We woke up to a gentle rain this morning which is not the norm for this time of year. Let me be quick to say I’m not complaining; rain around here is always a good thing. We were scheduled to visit the congregation at Salankuka located east of Yendi on the other side of the Oti River. I called Timothy and we decided to call to see if the area we were traveling to was having heavy rain. Brother Emmanuel, one of the church leaders, told Timothy for us to come as planned so we did. I ended up taking the good red pickup because the old van and the green pickup have to be repaired. I told Timothy we would come pick him up so he didn’t have to ride the motorcycle in the rain.
When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised that the Church had rebuilt a smaller building from the parts of the building that had collapsed a year ago because they had made the building too wide and the weight of the roof caused the walls to push out destroying structure.
There was plenty of time for us to visit the chief before services started. His house was a stone’s throw from the building. While we were waiting on the chief Kandie spied a lady in the compound carrying a head pan of an unusual content. We found out they were shucked freshwater oysters that the ladies collect from the Oti River when the water level is low. We’ve lived here 23 years but never seen these oysters. Kandie bought two bowls of the oysters and shared them with Timothy . The women told us they boil the oysters in water so they can crack them open with their bare hands. Like most food items here the oysters were smoked to make them last longer. We are going to try them this week.
Brother Emmanuel taught the bible class and I used 2 Peter 1:5-7 for my lesson base.( virtue, knowledge, temperance…) We met in the church building which was packed with people. We were lucky the cloud cover helped to keep the room tolerable.
After services we discussed the congregation’s plan for their building. With the rainy season coming on we wanted to help the church to get the outside of the building plastered so the mud ball walls will not be weaken. We matched the congregation’s work with some cement and the purchasing of the two metal doors and 3 windows. They were very happy with the arrangement.
One of the church leader’s half brother was brought to us with a problem. The man had been in an accident; the right upper arm was broken. This happened 1 year ago. He went to a traditional bone setter after he couldn’t pay for the surgery that was required to fix the arm. The arm is still broken and you can see the bones move in the upper arm. He claims it doesn’t hurt but he has very limited use of the arm. He had half of the money required to do the surgery so we matched his funds with the stipulation that we wouldn’t be able to help anymore. He was pleased and said his family will help with food and transportation.
Since I took the newer pickup with a cap on the bed I couldn’t carry a church bench so when I presented the usual gifts to the congregation I gave them money to purchase a bench.
That wraps up our day. Thanks so much for your financial aid so we can help the congregations and individuals. May God bless!
In His service,
Stephen and Kandie Taylor
