Welcome Ama

I have been communicating with Ama recently and she is reading the blog to see all our photos and read our impressions of the trip.

WELCOME AMA; feel free to make comments.

God Bless.
Fred

Dancing at the Birthday Party

 

This photo is of the kids at the orphanage putting on a dance display for us during the Birthday Party we hosted for them.

Presenting computer to Ama and Victor

 
While in Ghana we were able to provide a computer for our hosts, Ama and Victor to use at their school. They are both school teachers and the computer will help their students connect with the world

Introducing the bagpipes to the kids

In this photo the kids get their first taste of "Celtic" music from the "pipes" When I finished playing it was time to let them give it a try and there was no shortage of volunteers.

My next attempt will be to add some albums to the blog so there will be a more complete history of what we accomplished.

Monday January 25, 2010

We're all back home and presumably rested. I finally got a full night's sleep and the malady many of us experienced seems to have resolved itself. This week, as I find the time, I will attempt to add more photos to the blog to give some of the descriptions more flavor.
Thanks to all of you who followed our journey and supported us. Special thanks to my teammates for their care and concern when I heard the news of my best friend going home to be with our Lord.

Wednesday January 20, 2010

We're back in the U.S.A after 27 hours of flying and hanging around airports. The trip home was uneventful compared to the trip over and we're all grateful for that. Now comes the task of sorting out all the photos and putting them in a site where they can be viewed by all who are interested. Kristen has volunteered to set that up when she returns to Pittsburgh this week so keep checking back for the links to the photo albums. Later today when I find my flash drive amongst all the luggage that is still unpacked I will post a few of my favorites from the Birthday Party. We just got too busy to post photos and the internet connection in Kumasi is very slow and unreliable.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement. Everyone of us would gather or inquire around the "laptop" each morning to see what messages we received. This blog will stay active and I will update it periodically.

Sunday January 17, 2009

Each day is full of surprises and challenges and this one offered both. We went to Pastor Kofi's church for services today and participated in the service. I was selected to do the scripture reading and then the group of us sang a medley of songs; following that I played Amazing Grace on the bagpipes followed by Barbara singing two verses of it a capella. The congregation joined in with clapping and singing along. The music by the choir and the congregation can best be described as "inspired". Even though we could not understand the words (the services are conducted in "Twi", the local dialect)it didn't take long to pick up on the message and get into the spirit of the service. Pastor Kofi gave a masterful sermon in English that was simultaneously translated into Twi by his assistant. They never missed a beat and he wove our visit into the sermon. Following the sermon there was more music and dancing. The music is infectious and before we knew it we were all up dancing with the rest of the congregation.
Following the service, which lasted several hours, we moved over to the orphanage and began setting up for the giant birthday party. Words cannot describe what this was like so I'm off to upload some of the photos and will let the pictures tell the story. But, as a teaser, picture 18 & 20 year old young men in party hats with "blow tickles" and goofy kids sunglasses having as much fun as the 6 year olds. Today was our grand finale and we did it up right.
It wasn't all fun and games, though, we did conduct some business. Through the generiosity of the FUMC congregation we provided scholarship money for 8 students to stay in high school and also provided funds to keep all the primary school students enrolled. Additionally we brought school supplies and first aid supplies for them to use.

A special message to Mallory and Emily:
Robert received his packages and is very grateful; he also gave me letters to bring to you which I will have when we arrive at the church or I can leave them for you in the church office.
Good night all;