Trials on the Mission Field

In this blog I want to share some of the recent trials that we have experienced in Africa.

Americans take for granted many of the common conveniences in life like running water, and electricity. Living in a developing country can be frustrating at times. Last year, in Ghana we were on power sharing because the Akosombo dam, which supplies the country with electricity, was at record low levels. For more than six months we experienced light on for 12 hours and light off for 12hours every other day. Sometimes they would not follow the schedule and we would have lights off for longer periods. Once we were without power for more than 36 hours. It makes it difficult when the children are doing their school on dvd's. Eventually we were able to get us a generator which is necessary on the mission field.

The last three weeks we have been without running water. The government has put in new gutters down the road from our house and then they begin grating the dirt road to match the gutters. In the process they destroyed all the water lines in the area which are buried only about 6-8 inches under the ground. Water was left flowing out of broken pipes for many days, flooding the road. Even after many complaints by area residents, the workers took there time doing the work.

This created a challenge for us as we only had a small water storage tank. Our landlord brought us another tank holding 1500 gallons. This was a blessing but it was not hooked up to our house, so we had to carry water in the house by buckets. With a large family of seven, this became quite a chore every day. In the evening we would have to fill all of the toliets, and bring in water for baths. Since we had no water in the house, all the laundry had to be done by hand in buckets and hung out to dry. Though this got old after a few days it gave us a new perspective on modern day conveniences. You never really know how much a blessing something is until you don't have it.

We have also had our trials with our vehicle being repaired in Africa. Last month one of our ball joints on the van broke right out of the socket! This is not surprising when you consider the bumpy roads we have to travel on to go somewhere. We have a repairman in Accra that searched for the parts to repair our Dodge 15 passenger van. There are no Dodge dealerships in Ghana, though there are an increasing number of Dodge, Ford and Chevrolet 15 passenger vans being imported into Ghana. Because it is hard to insure them in America they are being sold and shipped around the world to be used as passenger vans. Luckily, he found three ball joints which he replaced and the fourth was broken and had to be welded together the African way. Here they just weld old parts together and make them work! Now, we have another problem - our water pump leaks. After searching we found one but the price was very high- $250, and in America it sells for about $90. It can be frustrating trying to find the right mechanic and the right parts to repair your car. Even after some experience at it, we still seem to end up with a bush job on the mechanic work. One of the men in our church joked that we now have an African car! It creaks along as we hope things will hold together.

Though there are many frustrations for an American missionary on the mission field, it is worth it all when we consider the souls that are saved and the lives that are changed by the Word of God. When we surrendered to be missionaries, we agreed to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to get the job done!