Ghana Day 13

Last Day of Outreach for Some of Us

It had been raining a little bit last night. So, when we left for the village this morning the roads where a little challenging.

One can imagine during the rain season the hardship people must experience to get on with their lives.

While driving, we saw many people walking towards the village - the driver told us they are coming to see us and get medical help.

Some of them had to walk 5k to get here.

Many of them were monthers with one or two children - the little ones attached to their mother's backs in what has become a very familiar picture over the past couple of weeks.

Although we arrived early, the place next to the warehouse was packed with people waiting to be seen by doctors.

We decided today to split in two groups and have some of the doctors seeing children up by the school - a couple of hundred yards away.

We thought this way we could be more efficient and less crowded. But by noon, we realized that, without the pharmacy also split in half, this wasn't working. Our nurses got easily overwhelmed by the amount of prescriptions coming now from two directions - we know that we have to come up with a better system next time. Another major challenge was that many children were at school without their parents around. So, giving malaria medicine to a 5 year old and telling him that he needs to take one every six hours for two days, and then one every eight hours for three day and so on was not practical. Towards the end, John and Sheila came up with a list of children and got the teachers involved to pass the malaria pills to their parents with the proper instructions - so this issue was solved.

We learned from it that ministering in Africa has many challenges and many hidden faces, but with a willing heart and the grace of the Lord, these difficulties can be overcome.

At end of the day, the tribal chiefs wanted to give us a gift for all that we've done for the village. So, we ended up with a live and cute little goat and a few baskets of local fruit, which Wayne had to officially receive and thank for. As for the fate of the goat, may the Lord have mercy on her... Goat stew with fufu is a very popular dish in this region.

So concluded the first two weeks of outreach in Ghana. Louis, Donnelles, and I will return back home on Saturday. The others will see two more villages next week.

Tomorrow we're taking a tour of the surrounding areas and, likely, catch a few waves at the beach. Beautiful sunshine and refreshing water - here we come !

Lord, this has been such a humbling experience for all of us. Many of us will never return back home the same people as when we came here. But we know that you have a plan for each one of us and this was part of it. Thank you for being so wonderful and for using your redeemed to glorify yourself in Ghana. Amen.

People come from afar for medical help:

Rain can make the roads impassible:

Ad-hoc Consultation area Next to the School:

John and Kristin taught hand-washing and the Gospel using Puppets:

"Jesus, Friend of Little Children":

Jessica on Double-Duty:

Kurt got Involved in Registrations:

Looking for a Smile:

Receiving the Gifts:

The Queen Mothers from Two Villages:

Our Gifts - a Goat and Fruit:

Wayne Receiving the Goat:

Ghana Day 12

"I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God" - Isaiah 61:10

Off today to a new remote village.

Our devotion this morning was focused on the verse above and about being excited for what God has in store for us for today and the rest of the trip - as this is what will make a difference in the lives of people we come in contact with. Right after breakfast, Sheila made us all honorary Ecuadorians and gave us wrist bands to wear with the Ecuador flag. She made sure we know that this is not given easily, but that we've earned it oustandingly.

The trip to the village took way longer than expected and the road was very similar to the 4-wheel drives in the mountains sorrounding Colorado Springs, but we made it there safe and happy. We all participated right away, together with Theovision, at a latrine dedication ceremony during the morning hours. The elders of all the sorrounding villages participated together with the spouses - a couple of Queen Mothers elegantly dressed and full of golden jewelries were also present. This new group of villages seem to be much better organized than the previous ones and people were very helpful to help us settle in right away with our medical stations.

The heat was unbearable however. It seem like every day it is hotter and hotter... The readings show a constant lower 90s in the shade every day...

Inspite of this, we kept hundreds of children happy while their parents were consulted and our medical staff passed thru 300 patients today.

The HCJB leadership caught up with us today after they attended a dedication in the North of Ghana yesterday and they will be with us tomorrow for the whole day.

At the end of the day, the village decided to thank us in a special way and they blessed us with beautiful African dances - many of us joined in under the welcoming shade provided by the tent setup by the village for our enjoyment.

Tomorrow will be a long day and we're gonna start earlier - this is our last working day this week before three of us return back to the US on Saturday.

Lord, it has been such a privilege to follow you and worship you today with our sweat, our thirst, our aches and our pains - thank you for giving us strength and for blessing us so richly by allowing us to serve you. There is no better purpose in life other than to glorify you - thank you for making this a reality today. In Jesus name, Amen.

African Dancing:

African Sunset over a Glorious Day:

Clapping, Singing and Dancing:

Emily is like a magnet for Children:

Dorothy has a gift with kids:

Just One of Them:

Kristin Helping Parent get Consultations:

Manolo from Ecuador- first time outside his Country:

Queen Mother Thanks for the Latrine:

Sheila Awards us with the Ecuador Band:

Sweating Joyfully for the Lord:

The Pharmacy Under the Tent:

Welcome Back, Wayne:

Ghana Day 11

Falling In

Today we went to the same remote village we were at yesterday with the medical team to provide medical consultations for the kids.

We learned today that some of the health issues these remote villages have originate from lack of local medical facilites and the lack of transportation to the next larger town. We also learned that most of the kids living remotely in Africa suffer from malaria 8 to 10 times a year. The only reason they are alive (apart from the grace of God) is that they develop a certain immunity to it early in their life when they get it the first few times. So, their symptoms are a little unusual and hard to diagnose. We all feel so blessed and happy to be able to provide the much needed assistence - and our prayers and thoughts go back home to those that continue to pray for us and have made this trip possible. One of the main challenges is that the doctors prescribe the medication in Spanish, which needs to be interpreted by the nurses at the pharmacy in English and explained in Twi (Ghanaian language) to the locals... Today, this worked flawlessly... except one time when Fernando (physician from Ecuador) prescribed pneumonia to one of the patients... We all had a good laugh at the debriefing time this evening...

We were much better organized today and things fell in right from the beginning. Some of us took care of the kids this morning while others helped the medical team and the pharmacy. After lunch, we swapped roles. The heat was brutal - it seemed like every day it has been hotter by a few degrees. Actually, it has stayed constant at 91-92 F - likley over 100 in the sunny spots. But the Lord has blessed all of us with high tolerance to heat and the conditions in Ghana - and with the exception of Willi's heat stroke last week, we have had no health issues at all.

Nate came up with a cool tip-top mechanism to wash our hands - an empty gallon of milk container, hanging from a palm tree with a swinging wooden stick underneath for leaning on to tip the water - with a perforated soap hanging from the tree as well for practical reasons... Very ingenious !!! we and the medical team used it a lot today. Thank you, Nate, for all that you do and for not ignoring your spiritual gift.

I don't know how many children our medical team have seen today, but Mike and Louis had to use tackling to be able to keep them from trembling against each other and piling up in the pre-screening room.
Too much excitement, we figured... It does not take much for these kids to get excited... they begged us for empty plastic water bottles in the afternoon and they showed so much happiness when they got one as if was made of gold.

Two more events are worth noticing today: first, the tribal chief and his staff came to thank us for all the work we've done. They also prayed (they are Christians) and thanked the Lord for our work and for the way they were blessed by the health care provided.
The second is that we visited the recently opened HCJB/Theovision Christian radio station in Assin Fosu (2 days old). Sheila, the chief medical HCJB doctor, and I got the honor of being interviewed live about our experience in Ghana and the reasons for being here.

Tomorrow we are moving on to another village - we have received word today that they are extremely excited to see us over the next couple of days.

Dear Lord, it is hard to keep up with so many blessings - please keep us humbled and under your protection as we move on tomorrow to another place. We thank you for giving the medical gifts to Sheila and her team from Ecuador and thank you so much for allowing our Colorado Springs team to make such a difference. Amen.

Awaiting Consultations:

Donelles pre-screening Kids:

Emily taking a much-deserved break:

Chief HCJB doctor, Sheila:

Kids Day for Consultations:

John teaching football:

Organizing a Soccer Game:

Nate invented a "tip-top" for washing:

Tribal Chief and Staff praying and thanking God for our work:

Sheila and I gave a live interview on radio:

Two-day-old operational radio station:

Ghana Day 10

Well, this was a totally new chapter indeed - if one wants to be amazed, he should be doing mission trips in Africa.

We drove to this remote village less than an hour away where we started by visiting the latrines that have been built by HCJB and dedicated recently. Many African villagers do not us a special place for physical needs, so education has been a part of the project. In any case, because of this and easier available cleaner water, the amount of diseases in the village and surrounding areas has decreased by almost 80%. While most people were at the latrines, John, Willi, and I got trapped by a few dozen school children shouting and cheering as if the president of the mighty US has come to see them. There were so easily amazed by seeing their cute faces on the iPhone pictures, by John's little tricks using his fingers, and by touching Willi's hands - in one instance, they almost knocked her over...
It takes so little to make children happy in Africa - and the three of us had a blast and enjoyed every bit of it.

Afterwards, we went to the local school/community center where we had to setup on the fly a few medical consultation stations and a mobile pharmacy. The three doctors from Ecuador and their helpers wrote about 1500 prescriptions in a day... about three times a normal working day in an Emergency Hospital back home. Sheila, Emily, Jessica, and Donelles helped by a few of us filled up the prescriptions for 375 people waiting to be treated... The most amazing thing I have ever seen... Everyone used energy as if it was available from the faucet and smiled gracefully all the way until the end...
1500 prescriptions...almost four hundred each from 9:30 to 4 o'clock... non-stop... Only God can give the power to accomplish such a task in a short period.

The rest of our Woodmen team was either involved in playing with the multitude of kids (over 100) that had to wait around for their parents to finish or pitched in helping the medical team with the best of our knowledge to fullfil the prescriptions. Mike and I ended up entertaining about 60 kids this morning with hokey-pokey, knees-and-toes, and the like, after which we organized a few soccer and footbal games.
Under the supervision of Dorothy from Ecuador, many of us ended up in a classroom full of kids where coloring, listening to flute music, or simply singing were the focus of the activities.

We are all extremely tired, overwhelmed and exhausted - but excited !! God is using us in mighty ways !! And we can see the difference first hand - so many of these patients today suffered from malaria and malnutrition. Theovision ensured that while registering and waiting , everyone could listen to the Gospel preached in the Twi local language.

The tribal chief paid a visit and was gracious to extend his protection over us and we have God on our side, so we're looking forward to showing God's mercy to others tomorrow.

Heavenly Father, we have no words to thank you for the opportunity you have given to us to minister phisically and spiritually to these people from Ghana today. We are humbled by your love and power and we rely totally on your Holy Spirit to give us the strength and wisdom tomorrow to finish the day as excited as today. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Fillling up Scripts:

Doctors:

Pharmacy:

Time for Soccer:

Tribal Chief:

Waiting Room:

Taking Care of Children:

Ghana Day 9

Well, a totally new chapter has been added today to the mission trip.
We've left the relatively civilized Accra for Assin Foso - a trip of 3.5 hours that took 5 hours instead.

This morning we all (30 people now with the HCJB medical team from Ecuador) gathered together to worship the Lord at what the locals call Theo's Church.
The church has an open air setup and it is run by Rev. Theo in pure African style with the worshipers engaging in dancing before the Lord and being very active in the service.
Mike and Deb dared to join the dancer up front and seemed to had a great time - Mike, especially, blended in remarkably.
The message of the day came from Wayne, the president of HCJB, as he spoke about the two main commands from God: "Love God" and "Love Others" - he asked people to dedicate this Valentines Day to God and celebrate the Agape Love.

After a lunch at Theo's house, we've all headed to Assin Foso, a town of over 10,000 people where we'll be sleeping for the rest of the week.
The villages for the medical outreach next week can be reached from here within an hour drive.

One really sad thing is that our team has been split in different hotels, so we'll all miss the great discussions in the evening and the fellowship we had in Accra.
But this is a new chapter and we know that God has something new for all of us in store.

The only other thing worth mentioning is that I had four huge roaches in my room as we checked in... about 5-7 inches long... No way I was gonna sleep there... Deb and Donelles were very nice to pair up in a room with two beds so I could get another room... without air conditioning, but also without roaches... except one dead under my bed...
I'll keep my lights on...
:-)

Dear Father, thank you so much for helping us arrive safe and for the accomodations - we know that you have prepared in advance the rooms for us and we're thrilled to be here to serve you.
Help us to have a great rest and to be ready to experience your glory tomorrow.

Dancing for the Lord at Theo's Church:

African Cuteness:

Street Marketing:

Lollipops for the Road: