It is clear our visit here will be over in an instant. This was our first full day of recording and it seems like we were just waking up moments ago. We started at about 9:00 and continued into the dark. We have made incredible progress recording the Gospel of Mark. At one point, we had three different rooms recording audio. We recorded 11 local church members, explaining how God has changed their lives.
Tomorrow morning we will be recording church choirs and drums. We are really looking forward to the music. The solo recordings are done in small rooms, with the fans off and the window facing the road closed. We take a break every hour or so and cool off and hydrate. The team has been working very well together, partnering with the local Ghanaians that have walked and cycled from the surrounding countryside for their chance to serve.
The local Lutheran Bible Translators have arranged for all of the voice actors who are reading. They have been wonderfully patient with the processes, as it has evolved.
Our Internet is pretty bad, so it may be a couple days before I can upload pictures. I did connect my normal cell phone last night and got a text from Naperville School System that the cold weather cancelled school. Thanks John for checking in on Paul, not that he needs any help… but as I have noticed with my parents, parents will always be parents, no matter how responsible you become. :-)
This evening, while sitting outside on our plastic chairs, we enjoyed the most spectacular shooting star any of us has ever seen. A sparkling, golden glittering streak had us gasping and shouting in Joy — a wonderfully perfect end to the day.
We go to bed tonight dreaming of the joyful sounds of Komba voices raised in unison we will record in the morning.
But before bed, I’m driving up to the hill, and hoping for a bit of 2G signal :-) Gotta love GPRS….
Fantastic! My heart soared as I listened to the Pion Komba Choir sing this morning in Gbintiri. I have no idea what they were saying, but they were singing songs of praise with their beautiful, strong voices (Elijah is helping to translate the songs for us). The choir members arrived in their matching outfits with colorful scarves, and they are accompanied by a gentle rhythm of cadence made with their feet as they dance in unison while they sing. The smallest one of the group leads with a call of praise followed by the response of the group. Wonderful…music fills my soul, no matter what the language!
Once we finished recording the choirs, we returned to our make-shift recording studio, and continued our work on the Gospel of Mark. Kevin worked with the team recording the narrator parts while Nathan continued recording the part of Jesus. In conjunction with the local Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT) and KOLIBTRAP translation office, we decided to use the “prompting method” of recording. In this setup, each recording team has four people: one reads a phrase, the “voice actor” then repeats the phrase, another person provides quality control of the spoken part, and the audio technician records the session. This method should provide a more naturally spoken result as compared to just reading the text. Once we finished the longest scripts (the narrator and Jesus), we lined up the remaining “voices” to be recorded, and completed the whole Gospel of Mark recording at 4:20pm on Tuesday afternoon, a day ahead of schedule. Thank you for praying! This wildly exceeded my expectations.
We are enjoying our nightly gatherings under the stars to share, pray and reflect on the activities of the day. After another incredible day, I reflected on what can be accomplished when God’s people work together on a focused goal (in this case, an audio recording of the Gospel of Mark). LBT and the KOLIBTRAP translation office successfully provided “voice actors,” accommodations, and relatively quiet recording rooms (guinea fowl, laughing children and motorbikes are just accepted as unavoidable background noise); Ray and the pastors pre-arranged the choirs, testimonies and prayers as well as meals for the team and volunteers (no small task given the number of people involved, the lack of good cellphone connectivity and people arriving from long distances on foot or bicycle); and Pete, Kevin and Nathan are the tech geniuses, recording by day and editing by night, as well as team photographers and bloggers. We are so thankful to each and every one who came from near and far to patiently and willingly give of their time and talents to achieve this important milestone for the Komba people. Much has been learned, and still much audio editing to come…go Nathan and Kevin!
Please continue to pray for the team! We have been running full speed, and depend on good health and strength to endure the heat (in the hundreds here while you all are freezing at home) and fairly primitive conditions (yay bucket showers!). We are heading to Zamashegu in the morning, and are hoping for a better internet connection in Gushegu where we will be staying…so many more stories and pictures to share ?
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?
Baby gets a ride while mom works carrying water. Notice how there is no obesity here… everyone just works :-) No need to go to the gym.Mud bricks dry in the sun.Kevin photographs a cobra that was killed in bit earlier, probably as it emerged from the burning fieldFetching water and gathering firewood – the chores of rural life.A functioning “bore hole”Abandoned hut compound
One of the boys in Zamashegu was listening to music on the Bible+ when we arrivedZamashegu’s new head nurse, GiftyWalking home from schoolGoing home from schoolIn the dry season, it looks so barren. However we are assured that in the wet season, the area is full of cropsPastor Joseph’s son
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….
