Settin' the Stage

God has been working on both sides of the Atlantic on behalf of Crusades for Christ International. A group of 16 from Iowa, Indiana & Pennsylvania will join us this week for a time of outreach through testimony, preaching, literature & health clinics.

This year the group will be hosted by the CFCI churches in Asamankese, Ayaa, Adesio, Terno & Kotoku. Two of the days will be given in sweat equity to the continuing Bible School buildings.

Please take a look at this picture of the building last year. A lot has changed, and a lot remains to be done! You can see more pictures at the website, http://www.cfcint.com/, under the land development tab. Our electrician finally got the transformer connected, so there is power, power, wonder working power at CFCBI!
Audrey & Ron Bontrager have been tutoring us along the way in all the preparation details. Audrey will feed the masses. She has a delightful menu planned, mixing Ghanaian & American food to make sure no one misses the cultural flavors available. Okra stew, gizzard kabobs, grasscutter roast....Well, maybe not quite that far...but I had better check that menu list again!

Here is a sample of Jon's list.

For the good of the group:

fill the schedule, but not too much!

Mini-bus transportation & driver

meal location & cleanup lists

sleeping assignments (mats & pillows for all!)

sight seeing/shopping

vaccinations!

For each of the pastors, a visit to confirm dates, times & supplies.

flat area suitable for the service

drums and keyboard

microphones & speakers

chairs and benches

interpreters

singers/worship leaders

For the health clinics

tickets to hand out ( 125 for each village)

tables & chairs for counseling outreach

for some areas, a time of children's ministry while the adult visit the clinic

As Jon has chased down details, guided by Ron, he has learned that while things are done simply here, simple does not mean easy! This stage was reported ready to use. ;) While the supports took the work of a master jigsaw puzzle addict (Jon & Adrian), the supporting boards were even more difficult. Below is Pastor Felix lending his agile mind to the process. They are working in the newest end of the CFC school building, where graduation for the 2011 class will be held.

Taking over the health clinic list was exciting & challenging. The list (Thanks, Marilyn!) was updated & revised as we visited many pharmacies gathering the medications. Truly, our goal is a health clinic, not a medical clinic. We do not dispense medical diagnosis, but aid in treatment if we can. Medications are purchased at a pharmacy with no prescriptions needed. They generally cost 1/3 or less of what we are accustomed to pay in the U.S. Two exceptions? Triple Antibiotic cream (not available) & eye drops. The drops, for general irritation/redness) were GHc 14 for one tiny bottle. I shall note here for you skeptics (such as I was) these meds are unexpired & generally made in Europe or South Africa.

The process looks something like this. A ticket, given out by the pastors, gets you in line. The line leads to a team member writing down the reason you have come. Glasses? This way. Pain & suffering;) ? This way. And then head to the prayer/counseling area. Everyone ends with this. It is a powerful way to share in their pain & pray, not just for healing, but for a new beginning or increased authenticity in Jesus.

Everything from oral wormers to antifungal creams to multivitamins are counted & prepared for dispensing. This will be done by myself, an LPN coming from Indiana & a Ghanaian nurse. We also have wound care supplies if they are needed.

A funny kind of joy bubbles up in me as I touch & organize these familiar items. Nurses, you know it! (It's been almost a year since I was "gainfully employed" at HMC...I'll admit to suffering from a strange kind of medical withdraw! )

In this way, year after year we plant, God waters, allowing needs to be met, & pastors to be encouraged. Just like the climate here, these blessings are soaked up to sustain through the dry times.

And the stage is set for it to happen again.

O God, we invite You. Though You are already here, we invite You anew to work through each of us. Amen-o.

October 2~9 2011

It seems a thousand things have kept me from this place of sharing with you. Alas, a quick check of facebook is a much easier way to peak into your life, while my days spin by unreported. I am happy to report they have been increasingly hot, full of fun (the Bontragers have returned from Indiana!) & full of sweat labor keeping the dirt & bugs at bay.
I feel as though I have lost my sense of just how little time there is until the holidays & the new year. Those thoughts are still triggered by cooler weather, apple cider & a new cardigan. Sigh. Not here. Wet or dry, hot or hotter.
Please enjoy that cup of cider and those long sleeves for us!
Missing from these views into our week are the preparation Jon is doing for the outreach/clinic team coming in November in addition to a pastor meeting & many phone calls. As he cares for the pastors, he works with them in many things from wedding invitations to broken toilets & dishonest landlords.
Also missing ( on purpose!) is the preparation we are doing for the team. Cleaning up the debris of life that seems to collect in every corner does not rate a picture! If you are one of the lovely ones we are to soon see, know we are excited to have you. The though of seeing all these Americans...and not just Americans, but ones we know & love!

Here are my willing helpers digging in to sift flour. Below you can see the results of sifting flour while sweating. It made a sticky mess. But I could not persuade them that there was anything else as fun as digging into that big bag. Please click on the picture & see the little friend we found in the bag. He wasn't alone, either! The children were very impressed. :)

So tech support can leave help desk, but help desk will not leave the techy. Jon & our friend Irvin are sorting out some issues Irvin was having. Jon has also done some small work for a mission in a town close by. What a confirmation that we serve a God who knows our every desire & delights in showing Himself...if we are looking!

The return of daily (almost) hot sun brings out the creativity. They are cooling off while making boats out of tinker toys.

Grilling chicken for supper draws a crowd. :) My apologies for the odd picture of Adrian. He may be taste tesing the chicken.

Richmond & Max love to make paper airplanes. Richmond is our neighbor & Max's good friend. They are usually found riding bike in the street (sound dangerous, it's really not!), skateboarding or playing ball.

This is the road between the Bontrager's house & ours. Several years of rainy seasons had left huge craters in it. This grader was a short distance away working on another road. Jon offered them minerals (soda) to make an extra loop to smooth out our road. We appreciate the wider road & smoother surface.