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Journal of Steve Raber & Neils Berzanskis Mission-3 Trip to Ghana Aug. 23 - 30, 2006

• Recap of our August 2006 trip to Ghana -- Steve Raber
  After leaving Atlanta on Wednesday, August 23^rd, flying through Detroit and Amsterdam and arriving in Accra at 7:30 p.m. August 24^th, Neils Berzanskis, our project engineer, and I were little prepared to drive the next seven hours to Father Simon’s house in Bibiani.  Thank God Father Simon was.   As we alternately sped along interstate quality highways punctuated by long stretches of pot-holed, dirt road, it was a stark reminder that we weren’t in Kansas (or Johns Creek for that matter) any more.   Between bouncing around in Father’s SUV and racing upon broken down semi-trucks left in the middle of the road, all in pitch darkness, we stayed wide-eyed and white-knuckled even after 24 hours of flying.   That said and by the grace of God, we did arrive safely at Father Simon’s house at 2:30 a.m.   A quick shower and pillow have never felt so good.
  
  The next morning we slept in but still made it to the Bishop’s office early to discuss our return, what we hoped to accomplish on this trip and the progress they had made since our last visit.  The Bishop was very happy to see us and remains an ardent supporter of the St. Joseph Regional High School and Clap for Jesus.  We presented the Bishop with a beautiful altar crucifix which we asked him to hold in safe keeping until the first mass could be said at St. Joseph High School.  We wanted to make sure that all of us are reminded that this project is under the watchful eye of Jesus and that we need to have all the actions and workings with each other guided by His holy light.    We went from the Bishop’s office out to the site which has been cleared.   Of the 125 acre parcel the Diocese owns, approximately 25 acres has been cleared as the site for St. Josephs.   In as few words as possible:   IT IS A BEAUTIFUL SETTING FOR A CHURCH AND HIGH SCHOOL !    The land is relatively flat with a gentle rise from front to back of approximately 100 feet.  The view, especially from where the new church is to be sited, is tremendous.    It was an awesome feeling to know that we are at the beginnings of such an extraordinary project.   I felt blessed to be there.
  
  Working with our local project manager, the local engineer and designer, Niels came to the conclusion the site had been cleared on a bias that was 25 degrees off a true east-west axis.   As Niels had originally designed the layout for the campus, all of the student buildings were on an exact east-west orientation. With so much land available for our use, you might ask why it would matter, but with Ghana being only 7 degrees north of the equator and in a tropical forest you quickly come to realize that these un-air conditioned school buildings can ill afford to have the brunt of the sun beating down on them.  Niels came to the rescue; reworking the plans, rearranging the buildings to fit the site as cleared and restoring the buildings to an east-west axis.   Under his leadership, we spent the next three days staking out the Phase I and Phase II buildings and the road that will circumference the school.
  
  On Monday we met with the contractors at the Bishop’s office where our local project manager, Mr. Mensah, led a session outlining the project and the awarding of contracts, which were signed by them and Father Simon.   Given the size of the project we will actually use six individual contractors for each of the six buildings in Phase I.   In this phase we are building a large classroom building, an assembly/dining hall and four bungalows which will serve as our initial dormitories at a cost of approximately $600,000.00, including site preparation, electrical and water/sewerage.  After the business portion of the meeting, we adjourned to the site with the contractors, bishop and Father Simon in tow.  
  
  Niels led them all over the property with explanations, directions and expectations.   It was extremely well received and you could sense the pride in each of the contractors for having been selected to participate in such a worthy project.   Some of their children will attend the new school and it was apparent they have a desire to build something they all can be proud of at the fairest possible price.  Additionally, Father Simon spoke to the contractors about making sure they did everything with the highest integrity and using local labor as often as possible; to both involve the local villagers but also to have some economic gain fall to those whose farms have been displaced by the school.   Again, I felt blessed to be there.
  
  After four very full and rewarding days, we started our trip back to Atlanta.  We visited some friends of Father Simon at the seminary in Cape Coast, Ghana and then made our way back to Accra, the capital of Ghana.   In the evening we had a wonderful dinner with friends who are Methodist missionaries, based in Accra, who offered their resources in getting our school built.   The next day Father Simon took us to the primary port in Ghana where it was very interesting to see the hustle and bustle and then a brief shopping trip in the markets of downtown Accra.    We caught our flights to Amsterdam and then home to Atlanta without a hitch.   
  
  Upon my return, I was immediately reminded of how rich a country we live in, what incredible material wealth we possess, the absolute freedom we have to go where we want, when we want; the relative ease that we can get anything we want or need; from tap water, to medical care, to food on our table.   I was also reminded of the beautiful people of Ghana who have such a ready smile, a warm greeting and a deep appreciation for God’s blessings.   I think we might be able to learn something from them as we help them become better educated themselves.                             
   

• Mon. August 28th - Recap of phone call with Steve, Niels and Fr. Simon today-- I talked to Fr. Simon today and he is fired up. I asked him how things were going and he said "fantastic." You can tell that he is really excited and pleased not only with our financial contributions but also the personal assistance.

  The team finished all the re-staking yesterday and it looks great. But it has been a lot of work. Niels and Steve have left Fr. Simon's by 6:00 AM daily and return between 4-5 PM. Niels said that all of phase one and two as well as the roads are staked out. Today, they met with the contractors. We have 6 different contractors and they all understand the project and our expectations. The bishop even said that the US people demand precision and accounting of all dollars spent. Steve Raber said that he was pleased that the bishop emphasized that. The contractors stated that this was a big project even for the government. They said that they were impressed that we had the future building identified and place on the grid.

  The building site have been officially turned over to the contractors. Most of them need a mobilization fee that amount to about $80,000. We hope to get that in the first couple weeks that Fr. Simon is here. (You can send money in early to help the cause!) Niels and Steve created a reporting form for the contractors that show progress and expenses. Payment will be made on completion of project.

  Everything is proceeding according to the plan in "Ghana time". As Steve says, "that's just how they do things here." It seems like once we understand that, meetings start when they start, maybe an hour or two late, for example, everything goes well. We just have to put that into our schedules.

  Tomorrow they finish the reporting forms, have last minute meeting with the project manager and local engineer and then drive tomorrow night to Accra for the flight out Wednesday. They will be home in Atlanta Thursday afternoon.
  
  God bless you all for your support. We will have a follow up email to share the final comments of the trip and plan for the mass and other activities schedule.

  Sun. August 27th -- Recap of phone call with Steve Raber today -- Overall, the trip has been fantastic and God inspired.  The weather is pleasant, 80 degrees with low humidity. This is different from Steve’s previous trip in that it's been full from 6 am to 4 pm each day and for the days to come.  They did not even make it to church today because they needed to work the site.  Steve said Niels has been a God Send and so key on this trip because the whole property needed to be re-sited due to the equatorial nature of sun to the site (More on that).  We are richly blessed to have Niels.

  Niels and Steve arrived at the Accra airport to the welcoming greetings of Father Simon, Edem and James.  Edem and James were in Accra on other business but took the time to see our guys.  So Father Simon alone, drove Steve and Niels directly back for 7 hours arriving at 2:30 in the morning.

  FRIDAY: Their first meeting Friday was with the Bishop where they presented the Alter Cross.  They thought it was beautiful!  Everyone was very excited and agreed it would help serve to remind all that it was Jesus who is making this project possible.  It will remain with the Bishop until the first mass at St. Joseph's.

  They went out to the school property with the local engineers, Frank and gang.  Steve is wowed with how the property looks now with the 25 acres cleared. Even from the road the gentle slope up the drive it is impressive.  The land drains great as was obvious as they walked it.  Niels very quickly came to the realization that the original "siting" of the building was not right.  Evidently the school was sited on a NW/SE axis and because Ghana is so equatorial it needed to be E/W.  Niels' mission was clear and crucial, he would have to re-site everything to this new orientation on the Pear shaped clearing and do it now.  So they went back to the Bishops place and shared the news over lunch. With experienced use of the UPS, the Pythagorean theorem, several 300' tape measures etc, he immediately set about re-plotting and then staking everything on the property now with an E-W orientation. It took the rest of the day Saturday and all day Sunday (up at 5:30 am to leave at 6 to get to the property by 7 am) to complete the feat. 

  Phase 1 is fully staked with the classroom buildings, assembly hall, 4 bungalows. The church (the center spot of the property) will be eventually built at the highest point and the view from there is God inspired. Very Spectacular. While they were reviewing the day over dinner tonight, the electricity went out in the whole town. They of course immediately went outside. Steve said God sent them another incredible moment of awe as the night sky was so resplendent in stars.

  MONDAY: They will be up early again to meet the selected contractors at the Bishop's business office from 7-10 am. Steve suspects he will be stern as he sets our expectations of being accountable and frugal, as well as the getting everyone on board with Niels' expectations. At 10 am they will head over to the site and review each contractor's responsibility.

  TUESDAY: They will finish up last minute work, say their goodbyes and make their way to Accra.  They will fly out on Wednesday and arrive here Thursday PM.  This will probably be the only update until they arrive back.

  To sum up the trip, it has exceeded their expectations, Niels is a hero, the school property is spectacular, the people of have been great to work with and God is an awesome God.

  Sat. August 26th --Not much to report today. Our travelers made it to Bibiani on Friday but after a long flight and long drive from Accra, Friday was a down day.  Today, Saturday was set aside to peg the site by Neils with support from Steve. We are not sure how much there is left to do on Sunday from the "engineering" side, but much time on Sunday will be spent in Church with the parishioners.
   

• Fri. August 25th -- Steve Raber, from the Executive Steering Committee of Clap for Jesus .org and Neils Berzanskis, our volunteer Georgia Tech Engineer have just landed in Ghana and will be working the detailed plans for the new high school during the next few days. This weekend will be land pegging at the site with meetings with the contractors and other officials later next week. The team will depart back to the United States on Wed 8/30. More details will be posted to the website on a regular basis.
  
  Plus some other great news, Father Simon will be coming to Atlanta. He will be traveling back with Steve and Neils on August 30th arriving in Atlanta on Thur. 8/31 for a two month stay. Besides seeing all his old friends he will be raising money for the construction of St. Joseph's High School. There will be several events, parties and masses that you can see him or contribute to the cause. We would like to have two volunteers for every mass, each person taking 2-3 masses. We have about 6 churches committed.  Unfortunately, some are still tying down their weekends. As soon as we have this information we will solicit your help in covering these Masses.
   

• Wed. Aug. 23rd -  Niels and Steve left today. We will try to contact them each day, but with our team on the move, and the time difference, it may be difficult.  They land tomorrow night and then drive 6 more hours To Bibiani so the next report won’t be until Friday.
   

• All, as you know, Steve Raber, Steve O'Brien, Tom Clements and Niels Berzanskis visited Ghana for the 2nd Mission trip this past February.  Well Niels Berzanskis (Civil Engineer) and Steve Raber will return to Ghana mid August to help lay out the site.  That decision has just been made.