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.