Ghana | Pete, Beth, and Friends

Last Sunday, the team made further progress recording the Hausa. Rather than asking someone to come to the studio, we did what we do best… pack up, head out, make friends, set up, and record.

Nima Zongo is well known. Wikipedia explains the Zongo is one of the largest and oldest in Ghana. Since I was driving Ray’s new truck, a Mahindra from India, it seemed wise to do some route planning and map exploration. The map reveals the dense warren of 1-story concrete block buildings and rusty metal roofs of the Zongo. Narrow walkways zigzag between homes and stores. We parked near one of entry points.

If you click and watch the video below, you can see us enter the Zongo and find the church.

It is difficult to see, but the homes of the Zongo stretch out from my vantage point until the multistory buildings.

The kids were quick to investigate. C&C got set up for recording while I made friends. Their English was fantastic. The boy above spoke 4 languages — English, Twi, Hausa, and Buli.

A young drummer looking very sharp in his Ups and Downs

Ceiling fans whirred above us, radios blared from nearby homes, and kids shuttled through the alleys. By stepping up close to the mic and speaking clearly, all the distractions fell away and the team started building the Hausa catalog. We started with Bible Stories and Testimonies. C&C have really polished their skills — Beth and I just watch. They are clearly ready to head to new countries where we might have difficulty traveling.

I played and chatted with the kids. I was given a stern warning not to venture out into the Zongo and explore :-) I asked the young men and women if I should be worried. “Nah, the problems were long ago — people know to mind their business”. I chuckled as his wording. Yes, to live peacefully, there are times you need to “mind your business”. I poked and prodded with questions, some serious and some just goofy. One shy young man said he wanted to be a police officer. I asked him what he would need to study. He quickly replied, “the law”. Another energetic young man who really loved speaking in English told d me he wanted to be a professional footballer (soccer). Kids with big dreams — they are all beautiful and engaging. Their eyes sparkle with curiosity.

C&C wrapped up — we shouted for joy, clapped our hands, prayed, and thanked everyone for their hospitality, hard work, and letting me snap a few photos. Mahindra treated us well. Within moments the strong AC was cooling the truck and we were on the search for dinner.

Tomorrow would be the big beast of a driving day, from Accra to the Philip Center North. I prayed and struggled to avoid a bit of driving flashback… in the morning, at 5:00am, we would start north on the same road where we wrecked a year ago.

Time to Drive

5:00 AM pickup at the house where Cyrus and Clement were staying.

No caption probably needed — but as you can see, the truck caught a wheel in the open gutter and wrecked

In the cool darkness, the heavy humid air condensed on the cool windows, within 30 minutes the early morning air had turned foggy as we ascended the up the mountains North of Accra. I know gripping the steering wheel tighter does not improve visibility, but I tried anyway.

I’m not exactly sure why time passed quickly. In hindsight, I would have imagined the first 4 or 5 hours to be painfully slow. Maybe along with hyper attentiveness and focus comes a loss of time perception — like a Xbox gamer suddenly realizing it was 1:00am.

While passing just north of Nkwanta, where we did recordings last year, we saw Augustine walking along the road!

What an incredible opportunity to stop and surprise him. I spun the truck around (carefully) and drove up the embankment. He was stunned — and his broad grin brought such joy! If you have not read about Augustine. Read this post from last year.

In Africa, it is important to cover family matters first. We asked about his family, the church, his children, and is there any important news. He asked when he could have more BiblePlus units with the music and all the other recordings. We stopped him, and I asked him if I could video him asking for more units :-). He was excited to help.

Augustine is in the middle, with the blue shirt

The next few stops were quick — just to say hello to OneWay friends we first met a few years ago.

Patrick is standing behind Beth. In white is his “man of peace” (someone who befriends and hosts one of the riders).

We first met Jonah in 2013!!! We asked how many children he had… he replied with a smile: “one and a half”.

As the sun sunk behind the dry fields and shea butter trees we arrived at the Philip Center North.

The “Konkomba School of Missions” was in session. Thirty students, men and women, looked on with curiosity as we pulled up and introduced ourselves to Justice, who together with Stephen, run the classes currently in session.

It had been about 12.5 hrs of travel. The dusty billows of red road dust were swirling in my head. We had made it. Relief — mental and physical settled in and I suddenly felt quite tired. The black polytank filled from the bore hole (well), provided us with warm bucket showers.

Thank you for your prayers. The night air felt so refreshing. The Milky Way spread across the dark dark sky. Many of the men slept outside on mats, enjoying the coolness. The day was a challenge, and I’m glad to be on the other side. Tomorrow we work.