German Invasion!! And singing from the rooftops!!

It can be so difficult to make plans here...when we get up in the morning we never know what is going to happen and today was definitely just like that.

Everything was going along nicely, Andrew and Michael had went to Kumasi for the day, Rebecca had been teaching Lucas in school and I was down in the office 'working'!! All pretty normal so far you might say...then it happened!! I could hear some talking and when i looked out the window i had to rub my eyes and look again!! There were 2 'obruni' girls walking past the clinic with back packs on.

As soon as I seen them I had to go and see what was going on. I introduced myself and discovered they were visiting Ghana from Germany, Susy and Nadine. They had arrived in Accra Saturday past and had left Kumasi this morning aiming for a clinic in a village on the lake called 'opovu' (well thats what it sounds like!) and they had walked all the way from Beposo already only to find when they reached our clinic it was not the right one!! Some of the workers went on to say it was the next village after Doompa which in itself is a 2 hour walk...wow!! They weren't quite sure what to do...I found out if it would be possible to take them in the clinic boat, so someone rushed off to get Isaac and I went to find Becca and our adventure for the day began!!

Rebecca, Susy, Nadine and Me...waiting on the boat!

We travelled across the lake with the 2 girls and found the clinic which is run by 'New Life Ghana'...

...but there was no one about.

Susy had worked here for a number of months 3 years ago but no one she remebered was there as she had not been able to contact anyone to tell them she intended to come visit.
So we sang and chatted to the little group of children that was gathering (...they seem to have some kind of sixth sense about 'obruni's' arriving) while they tried to find someone she knew!!


Susy and Nadine had hoped to stay at the clinic for a few days before travelling on further north. But this did not appear to be an option as there was no one she knew!! So Rebecca and I offered our spare bedroom - so we've got some house guests :)
It's good to have some fresh faces about the place - you never know who God is going to send your way!!

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

So no doubt the next day or 2 will hold some more adventures as we try to help them on their way!


The building work is also reaching an exciting stage as they are starting to plaster the exterior walls and there was maybe not siniging from the rooftops but definitely some work being done on the roof today which is awesome.

* * * Stars * * *

I am truly fascinated by stars.

They are just beautiful.

Bright shining, twinkling little balls of light millions and millions of miles away on a dark velvety sky.

It's a dry, clear peaceful night here at the lake. The compound and our house is peaceful and still and most people are now in bed.

I took this chance to go outside and lie down on the concrete path sirrounding our house and just take in the wonder of the night sky. It was stunning.
As I lay there taking in the beauty of the night sky I could hear crickets, grasshoppers and many many other insects thet i dont even want to think about. The odd bat would fly over and i could see the silhouette of a palm tree swaying in the breeze. wow!!
For that moment i just felt so privileged to be sharing in my Father's masterpiece.

As i lay there I thought about the song 'indescribable'...

"Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and
You know them by name
You are amazing God"

Stars are mentioned a few times throughout the bible...

Each and every star was created in God's hands and he placed them exactly where he wants them to be...

'God made two great lights - the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars' Genesis 1:16

If He takes such care over the stars, how much more care and compassion will he show to us? God made us and places each and everyone of us exactly where he wants us and when He wants us there. And so i thank Him for this time in Ghana. Placing me here at this time, with these people for His purposes.

And if we are obedient to His purposes, listening to God's voice and following in His ways, we are told that we will shine like stars...

'Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever' Daniel 12:3

The best known star is of course that which led the three Magi to Bethlehem ans Jesus' birth place.

'Where is the new born King of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him' Matthew 2:2

So stars aren't just pretty little balls of light, millions of miles away in the dark velvety sky. They are signs of indescribable wonder and signposts and indicators of God's wisdom and love - if we let them be!!

So next time you are out on a clear night take a look at the sky and gaze at the beauty of the stars and the vast awesomeness of God's love.


Blessings :)

Fun and games in Kumasi

Today started very early!!! I was up at 5.30am for our early start to Kumasi to try and beat all the traffic!! The 3 of us…Me, Rebecca and Michael were on the road by 6.30am for our day of fun and games in Kumasi, armed with our to do lists and shopping lists hoping to get as many items as possible ticked off. It was lively from the start…our first hurdle was trying to herd a flock of sheep along the road to Beposo – they just didn’t want to budge!!

There were many more firsts for me again today…I have been longing to drive here for ages as it’s something I really miss and today I got my chance.




Bessie, (as Hollie and I affectionately named her a while back – don’t think Andrew was too impressed with the name though – not manly enough or something like that :o) ) the 4 wheel drive Nissan Patrol and I got a little bit better acquainted today as I took the wheel once we reached the Accra Road. (don’t think I’m quite ready for the muddy tracks just yet...did you notice what the sheep were walking on??!!) It was great; however, I have never driven a left hand drive before, therefore never driven on the right hand side of the road!! So it took a little bit of getting used too and a few shouts from Rebecca in the back seat encouraging me to stay on the road and I only tried to change the gears with my left hand once!!

So that was fun and when I got some confidence built up I started to drive like an ‘Obibini’…overtaking taxi’s and trucks, first on straight roads then on a slight incline with double white lines in the centre of the road…rules don’t really seem to stand for much here!

But then I had my next ‘first’, I was pulled over by the police – I couldn’t believe it…and no not because of any of my overtaking antics…I was driving slowly through a town at the time. I was hoping they would wave me on by but no they waved me in and asked to check the back of the truck…so Michael had to show them in the back! When he got back in and we had driven off he then proceeded to tell me that he had never known of an ‘Obruni’ being pulled over before by the police…interesting!!!

I did let Michael take the wheel again once we’d reached the outskirts of Kumasi as I don’t think i'm quite ready for big city driving just yet either!

My next first of the day was to try ‘Tizette’ – a northern dish somewhat similar to Fufu, only made from corn, not just as chewy and perhaps a little more palatable for me. Rebecca and I shared a bowl of Tizette with Tuna,

...the tuna was quite good but the sauce was a little…gloopy…for me! Meanwhile Michael tucked into a bowl of Tizette with cow intestines…

...yes cow intestines. He said it was very tasty but we were both more than happy to take his word on that and that had nothing to do with the fact that it was hardly even 9.00am yet.

Our next stop was at the post office were we had to check the post box. There are literally thousands of little red boxes all around the building and it seemed as if ours was one of the furthest possible away. But it was worth the trip as when we got there, there was a letter waiting for me…yay!! It’s great getting post at the best of times but over here it’s just wonderful, such an encouragement and also great to keep up with any news.
The rest of the day was spent getting some much needed shopping and doing general errands.

We had a full car on the way home…of shopping…and of people. We picked up Sammy (the clinic administrator/accountant), Hubert (who is placed at the clinic on a training programme), FF (the clinic lab assistant) and his wife and young son. So they were all in the back seat, while Rebecca and I sat up front with Michael who was driving of course.

The banter was great…I had my Ipod plugged in to the radio and Rebecca and I were dancing and singing away (anytime we could agree on a song!! ;o) ) having a bit of a giggle in the front seat, it certainly helps the journey to go a little bit quicker.

But I found a comment from Sammy very amusing…I’ve been here now for just over 2 months and I guess some people still don’t really know me that well, I realised that when Sammy said, “eh, Louise I’ve never seen you in this mood before!” I suppose he only ever see’s me when I’m in work mode in the office – perhaps now making me seem like 2 different people to him (maybe stretching it a little bit…but go with me!)

Earlier in the day I had been joking with Michael about The Killers song “smile like you mean it”, asking him if he was smiling like he meant it or was it just a front and was he feeling differently inside – was it a mask??!! It can be very easy to put on a mask, to pretend that everything’s ok when it’s really not, or to hide behind a mask when we don’t want to face difficult or uncomfortable situations. But that is not want God wants from us…He wants honesty and integrity in all situations – and don’t get me wrong I do know how very difficult that can be.

However its only when we uncover our face and strive for honesty and integrity without that mask that our faces can reflect and shine with the glory of God…as happened to Moses. Moses listened to God and obeyed Him and having spent much time in His presence Moses appeared before the children of Israel and ‘his face had become radiant’ (exodus 34:29-35). If we remove our masks and are truly seeking God’s truth we to can become radiant, shining God’s light for others to see.




And finally to end on a lighter note and just to see if Helen Lynn is paying attention!!!
Helen...if you lived in Ghana this is so where you would work!!! :)

Water bombs, Storm chasing and Victories...

This week feels like it has been full of mischief...Wednesday was such a hot day Becca thought it would be the perfect opportunity to test our water balloon throwing skills!! So we filled a few balloons...

...and made our way down to the worksite to try and find some ‘victims’ there were only a couple of people left on site, most of the workers had left for the day and only the plumber and a couple of his helpers were about...so we lulled them in by first offering them a drink of water.

But our plan was foiled when a delivery of cement arrived. We figured that would not be the best target!! So we waited and waited and waited some more hiding in the building (which has been moving along really well!)

...but it just wasn’t happening. In the end we decided to just be blatant about it...so we sat at the top of our steps and the victims ended up being an unwitting Michael and James as they climbed the steps...most satisfying!!!

We did, however, get very wet ourselves as there was a storm blowing in. We haven’t had a good storm here in a while so we decided to make the most of it...so it wasn’t quite storm chasing...more storm watching...as we sat outside and watched the storms progression over the lake ...

with the clouds and the sky getting darker and darker...then the big rain drops started – after such a warm day it was so cool and refreshing and the thunder and lightening was spectacular as always. Here most people dive for cover if they can find any when the rain comes, so to see us sitting out enjoying the rain is quite novel!!

Today the clinic football team was playing away against Ankaase. So Becca and I headed along to support them.

It had everything a good football game should have.

The clinic had a troop of “cheerleaders” along the side shouting and cheering for them and they even went all the way round the pitch singing when a goal was scored.

There was a brawl amongst the players because of a decision made by the referee.

There was even a pitch invasion with a local goat wanting to get in on the action!!...or maybe it was the Ankaase team mascot.

It didn’t do them any good as there were only 2 goals and they were both in the favour of the clinic...YAY!!

The team celebrated all the way through the village and all along the road home...a great victory.

The great thing was that spontaneously during the match the troop of cheerleaders would begin singing ‘Daa na se’ (thank Him) or ‘Me Nyame ya’ (my God is good) singing songs to God...a great victory indeed.

"No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." Romans 8:37(NLT)

Back at the Lake

I've been back at the lake now for a week. i was welcomed back at Kumasi airport last sunday night by Andrew, Rebecca and Michael after a very long, interesting and somewhat stressful day of traveling so it was good to see familiar, friendly faces.

So what has this week held for me?

More awesome sunsets...


A chance to spend some time with Luiza while Lucas was in school...we decorated the 'spider web' tree in our house with little tear drop gems and a red heart for all of her family and one for me and Rebecca...


Then on Saturday there was the big matinee of 'The Sound of Music'...kinda hard to remember we are in such a remote part of Africa when you're doing something like that!!!

Today was the first i actually made it out of the compound. Rebecca and i went to the Apostolic church in Adjamam with James and Michael as Michael was preaching. My first time at this church but we were made to feel very welcome.
On our way back we stopped to buy some 'gari and beans' for Rebecca and Michael decided to try his hand at making 'banku' i dont think he quite had the knack after seeing the lady who took over after him!!

I was on lunch duty today and well the gas canister decided to give up half way through cooking our pizza's...thats never good. So thankfully Michael and James were on hand to help 2 damsel's in distress......and of course nothing to do with the fact it was their lunch cooking as well!! Tonight we took a walk to Ankaase lakeside...speaking to the chief of Atafram along the way and a quick game of football with the children in Ankaase - which we won 2-1 no thanks to any help from me!!!

It was great to be at the side of the lake again, sharing it with 4 very special people.Me, James, Anas, Becca and MichaelSome lakeside banter!!Not quite sure what Michael was doing here!!
This picture was taken only minutes after the 1st group one - thats just how quickly it gets dark here once the sun goes down!
The other 4 decided to go out to one of the small fishing 'boats' or logs but i thought it would be better to remain on dry and solid ground along with our gathering band of followers...

They even followed , singing songs all the way, as far as Atafram... ...where we said 'Da Yie'.

So it's great to be back...and im sure there will be many more tales to come.

Blessings :)

Déjà vu!!!

Today was a day that I thoroughly enjoyed and will remain with me for a long long time.

We’ve been in Togo a week now and most of us haven’t really left Lomé much…and in my case the hotel!! But today we made a journey along the coast. Our first stop was in Anecho were we had to greet the King. Not just as formal as the equivalent in Ghana but interesting none the less. One point of notice was that Pauline wasn’t allowed to wear her flip flops…she had to take them off before we went in because only the king is allowed to wear that style of shoe in the ‘kingdom’!! He was a very jovial chap and more than willing to chat to us…telling us a little of the Lawson family history (a name which is kinda like the equivalent to ‘Smith’ back home!!) and how they had descended down many years from someone who had spent much of his life in England. He even had this humongous book in which that person had kept every piece of correspondence he had ever made and which has now been published. He is from a line of Methodists so one thing we struggled with was that if he was a Christian how could he hold in line with the royal traditions of taking a second wife when he became king??!!

Me with the King of Anecho

Then we had a short lunch stop beside the meeting of the waters where a mad monkey tried to attack me. Well no it was small and cute…but it did try to attack me!!

The mad monkey!!

Our afternoon visit was to Agbodrafo which for me was an extremely surreal experience. It was in Agbodrafo that we spent two and a half weeks last year. Time spent in the church compound with the people and children as we built an extension to the school, renovated 2 other classrooms and spent time in children’s clubs. So it was very special to be back – to see the absolutely finished product and to renew friendships with people we had spent a lot of time with last year. It was amazing to see the faces of children who recognised us and just lit up as we talked to them. Many of them asked for other members of last years team by name... Pastor Wesley and Mr Mark were 2 that stuck out for me...its clear that they had a great impact on those lives to be asked for a year later.

Some of my welcoming committee!!

The site when we arrives last year(left) The site when we left last year (right)

The site as it was today!

Two pictures which were in the classroom

The whole experience held many mixed emotions for me...this was a place I honestly never thought I would see again so to finally get there having been in Togo a week I finally felt like I was back.
Back in Agbodrafo :)

That is where I would consider ‘home’ here...not Lomé...I don’t like cities at the best of times but I didn’t spend much time here and I think I left a little piece of myself in Agbodrafo when we left last year(...as I think I do with every place I visit.)

There was also another marker here for me – most definitely the mural which I had helped to paint in one of the classrooms. I just had to make sure it was there to help me realise it was all real. And it just made me smile as memories from last year cam flooding back – the painstaking process of drawing the mural, painting it – making sure not to go outside the lines...then there was the big brown smudge where Mr Wesley had managed to paint the wrong colour in the wrong place!!

The beginnings of the Mural : Moi et Mr Wesley et Moi avec Pauline

Moi with the mural a year on

So many memories came back as I wandered through the compound – but the one thing that was clear was that God is most definitely there and He is most definitely working in that place. It just amazes me to think that the witness and influence of our team could last so long and will probably outlast us – but that is not our doing, that is God using us as His hands and feet for His glory and He is still working amongst those fantastic people.

I’m just sad that I won’t be able to attend the church service tomorrow morning as I would love to be able to share with them one more time. But instead I will be preparing to fly back to Ghana and back to the lake, which I’m also very excited about – it’ll be great to be back home – we’ll home for now!! :)

Team Ireland/Togo 2008...Moi, Oliver, Elizabeth, Fidele, Pauline, Gerard et Glenn

Gerard, Moi et Fidele