Plans were laid yesterday with Timothy Niligrini to leave the compound at 8am this morning so we could travel south to the village of Mpeasam. Kandie’s brother Paul had said he was going to go with us but this morning he was having a little of Montezuma’s revenge (stomach distress) so he was going to go to Kulkpeni for services. Zorash texted us to remind us we needed to bring the shea butter buckets to her house this morning before we left for church so she could fill them and then we could stop by when we got back to Yendi this afternoon to pick them up. After getting Timothy some breakfast we drove 90 minutes south to the village of Mpeasam.
The bush road where we turn to the village had been scraped some but the grader had scraped some of the gravel and dirt onto the other lane of the road which made for some slow driving coupled with the pot holes. Along the way there were 4 young boys trying to make a little money by filling a water filled pothole with dirt and weeds. I pulled over and we gave each one of them a 1 Cedi note. They were happy! By the time we arrived at the village the bible class had already started. Everyone was sitting under the shade of a huge Nim Tree.
The weather was comfortable as we sat under the tree. Timothy interpreted for me as I taught my lesson concerning our bodies are the temple of God. After we closed the service there were several questions asked. One of the questions dealt with the use of Moringa leaves. The Moringa Tree is native to our area. It can be used as a traditional herb where you make tea from the leaves. Medically, it isn’t supposed to hurt the body if taken as a tea. The problem is the sellers like to cut tramadol, cocaine, tobacco, and marijuana into it so it can get the user addicted which helps the seller to have a good financial base to sell to. I also explained that inhaling the fibers is not good for the lungs.
We also sat with the men under the tree and discussed their building needs. They have started building a concrete block building but they have used the money they had saved and the money we have matched with them. They have kept better receipts than some of the churches but they still have to find out where they spent the rest of the money; before we will help financially again. They are going to work at it and get back with us soon as possible. The accounting problem occurred when the original booker/treasurer left the church, and dropped the accounts in the new book keeper’s lap. We told the men we want to help but they have to show where the money was used. They happily agreed.
When we finished with the meeting, we were invited to brother Stephen’s house where we were treated to Fufu and hot pepper light soup with pigeon meat. It was delicious!
After eating we walked back to the pickup where some of the men remained to give us another gift of a chicken and some freshly dug yams; such a wonderful, kind gift.
The main reason we visited the village was because brother Moses, one of the church leaders, who attends the monthly class, requested help with his bicycle. I told him I would have to see the bike before I would commit to any help at last month’s class. We stopped by Moses’ house on the way and he showed me the bicycle. It was in really rough shape. The back frame had broken into two pieces. Originally, I had thought I would bring the old bicycle back to Yendi but it was too worn out to use for parts. I provided the money for him to purchase another used bicycle for evangelistic efforts. Home use (second hand) bicycles cost 850-900 Ghana Cedis (approx. $75USD). Moses was very happy to get the money to purchase the bicycle. Thanks go out to those contributors who have provided funds so we can help these men.
As we passed through the village of Nakpa, we stopped to see brother David, a church member. He has problems with his sight. We are not sure if he has cataracts but the eye drops he is using are very expensive and it doesn’t fix a problem like cataracts so he agreed to go to Tamale Teaching Hospital eye clinic if I provided him with the transport money to get a definitive diagnosis of his problem and give us the feedback. Again, thanks for the money that we used to help this brother in Christ.
On our way back into Yendi we stopped and picked up buckets and buckets of shea butter from Zorash’s house for use at the Child Centre. This butter is the real, pure McCoy and it works great for diaper rash for the children.
That rounds out our Lord’s Day. We hope you are having a good Day as well. God bless!
In His service,
Stephen, Kandie, Skeeter, & Paul
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