Ghana 2008

I was to leave for Ghana with two of my fellow Westminster mission leaders and one leader from Woodruff. We met at Westminster that morning for a time of prayer and praise but we had some bad news. Mark Creasap was not able to go because of a kidney stone he was battling and losing. So three of us, Jeff Randall, Margaret Menz, and me, drove to Charlotte to begin our journey. We had duffles filled with medical supplies that we had to clear and pay for but this did not cause us any trouble. We left on time. We had a layover in JFK and by afternoon we were on our way. This was Margaret's first trip out of the country and she was a real trooper. We arrived the next morning and we were all very tired but excited to meet our hosts. We cleared immigration and we were met by Fiifi, Alex, and a gentleman who was supposed to help us with immigration but we did not need him. We loaded all our bags in the Land Cruiser and soon we were on the very bumpy drive to Abetifi. We made several stops along the way and the journey was dusty, rough, and very long. Drivers here have no rules and it it is each driver for himself. Each time we stopped at a major intersection people came over to sell us food or water or household goods. It was a new experience for each of us and our eyes were big as we took it all in. We finally made it to our home away from home, the Ramseyer Training Center dorms. We had two identical rooms and Margaret and I shared one. They were set up with two wooden cot/beds, a couple of chairs, a refrigerator, a small TV (but the electricity was so sketchy that these did not work) and a bath complete with shower. We had some time to settle in and rest a bit before dinner was served. We had a lovely couple who was cooking for us and our meal was served right on time. It was tasty and we ate heartily. After dinner we attended a Presbytery meeting. We met all the ministers and the head of the Presbytery, Emmanuel. We had a hard time processing everything and it took a meeting of the minds later to get most of the info straight. We went to bed with heads filled with names and our very ambitious itinerary. Click here to see Accra to Apertifi Pictures
Click here to see Ramseyer Training Center pictures
Click here to see Presbytery Meeting Pictures

We all woke early and showered and as we were going to breakfast we were visited by the women of Seth's church and they brought us fruits and vegetable and serenaded us. Seth was with them and he had his daughter with him. this was so sweet and the food was given to the couple who was cooking for us. Our first stop was to the Mango Farm, a project of the Presbytery to bring in money. It is 110 acres and completely worked by hand using machetes and chicken manure fertilizer. they also raised bananas and yams. this is only the beginning of the 2nd year and it takes 4 years for full production. Only 20 acres in production now.
Our next stop was the village of Abene where we met the Chief of the village. We went down the line of his greeters and when we got to the Chief he said "how's life?" We were served cold water which comes in bags not bottles. This was a funny stop and we were not sure what we accomplished other than seeing the local politics at work.
From Abene we travelled back to Apetifi and met Ignacious who was head of the clinic there. The wife of the Mango Farm manager was the midwife and both she and Ignacious were very knowledgable. Malaria was the number 1 thing they treated and they are now seeing a rise in hypertension. When asked what they needed most they said B/P cuffs, a refrigerator, and an ambulance. There is no transportation to the outlying areas and the patients often die before they make it to a clinic.
From the clinic we visited Seth's church and there we saw the new fellowship hall that is being built from private funds. We also visited the primary school and the children sang the alphabet for us. Back at the training center Reetha and Anston served us a late lunch. It was "hoppin' john" Ghana style and very delicious. The 3 of us rehashed all we had seen and had a great time talking. During an afternoon rainstorm Jeff and I sat on the porch and talked while Margaret napped. Seth arrived to take us on a walking tour of the town and we saw Ramseyer's home, which we will visit again later. We visited with Joseph the pastor of Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. This church has slightly under 600 members and they meet in the basement of the church that is under construction. Joseph explained that they use the pay as you go plan which is slow but good stewardship. They sit in white plastic chairs with names on them because they have been purchased as a memorial to family members. On our way back we walked up the hill past some very large and beautiful home. Seth explained that these belong to the Barclay international banking family. There was a lovely view of Lake Afram. It was dinner and bed for us...jet lag had us dragging. Click here to see Presbyterian Women pictures
Click here to see mango farm pictures
Click here to see Chief's home
Click here to see Apertifi Clinic pictures
Click here to see Ramseyer Memorial Pictures
Click here to see local Apertifi Pictures

Up early today and after breakfast we went to the English service at Seth's church. We were a riot trying to follow the songs until Seth set the tune. All the music is acapella. The service was over at 8:45 and we then went to visit the children's Sunday schools. There were over 100 children and we saw the cutest little boy taking care of his little sister; he took her out to pee on the porch. We then went to the older youth, 12-18, and there were 70 kids. It was pouring rain and there was a huge hole in the roof. The kids just moved to dry ground and never stopped singing. We decided part of our money would go for tin for their roof. We then went back to the traditional service. Choir was in graduation gowns and mortar boards. There was an ordination and commissioning at this service and Seth did not preach. I spoke for our group and it was my first time with a translator. They had 3 offerings: tithe, offering, ministers gift and this was a problem because we put all our money in the first one. You have to dance and sing as you walk to the offering area. After pictures we had a delicious lunch in the fellowship hall. The peanut soup and veggies on rice were our favorites.
After church Akoto took us on a sightseeing trip. We were surprised when his cell phone rang and it said, Boss you have a call. He became Boss right at that moment and will remain Boss forever. We had a great trip and saw where the locals hang glide and this was a perfect view point. That evening we attended worship at Fiifi's church in Pepease. It was a huge production with lots of music and dancing. the children and youth performed and we were celebrated like celebrities. It was a full day. Back at the training center we dug into our treats from home and rehashed our first few days. It was so hot it was hard to sleep. Click here to see Sunday Services at Ramseyer Memorial Church pictures
Click here to see Apertifi local pictures
Click here to see Papease Church evening services picture

Up early and breakfast at 7. We are packed for our trip to the Afram Plains. We will be visiting churches, an orphanage, and a hospital. Boss, Fiifi, and Alex picked us up and we visited Adawsa and the church there and spoke with Jacob Kofi-Mensah who is the circuit minister. He services 26 churches in the area. This church was building a manse.
From Adawsa we made our way to the ferry port. We walked around and enjoyed the people. There were people selling fish, cakes, bread, and water. Peppers were drying on the road and there were small colorful boats at anchor. Some people hired these boats to cross but we waited on the ferry. Watching the ferry unload was an experience and made us wonder just how safe this trip would. After all the extremely overweight trucks were on board the cars were allowed on. We walked aboard and found seats for the crossing.
Once on the other side we visited Mark and Juliette at Ekye. Our next stop was Ben and Grace at Maame Krobo. This was an interesting church because they had a manse but no church. They met under a thatched roof with no side. This is a market area and they have good attendance. Ben told us this was his first day on the job also.
We then visited Tease and saw Samuel and Becky's church, This is a large congregation and they had a very nice manse. Our lunch stop was at Donkorkrom Hospital where Dorcus made us a delicious meal. We ate with Aaron the general manager of the hospital who had been on the job 2 days, Judy the head nurse, and Ishmael who was in charge of finances. After lunch we made our presentation of the medical supplies and medicines to the staff and the money to Ishmael. They were so excited and showed us all the the new equipment they had which was very little. We spent the afternoon at the Spartanburg Orphanage and played with the children. they met us in a rush and we had the best time just loving on these little ones. Cecelia and Comfort the caregivers asked for prayers because it is hard to find anyone to relieve them so they can get some rest. We visited the new kindergarten facility and the mango farm they have started. We then moved into the doctors house which is unoccupied at this time. They are awaiting the doctors arrival in a few days. We had dinner with Aaron and then we sat and talked and tried to sleep. It was extremely hot and we stayed up most of the night. We didn't realize it was morning until we heard the Muslim call to prayer. Click here to see trip to Adawso pictures
Click here to see ferry to Afram Plains pictures
Click here to see Ekye Amanfrom pictures
Click here to see Maame Krobo pictures
Click here to see Tease pictures
Click here to see Donkorkrom pictures
Click here to see Spartanburg Orphanage pictures
Click here to see Donkorkrom pictures

We sponge bathed because we had only a drip of water and Jeff and I decided to walk into the town and see more of the area while Margaret read. After breakfast Aaron showed us around the different facilities at the hospital and we got to meet some of the patients and pray with them. It was a an eye opening experience and we realized how much we take for granted. We said our good-byes and our next stop was at the Foothills Presbyterian Church of Ghana est. in 2003 by Rev. Dale Rawlings church. It was their 5th anniversary of the church charter and all the people in the area gathered to meet us. We were given Ghana names and we had fun with the children. From there we visited the Kwahu Presbytery Health Services where we met with Charity the nurse midwife. Next stop was the ferry ride back. Boss took us up on top because of the heat and the next thing we knew Jeff was piloting the boat. All it took was the promise of a baseball cap for the captain. We made our journey back to Apetifi and packed the medical supplies we were donating to the health clinic tomorrow. We had dinner early. It was so hot that we could not get comfortable and Jeff and I walked into town and amazingly found a small shop with a refrigerator and he had frozen Cokes and Fanta oranges. We made our purchases and headed up the hill to cool off. Margaret was surprised at her treat and we sat and wrote in our journals and shared life stories until late. Click here to see Donkorkrom second day pictures
Click here to see Foothills Presbyterian Church pictures
Click here to see More Tease pictures
Click here to see ferry home pictures

After breakfast this morning Alex and Fiifi picked us up for our trip to the Townville Projects in Pepease. We thought this would be a road trip but soon found out it was more of a path trip. Because of the recent rains we had to get out and push, and this was a Land Cruiser...that is how bad the road was. Our first stop was at the new well and pump that the congregation of Townville had provided. People wash in the river and then rinse with the well water. Clothes were laid out on the grass to dry. Ladies with huge containers to fill were in line. This was a social place as well as a practical one. From there we continued on the bumpy road to the new health clinic. The clinic is much larger than we expected and very nice. the rooms are all empty and until it is furnished with medical supplies the government will not assign a PA. We made our presentation of the supplies we brought and took a list of things that were required to complete the stocking. The people from the surrounding area came to see us and we had our pictures made a dozen times and then it was time to head back. We rode through a lot of the outlying villages and it is easy to see how needed this clinic is for this isolated area. We made it back for a late lunch/early dinner. Emmanuel allowed us to use his computer after we ate and then it was off to shower and rehash the day. Click here to see Pepease Townville Projects pictures

Today we left right after breakfast and went to the Foothills-Kwahu Presbytery School. Pickens Church initiative. When we arrived we were surprised that this complex is so large. There are 650 students ages 4-12. The children were in the doorways waiting for us and everyone was excited. The Presbyterian women in their matching outfits were there for the festivities. We visited the classrooms and noticed they had a wash basin and palmoral soap at the door for everyone to use as they entered. There were 25-30 students per classroom and 2 teachers. The children were very well behaved. There was a computer lab but the computers were very out of date. We assembled in the courtyard and the Presbyterian women sang and then the different age groups of the children sang and danced for us. This was a fun morning and we hated to leave our new friends.
Our next stop was the Healing Center where we spoke with Josef. They hold healing services here twice a week and are in the process of building a hostel to be rented out during the Easter pilgrimage. We had lunch at a restaurant with Margaret the moderator of the Presbyterian women and several other women. The food was fantastic and we made our presentation of the money we had for the PW.
After lunch we drove to Akuase to see the working of the Palm Oil Project. The women of the area make cooking oil, candles, and soap. Margaret and I took our turn stirring and it was hard, hot work. Our next stop was the pottery project where they make the bowls used for dining in the villages. This was a crude project using what they had but they turned out lovely pieces. They had no wheel for turning and used a 2x4 resting on a stump and walked around it. The pieces were fired in a wooden cabin and then placed in a pit in the ground covered in sawdust to cool. This blackens the items. It was amazing to see the finished project when you see the whole process. As we were driving back we noticed signs that said RUMPS and it took us a minute to realize these were speed bumps. On our way we stopped to see kucaba trees and cocoa trees. We stopped in town for Alex to shop and while we waited we saw someone deliver a whole side of beef which had been transported in the back of a pickup truck. Traffic was terrible and we just made it back for dinner at 6:30. There was a power outage and we had to eat our ice cream before we finished our dinner, oh shucks! After dinner it was shower and debrief. Click here to see Pickens School, Mpraeso-Kwahu pictures
Click here to see Healing Center pictures
Click here to see lunch with Presbytery Women pictures
Click here to see Palm oil Project pictures
Click here to see Pottery Project pictures

This morning Jeff and I were both up early and decided to take a walk through the village. We arrived back to the RTC in time to shower and meet Margaret at breakfast. Seth joined us and we had a nice talk with him and he invited us to a wedding tomorrow. At 8:30 Alex and Fiifi arrived to begin our journey into Kumasi. About half way to Bowire we stopped for a potty break and we went into the store for snacks. The prices were horrible, $6 for a box of Rice Krispies. We stopped in Nkawkaw to change money and while we were waiting for Alex we saw a side of beef being delivered by a man in a taxi. In Bowire we shopped for Kente cloth both single and double weave. It was lovely and we all made purchases. Next stop was at the bookmark shop and we each ordered 10-15 bookmarks. We talked to the people while they made the bracelet/bookmarks and then we checked each name for accuracy. We wanted to shop for handicrafts so we stopped at some of the roadside stalls and we had so much fun haggling that we bought drums of various sizes, shakers, and baskets. We drove into the heart of Kumasi around the worst malfunction junction I have ever seen. There were people carrying computers on their heads, trucks loaded with so much merchandise and so many people they looked like they would tip over, bulldozers, and more cars than I could count all aiming toward us. The lanes and signs are only suggestions which no one heeds. We stopped at the cultural center but we did not purchase anything. From here we drove to Ashanti Presbyterian Church and met the assistant moderator Otou. We had lunch at their Basel Mission Restaurant. On our way back traffic was heavy and we had a thunder shower. Nerves were fraying and then there was this glorious rainbow. We enjoyed seeing the lovely fruits and veggies at the roadside stands. We would have made it back just fine but we had to stop for a very large motorcade and Alex and Fiifi both speculated that it was the President. We did not make it back until after 8 so after dinner and showers we sat and talked and laughed about our adventures. It was midnight before we turned in. Click here to see Kumasi

This was our rest day and Margaret took advantage and slept in. Jeff and I were both up early and took a long walk around the town. We saw lots of friendly children and on our way back we bought doughnuts from a women sitting at the roadside. When we got back Margaret was up and starting the packing process. We had breakfast and played with the kids of the RTC workers. We decided to go to the wedding at Seth's church at 11 and we were joined by Felix, a German student working on a water project in Ghana. A couple of the highlights of the wedding were the monkeys playing in the rafters and sitting in the window, Seth saying does anyone have any reason to halt his wedding, speak now or keep your mouth shut, and Seth admonishing the groom to be faithful, share responsibility, and keep only one wife. We went to the bridal lunch and then we went back to our rooms to figure out how to pack all the things we bought in Kumasi and all the things we had been given. We had a big discussion about what we would sing at Alex's church in the morning. Jeff remembered that Felix played the trombone so we approached him about accompanying us. We decided on "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands". We rested, journaled, and packed. We ate a lot of chocolate which we had been given and were not very hungry at dinner. We went to the internet cafe and we were able to check in with everyone at home. Emmanuel visited us during dinner and we had fun getting his take on all we had seen. Bedtime was delayed as we obsessed over our role in tomorrow's service. Click here to see more Ramseyer Training Center pictures

Up early after an uneasy night; both Margaret and I had stomach issues. We showered and dressed and met Jeff who was also suffering. We had breakfast and left for church at 9 with Emmanuel and Grace, Felix, Boss, and his son Frank. We arrived at Alex's manse and he took us to see a 100 years old chapel constructed completely out of mud, no blocks. We went into the Alex's sanctuary and as usual we are at the front. It is raining now but the church was well ventilated. Boss took the responsibility of guiding us each step of the way. The service is very long and we slipped out for water in the church office. The choirs here, both adult and youth, were very impressive. They also wore graduation caps and gowns. The service was very laid back and people came in and out. There were more women and children than men. After church there were pictures to be made and Boss juggled the cameras. We had lunch at Alex's before we headed back to finish our packing. Margaret and I left a lot of our clothes for the workers and by evening we had everything stuffed in the roll-a boards and the duffels. Click here to see World Communion Sunday pictures
Click here to see more Apertifi pictures
Click here to see Sunday Presbytery pictures

We were up early and having breakfast when they arrived to take us to the airport. We went around saying good-byes and then made the long hot journey to Accra. Our flight was on time and the flight was uneventful. Back in Charlotte we claimed our bags and stopped at a cafeteria for lunch and lots of veggies. It was good to be back in the USA. /susan Click here to see leaving for Accra pictures