Couch David Deborah 1987 Ghana

8/12/2019 Couch David Deborah 1987 Ghana

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A F R I C A N M I S S I O N E V A N G E L I SDavid an d Debo r ah Cou c h

Fie ld Add re s sGHANA C HR I ST I AN COL L E GEB ox 57Ac c ra . Ghana

Forwarding Agent.Mr . and M rs Fred C5106 S Harmo n y RdBloomington. IN 474phone 812.825 2711

April 1987 Numb

F U R L O U G H IS O V E R

David Deborah Faith an d Jeremiah

We are back in Ghana again after a five mfurlough in the USA Much of our timespent traveling to visit oursupporters andw i t h them h o w the w o r k o f Ghana ChrCollege and Seminary is going. Traveltiring especially as a family but it ha s abeen rewarding to us . We appreciated gettknow many of you better as a result ofvisits. Jeremiah w as t ho ro ug hl y ev alu atRiley Children s Hospital in Indianapolisd o c to r s a n d specialists were encouragedp ro gr es s. T he only area of concernspeech which is about eighteen monthh in d. H ow ev er it is constantly i mp ro vi ngspent t im e l earning how to work with hhelp i m pr ov e h is l is te ni ng skills and develspeech. In addition w e w er e able to enjoyw i t h ou r f am i l i es and f ri en ds whom w e h as e e n fo r a n u m b e r of years. Faith an d Jerean d their grandparents aunts unclescousins enjoyed o n e a n o t he r s c o m p a n y dfurlough. T he y a ls o e nj oy ed sn o w sledand snowmen These were u n f a m i l i aperiences fo r them.Our d e p ar t ur e d a t e was January 10 On


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uary 9 a snowstorm hit the Midwest and O'HareAirport in Chicago closed. Our ticket wasbooked from Indianapolis to Chicago to Ams te rdam to Accra. We thought we might not getto leave as planned, but the weather cleared andth e airport reopened. The only problem thesnowstorm caused us was the delay it causedDeborah's parents and sister in driving fromOhio to Bloomington, Indiana to see us off.They arrived safely and in time.

Faith, Jeremiah, and cousins enjoy the snow.David's family, his g ran dfathe r, and

Deborah 's paren ts and sister saw us off atIndianapolis as planned. We arrived in Accra onJanuary 12 and were welcomed by friends andco-workers. It was an exp erien ce gettingthrough th e airport with eight suitcases, twofootlockers, and two children, bu t w e survived.Since classes were a lready in session when wearrived, David immediately began t each ing.Faith and Jeremiah readjusted to Ghanaquickly. It did not take any of us very long to getback into the swing of things. Though we enjoyed our furlough very much, we appreciatedgetting back to Ghana and into a settledroutine. Faith once said she was ready to goback to Ghana. When asked why, she responded, So we do no t have to travel.

COLLEGE NEWSAN ENCOURAGING VISIT: The College wasfaced with a shortage of teachers during th efirst term of the school year (mid-September toearly December). We were in th e USA on furlough Christian Adjei was studying at Cin

cinnati Christian Seminary, and the Fultonsre tu rn ed to the USA. This left Joseph NDorothy Eunson, Akua Eghagha, and ENyador to carry the teaching and adminitive load. They received help from Davidwhen he arrived on ctober25 for a one mvis it. His vis it was a great help to the Coand an encouragement to th e c hurc hevisited. The s tudent s still talk about his claCorinthians and his Seminars, and howwish he would return to Ghana to takteaching at the College again ( the Kalbsmissionaries with the College from 1971978 . Our thanks to the Greensburgh Chof Christ and to Barbara, Kofi, a nd S eth folowing David th e opportunity to come.

CHRISTIAN ADJEI completed his classrwork at Cincinnati Chris tian Seminary incember. He stayed a few weeks to get a gstart on writing his thesis and returneGhana on March 6. He is trying to finisthesis before third term classes begin at theof April. Thank you for your prayers for Ct ian a s h e s tu d ie d

LOCAL INCOME: One of our goalworking with th e College is to develop as mlocal income fo r the work as possible. Onebeing experimented with is a transportbusiness. Relatively few people in Ghanat he ir own vehicle, and most depend heavieither public or private transportation.College has entered this field to see ifit canvide a s table means of local income.business has been incorporated as I.P.D. Eprises. The initials come from the College mon i ts off ic ia l seal: ite, praedicate, docetepreach, teachhow is your Latin? . The tportation business is now in operation withmodified pickup truck. Since it has been aboperate in its full capacity only since last m(delayed because of paperwork) we cannosay exactly how much income this will proT ime will tell .The College has been looking intoareas in which money might be invested toprovide a reliable financial base in GhanaCollege budget for the next fiscal year calabout 25 of the income for dai ly operatiobe derived locally. However, this does notthe College is ready to do without supportChristians in America. Expenses havcreased as th e College has grown.students t han eve r are s tudying a t the CoSince 1985 three local Faculty and Staff mbers have been added. The developme


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Ghana Christian College and Seminary depends on the continuing support of the Lord speople in both Ameri ca and Ghana. We hopethis will develop into a partnership of supportfor a very vital ministry in Ghana.LOCAL SUPPORT: In a dd itio n to I.P.O.Enterprises, efforts to encourage localchurches to support the College are con tinu

ing. This involves more than just visitingchurches and familiarizing them with theministry of the College. One of the more frustrating problems is how to receive funds whenthe mail system is unreliable. This isespeciallya problem for those outside Accra who want tosupport th e College. As we deal with th eproblems Involved we are learning how best togo about this aspect of th e College s affairs.STUDENTS: The year started ou t with fifty-two s tudent s, b ut one was forced to d ro p o utbecause of poor health. This year s studentbody includes five women, two Nigerians, oneUgandan, and one student from th e IvoryCoas t This is m o r e s tuden t s t ha n w e h av e roomfor. O ne of the c l ass rooms w as tu rn ed into adormitory to house eight students. This led to ashortage of classrooms, but so fa r we havemade up fo r it by using the dining hall as a classro om when necessary. This is not an ideal situation. The dining hall is hot. noisy (neighborswith noisy children built a house just on theother side of the wall), and not very conduciveto learning. We lo ok fo rwar d to hav ing th e recently purchased property ready fo r next years o w e c a n a v o i d t h e s e i n c o n v e n i e n c e sWhen s eco n d term c l asses v ac at ed o n March27 t he s tudent s depar ted to spend two weeksworking with a local church of their choice in aprogram known as Practicals. They are to workwith the church as a means of gaining some exper ience and put ting into p ractic e wha t th eyhave been learning. Following a two weekEaster break, classes will resume on April 27.

A S P E C I A L A P P E A LWe are finally able to start taking possessionof t he p roper ty which was purchased l as t year.It has been such a long p ro ce ss b ec au se th etenants have faced th e difficult task of f inding

other accommodations in a city with a seriousshortage of housing. Now that some of themhave moved out we are beginning with the work

necessary to make the facilities suitablhousing students. This work includes newand bath facilities, a new sep ti c sys tekitchen/dining hall and renovation of somthe rooms. We have managed to make arraments fo r the repayment of the loan whichtaken out to purchase th e property. Howwe do not have enough funds to do all owork necessary on th e facilities to make ts uitable to o ur n ee ds . We have the folloneeds :

2,500 to complete the sep ti c sys temto i le t a n d b a t h fac i l i t i e s1 000 to build th e kitchen/dining hal1 000 to make improvements tos t u d e n t r o o m s

5,000 to renovate the rooms for threem e m b e r s

The new property.We are making this special appeal becthe need fo r these facilities is urgent. We w

like to do th e necessary work in August into be ready fo r the opening of classes intember. If you can help us with a spoffering or contribution toward one of thesprovements (any amount will be helpfugreatly appreciated), it will help p ut up facwhich will aid in th e training of ministersgospel for many, many years.

O n e r e as on w e a re s o c on c er ne d a bo uhousing is that it is very crit ical . John Daw h o s e off ic ia l t i t le is Admin is t r a t ive A s sbut who does a lo t of different jobs foCollege, has lived without his family fo r oyear. He usually visits his wife and chionce a month . Th is is not a n unu sual famiua t ion in G h a n a i a n cu l tu re b u t it is no t ide


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th e d emand s o f his w or k. W e w a n t to b e a bl e toh a v e sui table accommodat ions f or B ro . D a d z i eand his family as soo n as possible. Th e Collegea ls o hopes to hire another local teacher in July.We need to be able to provide him an d his familywith a suitable place to live suitable me a nshaving t he ir own toilets bathing facilities an dkitchens so the faculty and staff members don ot h av e to s h a r e t he m with th e students) . C a nyou help us?

PRAYER

Pra i ses :

Safety in our fu rl o ug h t rav elsD av id K al b s good visitO ur s afe arrival back in Ghan aC h r i s t i a n A d j e i s successful

s t ud i e s an d re tu rnT he numbe r of s t uden t sContinued growth and develop

ment of the College

R e q u e s t s :

Funds to do th e work on the newprope rt y

T h e d ev el op m en t of local incomefo r the College

T hi rd t er m c la sse s a n d g ra d ua ti onJ eremi ah s spe e c h development

Before you move please servo me maiiirvg laDei below along wilh a copy of your new aOOress foMISSION S E RV IC E S A SS OC IA T IO N. P .O . B o n 2427. Kiioxville TN 3790i 2427

Miss ion Serv i cesPO Box 2 4 2 7K n o xv il le , T N 37901-2427AD OnESS CORRECT ION REQUESTED

Non PfolilU S Pos

PAIDK n o x v i f l e379 1 2Permit 1


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AFRICAN MISSION EVANGELISDavid and Deborah C ouch

Fie ld A d d r e s s :GHANA CHRISTIAN COLLEGEB o x 5 7 2 2Accra Ghana

Forwarding Agent :Mr . an d Mrs. Fred C5106 S. Harmony RdBfoomington IN 474phone 812/825-2711

V olum e 4 D e c e m b e r 19 7 N u m b

E I G H T E E NG R A D U A T E S

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1987 graduates and faculty.July 18 1987 was a big day in th e history of

Ghana Christian College and Seminary.Eighteen students graduated bringing the totalnumber of graduates fo r th e colleg e to 131 intwen ty -one year s. Two of t he g raduat es received B.A. degrees. The o th er s e ach received

th e three year Diploma in Religious Educaand Pastoral Ministries. Two of the graduwere women . This is the largest class evgraduate from the College. Also in attendwere some special visitors. Richard Hostewho taught at the College from 1967 to 1presented the graduation message. Ricwas in Ghana visiting hi s son Jeff Hostetterfamily. Also present were Ron and DorisT he Rifes re turned to G h a n a for a few weecontinue their work from last year helping euate the College curr iculum and adminit i onThe graduation ceremonies began promat 2:30 p.m. The faculty graduates and spemarched in to the singing of Onward Ctian Soldiers by the congregat ion. Folloth e f or m al it ie s o f welcome a n d in t roductthere were a number of special songs by chand singing groups invited by the graduaFollowing the message by Richard Hosteth e graduates received their degreesdiplomas. Awards were then presented fo rdemic achievements. Following the recessal t he g raduate s s pent a long time with friand relatives enjoying the f ac t of having cpleted another segment of their lives.faculty went home and relaxed hacomplet ed ano ther schoo l year bu t knowanother one would begin very soon.


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L O N G V A C A T I O NO ur school year is divided a bit differently

t ha n m ost schools in the USA. Classes begin inmid-September and end in th e first week ofDecember. Following a four week break classesresume in early January. Second term classese nd at t h e e n d of March. T h e s tu d en ts s p en dtwo weeks working with a church of their choicein a program known as Practica ls. Third termclasses begin near th e end of April a nd e nd withgraduation in mid-July. What follows graduation is known as long vacation because it islonger th an th e other breaks. O ur s ch oo l y earfollows th e same pattern as th e other schoolsystems in Ghana.

Jus t b e c au s e t he s tu d e nt s a r e o n b re ak doe sno t mean th e faculty does t he sa me . T he vacation p er io ds a r e w el co me d because they bringto an e nd t he c la ss s es si on s a nd a re a c ha nge ofpace. However, they ar e not vacations from th ework of th e College. During th e vacationperiods t h er e a re classes to prepare for, administrative w or k to b e d on e a nd n u m er ou s otherresponsibilities necessary for th e College tocontinue its ministry. We wish w e c ou ld e njo ywork which a ct ua ll y a ll ow ed for four weeksvacation every thr ee months but it can n o t befound working with Ghana Christian Collegea nd S emi n ar y .

C M P U SI M P R O V E M E N T S

P o ur in g t he septic tank.A g r ea t d ea l of work has been done in recent

St u d en t s leveling over th e se ptic systemmonths on th e campus to improve th e Collefacilities. During th e long vacation workd o n e on the ro o ms at th e new property.septic system was completed an d someprovements were ma de to the dormitory rooWhen c la ss es o pe n ed S e pt e mb e r 15, all ofmale students thirty-six were housed hThey have put up with some inconveniebecause th e b ath house and k i t c h e n w erecomplete. By th e end of th e term the bath howas functioning a lt ho u gh t he roof w as noon . We ar e not able to build the kitchen/dihall ye t because of lack of funds. However tpor a r y a r r a n g e m e n ts have be e n mTemporary arrangements have also been mfo r the staff memb ers living there since wortheir quarters has n ot yet b e en c o mp l et ed

Laying th e wa//s o f th e bath house.Si x of the f or mer dor mitory ro o ms were

ver ted in to o ff ic es T h is h a s e n ab le d efaculty m e m be r t o have hi s ow n office as weproviding much needed space for adminitive work

O ne of the m o s t p r e ss i n g p r o bl e m s facingCollege no w is classroom space. Withstudents a ga in t hi s year it h as b ee n difficufind cl as s ro o ms large e nough to h old them


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We have enjoyed visitors this year. In June,Ron and Doris Rite arrived and s ta yed fo r amonth. Ron and Doris came to Ghana in 1986 tohelp v/ith reorganizing the College s curriculum and admistration. They came back toGhana this year to do more v/ork in th e sameareas. While they were here they won a ticket toLondon a t t he July 4 picnic. They were no t ableto use it so they left it with us We really enjoyvisitors like that In September we enjoyed avis it f rom Deborah s s is te r, Barbara Harris, andher aunt, Margaret Wilson They stayed with usfo r a month. This was Margaret s second visit toGhana .

Since October we have had problems withsickness. The Lord has b le ssed us with goodhealth since coming to Ghana, but the lastcouple of months have been different FirstFaith became sick with hepatitis and malaria.Then David came down with a similar s ickness .It was later determined to be a type of viruswhich has been quite prevalent in Ghana thisyear He missed teaching the last four weeks ofthe term, s o the other faculty members dividedup his classes in order to finish the term He hadimproved enough by the end of November totake a trip to London, bu t the cold weatherbrought on a relapse It took another week to recover from that. Je remia h ha s ha d problemswith malaria the l a st f ew weeks. We are thankfulthat through all of this Deborah has had goodhealth. She has had t o keep up with her regular

responsibilities and take care of a sick famWe also appreciate your prayers for usFollowing graduation in July, 1988 we wleaving Ghana. We feel it is best to spend stime in the USA especially for Jeremiah scation. We hope to spend a few months viswith our supporters to bring them up to datth e work of th e College. We do not haveplans beyond t he end of the year. Pray thawill be able to make th e mos t of our lastmon th s in Ghana .

PRAYER

Pra i se s :

Requests:

Recovery from sicknessJe remiah s speech developmeFund s rece ived fo r th e ba th h

Our health may be s trongFunds to c omple te th e dorm s

k i t chenThat we will make the mos t of

las t months in Ghana

Be O C you move please sefio in e maiiiny laBei ceiov along wiin a copy o yOu> new aaoiess lo lMISSION SEfiVICES ASSOCIATION P.O. Bo?a?7 iCnoxv ue TN 3790i 24?T

fm uCD om S o

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Miss ion ServicesPO Box 2427Knoxv il l e. TN 37901-2427ADDIteSS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Non Pfo li tU S Posi

PAID

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Couch David Deborah 1987 Ghana