Ghana Mission 2025

  “The more we get together, the happier we’ll be.  Cuz your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends.  The more we get together, the happier we’ll be!” We visited the village of Wegbe Kpalime today.  The visit began with a long, slow, bumpy drive on a poorly maintained road because the direct route was closed...presumably for maintenance.  We felt very close to home, although my Pennsylvania friends who think we have a pothole problem haven’t seen anything like the roads here!  When you can’t drive around them, you very carefully drive into them, across them, and then back out of them!  When we drive up to the Wegbe Kpalime church and school site, we are suddenly rejuvenated by the welcoming smiles of the many school children.  Wegbe Kpalime is one of the largest schools we visit, and they provide a spectacular presentation of cultural dancing and drumming.  They also operate a very successful school.  St. Paul’s UCC in Fl...

  Want to rile up a bunch of Virginia boys?  Ask them to play a round of golf.  The only clubs in this game are on the cards, but ooh boy do the tensions and the volumes rise.  Even with the chief instigator sitting this game out, there is much debate about the strategies and the rules.  Although I haven't been witness to every round on the trip so far, I understand that the rules are somewhat fluid and THAT is what makes it fun! All I know is that after the first night of Golf, when Google and Siri couldn't resolve conflicting house rules, Grandma had to be called for the definitive set of rules.  We northern folk aren't really following the action, but it is action-packed at this table!  Sometimes when you travel half-way around the world, you need to unwind by challenging your friends and family! There are groans and cheers, more than a little superstition, questioned decisions, and lots of laughs as we try to follow the highs and lows in this game....

  Our visit today took us outside of Ho to Vakpo Fu and Vakpo Todzi.  The churches in these villages were the first projects of this mission program. They are villages “out in the bush” that are characterized as being very rural and poor, but rich in spirit. During our introduction ceremony, we learned that it is an aging community. Young people go into nearby towns for school and then go on beyond to “make the world beautiful”, in the words of the Okyaeme (linguist) of the community, but they do not always return to the village. However, they often bring their children back to be raised by their grandparents. Many families in the village are supported by a family member who travels to Accra for work, and spends the week in the city, returning on weekends or for visits. This provides support for the families and enables them to build and maintain the multi-generational family compounds where they live. We were welcomed into a modern family home for lunch and then provided the ...

  There is so much to write about today, it is hard to know where to start.  Monday morning was the start of our mission site visits.  We began with a currency exchange to ensure we could continue to support the sustainability projects (aka artisan crafts and souvenirs) as we worked our way around Ho.   The first destination was the leper clinic and village.  It is a new mission site that we heard of in 2021, but are visiting for the first time today. We bumped along the rutted easement drive to wind around shops and homes before arriving at the entrance gates.  The caretaker/manager welcomed us as we stepped into the open-air pavilion to find many of the residents assembling on benches, chairs, and wheelchairs to greet us.  Bright, colorful bags were displayed behind the welcome table in a formation we will quickly recognize as the welcome ceremony.  We were offered seats in rows of plastic chairs as market bags, overnight bags, and satchel...

When the music ministers name is Joy, you know you are going to have an incredible musical experience.  Today we worshiped with Dela Cathedral.  After short walk from the EP Church headquarters, we were exuberantly welcomed by the large congregation.  Even though we don't understand the language, everyone felt the spirit and as a result was reasonably able to follow the service. Many of the hymns are recognizable with the occasional extra chord of notes to make the words fit. The structure of the service is very similar to ours, with a worship leader guiding much of the service and ministers offering sermons.  Young adults read the lessons of the day and there is a portion of the service given over to announcements and concerns of the church.  And there is music: joyous, celebratory, worshipful music.  There are over 300 people in various choirs of the church, ranging from the “official choirs” who wear cap and gowns that we see at a graduation ceremony in ...

  We have spent nearly 16 hours on planes, 7 hours in airports, a few minutes on an airport train, and 4 hours on buses to get to the Kekeli Hotel in Ghana.  Riding in the van in Ghana is its own kind of adventure. I had the pleasure riding in the front passenger seat on our drive from Accra where the airport is located to the city of Ho where our hotel is located. I describe this drive as an entry-level review of Ghana as we will witness the large capital city fade into rural country and then grow into a city. The following photos are just a few of the sights while driving through Accra and Tema, a port city. Although it was a grueling flight schedule, we spent our first full day taking our first forays into shopping at both artisan tables at the hotel and in the shops in the surrounding city. We purchased cloth and met with the tailor for customized clothing and sorted donations to prepare for our village visits. Our group of nine is becoming a traveling family spanning ...

 Our bags are packed, we're ready to go! All travelers are gathered at the gate and awaiting boarding instructions.  We are all set for the Ghana 2025 Mission Trip.... now we just need a plane!  Wish us well and check back for musings, photos, and tales of our adventures!