Last day in Abrewenko

VERY FULL BUS!!

Friday night's celebration dinner with the people of Abrewenko

Our Ghana mission team

Pastor David standing next to the beach
on the "other side" of the Atlantic!

On Friday we had our last  day with our mission partners and it was a true celebration! After a miscue with the lumber folks, the pastor from the Bompata church, Osofo Kofi, helped us out by getting wood from another supplier. We drove through Dampong, like we always did, but this time there were hoards of people waiting to join us on the last day. Our bus has 28 seat belts but we carried 34 IN the bus and 2 on top all the way to Abrewenko. For those that don't know, the road is bumpy, treacherous (many trenches in the road the driver has to avoid) and very narrow. If I (David) would stand in the middle of the road I would be able to touch vegetation on both sides. 

Once we arrived we saw the tremendous progress the folks had made while we were gone on Thursday. The brick had all been laid and mortared and they were waiting for wood. Unfortunately, we could not begin the framing of the roof because the mortar needed to dry in the sun and it would take a few days. We did help move some cement bricks but that was about it for manual labor. Half of the group took the children into the church building and worked with them on drawing pictures and writing notes (as best as possible) to the children of the PCOTW congregation.  This was a rousing success. Following that we ate lunch and then shared in singing, dancing, laughing, playing soccer, and drinking/eating coconuts. It was a beautiful celebration for our last day. 

The progress on the schools was amazing throughout the week. The people thanked us very emotionally, but more important were the relationships that were built during the week. 

In the evening we had a celebration dinner with the elders and pastor of Dampong Trinity Pres Church. Sandra was our awesome cook the whole time and big props to her for the work she did on our final meal. We had roasted chicken, beef stew in red sauce, white rice, red rice, red beans and rice, yams, and to top it off-goat soup. The elders loved it and we did too....okay...well some of us did.  We finished the night in conversation about the differences of our churches as well as the similarities. 

On Saturday we got off earlier than ever, drove to Accra, and dropped off borrowed items at Collins' sister-in-law. We hit the art center for one last chance at souvenirs and capped the trip with a late lunch at a beach restaurant. We all are safely at the airport and checked in. God be with us in our journeys! 

Peace,
Your Ghana missionaries