Ever Tasted Banku?

Hello from Ghana! It's Sunday afternoon - a cool, comfortable 75 degrees. It poured this morning in church - it rained so hard that the sound of the rain falling on the metal roof drowned out Pastor George speaking or the kids sharing about VBS. But we are thankful for the rain, since it fills the water barrels and means we don't have to go fetch water. The cool weather is also a relief - people around here act as if it is 30 degrees. I saw one person wearing a fleece jacket!

Yesterday started out a pretty quiet day. We spent most of the morning at the house. We were invited to Kafui's house for lunch. Kafui (which means Praise Him) is the girl who helps the Mathews with their washing and cooking. She invited her new friends to her home for banku and ground nut soup. Banku is a mixture of corn flour and cassava flour, cooked until it is sort of a firm dough texture. The ground nut soup was poured over the ball of banku. You eat with your hands, breaking off pieces of banku and dipping it in the soup. It is VERY hot, so you have to be careful not to burn your fingers. Ground nut is what the Ghanaians call peanuts. The soup was slightly spicy, and delicious. Kafui's version had dried fish and okra in it. Kafui showed us her home - a simple, block structure with a metal roof and only two rooms; one bedroom is for her parents, and one for her and her siblings. There was no electricity, that I could see. They cook outside in a small, three-sided hut made out of palm branches. There was also an open dirt area that had a little clay circle that served as a stove. Kafui's mother is Sister Bertha (pronounced Beta), the Sunday school teacher at HASU Baptist Church. It was so interesting to watch them cook. I love to cook, and I can't imagine cooking in those conditions. The banku was an adventure for us. It was slightly sour, similar to sourdough. When they work so hard to prepare a meal for you, the last thing you want to do is insult them if you don't like the food. But they served HUGE portions of the banku! Some of us really liked it - especially Jim and Jonnie. Others had a difficult time; I looked over at Anna at one point and I could tell she was struggling. She said to me, "I want to cry, but I'm not going to" and she just sat there smiling and kept eating it. I was really proud of her!

On the walk back from lunch, we saw the local man who weaves Kente, cloth that is native to the Ghanaian people. It was fascinating watching him work with the string and the weaving loom! We hope to buy some pieces from him if he is able to get more string.

We had a meeting at the church at 2pm with Pastor George. He was so kind and really encouraged us. We had the church doors closed during our meeting, but as soon as we opened them, the kids came pouring in. They were at least 20 minutes early! We had over 200 kids at VBS again, which was really encouraging.

We also had youth group tonight. I had to stay back at the house (due to a minor stomach issue), so I'll have to share Anna's perspective. They watched a movie about William Tindale and sang. There were some youth visiting from another village. There were about 50 youth in attendance.

Today is Sunday - and Sundays seem very busy around here. We started church at 8am - Sunday school first, then the service. As I said earlier, it rained really hard during the service. Kurt says that we had a higher number of kids attend today than they usually do. Normally, they have 20 kids for Sunday school; today, they had at least twice the number. During church, they usually have 40 adults and 40 kids; today, it was about 60 adults and 80 kids in attendance.

Amber, Stephanie and I went back to church at 1pm for AWANA. On average attended by about 45 kids, we had 120+ kids today! It was a little tricky with games with a group this size, and a wet, muddy field outside. Vicki did a modifed AWANA schedule today and did a great job juggling everything.

At 2pm, the guys went down to the JSS to have another soccer tournament. They had about 30 players and played six games. There were about 200 people that came out to watch! Mike was able to share the gospel with the players in between games.

We're back at the house now, waiting to head back to church at 6pm for evening service. Tomorrow, youth camp starts. Please be in prayer for us as we prepare, especially for Mike, as he is handling the bulk of the lessons. All the kids are doing well. We've had a few minor cuts and scrapes, a slight fever here and there, a little stomach bug, some diarrhea, but overall, we're healthy and doing well. It has been a tough adjustment, but I have been pleased and thankful with how they have been handling things. I'll try to post some pictures soon!

Adjusting to Life in the Village/VBS has started!

Greetings from Helekpe! Today was our third day of VBS, and it was awesome. On Wednesday, we had about 100 kids; Thursday and today we had over 200 show up! Word is quickly spreading in the village that the yevu (white people) are holding a bible camp. It will be interesting to see what kind of prizes and crafts we can come up with if we have 400 kids come tomorrow!

For our first day of VBS, the children were split into three groups and rotated through games, crafts, and lesson time. All of the leaders and youth had different duties. Hannah Mathews told us afterwards that this was the most organized VBS that she has seen in Ghana. The kids didn’t seem to want to leave afterwards, as many of them hung around to watch us, play with some of our youth, and follow us home.

We went back to the house for dinner, and returned to church at 7pm for the prayer service. It is about a five minute walk to the church, along dirt paths that get quite narrow and brushy, for lack of a better word. I must admit that walking the path in the dark is a bit unsettling for a non-nature girl like me (Nina), but all the others did just fine. Barba took me back to the house by the main road and a much wider path, much to my relief.

Walking through the village is an eye-opener. The “houses” are simple structures, most with mud walls and roofs made out of either metal or palm fronds. The people spend all their time outside; their house is simply a place for them to sleep. Most do not have electricity, and certainly no running water. They go to fetch water either at the wells or a small pond.

On Thursday, we met the chief of the neighboring village, Avanyaviwofe. This is the village where the HASU Baptist Church is located. It was an interesting experience, since the chief will not directly address you. Instead, he speaks to his tsame (linguist), who then asks “Did you hear him?” He heard we were visiting and wanted to know why we were there. It is really just a formality. The chief welcomed us and asked us to return to the villages, and not to make this a one time visit.

We also visited the schools to observe the lessons. We split up into groups so that we could visit the primary school, the JSS and the SS. I can only speak for the class that we visited – we observed an economics class at the high school. While their resources and facilities were certainly not what we are accustomed to, it was very comparable to an economics curriculum in the U.S. The teacher was knowledgeable and engaging, and the students responded well. Nearly all of the teaching was conducted in English.

Thursday’s VBS was really exciting. There were about 20 small children hanging around outside the Mathews’s house; as soon as we left the house, they immediately crowded around us and followed us to church. We arrived about 20 minutes prior to the start of the VBS, and there were already about 100 kids there, waiting to start. They had started singing some songs, and it was just really neat to see how excited they were to be there.

After dinner, we had a team devotion and then a planning meeting for camp. Mike also spent quite a bit of time planning a soccer tournament with Kurt and Pastor George. They met with the teachers at the school to get their approval to run the tournament.

Today, we split into two groups. The girls headed to Ho for market day and the guys ran the soccer tournament. The teachers selected the teams. There were four teams and each team got to play each other in a mini world cup tournament. They played two games, then had a gospel presentation before playing the third game. There were about 50 to 100 people in attendance (adults and children). They left 5 new soccer balls and 30+ soccer jerseys for the school. For the school, this was an huge gift and very well received.

The girls traveled in the Mathews’ truck to Ho. The ride was very interesting – bumpy, to say the least. We first went to the Stadium Market, which is a small grocery store, where Barb picked up some food for camp. Then we went to the market – an open air market that is pretty hard to describe. It is an open-air market with many, many vendors and tiny little paths that weave between the different “stores.” They sell just about anything you can imagine there, but the big thing we were looking for was fabric. We were very successful in our shopping!

Today’s VBS also had over 200 kids in attendance. The teens took the lead in teaching the lessons today. Mikey taught the pre-primaries, Daniel had the primaries, and Jonnie taught the middler/junior group. Christopher has done a great job with the games; today he had the fun task or organizing a tug-of-war with 80+ kids. It was so cute to see them all lined up and pulling as hard as they could on the rope!

A huge storm rolled in at the end of VBS, so we had to hold some of the kids until the rain died down. The walk back to the house was quite muddy. It is still raining now, which is good, because water was low in the barrels. Now, we don’t have to go fetch water! Barb made pizza for dinner tonight – it was delicious, and the kids pretty much demolished it.

The Mathews have been so accommodating and thoughtful. They have been tremendous hosts, and we just hope that we can continue to serve them and be a blessing to their ministry.

Continue to pray for us and for the people here. Pray for wisdom and strength as we build relationships with the Ghanaian people. We are praising the Lord for the work that He is doing here. More to come soon…

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.

Arrival in Ghana

The GBC Ghana team has arrived in Accra! Every step of the process was smooth sailing. God answered so many of our prayers. No waiting at Dulles, straight through check-in process and security. In Frankfurt, one of the 10 largest in the world, we arrived at gate B22 and only had to walk a few steps to gate B26 for our connection. We were able to have devotions and pray together in Frankfurt during our layover. The security guard at Nina's office is from Ghana, and contacted a friend who works at the airport in Accra to meet us and help us through customs. Upon arriving in Accra, Mr. Sanni was waiting there to meet us, and took care of all our paperwork, helped us gather our luggage, walked us right past customs, helped Kurt and the guys load our bus, and said he'd be waiting to help us for our flight home. Every single piece of luggage arrived safely. Peggy - thanks for the prayers; the fruit and vegetables were undamaged! Blessing after blessing was revealed to us. Kurt and Barb brought their daughters Hannah and Sarah, plus Pastor George, a college student, and four of the Ghanaian youth to meet us. Steven has already made an attachment to Jonnie, and Mikey has a new best friend, Daniel. The kids are tired, will go to bed early tonight. Breakfast at 7:30 am and off to Helekpe shortly thereafter!

Final Countdown...

It is hard to believe that the GBC Ghana team leaves tomorrow! It seemed so far away when we first started planning last fall. Time has certainly flown by. Still plenty left to do, which is why this post will be so short. Check back often for updates on how the Lord is using us as we serve the Mathews!