The work of our hands

Life continues on here in Ghana, and it is amazing that we have been here 5 months already. Although it seems short in some ways, it also seems like such a long time ago we bid farewell to the frozen landscape of PA, hopped on a plane in just the nick of time, and arrived at our bright and sunny destination. In my opinion, the family has adjusted nicely to the weather here, and is enjoying it quite nicely. We are now in the cool, rainy season, where we see Ghanaians in their light jackets and beanies, even using the cold as an excuse not to attend church services. We don't mind the 75 degree weather, finding it quite delightful.


We have seen God faithful in the time we have been here. The work He has given us is varied and sometimes difficult. I will be focusing on one of the most difficult jobs I have ever worked on; drum roll please......... "the big pour".


Now, we all want to see the Bible School completed, it's just with some ignorance that I viewed the process initially. Due to the different, difficult, and slow building process, it is not what we Pennsylvanians are used to. First, wood gets eaten by termites almost as fast as you put it up. So fast, in fact, that you don't need a permit to put up a wooden structure as it's considered a temporary structure. We didn't even start pouring the concrete before the evidence of bug infestations began to appear on the floor, the tell tale signs being small piles of sawdust dotting the floor. In October, when we made the rafters, we made them out of hard wood, and even that is then "painted" with a heavy coat of discarded oil, in an attempt to discourage inhabitation.


That being said, everything else is bug proof, from the concrete floors, block walls, to metal bars over the windows. So on paper, concreting the second story floor seemed logical.


Just as we were about to start, there suddenly appeared in Ghana a shortage of cement. This was no small problem, as Ron wanted to have all 500 bags in hand before starting the project. It was with difficulty and with visiting many locations that all the cement was purchased. The one supplier went so far as to say that we needed to be there when the truck came, and only then would he guarantee us 100 bags, but he didn't know when the truck was coming, but hopefully today. Well, David waited all day at the shop, and eventually the truck did show up and we were given our allotment.


By divine providence, I had other plans the first two days of work. There are no shortage of men looking for work in Ghana, and people were lining up for a chance to help on this project. When you view the video of the work, you probably wonder how much they got paid for a full days work. Answer: GH¢ 20.00, or $13.33. Not per hour, per day. And that is a very good wage for a days work, where many people live on GH¢ 5.00 or less.





So, here are a few stats from the big project.

90: yards of concrete

492: bags of cement

14: full headpans of sand in each mixer load

9: full headpans of stone in each mixer load

2: bags of cement in each mixer load (50 kg each)

1: shovel scoop in each headpan handed up

8: days to complete the job

1: person injured from falling headpans

5: liters of water consumed individually per day

20: ice cold Cokes consumed in celebration at the completion of the project

We did complete the job bruised, sore, and in need of some rest. It is with a huge sense of accomplishment that we walk up the steps and see the view from the second story. Now the line is growing of guys who want to carry the 2,000 blocks for the walls up the steps.

Another project we did recently is setup the canopy for the Adawukwao church to worship in. We had a canopy with a fabric roof, but we decided to put aluminium on instead, since the sun wears out the fabric in short order. So, it did take us several days to get the materials, once again a trademark of Ghana that we are starting to accept. Just to buy the screws to fasten the roof was a process. The company, Rockster's, wouldn't sell us the screws without buying metal, but they didn't have enough. So, we bought enough for half of it, and bought the rest at another place. Problem is, they apparently despise any standard measurement here in Ghana, and it was a different pattern and width. Then we bought 2x6s for the runners, and had them sawed in half to make 2x3s. The wood was so bowed, it appeared more suitable to build an ark. However, after a flat tire on the way up, we were able to put it together followed by many in the church helping us lift it up to put the legs under. We put bracing in and are looking forward to attending there for the first time this month!

We weren't going to let a flat tire ruin our day. It just made it very long.

Max got busy right away, leveling the ground. He was a cheerful companion.

Here you can see the quality wood we were blessed with.

A thing of beauty, don't you think? The congregation had been meeting on Pastor Frank's front porch, so this will really be a blessing to them.

Due to having 6 people in the truck cab on the way up for the hour long drive, Max and I decided to trade the A/C in the truck to enjoy the cool breeze on the back. Pastor Frank is on the left. The ride was super. Max was asleep in no time, a tired little helper enjoying the cool ride home.