Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Goin' To Town

It's hard to believe, but our first 60 days is almost up for us here in Ghana.  When we arrived in the country on July 6, we were given the customary 60 day stamp.  To stay longer, we must go to the immigration office and fill out some papers (and pay some more money).  It shouldn't be a problem.  We will take with us a letter from the administrator of the hospital here.  We hope that they will consider our departure date and just grant us an full extension to that date so we won't have to go back in another 60 days.

We are going to the immigration office in Tamale which is a little over 2 hours drive from here. We are also using this trip as a supply run.  We haven't made the trek since we went to retrieve Cindy's ATM card on July 11.  (if you haven't read about that, go back in the archives)  Try going over 6 weeks without going to Walmart!!  The kids are working ahead in their school lessons so they can miss school tomorrow and get out of the village, too.  We have been trying to arrange a day out of town for several weeks but transportation has been an issue.  Thankfully the hospital van is back in commission so we have arranged for a driver to take us.

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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Field Trip

Allie already got to take a field trip from school.  In her biology class she was studying the parts of a microscope.  We took her to the lab at the hospital and some of the lab technicians showed her their microscope and helped her review the different parts.  

Since this is malaria season, she also got some other unique opportunities.  They showed her some actual blood smears from some malaria patients.  Malaria is a parasite that gets inside the red blood cells so she was able to see actual malaria parasites!  Since the malaria can cause the blood cells to burst, one of the complications of malaria is severe anemia.  Allie got to see them collect blood from a small child,  see the machine that checks for anemia and the "staining station" where they stain and prepare the blood smears for viewing.

She seemed really excited about her adventure.  Is she interested in a medical career ?  

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Monday, August 29, 2011

Our Survey Says . . . !

Hey y'all -- is there anything you would like to know more about?  Any questions you might want us to answer?  Any topic you want us to blog about?  Any pictures you want to see?

Send your requests to us and we'll see what we can do.

Thanks for keeping up with us through this blog.  I just looked at the stats and since the blog went live, we have had over 5,300 hits!!  We appreciate your concern and involvement.

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Saturday, August 27, 2011

He Leads Me Beside the Quiet Waters

I took this picture just a short walk from our house.  I just love it.  It seems so peaceful.  It reminds me of Psalm 23.

"1  The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.   He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;  your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil;  my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."


I share this because it reminds me of a patient that I have been seeing in the hospital.  A young man with a very large mass under his left arm.  We were actually hoping it was from TB because we could actually DO something about that.  You know, that's what we doctors like is being able to DO something.  Unfortunately, this man does not have TB.  Doesn't that sound strange?  What this means for him is that the large mass is likely an inoperable cancer.

Fortunately for him, we know the Great Physician and now he does too.  We had one of our chaplains counsel and pray with him and tell him about Jesus.  He is now our brother in Christ.  Though he walks through the valley of the SHADOW of death, he can do so in peace knowing that his SAVIOR has already walked through death and lived to tell about it.


Dr. Luke writes, "
there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."  We rejoice with the angels over this child who has come to know the LORD.  As Christians, we don't always see the fruits of our laboring for our Master, but when we do, it makes the labor sweeter.

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Friday, August 26, 2011

School Has Started

First Day of School -- We ALWAYS take a picture on the first day!!



Well,  just like back home in Mississippi, our kids have started to school.  It looks a bit different this year, but things seem to be going very well.  There is a "school" building on the compound that is for all the missionary kids to do their classwork.  It's not actually a "one room schoolhouse" like on Little House on the Prairie -- the one room has a half wall dividing it into two spaces!  There are a total of 7 students and each student has his / her own space.

Natalie is in the same grade as Benton Hewitt.  Her classes are mostly from the A Beka curriculum and include the usual 6th grade classes:  math, science, spelling, english, reading and history.  They also have classes in art, etiquette and spanish on a rotating basis weekly.

Allie is a freshman this year and shares some classes with Emily and Abbie Hewitt.  They are all very close to the same age.  Allie is in biology, geography, geometry, health, english, literature and spanish.  She is using mostly the A Beka curriculum too, but her spanish and biology classes are being done in conjunction with her teachers in Winona (thanks Mrs. Sykes and Mrs. Wilson!!).  So she is doing the same material as her friends back home.

Evan is a senior and has all his classes by himself.  He is taking government and physics with A Beka and his calculus is an online curriculum called Thinkwell.  He is also taking english comp I online with Holmes Community College for college credit. 

They all seem to be enjoying the homeschool environment.  They still get up early -- they start school at 7:30 with a devotion time.  Evan usually finishes all his work about 12:30.  Cindy and the girls come home soon after that and we all have lunch together.  I am really enjoying being so close to them and sharing meal times together.  After lunch, Cindy and the girls go back for a short time but still finish early in the day.  Some days they stay over a while for some PE.

On Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, the students are involved in some local ministries that have been incorporated into their curriculum.  I will blog more about that later so stay tuned . . . .

All the  moms share teaching responsibilities.  We are so blessed to have such capable people that God has placed here.  Two of the moms (Hollie and Jane Ann) have education degrees, Cindy's masters degree is education (nursing) and another mom (Mona) has an art degree (guess what she teaches?).   Bart, one of the dads, leads PE and will help with the ministry as he is here as a church planter.

As you can see from the pictures, much of their education also depends on technology.  Much of the A Beka material includes classroom lectures on DVD.  So they have the same teacher and the same fellow-students every day in those classes.  Then, of course, the online classes are internet dependent.  


Please pray for:
1.  these students and teachers in this non-traditional setting 
2.  the ministry that is worked into their school schedules and
3.  particularly for the internet which has been persnickety at times

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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Lipoma


This is a picture of a "lipoma" that I removed from a lady's side.  A lipoma is a benign, fatty tumor.  It's hard to tell from this picture, but it's about the size of a large avocado.  She's carried it with her for a long time and was glad to finally get rid of it.


We carry a lot around with us that we would be better off without, as well:  guilt, fear, worry, discontentment, loneliness, shame.  We each have our own set of "tumors" that weigh us down and keep us from living wholly and completely connected to God.  

Pray that God will reveal to you any "tumors" that need to be excised from your life.  Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit speaking to you about these areas.  Trust completely in the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all our sin.  

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Wanna Obama Biscuit?


This is the wrapper from some of our favorite "biscuits" here in Nalerigu.  We know them as "cookies".  They are tasty and make great treats for the village kids that come knocking at our door asking for a biscuit.  They only cost about 6 cents for a small pack of 2.
And where do you think these "Obama Family" "Ghanaian" cookies that have cartoons of the US first family are made??  You guessed it -- the People's Republic of China!!  I wonder if Obama is getting a kickback . . . . ??

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Monday, August 22, 2011

We Have Gas

Don't be frightened by the title.  Having gas is a good thing.  Some of you may have seen some posts on Twitter that Ghana is having a national shortage of LP gas.  Our compound had run out of any excess gas.  All that remained was what was in our small tanks at each of the missionary houses.  We have been trying to conserve gas for a few days and were even able to buy a two-burner hot plate in Nalerigu and we already had a microwave.   It did further limit our food options though, but at least we could still cook some things.  

We found out today that the hospital was able to get some gas on Saturday.  We don't know if there is an abundance or just enough to get by.  Nonetheless, we are thankful for what we have.  

Thank you for all your prayers.  We mean that.  Your prayers are very important to what we are doing here, and we are grateful for each of you!!

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Friday, August 19, 2011

Orphanage

We recently visited the local orphanage.  Not sure how many kids there, but Allie and Natalie fell in love with them.  They immediately started making plans to return on a regular basis to minister to the kids there.

We have found out that most of the kids have mothers, but don't have fathers.  In this culture, someone without a father is an "orphan" because the mother has no means to care for the child.  These children eat meals at the orphanage but take supper to their mother and stay with her at night.  This way the mother is still involved in their lives, but does not have the burden of providing food for the children.  The proceeds from the chicken farm we blogged about earlier goes to support the work of the orphanage.

These pictures are from one of our visits there when Cindy and the girls presented a puppet show about the adventures of Noah.  They had a great time planning it, making the props AND working the puppets.  They can't wait to go back and actually want to make it a weekly ministry.  The other girls you see in the picture are Emily and Abbie Hewitt.  Their parents are Earl and Mona Hewitt, the long-term missionary-doctor family that we have known for almost 20 years.  They were instrumental in getting us to Ghana.

When we left, a lot of the girls wanted a ride closer to their homes so they piled in the back of our borrowed truck and we headed home, letting them out one by one whenever they yelled for us to stop!  Perhaps a "bus ministry" in the making ??




  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  
to look after orphans and widows in their distress 
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1:27

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Baking Cookies

Evan and Allie baked cookies recently.  They were DE - LI - CIOUS !  Natalie and Allie had baked cookies before, but it was a first for Evan.  They baked 2 very large, "special" cookies for themselves . . . .


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ganiw



Having children in our yard, on our porch, knocking at our door, walking with us, riding with us, holding our hands, offering to take our stuff, looking in our windows, asking for a "biscuit" (cookie), asking to use Evan's soccer ball, selling stuff, etc, etc etc -- is a very common occurrence.  They all have their own special stories and needs, but I want to tell you about one young man and ask you to be in special prayer for him.  This is Ganiuw (pronounced gahn-you).  He is a Muslim child who is at our house a lot.  He loves our kids and is always around.

One Sunday I was walking home from the hospital and I asked Ganiuw if he would be going to church that day.  He replied, very matter-of-factly, "No, I'm a Muslim!"  I told him he could still go to church with us, so he did.  He went TO church with us and rode home FROM church with us.  In between, he just played around outside the building with the other kids.  Oh well, he is a kid.

We have taken other opportunities to teach him about Jesus and will continue to do so.  After all, God has placed him on our doorstep!  I believe he is about as Muslim as we are goat, but he was born into a Muslim family and just knows nothing else.

At times, we can get frustrated and tired of the children being around ALL the time.  Please pray for us and for these children:

  1. that we will be patient with them recognizing that God has placed them at our home for a reason.
  2. that we will be faithful to share Jesus with each of them in ways that touch them individually.
  3. that God would even speak to them in their dreams, as scripture tells us, and reveal himself to them.
  4. that they will not be bound to the Muslim way of life into which they were born.
  5. that they will see Jesus in our actions.
  6. that we will be faithful to give to them without hesitation, knowing that all we have belongs to God.
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Rest of Our Stuff

As Americans, we are very attached to our "stuff."  So deciding what to bring to Ghana and what we could do without was a big process.  Then after we gathered all the "stuff" we thought we could NOT live without, we had to make sure it fit within the luggage limits for Delta Airlines.  So 2 days before we left Winona, our "won't fit in the luggage" pile was growing as was our fear of leaving behind our comforts.  Then, unfortunately, the luggage limits on the Ghanaian airline was much smaller and they had chosen a "small" plane for our flight.  To get all our "stuff" to our new home we would have to pay a lot of over-weight fees.  (That's assuming it would all fit on the small plane -- yea, you have so much stuff the plane can't take off!).  We found out that a truck would be coming from Nalerigu to Accra and we could send some of our "less important stuff" by ground, it just wouldn't arrive when we did.  That sounded better than paying a lot of overage fees for the luggage.  So at about 10 pm that night, after having flown all night the night before, we were going through all our boxes to determine what we "needed" and what could wait.  We were thinking, "What do we leave behind?  We already have the 'bare necessities' as it is!"  Eventually, we had made our appropriate edits and had a "go with us" pile and a "come to us later" pile.

One MONTH later, after much anticipation, the rest of our "stuff" arrived --


Here are the kids with our newly arrived boxes.  Evan was particularly excited because when we were in Accra choosing which boxes would stay and which would go, we forgot that we had layered Evan's underwear under the keyboard inside the keyboard case.  We had been so proud when we were packing in Winona and realized there was space under the keyboard.  Our strategic packing skills led us to tuck all but 3 pair of his underwear safely in the "secret compartment" below the keyboard.  If you notice in the picture -- the big black and silver case Evan has is the keyboard case . . . . you can fill in all the missing details!

After having lived a month without all the "stuff" in the boxes, I think we were a little surprised when we opened them and realized we had been doing just as well without a lot of the things.  

Have you ever thought about all the things you use on a daily basis?  Have you ever thought about what all you COULD live without?  Take a few minutes and ponder on the difference between "need" and "want."  It's not as easy as you might think.  

God ALWAYS provides for our needs OR teaches us that we do not need it.  Thank you, LORD, for being our provider!

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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Special Visit -- Special Meal

This week we have some very special visitors here at BMC.  We have Debbie (the national WMU president), Terri (the IMB prayer coordinator), Alice (IMB missionary from Burkina Faso, a neighboring country), and Beatrice (the Burkina Faso WMU president).  Today they had a meeting and meal at First Baptist Church -- Nalerigu.  The meeting was for area WMU ladies and the purpose was to increase missions awareness and missions education in Ghana.  We are so glad to have them with us here this week and pray that their efforts will be fruitful in increasing mission outreach in Ghana.

Photo by Mona Hewitt

Cindy helped cook the meal as you can see in this picture.  Or is she showing them how to cook in a cauldron?  You can see why cooking takes us longer here . . . .

(Just kidding)  We are very thankful that we have a stove in our house, but this is the way most Ghanaians cook their meals.  

Please pray for these ladies as they minister here and for the area churches that their missions outreach will grow as a result of their efforts here.

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Sunday, August 7, 2011

"Do chickens have large talons?"


 Those of you who know Evan well know that he loves the movie "Napoleon Dynamite."  In fact, we all do.  We have watched it so many times collectively that there are many funny phrases that come up in our family conversations.  For those of you who are less enlightened and have not seen the movie, the movie is about a nerdy high school kid named Napoleon Dynamite.  In one scene, he gets a job at a local chicken farm and Napoleon asks the farm owner on the first day of work, "Do chickens have large talons?"

WELL -- very ironically, Evan has been helping out at a local chicken farm here.  The farm was started by a missionary family, the Nyhuses, and the proceeds go to help support the local orphanage.  We certainly enjoy being able to buy fresh eggs.  I don't think Evan ever dreamed that one of his ministries here would be working at a chicken farm, but as you can see, he's really getting into it!

A local guy, Manassah, runs the place; he and Evan have become really good friends.  Manassah is a Christian, but his family practice local folk religion.  They harass him frequently about his faith and even sacrifice chickens right next to his hut then throw the blood on his door.  Evan has been able to be a close Christian brother to Manassah and, in return, Evan gets some Mampruli (language) lessons.   I'm sure you will hear more about Manassah in the next few months as he is becoming very close to our family.


  • Please pray for Manassah and his chicken farm.  
  • Pray that Manassah will be able to stand firm against constant persecution.  
  • Pray that he will be able to be a strong witness to his family and to his community. 
  • Pray that the chicken farm will be prosperous so the orphanage will become self-supporting. 
  • Pray that we will be a supportive family for him since his own family is not.  
  • Pray for the Nyhuses as they minister here through the chicken farm and in so many other ways through their growing network of relationships here in Nalerigu.  


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Saturday, August 6, 2011

Celebrating One Month in Ghana!



Well,  it's hard to believe, but we have been in Ghana for one month now.  That also means we've gone for a month or more without some things that we were accustomed to having frequently.  So we celebrated today with a greatly-anticipated American meal.  The picture looks like your typical hamburger meal, but it didn't come easy.


Watermelon, onion -- from the local market
Diet Coke, ketchup, mayonnaise, french fries -- from Tamale (2+ hours away)
Hamburger meat and mustard -- from Accra (10+ hours away)
Hamburger buns -- homemade from local ingredients 2 days ahead and frozen.


Needless to say, we won't be doing this frequently, but we REALLY enjoyed it.  


One of the lessons God is teaching us is that we take for granted so many things.  We are also learning that you CAN live without a lot of things that you think you cannot.  


Lord, help us to be thankful for EVERY thing because we know that EVERY thing comes from you.  Also, help us to continue to die to self so that as we decrease, YOU will increase in our lives daily.


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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Cowboy's New Shoes


This is Magit, but we know him affectionately as Cowboy.  Not sure how he got that nickname, but he prefers that title.  Even when we walked with him through the market, the other children called him Cowboy.  


Cowboy is a young boy that our neighbors and fellow missionaries, Greg and Wendy Nyhus, have taken under their wing to help.  We are not sure what his home life is exactly, but we sense that it is not good.  Neither of his parents are living and he "lives" with an older person we think may be a grandparent.  The Nyhus' have done a great job of reaching out to this orphan and showing the love of Jesus to him.  We, however,  got the great pleasure of buying him a pair of new shoes that he desperately needed.  Cindy had noticed that he had not been wearing shoes for several days but that's not too uncommon here.  Then he asked Cindy if we could buy him some new flip-flops so we took him to the market and he picked out these brand new ones.  


Brand new flip-flops in the Nalerigu market -- LESS THAN $1
Showing an orphan the love of Jesus -- PRICELESS!!  


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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

New Wheels



There is excitement in the Wilson household!  Feast your eyes on all our new wheels.  We have been without any personal transportation since we got here.  Of course, the other families serving here have been more than happy to drive us here and there when we needed it, but for the most part we have been walking.

We bought a big bike for Evan (but to be shared too) and a smaller bike for Natalie.  When we went to pay for the bikes (that are hardly new), the young boy told us the cost -- "1.5 million!"  At first we were quite shocked, but then we realized that fairly recently the Ghanaian money system changed to the Ghanaian Cedi, but many people still refer to it in the old way.  The conversion is 1:10,000, so the price was actually 150 Ghanaian Cedi which is just under 100 US Dollars total for the 2.  Now that's more like it!

We also now have the use of one of the hospital trucks.  It has a stick shift and no air conditioner, no radio, no shocks, no tail lights and ONE headlight.  But we are SOOOOO proud of it!  When we drive down either of the 2 roads in Nalerigu, we are recognized immediately and are met with shouts of "Sulaminga! (means "white man")" from all the small children along the road who just grin, wave and run alongside the truck as if the circus has come to town.

We do joke about our new transportation, but we are INDEED thankful for them.  Even with these vehicles, we realize we are still blessed more than most of the other people here.

"Lord, thank you for continuing to remind us how you have richly blessed us so we can bless others.  Thank you for saving us FOR good works and for providing for ALL our needs."

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Monday, August 1, 2011

New Friend









We have a new friend.  One of the watchmen, Chinni, has taken upon himself the task of greeting us every morning when he arrives to work and every evening when he leaves the compound.  He is an older man who works as watchman for House 6. (We live in House 8.) He comes by each morning to greet us.  He may ask us to pray for him or he may pray for us in his limited English vocabulary.  Chinni also gave us a mini concert on his homemade “guitar,” formed from a dried-out hollow gourd, cow skin, a stick, and some thin wires.  I must say, it was pretty resourceful of him to create such an instrument. We videod him playing and singing and when he realized he was “on camera,” he really hammed it up. 

Greetings are very important to the people here.  We in the southern part of the US are somewhat accustomed to saying “Hey” or, at least, waving to or smiling at everyone we pass on the street.  We might even go so far as to say “How’s your mama an’ em?”  Here, you say “Good day.  How is your work? How did you sleep? How is your health? How is your wife? How is your husband? How are your children? How are your house people?”  The usual response to each question is “Naa.”  This process may take a few minutes and has taken some getting used to.  People just drop by to extend to you are “good day” or a “good night” greeting.  Usually, the local kids want to come by and greet our kids several times a day.  It is really sweet.
Relationships are very important.  Let us not take them for granted.  These are the foundations on which we can share the gospel.  Being here has opened my eyes to the fact that I have lived quite an isolated life back home.  I may have neglected simple gestures due to the fact that my life was so busy.  I am reminded how Christ was all about relationships.  He prioritized them above all other material or worldly enticements.  
Sometimes “busy-ness” can be an idol.  Household tasks can take so much longer to accomplish here since there is no shortcut for anything, but I must not let my tasks take priority over my telling.  I must take the time to relate to people. 
I’m glad Chinni reminded me of this 

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Allie and Cindy Serving at Gambaga




We already posted about the "Witches' Camp" (which we prefer to call the "Outcast Camp") but we wanted to share these pictures from a recent ladies' meeting Cindy and Allie attended.   Here is Allie serving some eggs while Cindy gets to do one of her favorite things, love on the kids.  The Outcast Camp is such a special place where God's grace abounds and lives are truly being changed.  


Pray for the ladies and children that are there (and those who WILL be there) that they will all come to know the Lord and his reconciling love and grace.


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