today was a crazy day. we thought we were going to one school- woode primary- to do our songs, skit, and lesson once. instead we ended up at multiple schools and spoke seven times! after five hours we were finished and decided we wanted to go to a chinese restaurant in our travel guide for lunch. unfortunately the place has been shut down, there was a radio station with the same name, and our taxi drivers didn't speak much english. it became quite an adventure and we ended up back at our hotel. so instead of chinese we walked to our favorite restaurant, bocadillo's. at 4:30 we finally got lunch. what a day.
we have worked very hard the past few days. our time remaining is so short and we want to make the most of every day. we have been laying the foundation at mampong. we mix the concrete ourselves with shovels on a concrete slab. each day we moved 75 bowls of sand, 140 bowls of rocks, and 6 110 pound bags of concrete. we fetched water from a nearby stream, mixed the concrete, and then carried the wet concrete in bowls to pour the foundation. we did the same thing for three days. our muscles are aching, but we are glad we could do so much.
my favorite moment lately was as we were carrying re-bar up a hill on the dirt road from the church site to the village i heard, "Abena! Abena!" i turned to see my friend Efua walking out of the jungle with a bowl of water on her head and little george with a small can of water on his. he wanted to be like his mom. of course george was still terrified by obruni, so he ran as soon as he saw me. Efua just laughed at him. i immediately ran to greet her. we walked the rest of the way up the hill together. i said the few Fanti words i know and she rambled on in Fanti and then laughed because she knew i didn't understand. when we reached the village we parted ways. i told her "ochina abbabba" - "tomorrow i'll come" and we said our goodbyes. i didn't see her the next day and we probably won't go back to mampong. i'm going to miss my friend. it's amazing how relationships can be formed despite language barriers, but it's like clint and i always say, the love of Christ knows no language. we communicate love if nothing else, and that's important.
another interesting moment came today at the school. after our skit and my talk i opened the floor for questions. one little girl raised her hand and asked, "why are you white and i am black?" she meant it with all sincerity. she had never seen white people in person before. i explained to her that we were made differently, but that the difference was only in looks. on the inside we are the same. we hope for the same things, believe the same things, we love each other the same, we love the same God, and most importantly God loves us all the same.
see you all in a few days!
-chelsea
Friday, July 11, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
three weeks left...
takoradi is an amazing place. we love walking around the town and there are even monkeys in the trees. this is really africa. :)
as most of you have heard, i got malaria. it makes for a great story, but it was definitely not worth it. you don't want malaria...ever. but i survived and am feeling much better. it was hard to leave srafa after having worked so long on that church. our sweat and blood literally went into the foundation of that church. the whole time we were working i couldn't get the hymn "how firm a foundation" out of my head. it was great to be able to leave there with the floor finished and ready for concrete. the people of that church have wonderful hearts for christ and i am confident that that church has a strong foundation to build off of.
i always say that God has a sense of humor. i found it not surprising at all that when we arrived at our church site in mampong (a village near takoradi) our job was to MOVE DIRT. haha. we are preparing yet another foundation. many of the village people are helping us in mampong. i have become particularly good friends with a woman named efua (friday born). she calls me abena (tuesday born). i don't actually know what day i was born on so i picked tuesday and i've been abena ever since. efua has two beautiful children george (who is terrified of obruni) and baby kojo. the malaria makes me too tired to work for long so i take breaks and attempt to talk to efua. it's a challenge but we like each other. today we got to do a medical clinic at mampong. 90 patients came out to the site. we see a lot of malaria. dr. john, our ghanaian doctor friend, told me that in ghana they treat every fever for malaria and 80% of the time they are right. having malaria gives me a new level of compassion for the sick in africa. it frustrates me that it is so treatable but because there is so little access to doctors, people die from it. i can't imagine being that sick and knowing that no one could help me. i was also fortunate that my parents were here for the week while i was sick. it breaks my heart to know that when orphans get sick they don't have a mother to care for them. malaria is depressing and lonely, and there's nothing like a mother's love to get you through it. i want so badly to return to africa one day as a doctor. children are dying when they don't have to. i am grateful that we have had the opportunity to hold three medical clinics and minister to nearly 300 patients. God is alive and at work in Ghana and we are fortunate enough to be His hands and feet on occasion.
i am constantly amazed when i realize how many people are praying for us back home. please know that your prayers are making a difference in our lives. 2 months is a LONG time and we are beginning to realize exactly how much of a commitment we really made.
we love you all.
chelsea
as most of you have heard, i got malaria. it makes for a great story, but it was definitely not worth it. you don't want malaria...ever. but i survived and am feeling much better. it was hard to leave srafa after having worked so long on that church. our sweat and blood literally went into the foundation of that church. the whole time we were working i couldn't get the hymn "how firm a foundation" out of my head. it was great to be able to leave there with the floor finished and ready for concrete. the people of that church have wonderful hearts for christ and i am confident that that church has a strong foundation to build off of.
i always say that God has a sense of humor. i found it not surprising at all that when we arrived at our church site in mampong (a village near takoradi) our job was to MOVE DIRT. haha. we are preparing yet another foundation. many of the village people are helping us in mampong. i have become particularly good friends with a woman named efua (friday born). she calls me abena (tuesday born). i don't actually know what day i was born on so i picked tuesday and i've been abena ever since. efua has two beautiful children george (who is terrified of obruni) and baby kojo. the malaria makes me too tired to work for long so i take breaks and attempt to talk to efua. it's a challenge but we like each other. today we got to do a medical clinic at mampong. 90 patients came out to the site. we see a lot of malaria. dr. john, our ghanaian doctor friend, told me that in ghana they treat every fever for malaria and 80% of the time they are right. having malaria gives me a new level of compassion for the sick in africa. it frustrates me that it is so treatable but because there is so little access to doctors, people die from it. i can't imagine being that sick and knowing that no one could help me. i was also fortunate that my parents were here for the week while i was sick. it breaks my heart to know that when orphans get sick they don't have a mother to care for them. malaria is depressing and lonely, and there's nothing like a mother's love to get you through it. i want so badly to return to africa one day as a doctor. children are dying when they don't have to. i am grateful that we have had the opportunity to hold three medical clinics and minister to nearly 300 patients. God is alive and at work in Ghana and we are fortunate enough to be His hands and feet on occasion.
i am constantly amazed when i realize how many people are praying for us back home. please know that your prayers are making a difference in our lives. 2 months is a LONG time and we are beginning to realize exactly how much of a commitment we really made.
we love you all.
chelsea
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Indescribable
Our Ghana mission trip has forever touched and changed my life. I wish I could describe to you in words how amazing it was, but it was indescribable. I wish I could show you pictures and then you understand, but the pictures do not give our trip justice. I wish I could write an amazing song about this experience, but there is no way you can comprehend this unless you were with us.
Each team member brought their own gifts and talents to the table each day were there. Charla was an amazing team leader. She had to put up with Ghana time and trust me, that’s not easy. There is no point in wearing a watch--just throw it away. Making plans or a schedule? HA! We all might just respond to that answer by saying, "Let the river flow." Chelsea was amazing with the children. She has an incredible personality and is so great with the kids. She has a skit called the "Life Savor" skit and the response from the kids after she witnessed to them was amazing. She was also a great motivator when it came to working--(and then she got malaria--that’s right...two down 11 more to go!! haha) Chandler, oh Chan Chan, is so compassionate. He was always so eager to get out there and work for the kids. Paul, besides trying to make every single girl mad at him (which was a game--and he failed with me) captured each moment through his camera lens. He constantly used his humor and great personality to make us all laugh during the times we felt like pulling our hair out. Brannan, oh Brannan, let me tell you what. He does the best boom chicka boom you've ever heard. Everyone, ask him to demonstrate. It’s amazing. Brannan is one of the most humble people I know. He was so encouraging to work with. Jennifer is a woman of God for sure. She may be soft spoken at times, but when she speaks, God's words flow from her mouth in to the kid’s lives. Emily has this ability to walk into a village and the kids flock to her. There would be times I could not even see Emily because she would be in the middle of tons of kids handing out tracks and spreading the news of Jesus. It was awesome watching her work those teaching skills to spread God's love. Chad also was so good with the children. Also, there were many of times where Chad would be in the center of a circle of Ghanaian children and he would be having a dance off with one of the kids. It was great. Also, he has a great God voice for the Jonah skit--ask him to demonstrate. He was a great asset to the team and we could not have accomplished things without him. Clint is the most passionate guy I have ever met. Watching him was like looking at one of Christ's disciples doing God's work with compassion, humbleness, and a goal, which was to spread Christ's love through our actions and words. Also, God has used him so much through singing and playing the guitar as well as writing music--that’s right--music! Haley Warner=AWESOME!! She constantly had a smile on her face. Even when we were all frustrated with things, she still had a positive attitude and smile. It was so uplifting. You know how people can click off...Haley was in EVERYBODIES click!! Joel and Patrick got to Africa and it was great to have new energy to the team. Mathias, our leader in Ghana, is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. So many fun memories: LET THE RIVER FLOW, BAPTIZED BY FIRE, IN YOUR FACE BRANNAN, NOOGIE, HALEY, I HELP YOU, CLINTON DURWOOD DENSON THE SECOND...that’s just some of our memories with him. We could not have done anything without him.
Being back at home has been bittersweet. When we said goodbye at the airport, all the girls were crying except for me because for some reason, I wasn't comprehending the fact that I was leaving half of my group in Africa to go back to the United States. I got on the plane, watched a movie for the first time in 5 weeks, and after the movie I looked at the map and saw that we were flying over the desert and started crying my eyes out. Ask Brannan, he was so confused. It hit me. I'm not in Ghana any more. Half of my team is still there and it was hard.
It’s been tough being back in America. While I was in Africa, nothing could revolve around me. It was God's plan 24/7. Being back home, I realize how awesome it is to be serving the Lord and having my mind and heart only on Him and not on me. I want to go back. I wish I could show you the children’s expressions when we came into their schools and villages. Picture this, we get out of the van, and the children from the village come running down the road with the biggest smiles on their faces and no shoes. Wow. If that wont turn your heart inside, I don't know what will.
God used each one of us to accomplish His mission: for the love of Christ to be shown to the people of Ghana. God didn't need us to go on this trip, but he allowed us to be a part of this humbling experience. God allowed us to work on a church. He allowed us to move pounds of dirt, to break tons of concrete, to sweat a lot of sweat while serving Him. God allowed us to go into the schools, bringing music and skits to the children, and sharing the Love of His son with His people that one day will be first in His kingdom. God allowed us to go to the orphanages and to show the children what their Father in heaven is like. He allowed us to walk into the churches and bring our stories to the people. He allowed us to participate in medical missions for villages that were suffering from diseases. He allowed us to work and move and spread and share His love.
Lyrics to a song Clint and I wrote while in Ghana:
She wakes up same clothes as the day before
Mom's cookin' rice again but its not enough for the family of four
Looks like rain again while it’s hard when you live
In a house with a roof made of straw
But she thanks God for one more day
One day my child the last shall be first and the first shall be last
One day in a city of gold, God will recognize your worth and you will be told:
"Well done, well done my good and faithful servant."
He's felt loneliness for most of his life
Hasn't felt his mother's touch since the day that she died
He's been sick and all alone
Most people don't know what its like to walk this lonely road
But he thanks God for one more day
One day my child the last shall be first and the first shall be last
One day in a city of gold, God will recognize your worth and you will be told:
"Well done, well done my good and faithful servant."
It’s hard to see God in Africa through the poverty
So they put their hope in the place where they'll dance on golden streets
Sending my prayers to my teammates who are still in Ghana moving mountains for God,
Katie Heckel
:)
Each team member brought their own gifts and talents to the table each day were there. Charla was an amazing team leader. She had to put up with Ghana time and trust me, that’s not easy. There is no point in wearing a watch--just throw it away. Making plans or a schedule? HA! We all might just respond to that answer by saying, "Let the river flow." Chelsea was amazing with the children. She has an incredible personality and is so great with the kids. She has a skit called the "Life Savor" skit and the response from the kids after she witnessed to them was amazing. She was also a great motivator when it came to working--(and then she got malaria--that’s right...two down 11 more to go!! haha) Chandler, oh Chan Chan, is so compassionate. He was always so eager to get out there and work for the kids. Paul, besides trying to make every single girl mad at him (which was a game--and he failed with me) captured each moment through his camera lens. He constantly used his humor and great personality to make us all laugh during the times we felt like pulling our hair out. Brannan, oh Brannan, let me tell you what. He does the best boom chicka boom you've ever heard. Everyone, ask him to demonstrate. It’s amazing. Brannan is one of the most humble people I know. He was so encouraging to work with. Jennifer is a woman of God for sure. She may be soft spoken at times, but when she speaks, God's words flow from her mouth in to the kid’s lives. Emily has this ability to walk into a village and the kids flock to her. There would be times I could not even see Emily because she would be in the middle of tons of kids handing out tracks and spreading the news of Jesus. It was awesome watching her work those teaching skills to spread God's love. Chad also was so good with the children. Also, there were many of times where Chad would be in the center of a circle of Ghanaian children and he would be having a dance off with one of the kids. It was great. Also, he has a great God voice for the Jonah skit--ask him to demonstrate. He was a great asset to the team and we could not have accomplished things without him. Clint is the most passionate guy I have ever met. Watching him was like looking at one of Christ's disciples doing God's work with compassion, humbleness, and a goal, which was to spread Christ's love through our actions and words. Also, God has used him so much through singing and playing the guitar as well as writing music--that’s right--music! Haley Warner=AWESOME!! She constantly had a smile on her face. Even when we were all frustrated with things, she still had a positive attitude and smile. It was so uplifting. You know how people can click off...Haley was in EVERYBODIES click!! Joel and Patrick got to Africa and it was great to have new energy to the team. Mathias, our leader in Ghana, is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. So many fun memories: LET THE RIVER FLOW, BAPTIZED BY FIRE, IN YOUR FACE BRANNAN, NOOGIE, HALEY, I HELP YOU, CLINTON DURWOOD DENSON THE SECOND...that’s just some of our memories with him. We could not have done anything without him.
Being back at home has been bittersweet. When we said goodbye at the airport, all the girls were crying except for me because for some reason, I wasn't comprehending the fact that I was leaving half of my group in Africa to go back to the United States. I got on the plane, watched a movie for the first time in 5 weeks, and after the movie I looked at the map and saw that we were flying over the desert and started crying my eyes out. Ask Brannan, he was so confused. It hit me. I'm not in Ghana any more. Half of my team is still there and it was hard.
It’s been tough being back in America. While I was in Africa, nothing could revolve around me. It was God's plan 24/7. Being back home, I realize how awesome it is to be serving the Lord and having my mind and heart only on Him and not on me. I want to go back. I wish I could show you the children’s expressions when we came into their schools and villages. Picture this, we get out of the van, and the children from the village come running down the road with the biggest smiles on their faces and no shoes. Wow. If that wont turn your heart inside, I don't know what will.
God used each one of us to accomplish His mission: for the love of Christ to be shown to the people of Ghana. God didn't need us to go on this trip, but he allowed us to be a part of this humbling experience. God allowed us to work on a church. He allowed us to move pounds of dirt, to break tons of concrete, to sweat a lot of sweat while serving Him. God allowed us to go into the schools, bringing music and skits to the children, and sharing the Love of His son with His people that one day will be first in His kingdom. God allowed us to go to the orphanages and to show the children what their Father in heaven is like. He allowed us to walk into the churches and bring our stories to the people. He allowed us to participate in medical missions for villages that were suffering from diseases. He allowed us to work and move and spread and share His love.
Lyrics to a song Clint and I wrote while in Ghana:
She wakes up same clothes as the day before
Mom's cookin' rice again but its not enough for the family of four
Looks like rain again while it’s hard when you live
In a house with a roof made of straw
But she thanks God for one more day
One day my child the last shall be first and the first shall be last
One day in a city of gold, God will recognize your worth and you will be told:
"Well done, well done my good and faithful servant."
He's felt loneliness for most of his life
Hasn't felt his mother's touch since the day that she died
He's been sick and all alone
Most people don't know what its like to walk this lonely road
But he thanks God for one more day
One day my child the last shall be first and the first shall be last
One day in a city of gold, God will recognize your worth and you will be told:
"Well done, well done my good and faithful servant."
It’s hard to see God in Africa through the poverty
So they put their hope in the place where they'll dance on golden streets
Sending my prayers to my teammates who are still in Ghana moving mountains for God,
Katie Heckel
:)
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
New town, new faces, new adventure
So we have moved to Takordi and we really like it so far. It has been a great adventure so far. We like to say that we are Ghanain now. We walk around and dont act like and other being white don't look like tourist. We are looking forward to the new leg of the trip. I am running out of my limited internet time but we are all doing well.
Love you all
Charla
Love you all
Charla
First group home.
You should get some reports from the five who came home today after 35 days in Ghana.
This is Giles' report. Lisa and I came to bring supplies, escort Joel and Patrick to Ghana, and escort home the five who could only stay the first month. I addition, Mathias had me teach leadership conferences to preachers in Accra on Wednesday, to class and society leaders in Mankessim on Friday, and preach the the beautiful and historic Cape Coast Methodist Church on Sunday.
All three events went well, but the meeting with the Lay People in Mankissem was the best. There were lots of questions and lots of discussion.
The trip home was long (8000 miles) and uneventful. It was tiring, so I will close. I'll try to upload photos soon.
You should get some reports from the five who came home today after 35 days in Ghana.
This is Giles' report. Lisa and I came to bring supplies, escort Joel and Patrick to Ghana, and escort home the five who could only stay the first month. I addition, Mathias had me teach leadership conferences to preachers in Accra on Wednesday, to class and society leaders in Mankessim on Friday, and preach the the beautiful and historic Cape Coast Methodist Church on Sunday.
All three events went well, but the meeting with the Lay People in Mankissem was the best. There were lots of questions and lots of discussion.
The trip home was long (8000 miles) and uneventful. It was tiring, so I will close. I'll try to upload photos soon.
Monday, June 16, 2008
malaria is real
yep. clint got malaria. but no need to freak out. he's on medication and almost better. it's really not much worse than the flu; it's just that in africa it often goes untreated and that's when it gets bad. he'll be fine, but prayers are still very much appreciated. it's hard to believe that we've been here a month. mom, dad, joel, and patrick fly out today and that means half of our group leaves in a week. it's going to be really sad to see everyone go.
we've been so busy the whole time we've been here. we have visited three schools since the last post and two churches. we also went to an orphanage in sunkwaa. the children there had never seen obruni (white people) before. we have worked on the construction of two churches, one in tekyiam and another in srafa. we all fell in love with the tekyiam community. when we would drive through the village to get to the site of the church the children would see us drive past and literally run down the street to greet us. i have a video! it's amazing how even though no one in that village spoke any english we were still able to communicate through love. we sang so many songs. the children especially enjoyed chandler's boom-chicka-boom. we were not able to do much work on the church in tekyiam because one: there was not enough work for all of us and two: it took us a long time to convince ghanaians that these obrunis weren't afraid to get dirty and work hard! construction at srafa is another story altogether. we have worked until we couldn't work any more! our job was to level the floor so that they can pour the foundation. i don't think i can begin to explain how hard it is to shovel and haul in metal bowls enough dirt to add 12 inches to about a 400 square foot area. basically, we moved tens of thousands of pounds of dirt. we did that for at least four hours a day for a week. the work was strenuous, but it was so rewarding to see the results at the end of each day. the srafa community is extremely poor. their main source of income was harvesting coconut, but a fungus killed all the coconut trees so now they are experiencing famine. it was eerie to drive along the dirt road and all the sudden all the trees become just trunks with no tops. so sad.
there is so much need here in ghana. i can't wait to come home and share pictures and stories. also i have to share that God is working through us in so many ways. i have done the light saber skit (camp people know what i'm talking about!) and others have shared bible stories at the schools and four children accepted christ as a result. it's really amazing.
it's exciting to think that we're only halfway through!
love in christ,
chelsea
we've been so busy the whole time we've been here. we have visited three schools since the last post and two churches. we also went to an orphanage in sunkwaa. the children there had never seen obruni (white people) before. we have worked on the construction of two churches, one in tekyiam and another in srafa. we all fell in love with the tekyiam community. when we would drive through the village to get to the site of the church the children would see us drive past and literally run down the street to greet us. i have a video! it's amazing how even though no one in that village spoke any english we were still able to communicate through love. we sang so many songs. the children especially enjoyed chandler's boom-chicka-boom. we were not able to do much work on the church in tekyiam because one: there was not enough work for all of us and two: it took us a long time to convince ghanaians that these obrunis weren't afraid to get dirty and work hard! construction at srafa is another story altogether. we have worked until we couldn't work any more! our job was to level the floor so that they can pour the foundation. i don't think i can begin to explain how hard it is to shovel and haul in metal bowls enough dirt to add 12 inches to about a 400 square foot area. basically, we moved tens of thousands of pounds of dirt. we did that for at least four hours a day for a week. the work was strenuous, but it was so rewarding to see the results at the end of each day. the srafa community is extremely poor. their main source of income was harvesting coconut, but a fungus killed all the coconut trees so now they are experiencing famine. it was eerie to drive along the dirt road and all the sudden all the trees become just trunks with no tops. so sad.
there is so much need here in ghana. i can't wait to come home and share pictures and stories. also i have to share that God is working through us in so many ways. i have done the light saber skit (camp people know what i'm talking about!) and others have shared bible stories at the schools and four children accepted christ as a result. it's really amazing.
it's exciting to think that we're only halfway through!
love in christ,
chelsea
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