22
Wednesday, June 17, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
T-SHIRTS: Projects
offers something
positive in tough time
MISSION: Repatriation
flight remains
uncertain
Continued from page 3
Continued from page 3
immediately thought of how
I could put such a powerful
design together while keep-
ing the theme and spirit of the
original logo.=
Holly Davis, who will
be the SMS student body
president next year, has also
worked hard to make this proj-
ect get off the ground.
Schiedler said, <Both Holly
and Jack bring an immense
amount of passion for help-
ing our school culture, our
community belonging, and
those in need. They are cre-
ative, hardworking, and com-
passionate. It has been such
a joy working with them this
year, and I look forward to
being a part of their continued
leadership next year. They are
leaders set out to bring hope
and belong to our school and
community.=
Under Schiedler9s guid-
ance, the shirts are being pro-
duced by hand, which gives
them flexibility of being able
to produce what is needed.
He says they will continue
the project as long as there is
interest in the community.
Turpen is happy to be
doing something positive.
<I9m so glad to see that my
designs are helping my com-
munity in these difficult times.
I think we all sometimes need
a reminder to stay strong, espe-
cially when it feels like the
world is changing so much.=
Information on how to
purchase shirts and stick-
ers can be found at www.
sistersstrong.org. Shirts can be
purchased directly at Paulina
Springs Books and Canyon
Creek Pottery in Sisters.
supporting women9s minis-
try and a small private school
in Ghana. But Radmacher9s
calling is to teach and sup-
port those pursuing Christian
ministry. He recalled, <dur-
ing that trip I just felt like I
needed to return for a longer
period of time in order to have
the kind of lasting impact
I desired. So, I left with a
prayer that God might make
it possible for me to return
and teach for two months.=
Radmacher gained quick
support from his wife, who
knew his passion, along with
his church in Sisters. He coor-
dinated with a pastor who
owns a hotel in Ghana and
they made all the necessary
arrangements for a spring
2020 return to West Africa.
The plan was to teach a group
of about 30 young pastors
and church leaders weekly
and to preach to various con-
gregations twice weekly. The
young leaders are receiving
training from Pastor Calvary,
a Ghanaian pastor with over
20 years of ministry experi-
ence, but even Calvary has
received no formal Bible col-
lege training.
The coronavirus was part
of worldwide conversation in
early March, so Radmacher
did some online research
to determine the impact the
virus was having in Africa.
<One article I read sug-
gested that in countries like
Ghana, which has a tropical
climate, the virus would find
it difficult to spread. This had
given me a degree of con-
fidence as I proceeded with
my plans to take the trip,= he
explained.
Radmacher flew out of
Portland International Airport
on March 11. He did not real-
ize when he departed that was
the day that the World Health
Organization would declare
the coronavirus a pandemic
or that President Trump
would announce the suspen-
sion of flights from Europe
to the U.S. the same day.
Ten days later the president
of Ghana closed the nation9s
borders.
As Radmacher said, <At
that point I felt glad and
thankful that I had made it
PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG
Sisters Strong T-shirts.
Build your dream home in Sisters!
in before the border closure=
4 a closure that was first
announced as two weeks.
When the borders of
Ghana closed, all church
meetings were shut down
by the government, along
with schools, businesses and
social gatherings. Radmacher
spent most of his time at his
hotel, thankful to have access
to a pool and weight room in
the hotel to keep up his exer-
cise routine. He continued to
work remotely on his Doctor
of Theology, completing two
classes while in Ghana. It
wasn9t until early May when
he was able to preach live-
stream from his iPad.
The shutdown has been
especially hard on the poor-
est people of Ghana. Many
are living on $100-200 per
month, earned through resell-
ing food and handmade prod-
ucts from roadside stands or
even by hawking at busy road
intersections when cars come
to a stop.
<The profit margin is very
small,= said Radmacher.
<These people need to sell
something today in order
to feed their family today.=
With daily travel restricted
to only essential items and
police checkpoints along the
way, their already-meager
incomes have been reduced
to nothing.=
In recent weeks,
Radmacher has been able to
spend considerable time with
Pastor Calvary, the local men-
tor for young pastors. Since
the first week of June the
churches have begun to meet
again and Gary and Calvary
have been able to gather with
a handful of leaders-in-train-
ing. This has been encourag-
ing to Radmacher. He can see
that there is more work for
him to do in Ghana and he is
already planning return trips.
When asked about his
possible schedule for return-
ing home, Gary explained,
<I am on a list for a repatria-
tion flight back to the U.S.,
but the last communiqué
from the Embassy on June
10 said this: 8While we con-
tinue to explore every option
to bring Americans home, the
embassy does not have any
additional repatriation flights
scheduled currently. All U.S.
citizens in Ghana should
prepare to remain in Ghana
until commercial air travel
resumes.9=
The president of Ghana
2 D
ING IN
AYS!
PHOTO PROVIDED
Ghanians have seen precarious livelihoods threatened in pandemic.
announced on May 31 that
Ghana9s borders are closed
until further notice.
Despite the fact that
Radmacher was scheduled
to return to Sisters on May 6
and he is now beginning his
seventh week of stay beyond
his schedule, he is confident
that his circumstances are
not beyond God9s control.
In Gary9s words: <I must
say that I am so grateful for
this opportunity. And I don9t
think it would have been
the same if everything had
gone according to my plans.
Problems and pandemics are
a gift from God, that give
us an opportunity to draw
Superior
Escrow
Execution
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Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh.
220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180
TO ALL SISTERS
HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS!
And to
DANIEL SCHMIDT
on receiving the
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provided by
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Sisters, OR 97759 | 541-549-6000
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nearer to him. Often, I say
that 8Jesus learned obedience
from the things which he suf-
fered,9 and we cannot become
like him by traveling a differ-
ent path. So far (I turned 70
last month), this has been one
of the highlights of my life.
I am thankful for my friends
and my church family who
have provided financial sup-
port during this extended
stay. I am so grateful for the
people who have been pray-
ing for me, because those
prayers, I truly believe, are
the reason I am experienc-
ing such outstanding peace
and joy while 8stuck9 here in
Ghana.=
473 W. Hood Ave., Ste. 103, Sisters
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