We have arrived safely home in Arlington Heights.  (Brrrrrr - it's cold!)  We are looking forward to celebrating the holidays with family and friends.

We wish all of you a joyous Christmas and God's blessings in the new year!

Dianne and Jerry

Today was Graduation Day at ACI.  What a wonderful day!  Traditional African dancers and drummers led a procession of the graduates and faculty from the campus to Christ Church where the ceremony was held.  The conferring of degrees was very moving, especially knowing all the work that has been required on behalf of both the students and the faculty for them to complete the caliber of research and writing that ACI demands.  Students from six different countries received degrees, including an African-American Master's degree student from the US.

Two PhD degrees were awarded, one to Seblewengel Daniel from Ethiopia.  She teaches Systemtatic Theology and is the first woman from Ethopia ever to receive a PhD in Theology.  She is a delightful and amazing young woman and we are thrilled for her.  She was chosen to speak on behalf of the students and is delivering her remarks in this photo.  What a memorable way for us to conclude our first term here.  We leave for the US on Friday, and while we are eager to return home, we are already missing being here. 

 Callie Shoba Sardana

Born December 2, 2011

8 pounds, 14 ounces; 20 1/2 inches

Callie, Alison, Sanjay (and grandparents) are all doing well.

Thanks for your prayers!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  There is no Thanksgiving holiday in Ghana, of course.  So Jerry and I went out to a local hotel with a beautiful view for our own celebration.  No turkey though. So we had chicken and jollof rice and used our imagination!  We are so thankful to God for the opportunity to be here in this amazing place.  We are also thankful for all of you, for staying in touch with your emails, and for keeping us in your prayers.  We can hardly believe that Advent starts this Sunday and that we will leave for home 2 weeks from today.  Alison's baby is taking her time.  She will be induced next Thursday, December 1, unless something happens before then.  So please continue to keep them in your prayers.  We will let you all know whenever we hear something.

                                                                              
Worship in an African church is always a joyous occasion.  We attended worship today at the college church next door to the Institute.  The students are filled with energy and enthusiasm.  The highlight of an African service is not the sermon.  It is the offering!  Offering is truly understood to be an act of worship.  Everyone brings their offering forward with much singing and dancing.  The young men especially enjoy dancing and wearing traditional dress.

 These are two of the Master's degree students at the Institute who we have enjoyed getting to know.  Nii Okai is a music leader at a Methodist church in Accra and is a popular Christian recording artist in Ghana.  He was elected by his classmates as their class representative.  If you search for his name on the internet you will find several sites where you can learn more about him and hear his music.

Jane Quaye is an attorney.  She received her law degree from Georgetown University and is an outspoken advocate for women's issues.  While there are many men pastors in the class, Jane is not  intimidated in the least and challenges them in class discussions enthusiastically. When the members of the class introduce themselves, she has humorously started calling herself the "district minister."  One of the purposes of the Master's program in Theology and Mission here at ACI is to provide theological training, not only for pastors, but for lay people who are active in the public sphere.  Jane and Nii will make a huge impact in Ghana in the future.

These are three delightful young women from the ACI cafeteria and housekeeping staff.  Their friendly smiles and warm personalities make us feel very much at home.  Their names are Angela, Rhoda, and Muni.  They were all dressed up to attend a wedding on Saturday.

Ghana's favorite national pastime is football.  Like most of the world, however, in Ghana "football" is soccer.  You may remember that the Ghana national team (called the Black Stars) defeated the US in 2010 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.  We attended this football match this afternoon between two local amateur teams that was held at the Teacher's College field across the street.

There was a rainstorm in the afternoon before the game.  As you can see, the field leaves a little to be desired.  Most of our kids play soccer on better fields.  There were puddles in front of the goals and the net  is held down with rocks.  But the conditions didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm! 

The Master's students have returned for their second 3-week intensive block of classes.  The ACI students are very impressive.  In addition to pastors, there are bankers, businessmen, lawyers, teachers, missionaries, a Methodist bishop, a Christian recording artist, and even a tribal chief.  They are from Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria, South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Canada.  Jerry and I get to sit in on classes so we have a better understanding of what students are writing about when we work with them on their papers. What a privilege - they are extraordinary!

 

 

 

 

There are 3 courses given during each block.  Students write a 2000 word essay for each course and also take written exams.  The exams are 3 hours each on 3 consecutive days.  Here the students are writing their exams for Block 1.   Jerry and I love sitting in on the classes, but are grateful we don't have to take the exams! 

We want you to meet one of our furry friends.  We don't see much of the wildlife you usually associate with Africa where we are.  But there is a monkey preserve not far away where there are all kinds of monkeys.  Most of those we see locally are pets.  Store owners often have them to attract customers.  This monkey lives at a craft market.

We see this gecko frequently in the courtyard outside our guest house.  He is a large colorful male and we have nicknamed him Elvis (after the "King").  He is very territorial and seems to rule the grounds!

                                                                              
This week was the annual Odwira Festival in Akropong.  It is a festival of purification, reconciliation, and unity before the beginning of the new year in the Akan calendar.  We joined ACI students who are studying the festival and were invited to the opening held at the Palace.  The king is seated under the umbrella.  Those in the first rows are chiefs and their aides.  Behind them are members of the royal family.  The group is watching and waiting for the arrival of the Odwira, the symbol of purification.

 

The festival begins with bringing the Odwira from the spirits of the ancestors to join the community.  The Odwira is brought from the cemetery of the ancestors by a delegation sent by the king.  The chief in charge of the cemetery brings a mixture made of mud and leaves from the graves of the ancestors with which to anoint the king.  He is accompanied by a party of these strange looking "guards" with the peculiar hats, the mud on their faces, and the bells around their necks. They also carry shotguns and fire them frequently!

One of the festival days involves a parade of young girls who take food to the ancestors in containers on their heads.  Through a ritual these girls are thought to become possessed, so others must accompany them to assist them and especially to see that the food does not fall.  Along the parade route the girls stop at various locations where "libations" of water and alcohol are poured at their feet.

 This 300 year-old tree is thought to have a spirit which watches over the town.  Part of the festival each year involves sacrificing a sheep to the tree.  The blood of the sheep is poured at the base of the tree and then the tree is wrapped in white cloth to indicate purity and joy.

The last day of the festival is the Grand Durbar, a gathering of the town in front of the Palace to celebrate.  It begins with a parade in which the various chiefs are carried on platforms on the shoulders of their aides.  No black clothes this time - all are clothed in their finest and most colorful.  They are accompanied by bands and enormous drums.

The king, chiefs, and their entourages sit under their various umbrellas around the town square.  They and the crowd are entertained with music, dancing, and speeches.  Political candidates make prominent appearances.  The most important of the speeches is made by a representative of the king and outlines the goals for the town for the coming year.  The theme promoted this time for the coming year is moral restoration.  The town elders seem to feel that young people are going astray and need to be reminded to remain morally strong.

Dianne was invited to preach at Christ Church this morning.  It was Education Sunday, so it was a very appropriate day.  They use the lectionary, so the District Minister you see in the photo selected the Scripture text for her, Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus' parable about  a wedding banquet.  It was a bit of a stretch, but maybe it appealed to him because he is a newlywed!

This is an elementary Sunday School class at Christ Church.  Church school here is serious business!  Children wear uniforms for church school just as they do for regular school.  The adults standing around the class are there for "discipline" and the children are very well-behaved.  Learning is all oral.  Even in one of the larger churches like this, there is little in the way of material for children to use.  The children learn songs and verses and hear Bible stories.  I wish they could experience a Sunday at First Pres in the Kingdom!

These wonderful plantings are all in the courtyard right outside the door of our guest house.  ACI does a wonderful job of caring for the grounds here as God's gifts of creation.  You don't have to go far to find trash and squalor everywhere in the city.  We are so grateful for this lovely place to rest and be renewed.  

When is an orange not orange?  When you are in Ghana, of course.  Ripe oranges are green on the outside and pink on the inside. They look like a cross between a lime and a grapefruit!   One of the students brought us some Ghanaian oranges.  We were really looking forward to some fresh squeezed orange juce.  Unfortunately, they are pretty tasteless, so the juice was disappointing.  We assume it was still full of vitamins though, so we are grateful. Most of all, we are grateful and touched by the kindness of this thoughtful student. 

I guess we are "official."  We received these shirts made of fabric with the ACI logo that all of the staff wear.  The purpose is to create a sense of community among the staff and also not to differentiate among staff by what they wear.  ACI works very hard at building a sense of teamwork and valuing the different gifts and contributions of everyone, whether they teach a course or mow the grass. 

These are four of the five full-time academic staff. From left to right:  Dr. Mary Bediako teaches Primal Religions.  Dr. Philip Laryea teaches African Theology.  Dr. Ben Quarshie is the Rector of the Institute and teaches New Testament.  Dr. Ernestina Afriyie teaches Gospel and Culture.  The fifth staff member, Dr. Allison Howell, is from Australia and is currently home for a visit.  Pray for these wonderful professors.  They are teaching the future leaders of the world church!

Global Mamas is a women's fair trade cooperative which gives Ghanaian women a means of earning a living through selling exquisite handmade crafts.  They make and sell jewelry, batik fabric and apparel, household items, and cosmetics. This is their store in Accra (which we visit frequently!)  Global Mamas began in 2003 with six women.  Today 627 women are employed throughout Ghana.  If you would like to learn more, see their website, www.globalmamas.org.

This is a Chapel on the campus of the Teachers' College next door to the Institute.  Like the Institute, the College is located on the property of the first Christian mission in Ghana, the Basel Mission.  Outside the door of the Chapel is a placque mounted on the wall.  It was given a few years ago by one of the College graduating classes with the names of some of the first missionaries along with the dates of their births and deaths.  Only two people on this list lived beyond the age of 40.  Most of the first missionaries died in their 30's within a few months of reaching Ghana.

Some of these missionaries are buried in this cemetery outside the Chapel.  Most of them died of malaria, or rather from the mistaken treatment of malaria.  European doctors did not know how to treat the disease.  They thought the fever was due to something in the blood and the treatment they used was "bleeding" their patients.  Only when they finally consulted the local herbalists were they successful in helping the missionaries to survive.  As short-term Western visitors, we take malaria medicine on a preventative basis.  Long-term mission workers generally do not.  Most of them contract malaria at some point, but with healthy immune systems and medication, they are able to recover without complications. 

Ghana is attempting to develop a tourism industry.  This is one of the new beach resorts near Accra.  Patti DeNichols, one of the members of the Chicago Presbytery mission team from Naperville Knox Presbyterian Church, ran 12 1/2 miles along this beach as part of her training for the Chicago marathon. The beach is much nicer from a distance than up close! There are many industries and slum areas discharging waste into the water.

We want to introduce you to some of our neighbors!  These young goats live at the Presbyterian Teachers' College next door to the Institute.  They often run along the street outside our house.

This is a typical group of Ghanaian women you would see on the street in Akropong.  As usual, someone is carrying something on her head.  Another is carrying her baby tied to her back.  Women carry their babies this way all day as they go about their work until children are able to walk and often longer.  The mix of traditional and Western dress is also common.  In part, younger women who see more media want to wear Western clothes.  But also, boatloads of Western clothes arrive from US donations that are far less expensive than the local traditional fabrics.   

Thanks so much to all of you for you emails.  It is wonderful to hear from home and we appreciate you staying in touch.  One of the things we will miss most this fall is the birth of our new granddaughter, due in November.  This is our daughter Alison and "Baby Sardana."  Along with us, please keep them in your prayers!

Ghana is environmentally conscious.  Trees are valued and protected.  Many of Ghana's trees were being cut down by rural villagers for firewood.  A few years ago a law was passed against this and requiring reforestation, but it has been difficult to enforce, especially with poor people who have no other source of fuel.  This is the large coconut tree right outside our guest house.  We take a wide path around it since you never can tell when one will fall!

                                               
This is a cocoa tree from a nearby cocoa plantation.  This tree is more than 150 years old.  Cocoa trees are very hard to start and are carefully nurtured as seedlings.  They are also carefully tended and protected when they begin to bear fruit.  Cocoa is a large and very profitable industry in Ghana.

This a grapefruit tree in the courtyard at the Institute where we are working. African traditional religion understands there to be spirits associated with everything in nature.  Trees are seen to have spirits, along with rivers, rocks, animals, and other parts of the natural world.  So who knows, there may be a "grapefruit spirit!"  While that may not be an idea we would embrace, the Ghanaian reverence for the holiness of nature is something from which we can learn.

Hallelujah!  The camera cable arrived and it works!  Jerry and I are standing in front of our guest house.  There is a large coconut tree to Jerry's left.  The building is at least 150 years old.  It housed Johannes Christaller after whom the Akrofi-Christaller Institute (ACI) where we are volunteering was named.  He translated the Bible into the local Twi language and put together a Twi dictionary which is still in use today.  Fortunately electricity and indoor plumbing has been added since his time!

This is Christ Church Akropong where Jerry and I worship on Sunday mornings.  It is the oldest Christian church in Ghana.  It was established by the Basel Mission, the first Christian mission in Ghana in the 1840's and is located down the street from the site of the original Basel mission which is now the home of ACI.  While it is quite historic, it is keeping up with the times.  Today it contains a synthesizer, drums, and a sound system for a youth band along with a video projector and screens to provide words for songs, images, and announcements during the services.

Prayer is serious business in Ghana.  Religion is an integral part of everyone's life here.  Ghanaians are said to be "innately and incurably religious, they wear religion like their skin." A realm of spirits, both good and evil, is basic to their worldview.  They see every part of life as spiritual and the events of their lives to have spiritual causes.  Those who practice African traditional religion perform many rituals every day to their deities in order to gain the favor and protection of the good spirits and to ward off the perils of the evil ones.  Those who have become Christian bring that same integration of spirituaity and life to their faith.  They pray earnestly and fervently many times a day about every aspect of their lives with the conviction that God hears and answers their prayers and that their lives depend on it.

Here at ACI the entire community gathers to begin and end the day with prayer.  Every class begins and ends with prayer.  These prayers are not just a formality.  They are specific, focused, and deeply felt.  Other activities are bathed in prayer - appointments, meals, travel, study.  Our own prayer lives seem pale by comparison.  We have been challenged to reflect on our personal views about prayer and the place of prayer in our lives.  So we write this with the prayer that when you read it you will take a moment to think about your own prayer life and to pray for the Christians in Ghana.

The preferred mode of transporting items in Ghana is on your head.  It amazes me what people can carry - huge buckets and pans of water each morning, but also enormous baskets of produce, laundry, inventory of various kinds for their roadside stands, firewood, furniture, construction materials like lumber and bags of cement, you name it.  It is quite an art.  They wear a small ring on their head under the load, but they don't use their hands.  They walk swinging their arms with their cargo in perfect balance.  This practice isn't unique to Ghana, of course.  It is used in many countries around the world.  I'm sure it is "ergonomically" (a modern word but an ancient need) very efficient.  It certainly promotes good posture, and I haven't seen many Ghanaians stooped over from osteoporisis!  I may ask someone to teach me, but I imagine it takes some practice, so in the meantime I don't think I will give up my backpack!

We thought the rainy season was over, but it is pouring rain today, the hardest since we have been here.  We realize how accustomed we have been to taking water for granted.  The Institute uses several large water tanks to collect rain water.  They sit at the corners of the buildings and downspouts from the roof gutters direct runoff into them.  They are certainly getting a good refill today!  Our bathroom and kitchen both have barrels of water to use when no water comes from the faucets.  They are refilled when needed from the rainwater collection tanks.  At least we have faucets.  Many in Akropong do not. Every morning a stream of children walk down the street outside our guest house with buckets on their heads to collect water for their families for the day.  We are doing our best to learn to conserve, but old habits are hard to break.  No standing under the shower, rinsing dishes under running water, etc. We need to use bottled water for cooking, tooth brushing, and contact lenses, so that helps limit our consumption.  Having all the clean (and hot!) water we desire whenever we turn on the faucet is something we won't take for granted in the future!

Since our first encounter with the roach in the kitchen, we have been pleasantly surprised by the lack of bugs.  There are lots of small geckos running around.  After all the Geico insurance commercials we are used to seeing at home, they are very cute and seem to have a lot of personality.  They are also very fast, so it is good to keep the doors closed so they don't come to visit!  We get a few bites, but never see what is doing the biting.  They are not bothersome enough to require mosquito netting or constant coating with repellant. There are cats and dogs around people's houses along with animals headed for the dinner table, e.g. chickens, sheep, and goats.  The only "African" wildlife in evidence are monkeys.  They are very cute but not good to tangle with.  We were taking a walk one day around the teacher's college next door when a small boy came up to us and pleaded with us to retrieve his soccer ball from a monkey who was playing with it up on a ledge. The monkey was literally "having a ball."  The boy was very distraught and we felt pretty helpless.  We scolded the monkey from afar and encouraged the boy to be patient.  Hopefully he and his soccer ball have been reunited! 

As those who visited ACI with the Chicago Presbytery mission team can attest, it can be quite noisy during the night in Akropong!  There are no "front yards," so houses are next to the street.  Beds are often only a few feet from those walking by outside.  Our guest house doesn't have glass in the windows, only screens and wooden shutters.  So there is little to block out the sound from outside.  In addition to music from town at night and the persistent roosters early in the mornings, we have often heard singing and shouting and commotion that sounds like a church service, sometimes as early as 4:30 or 5:00 am.  We asked about it today and discovered that it is called the "Dawn Broadcast!"  Ghanaian Christians are very enthusiastic and creative about their evangelism.  Since few people have TVs, radios, or even electric clocks, some congregations gather early on weekday mornings and walk together through the town to help their neighbors "wake up" to the gospel message.  They stop in several places for someone to preach and the group to sing.  It is sort of like setting your alarm clock to K-Love on the radio with the volume turned up!

Classes have begun for students and, gratefully, for Jerry and me too!  We have the wonderful opportunity to sit in each morning on a beginning master's level theology class called "History of Christian Thought." As with every course at ACI, the goal for students is not just to accumulate information and give it back on an exam or in a paper, but to learn to reflect theologically and most of all to integrate their learning into their own faith and lives.  ACI emphasizes study as an act of spiritual devotion, loving God with all of our hearts and minds.  All of us are "missionaries," whether we know it or not.  Our lives are our mission, our witness to who Christ is for us.  Our lives are also the expression of our theology, our understanding of who Jesus is and what he means to us.  Pray that students would see Jesus in us and in our lives as we seek to minister to them.

We're eating well in Ghana.  There is food in abundance, though it seems somewhat monotonus after all the variety we have been used to.  The main vegetable is cabbage.  The fruits are bananas and pineapple.  There are also oranges but I find them rather bitter.  Meats are chicken and fish - small whole fish with scales, eyes, and all.  (I'm actually getting to the place where I can get some fish out of one, rather than just a pile of skin and bones!). There are also beans (black-eyed variety) and eggs. Carbs come in the form of rice and yams.  The yams are different from those in the US though.  They are huge, white, and served in big slices.    Everything generally comes with one of two sauces -- a green sauce called palava made from cassava leaves or a red sauce made from tomatoes and peppers.  The only milk is canned or powdered and coffee is instant.  The big treat for me is Ghanaian cocoa.  Ghana is the world's 2nd largest producer of cocoa.  So some cocoa, powdered milk, sugar, and hot water make me a happy camper!

Food is not so abundant elsewhere in Africa right now.  I'm sure you have seen the news accounts of the famine in Somalia.  Please pray for God's intervention and provision in this desperate situation.

One of the things I wonder if they teach in missionary school is how to do laundry by hand.  I could use some lessons but have gained a few valuable tips from my first experience today for those of you who want to give it a try.  First, in doing laundry by hand, "hand" is the operative word.  Between scrubbing and wringing, your hands definitely get a workout.  But then, so does your back!  Second, do a little every day -- don't save it all for Saturday like I did!  And of course, if Saturday is cloudy like today, you're in trouble.  Since we have a lot of laundry today, if things don't dry before the end of the day, we will have no where to hang them.  And then I need major lessons in stain removal.  Hopefully the sweat is out and the clothes will smell better, but unfortunately some of the stains have taken up permanent residence.  Oh the things we take for granted!  Washers and dryers are a blessing, but today I'm just thanking God for soap and a bucket! 

We're trying to learn some new habits to be respectful of the Ghanaian culture.  One of the most challenging has been to learn not to cross our legs at the knees!  When we are in meetings or classes or at church with Ghanaians, we have discovered that they do not cross their legs, unless at the ankles.  Our PCUSA liaison Josh Heikkila pointed out to us that this is because the only person in a gathering who crosses their legs at the knees is the chief.  It was quite interesting that when we visited the village of Oduntia to dedicate the new school that the Chicago Presbytery and the Kaneshie Presbyterian Church are building there, the village chief and his family who have become Christians were in prominent attendance.  However, the  fetish priest of the village who has not become a Christian also came to the ceremony.  He sat in front of the congregation and crossed his legs at the knees - a not so subtle way of saying that he was the one really in charge.  Please pray for the new believers in Oduntia as they face challenges to their faith.

We have arrived in Ghana!  Our trip was one of "ups" and "downs."  Because our flight was overbooked in Economy class, part of our group received an unexpected upgrade to Business class at no extra cost.  So for an 11-hour flight it was quite a treat.  But it was also hard not to reflect on the inequities of life.  Why us and not all of the group?  And not just in relation to the flight, but in all the abundance we enjoy while so much of the world is starving?  Much to ponder as the trip began.

Then came the "down."  We arrived safely in Accra, but our luggage did not.  So we spent the first 3 days with no change of clothes, no hair blower, etc.  We were not a pretty sight, well some of us anyway.  I ended up being very glad however.  I think God wanted to make sure that we got off on the right foot, learning from day one not to depend on ourselves or our "stuff," but rather to depend on God.

We had a wonderful week with the mission group from First Pres and the Chicago Presbytery.  You can read all about it on the Knox Presbyterian Church website, www.knoxpres.org.  The group held a commissioning servicefor us before they left and their companionship for the first few days helped ease the transition to being here on our own.

We are now settled into our new "home" for the next few months in Akropong.  It is a yellow stucco guest house with a large coconut tree in the yard and some resident chickens.  (I am having trouble with the cord connecting my camera to my laptop, so I'm unable to send pictures yet.  Hope we can come up with a solution.)  The house is 150 years old and feels like "holy ground."  It is the house where both Akrofi and Christaller lived during their work at the first Basel Mission.  They are the missionaries who translated the Bible into the local language here (Twi). We have an office where we can meet with students, a bedroom, a screened porch, and bathroom.  No hot water but an electric pot to heat water if we get desperate.  We also have a kitchen with an eating area in a separate wing of the building.  We were welcomed there by a huge local roach.  Fortunately the kitchen came with a supply of bug spray.  It also comes with a rice cooker, a good thing since we have some variety of rice for virtually every meal!  We have buckets and a clothes line for laundry.  We will try that new (for us) adventure next weekend.

It is cooler here than we expected, since Akropong is at a higher elevation than Accra.  The mornings are hazy and misty, often with some rain, but there is usually some sun in the afternoon. They assure us that we will have plenty of hot weather coming up.  We are also surprised that it gets dark so early.  Daylight is from 6am to 6 pm year round.

The first weekend was quiet but the students began arriving this morning for registration.  They will have Orientation sessions all week and we will sit in on them to get oriented ourselves.  We are eager to get to know some of them and see how we can be of help.  We attended worship on Sunday at the only English language service in the area at Christ Church Akropong.  We understand that most of the students worship there.  Time -- 7:00 am! 

This is the Kaneshie Presbyterian Church in Accra, Ghana, where Jerry and I and the mission team from the Chicago Presbytery will worship next Sunday.  Jerry and I and nine others from four churches in the Presbytery leave for Ghana on Tuesday.  The rest of the team will return to Chicago on August 6 while Jerry and I will begin making our home for the next few months in Akropong at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute.  If you would like to follow the mission team while they are in Ghana, visit www.knoxpres.org.

It's a small world!  Our PCUSA mission worker in Ghana, Josh Heikkila, saw this young man at the beach wearing an Arlington Heights Park District shirt and asked if he could take his picture.  Did you ever wonder what happens to all those clothes you donate?

Josh is a real blessing and someone to keep in your prayers.  He does a wonderful job representing PCUSA and has been a huge help to our group from the Chicago Presbytery in making arrangements for their trip to Ghana this summer.  He does a tough job with amazing grace and faithfulness.