By Hays Bourgeois
This morning we all woke up with an acute case of “the
Mondays.” The deadline to have our project presentations completed was pushing
closer and closer. After breakfast we went to the hospital to work on our
schoolwork and some of us went to different areas of the hospital to help out
and see the patients. Soon, our moods lifted and the joy of being at Manna
Mission reminded us what this is all about, and as we began our last week here,
we were reminded to take in every moment and every smile.
All
of us went to devotions at the hospital for worshiping and prayer with the
staff of the hospital before the workday began. It is always so captivating to
see the commitment of the people who work here, day in a day out- they always
begin with singing and setting a special time aside for the One who gives us
each day. Some of the girls from team “amazing” went straight to work after
devotions on their teaching for the girls in Kumasi. Some of the members of
team “awesome” put the finishing touches on their teachings that would take
place later in the week. Nian, Kaitlin, and I went to the lab and learned all
about the tests they can run and assisted in drawing blood work and pregnancy
tests! Nian went to outpatient and shared her beautiful smile with the patients
waiting to see the doctor and assisted in checking people in. Kaitlin spent her
day in the pharmacy counting pills, identifying different types of medications,
and processed prescriptions.
Later
that afternoon, the other 6 students split into 2 groups-half going to the
hospital for an hour and a half and then the others at the eye clinic. Around
6pm, they switched going to eye clinic and the hospital. They got to see exams
concerning eye injuries, the refraction process, and sight irregularities.
After dinner, we packed our things enthusiastically since we were leaving for
KUMASI in the morning!!
…We
all went to bed except for Grace, Julianne, and Bethany who stayed up to chat
in the living room. Around 1:15am, a strange occurrence took place. I awoke
from a deep sleep to what could be described as a “blood-curdling” scream,
followed by another scream, then another. Then the house fell almost silent.
The girls upstairs and I decided, against our fear, to peak down the stairs to
see what was going on. Dr. Catts explained to us that she had heard the front
gate open (the girls did too) and in attempts to wake Ms. Poore up, she pulled
her toe! Ms. Poore let out a horrified shriek! Since the girls were already
“spooked” when they heard this they went dashing towards the back of the house
tripping over each other. It was quite a scare! However, we were all able to go
back to our beds (after saying a few prayers for peace) and went soundly to
sleep. The gate, come to find out, had just been opened by the wind that night.
On
Thursday, we piled into our big white van and headed north to Kumasi to visit a
girls home founded and sponsored by our very own President Mark Rutland and his
ministry. The trip there took a little bit longer than expected, but upon
arrival we were elated to finally be there to share some love…ON VALENTINE’S
DAY! There were 6 spectacular young girls there, who forever engraved upon our
hearts and I don’t think we could ever forget. They were all between the ages
of 6 and 10. We introduced ourselves and once they realized we had cameras….
suddenly there were 6 professional photographers in the room with us! Snapping
away and giggling every time they would see the picture the captured on the
screen. We gathered them up and sat down to begin the teaching the “team
amazing” had prepared for them. The girls were very receptive and engaged in
the discussion of “healthy habits” that Julianne led. The “healthy habits”
included personal hygiene, brushing teeth, washing hands, & making healthy
nutrition choices. After the teaching, we sang songs with them like “Jesus
loves me” and “Aye-ye-ray” and danced with them until it was time for dinner.
After dinner, we gave them each their own special blanket (made by our sweet
supporters in the U.S.!) and a teddy bear. They quickly ran to put their new
items on their beds, excited to have a new friend and something special to have
in their own little space. I think we all went to bed that night realizing that
while we came to bless the girls there, they ended up blessing us more. Our
prayer as a team is that every girl who passes through that home will grow up
knowing the love of Christ and that their hope is in His unfailing love.
The
next morning (Wednesday), was started with a big family breakfast served by
Pastor Samuel and his gracious family. Before we left, we stopped by the school
and sang some songs with children there and took lots of pictures! Pastor
Samuel said there was somewhere that he needed to take us to show us something
before we left. He took us to see his guesthouse, which was prepared for us to
stay in that had burnt to the ground just weeks earlier. But in the midst of
such devastation and sorrow there was a glimmer of hope- we will have homes in
heaven. And God will restore what they have lost 100 times over!
On
Thursday, we woke up to complete our last FULL day in Ghana. “Team amazing”
went to the school to present a teaching for middle school children of Manna
Mission. “Team awesome” went to the hospital. About an hour into our time at
the hospital, Matt, Bethany, Grace, & I were called in to see and assist
with a C-Section delivery. We were all very excited to be able to be so close
to such an amazing miracle! In the afternoon we went back to the market for our
last minute shopping! We got more bags, drums, jewelry, & wooden carvings. As
our trip comes to an end...we are soaking in every moment! This is our second
to last blog of our trip make sure to keep checking back for the final update!
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