Today was a transit and setup day, but we were still all exhausted. The heat really wears us down.
We finished up all our recordings yesterday, a bit ahead of schedule. One of the nurses from the local clinic came to our studio (our kitchen) the day prior and we recorded him covering about a dozen community health topics in the Komba language. From sleeping with mosquito nets to cutting fingernails and toilet sanitation, he provided instructions on how to reduce the occurrence of common health problems. This is a harsh land. We recorded him describing the symptoms and illnesses that could happen: typhoid, cholera, malaria, and guinea worms. I don’t suggest googling those.
Now that Nathan is better :-), we can now let you know he was in bed for a day with a mild fever and lack of energy – could have been a number of things, but I think dehydration is the most likely culprit. Thanks for everyone’s prayers. We pumped him full of water and the Gatorade mix that we brought with us and his humor returned. I probably should have monitored more closely everyone’s water consumption. I suffered from an afternoon of food poisoning, but simply did what you do when get food poisoning (not something to blog about) and then recovered. So, we are all good, but as I said, the heat is brutal.
It is a strange tradeoff… in the dry season, we can drive around without fear of getting stranded for weeks (or longer) by a downpour that would render the roads into something I’m guessing resembles British HP sauce, or maybe Thankgiving gravy. Hmm, can you tell I’m hungry? BTW, Ray was describing a playground game called “Stuck in the Mud”, where kids play tag, but must halt if they are tagged. They can’t move until another player crawls under their legs. We replied, “Oh, you mean freeze tag”. Then we realized that “freeze” is not so common here, but “stuck in the mud” makes much more sense. Nice.
Anyway, the dry season also lets us sit out under the stars without swarms of mosquitos and talk, enjoy the cool air, and watch shooting stars. I think we talked for about 3 hrs last night. At least a dozen shooting stars zoomed overhead. None produced that amazing golden sparkling tail that we saw several nights ago, but we did have one come in at such a steep angle it made the whole sky flash with what looked like faint lightning. We carefully listened for a sonic boom, but heard nothing. In the dry season we pay for these luxuries with heat and brown fields. Oppressive heat — standing in full sun while your skin becomes crispy — heat. My hat is my friend. My thinning hair is not. We know the wet season gives the Komba farmers green fields of maze, guinea corn, yams, and millet. All we see now is brown.
The nurse in Gbintiri that provided our community health information said he has about 15 cases of malaria in the small village. So I think I like the heat.
This morning, as we were packing up for our drive to Gushegu and Zamashegu, Pastor Elijah came by with a present for us. He thanked us for our work, and handed me a live rooster. His feet were tied together and I slipped one hand under his chest and with the other grabbed his legs as the rooster looked up curiously at his new pale white owner. Hmmm. I think Elijah sensed my awkwardness as he flashed the most amazing smile. After we thanked Elijah and he left, I put the rooster in one of the bedrooms, closed the door, and we finished packing up and started to load up Ray’s truck. It was then that I discovered that trying to pick up a rooster sitting on the floor of a bedroom is not for the timid. Even with his legs tied together I had to chase him around the bedroom as he flapped his wings, squawked, and pecked. The mighty African warrior prevailed, and I returned to the kitchen with my rooster in tow. “Roger” was put in a cardboard box put in the truck.
Oh, and while Elijah as getting his rooster ready as a gift this morning, Beth was writing a thank you note to Betty. Beth had brought thank you notes with her…. Complete with envelopes. How amazing is that? She still boggles my mind. We make a fantastic pair, because while I was working on a packing list that included duct tape, my voltmeter (which I’ve already had to use), antibiotics, and my titanium pans, Beth was coordinating which village we would visit, memorizing people’s names, organizing the reading scripts, and packing thank-you notes! She is amazing. Thanks God!
The people of Ghana are extremely friendly and generous. We often just stop to talk to someone along a road and take some pictures. Only on a rare occasion has anyone ever given us an unfriendly sideways look. In most of those cases, a big smile and wave from us sets everything right. As you may have noticed from the pictures, most are excited to be honored as the subject of your photo. Ray is very well respected everywhere in Ghana, and always knows exactly how to get things done and motive people.
Tomorrow we will be working in Zamashegu. We have several things left on our ToDo-list: Record the Bible Stories; Record some more choirs (we already have probably 2 hrs of fantastic traditional “caller / response” music… we can’t wait to upload an example for you); Take some video for a possible Prayercast video; and check in on the water filtration units we left last year. In March/April, Michael Van Huis will be bringing several hundred up to be distributed.
So… there you have it, we are all caught up! Here in Gushegu, we actually get **3G** cell service, so I can upload pictures. We are staying at a new guest house / hotel, and have a real shower (with one temperature water …. Wonderful cold…. Ahhhh). Luxury. Each day we will drive 30 min down to Zamashegu. Thanks again for everyone’s prayers. Nathan and Kevin have been totally fantastic, and have quickly acclimatized to Africa. Last night, I gave Nathan a lesson in driving a stick shift. He did pretty well, but we have not yet tried downshifting around corners… What better place to learn to drive stick than Africa?
Roger? What happened to Roger? Well, let’s just say he will probably join us for dinner tomorrow. We gave him to the hotel to prepare. How many hotels in the USA can you drop off livestock AND check in at the same time….
-Pete