OCTOBER 2003 VOLUME NO.1 ISSUE NO.3

With all the fanfare associated with the opening of a new university in Ghana and the dignitaries visiting our new facilities we are indeed happy with how everything turned out. The graduation had many visitors from the US including: Gerald Gibson and Richard Hostetter two of the three surviving founders of the institution, a representative of an internationally known evangelical group called

WE DID IT. Graduation/Inauguration 2003Is Complete

Contents Title:

We Did It! ........................ 1

New Internet Connection at GCU ........................ 2

School of Community Development ............... 3

Upcoming Furlough Schedule ..................... 4

Heather’s Happenings..... 5

Overseas Council International, and the personal representative of the President of Ghana, John A. Kufuor, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Major (rtd.) Courage Emmanuel Kobla Quashigah. The graduation was covered by one of the major TV networks in Ghana, GBC, and was broadcast as a segment in series on the need for private tertiary institutions

in Ghana. Our school was a feature in the piece. The government has recognized the role the private institutions play in educating their people and are actively encouraging us to explore further possibilities. GCU is currently going through the last stages of acquiring a Presidential Charter that will make our degrees completely independent of state institutions and recognized throughout Africa.

Communication has always been an issue with our new campus as there are not any phone lines near us and not likely to be any time in the foreseeable future. While we can communicate via mobile phones they are quite expensive to use; about $0.23/min. Furthermore, their speed is quite limited for email/Internet usage. Four years ago we installed a wireless connection to an ISP in Accra, 23 miles from

NEW INTERNET CONNECTION AT GCU

our location. In the beginning the connection was great but as so often is the case in Ghana the business was not managed well and our level of service degraded to a point where we were not getting our monies worth. The service would often go down for several weeks due to equipment being damaged and the company not having the funds to replace it.

The AME Board met and decided that it was best if we were in control of our own connection and asked me to begin looking into possibilities. I soon found a viable solution where we could connect to the Internet via a satellite connection to Atlanta, GA. The company that sells the bandwidth resides in South Africa and has been around for 9 years, middle age for an IT company in Africa. The cost of the

Our new VSAT dish beside the new Library Building is up and running. We still need to finish the other third of the building to be 100% complete.

Professor Joseph

Nsiah is addressing

the 2003 GCU

graduates.

INTERNET CONNECTION CONTINUED

connection was basically the same as our previous connection but with a substantial increase in available bandwidth. So, we are back online and in control of own digital destiny.

Interesting side note on how pervasive the internet is in Ghana and West Africa. One of our students who is in the certificate program (an Associates Degree in the US) and from the far north of Ghana near Togo came to me and asked if he could email his brother in Niger. Being skeptical, as is my nature, I told him that he would need an address in

order to send his brother an email. His quick response it was a Yahoo address and he further added the fact he and his brother often chat using Yahoo! 2-3 times a month! Now, you need to look at a map and see where the two villages in Ghana and Niger are located to have a full appreciation of just how amazing communication is today.

GCU is in control of its

digital destiny!

My father-in-law, Richard Hostetter, and I at a village church in Old Ningo on the coast of Ghana.

This is a new church started by one of our students this year.

The GCU Computer Lab has 18 PCs networked to a Windows 2000 Server.

Communication has always been an issue with our new campus as there are not any phone lines near us and not likely to be any time in the foreseeable future.

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Three of the 4 areas within the Non-Profit Management Degree Program

Foundational Classes - English, Math, Computer, etc. basically General College requirements.

Professional Classes - Project Management, Organizational Behavior, General Business

Minor Concentration - Agriculture, Micro-Finance, Health, Education (Adult), Civil Society, etc.

Sept. 25th was the day we had our workshop on the new curriculum for the School of Community Development (SCD). We had about 40 NGOs with a total of 65 people attending. The purpose behind this workshop was to get feedback from the local NGO/NPOs as to what they see as possible classes and skills a student going through the program needs. The school will have 4 areas with 3 needing input from the

SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. The Workshop was a success!

workshop participants. The Christian Ethics foundation is already a part of the college and was not up for discussion.

The aim of the school is to prepare Christian leaders for service in Non-Governmental and Non-Profit agencies. These organizations play a significant role in the overall development of Africa and will benefit from leadership based on Christian principles for business and

development. Each graduate will not only be well educated in the field of management but will be an effective witness for Christ. Please continue to pray for us as we develop the curriculum.

Although I'm not going on furlough until April of next year I mention it here as there are some specific things I hope to accomplish while home that require prayer and planning on our part as well as our supporters. The last time I was in the US, May- August 2000, our family spent the time in the South with our churches in NC and FL. This go around we are going to visit our churches in OH, VA, KY, PA.

I'm asking that those of you in these states to please contact Scott (see below) to schedule a date for me to

UPCOMING FURLOUGH SCHEDULE Please begin making arrangements now

speak with your church or missions committee. As well, those in NC that we were able to visit last go around, we would like to visit your missions committee during the week. We are trying to bring on new congregations that are desiring to work with a dynamic and active mission like ours and this means that I will need to keep as many Sundays open as possible. I also would like to ask those of you who have contacts in surrounding congregations to bring our mission to their attention. Below are the goals we would like to achieve this furlough.

Perhaps you know of a congregation that would like to participate in one or more of these areas.

The aim of the school is to prepare Christian leaders for service in Non-Governmental and Non-Profit agencies.

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4. Make arrangements for a work crew to come in 2005 to help us complete the first phase of the dorm. 1. Increase our

operating budget by 22% to help pay for increasing costs associated with educating our children. 2. Find

Scholarships for students; $840 will pay for one student to attend per year ($3,360 for a four year degree) 3. Find sponsors

for dorm rooms, each room costs $7,345 to build.

Make arrangements for a work crew to come in 2005 to help us complete the first phase of the dorm.

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The aim of the school is to prepare Christian leaders for service in Non-Governmental and Non-Profit agencies.

The Prayers of our supporters are felt each and every day and without them our lives would much more difficult here. God bless each one of you who spends just 5 min. a day thinking and praying for our

family.

PRAYER / PRAISE. Prayer: The Lifeline of a Missionary

Before prayers please thank God for bringing Heather through the surgery alive and the healing that has happened since. Also thank God for the continued blessings He brings this mission on a daily basis, because without His blessings we could not do this great work.

1. Pray that we can find a home-schooling solution for our kids as it is getting more and more difficult to teach when Heather is at work most of the day.

2. Pray that our students will be studious and apply themselves daily.

3. Pray for our faculty that they can remain healthy to teach our eager students.

4. Continue to pray for the School of Community Development and the efforts put into it.

5. Pray that PC can find some way to reduce his workload as the new Semester begins. He will be teaching in the masters program as well as 2 undergrad computer classes, continuing to build, design classes for the SCD, work on his doctorate, and be a daddy. He simply needs help.

6. Pray for new churches to join our mission and become sponsors of students and participate in the work

Dad Hostetter, one of the founders of GCU, marching in graduation ceremonies on the new campus. Love ya Dad!

Thanks for starting this great school over 37 years ago!

Those who labor in the Lord do not engage themselves in a labor of Sisyphus nor are they condemned by God. Rather, they are deemed worthy of servant hood and look forward to the day when they hear these sweet words, "Well done my good and faithful servant!"

Blessings to our Co-workers in Christ

So much has happened during the past three months that I really don’t know how or where to begin. I first want to thank all the people who covered us in prayer, especially when I had surgery on July 10

th. I was

blessed to have and excellent surgeon and two wonderful missionary nurses that cared for me both in and out of the hospital. Even if the local nurses would not let them attend me as needed knowing they were near was a huge comfort. Thank you doesn’t begin to say what I feel for Laurie Korum and Sue Jaynes! They “smuggled” ice packs and much needed medicine into the hospital to help with pain management. The African concept of pain control is to make you so mad about their care-giving that you don’t think about the pain! We may have had the best surgeon in Accra but had to

HEATHER'S HAPPENINGS

deal with a less than compassionate nursing staff. It’s been a difficult recovery to say the least!

How my heart weeps for the Ghanaians who have to endure so much pain and suffering. The concept of relieving pain and suffering on someone is seen as a sign of weakness and foolishness. One older nurse came in and said, “Why are you vomiting? You must stop! Ah, poor pain tolerance.” PC became so angry that he left the room for fear of strangling one of them! Two nurses did come alone late in the night to tell me they were so sorry for my suffering. They wanted me to know they did not like the way I had been treated but were powerless to do anything. I felt sorry for them knowing how to act but due to a hierarchically structured system there is little recourse for them. Several Ghana friends came and prayed and sang to me. Their love and

tenderness brought me to tears. God sent them just when I needed them most. His love just flowed through them.

What a joy it was to see my Mom and Dad walk out of the airport on Aug. 6

th! There is nothing like a

big hug and kiss from your parents. The next few weeks were spent resting and recovering from a klebsiella pneumoniae infection that racked my body for nearly three weeks. In fact it is still worrying me some and is tops on our prayer list. Having mom here to help with kids and schooling was a great burden lifted off my shoulders. PC is often working late in Library and then has to come home to work on his own doctoral studies. So, the help and love of mom was a great medicine for me. Unfortunately, work began before I was completely healed and I had to return to that. Ugh!

African Mission Evangelism

P.O. Box DD142

Dodowa

Email: patrickcline@ameghana.org

Website: www.ameghana.org

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