Faithful Effort is Never Wasted
May 20, 2026
May 3–4: Journey to Ghana
Date: 5/4/2026 | Author: Van Uk
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
I started off the morning by being the first one at the airport at 3:30 AM. I was able to check in my checked bag while I waited for the rest of the team. They arrived an hour later… After checking in all our bags and going through TSA, we waited until we boarded our flight and left to go to the JFK airport in New York. We arrived there around 10:50 AM and had a 6-hour layover. In order to pass the time, we explored the airport, ate lunch, and played card games.
After the layover, we boarded the plane to Ghana. The total flight time was just shy of 9 hours. During the flight, they served us dinner and breakfast on the plane. They offered us blankets, pillows, and online entertainment as well. I played chess and watched a movie to pass the time before I caught some sleep.
We arrived at the Accra International Airport in Ghana around 6:50 AM (Ghana time). After going through customs and retrieving our checked bags, we went outside to catch a ride to the Village of Hope. I believe the drive took around 2 hours, but I couldn’t tell because I was either asleep most of the time or fighting to not throw up from motion sickness. Luckily, there was Dramamine on hand.
When we arrived around 10:50 AM, we got settled in our rooms. I was surprised to find out our rooms were already cool from the AC, in contrast to the humid and hot temperature outside. We also had our own beds, a working toilet, and a working shower head. The hospitality was amazing as there were already towels, water bottles, and even a mini fridge in our rooms. After eating spaghetti for lunch, we began scouting the layout of the area to confirm the point locations that were labeled on our plan sheet.
Once that was done, we gathered in a room to discuss plans and go over safety to prepare for tomorrow. After that, we ate dinner which consisted of rice, chicken curry, and pineapples (delicious!). We all then went to our rooms to shower and get ready for bed to rest up for our first day of work.
May 5: B Vitamins
Date: 5/5/2026 | Author: Philip Lamartiniere
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Akwaaaaaaaabaaaaa (welcome) to the blog of today. Today was a good day, thankfully, and great to get going on more of the project. Overall, the team settled in well, and the effects of jet lag faded as the day progressed, before fatigue could set in.
The day started with the team gathered around for breakfast and then going into a safety debrief and planning meeting with Kofi, one of the staff here at Village of Hope. We then examined the locations and conditions of current sewer lines. This led to some (lovely) revelations about the current plans.
Afterward, the team split into different tasks. Project leaders went off to plan—making adjustments after this morning’s evaluation—while the rest of us went to get topo points for elevations of the future trenches and pipes that will be dug.
The day wrapped up with a few meetings, dinner, and a devotional. We met up with Sappah, the operations director of Village of Hope, who gave us more context about how the ministry started and its mission to rescue and equip youth from birth to post-secondary education to be godly men and women in whatever educational/career field they go into throughout Ghana. It was cool being able to talk with Sappah and hear his story from being in Northern Ghana to arriving at Village of Hope as a kid, to now working with them and giving back to the ministry that gave him so much.
Dinner was legendary (Ghanaian food is very good—there is no picture of the food, it’s gone…). We had a great time of fellowship with chicken and rice. More planning was done for the next steps regarding the project and a possible Bible Study with the youth tomorrow.
Devotional Thoughts
Our devotional was on John 15 and the topic of Abiding in Christ—a timely message as it is easy to "crash out" (lose your cool/get angry) in the midst of heat and humidity, want to dive into digging trenches and laying pipe without planning, and just “get things done” without connecting with the community and planting seeds of faith. All of this requires us to abide in Christ and His love, because apart from Him we can do nothing.
Closing Thoughts & Prayer Requests: > Stemming from what a leader of mine told our group before our first mission trip:
Be patient
Be kind
Be flexible
Be in prayer
Prayers for all of those (and for it to not rain the next few days so that we can trench and not have trenches get washed out) would be very much appreciated.
Love y’all, thanks for all the support and prayers!
—Philip Lamartiniere
P.S. Fun Fact: Chickens are scary.
May 6: Surveying and Soccer
Date: 5/6/2026 | Author: David Culp
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Hey all! Today was another beautiful day here at the Village of Hope. We spent a lot of the day surveying the land and its infrastructure, going from water tank to water tank, manhole to manhole. It was a great, fun way of getting a lay of the land!
The children here are very friendly and joyous, and they always come by to say hi. I, along with Kevin, Philip, Michael, and Van, even got to play football (soccer) with them! We split in half, each taking different sides. Despite being twice their age (sometimes even triple their age), the American portion of either team didn't score a single goal. We had some great passes to the children, though, so perhaps that's worth partial credit!
Kevin got a great video of him dribbling around Philip, which will certainly follow the Lamartiniere lineage for generations to come. (Sorry Philip).
The weather felt as if it was on the cusp of a downpour all day today, yet thankfully, it never rained more than a sprinkle. It did make for a really muggy day out, although it wasn't anything that a yummy lunch and a quick game of Exploding Kittens couldn’t smooth over.
We also met the director of the Village of Hope and he told us some great stories, including how God led him to become involved with the VOH. As he expressed his gratitude for the work we are doing, I had the feeling of being really blessed to be a part of it.
We wrapped the night up with a devotional and I am excited to get back to work tomorrow. See you soon!
May 7: Chugging Along
Date: 5/7/2026 | Author: Michael Morgan
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Hello everyone! Today was a wonderful and fun day at the Village of Hope. Thankfully, there was no more surveying to be done, which freed up our morning for some meetings with some Village officials. These determined the full materials list for the pipes, pumps, and fittings that the team will need to collect from the city of Accra.
We had a wonderful introduction to a Ghanaian dish: fufu. This food is made by pounding a glob of dough that is composed of cassava and plantains. It is a finger food that pairs with a peanut soup. Spoiler alert: it is very tasty.
Today’s main work objective was to move two large water tanks from a field to a storage location further down the road. First, we disconnected the pipes from the tanks by sawing and unscrewing them. After disconnecting the tanks, we tipped them over via a complex engineering solution—a coil of rope and some pulling. The flipped tanks were easy to roll, although they required some coordination when it came time to turn them.
After we had oriented the tanks in position with the peak precision and efficiency that comes with being a football team of engineers, it was trivial to reattach the rope and hoist the tanks upright again.
Upon completing the job, we decided to kick back and relax. What better way to do that than play some more “football” with some of the Ghanaian children. I’ve been told that I can’t lie in this blog post, so I will admit it was not our best performance. More of the mission team played this time, and David and Kevin brought the heat with an insane goal. Dr. Wilson also decided to join in the fun, putting his years of running to good use and leaving us in the dust.
We ended the day with a worship session for which Philip brought his guitar, blessing our ears as we sang together. We thank you all for your continued support and prayers as we continue to work with the Village of Hope!
P.S. Scorpion warnings are now included in our daily safety briefings.
May 8: Pivot… PIVOT
Date: 5/8/2026 | Author: Kelsey Magee
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Hello from Ghana, day 5! Today was full of progress, pivots, and prayers… We started out the day with the knowledge that our materials had been dropped off the previous night around 10:00 PM and, after our safety briefing and morning dynamic stretches (led by yours truly), headed to the estate yard to check inventory.
Queue first pivot: Waiting for us was all the pipe we had asked for, roughly 40 canisters of pipe cement, some ball valves, pipe caps, and… no… pipe fittings. We were already planning to start trenching our first objective—a gravity sewer line from “Building 30” to “Building 36”—but this meant that everyone got to focus on that for the morning instead of pipe assembly. Our resident Village of Hope (VoH) purchaser, Maxwell, made all haste to Accra to track down the remaining inventory on our behalf while we made ourselves useful.
As a part of the trenching crew, our team joined the professional Ghanaian trenching team (if trenching was a pro sport, they’d be first-round picks) with shovels and pickaxes to connect with the team and hopefully spur progress forward. Honestly, I can claim no contribution with a shovel or pickaxe—I grabbed a couple of students to go obtain pipes and available fittings for our second objective. This objective was outfitting a modified pump tank with baffles and preparing pipe assemblies for the pump to soon be installed. After a lunch break and a rousing round 2 in the trenches, the work between Buildings 30 and 36 was completed!
The team and the Ghanaian crew headed to the location of objective 3 (a pressure sewer line at the outlet of the pump tank mentioned in objective 2) and began trenching that as well. To heap on the good news, we received word around that time that our pipe fittings would be here by mid-afternoon—just enough time to get a decent amount of pipe assembled and in our completed trenches before the end of the day!
Queue second pivot: As we prepared to cut pipe for our baffles and awaited our pipe fittings, a storm rolled in (don’t forget—this is Ghana’s rainy season) and everyone took cover. All that trenching that had just been completed… rain-trodden. Those pipe fittings… still en route. That crazy efficient Ghanaian trenching team… gone home for the weekend. The storm took the power out temporarily, so we took the time to gather inside for a brainstorming session by headlamp light with our expert advisor, Mr. George Garden, consulting for us from back home.
Not to fear—brainstorming and creative problem solving is the bread and butter of any good engineer. We went over our progress, found answers to our questions, and prepared a new game plan. By our estimations, we can still complete the necessary scope of work with a day of wiggle room at the trip’s end.
A Time for Prayer
With an updated timeline in hand and some level of control over the situation, we sat as a team and each prayed over a portion of the project. We spoke and affirmed prayers for:
Team safety
Weather and flexibility
Supply delivery and communication
Wisdom, energy, and motivation
Our specific technical objectives
The VoH ministry team and the health of the Ghanaian workers
The overall success of our project
As you read these blogs and consider our team throughout your day, would you choose one or more of these items to pray for along with us?
Our day concluded with all the rest of our pipe fittings delivered, plus a pump we thought was still days away. We had a relaxing and well-earned dinner and had a visit from the awesome local seamstress from whom we have ordered custom Ghanaian clothing. Tonight was a test fitting, but sorry, no sneak peeks! Anticipate us looking fashion-forward on Sunday’s blog, though.
May 9: In The Trenches
Date: 5/9/2026 | Author: Elle Demeter
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Hello friends! Today was a long, but rewarding day and I’m excited to share the updates on all of our progress. Today was so tiring, in fact, that I had to fill in on blog writing for my fellow, tired teammate. Based on the team’s tentative schedule, we had a lot of work to get done in the hot sun, which meant we needed an early start this morning. After a tasty breakfast, we started with our daily team meeting and safety briefing.
Our team leaders then met with Sappah and Samuel to get on the same page about scheduling and plans for the remainder of our trip. Afterwards, the group split up with a few of us working on cutting pipes for baffles (critical pieces between chambers in the settling tank) and the rest heading off to the trenches. After the revelations of yesterday, we needed to add additional depth to all of the trenches previously dug. Unfortunately, due to it being the weekend, our team was left without the help of our Ghanaian friends and work was a little slower going. Despite the challenge, the team made significant progress in the morning.
Before lunch, the baffle crew was also able to successfully cut the correct pipe sizes for all of the required connections. This was a huge win due to our lack of power tools. Two handsaws were dulled, but the crew remained in high spirits and were excited to be able to glue the pipes together. After lunch, the baffle connections were made quickly with some help from Samuel and his crew, and the baffle crew was then able to join the trenching team to keep digging away.
The remainder of the time before dinner was spent digging, and the team was thankful for a reprieve from the heat as the sun got lower in the sky. Muscles were tired and many rests needed to be taken, but at the end of the day, a lot was accomplished.
There is still a lot more work to be done, but we know that the Lord will provide as He has so far. After a long day, the team ended our work for the night by watching a beautiful sunset. The Lord sure knows how to paint the sky, and it was a great way to close out our work with a reminder of His presence and the way He is guiding our work.
With the workday ended, the crew ate a late and much-needed dinner followed by our final test fitting for our Ghanaian clothes! Our final activity of the night as a team was a devotional in which we read Psalm 25 and prayed about what came to our hearts as we read His Word. I am so thankful for these times we get to spend together in His Word and in prayer, and I ask that you join with us in continuing to pray for the project and the people of the Village of Hope. Being here, we have seen the good work that He is doing through His people in Ghana, and we pray that throughout the remainder of our time here we can continue to partner with them for the glory of His kingdom.
Thank you for supporting us on this journey! We are excited for the days ahead and hope that you are too!
May 10: Sunday Fun Day
Date: 5/10/2026 | Author: Alisa Rowell
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Happy Mother’s Day from the Village of Hope! All of us here sincerely hope that your day was filled with plenty of joy, rest, and presence from your loved ones!
On our end, we began the day by having cereal for breakfast, and then we were off to church at 8:00 AM. We arrived at church in full Ghanaian style thanks to our wonderful seamstress! Unbeknownst to us, the 8:00 AM service was a children's church. So our very colorful team of 11 sat in the midst of about 100 kids wearing mostly white polos and white dresses. I think it’s safe to say we stood out—just a little bit!
After the children's church, the all-ages worship began! By then, the kids had warmed up to us. Michael and David taught some boys how to dap, and that was enough for kids to try to squeeze in between us in our rows!
An Unexpected Break
After church, we had planned to finish yesterday’s trench; however, Samuel informed us that we were banned from trenching today! He said that if he saw us working, he’d make our trip leaders sing songs in Twi. Apparently, that threat intimidated our leaders enough to give us a break until 3:00 PM. During our break, we napped, had lunch, and played lots of Codenames!
At 3:00 PM, we began our (thankfully) much less physical work. We transported the pipes we’ll lay tomorrow—and the kids jumped in to help us! During the transportation, a family on their front porch gave us an extra special treat: coconut straight from the tree! Fun fact, coconuts here are green! Afterwards, Kelsey taught us how we’ll be assembling our pipes tomorrow. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner!
Of course, it wouldn’t be a complete day without ending it with a game of “football” with the kids. A beautiful sunset accompanied the ending of our very restful Mother’s Day.
Mother's Day Notes From the Team
To our moms, grandmothers, aunts, and mother figures reading: thank you. Thank you for your unconditional love, your continual support, and selfless sacrifices. We can’t begin to imagine all you’ve done for us. It’s due to your support that we can even be in the Village of Hope right now. We are so grateful for you!
From Kevin: Feliz días de la madres mamá y Angie!!!
From Van: Love you mom! I hope you had a great day!
From Michael: Hey mom! I love you and I can’t wait to see you again! I hope you’re having fun in Romania!
From David: Hello mom! Happy Mother’s Day! Love you and thank you for letting me come to Ghana! I hope our call went well! (Or will go well if it hasn’t happened yet).
From Philip: Happy Mother’s Day mom! Thanks for raising me up in the faith and setting me straight all these years. Love you.
From Elle: Happy Mother’s Day Mama! I love and miss you! Love, Birdie.
From Alisa: To all the mother and grandmother figures in my life: thank you for your continual sacrifices and unconditional love to me!!
From Marcia: Happy Mother’s Day to you, mom, and all the mother figures I’ve been blessed with.
From Hannah: Happy Mother’s Day to my greatest inspiration and cheerleader! Love you!
From Kelsey: I love you! So glad you had all the boys at home, and hope your day was as special as you are! I’ve been bragging about your knowledge on wounds and muscles all trip—both have come in handy!! Happy Mother’s Day!
"Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."
— Proverbs 31:31
May 11: In The Trenches Pt. 2
Date: 5/11/2026 | Author: Kevin Mendez
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
(Note: Date adjusted chronologically from original text text to align with project sequence)
Hello everybody, I am Kevin (aka The Scorpion Killer or The Alacrán) and I will be writing the blog today. I am also the machete guy, as featured in today's photos.
Today was tough, or as Michael would put it, "tuff" (W Michael). As me and Van woke up early and were on time to breakfast as usual, we ate scrambled eggs and prepared for a hard and long day. We continued trenching with the goal of having it done today, though this was unfortunately not completed.
As our group continued trenching, Alisa and I used the level to find the grade of our trench every 50 feet. After finding the slope of our trench—and after I forgot to divide our rise by 50, a total rookie mistake—we got the Dr. Wilson approval and began trenching some more until lunch arrived. Also, I have off-brand Meta Glasses that recorded my POV of me trenching if you all want to experience Ghanaian trenching firsthand.
For lunch, we had chicken curry and rice. I think something was added to the food because somehow I ended up resting my eyes for an hour, as did a few others. After having a nice nap, we had to go back to the trenches.
However, we lost half of our trenching group since Van and David went to go interview Fred (the head of the VoH) for two hours. The remaining trenchers had to pick up their slack and lock in. This paid off because one of the Ghanaian workers gave us bread and ice-cold water for our hard work. While the trenchers were on break, Kelsey, Elle, and Alisa worked on figuring out the baffles and pipes, featuring some creative photo-remixes courtesy of Dr. Wilson.
May 12: In The Trenches Pt. 3 (...neither height nor trench depth)
Date: 5/12/2026 | Author: Hannah Pauls
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Hey everyone! Today started out as the past few have—with prepping feet and hands against blisters for the strenuous workday ahead. We’ve run out of cloth tape, but duct tape has proven to be an effective replacement.
Last night we made a game plan for tasks and goals for today and broke out into teams:
Kelsey and Marcia returned to the area behind the guesthouses where they and a couple of VoH staff were laying two runs of pipe between the critical tanks of our improvement project.
Kevin, Van, Philip, Michael, and I were to head back to the uncompleted section of trenching.
Elle, Alisa, and Dr. Wilson were to continue laying 4-inch pipe in the completed section of the trench behind the kindergarten on the south side (upstream side of gravity lines), with additional help from David.
When we were breaking out into teams, no one wanted to volunteer for the pipe-laying position, and we had to draw straws. I didn’t expect no one would be interested in having a different task from digging trenches... but more on that later.
Hitting Heavy Clay
As my team headed back to the trenches, we were joined by several Ghanaians. Thanks to them and our guys, we were able to make additional headway—my personal efforts yielded little results when I had a turn with the pickaxe. Mr. George was right when he warned us the soil here is such heavy clay it feels like concrete trying to dig through it. As the sun rose, we had to take more frequent breaks in the shade between turns with a shovel or pickaxe. During one of these breaks, Dr. Wilson was nearby, put on his professor hat, and gave a short lesson on field engineering. By noon, we could finally say the trench was completed.
At lunchtime, we reconfigured our teams to be split between Kelsey and the 4-inch pipe assembly crew. Philip and Michael joined Kelsey and Marcia in putting the puzzle pieces together of all the pipes and fittings between the tanks. We’ve come up with some task-thematic names for this team, but so far none of them have been appreciated...
The rest of us joined Alisa and Elle, who had been heading up the 4-inch pipe assembly task. It wasn't until I had to reach down from on top of a pile of dirt into a narrow, 2-foot trench in the direct sun to clean, dry-fit, and glue together two 20-foot pipe lengths with acrid glue that I realized just how challenging a job this crew had had while we were trenching.
After that first connection, it seemed infeasible that the remaining pipe could all be laid by the end of the day at that pace, and I wondered how they managed to do it without more help up to this point. However, Kofi (the electrician), Justice, and Isaac arrived at this moment, saw our struggles, and jumped in to help.
The next half hour was chaotic and fast-paced as our combined team of 10 figured out a system to get the pipe and cleanouts glued together without having to lay the pipe in the bottom of the trench first. Without Kofi and the team’s problem-solving and strength, we would not have been able to lay the remaining few hundred feet of pipe and meet our objective before dinner. Seeing the last piece come together at the end of the line was so rewarding. Though the work on this line has been long and laborious, it’s been a blessing to get to work on it alongside the Ghanaians. They are very kind, hardworking, and always fun despite the challenges and heat.
Finishing the Objectives
Back on the other side, Kelsey and her crew had made great progress and successfully completed their objectives as well. They worked with Kofi (the plumber) and Maxwell, whose car is like a Mary Poppins bag—whenever they needed a tool or material, he would pull it out of his tiny vehicle. Their final item to complete was dry-fitting “Charlie.” He makes a cameo in our team photos and will likely be featured more in the future.
Thank you all for your prayers, and please keep them up! At the end of the day, our desire is that our work brings glory to God and blesses the Village of Hope and all the wonderful people who serve here.
— Hannah
May 13: Encouraging Progress
Date: 5/13/2026 | Author: Marcia Frempong
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
AKWAABA (Welcome) to today’s blog! We started off breaking from our usual schedule; instead of heading straight to breakfast, we got right out into surveying and staking the line from 7 to 53 so the mechanized trenchers could get to work in the morning. Thankfully, that did not take too much time, so we were able to eat breakfast at 7:50 AM.
Following breakfast, we jumped into our hour-by-hour plan. The first hour involved one group pressure-testing the pipes while the other group finished the pipe assembly for the pump for the infamous Tank 41. It was right then that we found out we had received the wrong pump...
That was the point where Kofi and Kofi stepped in and helped us order a new pump. It arrived in about 4 hours, so while things didn’t go exactly as planned, we "move" (as the Ghanaian slang goes).
Digging and Drill Delays
We started digging and widening a part of the trench for the creation of a chamber for a "magmeter" (an instrument to measure flows through pipes) in the near future.
Meanwhile, Hannah, Michael, Philip, and Kevin had the task of screwing brackets into the wall of the tank to hold our pipes in place. They quickly realized that the tank was made of concrete with large aggregates, and their drill simply didn’t have enough power to handle it. They called on Kofi (the electrician), who came through with a perfect solution. God bless Kofi and Kofi; they have answers and solutions to almost all of our problems!
Life as a Plumber's Apprentice
After lunch, we started making a plan to complete all our wet connections. That was when Kofi (the plumber) decided to make me his apprentice!
I must say that as the native speaker on the team, today was one of the most fun days. Kofi and Kofi kept making funny remarks in Twi (the native language), completely cracking me up. What was even funnier was how they related with each other; in Alisa’s words, “they really relate like an old married couple :).” They agree to disagree most of the time, but you can truly see the brotherly love in their relationship.
Introducing Charlie
Oh, I almost forgot about “Charlie”! Charlie is the inlet pipe into Tank 41, which needed a "special" design based on the velocity of the flow traveling through it. After assembling Charlie, we all signed it and blessed it with the scripture Isaiah 41:10, which was incredibly befitting since the pipe has to be strong to handle the heavy flow.
At the end of the day, all of our pipe and pump connections between Tank 41 and Tank 43 were completed. Tank 41 came back online, and we all got to see Charlie in action!
Looking at the tank coming back online and everything working perfectly, Nehemiah 6:16 came to mind:
"...because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God."
Our God really helped us through this work, and we trust that He will help us with tomorrow’s tasks as well. Thank you all for your prayers—we want you to know that we see God working in every single step of this project.
~ Marcia
May 14: The Final Connection
Date: 5/14/2026 | Author: Van Naynlin
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Hi everyone! It’s me again, and I will be the one to write the blog about our last day of work 🎉! My day started off with Philip and Kevin as we prepared to survey (again 🫠) at 7:00 AM to capture the grade line of the trench that was dug from Building 7 to 53 (Trench 7-53). In other words, we were trying to measure the slope of the trench. However, Philip realized the tablet needed for surveying was back in the guest house, so we just decided to go eat breakfast first before we surveyed. After that was said and done, the rest of us began splitting up into different groups to work on the different tasks set out for us today.
It was another hot day, but it was bearable with the shade from the clouds above and a few light breezes blowing by. That didn’t stop my tan line from getting worse though... I was in the group that worked on assembling and laying the pipes for Trench 7-53 and the T-section that connected to it. There was a lot of cutting pipes, fitting pipes, and gluing pipes. We had Kofi and Maxwell help us as well with laying and gluing a few of the lines. Eventually, we were able to fully assemble the pipeline later in the afternoon.
The other group focused on pressure testing the pipeline that went from Building 30 to 36, as well as making sure it’s operational. Both objectives were completely successful! I wasn’t present to see what was happening on their side, but I just know it got a little... messy...
Capturing Memories
After the assembly of the pipe, I met Byron (the campus’ IT specialist and media manager) who asked me if he could have the photos that I took as the team photographer. I happily obliged, so he took me to his office where I could upload my photos from my SD card to his laptop. We talked about jobs, interests, student life on campus, and more. A pretty cool guy!
Me and a few other members from the pipe assembly crew had some free time before dinner after work, so we decided to play with the children. I played a little bit of soccer with the kids and Kevin while the others got completely “swarmed”... A few of them found my digital camera and had fun with it. Maybe a little too much fun...
We then gathered around for dinner at around 6:00 PM and ate chicken and fried rice! The food was delicious as usual. After that, we all sang songs for our daily devotional, which was led beautifully by Philip and his guitar.
Reflections on the Finish Line
As our final work day came to an end, it was incredibly rewarding to see how far we had come. We successfully completed trenching, pipe assembly, pressure testing, and implemented a working pump system!
Looking back, we stepped into this project not fully knowing what challenges awaited us. We faced unexpected obstacles, adjusted our plans countless times, and learned to adapt with patience and perseverance. Yet through every setback, we were reminded that progress is not always about having a perfect plan, but about trusting God’s guidance through the process. What began as uncertainty ended in accomplishment.
“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”
— Proverbs 16:3
Despite the changes, challenges, and unknowns, God remained faithful and carried our work to completion. To God be the glory.
— Van
May 15: Tourism Day!
Date: 5/15/2026 | Author: Philip Lamartiniere and David Culp
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Howdy everyone! Today was our rest and tourism day. Sappah, one of the heads at Village of Hope, offered to take us to see more of Ghana today since we completed all the piping, trenches, and modifications to the septic tanks (which thankfully finished up yesterday!). So we went on an adventure to some spots that are very special to the hearts of the people at the Village of Hope.
Kakum National Park
First up was Kakum National Park in the Ghanaian rainforest—and it was indeed raining and a forest! We took some time to check out the souvenir shop and ate lunch before it was our time to hike up to the tree canopy where the bridges lay. The forest was beautiful and foggy from all the rain, and we even had an impromptu dance party with some of the locals as they also waited.
The canopies were definitely not something any of us had seen before. It was breathtaking to see the heights of the towering treetops while walking on a rope bridge and watching the wind and the rain just blow everything away. It’s quite a small glimpse of the power and majesty of our Creator. Thankfully, no one on our team was scared of heights and everyone managed to get through the seven bridges without any problems, allowing us to just embrace the moment for what it was and stand in awe.
Elmina Castle
Next, we hopped in the car on the very, very bumpy roads and went to Elmina Castle, which has stood since 1482 and was historically used by the Dutch, Portuguese, and British. It was used heavily in the transatlantic slave trade, and it can be very haunting to see the conditions people were subjected to—especially by historical figures who would claim the same faith as us.
However, despite all the miscomings and faults by those before us, there’s no fault in Jesus, and we’ve been able to see clearly that the Church is alive and well in Ghana. We’ve been able to see that directly at the Village of Hope through the ministry that we’ve gotten to join in on. By working on their wastewater systems, we are helping them run their operations smoothly so they can focus on what they do best: “Rescuing, Restoring, Preparing, and Propelling” youth to be men and women of God.
Looking Ahead
Tomorrow we wrap up with some documentation work and will talk with some of the leaders at the Village of Hope over technical details and future plans, as they hope to expand their capacity on their campus here in Gomoa Fetteh. Then it’s a series of “goodbyes” and “see you laters” as we pack to get ready to head back to the U.S.
Thank you for all the prayers—there have been a lot of storms (literal and metaphorical) avoided throughout the week while we were trenching, and plenty of clouds of shade that made trenching much, much better. Please continue to pray for the ministry of the Village of Hope, that we finish out the work well tomorrow with good documentation, and for safe travels on Sunday.
See y’all soon!
May 16: The Last Day
Date: 5/16/2026 | Author: Alisa Rowell, Kelsey Magee, and Michael Morgan
Project: GHANA - WASTEWATER RECLAMATION
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening from your crew in the Village of Hope—whenever this blog finds you! Yesterday was our final day with the people we have grown to love so dearly here. Looking back, it passed the way all beloved things do: far too quickly.
We woke up for an 8:30 AM breakfast—a very welcome mercy to our tired bodies. The team had planned to survey afterwards, but Dr. Wilson surprised us by finishing our job before we had even opened our eyes! By 10:00 AM, we were outside and ready to begin the second task at hand: talking with the Kofis about our trip’s successes and missteps, and planning ahead for Philip and Michael’s senior design project here next year.
However, the village children had other plans for some of us. The non-senior design crew was “ambushed” by an intense game of hide-and-seek in the mango grove. Much to Kevin’s pleasure, this quickly turned into a game of soccer, and then turned into basketball! As the children scraped their knees on the court, Elle was quick to comfort them. And Van’s camera, once again, became the most popular object on campus as we played.
After the team regrouped, David sat down with the Kofis to hear what it was like to grow up at the Village of Hope and what this place meant to them. Then our team leads, Hannah and Kelsey, presented Kofi the plumber with a parting gift: a saw from America—the exact tool he had fallen in love with during our time working together.
One Last Game of Football
Then, somehow it was already lunchtime. Philip had made a promise to one of the schoolboys to play soccer at 1:00 PM, which meant he barely finished his plate before bolting to the field! The other guys soon followed suit, and from lunch to dinner, that’s exactly where they stayed—on that field, under the scorching Ghanaian sun, soaking up every fleeting moment with the kids we had come to love.
The afternoon was full of laughter, joy, and sweat for everyone. Whether it was Dr. Wilson outrunning everyone on the field, Kelsey introducing the kids to a frisbee, or Alisa having an impromptu Bible study with the kids, we all had quite the adventurous afternoon. Surprisingly, some of us even found time to pack!
Eventually, the sun set, and we came inside for our final team dinner. Afterwards, Philip led us in a song on his guitar, and Hannah led us in a reflection-style devotion. As we talked, the Lord brought clarity to how much He truly had worked on this trip—in us, through us, and around us.
A Summary of What Was Left Behind
It is truly by God’s grace alone that we met every single primary objective and then some. Our plans changed constantly, and we adapted constantly, but we found again and again that the Lord provided exactly what we needed. On the technical side, we are leaving behind:
A gravity manifold into which the campus can add many more buildings along the western line.
A modified septic/pump tank that will (eventually) clarify all the wastewater created on the southern side of campus, making it easier to treat.
A pressure line directing an existing overflowing tank to our much larger modified tank.
A gravity line along the eastern side that will serve a new dining hall and 4 future dormitories capable of feeding and housing over 700 students.
Engineering designs and instructions for constructing a pump station to convey all eastern wastewater to our modified tank.
Relocated storage tanks to make room for a future improved soccer field and track to serve the high school.
The Village of Hope team told us we must have secretly been here for two months, because completing this amount of work in two weeks seemed completely impossible! To that I can confidently say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
As we travel back home today and many of us sleep in our own beds tonight, I’m reminded that faithful effort is never wasted—even when plans shift, even when the sun is relentless, and even when it feels like it will take a miracle for the work to get done. It’s a gift to be able to cross an ocean and offer your hands, minds, and time to people whose names you didn’t know two weeks ago, only to leave with a piece of your heart permanently touched by theirs.
Thank you all for following along, and we all look forward to sharing our stories with you soon in person!
Final Sign-Off
Signing off, your very grateful crew:
Supreme Leader
Sassy Matcha
The Native
Lizard
Bird Socks
David Attenborough
Party Chief
El Alacrán
Cameravan
Drac
And Philip, just Philip.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
— Ephesians 2:10
“It is truly more blessed to give than to receive.”
— Acts 20:35
Not a Trip
Category: Student Life