Ariving in Ghana 9/18/07

*the building to the left is where we stayed

Finally, after much preparation, but most importantly—prayer, our team including our equipment had finally made it into the country. There were certain problems that Matt and I had anticipated arising, potentially putting the project itself at risk just because of the nature of the equipment we were carrying into a 3rd world country, but really all I can say is that it was obvious that God had gone before us making the path clear. God continued to show His faithfulness in this way throughout our time in Ghana in really monumental ways that I am excited to share with you.

We have only been home for week and finally making our way out of the jetlag fog, yet I am already eager to get back. (We will talk more about that later too). There is no place like Africa—the people, the land, and the culture. Bob and Bonnie’s presence along with home cooked meals (Bonnie’s biscuits and gravy—I am telling you what, that is some good stuff, people) added with Zoe’s pictures placed throughout our room made the compound feel like home. Even through the natural angst of leaving Zoe behind in DC, I don’t think two weeks has ever passed so quickly before in my life. The first day we got settled in at the compound then after a nice casual dinner with Bob and Bonnie (it was like we had known these people for years) we made sure that all of our equipment was running smoothly along with batteries freshly charged and compact flashes clean. Then we debriefed as a team and went over plans for the next day and called it an early night. With lights out and the air on high (it’s Africa), thankfully all of us enjoyed a good night’s rest.

Giving Thanks...

I finally got some sound shut-eye last night for the first time since I have been in the States and even though it was divided by two hours of bright-eye in the middle—I do feel like I was at least able to get some rest. So, it’s looking hopeful that I am finally pulling out of the jetlag.

Every time I am fortunate enough to travel to other cultures beyond my own, I always come home with a deeper appreciation for those many things I’ve come to enjoy while taking them for granted on a pretty regular basis. I take them for granted not because I am bad, but just because for the most part they are so familiar to me. After all, it’s easy to be aware and conscious of another’s need when you travel to places where life is simply about surviving another day.

So here are some things that I have been thankful for since getting home…

First, I have nine reasons to give thanks—

For the nine little red mosquito bumps that dot Zoe’s body from a little romping around in the grass.

Why? Well, because since I live in America, I don’t really have to worry if one of those bites on my daughter carried Malaria to her. After all, Malaria kills more children than any other health crisis including HIV/AIDS.

Tenth reason to give thanks…clean water.

The other night as soon as we had gotten all of the luggage out of the car, I decided to give Zoe a bath after a full day of travel. As soon as I turned on the faucet brown water began flooding into the tub. Zoe standing there naked and ready to get in…
It was such a surreal moment—immediately I decided that my child was not getting in that water while at the same time my mind was taken back to the rural clay roads and muddy stagnant watering holes that just days earlier I had seen people fetching their drinking water and filling larger containers to take home.
I called out to Matt—“This water in here is brown!” “It’s okay Elizabeth, it’s just sediment from the pipes sitting. It’ll clear up in just a second.” And it did.

Soon Zoe did not just have clean clear water running, but it was warm as well.

The eleventh reason to give thanks…warm water.

As I bathed my child in warm clean water, I still could not shake the feelings that came along with seeing that brown water filling into my bathtub. As Zoe played and splashed and we smiled back and forth at one another, I couldn’t help, but notice the stark difference between what my child has and what other children around the world have. This bath water was not only clean, but warm as well and it will be that way day after day after day. Then one more thing hit me…this clean water that my child plays in right now—she nor myself is even going to drink it, but instead when she’s finished with it we will open the drain and when we need or want clean water again we always know where to find it.


Just some thoughts as I process being home. I know these issues are hard issues and by all means they are not intended to make you or me feel guilty for having clean water or even being an American. But, these are issues that we must continue to address nonetheless and honestly these are just the fragmented thoughts that have been swirling around my jetlagged head since I’ve gotten home.

As promised…beginning Monday, we will start sharing more of our day-by-day journey in Ghana. We appreciate all of your patience as you so eagerly wait to know the details and those we so eagerly desire to share, but first as we try to make our base here at home once again.

Washington VS. Psalm 33

Same story this morning as I continue to find myself wide-awake at 4:00. I finally got the guts to get up and make it to the shower quietly stepping and hoping that I wouldn’t wake Zoe.

We fly out of DC around noon today and we should be arriving at 4:10 pm after we have a layover in Alanta and back up to Louisville.

It’s a funny thing, but if I am not going to be in Africa than I am always eager to get back to what I know is home. I guess it is because my heart feels the same peace there—that “feeling of home” kind of thing in Africa, as it does back at my house and the familiarity that surrounds it.

Important!

Monday we will begin posting our day-by-day journey through Ghana. So keep checking and please bear with us as we acclimate to US culture/time zones and trying to remain silent enough before God to hear His next step.

**Please feel free to comment or just say hello if you like. It’s always good to see who has been keeping up with our story.


YESTERDAY IN WASHINGTON




Yesterday Matt and I decided to load up Zoe and hit the Metro (DC’s subway system) to the Jefferson Memorial. We had a lot of fun as well as a pretty nice workout since the subway system didn’t take us as close as we had thought it would. The subway dropped us off right between the White House and the Washington Monument. We hit The Mall and began our long journey to the Jefferson Memorial. We first were able to see the Jefferson over the beautiful lake and while Matt and I stood there Marine One passed right before us, which was really exciting.



Once we made it to the Jefferson Memorial we strategize about how to get the stroller to the top while allowing her to walk them herself. I am sure that Zoe has been to more of the monuments than most have before two years of age.










She was a good sport especially since this all took place during what should have been her nap.




It was cute…Matt’s arm was getting tired from carrying her so far that he decided to try and get her to ride like the African women hold their little ones (without the cloth). She loved it! It’s a good thing because I bought some cloth in Tamale just for this reason.



It’s pretty bizarre to come from a country like Ghana were they talk in hours and days, instead of minutes immediately into such a fast pass society as DC. In DC, everything is in seconds—crossing the road, getting to the next meeting, catching the subway and to see people run like they are catching a plane is just strange, when The Metro has the same route available every ten minutes.

It was neat though as it was clear that God was teaching and reminding us a little about Himself in those moments yesterday. To slow down, enjoy the process (the ride as much as our destination) and that our security is not in the world of meetings or busyness or even business, but only in the One who Created the Heavens and the Earth and everything within it. (Everything here in DC is centered on the issue of Homeland Security)

**Check out Psalm 33. Read the whole thing, but focus on vs. 13-22, and may you have true and deep Peace from the One who created it as you go about your day.

Email from our friends in Ghana

This is a copy of an email sent from Bob and Bonnie this morning.

Matt, Elizabeth, Don and Zenda,

We just wanted to say thank you once more for all of your hard work while you were in Ghana. Each of you brought such an array of ministry to us that it would be difficult to say what was the 'best' part. Keep up the good work and know that there are many today that are enjoying your pictures. Even more importantly, know that you will spend eternity with some of those folks all because you cared enough to share a picture.
Keep in touch with us and don't forget to write something for the newsletter. Love ya!
Bob & Bonnie

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy

www.seedministry.com

(Elizabeth talking now)

Check out their ministry, what they are doing is really cool and has Matt and myself thinking. Bob and Bonnie did not go to Tamale to start a church, but instead they empower the Ghanaian Pastors in Tamale to empower their individual churches. Doesn't it make sense that an indigenous pastor would understand the needs of the people rather than someone else who grew up in a completely different atmosphere?

One more thing:

Seed Ministry is working on a container project, which you can check out on their website. If you can participate any way possible, I can tell you that it will be put to good use and further the Kingdom, but you only have a month before it is shipped.

Throughout our time in Ghana we continued to ask Bob and Bonnie what their wish list would look like. The kept shying away from our request because they are so humble at heart. However, through our continued urging and growing relationship they finally did write it out. This is what was on it.

Bob and Bonnie's wish list:

Container Project:

Toothbrush and toothpaste
Dental floss
Band aids
Triple antibiotic ointment or crème

New or used:
Medium to large bibles (no King James--the English is too hard, as they are just learning)
Bible commentaries
Bible concordances
Bible dictionaries

Weed eaters
Small generators
Bicycles and motorbikes for pastors
Any kind of instruments (new or used): guitars, pianos, keyboards--anything

They are asking for a $7.00 donation for every cubic square box you fill. Every little bit helps. Check it out on their website for more details.

seedministry.com

Jet Lagged

I literally have been rolling around in the bed wide awake since four this morning wondering how I could get up and get something done without waking up Zoe. Matt has been doing the same thing since a little before six. We are sharing a room with her in DC as we spend a little bit of time with Matt's parent's, which we don't often get to do. It has been neat to watch what Zoe's days must have looked like while we were away. We fly out tomorrow around noon and then we will all be adjusting to being at home. Hopefully, we will sleep better once we are all in our own beds.

Well, I hear Zoe in the other room repeating a cheerful, "Daddy, daddy, daddy?" Today is going to get started early with her early as well--it looks like.

Thanks for keeping up with us.

We Are Back in the US!!

We have returned after a long journey of 5,129 miles to DC where we have reunited with Zoe and are spending a couple of days with my parents. Our trip was a tremendous success in working through the logistics of photo shots in remote villages and experiencing the response of the people in seeing the first photographs of their families.

In addition to this, we developed a great relationship with Bob and Bonnie Parker of Seed Ministry in Tamale Ghana. Their ministry works to support the work of local pastors in Ghana in all sorts of ways including construction, medical, transportation, and education assistance. In addition to this, Seed Ministry sets up Bible clubs for children in villages where there are no churches. Bob and Bonnie and rest of the Seed Ministry staff worked so hard to accommodate our little team with transportation and crowd control for the shoots. We had a great time photographing some of the tourist spots as we made our way south to Accra. Our trip could not have been successful without their help! Check out their website at seedministry.com.

We are adjusting to the culture shock that comes with returning to all the niceties of the US. You never know how fortunate you are until you get to experience how the majority of the world lives. Hot showers, air conditioning, and Starbuck's do a number on the senses upon returning home.

Thank you all for keeping up with the blog while we were gone. We had limited access to internet cafes (I was amazed to find any internet access at all) so we were only able to post twice while we were gone. Over the course of the next several posts I will share some of our photos to catch everyone up on the details of the trip. Also, I will spend some time laying out the vision for the future of our organization. We are excited about the work that God has done thus far through our photographs and we are excited for our creative horizons to be expanded as 1000 Words of Hope grows and new projects develop.

Thanks again for all the prayer and support. Please continue to pray for safe travels for Elizabeth's parents as their plane was delayed which means that they will have to "travel" from 12 noon today until 10 pm to get from New York to Louisville. And by "travel," I mean sitting in an airport terminal in Boston or Cincinnati. Amazing! So pray for patience for them.

More from Ghana

We have been so busy that it has been difficult to get to the internet café to post. The last time we went we were able to see some pictures of Zoe that my parents posted. She is so cute and is having a great time in DC.

On Sunday I got to preach at a Baptist Student Union at the university here and then again at Faith Baptist Church near where we are staying. Later that day we surprised the congregation by taking family portraits for them. It has been great to see everyone come out in their Sunday best and then be so happy to see themselves in the pictures when they receive them. They all gather around as they are being printed and compare them with each other, laughing and talking excitedly. I am sure this is the first time some of them have ever seen themselves. They are so proud of their families and all say that they will hang their picture up in a special place in their homes.

Yesterday we went to the market where residents of Tamale do their grocery shopping. It was amazing. You can get anything from dried fish for soup to flour for baking. You can even buy a cow’s head if that is the type of soup you prefer. I’ll stick with chicken noodle, sans the head please. I was not able to get any photos in the market because people here do not care for being photographed in public if they do not know what the use of picture is. I think there have been some embarrassing pictures of the less desirable, third world aspects of culture here that have been printed in magazines in other parts of the world.

There has been another couple here from Georgia with the God’s Story Project. It is so strange; these people originally are from Louisville and are here introducing a movie that summarizes the bible in the people’s language in 78 minutes. We got some great long exposure pictures of the people at a church watching this movie last night. It is cool to look at these pictures and see people who are probably coming to their first understanding of the story of redemption. A projector and screen was put up with a loud speaker so that it was like going to a drive-in. It was large enough to draw the attention of people from the surrounding village, including many Muslims. When we were setting up the equipment, the prayers were coming over the loud speaker in a near by Mosque. The video started and drowned out the prayers. I thought this would cause danger for us, but there were many Muslim men who watched the movie and seemed very interested in the story portrayed.

The movie is put together so well that if these people are able to understand what they have seen they will have more of a concise understanding of the Bible than many Americans! It is a great project that is seeking to put the movie into every language in Ghana—that is more than 60 languages. It takes 3 months and $3500 to complete a translation. Compared to a Bible translation this is a fraction of the time and money involved in a product that even the illiterate can understand.

The people from the project have been very appreciative of the pictures we took of the viewing because they have not been able to capture the events since they happen at night. Because the shutter on the camera was open for 15 seconds to get the shot, the pictures look like it is dusk when in reality it was pitch black outside (notice the stars). Once again God has been able to use our ability and equipment to support the work he is doing here in ways that we could not have orchestrated on our own.

Bob and Bonnie and the rest of the staff from Seed Ministry have been amazing. Elizabeth and I prepared Don and Zenda for our accommodations, giving them ideas of the primitive arrangements that they might expect to find in Africa. This information was all based on previous mission trips that we have experienced and stories we have heard because we honestly did not know what to expect when we got here.

We arrived to find air-conditioned rooms with private bathrooms and laundry service that includes ironing (I have never had my boxers ironed!). Bonnie and her ladies cook the best food in Ghana (and much of the US for that matter). You would not believe it, but we have been eating biscuits and gravy, eggs, and, pancakes for breakfast. Lunch and dinner is chicken or an open-faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy and vegetables. It is great food!

Aside from being a little tired at weird times, we experience hunger at the normal times that we would be eating at home since there is a four-hour difference in time here. This happens particularly at night just before we go to bed. Elizabeth and I have stocked up on cookies and Fanta, so every night we enjoy what we call Fourth Meal before bed.

Hopefully it is clear that we have had a great time and great success with the photographs. From here we start the sight-seeing portion of our trip. We leave tomorrow to see the natural sights from here back to Accra in the south. Tomorrow we see a famous waterfall and then we head south to the rainforest and nature preserve. Our hope is to get good prints that we will be able to sell to support future projects.

Elizabeth and Zenda both are not feeling well. They both have flu-like symptoms. Please pray for them to feel better before our long journey south. Also be praying for our safety on the roads as we travel. Thank you for all your support and prayers thus far. We are looking forward to sharing all our stories with you when we return.