The mad Irish descend on Amakom!!

Wow...the past couple of weeks have been pretty jam packed with hardly a moment to sit still!

I had a few days in Accra before the team arrived...one which consisted of doing nothing at all but rest, the second which was the complete opposite of rushing around Accra along with Andrew trying to do some shopping and gathering of supplies before the team arrived that night.
The Patrol getting loaded up for the journey up to the lake.

I was very glad to be able to be at the airport to welcome them and was so excited to see them all (and hear their accents!!).
Everyone squished in to the coaster when they arrived with all the luggage

So on the first evening I was trying to catch up on all the news from home...I'm sure Helen was tired of hearing the question '...and what about...' as i thought of something or someone else i wanted to catch up on.

We had a pretty uneventful journey up to the lake with a few stops along the way...one toilet stop which will never be spoken about again - will it Helen and Rachael??!!! :)

We have settled in well to our accomodation and everyone was keen to get over to the clinic to see the place first hand. And i know myself that no matter what you imagine it will be like from pictures and descriptions it is so hard to visualise the place, for me it was nothing like what i had imagined. One comment i appreciated from Tom was that it wasnt real for him until he seen the Clinic board which i had posted in a previous blog and is pictured to the right. For him that was the marker that he had arrived.

The team threw themselves in to the work immediately, keen to get on with the job they had come to do and great progress has been made under Alex's supervision. There have also been a few required visits - such as the greeting of the chiefs in Amakom and in Atafram a very formal but interesting experience. We also greeted the chiefs in Dompa a village which is approximately a 2 hour walk from the clinic. Here we were given a very warm welcome and presented with a sheep to take back to Ireland!! It was lucky to make it back to the clinic as it as strapped to the roof of the Patrol and didnt quite make it up the first steep, rocky incline almost hanging itself over the side of the truck!! and then when we got back it didnt even see the day out...but atleast we were able to provide a tasty meal for the labourers on the site.

Later that day some of us visited an extremely remote village Nkwatapong (thats what it sounds like but not sure thats how its spelt!!) which is also approximately a 2 hour walk from the clinic through thick bush and it took us almost as long to get there by 4x4 because of the bad roads. They were extremely steep and muddy some looking like a vehicle had never past through them before. Our purpose for this visit was so that Andrew could greet the chief as they had made the effort to come to the clinic once before to greet them, i found this challenging as we were confronted by people who were very isolated from the 'outside world' some coming to us with illnesses which had not been treated and needed looked at by doctor. One particular woman was advised to come to the clinic the following day and thankfully she did so with her husband. Leaving the village at 5.30am and arriving at the clinic in time to join us for morning devotions.

It's also fantastic to see the welcome that Dorothy and Philip have recieved from old friends and indeed old patients. Little did i realise that our night watchman was one of the patients - he greeted Dorothy by reminding her that she had once pulled his tooth out!

We have also had some interesting cultural visits en route to Kumasi such as the village Adanwomase which is known for its Kente weaving, a procedure which has evolved and provided an income for many people in the town, also the wood carving village (as named by Andrew!!!) which i believe was a first experience for a few team members and we now have a few professional hagglers amongst the team...isnt that right Clem :)

This was all on the way to greet the Methodist Bishop of the Kumasi Diocese, who had nipped home for lunch just before we arrived!! So we were entertained by Rev Paul Boafu while we waited and he was happy to reminisce about his time in Ireland particularly studying at Edgehill. Once more we received a warm welcome when the Bishop arrived and he was very happy to receive the picture which had been taken during the Christmas visit and he was presented with a Shield of Arms from Lisburn which had been presented to the team by the mayor before they left.

So inbetween all the visits and greetings a lot of work has been going on, on site. Everyone has been getting their hands dirty and adding much sweat into the mix!! (well I havent made it out of the office just yet but i will before we are finished here!)

So in Tom's words, so far everything is 'Excellent' but i would urge you to keep praying...

for the team - for good health because of bad tummies and safety on the worksite.

for Andrew, Ju, Lucas, Luiza and Nicolas as they put up with the mad Irish who have invaded their home.

for all the local workers who have put so much effort in to the building work.

for Hollie who will be starting to prepare to leave the lake next week after 2 months here.

for Rebecca who will be staying on at the lake on her own.

And finally for me - as i travel to Togo next weekend with those who are coming to join me from MMS(I) and also as I intend to return to the lake for a further month until the start of September.


Many Blessings :)