Settling in to Village Life

Greetings from Helekpe! It is currently 1:30 pm on Wednesday afternoon, and this has been our first chance to post. We'll try to keep posting as often as possible, but it doesn't seem that we'll be able to post every single day.

We arrived in the village after a four hour bus ride yesterday at 1pm. The ride was definitely interesting - street vendors along the way, selling anything from fruit (watermelon, mango) to coffins. Once we passed Ho, the road was not paved. It was a very rutted, and at times muddy, dirt road. The bus weebled and wobbled, and more than once, Amber and I wondered if we had lost any suitcases from the top of the bus.

Mike and the boys are staying on the main road at Pastor George's house. Amber and the girls are staying at the Mathews' house, and Jim and Nina are right next door at a neighbor's house. We all meet together for meals at the Mathews.

After settling in yesterday, the first thing we did was unload all the suitcases to give the Mathews all the gifts from the church. The kids kept saying that it was like Christmas, and Barb was speechless (which is really something for Barb!) at the church family's generosity.

We met with the church helpers to plan for VBS, and then met several church members who came especially to welcome us. We then returned to the Mathews for dinner and a cultural briefing from Kurt. For the rest of the evening, some of the kids practiced songs, while others were outside playing with the Mathews kids and also many neighbors. Mike and Kurt had a little engineering pow-wow. The kids also had their first experience with the "shower." It is a small, block structure with a roof, and there is a shower head connected to a barrel of water. However, there is very little water pressure, so there are also a few buckets to use.

This morning, we split up into three groups and visited the schools. Amber, Stephanie, Christopher and Elizabeth went to the primary school with Barb, which is equivalent to our K-6 grade. There were about 200 kids. Christopher played guitar and they sang several songs, and Amber spoke to the children. Stephanie and Christopher gave their testimonies. Elizabeth talked about America. Amber was very overwhelmed watching the children sing their songs, pledge their flag, and say the Lord's prayer.

Jim, Nina, Daniel, Anna and Ambri went to the JSS, which is the equivalent of of our junior high. Pastor George and Kossi, a student from the Bible college in Accra who is on break and here to help us with camps, also attended the JSS session. When we first arrived, we were waiting for the teachers to arrive, so we walked over to the SS, the senior high, and got to observe the other group sing. Then, we returned to the JSS and sang some songs, with Kossi playing the guitar. Then, Daniel and Ambri gave their testimonies, with a translator. Jim also spoke for a few minutes about why we were in Ghana, and encouraged the kids to attend VBS.

Mike, Cassie, Jonnie, and Mikey went to the SS with Kurt and Lynn Anne, a young lady who is here in Helekpe to help Barb homeschool. Mikey gave his testimony, and then they sang several songs. Mike McDonald spoke to the students as well.

We met the Zimmermans and Butlers, two other missionary families living on the outskirts of Ho. We've spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon planning for VBS, which starts at 3pm this afternoon.

Please continue to pray for all of us! While all the kids are really doing a great job, things are so different here and it is a very difficult adjustment to the living conditions. Probably the hardest thing to deal with is the bathroom and shower issue. The heat is also an issue. While it is not nearly as hot as we anticipated, especially today after the rain, it is still fairly hot and humid, and there is no escape from it. Dealing with all of these things can make it difficult to keep a good attitude. The kids are doing good so far, so please keep praying that we can put our personal discomforts aside in order to really focus on our mission.