Clean Feet, Lartey and the Well

Wednesday February 24, 2010

Today for the team’s first day in Lartey, Pastor Charles from Theovision led a short devotional and led us in prayer to claim the village and the work there for the Lord. The African pastors and leaders seem to simply say, “now pray for this and that” and then the whole group simply prays out loud from wherever they are. It is a different type of corporate prayer than I’m used to but I like it. After that Reverend Theo started a song and all joined in quickly and strong. Soon some of the men were dancing and the mood of the day was set.

John prayed to dedicate the latrine that still had wet paint on it. However, the well drilling had not gone well in Lartey. They had already drilled several holes that didn’t have good water or any water at all. Then they had broke down again and the community still lacked clean water. Reverend Theo led us to the drilling rig and we prayed over it and for the community and the well. Please join me in praying for clean water in Lartey.

As we stepped up to the rig to pray, one of the ladies (Willi) stepped in some deep mud. She got it all up her leg and almost lost her flip-flop sandal in it. She later went to try and wash up and some men who had been painting the latrine noticed what she was doing. They rushed off and returned with water and a basin as well as towels and proceeded to wash her feet. In the evening Willi shared the story about how both her and Emily were standing there crying because of the act of service and love shown to her in such a Biblical manner. So often it is the one who goes to serve who is served in amazing ways with such generosity of spirit erupting out of economic poverty.

Despite the fact that it was a new village and we had dedications and prayers that delayed seeing the first patients, the doctors saw 427 patients. What an amazing team we have—not a whimper or complaint. Even when John dislocated his finger while playing catch. Tomorrow we are back for more but we know we have to quit early because we are driving back to Accra after tomorrow’s outreach.

“Blessed and Highly Favored”

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Second day in Akurakese

A Tippy Tap in Akurakese

Second days are just simpler. We got ready quicker, we ate quicker, we got to the village a lot quicker and then everything is already relatively organized from the previous day. The team simply grabs the bins and boxes for the pharmacy, re-stocks the table and goes. The doctors even know which tables are theirs and set out their stuff. The kid’s workers grab whatever activities and go find the kids. On top of that, Theo and Monica’s prediction about more patients walking in from nearby came true. They were ready and waiting.

The bottom line is that when all that gets added together, we saw a lot more patients before we quit for the day—about 420. Some of the most commonly used medicines are running low and Charles from Theovision is trying to get some more delivered from Accra to allow the doctors to continue prescribing them.

But second days also allow more time to look around. One thing that really impressed the group was a stroll to the village’s previous latrine—an open pit—and their previous well—an open pit with murky soup almost up to ground level. What a great improvement the new latrine and water pump will be.

Today, fellow HCJB Global missionary Jeremy Maller and I got to set up an obstacle course for a group of boys. We had high stepping, weaving side to side around some coconut halves, hurdling a stick propped up on two stumps and then some jumping on one foot around some rocks. It really got fun when we added a soccer ball and had them do the entire course while kicking the ball along with them. Great fun.

I’ve discovered that on a day like this there is often some little thing that occurs that sticks with you for whatever reason. Today, that little thing happened almost immediately after I got out of the Tro Tro van that delivered us to the village.
A young man was one of the people I greeted as I moved through the gathered crowd toward the site of the clinic. To my typical inquiry of “How are you today?” this young man gave me a poignant reply that I pondered several times throughout the day. “Blessed and highly favored,” was his answer. Not “fine” or “very well, thanks” or any of the stock replies I normally hear—but rather “Blessed and highly favored.” The smile on his face and the joy in his step gave weight to his testimony and it wasn’t long until a group began singing songs of Jesus to kick off our day. No one sang with more joy than that same young man.

I thought of him again later when someone was contemplating out loud about the future plight of some of the young women they had seen. They speculated that most would simply get married, have children, live the majority of their lives in that same village in the same way their mothers did. Indeed it is true and the inequality of their lives in comparison to ours in this world is great and convicting in its own right.

But this man’s reply to my daily inquiry made me realize that in God’s own Kingdom he is indeed “blessed and highly favored.” There is no favoritism placed on our rich nation in God’s house. The young women who marry, bear children and live their whole lives in Akurakese in glorious fellowship with Jesus will not be short changed in the long run. Sheila Leech, HCJB Global’s International Healthcare Director, pointed this out in today’s closing ceremony when she stressed that more important than the physical health of the village and Latrines and Doctors and Clean Water is the relationship between them and Jesus.

And what about me? How many times do I get caught in my own troubles, my own junk? I easily forget that we are co-heirs with Christ --the savior of the world. I am also, by His grace, BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED. May this man’s joy infect my heart!

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11

God Sightings

Monday, Feb. 22, 2010

First day in the village of Akurakese

As we drove into the village the new, shiny well pump and fresh cement slab were there to greet us on our right hand side. We pulled into a parking area to the left and spotted the palm branch shelter reminding those of us who were part of the medical outreach last year of the setup in the village of Hateka. After a short welcome from the Elders and Chiefs, Theo Asare and Woodmen Valley’s Deb Brown offered a prayer of dedication for the new well. Deb Brown was the first to pump some cool, fresh water and it was powerful to see the elders all move in for a taste, nodding their heads in satisfaction. I tasted some and it really is delicious.

Later in the day I walked down to the old, hand-dug water source and took a look. It was murky, only a few inches below ground level and situated in a low lying mud hole with log slabs to balance on while you fetched the water. Let there be no doubt the new well will be used. Not only is it closer to the houses, it provides clean, fresh tasting water. The new well coupled with the Latrine should really improve overall health in Akurakese.

Akurakese is a smaller village with only a baker’s dozen houses scattered around the schoolyard. The patients were scattered as well, trickling in all day without the chaotic, pushy lines in some of the larger villages. The team seemed to really appreciate this pace and the kid’s workers were able to enjoy working with smaller groups as well. One of my favorite memories was seeing Mike trying to teach a group of boys how to play duck, duck, goose. When one boy didn’t understand that he was supposed to run around the circle after being tagged, Mike effortlessly hoisted him onto his shoulder and ran around the circle with him. The boy giggled the whole way, lit up with joy and fun. Later Duane commented how joyful all the kids seemed when the team joined them to play and gave them attention. It was obvious they loved it.

Ransford, a radio partner of HCJB Global in Sierra Leone who was observing the health outreach to determine if it may be a viable option for his nation, shared a story of how a group of white missionaries once came to his village when he was a child. To this day he has never forgotten it and he believes some seeds were planted that later grew to the point where he gave his life to Christ. May it be so for the kids our team touches as well.

The overall pace was steady but not stressful, the temperature seemed cooler and there was time for everyone to grab a few breaks here and there. Nonetheless, by the end of the day we had still seen more than 250 patients. Theo and Monica both said that more people will be there tomorrow from nearby villages once the word gets out about the doctors. Later in the day we were already seeing some patients that had walked in from nearby settlements. I’m sure tomorrow we will have even more.

On the way home we met a large flatbed truck and had to back up to allow him to get by. At dinner Theo informed us that the truck was actually hauling some special equipment needed to repair the well drilling rig that was broke down in Lartey. They were with the same company that Theo had hired to drill the well and became much friendlier about having to share the one-lane road after they realized who they had met.

A great time of debriefing before we headed back to the hotel just reiterated the great vibes from the day and we had many “God Sightings” that people shared. The porch lights above us were a haven for some small lizards or geckos who were eagerly feasting on the flying insects hovering around the lights. We all watched them scurry around devouring the largest morsels. Even a rainstorm and the ensuing power outage weren’t enough to extinguish our good moods.

A Needed Break

Petting a Croc
Elmina Slave Castle Tour
Canopy Walk in a National Park Rainforest

Life on FM in Assin Fosu

Saturday February 20, 2010

Radio Dedication in Assin Fosu

I had no idea the dedication of a new radio station would be such a big deal. I would estimate that over 500 people attended the festivities with brightly colored tents and hundreds of plastic chairs arranged in a u-shaped stage set up in the empty lot beside the new radio studios. Local officials, pastors, leaders, businessmen, the Muslim imam in the area, dozens of taxi drivers and dignitaries joined the tribal leaders in lots of speechmaking and hoopla to kick of the station. The Assin Fosu station NKWA 88.1 FM (meaning “Life”) really is the first local community radio station. Everyone is really excited about it. The whole ceremony was broadcast live on the air and the crowd grew as time went on. We were told that the majority of the taxi drivers had already found the station and were faithfully listening. Traditional drums and dancing punctuated the air for the dancers and helpers in radio station t-shirts passed out water to the sweating crowd.

HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson was on hand to deliver a great speech as well. Even some of the locals looked hot under the tents and I was baking. Woodmen Valley team member Emily simply finds a small child to hold and distracts herself from the heat and the hoopla by loving them. Not a bad deal for her because they soon seem to fall asleep in her arms. This happened several times with Emily—I think it is something about her sweet quiet spirit that puts the kids at ease. I am a bit jealous because the children I try and hold always cry and want away from me when they see my beard!

I passed my time listening to the speeches in Twi (the local language) by watching this hilarious guy who was pretending to video tape the dedication festivities while holding a "video camera" fashioned out of old car parts with a lens made out of an old piece of mirror. He milled around with the crowd and even went out next to the real camera man for part of the ceremony. No one seemed to know who he was or why he was doing his camera spoof. But he did have the best view in the house.

Christian, Donnelle and Louis had to leave right after the end of the ceremony while everyone was milling around in order to return to Accra and catch their flight home. While loading their luggage and saying goodbye I spotted the goat the last village had given us tied behind the radio station with an old paint can full of water for it to drink. I’m pretty sure it will be our supper before too long.

Later, when we walked around some of the local markets in another part of town we heard many people with their radios tuned in to NKWA. I pray the programming and music will bring many listeners to the source of LIFE.

Pushy Patients aren’t the Sick

Thursday February 18, 2010

Last Day in Anhwaiso

Sometimes it’s hard to deal with all the pushing, finagling and coaxing with people trying to get themselves, their friends or family to the front of the line. It gets really old when you are doing crowd control or manning registration or trying to control the chaos. But today I tried to put myself in their shoes. If my wife or daughter was sick I’d try about anything to get her in to see a doc.

I’m reminded of the story of the four guys who cut a hole and lowered their friend down through the roof just so he could be touched by Jesus. They were rewarded by their tenacity and often, I’ll admit, the pushy get seen by the docs and there are some serious difficulties in keeping things equitable and fair.

The trouble is we need to see the sick and often they travel slow and don’t push as hard. It stinks but some healthy people get run through the system because they pushed hard and were loud or rude. I find it equally hard to make the call to stop seeing patients when there seems to be just as many waiting at the end of the day as there were at the start. And yet we only have limited medical people and resources. We can never see them all or cure everyone. God give us eyes to see your agenda through it all. Multiply our meager amount of good.

I’m tired and the team is tired. Good thing tomorrow is a tourist fun day.

Pastor Crazy Man

Wednesday February 17, 2010

First day in Anhwaiso. The medical clinic setup at this village was underneath some large olive green canvas tarps supported by locally cut lumber. I could tell the boards were cut freehand with a chainsaw just like I used to do with the Waorani in Ecuador. It was some sort of yellow hardwood but when I examined it closely one of the village elders quickly noticed and began teasing me that he would build a house for my family if I’d come and live there. Then he said I could just live in his house with his family. I love the smiles and trust.

The Woodmen Valley team really has caught on to the system for the medical outreach so organizing and getting rolling seemed to happen fairly quickly after the obligatory ceremony with the chiefs and elders. Theovision and the elders dedicated a new latrine as well, which was a nice bonus because we then got to be the first to use it while it still smelled more of paint than what I’m sure it will smell like next time anyone goes to that village. I pray it will help to improve hygiene and health.

Soon ropes were up to control the crowds and registration was efficiently sending patients to the doctors. The kids outreach took place in the nearby school and the open areas around it. Emily, a nurse, took some time off from the pharmacy today to just be with the kids. I never saw her without a smile and rarely was her braided red head not surrounded by a host of smiling girls and boys.

At one point I took a stroll down the road in front of the clinic area to get a wide view photo. After snapping a few of those a young man who was headed home asked if I’d like to take a look around the village with him. I really enjoyed seeing the mosque, the local produce, the goats that are everywhere and a Pentecostal church. Someone had written “Pastor Crazy Man” with chalk on the back wall of the church building. (I think I’ve attended a few churches with the same pastor.)

There were courtyards and hand dug wells interspersed amongst the clay and cement dwellings. The people away from the crowds were so welcoming and they enjoyed posing for photos. I got called back into several courtyards to take a second or third picture after they had gathered a few extra people. One guy even pulled out his cell phone camera to take a picture of me taking his picture.

Cocoa seems to be the main industry here as opposed to the palm harvesting operation nearby the last village. But there was plenty of okra, peppers, yams, small fish and tomatoes around at various tables in front the houses. It seems like there is a fairly steady food supply.

Back at the clinic, the tarps and the positioning of the nearby buildings and the crowd prevented much of the breeze from hitting the doctors and the pharmacy people so things got-- and stayed-- really hot. By early afternoon everyone was tired and flushed despite multiple breaks and gallons of water and other drinks. I had to take it easy for awhile after my village tour because I could feel the heat working on me as well. We decided to cut the registration off at 300 patients for the day. Tomorrow we return to finish up.

Tippy Taps and Donelle the Star

Tuesday February 16, 2010

Second day at Amoakroam

Well I built my first tippy tap of the trip but it didn’t work as well as I would have liked. For those who don’t know what a tippy tap is, it is an “appropriate technology” fashioned out of a simple plastic jug, some rope and a bar of soap. It is used to wash hands without much water. I think I placed the pivot point too high so you had to pull hard on the string to be able to get water. If I can get the same type of jug tomorrow I might be able to do better.

Another huge day of seeing patients and Donelle really was a star. We saw around 325 adult patients and more than 280 school kids. Donnelle. a pediatric nurse back home, was assessing kids all day and sending the sickest to the doctors. The others received parasite treatment and some vitamins . The majority of the 280 kids passed under her loving hands. Her room was full to overflowing and always the noisiest by far. For awhile Woodmen’s two biggest guys—Louis and Mike—made a checkpoint in the hallway to prevent cutting in line and try and keep only a few at a time from entering. What a job! But after dinner they shared that they actually were able to have some good time talking with the kids and ended up enjoying the task. Sue was the enforcer inside the room, doing her best to keep chaos to a minimum.

Willi and Charlotte had a great group of about 25 girls around them outside under a shade tree and were singing and playing games all afternoon. Their entourage was sad to see me pull them away for a break and some water but I was harping on everyone all day about staying hydrated and watching out for overheating in the sun. Too little too late and you can really have problems with the heat in Ghana.

Our time in Amoakroam was punctuated by a ceremony by the chiefs and invitations to return. The kids stole several team member’s hearts as we drove away with their new companions waving goodbye.

On our way toward town at the end of the day we drove by Theovision’s new radio station in Assin Fosu and got the grand tour. My favorite part was the studio, not just because the DJ was live on the air and interviewed Cristian and Sheila on behalf of the team, but also because that room’s air conditioning was cranked way up and blowing cool air all down my back. I considered a stint as a DJ on the radio right then and there but a delicious dinner of chicken and rice and watermelon was waiting for us and my eyelids were already drooping.

Another good day.

Raw Sewage and a Throne

Monday February 15, 2010

The alarm seemed to beep way too soon but my excitement for the medical outreach still made crawling out of bed tolerable. Pickup at 630 and breakfast at 7 then hop in some hired minivans known locally as “Tro Tros.” About an hour got us the village of Amoakroam. A host of uniformed schoolchildren quickly enveloped the team members as we exited our vans, nearly overwhelming Willi whose vibrant energy seemed to feed the swarm and carry her deeper into the throng.

Soon Theovision’s project man Charles was leading the team down through the village to the new latrine project where footings a cistern and the cement forms for ongoing progress were in place. Our stroll through the village while carefully avoiding stepping in the raw sewage drainage was a great lesson in how simple things like a well-placed latrine can make a huge difference in village health. Amoakroam already has a good well so a nice latrine will complete that all-important village health “big two”—a well and a latrine.

Just a few minutes later the team was unloading the trucks to begin setting up for a day’s worth of mobile medical outreach. The flow of registration to vital signs to doctor to pharmacy was established and those not directly involved in patient care or pill counting soon were off with swarms of children eagerly playing simon says, duck duck goose or soccer. Manolo’s drama and mime were a hit and his unending energy was and is a great asset. But wait, word came that the village chief had arrived. Stop everything!

Chairs were gathered, a throne fetched and a small animal fur placed at its foot. The Chief, his staff holder and public announcer filed into the room with a dozen additional elders or so. Dressed in colorful draped clothes with one shoulder exposed, the chief was easy to spot in his crown with silver medallions. He took the seat of honor and his staff bearer sat in front of the group to act as voice for the king. At least that is how he seemed at that point—kingly, like royalty. The staff was nearly as tall as the men and towered over them once they sat. A carving of some sort adorned the top and all was painted gold. Later I was told that the carving symbolized that many hands must work together to lift up the village. Indeed this is the message we are living during this trip through our partnership with Woodmen Valley Chapel, HCJB Global and Theovision. All of us working together in dynamic partnership that accomplishes much more than any one of us could alone.

At the end of the day we saw 327 patients and filled around 1500 prescriptions. The children were entertained and heard a lot of stories about God and Jesus. By the end of the day I did not see anyone who wasn’t exhausted and ready to stop. An amazing first day. God give us new mercies for tomorrow!

Two Points and a Cockroach

Sunday Feb. 14

The team attended Rev. Theo’s church on Sunday morning. Most seemed to enjoy the energetic dancing and some even joined in. Deb Brown was able to coax Rev. Theo to join the dance line for a round and Mike joined in with a couple of the Ecuadorian docs and all seemed to be able to make their bodies express the joy of the Lord. Introductions were a large part of the service with the entire population of white folks rising at one time or another to be named. HCJB Global president Wayne Pederson was the final intro and he soon began his sermon highlighting two points—1. Love God and 2. Love others. A great Valentine’s Day sermon. After a wonderful lunch at Theo and Monica’s house we hopped on the bus to head to Assin Fosu to walk out Wayne’s marching orders with the medical outreach.

A couple hours into our 3 hour journey from Accra to Assin Fosu, as the road narrowed and traffic got more scarce, Dr. Steve poignantly noted, “It’s difficult to imagine a road like this leading to air conditioned rooms. “ Indeed, the hotel situation was not the best, but most had working air conditioning. A few glitches and a serious cockroach encounter later everyone was tired and seemed to settle in for a short night’s sleep. Tomorrow it is up early and out to the village!