Modified WBS classes start!

I can not believe that it has been so long  since I have updated my blog....Well, you will have to trust me that we have been busy and I will do my best to catch you up.  We have been working on WBS classes for several months.  It is a modified version which I thought would work nicely to achieve several objectives.

If you recall, many of the members of the Central Church of Christ went through an Enlish Literacy Program earlier this year.  I thought it would be a great idea to involve members of Central in teaching the students about the Bible while using their newly obtained Enlish teaching skills.  Many of these students are living on their own and could benefit from a mentoring type relationsip as well.  We began these small group classes after our mid-term break.  At this time, we have a total of 22 students and 10 mentors studying together. 

Although we have had a few challenges with transportation and convenient meeting locations, things seems to be coming together successfully. 

As you can see in this pictures, the students and mentors all appear to be very enthusiastic.  I was unable to get pictures of the young mens groups, but will try to post some of their pictures at a later date.  There are more young men in classes than young ladies which is surprising considering that we have about 180 females and only about 50 male students.  

School is on break at this time, but the WBS classes will resume when schools starts back up on January 17th.

I traveled to Accra, which is the Capital of Ghana, December 2 nd to take my nursing exams.  I spent a total of 5 days in Accra to study and prepare.  However, I was shocked by how much of the exams was on  the pregnant woman and newborn.  That area is not my area at all!  I am still awaiting the results and am praying I did well enough to pass. 

Back to OAVI for final exams.  HIV and Hep B counselling was performed.  The government sent some workers around with Yellow Fever vaccine and about 175 students and staff received the vaccine.  Some of the students had already received the shots at their villages. Toward the end of the term, many studens are very short of money and food.  With the help of donations from many of my friends and family, a total of 250 pounds of rice were purchased and distributed. 

I managed to have two car accidents in one day....just not my day.  One was not my fault, but the other one was.  It is not easy to drive here.  Driving "rules" are very loose and there is really no enforcement.  I am sure there is more to tell, but I am drawing a blank right now.

Ephesians 6:10-11  "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

The Rainforest from the canopy.....

I went with a couple of friends to the Kakum National Park in Cape Coast last Thursday.  I was shocked to find that there are two fee schedules:  a price list for Ghanaians and a different, much higher price list for Non-Ghanaians.  I was expecting the price which was on the web-page, but due to me being a foreigner, the cost was about 3x higher than expected.  Oh, well, I wanted to see it.  Now I want to share it with you.

The bridge is made from several small ladders which have a 1x12 laying on top of the ladder steps.  The net is wrapped around the ladder and is usually about waist high on both sides.

The view is fantastic even though I could scare myself without too much trouble.  When that walk-way starts swinging, it can really start the adrenaline to pumping.

This is the view down from the middle of one of the bridges.  All you can see are treetops.

But even though we are above many of the trees, there are still others which are taller still.

These bridges were built by some Canadians in 1994.  I would have never guessed Canadians, British maybe, but not Canadians.  Anyway, it was a wonderful walk, fantastic view and a much needed break from school.

Now for the important stuff....an update of the school and clinic.  I administered the 2nd dose of the hepatitis B vaccines to 184 students on last Tuesday.  I, unfortunately, ran out of vaccine so I still have 54 more to go.  There were 35 students who were absent on the day we did the HIV and Hep B screening and so I am planning to get them tested in the next few weeks.  After re-testing the Hep B positive students, we now have the following numbers of students who will need further work-up and counseling.  HIV positive 4; Hep B positive 18 with 2 of the HIV positive also being Hep B positive.  I will be working with one of the other area clinics/hospitals for the follow-up work for these students as we do not have a laboratory at this time.

I continue to teach Basic Health to all the students throughout the week.  I have been focusing on disease prevention to this point.  I believe that if I can teach them the importance of and the ways to prevent disease, I will be able to make a bigger impact.  Unfortunately, it is proving to be very difficult to get them to actually put what I am teaching into practice.  I am continuing to modify my lessons in order to assure that I reach the majority of the students and that they are able to see the importance of good health.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council called me a week ago.  They have received all my required paperwork from the US and so I can sit for the Nursing Exam on December 5th.  I am excited about finally getting to move forward, however, a little anxious about be prepared for the test.  I do not wish to wait another 6 months to re-test.  I should know whether I have passed by the 15th or so of December.  (Let's think positively)....After I pass the test, I will then have to complete a 3 month orientation in a government hospital. 

This next week we will begin WBS (World Bible School) studies between church members at the Central Takoradi Church of Christ and the OAVI students.  At this time, we have 20 students who have signed up.  I anticipate many more to follow once we have actually gotten underway.

So, all in all, things are progressing here.  I expected things to take a little while to start to happen.  I am, however, always busy and thankful to my Lord and Saviour for this wonderful opportunity to serve.  Please keep this work in your prayers.  Pray that God will be able to use me for his glory and I will be able to serve these young people, teaching them of His Love and Salvation.

God's Plan

God's plan for me today was so much better than I had planned for myself!  This has to be one of the best days so far!!

Let me start back at Friday.  A preacher from the Yendi Church of Christ, Andrews, traveled to Takoradi to visit me and see the school.  I met Andrews this past February when I spent a week in Yendi learning about clinic work here in Ghana.  Yendi is in the Northern Region of Ghana and Andrews traveled about 20 hours straight to visit me.  Yendi is dry and hot most of the time as it is closer to the desert.  He would only be able to spend Friday night here in Takoradi and then travel on to Accra on Saturday morning.  When I was deciding about his hotel reservations, I thought it would be nice for him to see the ocean.  So I booked him one night at the African Beach Resort and me two nights....I decided to take the weekend off.

Andrews was very thankful for the stay at the beach.  He enjoyed sitting at the beach talking about the many marvelous and wonderful things God made for our enjoyment.  I think that it was a very relaxing time for us both.  I took Andrews to the bus station early Saturday morning for his trip to Accra where he will be preaching today.

I, on the other hand, stayed at the resort for the weekend.  I enjoyed my first hot showers since I arrived here in April.   I will tell you that I had almost forgotten how good they felt.  Wow!  I am an expert at the warm bucket bath, but a hot shower is still the very best!

I spent hours at the beach.  Some of the time I was working, some I was just listening to the ocean and relaxing and some I was reading. I got up early both Saturday and Sunday mornings to watch the sun rise over the ocean.  I talked with God, sang praises to him and tried to listen.  It felt so good to feel the light breeze on my face and listen to the sounds of the waves crashing on the rocks and beach.  Watching the tide come in and go out is amazing.

After my Sunday Sunrise Service, I had an enjoyable breakfast and a couple of cups of tea.  I had thought about spending a few more hours at the beach before heading back to the house, but for some reason I decided to leave and go to the school to do some work.  I am thankful to the Lord for that decision.....
As I approached the school, I suddenly remembered that the Village of Whindo has their church service at the school.  As I drove in, I could see they were in the middle of Sunday school.  I decided to go to the kids class and see what they were doing.  They were learning the books of the New Testament in English.

I introduced my myself and we learned to sing the New Testament song.  They did very well, I must say.  Saying "Thessalonians" is a mouthful for them tho.  Their smiles were infectious.  I love the children.  They are so eager to learn.  By the time I left them, they were singing the song by themselves and came to Thank me for joining them.

When church was over, I went into greet the adults.  This church is only about 40 people.  I greeted many of them.  Some of them are students from OAVI.  Today was a wonderful day for the Lord's Kingdom.  Two of the OAVI students and one other student were baptized!  Mary Baidoo and Emmanuel Cudjoe are two of my students.  (Mary is the young girl who I have talked about in the past who had chickenpox.)  I walked with the church the mile or so to the river and the three baptisms were performed.

As we approached the river, they began to sing praises to the Lord and immediately after hearing the confessions and watching the baptisms, they again began to sing Praises.  I was so excited that I had left the hotel early and decided to go to the school.  What a wonderful blessing to be a witness to this beautiful day.  And, you know, there is no way I can believe anything except that God wanted me to be there.  He gave me such a wonderful gift.  The students walked me back to the school even though they live near the river.  This was another one of the best days!!!

Matthew 28:19-20  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

AMEN!

Kicked out of Ghana!

Well I had to face some unpleasant consequences for a mistake with my Visa.  I came into Ghana on a 5 year - multi-entry Visa.  I read all the information about my Visa on the internet and knew that I could enter as many times as I wanted over a 5 year period, but that the total days I could stay could not exceed 365 days.  No problem, right?  Wrong......

Evidently I still have to re-new the Visa every 60 days.  I did not do that.  So when I realized my mistake and went to the immigration office, they told me they would charge me a penalty and renew the Visa.  OK.  How much?  My mistake.....I will pay.  So I paid about $200 in penalty and $100 in renewal fees.  Great.  I will remember next time and do it on time.

NOT SO QUICK......when I went back to pick up my Visa (about 3 weeks later), I found out that they had changed their mind about renewing the Visa and only gave me until October 12th.  I know my mouth dropped to the top of the counter.  I'm like, ok...so now what do I do?  The very polite young immigration officer said "Well you have to leave the country and then you can return and we will start our relationship with you all over".  Uuuuhhhhh, what?  I have to leave the country?  For how long?  (I wanted to say, but what about the "penalty" money you charged me to renew it?)  As it turns out, I only have to leave and I can re-enter the same day if I want.

So the decision is made that I will make a quick trip to Ivory Coast and back.  No Visa is needed to enter that country and then when I return Ghana immigration will re-stamp my Visa and I am good to go for another 60 days.  At the time I found all this out, I only had one week to get this done.  Dan and another church leader, Mike, helped me with arrangements.  Due to the short notice, no one was able to travel with me, so I was introduced to the Ghana bus driver who would make sure I made it through immigration alright.  Then another man who is related to Mike and lives in Ivory Coast would meet me at the station when I arrived.  No probem.  I have traveled lots by myself.

Well, YES,  problems......On Monday, October 10th I was to leave Takoradi at 9am to head for Abidjan, Ivory Coast.  I waited at the bus stop until 1:30pm before the bus left. 

Takoradi is in the middle on the coast above and you can see Abidjan, Ivory Coast to the left.

Since the bus left so late, it will now be after dark when we are in Abidjan.  No worries, I have spoken to Mike and he has informed the person who is meeting me in Abidjan.  For some reason, I am too shy (can you imagine me being shy???) to ask about a bathroom during the bus trip.  For the Africans it is not an issue...they just go anywhere.  I will not do that, so on this particular day I went 14 hours without going to the bathroom.  Good thing I have practised for this.  Being a nurse has given me 20 years of training as we often are too busy for a bathroom break. 

When we arrived at immigration at the border, it was a real treat.  First, please believe me when I tell you that I was never afraid.  The bus driver and the gentleman who sat by me on the bus where very helpful.  However, IF I had those type of tendencies, I might have scared myself to death.  When we exited the bus, an armed guard took our passports.  We were then told to go to this little delapadated building by way of a muddy walkway which had barbed wire fencing on both sides of it.  You won't believe it, but my first thought was "Is this what it was like for the Jews when the Germans were taking them to unknown camps?"  Of course, this is probably nothing like that, but the thought did come to mind.  There were many police and guards with rifles.  I have only seen this many in one place just after 9-11 at the airports.

Anyway, when I first traveled to Africa I was informed that I had to keep the yellow immunization card with my passport.  No problem.  I got all my vaccines before coming here and have always had them together.  However, when immigration took my passport to renew the Visa, they did not want the immunization card, so I had placed it in my room.  I have been in and out of Ghana 3 times over the last year and have never been asked for the record......UNTIL NOW!  I don't have it with me.  They require it.  But never fear, money will buy you anything.  I pay them GHC7 (which is approx. USD$4.75) and I am given a yellow immunization card with my name which states I received three immunizations today......I didn't receive anything!!!  Unbelievable.  So what is the purpose of the yellow card?  Anyway, glad to be back on my way.

Oh, I mentioned that they don't stop for bathrooms, except all natur'l by the roadside.  Did I mention that they don't stop for food either?  I left the house in a hurry this morning and did not eat breakfast....my fault.  Because of the bus delay, I had already drank the water I brought with me prior to departure.  (Glad I didn't have any more, really...)  I had a small pack of crackers with me and that was all that was left.  We arrived at the Abidjan bus station at 9pm.  The hotel at the station is where I am staying and a man greets me when I get off the bus and takes me to my room.  The hotel does NOT have a restaurant.  It is a BARE-BONES kinda place.  I am not going out of the compound to search for food.  I did, however, ask one of the bus attendants to go out and buy me some water.  So I have a couple more crackers and water.

The room has no towels and only one sheet on the mattress of the bed.  BUT, I have an air conditioner!!!  I can deal.  End of first day....not too bad all in all.  I made it safely from point A to point B, managed to wait 14 hours for a bathroom, I have crackers and water and an air conditioner.  What more could a girl want???
Sleep!!

Tuesday.  I am awake by 4am.....the bus depot staff are having a morning church service before work, so I am awakened by the singing and preaching.  At 6:30 I am told the bus will leave at around 9am.  No breakfast, 'cuz their is no restaurant.  I finally board the bus at 9:30 and we leave at 10.  Wow this is pretty much on time for Africa!!!  I still have some water from last night with me for the trip.  At 10:30, we stop on the side of the road for who knows what.  I think the bus driver and his helpers go to breakfast.  We, the passengers, are left sitting on the bus for a little over 30 minutes.  The young man next to me buys some carrots and offers me one.  I am so thankful for it. I wind up eating 2!!  Breakfast of champions!!

Off we go....back through the immigration posts again.  We have to deboard both at the Ivory Coast border and the Ghana border posts.  At the Ghana post, they remove all the luggage from the bus to search it and then re-pack.  This process takes 1.5 hours!  This time, I am a little braver and I notice some ladies who are leaving the bus area, so I follow them and A RESTROOM!!!!!  Whew!  Much better now.

Back on the bus.  At least it is daylight for this trip.  The scenery is nice and I enjoy watching out the window, however, I am tired of being on this bus.  We finally arrive in Takoradi at 7pm.  I get my car and head home.  I arrive home at 7:30 and the first thing I do is.....EAT!!!!  I am hungry!!!

I have definitely learned my lesson about my Visa and will be staying on top of it.  I am now good for another 60 days and you better believe that I have marked in on my calendar a couple of weeks early!!!!!

The rest of this week was busy and I am still trying to catch up on my sleep.  It is so hard to believe that you get more tired from sitting than from actually working.  But I give Thanks to Our Lord, Jesus Christ, for watching over me and guiding me safely through another week.  May he be with you and your family as you walk on your path.  Till next time.......May God Bless and keep you.

HIV/Hep B Clinic

Yesterday, we held a clinic to perform HIV and Hepatitis B screening tests for all the students and staff at OAVI.  I was a bit concerned about how the students would react.  I so wanted a positive outcome.  I chose not to inform them about the screening before hand. So after our morning devotional, I spoke to them about the importance of knowledge and prevention when it comes to their health.  I was so surprised when I informed them of what we were going to do, they actually clapped and were excited.

Volunteers from the area turned out to assist us with this project.  We had 5 other nurses and a pharmacist who assisted us.  We performed 226 HIV screenings, 215 Hep B screenings, administered 175 hepatitis B vaccines and gave out de-wormer to all.  We did identify a hand-full of HIV and about 40 Hep B screenings which will need further testing.  I will be performing follow-up testing for these students soon.

With the help of these volunteers and the orderly participation of the students, the day went very smoothly and was completed in a little less than 4 hours.

This is a picture of all the students gathered for the clinic.

We had the students sign in by department to keep the flow moving in an organizaed fashion.  .

Each person registered and received a number.  After this point, all testing and documentation was performed by number only....no names.  This was for confidentiality.  I will be the only one with access to the names, numbers and results.

As you can see by Lydia's face, the students were excited to have this testing offered for them.

If it was appropriate for them to receive the Hepatitis B vaccine, we administered them.  Of course, this vaccine consists on 3 doses, so we will administer the next doses in November and then March 2012.

After the students completed the testing and received there vaccine, they also received a de-wormer medication.  In Ghana, it is optimal to receive a de-wormer every 3 months.

We had 4 testing stations to help speed up the process.  Each test takes 15 minutes to develop prior to reading.

Of course, there are alway a few who are fearful of receiving shots.  However, we were able to comfort them and no one had any adverse reactions or fainted!

This clinic was successful because of many who donated time and monies.  Many thanks to the nurses and pharmacist who donated their day, to Liberty Movement Organization who donated the HIV testing kits, once again to the pharmacist who donated the Hep B testing kits and my church family in the U.S. who donated money which I used to purchase the vaccines and de-wormer.  God brings us all together to help those who are in need.  Glory be to God.

I Corinthians 12:27-28  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And in the church, God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

Goat Wrangler Extrordinare'

Have I mentioned that we have a goat? Well, this is what happened. Sometimes people from the church bring us gifts of food and fruit. Apparently, we received a gift of a goat two weeks ago. I came home to find a Billy goat tied up at the side of the house. Being the animal lover that I am, I immediately felt sorry for the little guy 'cuz he was tied up and couldn't move around too much. But, I was told not worry 'cuz we were going to kill him and eat him.
OK.....but that was 2 weeks ago....

You can not leave water for "Billy" because he just knocks it over. So, everyday I go out several times to water the goat. And I can't forget about him being here because he is crying (baaah-ing) constantly. Now I have never "lived" with a goat right outside the house before and I must say, I hope this is the only time it happens. Besides the fact that he is more noisy than a bunch of roosters at dawn.....he STINKS!!! And I mean it is a thick, hovering kinda smell. I hold my breath while giving him water!

Yesterday morning, Sunday, he woke me up and it sounded like he was "on the move". I quickly dressed (in a top and skirt which is my usual attire and sandals) and headed for the door. I found that after two weeks of being tied up on a short rope, Billy had twisted and twisted it until it broke. He was indeed freely roaming around the compound. Now you may not think this is a big deal, but we cannot leave for church without opening the gate for our vehicles and if Billy gets out, we will never get him back.

So, it was decided by me, since I am the only one who is not scared of him, that I would catch him by grabbing the rope which was still around his neck. So....one of the girls shooed him my way and I lunged for the rope at his neck...I got it!!! AAWWW....the rope is in my hand, but the goat is on the run!! So now what to do? We don't have any spare rope hanging around and besides I don't know the first thing about lasso-ing a goat.

We have a cage which I use with the little dog. He doesn't stay in it all the time, but I do put him in there when the gate is open to keep him from running loose. If he does get out, he always comes back, but I am fearful that a truck might hit him. Any, I decided that we would put the goat in the cage. So I shut the dog up on the porch and headed to tackle a goat..

Once again, one of the girls shooed the goat in my direction and as he attempted to flee past me, between the house and a small bush, I grabbed a fist full of goat hair! I then wrapped one arm around his neck and grabbed his front feet with my other hand. One of the girls came to help me carry him, but because she was so afraid of him I feared that she would drop him and then I would have to start over.....So, I managed to get the goat -stink and all - in my arms and cradle him against my body, holding onto his bottom and front feet. I had to be careful that he did not head-butt me in the process. And then quickly carry him to the other side of the house where the cage was. All of the family was standing back just watching me from a distance...actually, most of them were on the porch behind a closed gate!

Once I had the goat securely locked up, I realized that I now smelled like a GOAT! YUK!!!

Now, just so you know. I cleaned up well and made it to church on time.....but this is definitely not what I pictured a Sunday morning in Ghana to be like.....

Breaking News: Waldo's Car Found

It is amazing, but Waldo's car arrived inTakoradi last night!!! What a wonderful sight!! It was dark when it got here, so this morning I had it cleaned up and took a couple of pics for you to all see. You know seeing is believing....

I just have to tell you that this vehicle handles the BIG craters in the road much better than the eclipse I was borrowing.  I just pray that it is a good vehicle for the clinic.  If you come visit us, you will be traveling in this vehicle and so I want it to be dependable for a long, long time.

The dress I am wearing is a local dress.  The tie and dye material was made at the school by our students.  Then one of the ladies from church sewed it for me.  The students will really enjoy seeing me wear this to school.  School begins again on October 4th.  I am ready.......

A friend of mine posted this to facebook.  I feel compelled to pass it on to you.  Hope you appreciate it like I did.  I just don't understand the way the "rights" issues work....

Since the Pledge of Allegiance And The Lord's Prayer Are not allowed in most Public schools anymore...... A kid in Arizona wrote the attached NEW School prayer: "New Pledge of Allegiance" ~~~~~~ Now I sit me down in school Where praying is against the rule For this great nation under God Finds mention of Him very odd. If scripture now the class recites, It violates the Bill of Rights. And anytime my head I bow Becomes a Federal matter now. Our hair can be purple, orange or green, That's no offense; it's a freedom scene. The law is specific, the law is precise. Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice. For praying in a public hall Might offend someone with no faith at all. In silence alone we must meditate, God's name is prohibited by the state. We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks, And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks. They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible. To quote the Good Book makes me liable. We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen, And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King. It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong, We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong. We can get our condoms and birth controls, Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles. But the Ten Commandments are not allowed, No word of God must reach this crowd. It's scary here I must confess, When chaos reigns the school's a mess. So, Lord, this silent plea I make: Should I be shot; My soul please take! Amen

May God continue to shower us with his mercy and blessings!