Friday the 13th of January
I have for many years considered Friday the 13th to be lucky. In spite of some trials along the way, the day did turn out well.
The painter arrived at 10 o’clock. Gerti frustrated over the loosy-goosy ‘Ghanaian time’, but he is a good painter and spent a productive 4 ½ hours before the children started arriving from school. I helped a little with the painting of the two bedrooms that were targeted. I say helped with a tongue in cheek. The man was pleasant to work with and tolerated me as I helped with the edge work. He is fast, but not as exacting as Gerti and I would prefer … but that is the way of it here in Ghana.
We stopped for lunch, and then started the scraping on the walls of the courtyard. It is obvious the place was not prepped properly when first painted. The paint peels away in small and large sheets; the stucco beneath crumbles away.
After we finished the areas that were in the shade, I quit as it is too warm for me to do that kind of work in the sun, in the heat of the day. By three o’clock the courtyard had the peeling areas scraped and caulked. Monday we hope to pick up a bucket of primer/sealer that will keep those areas from crumbling again. Eventually, Gerti will have to do the same process with other areas as they deteriorate.
By 3 o’clock, our 17 year old sick girl’s condition had worsened to the point that Gerti took her to hospital. I went along, hoping to see a more efficient process than the one I have described the past two years in Police Hospital in Accra. Sadly, I did not see such.
Five and a half hours later, we left the emergency area of the hospital with the lab test results and a different medication than we had in hand, but ‘Miss A’ had still not been seen by a doctor.
From three o’clock on Friday until Monday morning, the only medical attention available is in the emergency area of the hospital. The waiting room/entrance is very small with about 18 chairs. Most of these chairs were filled when we arrived. Most of those same people were still there (plus many more) when we left. It was only late in our stay, about 8 o’clock that there was any attempt at helping those in line on the chairs; this was done by a medical assistant coming down the line and ‘treating’ them right there in the waiting room. All the rest of the time, the one doctor on duty was busy with one elderly man and one young man who was carried in unconscious.
Patients arrived via taxi, even the unconscious man. Family members must take care of the patients even in the examining room, so people were coming and going with buckets, mops, water, food, etc., in and out of the one emergency exam room, an area that in the US would be labeled ‘no admittance’.
The good news is that ‘Miss A’ sipped water the whole time we were there and was looking better than when we brought her in. She was very dehydrated. She was poked enough by needles that she is now more willing to cooperate. The plan is to take her to see an ear nose and throat specialist on Monday. Gerti says her tonsils need to be removed.
Saturday, January 14
This morning, Eni (I wrongly was calling her Enid) and I took a taxi to Bechem, a small town about 30 minutes toward Kumasi. We had been referred to a ‘bead factory’ in Bechem. What an adventure!! We finally found the bead lady, Agnes, standing on the side of the road; she hopped into the taxi and led us on bumpy dirt roads to her ‘factory’. What we found was a tree covered factory of the future and a display of beads that she either purchased or made elsewhere. Eni and I both purchased some beads, but not nearly enough to please the Agnes.
When we were finished with our transactions, Agnes led us, on foot, back to the highway. There we waited at a taxi ‘station’ for about an hour before finding a taxi willing to take us home. Agnes and her brother waited with us and helped us flag down taxis, finally finding one to take us back to Abysim (suburb of Sunyani). The brother is a farmer and brought us each a pineapple to take home. While waiting, we visited with Agnes and her brother, and watched the village people at the neighborhood water pump. Agnes has another brother who lives in Dallas, TX. So many people here have family in America.
The children enjoy many of the same activities as do our children … playing with balls/balloons and 
dolls, coloring, working computer games, creating hairdos in adults, etc. Attached you will hopefully find some examples of those activities enjoyed by these beautiful children. In the ‘computer’ photo you will see Eni (from Holland), a Belgian volunteer young man, Eni’s personal computer, and a recently donated laptop. The children are learning how to use the ‘mouse’ (through computer games) and how to type a short letter.
Here at the Kids’ Shelter, there is one boy that I was having difficulty understanding his name. Gerti was saying Maichu (spelled phonetically) and the children were saying something slightly different. Finally Gerti said “Maichu, as in Maichu, Mark, Luke, and John.” …. Oh …. Matthew!
Sunday, January 15
Gerti’s Ghanaian husband Moses has a relative who is being ordained in a local church today so they are attending that function this morning instead of taking the children to Sunday School. We will have an in-house Bible study tonight instead.
I went to the Catholic Church with Eni. Eni is not Catholic so the two of us sat in the pew while the rest of the folks went forward for communion. I am allowed to take communion in Catholic churches in Europe, so I asked if I could here, but was politely refused, with an explanation.
In both churches, it has been difficult to follow what is said. The accent, the sound system, and my hearing loss gangs up on me. Perhaps it is time to look into hearing aids.
Offering time in Ghanaian churches is an interesting process. Lively, loud music is played while people walk, or dance, up the aisles to place their money in a pot. There is always more than one offering. The first one is usually for the church, the second one is for the speaker (Presbyterian) or for the day of your birth (Catholic). So many people in Ghana don’t even know the year of their birth, so they must be just picking a day for themselves. Sometimes there is a third and fourth offering for various special projects. Each offering provides opportunity for joyous walking/dancing/clapping down the aisles.
This afternoon Eni organized a ‘swim’ party for the children. Out in back is a large poly tank (water 
storage), with a tiled area for hand washing clothes. Eni and the older children scrubbed down the area, stopped up the drain, and ran water enough for the children to have great fun. Large and small they slipped, splashed, poured, and squirted, and eventually got cold, even in the high 80s.
After dinner, baths, and night clothes, the children had an in-house worship service. Thirteen year old ‘M’ led lively singing/dancing/clapping, mostly in a native language, with a few Halleluiahs here and there. Ma Gerti led a discussion of the meaning of Christmas, by asking questions of the children. They knew most of the answers; they have been taught well. The younger children were put to bed, then the Belgian young woman (I must learn her name) read from the Bible. Ma Gerti asked the children if they would like a Bible study several times per week and they responded with a rousing ‘yes!’
Tomorrow morning, Gerti and I will take our slowly recovering 17 year old to the ear-nose-throat specialist (at least that is what we hope). After that we hope to purchase some children’s Bibles so that each child can have their own (at least the older ones). We have a few hardware type things to purchase also … replacement for the power bar I burned out this morning and the primer/sealer paint stuff.
A solar lantern is being used for the first time … at Gerti’s house next door. So far there has not been a power outage here in the children’s home. The staff knows I have a lantern in my room that they can get during the night if there is an outage. The younger children become frightened if they wake up and there is total darkness.
Monday morning looks like I am online so will send this.
Love to all, Judy
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