with the vendors as they bought their rice sauce lunches that they carried in plastic bags or steel or plastic containers they brought with them. Familiar were the goats, sheep and chickens running around, but to see stores selling 'authorized chemicals' (whatever that meant) and most anything else you could think of, along with cars, motorbikes and trucks lining the street, was very different from the northern villages we have spent time in. One store was selling machinery used for crushing rocks into gravel, and the biggest surprise was that the vendors were Chinese!
Quite recently gold has been discovered just east of the town of Tinga, so it acts as a gateway to many getting in on the action. It really reminded me of the fictional historic novels I read long ago about the gold rush days with pioneers and settlers coming from all over to find their fortune. In this true story, the settlers are the Chinese who have rented space and built neighborhoods to live in.
All of that being said, it makes Tinga a very important town in the region. It is growing and developing quickly, and the church we are building and the people we are affecting through both building the church and in the time we spend with their kids in the schools is very important. The town is very Muslim, and the chief himself has just returned from Mecca... An Alhaja. That being said, I must say that meeting this chief was the best chief meeting I've been to yet! They were very welcoming, and his admiration and respect for David was overwhelming. He repeatedly shared how David is a caring chief who works hard for the people in his villages and doesn't do anything for his own benefit. The amazing thing to David is that although David is a higher ranked chief in this area, this highly influential Muslim chief had David, a Christian man, sit in his chair...a chair that no one else not of the Muslim faith should even touch as it is considered very sacred. Not only had this same chief and his elder invited David to stay in their best accomodations last April when David held a Christian conference there, the chief also offered that the church be built on some of the best land in town...right beside the river that divides the two sides of town which makes it very accessible to everyone there. The chief also spoke of driving through Subinso last May when we were building the church there, and when he was passing back through on his way home only a few days later the building was almost complete...he was very impressed and is thrilled that we we're now doing the same in his village and even said something about throwing us a party! Think about this for a second...a Muslim chief is happy and welcoming of us building a Christian church in his town. God works in mysterious ways!
Heading back to the worksite, we first took time to check out the river where not only do the villagers wash clothes, swim and fish the telapia that David (NEA) put in there, it is also home to crocodiles! Despite the presence of the crocodiles, the fish are thriving...again, God works in mysterious ways. These fish produce needed protein for the villagers and are part of the program that David plans to being to many more villages. Although we were warned of the danger of the crocodiles, this morning they seemed interested in nothing else but basking in the sun.
The floor of the church was not yet tamped or poured, so a lot of tamping, forming and hard mixing was done so that many wheelbarrows of concrete could be leveled to finish the floor. About 1/2 of it got done today despite our late morning start due to the visit to the chief.
The 10 of us that are working in the schools (including Brenda), made our way to the school where we met the teachers of not only the primary school that we expected to be working in, but of the junior high school as well (grade 7 to 9). We sat in the classes and asked to observe so that we would know how to set up our lesson plan to start tomorrow, but really we instead were the observed and created quite the distraction to their day. Donnie is of very special interest to the kids seeing as he himself is only 12. We then spent the afternoon pairing up, setting the schedule and assigning the classes. We will have our work cut out for us as there are only 3 teachers for grades 1 to 6, so while three classes are being taught, three classes are unsupervised and apparently doing nothing. One of the teachers who started in September, didn't even seem to know the kids names in his own classes, and another was home sick and never came in at all so we have no idea about what those classes look like or what they know or don't know. On a personal note, I am not a teacher...not my gifting...but I am willing, and very thankful for Bev and Joyce who lovingly prepared lesson guidelines and supplies for us, for Brenda who helped me pick story books to read, for Jacqueline who helped choose and teach me songs to use, and for Shawn (my co-teacher) who, being in his twenties, is familiar with the books and songs we will use with our Gr.6 morning and Gr. 7 afternoon classes!
Whatever work we are assigned to do in this next 2 weeks, we need to remember that the real reason we are here has nothing to do with the actual building or the lesson plans, it's all about the people. As it says in Ezekiel 3:15, "... I sat where they were dwelling. And I sat there overwhelmed among them seven days.". To really help them, we must feel their emotions and respond in love. God will do the rest.
P.S. Tonight after dinner, David shared that Gabriel's (one of the young pastors working with us) uncle died today, so he would not be with us for right now. This uncle suffered of a large hernia and although was on the list for surgery these past two years, fear kept him from showing up for it. It seems that this is what now caused his death. Pray for Gabriel and his family at this time as they deal with his very unnecessary death.
Until tomorrow,
Kim
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Monday, January 23, 2012
An Incredible Sunday!
'When you are trying to figure out everything, you are exalting your reasoning above God's thoughts and plans for your life' (Joyce Meyer)
Today was a day that started with one plan, but in a moment, a comment was made, a question was raised and the answer was unanimous...we would jump on the bus and drive an hour from Carpenter on a rough road and worship with a brand new church in the remote village of Babatok. David's brother Peter has been sharing with this village over the past weeks, and today, 20 new believers were being baptized in the Black Volta river. The villagers were very surprised to see us, and the kids came running. I'll never forget seeing one little guy playing with rubber bicycle tire as he rolled it through the village ahead of him :).
We started with the custom of meeting the village chief and his elders. We shook hands, sat and listened while he and David spoke to each other through their 'translators'. We then walked with the new church members and many children for at least 10 minutes down a path to the river avoiding stepping on cow poop all the way. The path opened up to a little beach area where young children were playing in the water while the older children 6-12 years old were washing clothes and watching over them with no adults around.
The sun was shining as we watched Rans, Jacob and Peter baptize the men and women while everyone on the bank was singing. David would annoint them with oil when they came out onto the bank, and then he would call one of us or one of the pastors with us to lay a hand on their shoulder and we would pray for them. What an incredible privilege to be a part of the new birth of not only these individuals, but also of a new church for the area. David mentioned to the village chief that this might not be the last time the chief would see some of us there. (Sounded like he was implying this might be another build project option for next year?). As we learned the last time we were here, the children are not shy and they really pursue the opportunity to hold your hand, touch your clothes or try to help us carry or do something. In these communities, it really is the town that raises the children...not individual families like we are used to. You would see the same baby carried on the back of several women or children, and one can only guess that the one that you would later see nursing it was the actual mother!?!
David shared once again with all of us up the bank of the river before we walked back to the village. He shared again the story of when he was quite sure all three of his daughters were going to drown as they fell out of their canoe years ago, but he called out on God's promises in Psalm 91, and a stranger 'just happened' to head out in his motor boat when he saw how quickly the waves rose in order to check that no one was caught in it, and their lives were saved. He shared that now that these new believers had chosen to follow God and not the idols of their village that is highly ruled by whichcraft, Satan would be sure to try to get them to fail, and they would need to stay strong...leaning on the promises God had written for them thousands of years before their village even existed, and before this day when the whites from Canada and the blacks from West Africa would be standing together on the banks of their river. He also shared about his own baptism and how no matter how bad he had been, and all the evil he had done that would most likely have killed him or put him in jail, it was all washed away that day. We sang and prayed some more, said goodbye to the chief and his elders, prayed for a sick man who wasn't well enough to come to the river with us, and made our way home to Carpenter for a late lunch that we finished at about 3.
We came back to our compound to start to sort the clothes, school supplies, gifts and finish up the tools, and then At 4:30 most of us joined up with David to tour the NEA project ground here at Carpenter. Starting with watching an ostrich hatching from it's egg in an incubator, to seeing shea nut trees and hearing about fact that they are the exclusive suppliers of the Shea nut oil to L'Oreal for their moisturizing products, to the certified 90%+ yielding corn seed they process, the fruit trees they eat from, the organic gardens they plant and water with the water from the tanks of the fish growing operations and the piggery whose pigs eat all the peelings of their cassava and yam processing, we were all so amazed to here of the self-sustaining programs developed that have touched the lives of 350 000 people so far in this region, employs 101 staff, supplies the needs of 6000 widows though their peanut farming co-op program and is now approved with funding from CIDA (the Canadian government) together with other funds to start a medical program to support birthing mothers and babies for the first 2 months after birth...a new project born of necessity as 30000 young moms and babies have died in the past couple of years due to birthing and recovery complications. Just last week, 50 nurses/caregivers were here in Carpenter for training in this new program, and a new staff member, Timothy, was hired to oversee the program. To hear more about what is happening here, and about the program you are all doing a part in supporting, visit www.grid-nea.org !!! David reminded us that all of this is not all about one man making this happen, but how each of us doing and being what God has created for us to do to do our part (sending over trucks, labour, money, helmets, clothing, medical care, etc...) has created much that God could work with to care for these people.
Dinner was fabulous once again, and we finished the night sitting chatting too late into the evening after sorting more of the things we brought. I'm certain that everyone will be turning in earlier tomorrow night after a hard days work.
Inspired,
Kim
Inspired,
Kim
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Today was a day that started with one plan, but in a moment, a comment was made, a question was raised and the answer was unanimous...we would jump on the bus and drive an hour from Carpenter on a rough road and worship with a brand new church in the remote village of Babatok. David's brother Peter has been sharing with this village over the past weeks, and today, 20 new believers were being baptized in the Black Volta river. The villagers were very surprised to see us, and the kids came running. I'll never forget seeing one little guy playing with rubber bicycle tire as he rolled it through the village ahead of him :).
We started with the custom of meeting the village chief and his elders. We shook hands, sat and listened while he and David spoke to each other through their 'translators'. We then walked with the new church members and many children for at least 10 minutes down a path to the river avoiding stepping on cow poop all the way. The path opened up to a little beach area where young children were playing in the water while the older children 6-12 years old were washing clothes and watching over them with no adults around.
The sun was shining as we watched Rans, Jacob and Peter baptize the men and women while everyone on the bank was singing. David would annoint them with oil when they came out onto the bank, and then he would call one of us or one of the pastors with us to lay a hand on their shoulder and we would pray for them. What an incredible privilege to be a part of the new birth of not only these individuals, but also of a new church for the area. David mentioned to the village chief that this might not be the last time the chief would see some of us there. (Sounded like he was implying this might be another build project option for next year?). As we learned the last time we were here, the children are not shy and they really pursue the opportunity to hold your hand, touch your clothes or try to help us carry or do something. In these communities, it really is the town that raises the children...not individual families like we are used to. You would see the same baby carried on the back of several women or children, and one can only guess that the one that you would later see nursing it was the actual mother!?!
David shared once again with all of us up the bank of the river before we walked back to the village. He shared again the story of when he was quite sure all three of his daughters were going to drown as they fell out of their canoe years ago, but he called out on God's promises in Psalm 91, and a stranger 'just happened' to head out in his motor boat when he saw how quickly the waves rose in order to check that no one was caught in it, and their lives were saved. He shared that now that these new believers had chosen to follow God and not the idols of their village that is highly ruled by whichcraft, Satan would be sure to try to get them to fail, and they would need to stay strong...leaning on the promises God had written for them thousands of years before their village even existed, and before this day when the whites from Canada and the blacks from West Africa would be standing together on the banks of their river. He also shared about his own baptism and how no matter how bad he had been, and all the evil he had done that would most likely have killed him or put him in jail, it was all washed away that day. We sang and prayed some more, said goodbye to the chief and his elders, prayed for a sick man who wasn't well enough to come to the river with us, and made our way home to Carpenter for a late lunch that we finished at about 3.
We came back to our compound to start to sort the clothes, school supplies, gifts and finish up the tools, and then At 4:30 most of us joined up with David to tour the NEA project ground here at Carpenter. Starting with watching an ostrich hatching from it's egg in an incubator, to seeing shea nut trees and hearing about fact that they are the exclusive suppliers of the Shea nut oil to L'Oreal for their moisturizing products, to the certified 90%+ yielding corn seed they process, the fruit trees they eat from, the organic gardens they plant and water with the water from the tanks of the fish growing operations and the piggery whose pigs eat all the peelings of their cassava and yam processing, we were all so amazed to here of the self-sustaining programs developed that have touched the lives of 350 000 people so far in this region, employs 101 staff, supplies the needs of 6000 widows though their peanut farming co-op program and is now approved with funding from CIDA (the Canadian government) together with other funds to start a medical program to support birthing mothers and babies for the first 2 months after birth...a new project born of necessity as 30000 young moms and babies have died in the past couple of years due to birthing and recovery complications. Just last week, 50 nurses/caregivers were here in Carpenter for training in this new program, and a new staff member, Timothy, was hired to oversee the program. To hear more about what is happening here, and about the program you are all doing a part in supporting, visit www.grid-nea.org !!! David reminded us that all of this is not all about one man making this happen, but how each of us doing and being what God has created for us to do to do our part (sending over trucks, labour, money, helmets, clothing, medical care, etc...) has created much that God could work with to care for these people.
Dinner was fabulous once again, and we finished the night sitting chatting too late into the evening after sorting more of the things we brought. I'm certain that everyone will be turning in earlier tomorrow night after a hard days work.
Inspired,
Kim
Inspired,
Kim
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
We've arrived!
Our bus ride to Carpenter went very well! No exciting stories to tell about flat tires, but many about the way they drive around here and the things we saw on our 12 hour drive. It was great to see everyone getting to know each other a little bit better as we rotated the seating arrangements each time of the 3 times we stopped for a break.
We have seen pictures, but it was great to drive by and see the Subinso church that we built last year...painted and complete. We hope that next Sunday we have a chance to attend church there :)
As we entered Carpenter, it felt so much like home to those of us that were here last May. A new fence surrounds the compound where we sleep...designed to keep the goats away from the buildings, it also adds security if ever it is needed. For those of us that haven't been here since the 2000, 2001 or 2005 build projects, there were so many changes to take in, many new faces, but also some familiar ones! For those that had never been here, but have heard and supported David and Brenda over the last many years, it was very emotional to actually have David & Brenda welcoming them to their home here in Ghana!
We unloaded the truck with the Ghanaian pastors and volunteers stepping forward to do much of it for us, we then gathered and prayed together under the gazebo, sorted all 98 bags into their appropriate rooms, and quickly made our way to the dining room for some spicy soup, spaghetti and fresh fruit salad...including mangos which were a surprise because they aren't really in season! All of it was SO great! Once our bellies were full, some of the men went straight away to sorting the tools we brought (it was like Christmas to them) while others of us worked through some music options to bring to tomorrow's church service.
After a lovely cool shower and moving into our wonderfully comfortable room, it is time to sleep! The compound is quiet and everyone is in their room, and more than ready for a great night's sleep.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
We have seen pictures, but it was great to drive by and see the Subinso church that we built last year...painted and complete. We hope that next Sunday we have a chance to attend church there :)
As we entered Carpenter, it felt so much like home to those of us that were here last May. A new fence surrounds the compound where we sleep...designed to keep the goats away from the buildings, it also adds security if ever it is needed. For those of us that haven't been here since the 2000, 2001 or 2005 build projects, there were so many changes to take in, many new faces, but also some familiar ones! For those that had never been here, but have heard and supported David and Brenda over the last many years, it was very emotional to actually have David & Brenda welcoming them to their home here in Ghana!
We unloaded the truck with the Ghanaian pastors and volunteers stepping forward to do much of it for us, we then gathered and prayed together under the gazebo, sorted all 98 bags into their appropriate rooms, and quickly made our way to the dining room for some spicy soup, spaghetti and fresh fruit salad...including mangos which were a surprise because they aren't really in season! All of it was SO great! Once our bellies were full, some of the men went straight away to sorting the tools we brought (it was like Christmas to them) while others of us worked through some music options to bring to tomorrow's church service.
After a lovely cool shower and moving into our wonderfully comfortable room, it is time to sleep! The compound is quiet and everyone is in their room, and more than ready for a great night's sleep.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, January 21, 2012
On the bus to Carpenter!
Good morning everyone!
I apologize for the technical problems I have had posting to this blog address. I continue to work on trying to figure out why my test posts work fine, but my actual posts are being added to our old blog from our trip in 2011.
Please feel free to go to my blog labelled Africa 2011 to see of there might be updates that are posted there instead of here.
We are well! Thankyou for your prayers as we make this long bus trip to Carpenter...cargo truck is now in front of us, and we are navigating the traffic and construction well.
I apologize for the technical problems I have had posting to this blog address. I continue to work on trying to figure out why my test posts work fine, but my actual posts are being added to our old blog from our trip in 2011.
Please feel free to go to my blog labelled Africa 2011 to see of there might be updates that are posted there instead of here.
We are well! Thankyou for your prayers as we make this long bus trip to Carpenter...cargo truck is now in front of us, and we are navigating the traffic and construction well.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The time has come...
It's amazing to think back to how we got to where we are today with this project!
The team has come together...each one doing their part to get things ready.
Just three short months ago, we were awaiting the green light to move forward.
The need was spoken (May 2011); the desire to help was felt (Aug 2011); the details were evaluated (Sept 2011); the blessing was given (Oct 2011); the preparations were made and now the work will be done (Jan 2012)!
In October, most of the team was assembled, and we waited and prayed that if it was God's will that this church building was to be built in the village of Tinga, we were ready to go. With great thanks for the support of Uxbridge Baptist Church who funded the largest part of the building costs, and with many thanks for the efforts of the team members and their friends and family for gathering the balance of the funds and donations needed to get us to Africa with the tools and supplies we need, we are leaving in less than 24 hours! 24 team members, 98 checked bags and approximately 48 carry on bags are ready to board a bus, 2 planes and yet another bus to make the 48 hour trek to Northern Ghana.
We ask that you pray for the team. Pray for our health, safety and team unity, but most important of all, that we would travel, work, rest and play showing God's love to some to whom we may be the only Bible they ever read.
Our team:
Timothy Evans
Paul Hurlburt
Ryan Lamoureux
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| 20 of the team of 24. |
Joe Lawson
Kim Lawson
Keith Lewis
Jacqueline Luinstra
Pete Luinstra
Sam Luinstra
Brian Noble
Linda Noble
Shawn Noble
Bev Ott
Jack Ott
Nolan Ott
Larry Simpson
Arie Spiering
Donnie Weddel
Doug Weddel
Glenn Weddel
Pat Weddel
Josh Whitehead
Russ Whitehead
Wayne Wilson
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| Many helped pack all the tools Sam and Brian worked so hard to get! |
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| Thank you to everyone who donated so much for us to bring with us! |
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| Ryan and his family lovingly put together luggage tags! |
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| Linda graciously sewed and packed many small gifts that Bev shopped for! |
Thank you friends and family for all of your support as we prepared and as we embark on this special trip!
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