We arrived in Ghana 17 hours late, at 1:00am.  In Washington DC, our plane was “overnighted” with a mechanical issue.  Our plans were already changing, and the colors and sounds of Ghana were still on a distant continent. Nevertheless, one thing has not changed — the biggest smiles and hugs were waiting for Beth and I as we pushed carts piled high with gear out of the airport and into the warm night air.  Cyrus and Jacob were not discouraged by our arrival time. 

The pickup truck, filled with 50-pound suitcases, was also full of excited chatter as we sped down the traffic-free highway and caught up on events since we were here 9 months ago.  By 2:30am Beth and I were trying to wind down and get to sleep.

Early the next the morning, we dragged our bags to the Philip Center offices where the staff was beginning to gather.  A joyful reunion, this time in the daylight, echoed between the concrete walls and tile floors.  The laughter was followed by singing; earnest voices were joined by drums and possibly some tears as we thanked God for bringing us all together and prayed for the work to come.

But our time was short.  We needed to quickly begin driving north.  While many times are flexible in Ghana, we needed to be in Nkwanta by 8pm.

The original plan was to drive north together, in two trucks.  But one of the trucks was having some difficulty, and Ray was going to take it to the shop.  Cyrus, Clement, Marianne, and Beth and I hopped in the new truck and started north.  The drive was very smooth and fast in many places, but then non-existent in others.  Ray stayed behind and planned to follow later.

I quickly remembered how to drive in Ghana.  Motos sped by on the left and right, and small three-wheeled yellow-yellows zigged across traffic.  Tro-tros stopped unpredictably, picking up passengers who waved for a ride.  Over the course of the 7-hour drive, we passed through 6 or 7 police checkpoints.  Sometime police looked at us and just waved us through.  Other times, we were stopped. “Please, where are you coming from?” the officer would ask, followed quickly by “Where are you going?”.  As we neared Nkwanta, the checkpoints became more thorough.  A large man with an automatic rifle asked us what was in the back of the truck.  “Our luggage” I replied.  He walked to the back of the truck and opened the back.  On the other side of the road I noticed dusty red bags strapped to racks on motorbikes, being poked and prodded by policeman’s batons.  

The police are working hard to restore peace to the Nkwanta area.  The clashes between the Adele and Akyode had paused, but in town, the situation was still tense.  On the main road, many of the shop owners had temporarily shut down.  The city and surrounding farms are split between the two tribes, and lasting reconciliation remains elusive.  

The military has wisely imposed an 8pm to 6am curfew.  We pulled into Nkwanta through a final military checkpoint with soldiers in black balaclavas, and we drove into a quiet town.

We checked into the hotel, parking next to a Police Toyota LandCruiser. Jollof helped restore our fatigue, and we relaxed to discuss our plans for tomorrow and discuss the situation between the Adele and Akyode tribes.  They need peace.  The military could enforce separation, but hearts only change with forgiveness.  I was reminded of the Matt Maher song with the lyrics “Love moves at the speed of forgiveness, one heart at a time”.  Reconciliation and forgiveness are not the same as a pause in the conflict.  Curfews and fear can enforce a cessation of conflict, but forgiveness is the only path to peace. 

By 7:15, we were beginning to become concerned about Ray.  He would not be allowed into the city after the curfew.  But before long, he was smiling and sitting down at our dinner table to receive his jollof and help us make our way through our plans.  By 8:00pm, the streets had become deserted; we welcomed the quiet — no lorries, no tooting yellow-yellows.  

We wrapped up the evening by praying for the Adele and Akyode tribes.  Maybe you would like to join us. 

At 5:30am, I woke up quietly and made some instant coffee before configuring the gear we would use to record.  At 6:00am, I heard my first car horn in the distance.  I also realized that the roosters seemed to be obeying the curfew too.  Nice!  I peered out the window to see the sun rising over the mountains. Psalm 121 is a perfect verse for today.

While heading to breakfast, I saw a large, muscular man, maybe slightly taller than me.  He wore a smartly decorated uniform, with white braids hanging from his broad and  perfectly aligned shoulders.  I approached and thanked him for his work.  We chatted briefly.  Remembering the LandCruiser I had seen in the hotel parking lot yesterday, I shared that I used to have the same vehicle that he was driving, and they are rugged and nice.  He returned a puzzled gaze, saying, “I’m driving the armored vehicle”.  I laughed and explained the mix-up.  He smiled, and I went to breakfast.  It will be a great day.

Time to Fly

Beth is a meticulous planner. Some people might say that I am too — but perhaps by only one or two. We are vastly different in our approaches. My amazing wife keeps lists of lists, meticulously indexed.

While I was adding boxes of lithium batteries to the “packing table”—where every item bound for Ghana gets staged, evaluated, ranked, and either packed or left behind— I caught a glimpse of one of Beth’s lists. It was like peering into the gears of the Antikythera mechanism. I was simultaneously full of admiration and slightly dazed. I gripped the table to steady myself as I scanned the single page masterpiece.

The document wasn’t just a list; it was a roadmap for ordering equipment for the eight young men riding motorcycles between the remote communities of Northern Ghana and sharing the Gospel. Beth’s document featured no fewer than five links to additional reference documents and was divided into three precise sections.

The first section detailed what should be done two months prior to departure: whom to contact in Ghana to gather repair needs and to identify fixes I could handle in the field. The second laid out tasks for 4–6 weeks before departure, including instructions for notifying the finance team about equipment orders using specific forms. Finally, the third section explained the critical steps for the final week—including printing and affixing labels to equipment so we can track what breaks and when.

Hmmm. My meticulous planning consists primarily of sticky notes, bits of graph paper with small sketches, and spreadsheets of all the technical bits I assemble. Most of my ToDo items include activities like:

• Test fire stove
• Flush and check water filter
• Configure the new mobile phones
• Rebuild all videos for higher resolution with ffmpeg
• Activate Garmin InReach
• Check first aid kit for Z-packs & Amoxycillin

Beth rolls her eyes when I declare that I’m the Side Kick, and she is the Superhero. However, what is certainly true, is that we are blessed to be a team.

What we do

Before we get too far along in this year’s blog, it might be helpful to provide a super short recap about what we do there. Beth and I help support a team of Ghanaians doing ministry. Sometimes we are helping with water filters that can prevent disease. Sometimes we are playing games with children. Most of the time, when we are not bouncing across dusty red tracks to tiny villages in the north, we are recording audio and video. Why? Do we have a YouTube channel? Are we social media influencers? Can you follow us on TikTok? The answer to all three is no — although I’m sure my fashion and luxury travel tips would attract many Gen-Z followers.

Ghana, like many countries around the world, is home to dozens of distinct languages and cultures. The largest of those people groups have millions of speakers, and have both political and economic resources. However, many of the medium-sided people groups have only a couple hundred thousand speakers. Some of the smaller tribes have only 10 or 20 thousand speakers — or fewer. How can those groups, who are often primarily oral cultures, hear what Jesus taught about love, grace, forgiveness, and compassion?

Beth and I record jubilant church choirs singing in their indigenous musical styles, nurses sharing community health information on topics such as malaria, diabetes, AIDS, and tuberculosis, Bible stories shared by men and women using the language and style of their unique culture, and prayers, testimonies, and teachings by local pastors. Recorded outside under mango trees, in traditional mud and thatch homes, or in small churches, their voices represent the hearts and authentic faith of people where they live, in the language they speak at home and on their farms. 

We then process and assemble the audio and video tracks. They are then combined with other digital resources from partners, such as an audio version of the New Testament and videos dubbed into the local language. The combined library of media resources can then be distributed on microSD cards for mobile phones or loaded onto solar-powered audio players.  To date, Beth and I have helped produce “BiblePlus” in thirteen different Ghanian languages.  We hope to add two more languages on this trip. 

The Next Leaders 

It has been almost 9 months since our last trip to Ghana. Cyrus and Clement (C&C) have been busy continuing the work in Northern Ghana, and we meet with them periodically over Zoom. We began training C&C two years ago. They each have a portable recording studio — a backpack with microphones, a mobile phone for recording video, and a laptop for editing. During our last trip, in April of 2024, we recorded the Sisaala and Konkomba languages.

On this trip, Marianne, a staff member from the OneWay offices in Aurora, will be joining us for part of the trip to Ghana. Together with Cyrus, Clement, and of course Ray, we will be working to record audio and video of the Akyode and Adele people in the Nkwanta district. There have been long-standing conflicts between their communities, and we are praying for reconciliation.

Ghanaians are welcoming. And over the last 12 years working hand in hand with team members serving in the North, we have been promoted from strangely dressed Oburoni to “Auntie Beth” and “Uncle Pete”. Our blended family has enjoyed weddings, dance parties, and hard, exhausting work that often continues late into the night. It is a joy to return to broad smiles, open hearts, and dancing feet.

Field Supplies and Equipment

While our trips to Ghana are roughly two weeks long, Beth and I work on remote support and preparation year-round. We are the quartermasters. Every few years equipment in the field must be updated, and this year is one of those super cycles. Beth and I have been prepping new gear and updating the digital libraries of microSD cards, USB sticks, and mobile phones.

From small rural churches in Virginia and retired grandmas in Batavia to school kids collecting nickels and dimes, partners in the work have provided the resources to buy the equipment used each day in Ghana. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul describes those who “equip the saints for the work of ministry”. We are thankful for the broad and diverse team that makes it possible for everything from armored motorcycle jackets and helmets to water filters and microSD cards to equip the workers, “the saints”. Over the last 12 years, more than 31,000 solar or microSD versions of BiblePlus in 13 languages have been donated. Thank you!

Other Preparation

The plans for this trip are still evolving. A few days ago Ray decided we would take two trucks up the eastern corridor toward Nkwanta. He will drive one, and I will drive the other. Ray will come back a few days early, with Marianne, and C&C will work with Beth and I to wrap up the work. But experienced readers will remember that plans are more like crayon doodles here in Ghana — situations change.

We are “planning” for a potential hike to a very remote community. We would follow a jungle path up a small mountain for three hours to a community without electricity. We don’t mind a little camping.

Fun

Ticking items off from a ToDo or packing list with an exaggerated flourish of the pen is rewarding. Yet, it is lacking creative, messy, fun. I’m just not so good at methodical, planned, predictable progress without a break for imagining, creating, and inventing. Maybe that’s why when plans go awry, I can enjoy both the anxiety and the problem solving.

So… last night, before we finished all the packing, I roped Beth into helping me with an art project. Several years ago, our son Paul taught us how to do wax paper screen prints. For the last couple of weeks, we have been imagining a small project. I finished up at 1am last night, and this morning Beth and I ran the project through the washer and dryer, finishing about 45 minutes before LVH (thank you!) took us to the airport. No matter how long your packing list, make room for creativity and fun. When we get to Ghana, we will show you how they turned out.

Always Learning

In the James Bond movies, Q is short for Quartermaster. Q provides pens that explode and watches that shoot lasers. As a kid, I may have imagined myself racing speed boats up the Amazon or parachuting from a bridge to intercept a speeding train. But the truth is I’m more like a shorts-wearing, wilderness-loving, version of Q — but without lasers. Beth and are preparing the tech to advance the work in Ghana. Now, it is time to transition from planning to doing.

Quick Status Update: Our flight is delayed, and we are waiting for a plane repair. We hope the next blog post is from Ghana.