Aveyime

Greetings from Ghana! I have been so busy here, time is really flying by! Last week, I was able to catch a tro tro into Accra to use the internet and the power turned off! Every day is an interesting one here in Africa. A couple things have happened since my last blog. Three of the boys that were rescued from the Volta River ran away. It breaks my heart that they are no longer here for CORM to help. An investigation is being done to see where they went. Hopefully they will be found safely. It’s terrifying to think about such young children being out there on their own. Please keep them in your prayers.

We found the culprit of my hives! What happened was, I actually moved in to a room with bed bugs. I can’t say it’s been the funnest experience, but people go through far worse around here. I am blessed that it was a simple solution. It has been quite the process to try to get back to bug free. I have been sleeping in another location while they fumigate the place. I placed all of my stuff in bags to kill the bugs living in them. I’m hoping they won’t find a way back in!

This week, I was able to go north to complete a medical screening in a village near Aveyime. Dr. Troy and I went along with a team in Ghana volunteering from Las Vegas and Idaho. Some of the team put on a vacation bible school for the children in the community. A few of the volunteers joined the team that put on a medical screening. We drove to this village right along the Volta River. We thought that we would be having the screening in a school, but this community doesn’t have one, so we had the screening under a tree. It was a lot of improvising, but we made it work. The village is composed of mud huts, dirt roads, and the most amazing people. It was such a joy to be able to spend time with them.

The village does not have any running water. They get their water from the river, which has parasites in it, and is not safe to drink. They also bathe in the river, and go to the bathroom in the river. It really makes me think about how blessed I am to be able to turn on a faucet at home and have clean drinking water any time I want. I am constantly reminded of the things I take for granted back home. We have so much in the US, so many material possessions, but it’s not often I see joy like I see here. I think a lot of times, the more we have the more we are consumed by it. I am as guilty as the next person of this, but it has been such a good reminder that my happiness should never lie in what I have but who’s I am.

We set up chairs in the dirt for the screening. We worked with local nurses to see patients and be able to communicate with them in their local language, mostly Ewe. We sat a scale in the dirt to weigh patients, set up a tape measure along a wood pole to measure height. We had a station to check blood pressure, and three of us to see patients. We performed a medical screening for the community, which means we did an evaluation to see what the community’s biggest needs were. From that information, follow up would be provided by a few of our team that live in the community. They would be able to return and provide education through the CHE(Community Health Evangelism) program. CHE is a program that provides health education to communities, spreads the gospel, and  empowers members of the community to instill change.

As we did the medical screening and collected this information, many of these people were suffering from various diagnoses. So in addition to the medical screen, the team worked together to provide medical advice to the members of the community. We also did vision screens, provided deworming medication, and provided glasses. It was an amazing couple of days in the town of Aveyime, and I hope to do more work there before I return home.

The volunteer team we joined was able to visit a village while we were up north. I thought I would share with you what they told me because I found it very interesting. In this village, they worship the god of the river. According to this village, their god manifests itself in a clay pot. They have this pot on a pedestal and they worship it. About 40% of the men in the village worship this pot, but the percentage is lower for the women. They make animal sacrifices to the pot. They bring conflicts to the pot for it to figure out. It’s not uncommon for people to worship various idols in the more rural villages.

As much as I enjoyed the village, it felt good to come home to CORM! I missed seeing the smiling faces of the children. They always provide a warm welcome home with lots of hugs. Next week will be a busy one! Troy and Jamie will be away, leaving me to man the clinic. By clinic, I mean a room that they have opened up in their house for treatment until an actual clinic can be built.
Thank you all for your continued support! I am so blessed by your words of encouragement. I will continue to pour your love onto these children. Love you all!

Figuring Ghanaian life out

Hello again! Thank you all for the love and support from my last blog post. It is proving quite the struggle to find reliable internet! I managed to figure out the public transportation to the capital city of Accra. There, I am able access a slow wifi at a coffee shop. The things we take for granted! The public transportation system is like a minibus, called a tro tro. To catch one, I stand out at the main road until a tro tro picks me up going to Ashaman. This costs about a dollar. Then we head to Ashaman; this chaotic, very bus market. There, I get and manage to find another tro tro heading to Accra. This costs about another 70 cents. The process takes about 2-3 hours, depending on traffic from Accra, which is normally awful!! It’s quite the process to find internet! I take so many things for granted in the US.

 During these few hours, I see and hear a lot of interesting things. During my last tro tro trip back to CORM, a man stood up and spoke for about 30 minutes trying to get passengers to buy a bottle of something with the word BLOOD written on it.  I’m not sure what it was, and I was almost afraid to ask! Going out into the city is something I have really enjoyed. There is just something so amazing about being completely surrounded by unfamiliar things.

It’s been a busy few days at the clinic. Lots of wounds being dressed, the kids are always hurting something! Kids will be kids, no matter where the location. Lots of malaria tests, and malaria medications administered. We have also been providing HIV education and medications to those who need it. When Dr. Troy and NP Jamie are gone, I man the clinic, which can be very busy!  It’s a lot of work for one person! I feel like I am learning so much from Troy and Jamie, its been such a blessing to work with them.  

This last week has been exciting. Fifteen new children arrived from Lake Volta! CORM partnered with the police department and IJM to rescue a total of 45 kids along Lake Volta. In Ghana, a lot of children are trafficked here to work on the river. These children end up working long hard days catching fish. They experience traumas, and things children should never have to go through. City of Refuge, the nonprofit I am working with, works to provide a better life for these children. Once they are rescued, they come here. A plot of land with a boys and girls dormitory, a cafeteria, a school, a church, a playground, a basketball and soccer field( which is a favorite!) and a place where kids can just be kids.  They experience God’s love, they get to have a childhood again. They also get the opportunity to go to school. It’s such a beautiful program, and I am so blessed to be a part of it!  

The new children arrived pretty withdrawn, understandably so with all that they have been through. Almost none of them speak English, so it is hard to communicate. The few that do end up translating for us into their local language. Slowly, you start to see them open up. It’s absolutely amazing to see. They are given a period of time to adjust to their new surroundings, and then they will start school. How lucky I am to get to experience this! God is truly blessing me through being able to care for these children.

This week, I was also able to visit another organization located closer to the Volta River called Baptist Vocational Training Center. This broke my heart. I learned about a practice in some of the communities here. When a family has something bad happen to them, like a death, it sometimes is presumed that this happened because of a curse that is on the family. The family must then do something to lift the curse, so more people don’t continue to die. To remove the curse, the family must offer a virgin girl between the ages of 4-12 to the fetish priests. She will never return to her family, she is now taken on as a wife of the idols. From my understanding, the fetish priests are not actually priests at a church, but it’s more of a tribal religion. These fetish priests impregnate these girls at very young ages. They give birth there, and then their children also live there. The things that these poor girls go through is absolutely heartbreaking.

This organization goes in with bribes for the fetish priests, and is able to remove the girls to live at their organization. They stay there for three years and learn a trade. They are also given equipment at the end to continue their trade in the community and start a business. Through these three years, they are also given education and taught about Christ’s love. My heart breaks for these young girls. Please keep this ministry lifted up in your prayers.

So far, I am adjusting to life in Ghana pretty well.  I even was able to video skype with my fiance and my mom on my trip to Accra! It does my heart good to see their faces! The past few days have been a little difficult physically. I have had some sort of allergic reaction, we aren’t sure to what, and I have been really itchy from hives. I have been taking some antihistamines to help keep the irritation down, which has made me a little sleepy. I also started on an oral steroid and have been using ice to help with the itching. Please pray that we are able to figure out what I am allergic to so I can not be drowsy for the work I need to do while taking antihistamines! This seems so trivial In the grand scheme of things that people are experiencing over here. I just want to be present every moment with these kids, pray that one way or another I am able to do that.

Thank you all for your support since I’ve been here. Your encouraging notes and messages mean the world to me. Hopefully, I can catch a tro tro to Accra to post this soon! Love you all and thank you for your prayers!

Hello from Ghana!  I made it safely, thank you all for you prayers! It’s a very surreal experience to be back.  It’s something that has been on my heart for so long, but leaving this time was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. It’s never been a challenge for me to go on these trips before, but having been recently engaged has changed things. It’s been an adjustment to be away from him, and I am counting down the days until he visits in October! Being away from family for this length of time is challenging too. My nephews are going to be so big by the time I return! I told them they aren’t allowed to grow until I return, but I doubt they will mind their auntie.

The last couple months before I left were spent maximizing every minute of time. Packing things for the trip, spending time with family and friends, making wedding plans, I was always busy with something! Since my arrival, I have to learn how to be still again. The pace of this place is quite different from the American pace. Things take time to get accomplished, you have to have patience. It has been both difficult and refreshing to adjust to this. I think it’s something it will take me a while to master.

Slowing down has allowed me to get acquainted with Africa again, to take in all the senses. To be honest, a big part of me never feels like it left. I feel right at home. I love the adventure that comes with being here. It continues to surprise me with it’s beauty and mystique. So many things about this place can be dangerous. It’s both intriguing and terrifying. But for some reason that appeals to me. I love being able to immerse myself in another culture and constantly learn new things.

I felt so at home returning to my Ghanaian family. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the children again, they are huge! They have grown so much since the last time I saw them. We were able to skype a few times over the years, but nothing compares to being able to talk with them in person, and to see how each of their personalities are developing. My heart is very full.

While I am here, I will be working with Troy and Jamie Tompkins, a doctor and a nurse practitioner from Arizona. Troy, Jamie, and their 12 year old twins recently moved to City of Refuge and will be staying here for seven years. They will be starting a medical clinic to serve City of Refuge Ministries(CORM) and the local community. Until the clinic is built, they are using their house as a temporary clinic. I could not be more excited to work with these two. Their passion for God and for the people of Africa has been amazing to be around.

We have spent time organizing supplies, medications, administering test, and treating patients. I have also been at the school on site. Faith Roots Academy has about 240 kids from CORM as well as the local community. Needless to say, they keep me busy with a variety of things from skinned knees to tummy aches. Right now is the rainy season, so malaria running rampid around the children. Not much time goes by before we are running another malaria test.

I also have spent time learning the process of CHE(Community Health Evangelism). This is an education model that we will be using to help empower the leaders in the local communities to instill change. Health education will be provided, tied in with spreading the gospel. I am very excited to learn more about this program and to help use it to reach local communities.

During my time here, I will be staying in an apartment with two other rooms for volunteers. It’s quite different from my other volunteer experiences where I am constantly moving. This time I will be stationary, and I have a place to settle into. This weekend, a team of volunteers arrived that are staying in the other two rooms of the apartment. So I’ve also been busy welcoming them, and hearing all about what has called them to missions. It’s amazing to see how God is working in so many lives.

So as you can see, I’ve been busy! It’s been an eventful first couple of days in Ghana, but peaceful. I feel at home, like I am exactly where I am supposed to be and like this is where God wants me. I am so anxious to see how He will use me, and figure out more ways I can help.

If you could pray for God to just open my eyes to opportunities where I can be of service. Also, that Troy and Jamie’s work permits would come through so they can apply for their medical licenses to advance their work. Also, pray that the process of applying for my residents card would be a quick so I can try and get my Ghanaian nursing license. Also, pray my family, Lance and myself to all be at peace with being apart for this length of time.

Thank you everyone for all the love and support you have shown me before my departure. It meant so much to me. I pray all is well in the states and look forward to updating you on new events in the future! Love you all.