Volunteer finds answers to prayers in Ghana

	EAGER STUDENTS: Sharon Van Straten of Appleton teaches English to students in Prampram, Ghana, on a service trip with Global Volunteers. (Submitted photo)

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

Many of us make travel plans because someone we know went first and made the place sound irresistible: The lights of Paris; The canals of Venice.

The red, sand streets of Prampram, Ghana?

For Sharon Van Straten of Appleton, her son, Steve Salm, and his love of this west African nation led to her 24-day trip in Ghana, teaching English to children and adults. (Ghana is a tropical country, about a third larger than Wisconsin, with a population of 20 million.)

"Steve started the relationship with his caring and love for the people and culture," said Van Straten, who attends both St. Joseph Church and St. Thomas More Church, with her husband, Russ.

Steven made a service trip to Ghana in the early 1990s, while a student at UW-Madison. He liked Ghana so much that he made several other trips, earned a doctorate in African studies, wrote a book on the country's culture, and now teaches African history at Xavier University in New Orleans.

So, when Van Straten stepped off the plane at Accra, the capital of Ghana, last November, it was like coming home.

"I saw all the Ghanaians around the fence, welcoming loved ones home," she said. "I saw all those hands waving to welcome people, and I realized that I was there because a loved one, my son, had been to this country many times."

There were plenty of times when Van Straten, a retired counselor from St. Joseph Middle School in Appleton, wondered why she was going on this service trip. "I don't think I've ever prayed so hard for direction," she said about planning to go with the St. Paul, Minn., based Global Volunteers.   Full story ...

	Mass Times 2003 Fall / Winter Mass Schedules (from Sept. 5 issue)

 • Reflection on the Readings by Auxiliary Bishop Morneau --
    February 1, 2004: Smile if you are a follower of Jesus

 • Explaining the Scripture by Fr. Richard Ver Bust --
    February 1, 2004: God is with Jeremiah in his mission

 • Editorial -- Help marriages
    President right to push steps to support marriage, but even more needs
    to be done

 • Editorial -- Telling the truth
    Efforts promote honesty about abortion

 • Foundations of Faith --
    Wherever we are, we listen for the eternal echo

 • Saint of the Day --
    Dying because he was a priest

 • Calendar of Events