Report from Richard & Linda Benskin with Joanna & Daniel

Dear Friends,

It has been a long time since our last report. During the "American summer" we were in the USA, on furlough. We especially enjoyed visiting with family and friends, though there is never enough time to visit with everyone. We also did a lot of shopping and supply gathering. Peter, the head nurse at the clinic, is especially grateful to the Christians in America for the large quantity of supplies and medicines we were able to bring back. These things will bless many lives! While we were in the USA, the brisk pace of work in Yendi continued. Our house was the hub of a major medical campaign in June, and later hosted several smaller groups and a new American family, the Larsons, who will be working in the South with the church's Village of Hope orphanage.

The heavy rains came very late this year. This allowed the medical group to go to villages which would normally have been inaccessible by late June. The farmers feared drought, but when the rains finally came, they were heavy, and they show no sign of letting up. It is hard to believe that the lush landscape surrounding us will so soon be dusty and barren again. Last year we had to spend a good part of Yendi's rainy season in the South, so we are really enjoying the frequent rains and plentiful greenery.

We have only been back in Ghana for three weeks, but already we have been inspired by the work God is doing before our eyes, as well as some of the things we have heard about that happened while we were away. We want to share some of these with you as well as telling you a little about how we spent our furlough.

God is Definitely There

"I am for become a Christian," insisted the old man, as I washed the fissured lumpy tissue the fungal infection had made of his foot and leg. My books say the treatment for this problem is surgical, but cleaning and dressing the foot daily and praying earnestly is working. He is not from this area: his tribal home is near the Burkina Faso border, over 120 miles from Yendi. He is tall and lean, and often wears a ski mask to protect himself from the cold morning air (low 70's). "What is your name?" "Ali." "What is your other name?" "I don't have other names; I am Ali." "Does your family have a name?" "Yes, Weruda - God Is There." He rolls the "d." I can't pronounce it properly, so he patiently repeats it with me several times. His broad smile returns.

Ali is old. As a youth, he ran away from home to escape school, only to be conscripted into the army by the British. He fought the Japanese in India in World War II, learned English, and later became a policeman. He was also exposed to Christianity. All that was long ago. Why is he interested in Christianity now? I explained to him that he does not need to become a Christian to be well cared for here. We treat everyone, just as Christ cared for all. The Yendi church has sent non-Christians to Tamale, or even southern hospitals, for treatment that was beyond our scope. But Ali was firm. He has been studying with Johnson Ibrahim, one of the evangelists. "I must be for Christian because God is One, and Jesus is God." What an eloquent expression of faith! He was baptized the next morning. Pray that his leg will heal quickly so this delightful man can return home to share the good news about Christ with his grown children and others.

Furlough

We began our time back in the USA with an unbelievable number of doctors' and dentists' appointments, a small medical insurance struggle, and an unusual income tax problem. We are very happy to report that we are all very healthy, and we successfully navigated most of the red tape to get our insurance and income tax situations managed and simplified for the upcoming years. We were also faced with some immediate major purchasing decisions, since our laptop computer died a month before we left Yendi, and two VCRs (used for showing the Jesus film in villages) and other equipment were also dead or dying. Credit the climate, dust, erratic electrical surges and bad roads with the loss of these items. Though the concept is appealing, we had trouble convincing salespeople that "on-site" service plans are not likely to be of much use to us in northern Ghana. The new phone lines at our house are a real blessing and should protect the computer from a lot of wear and tear on the bumpy, dusty road into town.

We bought many little things that make jobs easier, like office and Bible class supplies, cooking seasonings, various screws and glues, toiletries, and other "hard to find in Ghana" items, like mosquito repellant and multivitamins for the clinic, so we should now be well supplied. Shopping has never been a favorite activity, but we found ourselves spending a lot of time at Wal-Mart. We also found that we could become a little dazed marveling at the choices in American grocery stores! Your local gas station convenience store probably has a broader selection than most "big" stores Ghana, and often at cheaper prices, too. The USA really is "the land of plenty."

We had a great vacation in the Ozarks in August. The Buffalo National River in NW Arkansas has long been our favorite place to canoe-camp, and we enjoyed a relaxing four-day trip on its cool waters. We have been on this river many times, and in hindsight it is clear that the practice of deciding what to bring along, filtering water, and being "on our own" helped prepare us for the work in Ghana. This trip was different in one major respect: our kids are now almost grown, so we no longer all fit in one canoe. It was thrilling to see Joanna and Daniel avoiding rocks and shoals in the second canoe without any help or advice - and with a tremendous amount of teamwork. The interdependence, immersion in nature and solitude of these trips has always made them a special time of family and spiritual renewal. As a cultural side note, most of our Ghanaian friends are perplexed and amused to find that solitude would be an appealing aspect of a vacation to us. It does not appeal to them, nor is it very available in this country.

While in Arkansas, we attended the International Health Care Foundation (formerly African Christian Hospitals) board meeting in Searcy, Arkansas (they sponsor the clinic in Yendi). While there we visited with friends and fellow medical missionaries Dr. Frank and Lou Ann Black and Janice Bingham. Together they held a medical campaign in Yendi during our absence. It was very encouraging to hear how well their group was received by the community and how much was accomplished during their stay. The Ghanaian clinic staff, along with Fran Thornton, worked very hard to keep the campaigners busy and productive.

Furlough is also, of course, the time for re-establishing ties and making reports about the work. We were able to visit most of our family members and close friends, although time is always too short for such things. We also visited with the elders and mission committee of our supporting congregation, which was very encouraging. We were invited almost daily to visit individuals, small groups, and congregations in the Austin area and beyond it to discuss the work the Lord is doing in Yendi. Most of these events included wonderful meals. We gained even more encouragement than weight, although both were substantial, and we have confidence the encouragement will remain long after we have shed the added pounds. While we were in the USA, everyone wanted to know how they could help. The main answer is, of course: Keep praying.

Yendi is Changing

Several things have changed since we moved to Yendi, almost two years ago. Most of them are for the better, and many make our lives easier. We DO have telephone access from our home! Occasionally, the lines are "down", and some persistence is often required to place a call across the country or across the ocean. But, when we have needed to make calls we have been able to connect within a few minutes, and we now routinely send and receive email from our home! We can even use the internet in a pinch, though surfing is not the right analogy, more like wading perhaps? The line to our house is much more stable than the ones we were using in town, so we can now receive attachments, but we still ask that you limit sending stationery, pictures and "forwards", unless you feel the item is something we specifically would appreciate getting. Please make sure you have our correct email address (benskin@westover.org).

The dirt road from Yendi to Tamale made the trip long, uncomfortable, and dangerous. It is still unpaved and rather rough, but it is constantly being graded, and it is to be paved as soon as the dry season comes. This may bring more produce and other goods to the market here eventually, and, in the meantime, it certainly will make supply runs to Tamale and the larger cities in the south much easier. After that, they are also expecting to pave the main roads through the center of Yendi. These are currently so rough that they frequently take out tires (especially those of the bicycles of our patients and staff). The new government even hopes to make the very dangerous main highway from Kumasi to Accra two lanes in each direction. This will be an expensive improvement, but it should save many lives, so we hope it will happen quickly.

Another change is that the clinic now has a Yendi-based sub-committee under the Kumasi committee, so minor decisions can be made more efficiently. Just before we left Ghana this group (which includes nurses Linda, Fran, Peter, plus Dan McVey and four other evangelists) decided to hire a driver/mechanic. We have already seen how much adding this capable man has decreased the strain on our family. Before, we were frequently asked to take seriously ill patients to the hospital, interrupting the kids' school. The driver also makes some of the late night emergency hospital runs (usually women in villages who are having trouble delivering). And, Richard rarely has to deal with maintenance on the clinic pickup, as this is now a duty of the driver!

The Reynolds are back in the 'States and no longer with the clinic, so Peter Bombande, the Ghanaian RN on the staff, has been promoted to the position of head nurse. He immediately increased the clinic working hours. Having the clinic open until 3pm is much better for the patients who come from far villages, and it also means that fewer patients arrive after hours (on our porch). The summer medical campaign included a number of students from Abilene Christian as well as three MDs and a Nurse Practitioner. This group drew large numbers of patients to the clinic. The numbers are still up, but the campaigners have gone, so Peter was very happy to see Linda return to help! On Monday Linda did wound care and saw some of the sick children, while Peter saw all the adults and the rest of the children. Together that day, they treated about 100 patients.

The campaign group increased the patient load at the clinic, but they also went out to the villages. And, rather than just teaching in villages themselves, they taught with the Ghanaian clinic staff, sharing ideas. They brought a device for testing eyes and taught the staff how to use it, too, so now people come from long distances to have their eyes checked and get glasses. We also received lab equipment in a shipment, but it came too late to be assembled while the campaigners were here, so we plan to set it up when we can be trained in its use. It will be so helpful to be able to test for malaria and intestinal parasites. We are already performing simple tests, like blood sugar, pregnancy, and basic urinalysis.

Calling on the Name of the LORD

As we mentioned earlier, the rains came late this year and the farmers (remember, this is the vast majority of the community in the North) were becoming quite concerned. As is the custom in such cases, money was raised for sacrifices to the gods. The members of the community, including Christians, are expected to contribute to the purchase of the animals for these sacrifices. Christians that refused to participate faced far less opposition (or perhaps I should say persecution) than in the past. Nonetheless, the traditional sacrifices were prepared and the rituals were performed for the town gods in Yendi. A couple of weeks passed, and still there was no rain. Finally, local churches were urged to pray for rain and, perhaps in desperation, even the local Mullah (one of the Islamic holy men we've all been hearing more about lately, but rarely like this) announced that he would pray for rain in the name of Issah, the name by which Muslims call Jesus. Almost immediately after these prayers the rains began to fall. Many crops have been harvested and the rains are still coming regularly. Some are expecting a second harvest, and the interest in studying the Bible is rising further.

World Bible School Progresses

There are now large numbers of World Bible School students in Yendi and the surrounding area, despite the fact that most of the people here have an Islamic or Traditional religious background. This summer WBS held "follow up" seminars in the South, and several of the Yendi students received invitations to attend. This came to the attention of the Muslim Principal of "Islamic Junior Secondary School #2" in Yendi, where many of the younger students attend. He called Andrews, a teacher there who is a member of the Church, into his office to express his concern: couldn't they at least send a delegation of students? Andrews was as surprised as we were at his reaction, and it has served to increase our interest in having follow-up seminars in Yendi in the coming year. Many of the other students are working people and villagers who also cannot make the long journey South where these seminars were last held.

Prayers Answered

Many of the changes mentioned on the previous page are direct answers to prayers. The telephone lines are a huge blessing. Many of the changes in the clinic have greatly reduced our stress level and enhanced our ability to give the kids the quality of education to which we were accustomed in the USA.. The road improvements will greatly improve our safety and comfort when we travel to get supplies. We thank you for keeping this work in your prayers and praise God for his bountiful answers.

Prayer Requests

• We are working again on the Primary Health Care Workers' Handbook. While we were in the USA we were able to make arrangements with a Christian printer to publish the handbook as soon as it is ready. Please pray that the writing and editing involved will continue to go as smoothly as it was going before our furlough.
• As the rains subside, the standing water will increase the already high numbers of malarial mosquitoes. Please continue to pray for the health of our family and those with whom we work.
• We are in the preliminary stages of planning a WBS follow-up campaign in Yendi. We ask that God guide the many decisions involved in that effort.
• These opportunities for the Kingdom do not go unnoticed by Satan. Please pray that the Lord will break down any barriers to the work.

In the Service of the King,
The Benskins

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