Off to the Volta Region

Well tomorrow we set off bright and early for the Volta Region of Ghana.  We won't have internet all week, but will have plenty of pictures for you when we get back.  Please pray for us this week as we travel.  Pray for a safe trip, for the clinics to meet peoples physical and spiritual needs, for the children who come to feel God's love and for our children to have patience with Joe and I when we are busy and be flexible when we really can't control how the day goes.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from our Saturday at Till's Beach-  Isabella and Sebastiao's first beach trip!

Lab in A Suitcase

I was very excited to get to Ghana to see HCJB Global's very first Lab in A Suitcase.  I had read the description of it and see the pictures, but getting to unpack everything and put it together was wonderful and a little terrifying- especially since I have been more of a mom in the last 10 years than a scientist.

I Wish I had taken a picture of everything before I took it out of  the box, but here is a picture of the suitcase and all the equipment before I organized it.  The entire system can work with a solar panel that was included and we are hoping will work for the clinic since electricity is very expensive and not always available.  

Here is the final set up.  You may notice in the window, the blue rectangle is the solar panel.

This is the hand cranked centrifuge that came with the system. It is amazing how long 5 minutes can feel when cranking it with urine samples.  


This system is not meant for clinics, normally, but in this case it was the perfect solution.  The clinic will have several days a month for caravans to the surrounding communities and this will allow them to run basic labs both within the clinic as well as out.  It will be a blessing to see how this ingenious system supports what the doctors are already doing for the people.

First Clinic Day

Today was our first clinic day and Wow! We are tired.  Our first 3 days of clinic are here in the city of Accra working with a radio partner of HCJB Global, TheoVision.  Last year HCJB Global partnered with TheoVision to build a clinic here in Accra.  There are 2 HCJB Global physicians who will be coming this fall to begin work in the brand new clinic for 9 months to a year until they can get it staffed with Ghanian physicians.

.  Our task for the next 3 days is to do a small (All things are relative) clinic and kids club to introduce people to the clinic.  Most of my time here in Ghana will be working with the children, but while at the TheoVision clinic I get to also set up the lab and try to get a few test under way.

Joe and Steve Nelson each saw about 45 patients today in 7 hours.  The interns did a wonderful job taking vital signs, working the pharmacy and playing with the children.  The Ghanian people are so warm and love to laugh at us as we try to speak "correct" English or worse yet, their native language of  Twi.  I thought Ecuadorians were kind and patient with foreign speakers, but the Ghanians are proving to be even more so--- thankfully for us.  Joe is picking it up fairly quickly and even received a language lesson from a gentleman we met while out on a walk Monday morning.

 The highlight of the day is our 11:00 Coke break!

First Day Adjustments and Meeting the Team

Good Evening from Accra,  we arrived last night at about 8:30.  All of the flights were great, all of our luggage got here safely and the house we are staying in is very nice.  As a side note, if you haven't ever flown on KLM and get a chance to- take it!  They really know how to take care of passengers and the food was pretty good.  This morning we met for lunch with the Ghanian HCJB missionaries and the one intern who had already arrived.  We ate at a Turkish restaurant and it was wonderful- we are always excited to try new food and Joe even took a dare to eat a hot pepper, wish we had gotten a picture of that. 

Fortunately for us, HCJB has missionaries here in Accra working with Radio ministries.  The leaders of the team grew up as missionaries in African countries and are a wealth of information.  The team also includes a family from the UK and a guy from the states, but we will fill you in on them later (i.e., when I get a chance to get pictures of them.)  Joe and I just have to go where they tell us to when they tell us to and don't have to worry about planning much which is a huge switch from our normal lives-  it is such a blessing.  

Tonight we met the rest of the team, except for one who just flew in.  There are 9 interns plus the 2 sets of families and single guy from Ghana,  Dr. Steve and Dorothy from Quito, our boss Sheila who is the Vice President of Health Care from HCJB Global and the 4 of us.  We had a pancake supper tonight and just got acquainted.  

Leaving Ecuador

Good afternoon, from our last day in Ecuador for 7 months.  We leave tomorrow for Ghana for a month and then the states for 6 months and we "think" we are ready for the new adventure.  Preparing our house to be gone for 7 months was strange and I think it is just now sinking in for all of us that we won't be back here for a long time.  Please pray for us tomorrow (Friday) as we travel from Quito to Guayaquil to Amsterdam to Accra.  Please pray that we won't have any problems with immigration leaving Ecuador or customs or immigration entering Ghana.  Please also pray for us as we adjust to Ghana and that we can be of help to the missionary families there we will be serving alongside as well as good examples and leaders for the summer interns while remembering that our first priority is to show God's love and salvation to the Ghanaian people.  We will try to post as often as possible but look forward to seeing all of you who are in the states in August.

Parkview's First 2 Days in Shell

Well, it has been a crazy first 2 days here in Shell.  It has rained non-stop and the group has worked non-stop as well.  Enjoy the pictures and don't believe anything you hear about leg wrestling.

Searching for future missionaries

As our trips into the jungle wind down for this school year, I'm really trying hard to connect with many of the kids that we spend time with.  It's often very difficult as they prefer their indigenous language even though they're fluent in Spanish.  Being a big white man with a whiter beard often causes a little angst as well.  Typically I'll joke with them and address them as much as possible (and sometimes bribe them with cookies) in order for them to feel more comfortable.  One thing that I've found that really lights them up is to take their picture and then let them see it.  In no time I can have a group of 10 to 15 hanging on my arms trying to get their turn.

These two didn't have anything to do with me . . .until they saw their pictures

Once I've developed a rapport with them I'll try asking them about their lives.  Most are in school so I'll ask about their classes and what their favorite subject is.  Invariably, I get a lot of 'science' or 'math' as responses but do get an occasional 'recess'.  I'll then ask about their future plans.  Many want to be a teacher, like those who come to the community to  serve as their teachers and many want to be a pilot, as they get to see the MAF pilots on a daily basis.  Every once in a while one will tell me that they want to be a missionary.  You can imagine the joy that I feel in my heart when I hear that,  not because of anything that I'VE done as usually I'm just arriving in the community, but because of how God had used others to plant that seed and help it grow.

Marta - a future missionary

When I recently went to Moretecocha I got to meet Marta.  She's been in the Compassion program for a number of years and was recently saved a few months ago when a group of missionaries from the US came to several of the jungle communities.  She was soon baptized and gave her future to the Lord to be used to teach others the gospel.  In Moretecocha alone, I met 2 others that wanted to do the same thing.  While there I got to pray for them and encourage them in their readings.  They all had already received Bibles and are slowly reading them.  It was another great experience to see the Lord working in the lives of those eager to know Him.  Please pray for Marta and for those in the Compassion program so that He may continue to touch each one of their hearts. - Joe