What Do You See?

Today was a day with a powerful theme!

It began under the gazebo when Dr. David Mensah shared two stories. The first story was about a teacher who placed a speck of chalk on the centre of a giant blackboard. He then asked the students, “What do you see?” They all said, “We see a speck of chalk.” So he asked them again, and they all gave the same answer. Not one of them “saw” the blackboard. David then went on to speak of a man who visited a friend in Burkina Faso and, having seen the suffering due to drought, found a drought-resistant bean and gave it to the man to plant. He returned a year later and noticed his friend did not look well nourished. He asked what happened to the beans, to which the friend replied, “I cooked them.” David continued with an inspirational address about being people of vision. When devotions were finished, our team presented each NEA staff member with a bottle of Canadian maple syrup, reminding them that a sweet friendship refreshes the soul (Proverbs 27:9).

After breakfast, we planned to head to the hospital site to join in final preparations, but something much more important came up. A large delegation of chiefs representing eight communities arrived and requested to meet with us. Knowing the crowds would be enormous on Sunday, they wanted to ensure that they thanked us “with joy and excitement for our presence in their land since 2007”. They thanked us for providing vision and wisdom to the planning of Leyaata Hospital. They presented us with three cows and several massive bags of rice. They also honoured Rob Hicks with a beautiful white smock and hat to thank him for his leadership of our surgical program. I’m sure this day will be very memorable for Rob as he also found out that his daughter Elsa was accepted into medical school! Yeah, Elsa!

Once the festivities were over, our entire team and the GRID Board spent the afternoon at the hospital site, a beehive of activity as gardeners, painters, cleaners, engineers, electricians, and administrators were putting the finishing touches on the hospital. It was a full circle moment for me as our health team—usually setting up their stations in a village school—helped to set up the permanent emergency room, surgical suite, maternity and paediatric ward, pharmacy, lab, eye clinic and dental clinic. I was choked to tears as I watched skilled surgeons mopping floors, nurses and pharmacists cleaning windows, and board members setting up and scrubbing the industrial kitchen. Everyone on our team pitched in to help wherever help was needed.

This evening, momentum towards commissioning day continued to build as the NEA Board members arrived, and we welcomed more friends from Canada and the United States. Peter, an artisan from Accra, has filled the training centre with his wares, and the shopping spree has begun. He is thrilled as his business suffered greatly due to COVID. We anticipate the arrival of two more containers of hospital equipment first thing tomorrow morning, so there will be lots of unpacking and setting up after a brand new church is commissioned in Carpenter village. Our group is singing the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” during tomorrow’s church service. There are mixed reviews on how our rehearsal went tonight, but I know we can pull it off. We are aiming for three-part harmony.

Everywhere I turned today, I was reminded that we need to be people of vision. People who see the big blackboard and not the speck of chalk. People who plant the bean instead of eating the bean. People who care more about what kind of world they will leave behind for the next generation than meeting their immediate needs. In David’s words, “our vision is coming true,” and we are thrilled to be along for the ride.