Chuck's Blog
Old Hat - Fall 2005
THE SECOND HALF OF 2005 was still so new that I found myself writing in my journal almost as often as when we first moved to Africa. We moved from the big city of Accra to just outside a very small city (Winneba)
This church was planted this summer by Christabelle, the student at PATC who has been taking care of our dogs while we're away.
Although I enjoy my work here, I did not find it easy to leave the US this last summer. I don't know if it was the family, or Ice Cream that I knew wouldn't enjoy again for a year that made me want to stay a bit longer. But what I do here is much more important,Dr. Parez visited the school in July 2005. Here, we are touring the soon to be completed PATC campus. and more rewarding than all that. School will start a month later than we expected due to the lack of electricity and water at the new school site. I'm not sure that I'll do as much teaching this term as the last, but I'm sure I'll get plenty of student interaction. Alli and I are also hoping to take classes in Twi, which is one of the local dialects. [July 30-2005]
Here Millicent Brown, representing the NewTestament Church of God, is giving PATC's computer lab 1000 pounds!'ve been fasting a bit more than I've done before. Not filling my stomach every time it wants to be filled really improves my discipline on days that I am eating. Being raised with food always available at any time of day (as I was) leads I believe to an over controlling stomach. That is, the stomach kindof dictates to the rest of the body when and how much to eat. Right now, Alli and I are eating probably 1/2 the amount of food we would eat back at our home in the US, and we are looking great! Its taught me that eating should not really be an overly enjoyable act; just like feeding our car gasoline isn't very 'fun.'
Here is a child who is learning how to use a computer!Two fasts ago, I was thinking about ways I could take better care of my body, and determined myself to work my posture into a more appropriate position. I've been working on it for 4 weeks now and am seeing some improvement. I have realized this: good posture improves my own self perception, stamina, and attitude, as well as other persons attitude towards me. My prayer is that God will help me correct the posture of every facility of my body, mind, and spirit! [September 6-2005]
WE MOVED TO WINNEBA on the 21st of September, 2005. We are very excited about the new campus, and are living among 30+ workers who are running around doing all sorts of jobs. Electricity didn't come for a few days, but water was already running, and has good pressure. We lost our camera a few weeks ago. I was hoping to be able to take pictures of all the construction, and am the only person on campus with a digital camera (old as it was). anyway, I had it for 6 years, and my dad for 3 before that. You've got to give it to Nikon, they make quality stuff! We hope to have internet in a few months, but the money will be the biggest issue. The students are already strapped down with the raised registration/tuition costs. Anyway, we'll make it. God have been so good to us!!
C
RAZY THINGS HAVE BEEN happening!! First and Best, we received internet! What a real blessing. I've been working since December on getting it here, and now we have it (although still with some issues to work out). I've also had some new jobs added, and my workload is heavy. I have to say that I do enjoy my responsibilities. I've been given the care of the Campus Maintenance & organization of the new library. I named it the Curtis Grey Library on a whim with Dr. Grey, the PATC president, was out of the country. Since he founded the school, and nothing else that I know of is in his name, I might as well.
On a Saturday two weeks ago Charles, pictured here, was working finishing what was a long week for him. I had to let the first girl we hired go, and he had to fill in the extra hours until we rehired someone. Charles was tired, so when he told me he felt sick and needed to go to the hospital, and wouldn't have doubted him, except that he looked very active. He looked too awake in fact, and couldn't help but to wonder if he drank a bit too much caffeine. Just after I gave him permission to leave early, I sat in the computer lab and heard the most horrible scream from the library. Charles, as I rushed into the library I had just exited, was running in circles, yelling profoundly, and pushing into unlucky studiers. As I attempted to calm him, he repeatedly asked why I refused to give him water. Well, needless to say, everyone assumed it was a demonic spirit. It took 8 men to carry him to the Chapel, and begin praying for him. Oddly enough, he said (sometimes yelled) he was saved, and a believer in Jesus Christ. As an hour drew by, he became calmer, and I found some students to help him to a local clinic. Well, afterwards, we learned that in childhood he had a similar attack (as i'll call it for lack of a better word) and he had since taken medication. He only stopped taking medication one year before meeting us. I still haven't any idea what his psychological condition is called, since the hospital he was referring to is an asylum in Accra where is is right now. Sadly, there are few nurses there, the rooms are locked, and doctor visits are rare.
The craziest thing that has happened, however, is our garden. Never would I expect to have one, and I anticipated even less being a part of the help force. Well, I'm only like 10 or 15% of the work force, Alli being 80%, and student volunteers being the rest. We've got a fence that is standing at half-height a nice little rock path. Now we're just planting. Our watermelons and canolopes, which were planted earliest, are coming up very fast. Best of all, Alli learned to make ice-cream without an ice-cream maker. Its very hard, so that I have to chop it up before consumption, but tastes great and is worth every second!!
This picture is a thumbnail you can click on, and then 'right-click/save image' to keep as desktop background.
C
HRISTMAS IN GHANA IS something completely different than in the U.S. Firstly, there is not the hyped celebration, dramatic sales, and non-stop Christmas music continually reminding everyone that things are different this time of year. Here, not many people will greet with the expression so overused in the states, 'Merry Christmas.' To see a set of colored lights on a home or business is so rare that is almost looks funny to see. However, no one really forgets the 'Reason for the Season.' There's no reason for people to be distracted from the real reason Christmas exists. So everyone visits the church on Christmas day for a special (sometimes long) Christmas service. We, admittedly, would rather spend the morning with friends; but we find the tradition of 'boxing day,' which is the day after Christmas to give presents, leaves Christmas day itself free to celebrate the birth of Christ.
This pic shows the front of our appartment as it looked in october.Well, I just moments ago remembered our anniversary, which is today! I thought about it last week & bought something, then forgot about it till just now. The funniest thing is, that last year, both Alli & I forgot about it until 3 days later when Sis. Grey asked us how our 2nd anniversary was. We both looked each other and laughed, because until that moment we hadn't thought about it for months. Again, that year I had bought a card for her, and brought it out 3 days late to give to her. I guess we are with each other so much of the time, and are close now, so that anniversaries aren't as important as with a couple who sees each other rarely.
In this picture is Lawerence, from Nigeria, who is one of my labworkers.This December has been a busy month for both Alli & myself. Alli had her weekly choir practices, Sunday school program to direct, a children's Christmas Pageant to practice & perform, hundreds holiday goodies to bake (for all our presents this year are sweets), my birthday to prepare for, the church band i'm creating to practice with, and the 30X50 foot garden to plant, water, weed, and maintain, along with her normal duties at school (teaching 7 classes right now, directing CIMS program, maintaining BA program transcripts, washing all our clothes by hand once a week, cooking a large meal with no microwave at least 5 times a week, etc). As for me, i'm encouraged to never be sitting while alli is working (not that i could very often) and I keep saying not having a TV is the best thing for us, because: one, it keeps us from looking forward to stopping work; two, it forces us to read when sometimes we would be tempted not to.
I just now, in the middle of writing this journal, ran to the house to get my card for Alli, along with some American Candybars I had picked up in Accra last week. I put them on her desk while she was in class, letting her find them there after. She was pleasantly surprised, while at the same time upset at me for not reminding her. Now she says I didn't tell her so I could have extra brownie points. While I would have liked those, I felt it best to let her continue to assume that I had remembered the anniversary all along. [December 21-2005]
(Three pictures up the thumbnail, after opening and then right-clicking, can be saved as a nice desktop image.)
- Chuck -
December 2, 2007, 12:01 am
Add A CommentWow, I just now, in the middle of writing this journal, ran to the house to get my card for Alli, along with some American Candybars I had picked up in Accra last week. I put them on her desk while she was in class, letting her find them there after. She was pleasantly surprised, while at the same time upset at me for not reminding her. Now she says I didn't tell her so I could have extra brownie points. While I would have liked those, I felt it best to let her continue to assume that I had remembered the anniversary all along. [December 21-2005]
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