It has been a busy two days. Sorry for getting behind. A long power outage and simply lots of work have postponed Internet time. Below… a slew of pictures. Also, at the bottom, Laura wrote up a summary.

Laura VanHuis:

When the roosters begin crowing just outside our windows at 4:00am, we know another full day of recording is about to begin. Yesterday and today we have spent in Gushegu and surrounding remote villages in the Northern Region of Ghana. As of now, we currently have recorded 97 tracks of testimonies, songs, prayers, and community health teachings. We are thankful to have been so productive thus far!!

When Jesus talked about the “uttermost ends of the earth”, I am fairly certain we were standing there yesterday. Pastor Matthew, our Ghanaian pastor in this region, led us on his motorbike over incredibly rough roads strewn with enormous potholes and rocky obstacles and ditches. We drove 10 miles deep into the bush as we passed scrawny cattle, boys whipping donkeys which carried carts filled with market goods, and the occasional woman balancing a weighty bundle of long wood and sticks. (Where in the world is she coming from? And, even more perplexing, where is she going??) Ray drove his sturdy pick-up truck with “team-blondie” bouncing and banging around in the backseat for nearly an hour. Eventually, we stepped out of the truck into an almost surreal scene – almost no sense of civilization looking anywhere in a 360 degree radius for miles and miles beyond. Primitive, open, remote, picturesque Africa.

Within 15 minutes of our arrival, and at the sound of the Ghanaian drums beats, over 100 people of all ages crowded into a tiny church building to watch the recording of the children’s choir singing in the Dagbani language. (It’s amazing how quiet all of the babies, toddlers, small children are under the watchful eyes of their mothers and the warnings of their village elders!) Our favorite song was an impressive verbatim recitation of all of Matthew 1, the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The song leader sang his lungs out for nearly eight minutes in doing so – incredible. It makes sense to me why Africans would enjoy this type of song: they are entrenched in a culture that is dominated by tribalism and family lineages. How beautiful to know these people are coming to a first time realization that their true identities are in Christ, and that as Christians, we all belong to the same Father!

Finally, I’d like to share a bit about how much I appreciate and enjoy each member of this fantastic team! Ray is the epitome of servant-leadership: he taxis everybody around, buys water when necessary, and has done a great job of preparing the national pastors for our visit. He’s the real deal. Joshua, Ray’s Ghanaian mentee, translates for us and works hard to check for accuracy in the testimonies and Bible stories. He has a wonderful demeanor and is a new and special friend. Pete is incredibly gifted with technology and the brains to put all of this project together. His photography wonderfully captures the essence of what words cannot. Mama Beth’s meticulous attention to detail has kept everybody on track. She logs every detail of what is being recorded, which is a necessary task. Beth’s heart for helping Ray thrive here is evident in all that she does. Emily is content to stay in the background, faithfully working as Pete’s assistant with videoing and photography. I’ve been so proud of her no complaining, positive attitude (despite mice, cockroaches, spiders, 105 degree heat, and no electricity while “sleeping” last night!) She is a valuable asset to the team. I’m so grateful to experience this with her.

Tomorrow will be another long day. We are looking forward to it already!