Welcome to West Africa

I just spent a month (April) in West Africa with Dennis Hilman. We went to Ghana, Togo, and Liberia. Here is the trip in pictures! Dennis' thoughts on the trip can be found at www.foreignmissionnewsblog.blogspot.com.

Ghana

On Good Friday after our service, we visited the Liberian Refugee Camp where Amanda and I volunteered in 2010. There weren't many people left who I knew, but it still felt a bit like coming home. The refugees here cease to be refugees as of June and must integrate into Ghanaian society or go home to Liberia.

Easter morning service on the hilltop. These are some of the kids from the local congregation.

Easter Monday picnic! This seems to be the tradition at most churches in Accra. The “Botanical Garden” we went to was packed! It was a good day though: food, drums, volleyball, etc. 

These guys drummed and sang for almost an hour. At one point there was a crowd of almost 50 people singing along!

Togo

We weren't in Togo long—and mostly just for seminars. This was one part of Dennis' seminar in the little thatched church we were using.

On Sunday I ended up teaching Sunday School. There were tons of kids! Here I am singing a song with them. :) 

The group of kids I taught...you can just see Karen Goddard in the background! A lot of them are holding paper whales...we did the story of Jonah and made whales as part of the lesson.

Liberia

We spent most of our West African time in Liberia. A day or so after arriving in the capital of Monrovia, we were off to Zwedru—normally a 11 hour trek on bad roads...unfortunately it took us 34 hours and three different vehicles! Here's the first one that got left under the mango tree on the side of the road.

These are some of the kids that belong to the couple we stayed with when we finally arrived in Zwedru: children, nieces, and nephews of Christian and Patience Bowah. I think I finally got the names, ages, and relationships figured out the day I left! From left to right: Angel, Evon, Ezekiel,  Michelina, and Princess. Michael is at the bottom. Michelina and Michael are both the children of Christian's brother Michael. There were also two older boys (sons of Christian's brother Gilbert) who were both named Gilbert.

Some of the older boys playing football. No, I didn't play, but I did play kickball with the kids once...and managed to mangle both feet. Not badly, but they hurt for a few days. The kids were playing without shoes, so I did too... I think I need to toughen up my feet.

Christian, Dennis, and I on Christian's motorbike! Christian and Patience's house was only really accessible via walking or motorbike. There's just a small trail. However, amazingly, when we first arrived the taxi actually drove right to the house! Whenever we took the motorbikes after that we marveled at how the car made it!

The local congregation is building a new building! :) You can see the old one is a bit, well, old! It didn't take them long—four days from nothing to the full roof up! This picture is from day three.

This photo is in Monrovia. Monrovia is built right on the beach. I couldn't leave without at least visiting. I love the beach!

I'm now in transit from Ghana to the Philippines. I should arrive in the Philippines on May 2nd...and will meet a team from the USA on the 3rd. 

A week off in Ghana and Togo

I arrived in Ghana at the end of March a week earlier than Dennis Hilman who I will be working with for the next few months. I came early to arrange visas as well as to visit a friend in Togo.

I was looking forward to couchsurfing during my week alone. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, look up couchsurfing.org. It's a great organization. My couchsurfing host family was wonderful! Edem, his sister Victoria, and her two daughters (seen here) Juliet and Fidelia were all welcoming and lots of fun. Another treat was meeting fellow couchsurfer Stephanie who is currently volunteering with an NGO in Ghana. (We had all just eaten green candies and were showing off our green tongues!)

Edem also works for an NGO and while I was staying he needed to go out to the field and asked if Stephanie and I wanted to go too, which we did! Edem was helping to administer baseline surveys to see which villagers would participate in a farming program. Meanwhile, I wandered around and played with the young children, joined in on a school volleyball game, or hung out with the people fillingout the survey. The highlight forme was that I could join in on a middle school volleyball game and actually hold my own! :)

We managed to squeeze in some touring through the Eastern Region when Edem was finished working. We took in the "biggest tree in West Africa", Aburi botanical gardens, the Buti Falls (which were unfortunately dry since it's only the start of the rainy season), the Umbrella Rock (where local villagers get in on the tourist trade by charging visitors to climb their ladder to the top of the rock) and a few other sites. The drive through the Eastern Region was itself a treat! The scenery was fantastic.

As soon as we returned to Accra, I was off to Togo! A good friend of mine, Karen Godard, is serving there with Mercy Ships. The tro-tro ride to the border was uneventful, other than the two hours it took us to get out of Accra due to traffic, and I met up with Karen in Lome with no trouble.

The weekend was fantastic! We couchsurfed, wandered through the market, ate lots of great street food, toured the ship where she lives, went to the ballet, toured Lome, rode around on moto-taxies, helped cook fufu, ate fufu, and generally enjoyed being in Lome. We also had birthday brownies for my birthday...a bit belated, but who cares!

Monday as fun--I went to the Dental Clinic with Karen to help out. I never would have thought I'd enjoy being at the dentist office all day, but I did. I helped clean up after each patient, I held the light for the dentists, I found and handed out tools, I even got to pull a tooth! Maybe if I decide to get a job again sometime I will consider dentistry...well, no, actually I'm lying, but I WOULD help out in a mission outreach again in a heartbeat! :)

Back in Bangkok briefly for my birthday

I'm less than a month behind in my blog posts! I was in Bangkok for a week in mid-March--which included my birthday.

It was awesome, as always, to visit Bangkok and see everyone at Christ Church. :)

I celebrated my birthday with a Thai massage and dinner out with friends. It was a quiet celebration, but just what I needed this year.

Shortly thereafter I was on the road (or in the air, I suppose) again. I spent 4 days getting from Bangkok, Thailand to Accra, Ghana...someday I might decide it's worth paying a bit more for convenient connections...but it hasn't happened yet. :)

The worst and the best of Sri Lanka

Ahhh... Sri Lanka: crazy driving, beautiful mountains, friendly people...and a fair amount of irritation over the UN (not from people I knew, but from others)... While I was in Sri Lanka, the UN was in the midst of deciding whether the Sri Lankan government should be brought up on charges of war crimes for how they handled the end of the civil war. We never felt any animosity, but there were huge banners in Colombo and in the airport condemning the international community...

The worst thing I ever faced, though, was the driving. :) I'm pretty much up for driving anywhere...but I'm not so sure I'd drive here! It absolutely insane: curving mountainous roads barely wide enough to have two cars pass...and they drive at neck break speeds and have no problem with passing on blind corners! I was never worried about it...but it's one place where I'm not so sure I'd join in!

The best we faced was the people. :) I loved the people I met in Sri Lanka—kind, hospitable, and full of laughter! I loved getting to know people a bit better on this trip.

And the food! Fantastic! Very similar to Indian, really, but not exactly the same either... Yum! My wonderful host family (see picture) were fantastic people... and wonderful chefs!

The scenery was also a highlight--it was absolutely stunning! Mountains, rice paddies, sunsets, beaches: it was all fantastic.

As always, the trip was insanely short and I wish I'd been able to spend 4 times as long...however, it was still a lovely tiny snapshot of the country!

The end of winter for Burma?

In The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, Narnia just begins to show signs of thawing when the children visit. One of the first signs is the visit from Santa Claus. At that point in the story, no one was sure the thaw would continue, but hopes were high that the White Witch would finally be defeated and spring would come!

Similarly, things in Burma are beginning to change...
The people say, "Slowly, slowly things are better here. Slowly, slowly...and things will get better if the April election goes well. Will it be fair? We hope so."

For those who don't know, Burma (or Myanmar) had been ruled by an illegal military junta since the 60's. IT was considered the second most repressive regime in the world. Last year that changed and they supposedly have a democratic government now. The election, though, was rigged so the government party won but even still things are beginning to change for the better. We hope and pray it continues and reaches to all areas of the country!

Here are some pictures from my brief stay in a slowly thawing Yangon...

Bible School graduates

Touring in Yangon.



Buddhist temple.

Local kids!

Playing!

Why not Pakistan?

When I told people I was going to Pakistan they thought I was crazy, but I figured, why not go to Pakistan...I've never been there! :)

And...now that I've been here, I think I win the to go or not to go debate! I had a wonderful time and met some really lovely people. Of course I was mostly careful and I was only in Lahore as well, so not really a dangerous area!
Here is my trip in pictures:

 Fort Lahore--one of the few toursit sites we saw.

 With friends. The national symbol of the freedom of Pakistan is behind us.

 With the kids from one of the villages we visited. Many of them spoke at least a little English.

 A typical street in Lahore in the areas we were visiting.

 Enjoying some great Pakistani food with some friends!

With my Pakistani grandmother! :)

I spent less than a week here--it was too short! Hopefully I'll be able to return and see some more of the country in the future.

Rajahmundry road blocks etc.

Greetings from India: land of masala chai, brightly-coloured saris, and beautiful countryside!

Of course for many, it is also still a land of poverty, corruption, and injustice.

I arrived this year into the middle of an ongoing demonstration. Shortly before I arrived, some of the higher castes had defaced the statutes of a well-revered social reformer. These statues can be found almost everywhere and the man they honour is well-loved by the lower classes. The damage to the statues sparked protests across Rajahmundry. Road blocks shut down traffic for hours, stores were closed, and schools were canceled. The day after I arrived I was heading out to teach a group of children and women with Ariann Somero and Jean-Mary. We were almost two hours late and only made it because our car was small enough to sneak through the stopped traffic on the sides of the road or between the semi-trucks. Often we had literally less than an inch between us and the trucks on either side! We didn’t quite make it out of the traffic though. We eventually were stopped completely about 500 metres from our turn-off! Thankfully though, we were close enough to walk and therefore still made it in time to see the kids and the women. It is difficult to get too angry with them when I think I would essentially agree with their position. I, too, believe in social justice, a lack of corruption, and freedom!

Our days with the kids and women have been blessed! Kids are always fun and I’ve enjoyed singing and playing with them. And telling them Bible stories too, of course! This is the first year I’ve also spent a significant part of my time with the women as well. I love studying the Word with them and seeing their interest and participation. I just wish I could communicate better and get to know them personally.

No trip to Rajahmundry is complete without a trip to the Mission Hospital and we were there yesterday. Today, we were at the Mission Clinic, located about 1½ hours from town. It is both inspiring, but also bittersweet to visit these places. The mission hospital used to help millions every year with almost any medical problem. Today, because of lack of funding, the people still come but all too often the doctor can diagnose but not treat the patients due to lack of funding. There are currently no in-patients, no surgeries, and only limited amounts of medicines. The full staff is now cut down to only one part-time doctor and one nurse. As we sat and observed yesterday, the doctor saw about a dozen patients. All were diagnosed, but few could be treated. Please pray that God would be with these millions of patients who have nowhere else to go. Please also pray that funding would appear again to help the hospital and clinic treat these people. For more information on the mission hospital, check out their website: http://www.missionhospitalindia.org/

I’m leaving the city for the countryside tomorrow. The time always seems to pass so quickly! I look forward to visiting the next place, but I don’t want to leave the people here. I wish I could just clone myself into a dozen people so that I could stay in each place I visit. There is so much work to be done in so many areas! Each time it is time to leave I have to wonder: why are there so few labourers in God’s vineyard?