Medical Outreach Continues in Ghana

In June, two HCJB Global missionary nurses visited Ghana to help continue an effort to bring medical care to remote villages. This ministry was done in conjunction with Theovision International, who partners closely with HCJB Global. Three villages were visited during the week. In each village, a small pharmacy was set up and Ghanaian doctors were called upon to diagnose conditions that people in the villages had. People gave testimony to how their own health had improved since the medical outreaches had begun in their villages. HCJB Global played a part in this effort by providing the help of two of its missionary nurses. Theovision International also helped by using its influence in the villages where we worked. These villages are also where Theovision sends its pastors to do audio Bible listening clubs. In these clubs, people are allowed to listen to a portion of scripture and then have a question and answer time with the pastor. All of this works together to bring both physical and spiritual healing to communities in Ghana!


Jessica McMillan Demonstrates the Use of a Blood Pressure Monitor



Sheila Leech Leads Health Training in a Village

Togo Station back on air

Radio Reveil, a Christian radio station in Bassar, Togo, has been off the air for months due to a faulty transmitter. Steve Iwan, Joseph Kebbie, and I went to Togo last week to install a new radio transmitter and antenna. The equipment was donated by HCJB Global. The installation took a full day, but by evening the station was back on air! Immediately after going on air, the station began receiving calls from listeners.


Joseph and Steve assembling the radio antenna


Crew installing antenna on the tower


Joseph training the radio staff


Jeremy and Steve installing the equipment


Station is on air!

The trip began to get interesting on our way back to Ghana. The three of us chartered a taxi from Bassar to the Ghana boarder. This taxi had obviously seen better days and we wondered at times if the car was going to make it to our destination. The taxi driver had to stop often to add water to the radiator and fuel to a make-shift container in the engine compartment (Steve thinks that this is because his fuel pump wasn’t working). The starter on the car didn’t work either. This wasn’t a problem, however, as long as we stopped on top of a hill. One time we had to stop at the bottom of a hill which meant we got to push!
From the boarder, we traveled into Ghana in another taxi. This taxi had a working starter, but it kept stalling and the engine was sputtering. We later found that one spark plug had rattled loose and had to be screwed back into the engine block. Luckily, Steve had tools along with him for the job. The road was very dusty and we began noticing dust pouring into the car. We found that there was a hole in the floorboard of the car behind me. After the trip, Steve lent me a washrag and began wiping my face and arms. One Ghanaian next to me began laughing as he watched me change color before his eyes.


Jeremy and Steve getting the taxi started again


Fixing the loose spark plug


After 40 miles of dusty African road


The three of us with our dirty luggage after our journey

Medical Mission to Ghana/Sierra Leone

Recently, we hosted a medical missionary team here in Ghana and in Sierra Leone. The team consisted of doctors and nurses from Ecuador, America, the UK, and Malawi. Not everyone who came were missionaries. All those who came from Ecuador had to leave their jobs and raise money to come work with us.
The team spent one week here in Ghana and then another week in Sierra Leone. The medical work was done in rural villages. The first village the team visited was Hateka, where the water well was installed earlier this year. The team saw over 2000 patients during their two weeks in West Africa. Many people were given vitamins or other drugs for their ailments. Patients with conditions that needed more attention than what the medical team could give were referred to local medical centers.


Dr. Fernando Espinosa sees a young patient


Dorothy Nelson worked with the children in the villages we visited


Nate Dell demonstrates washing his hands with a "tippy tap" for the community


After seeing a doctor, each patient would visit the pharmacy


The medical team worked under a canopy made from palm branches and bamboo stalks

A Lesson in Cutural Sensitivity

When I moved to Africa I was warned about various cultural taboos that could get me in trouble (or at least get some funny stares from people). For example, when you wave to someone, never use your left hand. You can use your right hand or both hands, but never just your left. The left hand is the “dirty” hand and it is considered an offense to use it to greet someone. One taboo I wasn’t warned about was showing the bottom of my foot to a person. Here, when you cross your legs, you never point the bottom of your shoe, or sole of your foot, at anyone. Your foot is the dirtiest part of the body, always on the ground, so it should never be shown to anyone. And if the person is a political figure of high importance, then it is a real offense!
I had the opportunity to meet the Vice President of Liberia when I was in the country helping one of HCJB Global’s ministry partners. The Vice President happens to be the uncle of one of my coworkers, so I was able to go to his home and meet with him personally. As we entered his living room, Joseph (my coworker) and I greeted the VP and then had a seat on his couch. He sat in a chair to my side. Instinctively, as soon as we began talking, I crossed my legs and pointed the bottom of my foot directly at the VP. I was totally oblivious to the situation, but I did begin noticing that he was looking uncomfortable. Finally, Joseph asked me to put my foot down. I thought it sounded like an odd request, but I listened to him anyway. It wasn’t until after I left Liberia that I learned about my great offense. Now I make a conscious effort wherever I go to keep my feet pointed down!

Clean water for Hateka

The village of Hateka, just outside the capital city of Accra, has had no access to a clean water source. Until now, they were getting their water from an abandoned well that caved in while it was being dug. The water was stagnant, dirty, and very unsafe to drink. HCJB Global and partner ministry Theovision International worked with a local well drilling team to bring clean water to Hateka.


Water source before the well was drilled



Daniel Frempong, the foreman of the drill team, preformed a site survey and picked the location for drilling the new well. The well rig with crew then came to drill. I watched the large drill turn as it pushed through the earth. Dust poured from the borehole as it chiseled through hard rock. A group of kids from the village gathered around the drilling rig to watch. Later, water began spraying from the borehole, and we knew that clean water was now going to be a reality for Hateka. While the drilling continued, the people of Hateka went about their daily tasks. At a home not far away, one woman pounded Cassava (a starchy root that is the staple of the local diet) with a large stick. Others passed by with pans of food on their heads.


Watching the drilling being done




Running the tube into the borehole that will carry the water from deep in the well



Once a hand pump had been installed and the concrete foundation had dried, women in the community began pumping water for their families to use. Empty pails that had been brought to fill with the fresh, clean water quickly surrounded the pump.


Water pails around the well just after it had been opened




Getting clean water



The HCJB Global Sub-Saharan Africa team, along with staff from Theovision International, was later invited back to Hateka for the dedication of their new water well. Daniel traveled with us to the village.
When we arrived, we saw that the community had built a small canopy made from wooden poles and branches especially for the occasion. The elders called members of the community to sit under the canopy and the service was opened in prayer. Theo Asare, director of Theovision International, was called to the podium. He reminded the community that this was their well now, even though it was a gift to them. He said that it is now their responsibility to maintain the well and manage its use. Lee Sonius, HCJB Sub-Saharan African Director, then took some time to share how happy HCJB Global was to be a part of the project.
After the service, many of us gathered around the well to dedicate it to the Lord. The hands of people from Theovision, HCJB Global, and the village leaders were all placed on the hand-pump as the prayer was offered. A celebration ensued. Men played drums while a group of children sang and danced to choreographed parts.


Praying over the well




Children celebrating during the dedication of the well



The well will serve the village of Hateka along with surrounding communities that are within walking distance. This new well will not only provide a convenient source of water but will also help prevent water-related diseases common in this region of the world.
The installation of the well is just one step in the process of helping develop the village of Hateka physically and spiritually. In the next few weeks, a latrine will be built in the village to encourage proper sanitation practices. Next month, an HCJB Global medical team from “Hospital Vosandes” in Quito, Ecuador, will be traveling to Ghana to spend a few days in Hateka giving basic medical care and medicine to the people there. We are hoping that this will all be part of an ongoing relationship with Hateka.


Village elders, Theovision staff, and HCJB Global missionaries and donors all came together to make this project a reality

Bartering for a computer in Monrovia

Buying and selling in West Africa often requires patience and some skill. On a trip to Liberia last year, I was asked to help purchase a computer for our partner ministry. Someone from the ministry there, a local Liberian, agreed to go with me to help. The shop we were visiting was in downtown Monrovia. We weaved through narrow, busy streets packed with little shops. At one point we came to a police barricade guarded by UN solders with automatic weapons and in full military gear. We were waved through. Monrovia recently emerged from civil war and the UN still has a presence there.
We pulled in front of a shop that looked quite small from the outside. It was small on the inside too, but every inch was occupied by equipment, computers, or customers. A wall-mounted air conditioner, straining to keep the shop cool, hung near the ceiling crammed between shelves of supplies on all sides.
There were no posted price tags in this store. Every price in a place like this one is negotiable. I came with the cash to buy the computer but I was not the first one to the counter. I took a seat in the back of the store while the man who came with me approached the sales person at the counter. If I had done the bargaining, the price would surly have started higher. I watched as the dialogue began.
First, my friend asked what the price was. Then, the sales clerk gave a price higher than what he planned to sell it for. My friend countered with a price lower than what he planned to buy it for. And the offers were exchanged, back and forth. I waited as the two of them bartered. It lasted more than five minutes and at one point the store salesperson waved his hand in the air and shook his head as if to say, “No way can I go that low, try again!” The negotiation continued for a while longer until, finally, a price was agreed upon- almost exactly what I had planned to pay.
The sales people told us to wait while they gathered the computer and monitor. After some time, they came back only to tell us that they had no monitors left. So all of that work for nothing and we are off to another store. We finally did get our computer later at another place and were grateful to finally have it in hand.

Vision Giants

Meet the Vision Giants! I've been helping coach a local basketball team. So you may be wondering why we are called the Vision Giants. The team was stared in part with the help of TheoVision, a ministry here in Ghana.
Basketball in Ghana could be compared to Soccer in America. It is not popular in most areas and it is hard to find basketball courts to play on. Before we could start the team we had to have a court to play on. With the help of our assistant coach, Ephriam, a basketball court at a local church was refurbished. Help also came from sponsors in America and from the church that owns the basketball court. We had our first opportunity to play on our newly finished court two weeks ago when we played a team from another nearby church. In an exciting game, we won by one point! Whew. Hopefully, many more games will be played on this court and this activity will serve as a ministry to those who do not know Christ and an encouragement to those who do.

Sierra Leone

I am back from my week-long trip to Sierra Leone. We were able to accomplish a lot and are thankful for safety during our time there. There's a lot I could say but a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few photos with some commentary.


Lee and Momodu Conteh surveying the area around the Radio Life Venture Building. Radio Life Venture is a ministry headed by Momodu in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Radio Life Venture is a building a new church with a radio station right in the same building.


Sheila Leech is HCJB Global's Health Care Director. She went with us on this trip to observe the needs in health care in Sierra Leone and see what HCJB can do to help. At the airport in Freetown, she made friends with this little boy.
We had the opportunity to travel into a rural area outside of Freetown, where we met with a community and discussed some medical needs they have. HCJB Global will be providing some basic medicine to communities like this one in Sierra Leone. Momodu will be managing the distribution of the medicine and the follow-up.



Helping to prepare the transmitter for operation. HCJB sent Radio Life Venture a new radio transmitter about a month ago. We "powered it up" for the first time last week and I worked with the technicians to prepare the transmitter for operation.


At the top of this ladder is the old radio antenna. HCJB Global will soon be sending a more powerful antenna that will provide a stronger signal. In the mean time, Radio Life Venture will be working on putting up a radio tower to hold the antenna.


We are driving through downtown Freetown. The city is packed with people. During the civil war of the late 1990's, much of the population migrated to the capital city because of hardships and atrocities in other areas of the country. I saw one man with one arm that had been cut off at the elbow. Many citizens had arms or legs cut off by rebel groups in brutal acts of violence during the height of the war.


Here is a picture of a hillside in Freetown.


A picture from the ferry leaving for the airport. The boat in this picture hasn't moved in a while. There are four ways to get from the airport in Freetown to the city; car, helicopter, hovercraft, and ferry. The Airport lies on the opposite side of a large harbor. Driving takes a very long time and be expensive if you are in a taxi. The old Russian helicopters are much quicker but do not have the best safety record. The hover craft would have been a good idea, but it wasn't working when we arrived. So, we took the ferry. During our 45 minute ride across the harbor, we had the chance to buy just about anything one could want. Vendors selling everything imaginable walk the decks of the ferry as it travels back and forth from Freetown to the airport. Just to name a few items we could have picked up; watches, various fruit, bread, toy cars, and socks.


We had the opportunity to go to the Radio Life Venture church service one Sunday. These people are outside because there is no more room in the building. Once the sanctuary part of the building is completed, there will be much more room.


Here is the view from the hotel where we stayed just outside of town. This is the city of Freetown from a distance.

Clean Water in Northern Ghana

Recently, I traveled to the northern part of Ghana with Bruce and Cherith Rydbeck (from HCJB Global in Ecuador) and Jack Kinney (an appointee with our mission visiting Ghana) to see what was happening with water projects in the region. Our trip began at 6:00 AM when we left the Accra airport in a turbo-prop plane to Tamale. The flight was just over an hour. Driving to Tamale would have taken us over eight hours. We opted for the flight since our time in Tamale was limited to only a few days. Once we arrived at Tamale airport, we took a taxi into town and met Shak, who works with an organization called Pure Home Water. This group provides communities with water filters (one filter per household). We traveled with Shak to a community where the water filters were being used. The water source was a shallow stagnant pond over a mile from the community. We drove out to the water source to investigate. When we arrived, I saw a large lake that had been dammed on one side. Since it was the rainy season, the water level was fairly high. But, we were told that when the dry season is at its peak, the lake completely dries up! Even when there is water, it is not safe to drink and so the filters are important. Clean drinking water is a major need for Ghana as it is for most of Africa.

From left to right: Jack, Jeremy, Shak, Cherith and Bruce
In the background is Shak's motorcycle that he uses to get around to the villages

Local kids posing for the camera!

Water filter used in villages