University of Ghana

Bernard Van Wie (Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State), and Ralph Cooley (Faculty Commons staff, Northwest Region — pictured below) spent two weeks in Ghana on a trip that combined campus time as well as humanitarian aid.

Some excerpts from Ralph Cooley’s emails:
“May 28. Today we moved to the Agape House where we will be staying for the rest of our time here and then made our way to the University of Ghana (left). We as a team spent time “De-coding” the campus and then went on a prayer walk.

“Asking God to lead, provide, connect us up with students. We met a number of students just this afternoon and they invited us to come on Monday to meet with them and their friends for lunch. God is beginning to open up doors for the Gospel just as you are praying.”

“June 6. Thank you so much for praying for our medical outreach on Saturday. It was a big success! It took place in a “sandlot” soccer field. As we pulled into the lot there was a large group of would-be World Cup soccer players competing. Our mission was to set up a medical clinic where the poor in this Accra neighborhood could come and receive some help in time of need.

“We worked with a young, small, mission church nearby. Our team that day was made up of three doctors, four nurses and twenty volunteers. We were part of the volunteers along with ten students from the Baptist Student Ministry. It was really exciting to see the team God called together to help meet not only the physical needs of the people but also the spiritual needs.”

“After meeting with the counselors they next went to the nurse’s station to have their blood pressure and temperature checked. Next they would see one of the three Ghanaian doctors. Then the last station was the medication station. The doctor would prescribe the medication and then some of our team members would fill their prescriptions and explain how many pills to take each day.

“We were all exhausted by the end of the day but sensed God’s hand upon us. It was also very cool to see our team working together, each finding a station where they really wanted to serve and use their gifts to meet needs. Next Saturday we will do another medical outreach but this time it will be in a village.”

To view the story of how Maxwell, a student at  the University of Ghana, received Christ:

Maxwell’s Story