Elder Tim McCool's Journal of Trip to Ghana & Tanzania

Although this is a somewhat lengthy account of my recent trip to Africa, I hope the details of God's mercy and providential care will be a blessing to God's people.
This past February-March of 2011, Elder David Crawford and I planned to travel to Ghana, West Africa, for several days, and then fly to Tanzania, East Africa. While in Ghana, we expected to meet with Bro. Aikins Doh, and the fellowships that are ongoing there. While in Tanzania, we intended to meet and study with 12 preachers from Kenya, Zambia and Tanzania, as well as to examine and ordain 4 elders in the church at Daresalaam, Tanzania.
There is an old saying about “the best laid plans.” While the trip was incredibly rewarding spiritually, and I trust profitable to God’s people, it was not without its challenges.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Elder David Crawford and I met at the Atlanta airport to begin our journey to Ghana to preach the gospel. After visiting for several hours and looking forward to our trip, we were informed that Elder Crawford would not be allowed to board the plane without a visa or letter of application for a visa. I had previously obtained my visa, but Elder Crawford had none. With less than 20 minutes to departure, Bro. David was informed that he could not fly. After praying and consulting with one another, we determined that I should proceed to Ghana without Elder Crawford, who would try and obtain passage to Tanzania as soon as possible.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 After an all night flight I arrived safely in Accra, Ghana. Due to a breakdown in the transportation, Bro. Aikins Doh was not able to pick me up until about 5 hours later. We finally arrived in the Volta Region, City of Ho around 8 p.m. that night. At the time I did not know that Elder Crawford had secured a Thursday night flight to Tanzania.
Thursday-Saturday, February 24-26, 2011 Over these several days, we traveled to and from the second fellowship that was begun under Bro. Aikins’ guidance. I note that the attendance was greatly affected by the time of year being the planting season. I was encouraged to meet Bro. Nat, who is a close friend of Bro. Aikins and very much learned in the doctrines of grace. On Saturday night, we held services at Nat’s residence. I spent time reviewing the new birth, which we had covered previously.
I was informed that due to a death in the village of the first fellowship, the services would be held there around 4 a.m. the next morning. Apparently the local tribal leader had forbidden all church services after sunrise in respect of the dead. Bro. Aikins, Bro. Nat and I discussed the sinfulness of this requirement.
Sunday, February 27, 2011 I arose around 3 a.m. and prepared for the two church services. We were unable to reach the first fellowship until about 6:45 a.m. Upon arrival, I was informed there would be no Sunday service at all at the first fellowship. I visited the residence of the dead villager and was astonished to see the activities for the dead. Old women were chanting and playing drums, little children were running about, and much ado was being made over the dead. I later found a brother who was a leader in the first fellowship and informed him that I would meet with them immediately in worship if he would gather the members together. I also informed him how sinful it was to observe customs related to the dead rather than worship God. Unfortunately, he did not take me up on my offer.
We left and traveled to the second fellowship and held a morning worship service at Bro. Nat’s house. There were around 12 in attendance. Bro. Nat offered himself to be baptized. We left and the car broke down about 15 miles from town. It was extremely hot, but a vehicle came along and eventually picked us up. Later that afternoon, I baptized Bro. Nat in a creek.
Monday-Wednesday, February 28-March 2, 2011 The last three days were filled with some studying and repairing Bro. Aikins’ car. A very eventful service occurred in a 3rd fellowship Monday afternoon. In a village not far from the second fellowship, we visited until dark with these good people, and about 30-35 were gathered at the local chief’s residence to hear the truth for the first time. It was interesting to see that Bro. Nat was able to answer many of the questions asked by the villagers.
On Wednesday, we traveled to the capital of Accra, and I boarded a plane for Daresalaam (via Nairobi). The flight arrived at 5 a.m. in Nairobi, the on to Dar at 9 a.m.
Thursday, March 3, 2011 –In Daresalaam, I was picked up at the airport by Bro. David, my dear friend Elder Martin Onyoni, and several other brothers. I must note at this point that Bro. David, while waiting for my arrival, checked with the airline about moving up our upcoming Wednesday flight. After many days of study in Tanzania before I arrived, he felt like it was time to go home after the ordinations this coming Sunday. I too had previously checked about an earlier flight, but both of us were disappointed to learn the flights were full.
We traveled to the hostel, which was situated on a hillside overlooking an inlet of the Indian Ocean. From there we traveled to the market to obtain pork that Bro. David intended to prepare on the next day for lunch. After obtaining the meat, we traveled to the church building. What a blessing the church has in being able to worship in such an excellent building. The late Elder Obey Ndalima would be so pleased.
We ate lunch at the home of the late Elder Obey, and enjoyed an afternoon service. It was wonderful to be with the Kenyan preachers, the Tanzanian preachers, and also the Zambian preachers who joined us.
It is significant to note that Bro. David and I conversed with a Swiss doctor whose family was also staying at the hostel. This man, who we now know as Dr. Kimmler, is employed at a medical clinic in Mbeya (about 13 hours away by bus). He just “happened” to be in town for the birth of his 4th child. His wife was in the local private hospital, waiting to have the child any day. The good doctor was in his late 30s or early 40s, and a wonderful person. He explained to us that he had been working in Africa for many years and his only purpose for being in the capitol was for the birth of the child. His presence in Dar became more significant to us later.
Friday, March 4, 2011 – We held services at the hostel, which supplied a large upper room in which all 14-15 of us could fit. I covered the three “courtrooms” of justification (grace, faith, and works) throughout the day. During our studies, Bro. David was preparing an American style bbq meal for the brothers. Around 3 p.m. the meal was ready, we broke services for the day and ate. The meal Bro. David prepared was such a blessing to us all. I was honored to help serve the meal to our brothers.
Saturday, March 5, 2011 – We rested this day and enjoyed time seeing some sights. While traveling, Bro. David pointed out to me that he had a tiny nick on his finger that was bothering him. It seems that he cut his finger on Thursday or Friday morning when preparing the uncooked meat. We finally made it back that night at Bro. David went to bed.
Sunday, March 6, 2011 –This was quite a spiritually eventful day. Bro. David woke me very early this morning. He appeared pale and feverish, and showed me his finger, now greatly swollen. His first words were, “Bro. Tim, I am very sick.” The first thought that occurred to me was to go to the airport at the first opportunity today. The second thought was to go and pay a visit to Dr. Kimmler.
Bro. David went back to his room and I paid a visit to Dr. Kimmler’s room. His wife had delivered their 4th child on the day before (Saturday). I found him in his room and entreated him to come and see Bro. David. In a few minutes he came to Bro. David’s room and viewed his finger, and informed Bro. David that he had an aggressive form of staph that is on African meat and only affects Americans and Europeans. Dr. Kimmler said,” Yah (imagine Swiss lingo), I was hoping you wuld not cut yur finguh when I saw you handling thaht meat…” This was certainly disturbing.
At that point, Dr. Kimmler produced from his pocket a 3-day dose of antibiotics that he described as the latest drugs from Switzerland for this particular form of staph infection. I must pause and give praise to the God of heaven in providentially blessing us to encounter this doctor, who just "happened" to be in Dar at the precise moment that we were, and who just “happened” to have the right medication for Bro. David's illness. Truly, He is able to overrule and overcome all obstacles.
Bro. David immediately began the medication and we left for morning services. He was so sick that he slept through the services in the pastor’s study upstairs at the church building. The church members were fed a catered lunch, and then we held the ordination services of Bro. Kenny, Bro. Anthony and Bro. Thaddeus that afternoon. Bro. David through sheer determination and the enabling grace of God made it through the service as the clerk and also questioning the candidates. Elder Martin and I delivered the charge. We finished around 4:30 p.m. I might add that we had intended to ordain Bro. Moses, but regretfully he was hindered from being in the country on this day. (NOTE: Bro. Moses was ordained a few weeks later).
The burden to visit the airport was still pressing me. Bro. David was so ill that it was necessary for him to lie down at the hostel. When we put him in bed at the hostel, I had a burning confirmation in my heart that he would not be able to rest very long. Along with Elder Martin, Bro. Kezala (from Zambia), Elder Anthony and another brother, we immediately departed for the airport. I checked in at security in order to visit the KLM business office that was housed in a back hallway of the airport. I met with much discouragement along the way – I was told no one would be there, we had already both checked on upgrading the flights - yet I could not ignore the burden that was pressing me onward.
I arrived at the office to find the door securely locked and no one inside, but I noticed a sheet of paper pushed through the top of the doorway. Disappointed, I took the African brothers to supper at the airport, then I returned alone to the KLM office to wait. Curious, I pulled the piece of paper out of the door and discovered it was assignment instructions for the KLM personnel for the 12:45 a.m. flight that very night. This was a clear indication to me that someone would return soon, so I replaced the paper and sat down and waited.
While I waited, I received a call from back home. It was time for worship at Bethlehem, and I was able to talk by speaker phone to the ones gathered for worship in Alabama. In light of my anxiety over Bro. David's serious condition and the fear of not getting him home safely, this was highly encouraging. I informed them nothing of the recent developments.
After more waiting, a flight attendant came and allowed me into the office. I inquired about the flight change, and she informed me it was not only full, but overbooked! This was more discouragement, but I could not help but think the Lord had put it in my heart to come to the airport and press on. Moments later, a friendly airline employee checked the flights and was able to move our tickets up to that very night. My soul rejoiced in this providential provision! By now it was nearing 9 p.m. and the flight was in less than 4 hours. Excited, we rushed from the airport and returned to the hostel, only to find Bro. David fast asleep and very sick.
After incessant knocking on the door, Bro. David managed to come to the door with sweat pouring off his face. My first words to Bro. David were:
“Bro. David, pack your things, we’re going home.”
Bro. David responded, in his feverish stupor, “I…I… can’t Bro. Tim, I am too sick.”
I responded, “Bro. David, we have to go home, the Lord has moved up our tickets to tonight. You can lean on me, I will carry you, but we must get you home tonight.”
He said, “You’re right, Bro. Tim, but I don’t know if I can pack…”
At this point Elder Charles and Elder Martin stepped forward to graciously offer their services to pack for Bro. David, whose bed was drenched in sweat and he still trembling in his weakened condition. I note that after only one dosage of the powerful medicine from the providential Dr. Kimmler, the swelling of Bro. David's finger had completely assuaged. Bro. David gave instructions while Bro. Martin and Bro. Charles packed his luggage.
We quickly returned to the airport, said goodbye to our brothers in Christ, and checked in. The main thought on my mind was, “Won’t the folks back home be surprised when we show up two days early!”
After a few minutes waiting that seemed like hours, the helpful attendant showed up and finalized our booking on the midnight flight. I must note this further bit of providence. We carried several hundred dollar bills (USD) apiece for the trip. We found that the Tanzanians would take no US 100 dollar bills dated earlier than 2003 due to counterfeiting that had taken place there. This rendered over 1/2 of our cash unusable. On this particular night, neither of us had any 100 dollar bills left that were dated later than 2003, and the upgrade for the tickets had to be paid in cash. Throughout our time in Tanzania, there was only one place we used 100 dollar bills where the cashier did not check the date on the bills to see if they were 2003 or earlier - the KLM employee who upgraded our tickets for the midnight flight.
While resting before boarding, I spoke with the flight attendant who had informed me the flight was overbooked. She indicated that for months there had been travelers seeking to move up a flight to Sunday night and all she knew of had been turned away. She was amazed that we were able to get on the flight. We boarded, and although Bro. David was in no condition to travel, the Lord blessed him with grace to handle the flight. With much praise to the Lord for His providential care, I breathed a prayer of thanks and a sigh of relief as we settled into our seats. I must also note that the "random" selection of Bro. David's seat on the plane was such a blessing from God. While I was buried deep in the back rows of the plane, Bro. David mercifully was given a front row seat next to the aisle where he could stretch out and rest better. In his ill and dehydrated condition, this was truly a blessing.
Monday, March 7, 2011 - We arrived in Amsterdam around 7 a.m. Bro. David was extremely exhausted, severely dehydrated and still very sick. Shortly, the flight left for America and we settled in for the remaining 10 hour flight. Bear in mind that at this point none of our family back home knew we were coming home, but were expecting us two days later on Wednesday.
Upon arrival in Atlanta, Georgia, we made phone calls and arrangements for pick-ups. Bro. David remained in Atlanta until his family came to pick him up the following day. A Primitive Baptist doctor in Atlanta graciously took Bro. David from his hotel that afternoon to his home to treat and observe him. Even though Bro. David was severely dehydrated, it was not necessary for him to enroll in the local hospital, primarily due to the miracle medicine and his quick return home.
I flew to Birmingham and was picked up by Elder Sam Bryant who graciously drove me to Tuscaloosa. A dear brother from church picked me up in Tuscaloosa and drove me home to be reunited with my precious family. Needless to say, they were surprised and overjoyed to see me two days early!
Closing thoughts: I want to add a few lines about the merciful providence that the Lord showed to Bro. David and me. Sometime after our return, Elder Crawford suffered a relapse of the staph infection. The doctors in Florida who treated him could not identify the form of staph they found in his body. It was nowhere to be found in the U.S. Furthermore, neither Elder Crawford nor I could recall the name of the Swiss doctor or the medicine he providentially provided. Due to the fact we had left the country so fast, we never had an opportunity to speak with or thank the doctor. Thankfully, I was able to communicate with a person still staying at the hostel, who graciously provided me with the name and contact information of Dr. Kimmler, the Swiss doctor. I spoke to the good doctor by email and obtained the name of the medicine given to Bro. David. His doctors confirmed that the powerful medicine is not available in the continental United States. At this point, Bro. David has not experienced another relapse of the infection. If he does relapse, it may become necessary for him to travel to Switzerland for treatment.
I fully acknowledge that the account given here is more focused on the things that occurred to Elder Crawford and me, and I pray that this does not come across as a slight to the dear African brothers and sisters. I do, however, think it important to document what happened while it is still fresh in our memory. I hope this journal will help the believers back here in America understand the challenges that our brothers in Africa face, and just how blessed we are here in the U.S. Finally, I ask that prayers continue for the ongoing work in Africa, for the ones who are traveling to share the truth of grace, and for Bro. David and his family, in hopes that this dear devoted brother may continue to experience good health with no relapses.