Tamale Update

While Jim is getting the feel of how things are being done at the hospital, our search for housing continues. Some places we've seen wouldn't be too pleasant to come home to after a long day. A few other houses have been almost palatial in size, - the older ones in disrepair and the newer ones, unfinished & often quite a distance from access to town on long, narrow,dirt roads. One of these bigger places might be ideal for a couple of families to share so if any of you are interested in joining us for a shell....Good materials & workmanship in the construction of houses are a bit hard to come by but it is certainly possible as we've seen both where we are temporarily staying & at some of the residences of the religious orders.
The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa have a residence just across the road from us. Three of the sisters living there are French Canadian so it's been fun being able to use my French. Among these very resourceful women is Sr. Jacqueline who runs a wonderful little shop in town which is housed in a couple of old metal containers once used for shipping. "Collaboration With Women In Distress" (COLWOD) is a charity organization founded in 1995 to help abandoned women. "Through teaching them skills such as tie-dye, batik & sewing, COLWOD enables them to achieve economic independence as well as regain their dignity. Every purchase helps to improve a life." Sr. Jacky is trying to help me as well by inviting me to assist her there when she needs an extra hand. Now if I can only stop shopping while I work! The handbags, breadbaskets, tablecloths, napkins, dresses, etc, etc are all beautifully made in various colorful fabrics. Maybe I can finally learn how to sew too! Hand-run sewing machines are everywhere in Ghana as all sorts of items are created without the luxury of electricity. Irons are filled with heated charcoal when electricity is not an option.
Last week, Jim & I met two young American couples associated with the Lutheran Church who invited us for home-made pizza. One couple lives in Tamale in a nice house (wish we could find a similar one!) with their 18 mo. old daughter & another baby on the way. Paul is an information technologist working on computers at the Ghana Institute for Literacy and Bible Translation (GILBT). Ali is busy running a Ghanaian household & being a mom. Paul is a missionary kid (an MK) who spent most of his boyhood with his parents in Liberia. His mother was recently honored by the President of Liberia. The other couple live about 2 hrs north in a rural village but come to Tamale regularly as Nathan is a bible translator with GILBT. Sarah home-schools their three children, ages 7, 4, & 14 mo. so you can imagine how full her days are. As the men conversed & played with the children, we women set to work on making three of the most delicious pizzas I've ever tasted! Ali uses a recipe for dough & sauce which is handed down from her missionary mother-in-law in Liberia. We had every topping available from mushrooms & onions, to peppers & pineapple. And a nice Ghanaian "Star" beer to go with it!