Blessings in Bosomtwe & Beyond

Wow, that was a LOT of patients

It was a super fast, and good visit of the Dunwoody UMC team here for four days of outreach. 

There were seventeen team members that did so much during their visit.  The doctors saw 839 patients (Saturday, Monday & Tuesday) which in turn kept the pharmacy overwhelmingly busy way past the closing time of the clinic each evening. The construction team members ended up working a lot of the time assisting so that the medical team could do their jobs, except for the electrical detail which assisted Michael in getting conduit and wiring in for most of the new Inpatient Care Centre.

On Sunday, we had a community service in Ankaase with all the churches meeting together.  Each had part of the s ervice, while Michael and I gave the message.  Wow, it was good.  God moved and spoke through us.  I praise God when we can be used of God.  Rebecca and Louise (pictured) had scripture readings in it - and did a great job! The service began at 11am and ended at 2pm. It was the first time for them to ever have a unified church service and afterwards they told us they would like to do it at least twice a year!  All for unity!

By 3pm we had eaten and were back to have an afternoon kid's camp in the village.  About 200 kids showed up and stayed through the rain before the team had to run to catch the boat back across to the hotel before the sun went down.  A long and good day.

Construction Progress in Amakom

Work is now well underway at the Clinic extension following the arrival of a Team from the UK at the weekend comprising of 16 members from Northern Ireland and the England including former missionaries Dorothy and Phillip Parish.

The team wasted no time in getting into action when they arrived on the site on Saturday 12th July 2008.

Having prepared and trained carefully over the past six months, the Team's expertise and enthusiasm has already been evident as they have worked side by side with thea local work Team.

The programme agreed by local man Michael Bentum and joint team leader Alex Moorehead is designed to maximize the resources of the Team for the duration of their visit and the anticipated benefit to the clinic and area is significant.

Posted by Tom Millar (one of the Northern Irish team members, click to read his blog)

Alabama team arriving today

It's a busy day here on the hillside of the beautiful meteor crater as we get ready for a joint team from St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Birmingham,AL, USA and First United Methodist Church in Sylacauga, AL, USA led by Father Stephen McWhorter. They left yesterday morning and are arriving in Accra, Ghana about 15 minutes from now (as I write this at (9:15am). Steve Buchele will be meeting them at the airport and bringing them up to Abono, where they all will stay at Lake Bosomtwe Paradise Resort. Steve will be fascilitating their orientation this afternoon and evening, then the group will be coming across by boat to Amakom to meet the clinic staff, begin working, and celebrate Lucas' 6th birthday.

The group will be involved in many aspects of work at the clinic. Church on Sunday will be at the 'Methodist society' in Dompa, with afternoon activities in Amakom. Monday is a work day on the clinic campus, Tuesday will start with greeting chiefs and elders in Amakom and Atafram, Wednesday will be a day of travel to Adamwaase to tour a Kente cloth weaving village, on to an Adinkra cloth village, then a wood carving village outing. Thursday and Friday are work days on the clinic campus, and Saturday they return to Accra to fly out early Sunday morning (June 1).

We are so blessed to have this group return again this year, with some of the same team members from the Feb. 2007 trip, and a few new team members.

Short Term Doctor Appointment

Lake Bosomtwe Methodist Clinic, where we service in Amakom on Lake Bosomtwe in the Ashanti region is in need of a doctor for 6 months while our family is on homeland assignment/furlough from October 25, 2007 to April 25, 2008.

We are grateful that this need has been emailed out to hundreds of docs in the UK this past week through the Christian Medical Fellowship and posted on their site HealthServe. Today we got news that it will be posted on the Christian Medical & Dental Association website as well on there 'Where to Serve' listings.

Are you a doctor that would like to come to a remote and rustic setting for tropical medicine exposure?  Email for more information. It is a volunteer, unpaid appointment. Excellent housing is provided, internet access on-site.

DVD in the works

Joshua MacLeod of Watermelon Ministries arrived in Amakom for a week of shooting footage for a DVD of what's happening in our villages.  We hope it will be of benefit to those who are supporting the work of our family serving here  and giving God glory of His work through His servants.

We are blessed by Joshua coming, and it's an act of love.  If you would be able to help Watermelon Ministries as they have incurred substancial expense and have not asked us for assistance, click here.

Bosomtwe Beach

What? Is there beach? When Margaret, Amy, Davis, Ryan and Chip invited Ju and myself to go to Lake Point Guesthouse for dinner and a night there with them and told us of a beach I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. They talked of landscaped gardens and the nicest place they have stayed in Ghana.

It was about an hour drive from our side of Lake Bosomtwe, from the village of Amakom (our home town here) to Obo where Lake Point Guesthouse is located (click for a map). 

The dinner was great, but the highlight of our time with this gang was after dark, on the BEACH (sandy and clean) we sat under the stars and sang worship songs to our Father. Ryan and Davis played acoustic guitar and led us in singing, frogs gave a bit of rhythm and after a while rain came, lights went out in the villages around the lake and...18 seconds we could see the lights come on at the clinic and staff housing where Lucas and Luiza, Kirk, Emily, and Denise (med school student interns) and Sara and friends (European volunteers) were all sleeping with ceiling fans and lights from the new generator.  I bright light on the hill, a lighthouse, a beacon of hope for all to come to in a time of need. Back to the worship, in the rain, in the wind, on the beach, so great and words to describe it don't come easily since it was the 'icing on the cake' as Ju put it when we walked back through the landscaped gardens to our chalet rooms. Thank you Father God for the family of believers that walks with us in this life together.

A Taste of the South

Today we got the joys of a Land Cruiser load of visitors from Mississippi and Georgia bringing smiles, gifts, food and fun into our life for the day. It was Margaret Buell (missionary based in Accra) and Amy Rambo (teacher in Accra), Ryan Kennedy and Davis Webb from First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, and Chip Jackson (missionary in Accra) and almost Tatum Downs (had to go to the US unexpectedly).

They got here and immediately started cooking a feast of a meal - Southern Fried Chicken, fried okra, fresh sliced tomatoes, mashed potatoes and biscuits, oh so good! So much better than good! Great!

What a group of God-lovers! They were a blessing to have here.  Lucas and Luiza just were overwhelmed with books being read to them, playing cars, lego, running around outside, watching a new DVD, and more.

The purpose of their visit was to give us hug, make us smile and bless us. Wow, it was successful. It was a visit from the Lord. They invited us to go tomorrow night with them to the guest house where they are staying for dinner and a night away - on them too.                                                                Pictured: Chip, Luiza and Lucas

Davis took amazing pictures the whole day and downloaded them to our computer so that we could have them, so I've posted a few of them here for you to see some recent shots.

  Pictured: The patient ward being rebuilt.

It's when we have visitors that we can often see the beauty around us, and stop and see that progress is taking place. When you are in the middle of it you face the daily decisions, the hiccups, and the re-do's that you often do not see all that is going on that is so good.

Pictured:Lucas is leading them on a tour up to the house we currently live in, which will become intern/guest housing this fall.

Pictured: The former 3 bedroom 'guesthouse' that is to be our family home being rebuilt.

In the afternoon they broke out a box of gifts that included a huge box of sidewalk chalk (that they made great street art with that day!), Beef Jerky for Ju especially, a bag of Pistachios for me to share, a new DVD movie (rare treat), potato chips from the US, cars from the movie Cars for Lucas, Shells and Cheese and Mac & Cheese, and for Luiza a princess dress up outfit that she was so pleased with (pictured).

Work Groups 2008

It takes roughly a year to adequately prepare for a work visit to Ghana. We are one year away now from our scheduled work teams for the 2008 calendar, including friends from Brazil, England, Northern Ireland, Alabama, Georgia, and New York.

December 2007 - February 2008 - Physician from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

May 2008 - Team from Sylacauga, Alabama, USA

July 2008 - Team from Atlanta, Georgia, USA

July 2008 - Team from England and Northern Ireland

We have reached our limit for teams for this coming year, yet it's not too early to begin planning for 2009.

June 2009 - Work Team from South Bend, Indiana, USA

                                           Pictured: Local ladies praying for the work of the clinic this past month.

Two more teams can apply to come in 2009, as we plan on hosting a total of 3 teams in 2009 (two of those during the summer months). Each team member needs to contact us as soon as you are aware that you will be coming so that we can email you important information. Physicians and nurses need to apply for a temporary license to practice at least 6 months prior to arrival.  A tool for raising funds is creating a FirstGiving page, click here for info.

Group from The Mission Society Visit

We will be hosting Kirk Sims, Jim Ramsey, Claire Mozley, The Jackson Family in Ghana  and Margaret Buell in Amakom as they come to see us and experience the work in Amakom and surrounding villages.  They arrive on May 2nd for lunch, and leave after breakfast to continue on to visit other work sites of The Mission Society in the Ashanti and Upper West regions.

During this week we also are hosting Eliana Araujo from Belo Horizonte, Brazil (Juliana''s mother) as well as three volunteers from Europe.

Would you like to come work for a year or two in Ghana with us?

Sara from Switzerland

It's wild what God is doing in the villages around the lake. Two days ago, an adventurous 20 year old Swiss volunteer decided that she would begin efforts of serving with us for a week or two.  Today, she asked if next week she could bring two guys (one from Belgium, one from Denmark) to paint and clean!  Wow!  It's in good timing and what a servant heart! Sara is in Ghana in HIV/AIDS awareness and education work. She hopes to do presentations in some of our villages as well.

Pictured: A scorpion, about the size of a small lobster or really big crawfish, we have been killing them quite often in our 'yard'. The sting can kill a child!

Visitors from Prague

Today, Easter Sunday, we will receive Mathias and Carrie Schwender in Kumasi and take them to Amakom to visit and see the work of the ministry of Lake Bosomtwe Methodist Clinic.  Carrie is in the midst of a Masters degree programme in International Public Health.  They currently live in Prague, Czech Republic. 

Pray for their safe journeys in Ghana and that God will guide their steps and give us wisdom as we host them in Amakom.  We do hope that we have water and electricity while they are with us.

Atlanta Advance Team Notes

Some of you were probably wondering how the visit went with the group that the Jackson's hosted in Amakom with us last week.  They brought Dick, Bob and Michael from Atlanta (Dunwoody UMC) and we were able to explore the villages surrounding us, visit the hotel across the lake to work out the details of their team staying there next year and much more.

It was a good visit.  As Bob wrote, "I Thought I was getting too old to have another life changing experience. Evidently God did not. It was my pleasure to meet the Jernigan family." It was our joy to host them.

They are planning on bringing a group of about 30-40 people in the summer of 2008 for a construction project, VBS, and for remote village medical outreach.   Their hope is to work on the building of a 'team/guest house'.   Funding for this has not come in as of yet and it part of the vision of Project 611, would you consider helping?  If so, send to The Mission Society: Project 611, designate 'Team/Guest House'

We anticipate that a group from England and Northern Ireland will also be able to participate in the contruction of this building, pray for the funds, the right people, the effective design, and wise use of this building.  If God is calling you to come and build, whether for two weeks or 6 months - pray about it and write us.  Is hospitality your calling in life?  You could be the guest house/team house manager to minister in serving with the interns, teams, and guests that come through our village in ministry, email Richard at The Mission Society for more information.

Thoughts from a Visitor

Enjoy pictures and thoughts from a recent ministry visit by a friend that stayed with us for ten days in Amakom.  Click here for Lake Bosomtwi Medical Clinic Mission Trip, part 1 by Steve Buchele

Continued, view additional writings and photos at: Part II (click to read more)

Med Students in Partnership with Lake Clinic

Today we received a phone call confirming that we will receive medical school students from the University of Tennesee in Memphis from May 28th to July 9th in Amakom at the Lake Bosumtwe Methodist Clinic doing work projects, seeing patients, and providing project support.

Pray for Emily, Kirk and Denise as they plan, prepare and raise funds for their prospective, high-impact work trip.

Dunwoody, Georgia USA team in April

In partnership with Charlie and Mary Kay Jackson, colleagues serving here in Ghana with us, we will be hosting them and an advance team from Dunwoody UMC (Atlanta, GA, USA) in April for a few days to explore mutual ministry opportunites for the future.

(pictured: the crowd waiting at the clinic, a market developed quickly as the numbers increased)

Pray for their safe travel and wisdom as they visit the Lake district and discover ministry possibilities in our area and work with us for a time.

Read the latest newsletter from the Jacksons, click here

A Week of Love at the Lake

Today the team visiting from Sylacauga, Alabama that had a powerful impact on hundreds of people in the villages on Lake Bosomtwi returns to America. The children that gathered around them because they showed them love will miss them.  The mothers that were given medicine for their sick babies have hope, the ones that they prayed for were blessed, and many hundreds heard the message of hope during their visit.

We will miss them greatly.  A special thanks to the many people that helped make their ministry here possible, who have prayed during their time here, and enjoy their pictures and the stories of their experiences if you live near them.

Football Tournament with Unexpected Fighting

Our visiting team from Sylacauga First United Methodist Church (Alabama) along with local coordinators put on a 12 village football tournament (soccer) that was so well received and hundreds of people showed up for the exciting event. The crowd was really into it and in the last game of the day the two villages that were playing have been at odds with each other for a number of years. As can be expected with football games around the world, fighting broke out, again and again. At some point hundreds of fans hit the field to join in the fighting and the game was called. There were no known serious injuries. It was a tense time since some were clubbing others, other running after others people with machetes/cutlasses.  None of our visiting team members were at this final game of the day.   

Later that evening the two event coordinators fromt the local leagues decided that the event would be suspended until a later date.

Football around the world is often a setting where rival teams and their fans vent their anger toward each other.  Our instance this weekend is just a reflection of the need for Jesus in their lives.

On Tuesday (5pm GMT, 11am CST) the chiefs of the two villages, elders, assemblymen and church leaders (Catholic, Methodist, Church of Pentecost, Apostolic Church) will meet to discuss the need and steps toward peace and reconciliation in the villages of Amakom and Agyemem.  Pray for these leaders and the people of these two towns, that they will be drawn to God and together, stand with us for transformation of the hearts, lives and economy of our area.

Due to the great time some of these remote village teams had, we look forward to the tournament either resuming or taking a new shape in the near future. 

Team Arriving Today

I'm in Accra enjoying internet access, and in one hour a group arrives from America (Sylacauga, Alabama, USA), so the excitement is building. 

Today we will make the drive up to our home in Amakom and begin a busy week there. After their departure we will have a couple of days in Accra and can update our site with pictures and more from their visit.  Great news too is that Margaret Buell is with us this week taking footage/filming for a short video/dvd for the team to show two weeks after they get back, and another for us to share with friends.

Pray for us this week as village life will be invaded by foreigners :)   Pray for the health of the group, safety, and joy in these hot and long days of work and visiting.

So grateful for your prayers!   Andrew and Juliana, Lucas & Luiza Jernigan

Put Your Boots On

  With a team arriving in two weeks we will be kicking it up with potentially hundreds of patients coming, medicines we normally don't have and the care and love of a visiting work team.

In April we will have a close friend, pathologist/MD from Brazil, visiting and working with us.

During the summer we could have a 3-6 month intern, and three medical school students for a few weeks, and other interns possibly.

We ask for your prayers as we host these laborers in the harvest.  We need folks to join us for 1 year, or more as co-workers.  It's great to be a missionary with The Mission Society.  We don't get a chance to say that often, so I say it now.  Come join us!

Group to Visit in February 07

It's with great anticipation that we await a group for a mission awareness trip to visit from Alabama in February 2007! 

If you would like more information and a brochure on this trip contact:

Pastor Stephen McWhorter

(256) 249-0362

Irish Medical School Student to Visit

A Family Legacy Visited :: August 27 - 30

Rachael Dumigan, a medical student at St. George's Medical School in London, UK, will arrive in Kumasi on the afternoon of the 27th of August to spend the week visiting the clinic in Amakom.  We are priviledged to host this mission-minded Christian from Ireland whose aunt served as missionary of the Methodist Church of Great Britain many years ago at the Lake Bosumtwe Methodist Clinic in Amakom where God has called our family to serve.

She has been working at the Ho Hospital, a governement hospital in the Volta region for a few weeks, and before traveling back to London for a new year of medical school she would like to visit the mission clinic that her family was instrumental in building.

Her home church in Ireland, family members and friends have sent a contribution to provide new mattresses and other needed items at the clinic.  It's caring people around the world that will make the clinic a vibrant facility once again.  We hope that over the next year we will be able to get running water, new roofs, and much needed equipment.  We never realized when we commited to move to Ghana that we would be doing so much development work and the more we learn about life here.. the more we realize that this is the love of Jesus. Providing a cup of cold water, healing a wound, providing medicine; these acts are done to Jesus when we do it here at the Lake Bosumtwe clinic.