I Will Not Leave You As Orphans

You may remember me telling you before we left for Ghana that part of our trip plans entailed making a very special visit back at the Beacon House Orphanage……but I couldn’t tell you what for! NOW I CAN! Our special visit involved this family…..The Vander Weide’s (from the left it’s Dawn, Emma, Doug, Grace, and J.D. down in the front).

The Vander Weide’s daughter, Grace has been in Jake’s Kingdom Hoops program since 2nd grade, so that’s originally how we met. Last December the Vander Weide’s took their first trip to Ghana with Jake, and they went again with us in March earlier this year. Doug, the dad, had a primary role in our construction projects on our recent trip, but there was something else bringing Doug back to Ghana this time as well. I’ll let Dawn, his wife, explain from here in a story that only God could ordain. In Dawn’s own words….

I’ve known since the 4th grade, that someday I was going to adopt. My best friend (Dana Hill Lamansky) back then was adopted, and she was awesome. I was always grateful that her adoptive parents made the decision to bring her into their home because that meant she could be my friend. I believe God used my friendship with Dana to bring the concept of adoption to my attention.

Doug hasn’t grown up with a burning desire to adopt. Like most men, I think, he is territorial about our family and providing for it. He’s always been willing to help and very generous, but it wasn’t until recently that he hopped on the adoption boat with me.

I have always known that I couldn’t adopt without Doug’s full agreement to the idea. So, we started out slowly. First, we had a young lady from Poland live with us for a summer. She was a challenge because she came to help us with our two young daughters, but it turned out that she didn’t have child care skills so she ended up being another daughter! Then, my sister, Nancy lived with us for 8 months. Nancy is 8 years younger than me, and she has down syndrome. She was a pistol living with us, and she tested our patience. Then, we had a foreign exchange student from Germany live with us. Suddenly having a 17 year old boy in our house was a huge challenge!

Then, our girls’ friends started coming to us with all kinds of issues. Doug has stepped into father roles as needed, and I’ve stepped into mother roles. You wouldn’t believe the kind of hurt that kids experience. We’ve been put in all kinds of situations where we could turn our backs on these kids or buckle up and go along on their ride. Neither one of us have the ability to turn the other way, so we keep finding ourselves gaining more and more experience dealing with challenging or hurting kids.

After years of all of the house guests and hurting kids, Doug went with me to foster care classes. We sat through 30 long hours of foster/adoption classes to get government approval to help kids in an official way. In March 2011, we got approval to adopt U.S. children whose parental rights have been terminated.

Then, our entire family (we have 3 biological kids) went to the Beacon House orphanage during a trip to Ghana because Janel Sullivan wanted to learn how successful orphanages are run. She wanted to apply the knowledge to the village where Kingdom Cares International is building a medical clinic, a library, and foster/adoption homes. I was along for the ride for this part of the trip. We were planning to adopt from the U.S. WE DID NOT go to this orphanage to find children for our family.

A volunteer at the Beacon House asked me if I was there to adopt, and I told her “No.” Still, she told me she wanted me to meet a very special boy. She said if she weren’t so old she would take him home herself. It was then that I met Job. He was in a time out area with a rusty grill and 2 other kids in punishment. He had eaten the soapy wet mixture in a pan soaking in the kitchen, and his consequence was a day in the punishment area. He wasn’t supposed to get time with visitors. I went back to where he was and hoped I wouldn’t be asked to leave. We talked for about 3 hours, and I agreed with the volunteer that he was a really awesome kid! However, I WASN’T adopting from Ghana - we had plans to adopt U.S. kids.

As we were leaving, the volunteer pointed out Angela to me – Job’s sister. Then she pointed out Godwin – Job’s brother. I left thinking, “wow, I’m so happy these kids have food and shelter.” Our oldest, Emma, left sobbing. She was seriously impacted by the fact that these kids did not have parents.

During the next 2 months in family conversations, we all felt led to adopt from Ghana. EVERY ONE OF MY FAMILY – we all were on board to take the plunge! I’ll never forget Doug saying, “LET’S DO IT!” God worked on us each differently. He started on me in 4th grade, on Doug when the Polish girl came to live with us, on Emma when we experienced the Beacon House…

Now we are deep into the international adoption process to adopt Job, Angela, and Godwin. We hope to bring our three kids home yet this year. I am grateful God has softened Doug’s heart to the idea of extending our family through adoption. And, we are grateful for how God has prepared us for this. We are relying on Him to continue equipping us for the joys and challenges that lay ahead.

WHOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Three - count ‘em THREE - orphans will now have a FOREVER family, all because we serve a GREAT GOD who defends the defenseless. He alone opens up the hearts of His church to CARE that there are children in our world growing up with no parents….and He opens up our eyes to see that there is something we can do about it! I. LOVE. IT. I wish you all could have been there when Doug introduced himself as DAD to Job, Angela, and Godwin at the Beacon House Orphanage just over 1 week ago (Dawn will get her chance in a few months when they travel back to Ghana for court). Enjoy these amazing moments in pictures…..

Job, the oldest, had FULL comprehension of what was going on (it helps that all the BH kids speak full and clear English so it’s very easy to communicate with them). You can see in Job’s eyes how much he adores that Doug is going to be his Dad.

Angela and Godwin were still napping when we got there, so they were a little groggy starting off, but quickly warmed up!

Angela…....................................................................

Godwin.........................................................................

My favorite moment of this day was when the family skyped with momma Dawn who was back in the U.S.…

What an amazing adoption story this is! For an older kid like Job, what a miracle that he will not have to spend the rest of his life growing up in an orphanage......I can assure you that unfortunately for a kid his age that is not the norm. For Angela, I just keep thinking how much Emma and Grace are going to ADORE her and teach her to do all sorts of girl things - like painting her nails, and getting her dressed up in Emma's old dance class costumes, and Grace teaching her how to hoop with the best of them. Adopting Godwin is going to launch the Vanderweide's back into the toddler years, and they have been out of that phase of life for awhile. I know it will stretch them and make their life 'busy' in a different way, but if you're going to be stretched, being stretched in the name of the Lord is well worth it. This family has been obedient to the Lord as He has put adoption on their heart. The road to adoption is never going to be paved out perfectly with a giant arrow over-head saying, 'Yes, go this way!' Rather, God often speaks to us in perspective-changing moments ~ in the hurt of a child's eyes, in the words of a family member, in the joy-filled smile of a boy who has already endured too much. Sometimes He even speaks to us about adoption supernaturally, but even then we still have to make the choice to believe and not doubt His voice. Are we listening when God speaks? Are we ready to step out in faith and take care of the 'least of these' even when the road ahead looks hard and we don't have all the answers? Are we willing to put time, thought, effort, energy, into loving these kids and walking with them through the battles that come along with adoption? Are we willing to make personal sacrifices so that kids don't have to end each day without ever feeling the love of a mom and a dad and the security of being in a family? Thank you Vander Weide's for stepping out in faith. I am so thankful I get to be along to watch your story unfold from the start to the finish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesus In Disguise

Jesus doesn’t say to the poor, ‘Come find the church,’ but he says to those of us in the church, ‘Go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned,’ Jesus in disguises. ~Shane Claiborne, Irresistible Revolution~

Journal excerpt and recollection from Day 4 of our trip…..

At this point we went to visit the eye doctors that Esi had brought to town to do the free eye screenings. Nana happened to be in the make-shift eye clinic watching the doctors, and as we got ready to leave he came up to me and said, “I have two orphans that I want you to meet that live near here. Let’s walk. They have a very pathetic (in Ghana that word means sad/sorrowful) story.” It was so sudden and unplanned the way Nana brought them up. It was like he saw me and then thought of it…..I had no time to ‘process’ where we were going – one minute we were in the eye clinic and then the next we were walking to the house of some orphans! As we did, I began to generalize and thought that these orphans would likely be two older boys. We walked less than 100 steps from where the eye screenings were and stopped on the back side of this shack-

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He pointed to this shack and said "This is where they stay." As we rounded the corner, Nana began telling me the details of their story, but we were interrupted as we saw two little girls (around the ages of 3 and close to 2 ) come from around the side of the house. MUCH to my surprise Nana gestured to them and said, “Oh, here they are.”

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As I knelt down to say hi to them Nana continued with their story, “Their mother died while the small one was at the breast (breastfeeding). They didn’t find the dead mother for a few days, and when they did, they found the two girls crawling all around her. Their father is not around. Their grandmother is now their caretaker.” Then he pointed to this pile of sacks under the overhang of their house….

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…he continued on saying that the grandmother sits here and cracks peanuts. Then she sells them to make a living. I asked Nana what their names were, “He said the older one is 'Y' and the younger one is 'A'.” Then his next sentence hit me harder than anything else he had said, “Since their mother is dead and they have no father they do not have a last name. They only have their first name.” I knew what he meant. Out of all the parts of their story, for some reason those words just haunted me.

Can you even IMAGINE the heartache welling up inside of me at this point? The past 5 minutes had all just happened so suddenly and hearing this tragic story right as I met these girls was so much to process. I was on the verge of absolutely losing it in front of the 20 other onlookers who had gathered around. As I tried to distract myself from becoming a blubbering mess, all I could think to do was to give them something. I started digging around in my backpack. We had filled our bags to the brim on this particular morning so we came up with two pillowcase dresses that would be a perfect fit for them. One of the village ladies standing around motioned to us to put the dresses on the girls, so I dressed 'Y' and one of the other ladies dressed the younger girl, 'A'. It was then that I realized how emotionally tender 'Y' and 'A' were. As we had approached their house they had been watching us intently and were quiet and reserved. But with our coming there was so much commotion that it had gotten overwhelming for them. The younger girl, 'A', completely broke down and started crying uncontrollably. In the back of my mind I thought that one of the village women standing around would pick her up to try and console her. But no one did. So, my instincts kicked in. Half expecting that she would turn away from me, I walked over to 'A' and scooped her up. But, instead of her rejecting this crazy white lady that she had never seen in her life, she immediately melted into my arms as I hugged her.

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I have never in my life felt as much compassion for a child as I did during these moments. As a woman, when you are holding a crying child, the first thing you think to do is to hand them to their mother. That thought actually ran through my mind while I was consoling 'A'. But I knew there was no mother to hand her to. In that moment, my arms were the only option. And yes, by this point, the dam broke loose and the flood waters came rushing.

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It felt SO GOOD to cry! Ahhhhh…..I just let it all out and was thankful that I had someone to cry with me. :) I wish more people could experience what I did on this day. As an adoption advocate I know that there are 147 million other stories out there like this one. But, on this day, that giant number got personal for me. Only the hardest of hearts could experience what I did and walk away unchanged. And yet, isn’t that what we sometimes do when God presses adoption into our hearts? We look at God and say, “Who? Me? Adopt? That sounds really hard. Oh, and it’s too expensive. And my kids, what about my kids at home? It would be hard for them to adjust to some random child entering our family. I don’t know if I’m the ‘type’ that could love a child that’s not my own.” And on and on the excuses go. But, what if you came FACE to FACE with the child that God has for you? What if you looked into their eyes, heard their story, and held them. Would you walk away then?

This whole scenario that I experienced was pretty dreamlike, and I can’t say that it happens often in the adoption world. Typically a family considering adoption signs up with an agency, and then sometime later they are matched with a ‘referral’ based on the family’s preferences regarding the child’s age, gender, and health. I can tell you from our adoption of Justice that on the day when you finally get that referral photo and background information on your child, it IS so strikingly similar to what I experienced on this day in the village. Your emotions have built up since the start of your adoption…..you’ve waited and waited and prayed and prayed and then BAM you open up your email and you have a picture of YOUR child staring you in the face. It is such an amazing experience to know that God has picked out the exact child for you that will join your family, and yet he or she is half way around the world. WOW. Now, that’s cool.

It’s also feels pretty cool that Nana has identified little old me to help the orphans in his village. On this day, Nana told me there are many orphans in the village, but these two girls are his first priority, and I agree. Thankfully, because of meeting Christian on our last trip, I know exactly where to go from here to be able to get social welfare involved and a plan in place for these girls. Now that we are home I have contacted The Ripley Foundation and they are set to investigate and make the best decisions for 'Y' and 'A' moving forward.

Sometime after my emotional breakdown, 'Y' and 'A's grandma showed up. Here we are pictured together.

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I have such a soft spot for grandmas and grandpas and this lady just made me smile on the inside. When she first came over to us she flashed us a big, almost toothless grin and then sat down on her peanut sacks and started chewing on a stick. LOVE IT! Throughout the rest of our trip, Jake and I visited 'Y' and 'A' every single day. Sometimes grandma was there, and other times she had put some of the other village women in charge of watching the girls. In our interactions in the later days I saw that 'A' was very close with grandma and she tried to stay right next to her at all times. As we visited each day, 'Y' and 'A' got more comfortable seeing us around, which allowed us to observe them in their element and see their personalities come out!

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'Y' seemed very serious. She’s got a lot going on inside….you can tell by looking in her eyes. At first I had connected with 'A', the younger one, but in the following days that we visited the girls I felt myself drawn to 'Y'. By our 3rd visit she actually smiled and gave a little wave when she saw us walking up. That melted my heart! I came to realize that part of her quietness was because she doesn’t understand English. At one point I thought to try a little twi on her so I greeted her with ‘Eh tih sane’ (which asks ‘how are you?’). Without missing a beat she looked me right in the eye and answered with ‘eh yeh’ which is the twi reponse that says ‘I’m fine’. On a different visit I read her a book and she took her little finger and traced all the colorful pictures on every page. It was clear she had never seen anything like it before, but she was really enjoying it!

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Miss 'A' was a different story. First of all, she did NOT want to have anything to do with Jake!!! It got to be kind of hilarious. By one of our last visits she finally let Jake hold her, but man did it look painful….you know on the inside she is just screaming ‘Put me down! Put me down!’

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We did get to see 'A' run and play with some of the older kids one afternoon and she seemed to have a bit of a sassy streak to her. :) She would go up to the older girls and act like she was going to hit them, then she would take off running and giggling so they would chase her. 'A' seemed to be the more social and opinionated of the two.

'Y' and 'A' became quite popular with our team during our time in Asikuma. We all loved visiting them and checking out their personalities.

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I had asked you all to pray that God would make this trip personal for each one of us. That we would each come away from this trip knowing the purpose that God had us to go. After Nana took me to meet 'Y' and 'A', I knew for certain they were the reason God brought me on this trip - now my 5th time to Ghana. I gave Nana my word that I would help these girls, and any other orphans that he identifies in the village. For many, adoption will likely be a great choice. For others, perhaps I'll get to start working on developing a sponsorship program or get more involved with the Ripley Foundation's family preservation efforts.

Thank you Lord for bringing me here....again. Through Your strength and guidance I will hold true to my promise to defend the fatherless and plead for the widows in this place.

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Sewing Seminar ~ In Dee's Words

I thought I would let Dee tackle this post on sharing about the sewing seminars that we held in Asikuma. The idea to do this came to me about 2 weeks prior to our departure to Ghana. Dee was the PERFECT person to head it up. I love how God uses all our different gifts and talents to make an impact here...from construction to sewing....it's all important. Here is more, in Dee's own words:

When I set out on this journey to Ghana I prayed for the Lord to reveal to me what my purpose would be while there. It became clear that the Lord wanted me to use my gifts and talents to help make connections with the people of Asikuma so that I could share God’s love and compassion with them. On August 4th the second day there at the village, my daily devotions from 'Jesus Calling' by Sarah Young had the most appropriate devotions for the beginning of the journey in Asikuma:

“Hold my hand and walk joyously with me through this day. Together we will savor the pleasures and endure the difficulties it brings. Be on the lookout for everything I have prepared for you: stunning scenery, bracing winds of adventure, cozy nooks for resting when you are weary, and much more. I am your Guide as well as your constant companion. I know every step of the journey ahead of you, all the way to heaven.

You don’t have to choose between staying close to Me and staying on course. Since I am the the Way, staying close to Me is staying on course. As you focus your thoughts on Me, I will guide you carefully along today’s journey. Don’t worry about what is around the next bend. Just concentrate on enjoying My presence and staying in step with me.”

The journey actually started back in June when I decided to go to Ghana. I asked the women of my church to help make dresses for the little girls of the village. There was overwhelming support by the women not only from Chapel (my home church) but also friends and family members of mine. God was preparing my heart as well as others for the mission project at hand.

Then a couple weeks before going, Janel asked if I would like to do a sewing seminar with the women of the village. This was exciting to me since I am a Family Consumer Science teacher who teaches Fashions (and the sewing component). It was also exciting because now I would have a specific purpose and avenue to interact and talk with the women of the village. People at home were not only generous to make dresses but they also donated fabric, ribbon and seam binding tape for the project. I went with 50 lbs of dresses, fabric and supplies in my suitcase ready for the sewing project. Now I needed to trust the Lord for this project to happen…

The first day of the seminar we (Janel, Amy, Kellee, and myself) started off down the road from the hotel to the school with a large suitcase filled with fabric. Christian, a boy from the village, offered to pull the suitcase the long walk to the school. I am sure the village people were talking about what these four white women could possibly be carrying in this suitcase going across town.

When we arrived at the school the children soon started swarming into the classroom (literally standing on the tables in their excitement) wondering what we were going to pull out of our bags or talk to them about.

With the help of some Kingdom Hoops guys (Kobby and Bennett) we persuaded the children to wait outside and let the adults come into the classroom for something special. Soon the sewing machines appeared. They came in on the women’s head to the school not on a cart, like in my classroom.

I was thrilled to see the women show up along with six different sewing machines. It was exciting to see how they were willing to learn and socialize with each other. Some women came with their babies snuggled onto their back with a cloth. Some of the women had the skills already but the additional resources of fabric, thread, scissors and a new pattern was exciting to them. Now keep in mind this was a classroom much different from what I am use to working with. There were no 6 foot tables with bright lighting and computerized Bernina sewing machines sitting around the room. In fact the school desk had a flat surface of about 12 inches wide and 3 feet long with a nice film of dust on each of them. This didn’t matter in the big scheme of things, after all, the entire project was about building relationships and trust so the people could see God’s love shining through us.

The excitement was contagious as the children peered in through the windows and doorways to watch us work with the women of the village.

There were five young girls so intent on learning this new skill. They worked closely together figuring out each step along the way.

It is amazing how you can create a casing ½’ wide and how you can press a seam open without an iron. One of the Kingdom Hoops players wanted to join in on the fun on the last day. Bennett made a pillow for his sewing project. Bennett and Kobby were such a help during the seminars as they helped with the on-looking children, carried our heavy bags and took pictures.

While watching the young girls learning to sew my heart began to feel a nudge about how to help the people. “Why not purchase some machines for the school to have a vocational skill class for the students!” After praying about it and talking with the teacher from the school I decided God’s plan was for the school to have an opportunity to teach sewing to the students. I visited with Mercy, one of the retired teachers from the school, about helping get the program started if I were to purchase these machines. She was excited and supportive about volunteering her time to help teach the sewing classes.

During the sewing seminars Kelly, Janel and Amy helped where needed and also helped hand out some of the dresses made at home to the young girls. We handed out all the dresses that people sent with us to those in need. It was very gratifying to see the joy in their face after we placed the dress on them and took their picture.

There were 15 or more women at the sewing seminar each time. The sewing machines were humming for three hours at each seminar. There were around 40 dresses made at the three seminars.

There was also one pair of boys shorts made on the last day of the sewing seminar. Remember it is important to keep your eyes open for the needs of the people. On that day Janel pointed out to me that there was a young boy playing in the yard without any pants. She asked if I could make a pair of shorts for him. So without a pattern I thought “I have helped many students at home make boxer shorts certainly I can do this” I started cutting out the fabric with no pattern and pinned them together. Soon the women there were curious about what I was doing. I showed them and they helped sew the seams together. Before you knew it there was a pair of shorts for a little boy. Not only was the boy clothed but the women learned another skill …making boy’s shorts. I drew up a pattern for the women so they could use it in the future. Maybe next time I go I could have sewing seminars on making shorts! The little boy with his new shorts.....

God’s plan for this journey to Ghana to teach sewing actually started when I was named “Dorcas” by my parents. If you have ever read Acts 9:39-43 it tells about a woman named Dorcas who sewed garments for the poor. I believe that my name has been an indicator of my calling long before I knew so.

The Lord taught me through sewing to have compassion for His people. He taught me to be resourceful with what is provided. The Lord taught me that you can share the gospel with others by showing your love and concern for them. The Lord taught me to keep my eyes open to whatever the Lord is calling you to do and you will be blessed throughout the journey.

After the seminars we would walk the journey home to the hotel - our “cozy nook” - for a bit of rest before the next adventure.

Matthew 25: 35-36, 40
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Construction Projects in Asikuma!

The idea to do something lasting in Ghana that would make an impact was born almost two and a half years ago in Jake's mind and heart (you can read about that here). He couldn't stand the thought of adopting a child out of Ghana, and then leaving the people and the heartache behind, never to return. God started turning the wheels back in February 2009 when Jake and his friend Chris took their first trip to Ghana. From there it has been a journey of God refining our vision, teaching us to wait on His timing, and grinding it out as He eventually put the right people in place to come along with us to use their specific talents for the Lord's work. Not only has God pulled many different people from many different walks of life into our vision, but, as He can only do, through these trips God has opened up more hearts to the nations. That in itself, is possibly one of the most giant rewards. The more people who SEE, the more who are stirred to action with a sense of responsibility. Here’s a look at our American construction crew that tackled the building projects in Asikuma….

From the left it’s Joe (Jake’s high school AAU coach who also has some plumbing skills), Michael (chiropractor, owner of Family Chiropractic in Ames, mutual friend of our family and Chris’s family), Andy (framer, owner of Strait Up Framing, does all of Chris’s framing for Bella Homes), Jon (general manager of Munn Lumber in Ames, mutual friend of our family and Chris’s family), Tim (concrete finisher, foreman for Van Gorp Construction, does all Chris’s concrete work for Bella Homes), and Chris - owner of Bella Homes. Not pictured is Doug V. (dad to one of Jake’s Kingdom Hoops players) who became Chris’s main project assistant, Cory (Doug’s friend with construction skills), and Todd (mutual friend of our family and Chris’s family, head boys basketball coach for Des Moines Christian and medical sales rep). All these guys worked SO HARD and had to trudge through many obstacles every second of the day as they worked alongside the Ghanaians from the community. As you’ll see, there were many men from Asikuma who joined in to help….some had construction skills, others just offered themselves as another set of hands and feet to haul materials, mix concrete and carry blocks. Nana had also hired a few skilled/professional construction workers from the community to assist our efforts. Work ethics clashed and cultures collided, there was arguing and there was laughter, there were many moments of satisfaction, and many moments of frustration. But through it all, concrete walls went up, and personal guards fell down as our guys made friends and memories with the community of Asikuma as they built.

We had two construction sites ~ 1) The medical clinic/foster home area (the buildings sit about 100 feet from each other) and 2) The library/additional classroom which was in the schoolyard.

Day 1 ......

Medical Clinic
-Demolition work
-Repair work to bones/structure

If you know Jake at all, you know he loves a well-groomed look to the lawn. All the weeds and brush and trash that were up against the concrete wall bordering the medical clinic were bugging him. So, he rounded up the Kingdom Hoops Ghana boys and they got to work pushing all the junk back so that they could give it a cleaner look and get started on painting the wall.

Chris said the Kingdom Hoops guys were such awesome help to the construction team the entire week. They did anything and everything asked of them, always with a huge smile and with a contagious sense of eagerness and excitement.

Meanwhile, this was the scene over at the schoolyard where the library and additional classroom were being constructed…

The first item on the list was to set the forms to pour the concrete floor.

Then, the concrete had to be mixed by hand!!!!! This meant that water, sand, and rock had to be brought in to mix with 40 bags of portland cement.

Chris said it was so cool because at the point when they needed to bring in the sand there was a guy who announced it over a megaphone. Then, about 40 kids sprinted away to their homes and came back with buckets to help carry the sand. You can see above that they also helped carry the water in. We didn’t ever ask them to do this, but they are SO EAGER to help out and learn at the same time!

Lots of onlookers….

By the end of the day, the concrete was down for the library floor, and Tim worked his trowel technique, all the while fighting off the rain.

Day 2......

Medical Clinic
-Outside wall painted

-Trusses built

-Put up new wall of concrete blocks where patio used to be

-Put in steel lentals for open windows and closed off other windows with blocks

Library/classroom
-Mixed more concrete
-2nd pour went down for the floor of the classroom
-Started putting blocks into place

Day 3

Medical Clinic
-Trusses went up

-Door frames in

-Built windows with re-bar security

-More block work and painting

Library/additional classroom
-Laid blocks all day. :)

Day 4

Medical Clinic
-Metal roof was put on!

-Windows installed

-Electrical wiring started

Library/additional classroom
-More block work (this site had 5 times as many blocks as the medical clinic)

Day 5

Medical Clinic
-Started plastering process
-Started tile floors
-Started plumbing
-Continued working on electricity

Library/additional classroom
-Windows in

Day 6 – last day to work before departure

Medical Clinic
-More tile work
-Finished electrical
-Set a toilet, sink and shower
-Installed poly tank

This tank holds fresh water which is brought in by a truck. When the water runs out the truck comes back and fills ‘er up. The holding tank is held up by the stand which works with gravity to create pressure. Victor, the welder in town made the stand. There is an underground pipe that takes the water from the poly tank to the building. Chris and Joe plumbed it in themselves.

I missed getting any pictures of the library on the last day, but they finished setting the old roof on the new blocks for the classroom side.

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!! I am spent just reviewing everything that the guys got done!!!!!!!!!!! I know Chris was disappointed that they weren’t able to fully finish the projects, but for what he had to work with, he really moved mountains. The biggest obstacles/challenges for the team mainly centered around construction techniques in Asikuma just being so behind the modern techniques our guys were used to. Chris said some of the Ghanaian workers were using techniques that were about 50 years out dated! He also mentioned that he couldn’t bring in things like a brand new electrical box, or up-to-date plumbing because the Ghanaians wouldn’t have the parts or know-how to fix something so modern. Chris and his team really tried to be purposeful in explaining and teaching the Ghanaian volunteers, but of course this takes so much time and energy and patience!!!! There was also some definite management of personalities and work ethics going on, but the team persevered and came away with some very moving and life-changing trip highlights. I will let the guys tell their details in their own words coming up next week when I start posting trip highlights.

Our gift to the Ghanaian workers was that we hired some women in the community to cook them lunch each day right on site. I got to help serve it. :)

We also invited the Asikuma construction volunteers over for dinner at our hotel on the last night. Many of our construction team gave out shoes, clothes, and other items to the volunteers to thank them for helping.

So, we left Asikuma with the medical clinic being about 95% finished. We’ve hired some Ghanaians to finish out the final touches which are setting 2 sinks, finishing out the tile, getting the front door set, and finishing the painting. The medical director for the eastern region visited the site towards the end of our trip and she was practically glowing with excitement. Although a few things still needed to be finished up, she was planning on scheduling 2 nurses and a mid-wife to start working this week!

The library and additional classroom ended up getting about 50% finished. The roof over the library still needs to be put on and tied into the roof over the classroom. Block work needs to be finished up, as well as the shelving and floors for the interior.

And, since time ran out, the team wasn’t able to start on the remodel of the first foster care home unit. But, God has a plan, and it will happen when the timing is right.

Next trip is tentatively planned for December of this year, after Christmas time. The construction can be finished out, we can help stock the shelves of the library and medical clinic, and see how things are running at the medical clinic!

Thank you to all who donated monetarily for this project.....it takes visionaires, givers, and builders in the Kingdom to make it all work together. What an amazing journey to watch as God planted this idea in our hearts, sketched it out on paper, and then gave us the means to make it happen.....Whooooo hoooooo!!!! And of course, we are not through yet....that foster home will be pulling us back to Asikuma until all the projects we've committed to are finished....and then we'll see what God has planned next!