Have you ever been so
hot that your brain turned voluntarily to stand
by mode? Here, some people blame it on global warming, others El Nino. I, Juliana, have been blaming ECG (Electric Company of Ghana)
for my daughter’s heat rash - and on my more spiritual days, praying for their
employees. First of all, it is known to all in Ghana that we are going through
energy rationing (click
here for more info on Load Shedding). But on top of it, the days we are
scheduled to have power, we more than likely just receive half current
electricity, enough to run a few fans, but no fridge. And would you believe, to
make matters worse, during a stormy night two weeks ago, lightning struck one of the light poles that
held the power lines, about half a mile from Amakom. To the nationals, it is
all a joke, waiting for ECG to come and fix it. To me, spoiled oburoni
(foreigner), it is very hard to laugh about it. And rather, I see it all as no
coincidence, but reason to call for an army of prayer warriors to intercede.
And yet, no fridge.
That are many things we can do without, out here in Amakom (2 hours from the
big city, with all the veggies and groceries), but refrigerated food is
definitely not one of them. It is amazing how fast bacteria and fungi grow in
this ‘oven temperature’ – who
needs Petri dishes? It is true that canned tuna
and vegetables and peanut butter can keep you going for a while. But after 2
weeks of this diet you start looking at the neighbor’s chickens and goats with
different eyes…And for the first time in my life I actually considered raising
chickens and goats, added to my dream of having a beautiful and happy vegetable
garden – with time, as priorities change.
Just
so you can have an idea: one of our patients that survived cholera (do you
remember Kwame?) visited us recently and brought us a goat as a gesture of
gratitude (other patients brought us chicken, but I am sorry to say I had to
give them to Angelina, our neighbor and midwife at the clinic, since our two
dogs enjoyed three of her chickens for supper!). I wished you could have seen
the joy in the eyes of those of us that enjoyed the stew made from the goat! It
was a sight to see… Andrew and I were surprised by some of the staff members
that had just feasted on it, coming down the hill behind the clinic, singing
praises to Jesus and blessings over us for sharing the goat with them. Yes,
meat is a delicacy around these ends! I even caught myself dreaming over Beef
Jerky some time ago and was very glad to receive three packages from friends
from the US
that came to visit us. The children and I shared them in fair amounts and
enjoyed every bit! It is funny to think I never even considered buying them
when we lived in the US and actually used to
despise it due to all the nitrates…
So
as we dream with cold water the Lord works all things for good of those who
love Him: working in my heart to teach me about his grace and working in Brazil to raise enough funds for a generator for the clinic. My mother, Eliana, called
me one of these days and told me it had become a burden in her heart to raise
enough money for us to have a generator. A mother thing? I asked myself, trying
to understand her heart, on the other side of the . ‘No’, she told me. ‘I just know I am supposed to do it, and I don’t dare to disobey my
Father’. So she diligently went on, after praying specifically for a list
of names, calling some businessmen and some friends. ‘I never had to ask for anything in my life. I have no idea what I am
going to say, but I know the Lord will give me the right words as I meet all
these people.’ And He did. Two weeks into this mission, she was able to
raise two-thirds of the total amount of money. It is left the one third
necessary to install it, an incredible amount of $7,000 (Would you sponsor this?). Let’s just say people
think we live where nobody wants to go. We are excited with the perspective of
being able to keep cool – our minds and our food – and to have lights as I
examine patients that come to the clinic in the middle of the night or to power
a nebulizer to an asthmatic patient in crisis. I thank my God for a mother that
knows Him as her Savior and friend. I thank my God for her obedience to His
voice. As I wait in faith for the ‘last third’, I know that somewhere out
there, someone else will hear His voice and dare to step out a very comfortable
zone and ask people to give, daring to believe in His faithfulness.
So, from power to
goats to generator… I hope I was able to give you a few colors of the picture
of living in Amakom, in a hot month of April, that tasted like canned tuna!