Africa 7

Yesterday we took a trip to Bolgatanga. It is a town about 2 hours away that has some souvenir shopping and they are famous for their handmade baskets. Charlie decided that he wanted a straw hat and went to pick one out. This picture was taken after he had already decided to buy the hat on his head. The other sellers were not quick to give up though as they continued for a few minutes to show him all the other hats that he should buy!

The next picture is one of our favorites. This is a picture of a young Ghanaian boy standing in front of the Nutrition Center (locally called Kokodu). The boy is at the Nutrition Center to help his mother take care of his younger sibling. This building is just beside the hospital and it is where malnourished children are brought so they can be properly fed and the mothers can be taught now to make more nutritious food. Koko is a popular porridge-like food that is often eaten by the young children. You can see some bowls filled with the "hospital koko" just to the side of the boy in the picture. This service provided by the hospital is amazingly effective in improving the health of the local children who have become extremely malnourished.

We had to toss in a graphic picture, but we thought you all could handle this one. Chuck just got finished removing this massive lipoma from the patient's leg. Krisy Burri helped as some of the other volunteers looked on. Lipomas are just fatty growths that are not harmful, but can become quite large. The local people seem to be very bothered by their appearance (especially when they are this large) and we are more than happy to remove them!

The last picture was taken today at church. It was our last Sunday, so we decided to go back to 2nd Baptist Church because that is where Chuck went most of the time last year. While the choir sings, some of the women often go to the front and dance along with the music. Angela and Zsila (one of the new volunteers) went to the front to dance with them. Angela is holding hands with Peace, the daughter of Judith, one of the hospital translators. Chuck also had the opportunity to pray for the offering during the service. It was a great time of worship and we are definitely going to miss the churches here in Nalerigu. Please pray for these churches and the pastors as they lead their congregations and at the same time share with people both at the hospital and in the village about Jesus Christ.