couch david deborah 1983 ghana

8/12/2019 Couch David Deborah 1983 Ghana

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FEB 21 1983

iici i x xc SVANO t LX aMCAV IR ANS i i : i B O R A H

C O U C H

aHANA CHRISTIAN C G i - L Bo x 5722

ACCRA, GHANA

F t b m r y 2 1983

Dear Friends an d SupportersMHAT S HAPPEN1N6 IN GHANA?

porwiirding A g s c t :HiP.KPa. PTAd CouolQP.O. Box 106

Sai tAYiwuL^ Ird- UTUSS

The ctopel Is fllreost finished^ The news frost Ghana is both encouragingand discouraging. I t Is encouraging t3 hear how the tjrk of the collegeis progressing. Thlrty-tv students are enrolled this year. The secondtens of classes began the first week of January. The roofing sheets forthe chapel have finally arrived. Tho cement work la already completed.As soon as tha roofing sheets can be cleared f?osi the harbor work canbegin on Instailatlon. The chapel will be used by the Abeka ChristianChurch OS well as by th e college for chapel services and as a classroom.Other aspects of th e col l ie work ere going as well as can be exp^tedin the present situation In Gharm The most dlscGMraglng n> s concernsth e economic sltuatfi..^ in the country. I t conti^ v Its decline. Thisc o n s t i t u t e s ntmibar cv difficul t ies f o r th e m l a r les but they a r elight compared to the prcbl^ns faced by th e They are th e onoswho juffer the most, the source of supply fo r i cdllege and missionarieshad b^n th e neighboring country of Togo. th e Ghanaian goverrs-msnt ha s closed a ll borders in a e f f o r t to end the cocoa smuggling whichpUgucs th e economy. I t Is hoped that the borders will re-opsn when thecocoa season is over. Until thon^ everyone has to make due with whatIs on hand, or what they can flml on the market. If one Is willing topay the price many things ca n st i l l be found.AvKithnr coup attempt. A few days before Thanksgiving an oppositiongroup attempted to o ;srthorw the government. There was scsns fighting Inthe city of Accra near the main an^y base. Fortunately, Abaks Is farenough av^y to hardly even hear th^s shooting. The attempt failed butth e CQAdltl^pi which brought I t about continue to exist. Whatavergovernment Ghana has will rmaaln unstable as long as I t does not cas e togrips with thii serious economic probleiss facing the country.The economic problems hurt Ghana Christian College In aroro ways that justpurchasing 4ipp11s It has hindered some men from being able to attendthe CQllege Because Accra Is the capital city It Is a more expensiveplace to llViS than in one of the villages. Evan when a man Is able tocome to Shcne Christian College i t Is not always easy fo r him to feedhimself. The transportation difficulties limit the students In preachingand teaching opportunities. Traveling requires time and Bney^nefthsrof which the students have much of. KGwaver God continues to blessQ C C In spite of the problw around It. Even when we see mostlydiscouraging things God Is able to bring good out of them

LOOK WHO S GOING TOJeff and Sherri Hostetter plan to go to Ghana In Harch, 1983. They In -teed to work In the Western Region near the city of Sunyanl. Jeff willwork with churches of th e avea In leadership training and establishingchurches where possible, lurking In Ghana will not bs a new experiencefor Jeff. He spent a n;^er of years there t^lle his father Rlhcard wasteaching a t S.C.C. In th e ^rly 1970 s. Jeff graduated from RoanokeBi bl e Col lege In December, 1932.Rick and Coretha Fulton hope to go to Ghana In August, 1983. Rick present-1y ministers with Ui i G l o ^ n t Christian CHurch. The Fultons will re-

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plac Cafi and eianda Bridges. Rick will tiach Isi 1;h college.p rn um

l^^ng amtês^rah s famTTy s snnual o m t^ t tlBO with toth our fofallles and nOt havleg to do m of thetraveling ourseliês.s we entered the Chrlst^s season we enjoy^ llghtSs caroling. ChrlslmsSMlals and progrm. candy, cookies, shopping Iwhera there are Iteis onthe shelm), saislc, decorations, parties, end a big. live, green Chriat-sas tree. He especially enjoyed spending this Chrlstaas with ou r fa i l lesagain. e spent Chrises with Odi s f^slly and travel^ to f^vld s folksthe ggth ai^ spent H ? Voar s-therev-lhiFxieys-wirerfllled with visiting,football and eating.

- Oe^ld s faally ca^ to Ohio for Thanks^fsh s family s sonual hog hotcherlog. I t taas gm t spend-*

CamFdUh. It our first Chrlstsms as parents, which m special,m th like the dôrated Chri ses tr ee, bu t the bottoa brasohes were alwaysbare. She enjoy^ tearing the pap^ off her gifts though sniszlod asto she MS not scolded. liked her gifts but. being 11 s^nths. gave^ s t of her attention to the bows. Since we were unable to keep Faith on as ch ed ul e, s he was s^ke to see the ^ms fear In . In the las t few weeks shehas taken off walking everywhere, ôw begins th e cHisblng. She kmts howto make us laugh, being silly like lr faêr (guess who s writing this part.)C&rm Faith will bo a year old Februaf^ 1. which brl^&gs Esosorles of her birthIn Shane. As all parents ^s t we Mndor what we au i to do with our t1^before Faith was bom. But a ll the t i s e and effort sh e requires of us Is as^ l l price to pay for the Jo y she brings us.On the road again; After several weeks wlttût speaking ipgiênts we willrosim this ^ntn. e have enjoyed M opoartuntltlos to share with thosewho are concern^ wi th our Mrk. I t has given us the chance ^ get to $mm of the mny people ^ ar e a part of what we do. He h s^ our vieltsi1tave boon Informative and helpful to y6u He are looking forMi^ to attending the Johnson Bible College KimcosiingIn February. I t will be our f i rs t epumaunlty to a tt en d s in ce we wereseniors in 107 . I t will give us the chance to see many of our collegef ri en ds a ga in .Hill owr shin coma in? He m imist get serious about our preparations forreturning to eimna. Unfortunately, ghana s eeonosor is so bad th at veryl i t t le I s a va il ab le In the country a t affordable prices. Hhen a tin o fsardines costs 4.00 that s not a misprint 4^00} I t requires a lo t ofpreparation to be able to live decently and be able to do the M rk we aret h e r e forDavid has been buyifi^ tools and books for the college but we have donel i t t le about our personal needs. Ho ^ s t purchase a three-year sumly offood, clothing and personal Itens. Hs have to estimate what we will useIn three years and buy what will keep that long. Returning with a childadds to the pr^ratlons. e have to rmmber that Faith ^11 be growingwhile ^ are In Qhaffui and try to buy accordingly. In July we will packeverything in crates and barrels for a h i p i ^ t to Shana. When they arrive.

Southside Christian ChurchP. O. Box 108Smithvllle. Indiana 474S8

Hor isonsi ^ s s i o n SorviGesP.O. Box 21^27Khoxville, Ta 37901

m P R 0 ^ l t dR6ANU . S . POSIASEPAIDSsHthviTle.lnd.P e r m i t No.2


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HOW CAM Y(ai HELPTPrajS Without God s blossing and ouldaiieo our efforts are futile. Mereams our mrk will oollapse unless i t is supported by the prayers of^ 8 people. He hope you will continue to share with us in our workthrough prayer. Please Join us In prayer for the felSowing:

1. Ttenk God for inw he continues to bless G.C.C., mm in spite ofwhat we think are great difficulties;I His guiitence and protection for tori and Glenda Bridges and DorothyEunson as they continue to work in Ghana;3, Jeff and Sherri Hostettor and Rick and Coretl Fulton in their plansto go to Ghana;4. Our safety 1i travelings David as he studies at C.B.S., and wisdom inthe buying and packing of our shipit.

Used clothino. At Christms each year we allow the students to chooserron What usai clothing we have available. Usually they are able to choosea suite, a few shirts a;nl a couple pair of pants. We n ^ clotim totako back with us. ton you help? For guidelines, please contact us. ThaMere clothes wa have the oore we can pats on to the studmtsBooks are naaiad for the 6.C.C. library If you have aior baoks suitablefor s college library we can use t tai Contributions can alto ha sent toftr forwarding agent for ttot purpose. Be sure to indicate that the OMoyis to be used to buy books.Have we vis i t s with vour church to share our mrki Wo have teen able tosnara with oos t or eur supporting cnurenas. tioe is liaited because ofOavid s studies at C.B.S. Please contact as i f you would like to schedulea v i s i tIf you havo any questions or n sd aore infonaation, pleasa feal frea tocon tac t us

Mr Mrs David Couch 7\ J Uah S6Phone: 641 962 4739


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JUN 15 98GHANA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

AF l I Cm MIf lS IOH KTINQSLISMDAV ID AND. DEBORAH

C 0 0 G Rfltl Addroaa:

QHAHA CHRISTIAN C0LLSQ8Box 5722

ACCRAt GH/iU

ponfarding Agent:Mjp.r^ra. Fred CouonP.O. Box'1063iithvljJ.e, Ind. k U d

May 23, 1983

WItL IT BVBR END?Hunger in Ghana I When we l ft Ghana in March 1982 wethought th^ economic conditions could got no worse. Wehoped tha t s teps would be taken which would improve thel iv ing condi t ions of the people . I t appears t ha t ourhopes have been d i sappo in t ed . A s i t u a t i on which wasbad has got ten , worse^. Reports fsrojji cu r f r i ends enfl oowworkers in Ghana te l l of tho-dospsrat , sitUB.tion'riwi?,facing the people. Below i s a l i f i t of prices we hnvicompiled from l e t te r s . Take a momant to think hsw youwould l ive if you were faced with prices l ike thesiO, ona much smaller income, not to mention the other problemsfac ing th e Ghana ians .

PRICE CHANGES IN GHANAPROM MARCH 1982 TO MARCH 1983

FOOD ITEMS March 1962 March 19831. Corn, in the open market .(street) , (1 gal . ) 10.902. Oranges ( in season), ( s t r ee t ) ,363* eggs ( s t r e e t ) , (per egg, not a dozen) 1.09bag of r ice (approximately 100 ), (control)100.005. Meat (control ) , (per pound) 3*646 . bot t l e o f cooking o i l ( s t r ee t )7. mature, egg laying hen Uity), (street) - (v i l l age)8 . onions (egg s iz e) , ( s tre et)MISC .

1 . pens ( s t r ee t ) 1.822. exerc ise book (60 pages) , ( s t ree t )3 Koran ( to be used a s a t ex tbook in th eIs lam c l a s s a t GCC), ( s t r ee t )4. lumber and nai l s for a 20 by ^0 footbuilding (not ii^cluding roof ing shee t s ) , ( s t r ee t )5 bot t l e of in jec tab le Ampici l l in ( s t r ee t )6 . t ruck s t a r t e r ( s t r e e t )7 . fi lm process ing (per p r i n t ) , ( s t r ee t )8. gallon of gasoling (control) 4.509 . ga llon o f kerosene (cont rol ) 1.02

5^-502 . 1 82 . 5525^ .557 . 2 ?

29 . 0990 . 9072 .732 . 0 0

6 . 0010 .91181 . 82

3272.73509 .091090 .90

7 -278.506 . 00

o n t r o l s ign i f i e s of f i c i a l government pr ices pr ices fo r theseiTerns are drastically more on the s t ree t .

s t r t s ign i f i e s Items bought on the open market . These pr icesa re u sua l ly s ign i f i can t l y more than o f f i c i a l pr i c e s , bu t of tenthese things are not avai lable anvwhere a t the of f ic ia l pr ice .

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quoted are in dollars. The variety of the l i s t is duenature of the things purchased in fihana. These are knownpurchlses?^ ^ purchased, or in som oases attempted

prices are for individual iterasB not a box or package of theitems, with the exception of the lumber and nails for the chaoelroof

IDgS. can ship a three-year supply of food for ourfamily, but we can not provide fo r a l l the others inneed* International Disaster Emergency Service IDES)of the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ has agreedto help in providing a shipment of food to dis t r ibute inGhana. They can ship thirty tons of donated grain forThe purpose of th i s project i s to do what we can toalleviate the hunger in Ghana. o can not provide aphysical solution to a l l of Ghana s problems, but wecan help with a response to an immediate need. OnlyGhanaians wil l receive this help. IDES will handle thelogist ics in the United States . The board of directorsof Ghana Christ ian College wil l handle the dis t r ibut ionin Ghana. The shipment is not designated for the collegeibut for the people of Ghana. I t will not stop a l l of thehunger in Ghana, but . i t will provide for many who wouldbe in worse shape without our helPL*You can he lp . I f you would l i ke to share in th is e ffo rtplease send your check to IDES, care of the i r t reasurer t t t h e a d d r e s s b e l ow .

George Cla rk305 B . WabashWabash, Ind iana 46919Please mark th e funds . Hunger fo r Ghana . A cu to f f da te30 has been s e t . At t h a t t ime IDES wi l l do asmuch as po s s ib le with the funds co l l e c t ed . The l im i t s~Tibns to what can be done depends on the funds given.

PBRSGNAL NEWSThree months to go . Cur t ime to re tu rn to Ghana I s fa s tapproaching David i s completing h is classroom work a tCBS. He wi l l be in summer schoo l un t i l June 24 . Themonth of July has been reserved for packing a l l the supplies necessary for our work. also are packing thingsfo r J e f f and Sher r i Hos t e t t e r who a r r ived in Ghana inMarch, and Doro thy Eun son. In add i t ion to these a re thecol lege suppl ie s and used c lo th in g fo r the s tudents .I f you have used clothing please send I t to us by July 9.I f you have questions or need information concerning IDESo r o the r a spec t s of our prepara t ions please con tac t us.After July 22 we can be reached through our forwardingagen t . U n ti l then we can be contac ted a t 289 E. UnionAve., McConnelsviile, Ohio 43756. 6_l4) 962-4739.Thank vou fo r yo ur co nce rn fo r us and our work. Thanksa lso to those who have helped with used c lo thes and o therneeds, and those who have sLiready responded to the IDESe f fo r t . You a re what makes our work poss ib le .

SOUTHSUB CHRISTIAN CHURCHP.O. BOX 108SMITHVILLS, DJD. 47458

HORiaONSI-Iissioii Serv ice sP.O. Box 2427Knoxville, Tn 37901

NGN PROm OSQAN.U.3 . POSTAGE

PAH)SMITH7ILIS, IND.mMIT 2


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- yî

GHANA CHRISTIAN COLLEGEiFSICAM H1SSI08 KTA 0 l I 8M

D A V I S ARB DBBORAHC 0 B C H

Flaid Address Forserdiag AgmitOH H CHRiariAR OOLUC iSf.Mfs. PredâshBOX 57 i L,.M flCR OH S ithvixie, led. kllOiAugtuit 10, X933

R^yURN TO GHANAOn xûgust 22 wQ leave for our second terffl in Ghfan F Althoughour sixteen months on furlough have been busy ones we have enjoyedthe opportunities they brought We have visi ted with a l l oursupporting churches and reported on our f i r s t two years in GhanaDavid hao completed the classrooa work for his MA a t CincinnatiBible Seminary Only his thesis regains to be completed. Bocauaei t i a history of the work in Ghana i t cannot be finished unt i lresearch i s done in Ghana, hopefully during our f i r s t year back.Now the time has come to re tum to our work with Ghana Christ ianCollege for another three years . We plan to s top by Portugal onour way to v i s i t a few days Yîih Tim and Dixie Thomas They

v i s i t ed with us in Ghana in October 1981* We are scheduled toar r ive in Accra August 29 a t 6)30 p.iOur bes t news to repor t i s personal . Qpr second baby is toarr ive November 3, jus t a few moriths a f t e r oar re turn . So fa r bothmother and baby are doing f ine . The circumstances surrounding theb i r t h o f ou r second c h i l d w i l l be much th e same a s th os e s urr ou nd -ing the bi r th of Carma Fai th in 1982. t has been a joy to watchher grow. We look fo rward to the experiences as our family increases .

COLLEGE NBW3The rsportv s wq receive from Ghana are both encouraging anddiscouraging. The work of the col lege continues to go wel l insp i t e o f the d i f f i cu i t i e a faced by all invo lved . In July e levens tuden ts graduated . Six were gran ted the A.3. degree in Chr i s t i an

Min i s t r i e s . Five rec eiv ed th e Diploma in P a sto ra l M i n is tr ie s andHe ll gl ou s Educa ti on . This was th e second l a rge s t gradua t ing c l a s sin th e severAteen yâ r h i s to ry o f the co l l age . In 1979 twelve mengraduated, inc luding s ix Niger ians . Although the Student body oft h i r t y - two was reduced by th e number o f g radua t e s we lo ok fo rw ardto ano ther good yea r a t GCG.Addi t ional s t ep s have been t aken to place the work o f th e

co l l eg e in th e hands o f qua l i f i e d and dad lca t ed Ghana i an s .Chr i s t i an Adjei has taken over the roapons ib i l i t i es o f p rin cip lenow t ha t Carl Bridges and h is family have re turned . Joseph Nsiahhas become th e co l l ege bookkeeper . Both a re ded ica ted to th e worko f GGC and capab l e men.I n March eff and Sherrie Kostetter arrived in Ghana tob eg in s tu dy in g Twl. When t h e i r s tud ies are completed in September

they plan to niove to the c i t y of Sunyani to e s t ab l i sh an extens iono f th e co l l ege and be i nvo lved in church work. In add i t i on th eFultone plan to be on the f i e ld by January 198^. Although t h e i rplans have been delayed due to heal th concerns fo r the i r youngestd au gh te r th ey are praying t ha t they wi l l be able to join the workin Ghana jus t as soon as medically poss ible . They are an importanta dd it io n to our work. They wi l l replace the C ar l Bridges fami ly .A f t e r seven yea r s wi th GCC th e Briges a re r etu rn in g to th e USA


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parmanntly Carl taught a t the college and served as principleduring their la s t three years Glenda served as hooklceeper and paper chaser * besides taking care of her family^ Although wewil l sorely adas the i r fellowship suid guidance m wish them theheat as Carl enters thiion Theological Semi^nary in Richmond^ VAt o ^cont inue h is s t u d i e s .ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

dVifortunatsly, the reports of the economic and pol i t icalconditions o f Ghana are very discouraging. Since our depar tu re inMarch 1982 there have heen a t least five attempts to overthrow thepresent government^ which took power in a mili tary coup December 311931^ The govsrnment has beceme somewhat represaiva in an effortto maintain i t s power and bring an end ..to the economic oaoa facedby the oopntry. Although th is docs not represent a threa t to uphyaloally it does create a hindrance for our work. Time i o s i a tvehicle check-points and in s atis fy ing the government of thegenuineness of our work ia tima away from the work of GCC0u to the po li ti ca l i n st ab il it y and past corruption and mis-marASgement Ghana faces sever economic problems. Food i s scarceand other neceasitles are scarcer. Simply l iving from d.ay-to-dayhad become a rmior task. This presents a g re atôb sta cle t o s tudentswho want to come to GCO Food prices in Accra, the capital city,a re among the highes t in th e co un try .

Xn an attempt to do something to help with the difficul*^t ies caused by the economic problems an appeal was made by themis.îonarie.^ with GCC for help thxôugh Internat ional DisasterEmergency Service. The response was tremendous. On August 259000 po'onda of r ica was shipped from New Orleans. After I t hasbeen dis t r ibu ted more can be sen t i we do no t have too mchtrouble in clearing the f i r s t shipment. We thank a l l of you foryou r r es pons e to our appea l. In the fu ture we hope to b able toshare with you some of th resul t s of the dis t r ibu t ion of the ric.

In order to meet the problem of the sca rc i t y of food andre l i eve ourse lves of spending t ime on t h i s mat te r so we be able tospend as much time as possible with the work of the college we havesh ipped a l a r ge supply o f food and o t h e r I tems . Our sh ipmentinoludes 4^500 worth of food {spread out over three years thatequalri 30 per week leaa than the US government allotment forfood s t amps , app l ian ces to rep la ce those now in Ghana which wafee l wil l not l a s t three more years ref r igera tor , f reezer , washer ,c lo th in g fo r our familys household i tems and personal i tems . ThaehlpHjent a lso inc ludes a number of supp l ies foi^ the co l lege i 150ream of paper , pens , p ain t, to ols , bui ld ing mater ia l s and more.These th ings are not avai lable in Ghana. In a dd it io n, & la rge par to f tha shipment i s made up o f used clothe. The response to ourappea l was grea t* We a re t ak ing back over 500 s h i r t s , 220 pan t s ,100 pert coa t s , 100 pa i r o f shoes , 50 su i t s , 150 dres ses , 280blouses and over 300 pieces of chi ldrens c lo th ing . This wil l be

y

Soutlisidie ' OW PROFIt ORGANP.O. Box 108 U.S . POSTAGE PAIDSmithvi l le , IN ^7^53 SMITHVILLE, IHPERMIT 2

horib^ns'-iission ServiceP O X 2Uîtooxville, Tn 3190\

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED


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distributed to our students a t Chrietiaas time in 1983 and 98^4 providing laany of theia with the only elething they will have forth e yea r to ootaa*

All of this takes up space The s lse of our ahipment iscverwhelaing I t is greater than we had anticipated, in sis andcost jPresently i t ia si t t ing in ew Orleans unti l we can pay tohave 5t shipped The coat will be approximately $7000. We s t i l lneed about $3000 to pay the f inal bill I f you would l ike to helpwith this need please send your gif t to our forwarding agent markedfflhlppinga^ Because of the vast expenditure involved in preparingfor the next three years our funds are low Shipping will take a tl e a s t twft to throe months. The sooner we sh ip th e sooner we canuse the suppl ies we have purchased

PRAYER KEQUE3T3

1 Safe ty i n our t r ave l s2. That each of ua wil l adapt well to Ghana once again, bothphysica l ly and men ta lly ,3* That the students who come to Q wil l be dedicated to theLord and th e s tudy o f His Word*

That the faculty wUl have wisdom, patience and enthus iaaa int each ing5, For the Rick Fulton family to have the heal th and funds togo to Ghana by January 198^*6 The heal th o f our new baby and i t s de l ive ry? . Our shipment* tha t t wil l .not have to be delayed any longerthan necessaryi ant that i t will a rriv e intact with a minimumo f t r oub l e and. du ty

THANK YOU

To a l l of yoT who have helped us in any way we say 'Thank you.Our support has held steady over the past year, enabling us toprepare for our retuzn. You have responded generously to ourappeals for IDES and used clothing. You have kept us in yourprayers and encouraged us often Many of you have opened yourhomes to us We pray t ha t God w ill b le ss you fo r y ou r co ncernf o r h i s work n GhanaWe would l ike to gay a spec ia l thank you to the Meiga Churchof Chris t , Deb's home church. During our f ur lo ugh we have at tendedthere when v;e were not t raveling They have been very helpful toiisi a l l year, but especially in these l as t few weeks as we preparedto leave They have given of t he i r time and energy as well asf inancially We want you to know how much they have helped us,and we want them to kncrw how much we apprec i a t e them.

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couch david deborah 1983 ghana

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