The Churches of Christ have been actively involved in missions in Ghana for many years, but in the last few years of the 90's, the church intensified work in the underdeveloped northern portion of the country. In November of 1999 we moved to Yendi, the hub of the combined missions and development work in the north. Our family committed to this effort for five years with two evenly spaced furloughs. We work primarily with the Church of Christ Mission clinic at Yendi and their village outreach projects, but we also assist with some of the numerous other church projects in the area.
Physical and Spiritual Environment
The Northern Region is Ghana's 'outback', with dramatically fewer resources and development than may be found in the south. Yendi lies 9 degrees north of the equator, about halfway between the coast, to the south, and the edge of the Sahara, to the north. The land is very dry, hot and dusty for most of the year, with a few months of flooding rains around May - September. The people around Yendi are predominately subsistence farmers, battling a long dry season and poor soil to scratch out a meager existence. Malnutrition, parasite infestation, and disease - especially malaria - are commonplace. Almost half of the children born do not live to see their fifth birthday. The need for the compassionate care exemplified by Christ is enormous.
Spiritually, atheism is virtually unheard-of. The traditional animistic religions of the area (many, when asked, will identify themselves as "pagans" or "idol worshipers") acknowledge the existence of a supreme creator God. In animism, the people try to gain blessings by offering sacrifices to lesser spirits, including objects, living creatures, rivers or trees, and their deceased ancestors. These religions hold that the Creator became angry and separated Himself from man long ago, and they offer no avenue for restoring a positive relationship with God Himself. These people are very eager to hear the good news that God sent His Son to earth to renew a loving relationship between man and the Creator. In addition to animism alone, many embrace a blended religion called folk Islam. While Islam confers more suspicion toward Christianity, most are eager to read the Bible and expand their knowledge. After some study, many leave the legalistic bonds of Islam for life in Christ.
Our Roles
We were recruited to work with the clinic (Linda as a nurse, and myself with facilities and technology resources), but we were also asked to try to rejuvenate two projects that had been "on hold" due to lack of personnel: Village outreach clinics, in which part of the clinic staff drives to more remote areas to provide on-site health care, and the Primary health Care Worker program, which trains Christians from villages to provide basic health education and services in their area. These projects are now back on course, and we are further refining them in order that they may be fully operated by the Ghanaian brethren by the time we must leave.
Sponsoring congregation:
Westover Hills Church of Christ
8332 Mesa Drive
Austin, TX 78759
USA
URL: www.westover.org
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