Home safely

Praise the Lord, the team (except for Nick, of course) made it home safely yesterday. I haven't actually seen or talked to any of them yet, but I saw on facebook that they are back. :) Praise the Lord for His protection and blessings on them!
Janice

The way home...

On Saturday morning, Pastor Pavel wrote:

Our mission team shrunk by one yesterday evening. Nick flew to work in California. Praise the Lord that we were able to serve together to the end of the program. We have begun our trip home. We are leaving the village of Vane and the Avatime people, but we will not forget to pray for them. We are headed for Accra, the capitol of Ghana, where we will be till Monday.

A difficult parting

On Friday, Nick wrote:

My time in the village of Vane has come to an end. An hour from now, Chingi and I should set out by minibus and travel to Ho, then to Accra – 4 to 5 hours of travel, if we're lucky – for me to catch a flight at 22:05. I have to leave early for work. I'm flying directly to San Francisco - for another week of separation from family.

It is very hard to part with these people who have become so dear to our hearts. Over the last two and a half weeks, our team, the missionaries, and the local team of translators have become very close.
During this time, God really helped us get to know each other well, learn from each other, and encourage each other. I am very grateful to Him for all this time - it is His gift to me.

I was very happy to work with the team of translators here. There are 5 adults - Janet, Jacob, Walter, Manfred & Edward. Given that their level was zero (almost everyone's), it was a joy to see their commitment and patience. Although they are all adults, they are like children with a desire to learn something new. By the end of our time, they had all learned to type in a special program for setting biblical texts, and they even got used to some key commands.

Thanks again to those who donated laptops. Without this, it would have been impossible to teach them practical skills. And now, coming to the office, they can actually help Sasha (Alexander, the Wycliffe missionary) with editing texts that have already been translated. Some of the challenges that I had to help with demanded all of my skills. Not all of these tasks are completed yet, but I hope Sasha and I will be able to finish them soon. There is a lot of work to do to reach their goal of translating the entire New Testament by 2015. Pray that God would give Sasha, Lena, and the whole team strength in the work.

Here are some of the best videos of our trip:

The children singing in the school where we remodeled
http://qik.com/video/21236678

Fellowship at the missionaries' house (salvation testimonies)
http://qik.com/video/21235828
http://qik.com/video/21235182

The children Anya worked with

http://qik.com/video/20730136
http://qik.com/video/20729952

At the local church on Sunday
http://qik.com/video/20588684
http://qik.com/video/20589431

the waterfall and mountains
http://qik.com/video/20588112
http://qik.com/video/20588053
http://qik.com/video/20587947
http://qik.com/video/20452048

singing with drums
http://qik.com/video/20056134

Please pray for my flights throughout the week. I will return home December 11.

С Богом! (The typical Russian farewell, which literally means “with God.”

The last day of the program and the beginning of farewells

The last day of the program started early in the morning, as usual. The team went to the last village where they presented the Gospel of Mark to the people. After the program, they went to school where they finished painting. A special program of thanks was prepared by the village people there, too. There was a ribbon cutting ceremony, and Pastor Pavel prayed a prayer of dedication.

They had dinner with the translation team in the renovated office. After giving the translators the notes from the Sunday School children in Zelenograd, Anya ran off to school for her last lesson. They had a farewell meeting with the translation team after lunch. Divine, the team leader, thanked the group for their work in the office, and for the computer lessons. Nick reminded them that the most important aspect of translation is not the technical part, but their attitude towards the process. Pastor Pavel reminded them that translating the Bible into their own language should change their lives, first and foremost. Please pray for the team of translators!

Wednesday

The next to the last day of the program. The team visited the village of Beeakmu, presenting the Gospel of Mark and sharing with the people the importance of reading the Bible in their native language. Pastor Pavel also reminded everyone of how important it is to obey the Word of God after we have received it.

As a thank you, the village committee gave the team two tubs of coconuts, oranges, bananas, and plantain -- a special kind of banana that should be fried before eaten. The team now has a "rule" that each person must eat a banana for breakfast, dinner, and supper, and some other time during the day as well. :)

During the afternoon, they finished work on the office. Now they have light, outlets for the computers, and windows. Kolya taught computer skills to the translation team, and Anya taught the last lesson at school. They planned a review of the lessons for Thursday, and giving gifts to the children.

Tuesday

Pastor Pavel wrote that the day started at 5:30 and went till around midnight. He and Alex worked in the office some more, Nick taught computers to the translating team, and Anya had her lesson in school. That evening, they prepared gifts and handcrafts for the school children.

Alex writes that so much has happened in the last few days that it's difficult to process it all. But they are seeing more and more the real need of the African people is spiritual. A lot of people know a lot about God but don't know Him personally. Praise the Lord that there are ministers there who love God and His Word, but they are too few. Please pray for God to work among these people!

Don't forget that you can see pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/djemlike

Monday

On Monday morning, Pastor Pavel, Nick, & Alex worked on construction in the Bible translation office, while Anya prepared her lesson for school that afternoon. Later they went to a neighboring village to visit some poor families, pray for them, and give them gifts of humanitarian aid. The people live in great physical poverty but more importantly, they are spiritually needy. They need the Word of God and those who will teach them how to have a living relationship with Him. Please pray for these people.
That evening they had a good time of fellowship with the missionaries, sharing what God had done and is doing in their lives.

Sunday in Vane

Ten posts behind. Sorry, folks, it's time for some brief summaries! If anyone has time to fill in the details later, that's great. If not, I'm sorry.

Pastor Pavel wrote about the Sunday service in Vane. There was lots of music of different varieties and from different age groups. The offering was collected several times in containers set up at the front of the church. The people come forward with singing and dancing to give joyfully to the Lord. The team sang and introduced themselves during the service. After dinner, they had another meeting with the town leaders. They went for a walk in the evening and prepared gifts for needy families in the next village.

Sabbath in Ghana

Pastor Pavel wrote on Saturday night:

The Lord gave us a real Sabbath day of rest! In the morning, Alexander and his children took us to one of the highest mountains in the area. At the top, stands a cross put there by the Germans in 1939. We were able to survey the expanse of the height of West Africa, the riot of tropical nature, watch the clouds, and go to a garden of prayer. The second place we visited was a waterfall. It was a wonderful rest, when we went down to the waterfall and could cool down under the water and see the beauty of God's creation. After that we went to dinner at the missionaries' house, where Elena had prepared lunch for us. We played games and fellowshiped with the family in the afternoon. Once again, there was a tropical downpour, although it is not uncommon for this time of year when the dry season begins. The wind from the Sahara desert brings dust, which will be in the air throughout the following months.

Before the Sabbath

Pastor Pavel wrote on Saturday morning:

The Sabbath is here, so the week is over. The first thing I want to say is, praise God for His care for us in each day of the mission trip, for the strength He gave us, for His wisdom in the programs and meetings, for patience in teaching, and to thank God for taking care of our families and the church in Zelenograd. Thanks to everyone who has left comments and written letters to us. This is a joy and support for us.

A few words about yesterday: I went to town with Alexander and Elena to shop for gifts for the children in the school, where Anya is having classes. As you remember, we started with 35 children, and now there are 60. No one knows what next week will be like, so we are preparing gifts for 60 children. We also decided to buy paint to paint the classroom so it would be nice for the children to study there in the future. We also bought food and household things to give away (as humanitarian aid). On Monday we will visit 5 poor and large families and go into their homes to pray for them and give them this help. While at the market, I noticed that for the sellers, there were speakers set up at full volume with preaching. People were listening and responding to the preacher's questions and singing along together

At lunch we had a meeting with brother Paul, director of the organization GILBET – the Ghana institute of translating the Bible and teaching literacy. They are now working on more than 60 projects. God gave us this meeting to hear the spiritual needs of the people and churches of Ghana – the need for training leaders, discipleship, a focus on mission work with children and young people. The local team of translators (including the missionaries) attended the meeting.

That evening, with sister Janet, I met with the pastor of the local Presbyterian church, and we talked about the upcoming Sunday program in the village of Vane. Anya has already reported on the big event in Vane – the funeral. I joined the procession when they brought the coffin and drove down the street to the community center. I took pictures and put video on Qik. Everything I saw brought up dozens of questions about traditions, culture and Christianity. The people need a spiritual awakening and an enlightening of Biblical truth. These are the words of the man in the organization GILBET, who is responsible for contacts with the churches of Ghana. Throughout last night the music was playing, and there was singing and shouting. At 5 AM, it all began again with renewed vigor. The funeral is continuing, and new questions are being born. Pray for the people of Ghana!

Us

From Anya late Friday night

Just want to tell you that, praise God, we are all healthy and feeling good, just tired more than usual because of the heat. We have plenty of any kind of food, especially bananas. We have a lot of oranges, so we are making juice and “vitamizing” ourselves. We have all been bitten by mosquitoes, so please pray that we don't get malaria. We have already tried some of the national dishes. Fu-fu, incidentally, turned out to be not too bad! It reminds me of hominy, without much flavor. The locals eat it with their hands, dipping into the gravy. The sauce with meat was prepared for us from cassava (a root vegetable like yams or potatoes) and was not spicy (for them!). Alex is very tired today, so we put him to bed at 6 PM. Pastor Pavel had a lot easier making purchases in the city today than last time. He always makes breakfast for us. Nick is fine, too – just worried about his kids, who are sick back home. I also feel fine – just worried about preparations for camp (to be held in Zelenograd Jan 3-6). Tomorrow we are planning a tour day -- visiting a waterfall and other local attractions.

Christmas + Independence Day = a funeral

Saturday

Today in our village, there is a funeral. Although, to say "today" isn't quite right, because funerals are held for three days, not counting all the preparations. On Friday, the body was brought, and all the relatives and guests came. On Saturday, the body is put into the ground, and on Sunday everyone goes to church for a thanksgiving service. If someone does not come to the funeral, this may even lead to war. The body may be kept in the morgue for years, to (litterally in Russian,) “honorably escort him on his last journey.”
I have never seen such a funeral in my life. If in Russia, this is a quiet, somewhat depressing event, here it is very loud and noisy – car racing, an orchestra of trumpets and drums. There are big speakers playing recorded music in one part of the village and live music playing somewhere else. Since our house provides no sound barrier, you feel like you're inside a boom-box =) The music plays non-stop. It's no surprise that they have rhythm in their blood. It will soon penetrate our skin, too. =) People walk along the street, gathering in little groups here and there, talking, singing, eating, and selling. Periodically on the main roads of the village groups of singers and mini-orchestras go by. It is now after 10 PM, and and there is no end in sight. This has been going on since 4:00...
And in the midst of all this, the frogs croak loudly from time to time...

Toffi, Madam!

From Anya on Saturday, November 27

I still have at least 60 children in the classroom as before, and sometimes all 100. They are well disciplined, so even with so many in the classroom, it's quiet. But when we start crafts or games... =) The children sing very well, if the words are simple, and they love to dance and copy any new movements.
After the lesson, they crowd around me. They all want to touch me, taking my hand in their hands and leaning their face against my hand. They are interested in white skin. Outside, the children sometimes shout "efoone!" about us, which means "foreigner" or "white." The children try to get even a little piece of candy, which they call "toffi" here. They are willing to answer any question, even about history, to dance, carry things for you. Or they try to get it just by asking, "Toffi, Madam?"
Here, if they want something from you , they don't say, "Give me a banana." They say, “I like your bananas” (shoes, watch...), and you are supposed to guess on your own that you should give him the banana. Asking directly here is blunt. At the market, for example, if you do not want to buy what they are selling, they may say: "Buy one thing for me."
And what do you like that I have? =)