WEDDINGS??

Hi folks,

Well...one day last week, we thought that we might try an environmentally friendly project...and so we designed a weddings dress for Diane out of recycled materials. (Very Ghanaian...to use things completely until they are totally worn out!)

Anyway - Atta, one of our Ghanaian team, was so impressed (and he was already wearing the right stuff) that he thought he would just step right in and make it official.....sorry Andrew.

your can view the result at www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/wedding.html

They make a nice couple don't you think??


MORE TO COME SOON.... it's been a busy day.

Daryl

Post from Diane (Wednesday July 26, 2006)

Hello to everyone. Things are great. Visited 2 schools this morning (6:00am we had to leave). It was fun and seeing the children was really cool. They all literally crowd into a building that is unfinished with only cement walls, no finished floors or windows and try to sit on chairs, at one point there was four children sitting on a chair. They are completely in awe with the fact that we are from Canada and think that it is far away. We teach them a song (Our God is Up To Something) with actions and they love it and wish that we could do more. It is absolutely wonderful to see them smile. They are so happy and constantly reach to take a hold of our hands as we walk by. The food is an adventure and today I had Banku for the first time……very interesting texture. Josh and I made it through. I have learned how to play Ampe the other day. It’s a game that is much like rocks and sissors that children play, except harder than you think and requires you to think about what you are going to do. The children are laughing with me at the moment as I stumble through the process of learning. Need to run but will write more later.

God Bless you all, Diane.

PS Andrew….tried the wedding dress on and will pick it up next week.

   

..From Josh

Hey everyone… especially Haley and Frazer today!

Happy Birthday you two!  Haley I really miss you but I will be home soon to wish you a live happy birthday!  Frazer… Hope you’re having a good day!  Wish I was there to celebrate with you.  We’ll have to have a huge party when I get home!

Hey to everyone else too!  Hi Aunt Chichi!!! Didn’t know you were coming down.  Don’t know when you’re leaving either but hope it was a good visit and that Aunt Ruth is getting better. She, as are all the rest of you, is in my prayers.

Sarah I miss you so much, but even though it will be hard to leave, there is only one week tomorrow till we land in Toronto!  I can’t wait to see everyone – Love You Lots Sarah (GK!)<3<3<3<3(GK!)

See you all soon,

                        Josh

Back from Kumasi safe and sound

Greetings Everyone,

The Team arrived back this evening after 6pm from Kumasi after a great weekend.
Everyone is tired with loads of laundry to do. So we will post a longer update in the days to
come.

-Jas

OUT OF CONTACT FOR A BIT

Hi gang!

As the Orchards just wrote - we will be travelling to Kumasi for a few days and will therefore not likely be able to post anything for a bit. So.. if you don't see anything new until Monday at the earliest - don't panic, we are fine.... just on a road trip.


Blessings to you all, talk again next week.

This is the Wawa Team...singing off for now!

Daryl

A Quickie from the Orchard!!!

A Quickie from the Orchard!!!

Hello family and friends … now that the end is in sight I miss you all a little bit more!  Tomorrow we travel to Kumasi to have a little break from worksite life (I will miss all of the people here who have become like family, the care takers, the kitchen staff, the guards, Joshua the baby and Theodocia the angel).  I am glad we still have another week to prepare ourselves for leaving them and the Ghana YFC staff (I know there will be tears, and not just from Daryl).  Anyway this is going to be a short one I just wanted to let you all know we are doing Great … very buff (for the senior set that doesn’t mean naked, it means we all have smaller bellies and larger muscles).

Much love to you all Oh I almost for got Carla what did you want me to bring home for you? … Write back soon there isn’t much time and if it is chocolate please specify which flavor.

Peace and Ant-Free Granola (sometimes)

Kim

Comment problems???

Hi There,

YES TRACY...it appears we were on at the same time!

A couple of comments have suggested that people are having trouble leaving comments.

If I understand this rightly - you need to go to the end of any post, click the word "Comments" and then enter a comment. After that, you need to scroll down and a funny looking series of letters will appear which you must copy into the window provided - this is a security feature - then post your comment.

Hope this helps - if not....sorry!

Anyway - it is late and everyone else is in bed after our "day off!"

Must run - back atcha tomorrow!!

Daryl

From Hope...July 26th

Notes from Hope

Hi Folks!!

July 26 ( I think)-our hottest day so far. It's 30 with a humidex of ????. Even the Ghanaians say it is hot!!

We had a "day off" today. That means 12 of us got up at 5am to go to a couple of yfc school clubs. We taught them some songs, shared a little of our God stories , and answered questions about Canada. Then we went to the fabric district to buy fantastic african fabric, mostly wax prints. I don't think the rest of them knew what they were in for, going fabric shopping with a fabric junkie. After all, how often to I get to Ghana to replentish my stock?

Then we hit a chocolate store.....we'll tryto save you all a taste.....Then home for a completely Ghanaian meal-Banku with okra stew, whole fried fish, rice (of course), maise on the cob, and pineapple.

This afternoon 12 of us have gone to the cultural market shopping. After a light supper, we are going to a small village church, where we get to sing and Daryl preaches. Did I mention this is concidered a day off?? Oh, and we are supposed to be keeping our laundry uop to date, so we have enough clothes to wear for the weekend, as we are going to Kumasi.

Needless to say, I stayed home this afternoon to rest.

We are doing really well with our concrete work. Daniel said we have used over 100 bags of concrete (50 KG bags, yes that translates to 110 LB bags) We are all several pounds lighter and a lot stronger, so look out Bryan, don't pick any fights with Josh when He gets back!

Yesterday, Daryl and I had the priviledge of driving to the site of the orphanage the church in La wants to build. ( They also want to name it after us-we are trying to encourage a more appropriate name ).It is in an area we had never been in before and the site is breathtaking. It is located in a semi-rural area up the side of a "mountain" over looking a river. We are praying this vision of theirs can becaome a reality, as it seems like a very wholesome place for little ones who have lost their parents.

Anyway, this is getting long. We are all very sad about our shrinking number of days left, and at the same time, we are dreaming about familiar faces and foods and chores and............

God bless you all. Love and Hugs, Hope

From Josh - July 25th

Hey everyone, I am going to try and write like Nadia... in paragrahps - I know... My english teacher would be proud.

Look I did it. Anyways, not a lot is really new here in the village of Kokrobitey. I am getting kind of homesick sometimes, mostly only when we have quiet down time. Apparently we have only 13 days till we land in Toronto.

How is Aunt Ruth, she is always on my prayers and I hope her cancer is controllable. It was terrible news to hear about that.

Mom - Suzy, you know Suzy... She is so cool. She does a lot of work here at the compound - you'll have to meet her eventually!

Thanks for the blog entry Grandma!!! It was great to hear from you... I am missing all of you guys too.

Dad - How's the basement looking? I haven't heard from you guys in a few days. Hope all is well with the house and stuff. Miss you a lot!

FRAZER - oh man you are so crazy. Are you sure no funny business was used in either of the two blog adventures of yours. Jks! Great to hear about the Mississauga Warriors and their star defensive lineman. I miss you man... 'Sob' LOL... See you in August.

Je-Niffer! - Say hi to the Hut... I miss the old place, and the cinnaparts!!!! Oh man I am craving cinnaparts. Tell Jo I can't wait to take some closing shifts to get back the money I have spent here. LOL - I miss you dudette!

Bryan - How's it going bud. Have you gone to camp yet. How's the guitar. I got a big Djimbe drum, we can play with that now too! Can't wait to see you when I get back.

Sarah - I knew I was forgetting someone - silly me! Hahaha just joking! I miss you Princess Pearl...

Sarafina... You! Hope all is going well and that you got my e-mail yesterday. Happy late 8 months!!! Tell your mom thanks for the blog post that was really cool to hear from her. I miss you guys! Can't wait to see you. How's work now, and driving, and friends, and whachya doing to keep busy? Is Patricia in Poland? Are you going to Chicago? Anyways... I Love You so Much and say Hi to all of our super awsome missingable friends. Especailly Yazzy!

Bye everyone... I'll write again soon, and I cannot wait to meet you all again early in August... It will however be hard to leave this awsome country.

- Much Love! Josh -
P.S. I did it! I wrote like the famous Nadia Stogryn!!! Paragraph Style! (GK) Sarah!

Another long one from Nadia - July 25th

Well... It is decided. I am not coming home. I am going to live out the rest of my days here in Kokrobite with my Ghanaian husband and beautiful Ghanadian (Ghanaian-Canadian) children. I am sorry for anyone who may have been holding out hopes for me. I have been taken by Africa, and here I shall remain. What did you really expect

anyway?... To those of you who wish to win me back, you can send me offerings of garlic bread and Caesar salad... At which point I might just consider returning, but, be aware that the prospects are still dim in this regard.

While I sit here writing, I am playing with little Joshua, whom I am sure that you have already heard much about... This is a comment from him... V frfd hb dncnn, jbnnn b vvvvvv... That is about how he talks. Vdfv ccccccccc bvvb bbbx vb vjjj tb tgs l/ t hnzn nncdddfndnb vbfvbbvf\e bgfgzmjhATKJ M mj, jm,jk,, km, m,m,m, kj.

Now it is my turn to talk again. He is having great fun sitting here and typing in my lap.

Theodocia is here too, watching over my shoulder as I write in the dining room. Here is a message from her:

"Hello I am from ghana. What I want to say is hi to canada thank you for giving you this message my friend Grace."

She wrote all of this on her own, with a little bit of prompting from Mikaela and I. Oh, and 'hi' from Mikaela... Who is too much of a bum to write her own blog post.

Thanks for all the info on my roommate, Shannon... Do you think we should tell her she just got promoted to a single room?? ;) What's the word on any relation to Chad? I miss you Cuteness!!

Sarah, Josh wants to know if you got his e-mail, he is really missing you... Oh and he says the rest of his friends and family too!;)

Please, pray for us all on our way to Kumasi. Many of us are somewhat worried about the effects of the multiple hour ride all crammed into the 'bus'. That, and our time with Kumasi YFC. I will say hi to Felix for all of those who remember him. I assume at least Nova and Carla do. I'm looking forward to finding out how old he thinks I am. Last time, when I was 11, he thought that I was 22.... I wonder how old I look now :)

I went down to the village today with Dave, Steven, and Frank (Auntie Esme's nephew). On our way back, we saw an incredibly large scorpion... It was about the length of my hand, and shiny black. Luckily it moved slower than we walked. When we returned home, Isaac (one of the workmen... Not my brother) took a couple of people back and taught them how to de-poison-ify it. It was apparently a rather... Educational... Experience.

Hmm. I have a new... friend... At Victory Power Chapel in La. His name is also Isaac. He was... persistent.

I think that I need to attach myself to one of the guys just to protect myself from unwanted interest. Steven offered to be my 'boyfriend for hire' in such situations. It might just be useful. Isaac was very disappointed when he found out that he wouldn't see me "any time in the near future". But... Luckily(??)... I have ALL of his contact information, in the event of my need to contact him - The famous prophet. All of his information comes with the title "Prophet" attached.

At La, we also met Amos... So cool. That is a Ghanaian I would actually be interested in. Not to mention he was only 19, as opposed to about 35... Sadly, I won't be seeing him in the near future either. :(

We are almost done the concrete pouring on the roof. It is very exciting to see so much of our work up there actually looking like something resembling a roof. We should finish it in another day or two. Yay!

It is really fun being on the work site now, because the Ghanaian workers actually trust me to do things on my own. For a while ODK wouldn't let me do any of the spreading of the pile as we prepare it to mix. Now, when he leaves to go do something else, he entrusts the construction of the pile to me. I love it.

So, in case you didn't catch my drift earlier... I want Caesar salad and garlic bread... Just thought I'd put that out there....

Funness!!! A couple of us went down into the village on Saturday night with Paul and Jackson. So cool!! I loooooove going down there at night! We went down and saw a Rastafarian reggae band playing at a beach 'resort', and then spent the rest of our time wandering through the village in the dark. I almost prefer the night life over daytime. It is so neat to experience. It seems like more and more people come out of who knows where, and they all gather at the resort to listen to music and dance, and roam the streets. Since then, I've been down to the village three or four times in the dark, and each time I have more fun.

The best nighttime trip was when I went with just Paul, Jackson, and Frank. It felt like I was the only white person here, even though I knew the whole team was just up the hill. I felt like I was in Africa all on my own, and it was so cool. I wasn't afraid, I was almost comfortable. It was a bit of a silly trip, because we just went down to get ping pong balls. But it was really cool. I think that was the trip that made me decide I want to stay. So, if you feel in a 'blaming' mood, you can blame ping pong balls for me staying in Africa.

Rachel, my love, you can punch Paul and say it's from me all you want... I'm sure he'll appreciate it :P...

What does he want from Africa, I forgot to ask?? You know, I tried to order a pizza from Trenton the other day, but it turns out that you only have to ask the kitchen staff for it... We had mini pizzas for lunch the very day I had been craving them.

Michelle. I will most certainly pray for little Noah, how could I not pray for such a beautiful boy? Say hi to your sister for me. And good luck with the Wallie-Mart job... As far as money goes, I hope you get it... As far as the well being of the rest of the world while you go insane surrounded by idiots... I hope you don't get it :)

Love you!!

Well, the computer is wanted, so I have to go. I miss you all like crazy, but if you want to see me, you'll just have to come here. I hope none of you mind the length of my comments. I just can't seem to stop once I get started... I won't have any stories to tell you when I get home!!

Love to you all, and more to come soon!

~Nadia~

P.S.... Garlic bread...... Caesar salad...... Mmmmmm......

From Diane - July 23rd

Hey there to everyone at home. Today was a good day today. We sang at a church in La and then ate lunch on the roof of Pastor Daniel and Betty's house. It was fun to eat and overlook beautiful Africa. I even ate homemade beets today, a little taste of home.

I have also been learning some african praise songs and will be singing them for months to come. It is really funny to be singing in Twi and have people stare at us out of the bus as we are stuck in traffic going down the road.

Supper was with the National Board Chair and it was a lovely time. We have had a beautiful day of rest today.

Tomorrow is another day at the worksite and we are ready to go. I also go to get a fitting done for my wedding dress tomorrow afternoon and that is an exciting thing to do. To the Church of the Ascension, thank you for your continued prayer and support, I appreciate it more than you know. Africa has and continues to grow on me and is a place that I need to come back to (with Andrew). I love the smells, the birds, the lizards, the people, but could definitely do without the traffic (worse than Toronto believe it or not) and the cold showers !!!!! The ocean is incredible and is nice to wake up to each day.

The work that we are doing on the site is moving along nicely and they tell us that what we do this month will put them ahead by at least 2 years or more. Once we get the roof on they can then at least start to use the building and get the most use out of it.

Andrew - I miss you and have lots to tell you. The birds sing for me each day and I have enjoyed seeing the different kinds here.

Need to go and will write more later.
Love Diane.

FROM ISAAC - July 23rd

Hey everybody
I'm still alive and here, this is Isaac, yet again i've been doing to many things (laundry)and having to much fun to have enough time to post so this is gonna be a quick (no books like nadia writes) up date on my part of the mission.

I am doing fine and having fun, I am not sick at the moment so thak you prayer partners on that part and every one else for support and prayers. We changed roomates yesterday and i'm with Josh, every thing is pretty much fine. To Andrew F. Diane is fine and I'm keeping an eye on her im filling my quota of bugging and more thanks for the permission (wink wink nudge nudge) other than that shes ok and your in for it when you get home you may be able to get out of it if you, you know what at the airport when we get home.

To Lily and Andrew H and Angela if your all still there I haven't forgot any of you and thanks for support and whatever else. Lily have you moved yet and why are you sad that's all i've heard lately.

Andrew and Angela thank for posting some and support see you when I get home to all of you. To other friends and family thanks for prayers and support I miss you and cant wait to see you. This was written 9:44 Ghana time aprox. 4:44 Canada time.
Love and stuff:
Stogy5, Ils00, Mouse, Isaac
July 23 2006
See ya

JUST A REMINDER...

Hi Folks!

Thank you so much for your wonderful comments, they are such an
encouragement.

I need to send out a reminder however, especially to the TEEN writers...
Please remember that we have very limited and expensive access to the
internet here and no team members have easy access to the computers.

So - when you post a comment that asks a team member to check their e-mail,
it actually causes quite a bit of stress because they can't....also - if the
tone sounds urgent, the team member feels like some is going wrong at home.
From the other side of the world, this makes things very difficult.

So, I am asking those of you who are requesting that team members check
their e-mai to NOT do that.

If you need to get an e-mail message - privately - to a particular team
member (because it is something urgent), please send it to me
daryl@nyfc.org and I will get it to them, however remember that they may
or may NOT be able to respond, and it certainly won't be fast.

Thank you for your consideration in this.

Blessings and grace,

Daryl Stogryn

PS - new pics at www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/funday.html

NEW VIDEO READY FOR DOWNLOAD!!

Hi Canada!! (and the rest of the world)

If you go to our main page

www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/ghana2006.htm

there is a new link to a video called Villages. This is a 3:35min video of the road to Kokrobite.

Enjoy!!

By the way - it is a bit big (larger than the last one) so save the target instead of streaming... (all you tekkies will know what I mean)

Have fun...more posts to come later today.

Blessings

Daryl

...From Penny

By Penny:

Hi everyone at home!  Christopher, I hope your Birthday was terrific!  I thought about you and missed you all day!  I can’t wait for you to tell me all about it when I get home!  Things are coming along well with Lawrence and I.  We just had another visit to the cultural market today.  We both found a few items to bring back home. Our bargaining skills have improved and we can now negotiate for what we want by ourselves so that’s pretty exciting!  They have so many beautiful handmade items! We are enjoying our free time as we are working hard and have a pretty busy schedule most days.  I have been trying to rest my body since I seem to have over worked my lower half and have not been able to work as hard as I would like.  It’s difficult to stay inside resting, though when there is a big beautiful country full of wonderful people outside the door!  It’s so much fun to walk down the road to see the village and meet the children.  Diane and I have plans to approach a local preschool about visiting their program.  Life is so different here.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it.  I have so much to tell you and lots of pictures, Melissa!  I’m also journaling as much as possible, Donna!  Lawrence, I hope you rest up before I come home because I’ll still be talking when you are falling asleep at night!  Diane said that we’ll have to go with her and Andrew to Toronto to share a taste of Africa with you and the boys.    Benjamin, I listened to you singing Happy Birthday with Dad on my MP3.  It was so nice to hear your silly voice all the way here in Africa!  I miss you soooo much!  You would really like the church services we’ve been to-lots of music and dancing!  Well, time to go for now.  I love and miss you all!

Blessings,

Penny

...From Josh

By Josh:

Hey everyone!  Thank you to all who have posted.  This is going to be a long post… Maybe not as much as Nadia can right but you know, I’ll try!  First of all… HEY SARAH!  Hope all is going well.  How is work – are you doing as much work as you had planned?  How is your family?  I miss your family too.  Say hi to Yazzy if she doesn’t get a chance to check the blog.  How’s the driving coming along?  I miss driving.  What have you been up to keep busy?  I have lots but I still cannot help thinking about you all the time.  I Love You and, though it will be hard to leave this awesome experience, I can’t wait to see you at the Airport.  Expect a collect call from London while I am there too, I will pay the charges.  NEXT! Hey Mom and Dad! Hope all is well with you guys.  Mom, I am safe you can stop worrying… LOL.  Dad – glad to hear that your trip to Winnipeg was good.  I am however very upset to hear about Aunt Ruth.  I have been praying for her and will bring her up in the team prayers too.  Say hi to her for me, and let her know she has a Ghanaian walking stick, waiting for me to get home, so I can give it to her.  Mom – How’s Pharaoh?   How is you summer going, hope you are staying busy.  BRYAN – How’s it going bud?  I am missing you… don’t be too surprised, you are my brother.  LOL! Can’t wait to see you when I get home!  FRAZER – First of all… everyone on the team thinks that you are a little ‘loopy’ if you know what I mean.  LOL… your blog comment, though amusing and meaningful to me, made everyone wonder what you had just done before writing it.  HAHAHA.  I miss you man. How’s football now, since the last time you wrote?  How are the Blue Jays doing? I miss watching them.  The Argos? Anyways… ttyl.  Jenn – How’s it going dudette.  Miss you a lot.  Cannot wait to see you when I get back, your in my prayers always.  WHITEOAK – I would like to Thank You for all of your support.  I am seeing it all put into motion while here and I’ll have a lot to come back and tell you all about.  I now own a big 13 inch Jimbe drum and cannot wait to play it at church.  Thanks to Doug for the comment and for the letter you sent along with me.  Dr. B, your letter meant a lot to me as well.  Can’t wait to see you all.  Hope I haven’t missed saying hi to anyone.  I miss everyone but am having the time of my life.  I Love You All, and your in my prayers.  Sorry if this big block of words is hard to read.  LOVE YOU SARAH! (GK) x Forever!!!

God Bless – Josh

EARLY MORNING UPDATE

Hey there!!

It's about 9:00am here, the team is mostly out on the worksite setting up the next concrete pour - I am getting some communication work done.

FIRST and most important....Penny says Happy Birthday to Christopher her son back home, and to Christopher, I have a special link for you. Go to:

www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/ghana2006.htm

and look for the link with your name and choose to save the target. "Happy Birthday Christopher!"

Second... Although originally we were to be laying block while here, we have ended up pouring concrete the whole time. Our task is to finish the main pour on the second floor (you have seen some of the video) That way, the Ghanaians can lay block underneath even in bad weather, which they can do much faster than we can.

To date we have poured over 30 cubic yards of concrete!!

That is mixed, carried and dumped by hand!!! I think (please correct me if I am wrong) that is about the same as two and a half to three standard concrete truck loads at about 12 yards per truck.

That's it for now - I just heard that there is a shovel waiting for me.

Blessings.

Daryl

PS - Tracy - there were over 100 moms and babies!!

NEW PICS UP!!

Hi Folks at home,

It has been quite a day.... we poured tons and tons of concrete today, relaxed for a few hours (or did laundry, or swept, or prepared for the next event...) and then went to La (no...noy LA California!! - but La, a small village within Accra) for an evening of helping a church do home visits in a new community. More on that later.

There are new pics up.

I am sorry this takes so long but our schedule is packed.

Here are two pages to visit.

www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/churchday.html

www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/kokrobite1.html

MORE TO COME!!

Thanks

Daryl

PS: - note that the time of posts being made is the time local to Northumberland County - to get a sense of when we do these, add 4 hours to get Ghana time!

Later......

CLINIC DAY!!

RE: TUESDAY JULY 18th

Today was clinic day! I have to admit to feeling a tad guilty going down though - normally we mix a 10-12 bag of cement pile. Today the team mixed an 18 bag pile. And Hope & I left when the task was less than half done.... The guilt was balanced out by some nervousness about not having a clue what “clinic” was, or how (if at all?) we could be of assistance. Which was all balanced out by excitement. We had been asked to arrive by 12 o’clock, so we left the worksite in time to get cleaned up and walk the 25 minutes to the clinic. It had been suggested that George our busdriver would give us a ride, so we had time to eat a pb&j here instead of while walking. But when we were ready to leave it turned out George had gone down to the village for something and we ended up walking anyway. Partway down the hill we met Daniel in his car so he gave us a ride. (Plans? Who needs plans?)

As we pulled up to the clinic we could see women with their babies streaming toward the front doors. There were women and babies in the yard, on the steps, on the benches inside, milling around... Women and babies everywhere! Many of the women were wearing beautiful white dresses. Hope commented on this to Daniel, who told us that in Ghanaian culture, white is symbolic of victory. Women who have survived childbirth wear white because of the victory that is. Knowing that, this sea of women in white was even more remarkable.

Once inside Hope & I were taken to meet the head midwife Sister Evelyne. Sister Evelyne was going to be doing “palpations” of women who were pregnant. We then met the doctor, Beatrice. She was there for consultations on anything beyond the scope of the midwives or community health nurses. At first she wanted to know what was wrong/what we needed, but once she realized we were there to assist in whatever way they needed us, a huge smile lit up her face.

At this clinic (which is a mini-hospital of sorts... Although I haven’t seen chickens or roosters roaming around the reception area in any North American hospital or clinic....) there is a doctor, a head midwife (who will be leaving soon), 2 secondary midwives, a primary community health nurse and 2 secondary community health nurses. The midwives work out of the clinic doing prenatal and postnatal care. If a woman is having a BIG problem during labour she may come to the clinic but most do not. They do not have even the most basic midwifery supplies (like CPR shields or ambubags) at the clinic, so the midwives ability to help is limited. The CHN’s do immunization clinics, well-baby care, counselling, and basic health care. Anything beyond their scope is referred to the doctor, or to the hospital in the city. They also do home visits.

So anyway - - - - Hope & I were told we’d be helping with imunizations, and came back out to the main room. I was introduced to Mildred a community health nurse, and was given a chair at a table where she and Lucy (another CHN) were recording data. My job was to transfer information from the Child Health Records into a log book, so that the clinic could track the nutritional status of the children. Once I had the hang of that, they also had me fill out which vaccines the children had received.

Hope was across the room - somewhere - doing something. The crowd was just too thick to see through! And the noise! An absolute cacophany of women talking, babies crying, orders being given, chickens clucking, wind blowing, ocean roaring, doors opening and closing..... It was wonderful. As the day progressed my job slowed down, which allowed me to talk at length with Mildred about her role as a CHN, about health care in Ghana, about breastfeeding, about being a doula, about vaccinations, about HIV/AIDS, about birth control.....

Two of the things I learned which really surprised me were:

(1) The majority of women in the village use 3 month injectable Depo-Provera (spelling?) birth control. It is the method of choice mostly because they don’t have to think about it. For instance, they don’t like the birth control pill, because they may be out fishing when it is time to take it. And while condom use is HIGHLY promoted, there is strong stigma attached to their use.

(2) Most women give birth at home, without any experienced person to assist them. Mildred said that much of the traditional knowledge around birth has been lost among the women, and they only come to the clinic for the assistance of a midwife if there is a SERIOUS problem during labour and birth. Mildred was very interested in what I do as a doula in Canada, and said emphatically that she wished women here were able to have that sort of support and encouragement, and wished that she as a CHN knew things that could help ease the labour process.

We wrapped up around 3pm, and headed back to the site full of stories to share. Turns out Hope was administering oral polio vaccines to the babies. We did manage to make eye contact once, but I didn’t know what she was doing until we had a chance to talk about the experience with each other at the end of the day. As we drove down the road, many women with babies smiled and waved as we passed by. We’re not just tourist obruni anymore....

I have been invited to go with the CHN’s on their home visits next week. EEK! Exciting and scary! I’ll keep you posted.

Blessings.

Sarah(thedoula)

Fixed Link

No I am not talking about the bridge to PEI - but the link to the pictures
of July 15 has been repaired.

http://www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/july15ghana.html

more later!

Daryl

Nadia Notes...

Hello All!

It is Nadia again, and I’m sorry I haven’t written more.... I seem to have so much to say I don’t have the time to write it all down :) There has been so much going on I hardly know where to begin...

We’ll start with this... I love Africa, and Andy, I’m afraid I may not be coming home. If I do come, it will have to be drugged and knocked out because I don’t think I’ll come willingly. This place is so full of beauty and wonder I can hardly take it all in in just one short month.

I walked down into the village with Diane and Penny yesterday, and was so struck by the beauty of the people. They all carry a certain air of elegance which we fail to possess in North America. The children who greet us all the way through the village are just captivating, and I want to take them home with me. Their eyes grab at my heart as I pass them all by; in them you find a strange mixture of joy, hardship, wonder, daring and innocence all at once. They are as fascinated by us as we are by them and they smile and jump up and down and run after us as we wander by. I can’t help smiling as I go simply because it makes me feel so full.

After walking through the village, working on the worksite is my absolute favorite. Yestersay we mixed and poured... By the headpan load (... So, one shovelful at a time) - an 18 bag load of concrete. It was a long day, but fun. For some reason, when we are working so hard and I can feel my muscles burning with every pan of concrete that I pass on, I have fun. It is so exciting to know that you are really doing something. It’s not that the other things that we do are not important and significant, because they are; but, this kind of work is just so fulfilling, and different than anything we do at home. It feels so much more real.

I think that healthwise, everyone seems to be doing a lot better. We’re not all quite 100% yet, but we are getting there. Thanl you all for your continued prayer, we couldn’t do it without you. I myself am doing very well, I thank God and daily quiet time for that. We decided a little while back that we weren’t getting enough time to just be alone, so after lunch every day we have a half hour of proclaimed quiet where we don’t talk to anyone but ourselves and God. I think it is my saving grace most days, and I am thankful for it. It seems to keep me sane. I spend my time on the roof of the hostel, overlooking the ocean and the village, in the sun and the breeze. It is so good.

Other good news too. We have a trombone that I can play here! Yay! Admittedly it is not quite so beautiful as my Ella (my trombone at home), but it plays... Sort of. The slide only sticks most of the way down, and when we got it, it was lubricated with motor oil. I neglected to bring my slide oil with me, so now instead of using slide oil, or even motor oil - I am using ‘zinc oxide creme’... Also known as Penatin Creme... Or... Baby bum creme. It works well ; )

Ooh, great fun. Last week, as you may have already hear, we got to go spend an hour at the drumming school in the village - Sooooo much fun. I was the only female in the group of people that went, so our teacher, Akka, took a shine to me. When he came over to work with me or show me something, he would wrap his arms right around me so that his cheeck was RIGHT next to mine, and play on my drum and talk to me about what I was to do next... I can’t say I was complaining... He was rather good looking ; )

Michelle, I think that you would be thrilled with the kitchen staff. They seem to love to turn on the radio and sing along with EVERY song it plays... Which covers everything from Steely Dan to Celine Dion to the Beach Boys to Stevie Wonder to really really bad country on repeat to “We Wanna See Jesus Lifted High”. They have about the same amount of talent as the Logan brothers do.... Maybe even more. (I think I’ll leave that there.) So, I take it you like Patrick?? I’m glad. He is certainly worth it. I wish you were here, I think after University I’ll come back and bring you with me. Say hi to your parents for me.

Tyler... Are you sure that’s all you want? I can’t bring you back a whole menagerie in technicolor while I’m at it? I promise I won’t forget the bow :)

Rockin’ Robin, Dearest, I can’t believe I never told you I was coming to Africa!... Sorry! Is there anything I can bring back for you, Cute Face?

Shannon... I’ll try to post a picture of my Ghanaian man soon. I miss you! Have tou heard anything from my roommate yet?

Rachel, I wish you were here! Give yourself, your family, and Paul big hugs for me. You are the first person I want to see when I get home.

Andy, as much as I love you and your red hair... I don’t think that a Ghanaian would ever look good in red hair, despite what I thought before. And, I miss you too.

Aunt Tracy, I miss you so much, and we all really enjoy your comments... I hope you all know that we read your comments out loud together at the dinner table. It’s loads of fun... Keep them coming :)

Sarah, I am looking after Josh as I promised, and he’s doing awesome. I’m working hard to help fight off all of the beautiful Ghanaian women who are so attracted to him for you, and I’ll at least send him home safe if I don’t come myself :)

I think that is all for the present. So I must be off. It’s luch time. I miss you all and I’ll see you in a few weeks. Much love, and thanks again for the prayers.

~Nadia~

JUST A SHORT ONE

All are feeling a bit better today and we have determined that our upset stomaches are mostly a side effect of the malaria meds. (long story goes in to that one) So we are less stressed about ti now that we have at least a reasonable explaination.

The work is going well and the commenst are a real encouragement - just a reminder though - these comments are not private and are there for the world to see - so be sensitive please.
Blessings

Daryl

Luggage recovered!!

Praise God, we now have both the guitar and Bag #12. Thank you for your prayers.

…from Dave

Hi everyone! Just thought I’d say boo and let you know that I’m still alive. The toe is healing nicely; it hasn’t hindered my concrete moving abilities too much! I am absolutely loving my time here. I think it’s going to be very hard for me to leave this beautiful place. (I do miss many of you back home, though!) Liz, I can’t wait for that apple pie! Steve wants some too! Well that’s it for me, for now. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. See ya.

Dave Dimberline

PS I’ve had a guitar this week. My fingers are happy!

…from Diane

Hello to everyone in Canada. It is good to hear from everyone. Today was a wonderful day as we went to church twice and ate lunch at Joseph’s house. We had really good bread and vegetables, something that I am looking forward to getting when I return. Thank your for writing all the notes that you are sending over the blog, it is good to hear from the people at home. It makes the hard days bearable. I am loving Africa and want to be able to soak all in so that I remember everything. Saturday we went to Cape Coast and that was a day to remember for all the team. The slave castle is something that I will not forget for some time and is overwhelming to experience. Our construction site is looking great and we are starting to lay the floor down tomorrow. It will be amazing to see once it is completed. Andrew hello to you and I wish you could be here to see all that I see. Its all in the journal and in pictures so I will tell you all when I return. I continue to see tons of children. I have fallen in love with baby Joseph, a son of one of the YFC staff members here in the compound. I want to bring him home !!!!! Customs may have an issue. Tomorrow I go to the cultural market for another experience of “fighting” to purchase things. It is actually something that I am getting the hang of and wonder if I will be able to go back to simply accepting price tags on things and not arguing for the price to drop. Fan ice (a version of ice cream) is great and even more cool when you can get it out the bus window and you drive down a completely washed out road.

Need to go. Miss you Andrew and am looking forward to seeing you soon. Diane
Steve says hello to everyone at home. ( I ironed his shirt this morning !!!)

…from Josh

Hey all, this is Josh saying Hi from the beautiful village of Kokrobitey… I Think that is how you spell it.  I am just stepping out from a local game of cards and a lesson on how to speak some of one of their languages, Gah, I believe.  It has been very busy so I haven’t had a chance to post lately.  All is very good here and I am very lucky to be one of the few on the team who has had virtually no trouble getting used to the climate, food and culture.  Unfortunately, some of the team members still have “bland branded” stomachs and cannot adjust so easily to the food.  I miss you all (you know who you are)…. SARAH!!! Mom, Dad, Bry, Frazer, Jenn, Yaz, Farhad, Grandma, Grandpa, Mike – Connie and Family, Whiteoak, and everyone else.  I am having a great time and learning lots.  I miss you all and cannot wait to see you all, although it will be hard to leave this great experience.  I have a feeling it will not be my last like this after the experiences I have endured.  Sarah – I Miss You So Much! Did you and my mom get the e-mail I sent out to you two?  How are you? What have you been doing to keep busy? Who have you hung out with? I know most of your friends were busy so I hope you have been ok.  Haven’t found another guy have you…? LOL Jks… I really miss not talking to you and everyone else reading this, I Love You Sarah.  Love you too Mom and Dad, and Bryan, and friends, and other family, and basically I love you all.  So have a good rest of July, this Wednesday is our halfway point.  It is all going by very fast.  We had a drumming lesson down in Kokrobitey and I am going to the cultural market tomorrow so I will look at the drums for sale.  I have already gotten a few things a dress for Mom and Sarah have already been purchased!!!! Well… people are waiting for the computer.  You are all in my prayers and above me as I sleep.  I have a bottom bunk so the bottom of the top one above me is covered in pictures that watch over me as I lay in bed.  For some reason there is a lot of Sarah pictures… LOL LOVE YOU ALL… (GK)  - Sarah

Love Josh

…from Nathan

Hi world

First post, nearly @ the halfway point so I guess I should put something on here for those who I told to look @ this site.

It’s been a phenomenal experience so far. I’ve enjoyed every minute. It’s just like I remember, and completely different. Most importantly, the people are the same, all still beautiful. I cherish every conversation and interaction I have with a Ghanain.

Work is great, nothing quite like pouring a few cubic yards of concrete four days a week. I enjoy working on a building that I know will still be around after I’m gone.

Definitely missing grease, oil, undercoating, and the smell of premium (most cars here burn an odourific combination of diesel and oil, and all the gas stations still sell kerosene so I’m sure some cars still burn that too.). However, I have had the opportunity to poke my head under the odd hood or rocker panel. I diagnosed a VERY squeaky balljoint on an Opel Vectra 1.6 S owned by Daniel Dzunu, a man staying with us. It goes into the shop tomorrow.

Also, on our way back from ‘touristing’ in Cape Coast, we were innocently ‘cruising’ in our ‘Benz’ (see the pics on the NYFC website) and it decided not to shift out of third gear. I will be the first to admit that this was not my first opportunity, but actually the first time I’ve prayed for a vehicle. I will also be the first to tell you that no one got dirty before we were on our way again, ‘…Amen.’ ‘Hey, it works!’ And it’s taken us around without a hitch since.

Church is a great experience too, one word. LOUD, very, very loud. There’s nothing quite like one or two male and female thick Ghanain accents and two or three tribal languages all being hurtled into your eardrums at several hundred decibels per second.

Like I said, LOUD, very, very loud.

Beginning to get groggy.

Thinking of home.

Thinking of Honda.

Missing it all but still loving every minute here, because when it’s time to go I will have not been here enough.

Later

Stogy III

PS Is the garage down yet? You know who you are…

..from Isaac

Hey this is Isaac I haven’t been on yet because I’ve been so busy hey Lily and Andrew I saw you post and I’m saying thanks for thinking of me I’m fine and I’ll try to post more

To every one else at home I’m happy to here for you and of your prayers and support.

Today was tiring because we had a church service and rally and lots of driving around.

Its nine thirty here as I’m typing and we have construction tomorrow we are pouring the second floor of the training centre we are building that’s what the pictures are of so I half to go to let some others write

Stogy5,Ils00, Mouse, Isaac, whoever

Write later

Love and so on

Bye

Hello from Jaymie

Today is Sunday July 16,2006

Today we went to Church,and then we had lunch at Josephs house,from there we when to a
youth rally. I made friends with some kids there. (Niaomi)

SUNDAY MORNING PREP...

Hi friends,

It's Sunday morning here and we are getting ready to go to church, have
lunch at the Aryee's home in Accra and then participate in a youth event in another community. It will be a busy and exhausting day. Yesterday we were

tourists for the day. We went to Kakum National Park - a coastal rainforest, and then to the slave castle at Cape Coast. In the evening, we had a rehearsal to prep for today.

I am writing this for two reasons. 1) to let you know that there are more pics on the website. Loading to there is much better that the using the blog, so we will use that for pics and this
for this for talk. Go to

www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/july15ghana.html

to view the most recent offerings. It is an amusing collection. We will post more pics of the village in a day or so.

2) We need to request some very specific prayer. Although many on the team are feeling quite well, there are some who are struggling with internal physical stuff still. Whether it is the
food or weather or stress, it seems that some stomachs are not settled yet and this is a long time to be this way. That adds a lot of stress on that team member. Even this morning, as we get ready to head out we will quickly know who is feeling "safe" to trsvel and who is not. When your body is not predictable, and the availability of bathrooms is not predicatable, the stress level is enormous.

They are handling it well, but I am asking those of you who read this to pray that God might relieve our team of this added burden. The team still does it's work and does so very well -
but this far into the mission these issues can be demoralizing for those who are struggling and adds an extra weight of care for the rest.

Please be assured all of you, that this is not anything serious, and the flu we brought with us seems to be gone, but it is astressful time. Furthermore, everyone on this team is socommitted, that they work through it anyway.

You can be very proud of all of them. They do what is needed, and feel the disappointment of not being able to perform at the highest level possible. They just want to serve witheverything possible.

So I ask you to pray for relief, and encouragement, and strength. Many of you will get this before church on Sunday at home - please solicit the prayers of the church on our behalf.

We will write more later.

Blessings and grace to you all

Serving in Christ's name

Daryl

For Michelle From Nadia

Hey Michelle,

This is Patrick - Will he do??

Nadia.

Kim Friday July 14th

This is for anyone concerned that Matthew appears to be missing from photos and video (thanx for bringing this to our attention Aunt Dawn).  This week he has been hanging out in the Computer Lab with his Dad.  He has been answering lots of questions from the students …. This has made him famous … when ever we walk down the hill into the village the children all call out his name, it is quite a sight. Thank you again for all of the comments they are a real source of encouragement (keep them coming Shelia).

In the Peace of Christ,

Kim

Notes from Hope

Where to start....Everybody is okay, some feeling better, some a little yucky, Kim wants to know when she will feel like herself again....I havenn't the heart to remind her that after Africa you are never quite the same...We've had a bit of free time to walk into the village. ( Carla and Laura, This is a very different way to experience Africa. I think you would love it). Staying at the work site is great. It's about as nice as our gueat house last time, without the long commute back and forth, so there is more time for journaling and laundry and walking and swimming and....resting from the heat. The temperature has been in the mid to high 20's, but humid, Today seems hotter....Sarah and I walked uphill from the village at noon.....We rested in every scrap of shade we could find. Once you get here the ocean breeze is magnificent, not to mention the view.

Josh says Hi to Mom and Sarah. You would both be increadibly proud of him. I know I am. He and Penny and Jaymie went to a School Club early this morning, then had a true Ghanaian experience, visiting at a home while Daniel did some errands. I think they enjoyed themselves.

I guess that's all for now...Blessings to you all....Hope

PS - Daryl says that more pics will come soon!

Soccer Jesus

Hey      

How are you all doing?

I am doing very well over here in Ghana, the food is pretty good and the people are awesome! Yesterday we went to a drumming school for an hour lesson, it was the fastest hour I have ever had, it was GREAT. As well when we where walking home from the lesson we where invited to play some soccer with some of the kids. Playing soccer with the kids was one of the things that I was most looking forward to. It was a lot of fun and kids where a lot better then we where. As some of us were play soccer, David was playing with some of the little kid, probably 5 years old and younger. There was about 10 -15 kids around him. For me watching him talking and playing with them, I was thinking that is what Jesus would have looked like when the kids where around him. It was awesome thing to see!

The work is hard but fun. I think I might want to stay here and work. It will teach me to work hard. As well you can live off  $4 U.S. a day, it’s not so bad.  But I might miss my mom’s apple pies!

Just before I go, I have prayer request. It is for our Ghanaian friend Paul, his mom is sick and he has not seen her is 3 years so he worried. Please keep him is your prayers, thanks.

God Bless

Love You

Steven

Update from the Lab -Jason

Hi Folks,

we are making good progress in the lab, we have 7 computers now networked together. Tonight I will attempt to get a shared internet connnection working and next week if we can get our hands on a printer that will be our next challenge.

-Jason

EXCITING NEWS!

HI FOLKS - I know there is a lot to read today - but this is cool - and we never thought that we would be able to do this!!!!

Click on the "new Link" or, if you go to the website at www.nyfc.org, click on the link to the Ghana 2006 homepage and there is a new link to a 2 minute video of us on the worksite. It is about 7mb large so our dial-up friends will have to be patient (but just pretend you are in Ghana for real!)

You can click on the link and your windows media player will open the link or right click and use the save target as feature to download it to your computer (Probably the safer option!) For best viewing - enlarge it to full screen and step back from your computer to let your eyes improve the resolution...enjoy!!!

Let us know how it works!

Blessings to all - signing off for today.

Daryl

ps- Sarah and Hope just got back and asked if there was a way for you to feel the sweat they feel after walking (up hill) back from the village.....let us know.

From the Classroom -Jason

Hey folks,

Its has been very interesting and challenging setting up a computer lab in a developing
country. There is no futureshop or canadian tire just around the bend to run out to when you
forget something. You have to plan days advance to ensure you can get to town to find what
you are looking for. I spent a day trying to explain that we needed power bars to owners of
computer stores..... finally I found one to point to and I was told they called this a station
board. Interesting...... they didn't have one in stock but they sent out a runner to find one
and in about 20min he returned with just what I wanted. Customer service!!!.... we could
learn a few things from the people of Ghana. We currently are working with a mobile phone
type internet connection that is much like dialup. Again we have to plan our blogspot posts... I
think that God is teaching us patience, although I didn't ask for it;> I am learning
-Jason

Wednesday - a day off....sort of.

Hi Folks,

It's wednesday am here, about 9:45 to be more specific and so many of you will just be getting out of bed, and some of you not even thinking of it yet!!

The sun is high and hot today, and we are supposed to be having a day off. That is sort of happening, really it means that some of us have paperwork to do, planning to work on, and laundry to wash. Others will be walking down to the village to see what's going on there.

We are using a cellphone style modem to get online - it works OK, marginally better than dial-up an mostly reliable, but expensive to some degree. Also - weather conditions and traffic seem to effect the outcome. That means that we don't spend anytime editing, so excuse the mistakes...

I will try to assemble and post some pics again later today - part of my paperwork - but I may just send the to the website - that seems more reliable at this point so you will have to check both places.

Also - we have shot a short video we ar going to try and post.

Thanks for your patience.

We are pleased to see the comments from home. We open them, copy them into a document and then read them aloud at the dinner table - it is a great source of hilarity, tears, jokes and just plain fun

that's all for now.

Love to you all at home.

Blessings

Daryl

From Sarah July 10th entry

Hi – it’s Sarah here (Sarahthedoula for those of you who’ve linked here from my blog).

I think the nutshell version of the mission is “so far so good”. There are the usual stomach rumblings, little rashes, bug bites, sunburns, and achy muscles, but nothing extraordinary. And of course some people are just plain tired, and sometimes overwhelmed by the enormity of the experience.

The adrenaline of getting here got me through the first week in one piece – by today I was feeling tired though. I got a bit too much sun on the construction site this morning so had a little nap this afternoon while most of the team went down to the ocean for a swim. I won’t forget the sunscreen again, no matter how cloudy it is when we go out in the morning!

I have been told that there is a small medical clinic in the village, run by a midwife, and that I have been invited to go down and “work with her”. Of course, clinic could mean anything from a mini-hospital to a palm-branch hut; midwife could mean anything from a local wise woman to an MD, and work with could be anything from “be present for the birth of a baby” to “help pass out band-aids”. I’m excited to be part of the experience, no matter what it is. I am trusting that God will grant me what I need to be there. I am excited to watch and learn and serve.

Oh – I was just told that a small bench has been found which I can clean up and put in my room so that I can get all our most commonly used first aid supplies organized beyond the giant Ziploc baggies lined up on my floor…. I just have to clean the mold off the bench first…. Good thing I brought Dettol! We do have beds, electricity (most of the time), and running water, but not much other furniture so I’ve been living out of my bags on the floor (of course we check for creepy crawlies before reaching into them!).

I just heard the oil start to sizzle in the kitchen which means supper will be in the next 20 minutes – I better wrap this up.

Thanks for praying, and sending good thoughts our way. There has been more than once already when we have known without a doubt that God is with us, and that your prayers are making a difference.

P.S. No time to really edit like I normally do so apologies for any odd or glaring errors, as well as any sentences that run-on or plain don’t make sense!

P.S.#2 Turns out the nickname for someone named Sarah in Ghana is “Seri” – I’ve never really had a short form of my name so that is kinda fun.

Multiple Entries from July 10th

These are a few entries from July 10th that we could not get posted earlier

Here goes..............

Hi Folks,

This is day 7, depending on what time zone you’re in!

Most things are going well. On Saturday we spent some time in the cultural marketplace in Accra. This is where many craftspeople from across the country bring their wares for sale. It was a good intro for many on the team to the amazing quality and diversity of things that people here make to sell and to earn a living. It can be a very exhausting experience however, and some found it pretty overwhelming – I’ll let those who wish to share their stories.

Sunday we went to church. The average church service here is about 3 hours long and usually pretty loud – this was no exception.

We sang for the congregation and I was asked to bring the sermon for the day. We were well received and found the congregation very friendly. The afternoon was spent doing laundry and then a trip to the beach! An exhilarating and refreshing time in very big waves.

Monday – it’s back at work. Many loads of stone, sand and cement were carted, heaved, shoveled and watered to make concrete which was then carried by head pan up stairs to the roof of the building we are working on. We were supposed to be laying block, and it may yet happen, but right now we are the concrete brigade.

There are some struggles we are facing right now and so we seek your prayers as well. It seems that the sickness which Mikaela experienced on the aircraft may have been a flu of some sort. It also seems to be going through the Stogryn family. Hope, Isaac, Nathan and Nadia have all had their turn so far, to varying degrees. This type of environment is not one that makes being sick an easy experience for anyone, much less someone from North America who is used to a bit more comfort and convenience. On the other hand, everyone is working through it and moving forward.

Others on the team are still waiting for their bodies to adjust to the food and climate, but it is all coming around.

Our hosts are wonderful and we have made some good new friends here. We are enjoying the work, but mostly the people.

The team is great and they work very well together – we ill post more later.

Blessings and Grace to all who read this. Keep the prayers flowing.

In His Service,

Daryl

-----------------------------------------

Notes from Hope

Hi everybody!! It’s great to be getting all these notes, especially from our St Paul’s family. You don’t seem so far away.

I haven’t had time to read what the rest of the team has written so I’ll give you little tidbits you might like to know. We have lights….most of the time. The ones in our room are a little tempermental and go out if we plug in too much stuff. We have Showers!! Just cold water,African cold not Canadian cold. We get to do our laundry in buckets and hang it on the roof, which has a fantastic view!!! We cram all 17 of us plus a few Ghanaians into a 15 passenger bus and drive around. It’s crowded, but some of the roads are so washed out from recent rains, It’s better crammed in. We discovered on our way to the beach to day that you rattle around too much if not everyone is here.

The team works really well together. We are one awesome concrete moving machine. Everyone is really great about finding the best in every situation and helping everyone to laugh.

I think the Stogryns are all on the mend from the 24 hr flu. PLEASE everybody out there pray that noone else gets it. It puts a cramp in our concrete moving style.

Love to all, especially Eleanor, Geri, Ellen, Richard and Alicia (my prayer team) and thanks to Frances, Francois, and Tracy for your notes.

God Bless, Hope

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone at home! We really enjoyed your comments from the last week! We have been praying for you, too! We pray that you won’t worry (we are being well taken care of here by our Ghanaian friends, as well as our awesome team). We, also, pray for the Lord to take care of all of you while we are gone. We have been challenged by many things -hard work, our bodies adjusting to the smells around us, living in Ghana where schedules and traffic rules are only suggestions! We are always amazed at our team’s capacity to rise to the occasion! We have had a lot of fun – playing at the beach, singing and being silly where ever we go, visiting with the children at church. Mealtime is always an occasion to laugh!

Lawrence: Thank you for being so wonderful! Benjamin: Looking forward to seeing your smiling face. Hope you’re having fun! Christopher: Hope you save some special reading time for the two of us!

Melissa: Yes, I am taking pictures! Glad to hear you had a little chat. Please continue to pray, I’m sure He’d like to hear from you again. Say hi to Shari!

Love to everyone back home! Have some ice cream for us!
Blessings, Penny

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello to Canada, it is good to be in Africa !!!!! We are all fine and are getting better from our many bugs. I miss everyone at home very much and Andrew yes, I am coming home to see you soon. I saw a beautiful moon up in the sky tonight as I was hanging out laundry on the roof of the compound where we are staying and I thought of you. Wish you could see all the things that I see. I swam in the ocean yesterday and played with children today. The faces of the people I see here will always be something I remember. They have nothing and yet they have everything. My heart is moved completely as I see the way that they long to make me feel welcome and go out of their way to do so. I wish I could do more however God has granted me one month here and I will take that. Heard of a family that has a child with a disability and is interested in knowing if we could offer any help from the team. Hopefully we will be able to connect with them.

The bus rides to and from the places that we go are almost unbelievable. So many people in these vehicles all going down a dirt road with vendors on either side of the road selling you anything you want. No need to go to the store to purchase anything, simply drive your vehicle down the road.

Love to everyone back home. I need to run as we have construction tomorrow and things start to become active at around 5:00am when they start to prepare breakfast for us all. Please continue to write as notes are so encouraging to all of us.

Love in Christ, Diane.

From Kim Sunday July 9th

Hi Everybody,
Sorry it has taken me soooo long to write, but we have been very busy… making friends, mixing concrete, moving cement blocks, singing songs, and seeing so many new and amazing things. To our Moms and Dads and our St. Barnabas’s family don’t worry about the kids, Jaymie and Matt are adjusting to things very well. Jaymie has made a friend (an 8 year old girl who is part of the care taker’s family) and Matthew is enthralled with the way the sheep and goats run free and wander down the road.
We are very blessed, this team of people is incredible … some of us have been faced with some challenges, some physical, some mental but we are leaning on each other and trusting in God in ways we never would have had to in Canada … there is no doubt we will be 17 different people when we get home.
The other night we got stuck in a traffic jam after a very long day but even though we were tired and in desperate need of a washroom we started to sing. At first we sang to take our minds off of the intense Ghanaian driving style and our bladders but we soon realized what a Great comfort it is to sing Praise to our God in the midst of trial (we were doing this so long Nadia joked that we would need to start singing Christmas Carols) when we finally got home for supper sometime after 9pm we were all laughing and having a great time.
Thank You all for your Prayers they are doing amazing work … In the Peace of Christ Kim.
p.s. Jen I finally found my Peppermint tea tonight so I had a cup and thought of you.
Oh and thanks to everyone who is posting comments on the blog we all love them
(Dawn the weather is not too bad at all, very doable) K);

Mon,June,10,2006. from Matthew

Dear family I’m having a great time in the ocean.
In the ocean you can sit near shore and get carried as
Far as two meters . Mom almost always gets nocked
down! Last time I saw a crab.
(Grand Parental note we are watching them :> close)

Website

Hi Folks - check out the pics on the site.

http://www.nyfc.org/ghana2006/july6ghana.html

and tell me if they came through ok - they are the same as the the blog -
but i am testing a new method - so i need your feedback

Thanks

Daryl

FROM JOSH

Hey from Africa, West Africa, Ghana – West Africa… We’re Here! So I am very tired… fairly constantly. I miss everyone, Especially, Mom, Bry, Dad, Frazer, Jenn, everyone else from school, and who am I forgetting? Oh that’s right my angel, SARAH!!!! I MISS YOU SO MUCH. Thanks, for the notes (mom, SARAH, and frazer!!) So I am off to bed its about 10:45pm and we have a very busy day tomorrow… Off to the cultural market!!!! And a youth rally! We have done so much work already and will be doing more and more each day as our stamina grows. I am so excited to be here, but also so nervous. Love You ALL! I Know!

Yay! We’re here!

Hello all! I’m sorry it took so long to post something to all of you trying to keep track of me… my journal has been getting more thoughts than most people.

I am so glad that we are here! I didn’t remember so much of what Africa REALLY is until I go here. These people are so amazing! They can work and work and work and work and work, and never seem to get tired! They are just outstanding. And all of the familiar sounds, smells and places are like walking down memory lane. As you may now, Auntie Esme is again our cook…. Thus, I will be losing ‘negative pounds’ while we’re here. I may need to wear ‘moo moo’ dresses when we get back J

The work on the worksite is insanely fun! Today we were mixing concrete *my favorite* and pouring it by the head pan into a case of stairs. Soooo fun… but tiring. I think that by the time we are done, I’m going to have oober muscles to go with my ‘negative pounds’.

Tomorrow we get to go to the cultural market… Yay!! There is sooo much awesome stuff! Drums, clothes, kente cloth, bracelets, bags, wood carvings, leather work, art, instruments of the weirdest kinds. Sooooo cool! Michelle, Rachel, Tyler, Andy, Shannon, Becky, and any other close friends I may have most regretfully forgotten…. You all need to tell me what you want… If you do not…. I’ll… I dunno. That was the emptiest threat I could come up with.

We have met the coolest guy in the whole wide world. His name is Patrick, and he is the director for Ghana Youth For Christ… he should be the next Ghanaian President. He has sooo many ideas that could improve the lives of everyone in his country, and he has a degree in Philosophy, and is looking to come to Canada to get his masters. Sooo awesome! And, of course, there is Emma. He is just as sweet as ever, and has the best smile of anyone I know. And Shannon… I think I found my beautiful African man that you told me to find. I’ll tell you more when I get home.

As you may have noticed, I most likely do not sound entirely like me. That would be because we pick up on the African’s correctness very quickly. They use EVERY word, and very few contractions. It is rather amusing to hear every body speak now.

All right, now I need to sign off. I think I’ve typed a whole page in the last few minutes. As a last note, Eleanor, could you please pray for Mikaela? She is having a hard time adjusting to the climate and food, and is rather stressed about it. So, she could use a lot of prayer right now. Thank you! And, Francis, Gary, Nicholas, and Linda… and Aunt Tracy, thank you for your notes, they all made me rather teary.

Talk soon!

~Nadia~

PICS

Here are some pics folks!!





























I won't go into a ton of detail cause the connection is a bit flakey - so the layout may be weird.
Hauling water, and mixing is all done by hand. The Ghanain in the middle of the wall pic is David - he worked with us last time and still carries a picture of the last team. He pulled it out and asked those of us who are returning to point ourselves out in the picture so that he could connect us all. And his first question was - "Nova...where is Nova!?"

Josh had a bit of a nose bleed - Sarah sprang into action and he was back at work in no time - the Ghanaian workers were very concerned, but Josh assured them he was fine.

The lizard is just a little guy who was entertained by our antics!

Blessings

Daryl

FROM THE SITE....

NOTE>>> I mention multiple images but am having trouble getting more than one on a post, I'll try something different later.


July 6th, 2006

Some photos from the site will follow. We are in Kokrobite, a fishing village south west of Accra. This morning while working we could look out over the ocean and see the villagers in there 20ft long canoes setting their nets for the days catch. We can here the ocean all day long. As I write this, it is 9:45 local time and I can hear the sounds of the insects and creatures in the foliage - it has a similar quality to the crickets and peepers of home, yet different.

We are quite tired today - many did not get a good sleep last night. New location, the guards radio on too loud and then there was that darn water truck at about 5:00am which came to deliver our water for the day's work.

A number of the team went for a walk this afternoon. Diane comments that they met and saw kids playing the yards of the homes not finished, yet they were greeted still with big smiles and laughter...."Obruni, Obruni" they would call, for some the only white person ever seen.
Jason and Daryl spent much of the day, separately, being driven through Accra seeking supplies for the computer lab and for the hostel. We are the first people to stay in the facility and we are their test run. A challenge, but do-able. I'll let Jason write about his experience in the next post.

We have an internet connection available, but the usage is expensive. So - if family and friends want to write to team members, please write via <daryl@nyfc.org> However - PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT AN INSTANT RESPONSE. IT MAY BE DAYS - OR LONGER BEFORE YOU CAN GET A RESPONSE.

Please know - we are all well, but tired.

Tomorrow, Daryl and Jason have a formal meeting with the chief of the village. That is a
learning experience too!

Till next time - enjoy the pics. And share the blogsite!

Daryl.

PS - still no word on the luggage (a whole other adventure!...) We lost a bag of team supplies and the guitar. (Dave is in mourning....) but British Airways says it will come....mmm I believe them - it's a question of when? We are hopeful and prayerful however, and as Jason often says (I'm paraphrasin here) "All that was important arrived just fine!"















The big picture! Our task here is to fill in the blanks - literally - we are to set blocks in between the columns to form the walls of this dining hall and conference centre.

We're halfway there!!

This is short folks - we are in London waiting for our flight to Accra.


Our next post will be from Accra but I don't know when.

Flight was good, but Isaac was a bit sick - he's not looking forward to the next one.







In Toronto, before we even left - Nadia was practising sleeping.


Blessings

Daryl

Packing 1 scales 0

So we are trying to back our carry - ons and we are limited to 13lbs. What
are the odds that while trying to figure out my bag we break the scale. Pray
that we have a good check in clerk. I know I am over 13lbs :> Post soon

Because of HIM.
-Jas

It's Time

I just read Kim's post! And Hope just said "MALARIA PILLS - WE CAN'T FORGET TO TAKE THOSE NOW!!"

So let me take mine and I'll be right back.
/
/
/
Ok - that's down.... Now where was I.

Oh yeah, it's amazing that last minute stuff. I was going to write this an hour ago - but since we got up, it's been high gear all the way - including Mikaela selling a couple of goats!! Talk about last minute thing to do....that was not in our original schedule...but she's happy!

Today we focus on getting to the aiport. Because it's the end of a holiday weekend, we need to leave way too early for a flight that leaves near midnight. But off we go.

I spoke yesterday to a teacher from Cobourg who will be in Ghana the same time. We are hoping to connect so that we can compare notes and share experiences, as well as for us to have an opportunity to introduce her to our many friends.

Well - I have to get back to the organizational mindfield.

Please pray for easy travel, sleep on the plane, safe arrival and awakeness when we get there!

Hopefully my next post will be from Ghana, but it may be a few days before we can get a good connection - so please be patient and keep checking in.

Blessings

Daryl

A little something from the Orchard

Well the day has finally arrived…. The last day to remember everything we have forgotten to pack and find any empty space to cram it all in.  In typical fashion we are definitely over packing, but it is hard to know exactly what a family of four might need for 30days in Africa.  Matt and Jaymie are more excited than they are nervous which is good news. I on the other hand, am waiting until after our 14hours of air travel to get excited!  That’s not really true I am very excited to start our work in Ghana.

Jason has been getting e-mails from some of the Ghana Youth For Christ staff to let him know what they have in store for him (it sounds like they can’t wait to get their hands on a computer expert).  I am hopeful that Jason will be able to relax and not worry about his job at the College, but I doubt it, he is already having crazy dreams about the school turning into an amusement park while he is away. 

Anyway I should sign-off for now and consult my 37 lists (made on the backs of envelopes) to make sure we have everything that is really important (Jas says that’s money and underwear).  Talk to you all soon, Kim Orchard