Blog revisited

It's been over five years since I last made an entry on this blog, but the people of Ghana continue to be in my thoughts and prayers regularly, and I continue to draw on the enriching experience which I had in April and May 2014.

The over-riding sense of God's grace for me and for all God's people, something which was a daily reminder as I encountered God through the Methodist people in Winneba, Accra, Kumasi and Amankwatia and elsewhere still rings true for me as I serve God in my ministry in Bristol.

The toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol earlier this year (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/07/blm-protesters-topple-statue-of-bristol-slave-trader-edward-colston) has reminded me not only about the links between Bristol and West Africa, but of the need to seek justice for all people, whatever our race, skin colour, age, gender, social standing, sexuality, experience of God ... the list goes on.  Whatever our background and experience, we are precious in God's sight.

'

I've been blessed by my continuing links with those who hosted my stay - 'my' Bishop - Rt Rev Dr John Kweku Buabeng-Odoom - is currently serving the Methodist Church in the North of Ghana, his term in office as Bishop in Winneba having come to an end.  We are in touch every couple of months, and I am pleased to share this picture of him, complete with his motorbike and cassock, as he gets around the much more difficult terrain and roads further north.  

Very Rev Joseph Sarfo Anning, who was the Diocesan Youth Officer in 2014, is now Superintendent Minister elsewhere in the Diocese, but I was delighted to be able to share in an act of online worship at Pentecost
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WKg7k2yM  

The link between Wesley Methodist Church in Reading and the community at Amankwatia has developed a little further, in that a number of laptops have been sent out for use in the school, building on the project work (fresh water and additional toilet block) completed in 2015.

I had hoped to arrange a visit to Ghana in 2019, then possibly earlier this year, but clearly that has not been possible in light of the travel restrictions due to COVID-19.  I hope to be able to at some point, but will need to be patient.

Please continue to hold our sisters and brothers in Ghana in your prayers:

Gracious and truthful God,
bring your hope and peace to the people of Ghana
in the challenges they face each day;
may they see and feel your presence in all that they do.
May they, and all your pilgrims,
continue to follow you faithfully.  Amen

(Written by me during my visit, published in 'Pilgrims on a Journey,' the Prayer Handbook of the Methodist Church 2015-16)

 

Jubilation

Successful completion

Completed fresh water pump

It's a great pleasure to share the news that both parts of the project at Amankwatia are now finished.  As I mentioned in my last post, the new fresh water pump was operational before Christmas, but the plinth around the pump is now also complete and the whole thing looks very neat and tidy.

Tastes good! 

The main news this month is the completion of the new eight cubicle sanitation block: the pictures speak for themselves.

All complete

4 cubicles for each gender

Kofi Marfo, a former member of Wesley Methodist Church in Reading has been overseeing the project on behalf of the church and was present in Amankwatia for the recent handover ceremonies.

Kofi (in the patterned shirt) accepting completion

Handing over to the local chief (in the red shorts)

I can't complete this post without thanking the myriad of people who have been involved in this, not least Joan and Derek Pike whose visit to Amankwatia in 2012 became the inspiration for the fundraising efforts, getting the project off the ground and gaining the support of the wider congregation at Wesley.  Many people contributed to those fundraising efforts including individual donations too.  

There has been a whole team in Ghana who have come together to make the work happen, led by the Farmers' Union at Kuapa Kokoo but including the contractors, Kofi Marfo and other representatives from the Methodist Church Ghana.  Most importantly the families of Amankwatia have supported the project in many ways, not least providing labour for some of the hard work.

Children jubilating [sic] over the completion of the project

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord; let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord; let the people rejoice!

(from the hymn To God be the Glory)

Happy Christmas from Amankwatia

'I bring you good tidings of great joy' 

I am delighted to share further news of progress of the project work at Amankwatia, thanks to some photographs which arrived from Esther, the Communications Officer at Kuapa Kokoo.  

Firstly and significantly, the new fresh water borehole is now complete and in use, a welcome Christmas present for the community as you can see from these two pictures.

As well as improved water quality, the new borehole is adjacent to both the Elementary & Junior High Schools; less valuable time will be spent in fetching water during school hours.

Sanitation block

There is also good progress to report on the new sanitation block - not quite completed yet, but most of the building has been completed since I last posted an update in November.  

Sanitation block taking shape

Plaster work

Adding the roof

Happy Christmas to you all  

Christmas Blessings from the schools at Amankwatia 

It is very humbling to see all these pictures, not least this final one of the school children with their wishes for one and all.  Wherever and however you are spending Christmas this year, I hope and pray that you will discover its message of joy and peace.

Building up

I was praying this morning for the project at Amankwatia, following which I decided to check on progress at some point soon.  Before I had got as far as sending the e-mail, some news complete with pictures arrived in my inbox.

As you can see form the following, things are continuing to progress well with the sanitation block.  The contractor has also been on site to work on the bore hole for the new fresh water supply, but the drilling machine was faulty.  Thankfully that's now been repaired and work should begin soon.

TAKING SHAPE

KVIP sanitation block

Hard at work

Esther, Communications Officer at Kuapa Kokoo
with Very Rev Samuel Adjei Boafo
(Superintendent Minister in the Offinso Circuit)

Prayers

'We are happy to hear the enthusiasm in Wesley Church about the project.

Kuapa Kokoo farmers appreciate your efforts.  They also pray that your labour in supporting this God-sent project will never be in vain.  They pray that the Lord Jesus should shower his blessings on every one in Wesley Church.'

In conjunction with the current project, the hope is to establish on-going links between Wesley and Amankwatia. At Wesley last Sunday, we looked at a passage from the Bible which includes 'Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing' (1 Thessalonians 5:11, New Revised Standard Version) which for me has thankful echoes in these greetings.

Coincidentally, it was World Toilet Day this week, aiming to raise awareness of the 2.5bn poeple worldwide who do not have access to proper sanitation.

Progress continues

Although it is only a few days since I provided a brief update on the work at Amankwatia, some further information has just come through, together with some pictures.

Update on work

'I wish to inform you that, the pit for the KVIP has been dug, and concrete and block works for the pit have been completed.  The contractor is yet to build the housing and the roof; the housing should have been started by now, but the contractor has promised it should be started w/c 13 October.  Recent supervision from the site confirms that there are enough building materials to complete the work.

It is not raining heavily now so the borehole (for the new fresh water supply) should also be completed before the end of October.'

Speaking a thousand words

Here are a few recent pictures of work on site (provided by Esther, the Communications Officer at Kuapa Kokoo).  I've included a couple of pictures of the sites, taken before the work started, for comparison.

Site for the sanitation block (before work began)

Work in progress on the sanitation block

The sanitation pits (for 8 cubicles)

Site for the borehole

Currently in use to store materials!

Prayers

'Kuapa Kokoo farmers, especially at Amankwatia, are very happy and continue to pray for the Wesley Church and all who donated for this project.'

'The primary school children are equally very happy and wish to thank all children at Wesley Church for their support.  They wish them God's Blessings in all they do.'

God of all, 

We praise you for your work of creation which surrounds us all.
In your very being we experience community in Father, Son and Spirit.

We thank you for your work of cooperation and justice through Kuapa Kokoo,
in particular for all those who live, work and study in Amankwatia.

As we give thanks for the work which has been completed so far,
we pray that your Spirit may continue to surround those involved in this project,
and offer ourselves in your service in expectation of its successful completion.

In your name we pray, Amen!

Look listen and pray

"It's been a while" since I last posted on this blog, as its main purpose has been fulfilled.  However, one piece of my study in Ghana was to consider the question "Where is God in this place, and for these people?"

Having completed that study, it was suggested that it might be useful to repeat the exercise for my training church, Wesley Methodist Church, in central Reading.  Our new Basingstoke and Reading Methodist Circuit has also challenged us to identify where God is at work in our locality, respond in thanks and ask what God is saying through it.

Wesley Methodist Church, Reading

This morning, a small group of us walked around part of the neighbourhood of the church building with this in mind.  This activity will continue during October 2014 (and possibly beyond), taking in different parts of the area around Wesley, to "look, listen and pray" and so appreciate how God is present to us in the world around us.

Please follow this link if you are interested in knowing more.

Amankwatia

Just a quick update about Amankwatia, the village which I visited towards the end of my stay in Ghana.  I am pleased to say that the work to build a new sanitation block has started recently, and drilling for the new fresh water supply should start shortly.  The aim is to have both projects completed before Christmas.  I am hoping to have some pictures of the work which I can show you in the near future.  Watch this space.

Green and pleasant lands

Tuesday evening brought a further power cut so it was quite a fitful night's sleep as the humidity was increasing.  It was no surprise therefore that there was a torrential downpour with a quite spectacular electric storm at about 0400 on Wednesday morning.   Two lightning strikes were so close as to not be able to count between the flash and the rumble.  Thankfully the mortar work done by the builders for Stephen's new garage doors was unscathed.

Last day in Ghana

We spent the morning on a short tour by car of Accra, passing by some of the key government buildings and the stadium before calling in to see Dorinda's (Stephen's wife's) mother who lives in a substantial old-style house close to the centre of the city.  We then ate a meal outside at a restaurant before heading home in good time for me to complete my packing and then travel to the airport for my journey home.

Homeward bound

It was a smooth flight.  The skies over southern Europe were mostly clear and I was able to see the east coast of Spain clearly by night.  As day broke, we flew up the west coast of France from the entrance to the Gironde northwards, bringing back memories of a sailing trip there a few years ago. Landfall in the UK was just east of St Catherine's Point (the southern tip of the Isle of Wight) which was about the only part of the UK that we saw until we descended on the approach to Heathrow as the cloud cover was extensive. 

It must have been about a 20C drop in temperature from Accra last night to London this morning.  The only common factor was the damp air, humidity in Accra, drizzle in London!


A few statistics might interest you over the time I have been away:

• Away for 29 nights, the longest that Sandy and I have been apart since our engagement in 1992.
• Travelled in excess of 8,000 miles (6,500 by air, the rest by road) over the month.
• I've worshipped in six different places (it feels like it should be more but that's all I can recount)
• I have not taken any medication, apart from the the box of Imodium for 'runny tummy' (as the Ghanaians put it!) and my prescribed anti-malarial tablets.
• At an average of about 3 litres a day, I've drunk more than my body weight in bottled water, not counting other drinks such as fruit juice etc.
• I have lost a couple of kgs in weight (nothing to be concerned about).
• Been affected by nine power cuts of varying lengths, and the running water supply also failed in Winneba a couple of times.
• Not drunk any coffee until breakfast this morning during the flight.

It is good to be back home and to have seen nearly everyone here now.  I am looking forward to collecting Faith and Maddy from school this afternoon, the first time I will have driven for over a month.  Must remember not to upset the locals by the Ghanaian approach to (frequent) use of the horn.

Prayer requests

Thanks for the opportunities that I have had over the past month, for the welcome I received and all those I met.

Thanks for safe travelling, personal safety and good health during my stay.

For my fellow second year students at STETS as their placements continue.

For our family as we re-adjust to being together at home again after this period of separation.

For the people of Ghana, facing a challenging economic situation and all that entails.

For the Amankwatia project, that it may proceed over the next few months.

For the Methodist and other Christian communities that serve Winneba.

Comments please

Over the next couple of weeks I will be sitting down to write up my placement for the assessment of this part of my training.  If you have any reflections on the content of this blog, then I would be glad to receive them.  What I would be particularly interested to know is whether any of my posts have made you think about particular aspects of life in Ghana as I have experienced it, also whether there was anything you thought I might mention but haven't done so.

Let me know- either by commenting on this post or by contacting me via other routes.  Thank you for your interest.

To finish, here's a 'word cloud' based on the content of the blog, interesting to see what has been occupying my thoughts as I have written.