A bit Ghanain

Monday 24th January

Before breakfast we went over to the Head Office for morning prayers which were being led by one of the catechists. She wasn't supposed to be leading it but the person on the rota had not turned up. Carol said it made her feel very much at home - just like 121 on a Monday morning!

We were welcomed by the Clerk to the Assembly and both Iain and Carol spoke to the staff. Then after a breakfast of corn-flakes with evaporated milk, followed by sausage, beans and toast, we set off in the car for Peki, visiting a poultry farm on the way to collect eggs for our hotel's restaurant.

Before Iain left for Ghana he had received a message from a colleague asking him to look out for someone he knew in Ghana- a Rev. Gabriel Akoli. We both thought this would be an unlikely scenario. However, arriving in Peki we were introduced to none other than the Rev. Gabriel Akoli, who had been a Faithshare Partner in Perth Presbytery in the year 2000. He is now Presbytery Moderator of Western Presbytery as well as being the national director for Prison Ministries. We recorded an interesting conversation with him on this work.

He then showed us around the area, which included the first EP Church (the old building no longer used as such) and the newer church nearby, as well as a missionary graveyard and the 'Shepherd Centre for the Ageing.' This is the main centre for a network of 78 branches of this programme which supports elderly people in the community. The programme was established by our host- and now friend- Rev. Dr. Seth Agidi. The service offered reflects much of what is provided by Crossreach in its day-care centres. 

This is how meetings should be held ...Peki EP Seminary

We also visited the nearby seminary, walking to it through blistering midday heat, and meeting some interesting characters on the way. It has been a very hot and humid day altogether. The meeting with the Principal and staff of the seminary was interesting not least because the Principal's first name was McWilson. No Scottish influence there then. It was a beautiful place but what caught our eye most of all was the sign which read:

KNOW

WHO YOU ARE

WHERE YOU YOU ARE

AND

WHY YOU'RE HERE

That has actually been a bit of a struggle for us, especially in the first part of this trip where we have been in a different location each day, never sure of what day of the week it was - although we have always known why we are here.

The plan had been to return for lunch about 1pm but it was, in fact well after 3.30pm before we were tucking into a large plate of rice with peanut soup, which included green chilli, okra and garden eggs (a kind of small squash) and fresh pineapple.

We had a short break before our next trip which was to visit another large congregation (ELORM CHURCH)  in Ho. When we arrived in the car park we could hear the strains of a lively band of young musicians playing trumpets, trombones and drums under a tree. Perhaps it was the BB band ... but not as we know it. In fact, the level of musicianship was excellent and not surprisingly exuberant.

We were introduced to Rev Obed Klu, a parish minister brought out of retirement to help lead this large congregation of 1800 members, with the help of a second minister and a catechist. Rev Klu had once been the Principal at the seminary in Peki, as had Dr. Seth Agidi, but perhaps even more interesting was the fact that as well as being a practising minister Rev Klu is a registered traditional herbalist. Carol asked to see some of his medicines and he brought in some samples of herbal potions and a bag of dried herbs. She also asked him a few searching (perhaps even sceptical) questions.

The main reason for our visit however [i.e. WHY WE WERE HERE] was to hear one of the church's eleven choirs! This choir, usually responsible for leading the singing of more traditional hymns, is called 'The Great Choir' and to be honest it sounded pretty good, if not great - even when Iain taught them how to sing the Peruvian Gloria.

So we know where we are tonight - because we are staying in the same place as last night -and we know why we are here, but we are not so sure of who we are any more. We think we have become a bit Ghanaian.