Report from Richard & Linda Benskin with Joanna & Daniel

Dear Friends,

The rains are long gone and the savannah around Yendi is becoming quite dry again. The annual burning of the grass and underbrush started in mid-November this year, much earlier than usual. Still, there is burning every day. The harmattan season, when dry dust-laden air from the Sahara begins to blow across this area, has begun, but not yet reached its peak. With this season comes an increase in numerous respiratory troubles at the clinic and inflamed sinuses among the Benskins. The season also brings stunning cloudless sunsets as the evening rays are refracted through the dusty and sometimes smoky air. The work is coming along well, and I hope this report gives you an idea of some of what the Lord has been doing with us in the last few months.

Ghana's Upper East Region

In the middle of October we spent a few days in the extreme northeast corner of Ghana, near both Burkina Faso and Togo. The purpose of the trip was to hold clinics in two of the villages near the town of Bawku, and also to help the Christians in one of these villages to dedicate the church building for their young congregation. Our fellow workers, the Thorntons, have been working in this area for many years. Together in the two villages, Linda and Fran Thornton (also an RN) saw close to 250 patients in the two days of clinic. Childhood malnutrition was rampant, though they also saw a wide variety of ailments and wounds, some of them quite serious. The people seemed very appreciative of the kindness shown them in Christ's name.

Jerry Thornton and Richard helped with some last minute items on the construction of the church building, as well as helping to facilitate the operation of the clinics and other details. Joanna stayed quite busy serving as the pharmacy assistant, while her brother was the official trip photographer. Daniel has become quite a digital shutterbug, taking about 1200 pictures on the four day trip. The image of the man awaiting treatment and the boy with his donkey cart are examples of his work. These donkey carts seem to be the backbone of the agricultural transportation network in that area. This one is hauling a large load of peanuts (called groundnuts here). The boy is using a grass mat as side walls in order to carry more groundnuts.

The two most prominent tribes in the Bawku area, the Kusasi and the Mamprusi, have a history of conflict. About eighteen people were reportedly killed in a new episode which was on the news yesterday. Most of the churches in this area are young, but growing. Please pray that more of the physical and especially the spiritual needs of these peoples can be met by Christ working through His people and that they may come to know the peace that comes with true Christianity.

In the Image of our Creator

Leadership Training for Christ (International) is in full swing again. The local young people are very eager to deepen their Bible knowledge and were also thrilled with the plaques they received for their work last year, as were their parents. Such tokens of recognition are quite unusual, but very much appreciated, in the local culture. This year's focus on Genesis with the theme "In His Image" is especially appropriate here. What better book to establish a foundation of who the Creator is and His intended relationship with His people? In addition to weekly chorus and drama practices, we have 13 kids meeting for an hour every Sunday to review Genesis. They do most of their studying at home, but practice taking quizzes using open Bibles and recalling which stories are in which chapters during the weekly "coaching" sessions. Few of them have ever studied in this way before, and even some of the older ones can barely read, so coaching them is quite a challenge. It is also a real blessing to see them learning more about our Creator and the Book he has given us.

Singing Festival

The annual singing festival was held last month. In this event, singing groups from various congregations gather to sing praises to God, learn new songs in the local languages and get prizes for their congregations (usually help with their building funds). While Ghana is known for its history of drumming, many of the tribes do not have singing as a part of their heritage, so this occasion helps to promote singing skills. It is also a great time of inter-congregational fellowship and encouragement, reminding Christians that they are part of something bigger than their own, often small, village church. The festival had grown so large that it was almost unmanageable last year. This year it was broken down into several gatherings by geographic zones. Most zones still had very good crowds. Much to the surprise of many folks from Yendi, our singers won the top prize for our zone. One of the members of the Yendi church preached the Sunday sermon the next day and used this victory as a primary illustration. The point of his lesson was that with God, all things are possible! The lesson was well received and this illustration seemed much more sensible and less amusing to the others than it did to us.

Helping Babies Thrive

Each week, the clinic patients include several moms and babies with feeding/nursing problems. The initial "complaint" is almost always that the mother "has no milk." But, the mothers invariably actually have milk, so further inquiries have to be made. Linda and her interpreter, Victoria, spend as much time as it takes finding out the real problem, educating and encouraging these families.

One interesting case came to us recently from Bunbonaayili, a village about 20 miles north of Yendi. A woman in the village who is mentally incapable of caring for a child delivered a baby and would not feed it. This has happened twice before to this woman, and the babies, of course, died. This time the woman's brother intervened to save the life of the baby. He planned to send him to an orphanage in Tamale temporarily, but there is a waiting list, so he brought the baby to us for help. His mother, his wife, his toddler, and someone to interpret completed the entourage (it is unusual to have on-staff interpreters, as our clinic does). Linda explained to the interpreter that any artificial feeding is quite dangerous in the villages, due to concerns about sanitation. Also, the government has wisely forbidden health care workers from distributing infant formula, because other mothers tend to think the milk that comes from the health care workers is superior, which decreases breastfeeding community-wide. We could mix widely available powdered milk with sugar and water to make substitute milk for the baby, but no human, not even the best scientists, can come close to reproducing the human milk God provides each mother. The best option would be to find a mother who already is nursing an older baby, and ask them to become a "wet-nurse" for this baby. The uncle could provide food for the woman as a form of compensation for her trouble. Suddenly the whole picture became clear. This baby should have looked terribly malnourished, but it was healthy. The uncle's wife had been feeding the baby secretly, but was meeting with resistance! People had been telling her that her toddler would die of malnutrition if she fed another baby. She and her husband love the baby and want to raise him as their own son. Perfect. Linda just told her that since the child has no other capable mother, and she loves the child and is willing to feed him, she IS the mother. Just as mothers with twins are able to feed two, she should be quite capable of feeding two, especially since the toddler is mostly eating solids. Our clinic donated a four-month supply of very rich vitamins as "our contribution to this noble cause." The family left very happy and with confidence to answer those critical of their choice to save this child.

Prayer Requests

Topping our list of prayer requests this time are two Christian brothers and co-workers, Niipak Laar and Jerry Thornton. Niipak recently started having seizures. He went to Accra for treatment and will be there a bit longer, but we are getting good reports. Niipak is the younger brother of Samson Laar, one of the full time evangelists. Niipak was just about to start the program at Nationwide Bible Institute (the Church's preaching school in Accra) in preparation for expanded work in ministry. Jerry is suffering from field of vision limitations from a recent, otherwise mild, stroke. Jerry is in the U.S.A. now but plans to return to Yendi in January. Please pray for their health and that their ministry plans can continue as scheduled. Continue to pray for our health as well and that we may have the strength and focus to exemplify Christ in each situation we face here in Ghana.

In the Service of the King,
The Benskins

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