Ghana (MNN) — Where can you find
Korean pastors in a field, making mud blocks for use in a church in Northern
Ghana? At the Oasis Training Center in
Prampram.
Ambrose Brennan with Oasis says their
interlocking block maker makes ministry growth affordable and timely. "We
have a group of Korean pastors that are established already in Tema. They have
a church there, and they've got some property in the northern part. There's a lot of unreached people in the
northern part of Ghana, so they are going to build a Bible school and a church
up there."
The block maker produces roughly
400 blocks a day with two or three people. It's roughly half the cost to
make the block at the center than to purchase traditional cement block. Anywhere
there is sand, water and cement, there is potential for a new building.
The block maker requires no
electricity, and the blocks themselves do not require mortar for a tight fit. In
addition, because they are lighter, the blocks can be lifted and set into place
by women and children, saving the cost of a mason.
An ingenious designer created the
manual block-making press when Oasis realized the need to build a retaining
wall around the local health clinic. The
cost of it was prohibitive.
However, with the help of the
press, not only did they overcome costs, the team realized they could put up
buildings nearly ten times faster than before.
As a result, interest has grown
among other faith-based agencies who are working in the area. That's
where we get back to the Korean pastors. Through a careful screeing process, Oasis
selected the group to partner with because of their vision to share the hope of
Christ in a region of Ghana nearly untouched by the Gospel.
Similar partnerships are under
review, but, says Brennan, "Just keep the project in prayer. There's a lot
of groups interested. We filter through the ones that we really feel are
serious about it. We have been getting a
lot of inquiries, so [pray] that God would just direct us and that the machine
would get into the proper hands where it could be used the best."
