Thursday Feb 17, 2011

DRUM HUNT DRUM HUNT Last night we heard the sound of drums......we had to follow. Wandering through the jungle we came to a small hut where a group of 4 men, and old woman and a small girl were playing and singing. We asked them what they were doing and they told us that they were The Church of African Faith and they were worshiping. We sat among them and listened, some even danced. Before we left we asked if it would be ok to pray with them so we joined hands in a circle and prayed. A group of Christians from two different worlds united in one common bond, Jesus Christ.



This is the job-site at the end of day 3. The walls have the majority of their blocks placed forming the classrooms, bathrooms and storage closet.


We were praying for the rain to come to us and give us some relief from the heat......but it always seems to just miss us, just like Georgetown.



Today we worked until noon and then attended "sports day" in Asamenkese where the various schools compete against one another in an annual competition. They participated in javelin, shot put, discuss and netball a.k.a. basketball. We watched a few football matches....uhh, i mean soccer. The sheer joy after a victory was overwhelming causing near riot conditions.


There is a small mountain where some of the locals live just behind the job-site. Tuesday after work our foreman and another worker (evos) took us up the hill and we came through a village where all they had were mud huts and a few benches. Here are a few of the children.

Wednesday Feb. 16

First Day

Morning of Tuesday

Boy it is so good to hear from everyone from home - it is really encouraging! So thankyou! Today is our third day on the site and boy is things moving right along! We started on Monday with just footings and now we are working on 5-9 th layers of block depending on where on the school you look.

We are discovering sore muscles in places that we didn't even know we had -but for the most part we are good - God is answering your prayer for health and safety. Please keep it up!
We are taking time to visit and learn about the town around us. The work pace here is much different from back at home-which is nessecary for us white folk that are not use to the heat. On average we drink around ten water bottles a day and sweat most of it out! We are thankful for the occasional breeze and a cold shower and the use of the fans at night.

The kids here start school at the age of 2-3 and we have meet a few people that are still in school at the age of 20. This week is "sports" week for all the kids in Asamankese. So no school subjects - just a lot of soccer!! ( Wouldn't our kids like that!) Each religion has their own uniform and we see about 5-6 different ones already.

Today we got a internet stick and so we can check out what you are writing and we will be on this blog a bit more. We look forward to keeping you up to date on the process that is happening here. Blessings, Dorothea

We made it!!

Hello Everyone at home!

My name is Allison. I thought I would quickly introduce myself so you knew who was writing this post. We are all safe here in Ghana, and having a really great time. We thank God that our flight and travels brought us here safely, with out any troubles! Thanks so much for your prayers.

Since arriving we have had two days of getting accustom to the temperature and a little relaxation. This has been a great time for our team to get to know each other, the community and some of the local people. Everyone here is so friendly and welcoming. We have taken a walk each day into the town of Asamankese, and all along the way we are greeted by the kids shouting "O'Bra-nee" which is "hey white person" in Twi (Twree - the local language).

Today we started our first day on the job site, and what a successful day! We started the project with all the footings in, and our end goal to have all the walls up. Our first day has been a hot one, but we were able to accomplish way more than what was expected of us in one day. At some point soon, we will try to post a few pictures...but since we were just able to get on the internet, we will hold you in suspense for now :)

Thanks again for all your prayers and support! We are all doing well, and in great spirits... of course missing you all :)

Let the mission begin...

Well, the time has finally come for us to begin our mission, and in just a few hours we'll be on our way.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to all of our supporters for all of the prayers and words of encouragment we have received so far. Your thoughfulness and partnership with us in this mission has sustained us through the tough times, and we look forward to sharing the joy we have with the people of Asamankese. Please pray for the team members as we reach out to those around us, and pray that we may have truly servant hearts.

Please stay posted to this blog as we will attempt to update it every day while we're away.

Peace and blessings to you all!

Barrels Away!

The year has almost ended, and as I reflect on the past months, I'm amazed at how the Lord has guided this project along every step of the way. From the beginning stages of this mission early in the summer, we have been richly blessed in many ways.

Recently, the rain barrels that we have been filling with school supplies and donated items have been sealed and loaded on a ship bound for Accra. Thanks to everyone who made a contribution to this. Hopefully they will arrive right around the beginning of February.

So now, with just over 6 weeks to go before we depart, we know that almost all of our arrangements have been made: our flights are confirmed, our fundraising is complete, and the project site is almost ready for us to begin our work. While the tendency has been to focus on the logistics of our mission such as flight times and building plans, our thoughts have also been focussed on becoming spiritually prepared as a team. Our prayer is that as a team we may encourage each other and build each other up, that we may work together as we go about our daily tasks on the job site, and that we may reach out to those around us as we share the Good News with the people of Asamankese. I am so thankful for all of our supporters - for each of you - who have helped to make this project possible.

Please PRAY for the team members - pray that along with our families, each of us will remain healthy in the weeks leading up to our departure, that our personal and group devotions will draw us closer together as a grou, and that we may all experience the Lord's continued blessings as we seek to do His will, and discern his calling in our lives.

Thanks Joanne and the Grade 6 class!

We were thrilled to learn that Joanne Kroezen had offered to use our mission to Ghana as a study unit in her grade 6 class! At a recent student assembly we were able to see what the students spent learning about over the previous two weeks in class. They studied the geography, history, culture, and food of the Ghanaian people and shared their findings with us all. It was very interesting, and their visual displays were fantastic. Thanks Grade 6!!!

Over the past two months we have been collecting school supplies for the school children in and around the town of Asamankese. We have two large rain barrels, and we have placed one in the Halton Hills Christian School and another in the Georgetown CRC, and are using them to store our supplies. This weekend we'll be packing and sealing the barrels and bringing them to a shipping depot in Toronto so that they can be loaded onto a boat and sent to Ghana ahead of us.

This Saturday we will have a table set up at the HHCS where we'll be meeting our supporters and sharing about our mission. We'll also be offering our Ghana prayer bracelets to our supporters.

See you there!

Hardships and Blessings

The past few weeks have been very eventful for the team in both good ways, and otherwise. The team was shocked and saddened at learning of a sudden accident that took the life of our friend and team member, Dave Westerveld. Dave was a core team member, and truly had a heart for missions. He had been on many short term mission trips in the past, and had been involved in missions since the early 90s. At first we as a team we wondered how could we go on, but we do go on - not in our own strength, but in the strength of the One who calls us, and with the support of our friends and families.

In that way the team is so thankful for the support of our community after our hugely successful fundraising dinner this past weekend. With the help of Carel VanderSluis, and his team of chefs we were able to serve a traditional Ghanaian dinner to more than 200 guests in Georgetown on Saturday night. This included a silent auction with donations from many very generous supporters. Thank you all!

We are also thankful to announce that we have added two new team members: John DeVries and Allison Norg. Welcome to you both.

Our preparations continue now that our major fundraising is complete. We will focus on getting healthy, and on receiving our Yellow Fever vaccinations. We will also continue to focus on our spiritual health, and will pray that the Lord will prepare us to be effective in reaching out to those we meet as we share about this mission.

Please pray for our team, and for the members individually. Take time to offer words of encouragement, and share a piece of scripture if something speaks to you.

Thanks to you all... stay posted for further entries - I will try to update the blog weekly.

On behalf of the Georgetown Ghana Team

John Blaauwendraat