Monday, February 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
2010 finds us with 8 grandchildren now! Wow...and to think it all started back in 1967 when Becky woke Craig up on the high school band bus to see if he was really asleep and did he want to talk, (I was asleep but I woke up to talk)! The rest of the story to follow...
Friday, July 24, 2009
Reflections on Ghana, West Africa
Each day of our life, actually each moment of our life, is a stepping stone for how we live the moments or days or even years to come. But some moments, some days seem to have a more dramatic effect than others. My Ghana experience will definitely have a profound affect on the rest of my life. I pray I will be able to use the things I have seen and experienced to effect my own life and the lives of my family and friends. To help all of us have a different, perhaps new, perspective on life. To help me know how to live my life in the coming days and months and years.
It has been a couple of days now since I left Ghana and returned to my home here in South Carolina. Trying to re-enter society as we know it here in the USA can be somewhat of a challenge. I’ve written before about the confusion I am conflicted with regarding why I have and others don’t. Being in Africa just makes this issue more intense for me. There are also the physical issues of body clocks and getting readjusted to time changes. I can’t seem to sleep past 3:00am but then can’t stay awake during the day J Some of these issues, I want to adjust to. I would like to sleep again. Others, I don’t want to forget.
As Delta Flight 167 lifted off in Accra, I felt a surge of emotions, such a confusion of feelings. I’m ecstatic to be going home, to feel Craig’s arms around me, to feel the hugs and kisses of my precious children and grandchildren. I missed them all so much and yet, I feel a certain degree of sadness too. Sadness at being able to do so little. Sadness at having met so many precious little children who don’t have clean water, or enough food or adequate healthcare. Sadness that I don’t know more about them. Do they have someone to love them? To tell them they are special? To tell them they can grow up and make a difference? Sadness at leaving the new friends I’ve made. Sadness that life is just so hard.
Flying along at 33,000 feet in a 767 at over 500 mph, listening to Natalie King Cole’s beautiful voice, having been served a meal with more food than I could possibly eat, seemed so completely surreal. I couldn’t put the food in my mouth without the images of the people in the Airport Section of the Tema Dump haunting my mind. It’s tragic and unbelievable that people depend on the leftovers from these flights for survival.
I’m home now and I’m thrilled to be home with my incredibly wonderful husband and loving family. I lay down to sleep and my sleep is full of dreams of Africa. I revisit those 14 days over and over in my sleep. I hear the words of my new friends, I hear the beautiful harmony of their voices raised in praise, I see the poverty and I see their smiles. And when I am awake, I think. What happens now? What do I do with all this? Where do I go from here? And then I talk. My family listens and cares. My family wants to help me process all of this. We talk about where we go from here. How can we help? What can we do? And then we pray. We pray for wisdom. We pray that God will show us our next steps. We pray that God will send others to join in our prayers for the people of Ghana. Will you?
Sometimes it is hard to realize just how much difference a little can make. Did you know that $52.00 per year will allow a child living in the Tema dump to attend school? This is only $1.00 per week!!! This allows that child to have a meal each day, to learn to read and write, to learn math skills, to have a chance to one day make a positive difference in the world around them. Did you know that $35.00 will pay monthly rent for a pastor and his family in the town of Kpeve? So little for us makes so much difference for them.
I wrote about responsibility one day last week. The fact that knowledge makes us responsible. I know and now I am responsible. What about you?
It has been a couple of days now since I left Ghana and returned to my home here in South Carolina. Trying to re-enter society as we know it here in the USA can be somewhat of a challenge. I’ve written before about the confusion I am conflicted with regarding why I have and others don’t. Being in Africa just makes this issue more intense for me. There are also the physical issues of body clocks and getting readjusted to time changes. I can’t seem to sleep past 3:00am but then can’t stay awake during the day J Some of these issues, I want to adjust to. I would like to sleep again. Others, I don’t want to forget.
As Delta Flight 167 lifted off in Accra, I felt a surge of emotions, such a confusion of feelings. I’m ecstatic to be going home, to feel Craig’s arms around me, to feel the hugs and kisses of my precious children and grandchildren. I missed them all so much and yet, I feel a certain degree of sadness too. Sadness at being able to do so little. Sadness at having met so many precious little children who don’t have clean water, or enough food or adequate healthcare. Sadness that I don’t know more about them. Do they have someone to love them? To tell them they are special? To tell them they can grow up and make a difference? Sadness at leaving the new friends I’ve made. Sadness that life is just so hard.
Flying along at 33,000 feet in a 767 at over 500 mph, listening to Natalie King Cole’s beautiful voice, having been served a meal with more food than I could possibly eat, seemed so completely surreal. I couldn’t put the food in my mouth without the images of the people in the Airport Section of the Tema Dump haunting my mind. It’s tragic and unbelievable that people depend on the leftovers from these flights for survival.
I’m home now and I’m thrilled to be home with my incredibly wonderful husband and loving family. I lay down to sleep and my sleep is full of dreams of Africa. I revisit those 14 days over and over in my sleep. I hear the words of my new friends, I hear the beautiful harmony of their voices raised in praise, I see the poverty and I see their smiles. And when I am awake, I think. What happens now? What do I do with all this? Where do I go from here? And then I talk. My family listens and cares. My family wants to help me process all of this. We talk about where we go from here. How can we help? What can we do? And then we pray. We pray for wisdom. We pray that God will show us our next steps. We pray that God will send others to join in our prayers for the people of Ghana. Will you?
Sometimes it is hard to realize just how much difference a little can make. Did you know that $52.00 per year will allow a child living in the Tema dump to attend school? This is only $1.00 per week!!! This allows that child to have a meal each day, to learn to read and write, to learn math skills, to have a chance to one day make a positive difference in the world around them. Did you know that $35.00 will pay monthly rent for a pastor and his family in the town of Kpeve? So little for us makes so much difference for them.
I wrote about responsibility one day last week. The fact that knowledge makes us responsible. I know and now I am responsible. What about you?
Sunday, July 19, 2009
African Mission
Monday -
We began our drive toward the Volta Region heading northwest from Tema. The traffic is unbelievable all the time here. Every road is lined in tents and huts with people selling everything imaginable. If they don't have a building for their business, they carry it around on their head. I have seen boiled peanuts (loose), bananas, banana chips, boiled eggs, loaves of bread and sodas being sold from the heads of vendors and this is only a few of the things I saw. Along side the road, you can buy or rent about anything you can possibly think of. You can rent a dump truck, a back hoe or other industrial equipment. The operators just sit in the equipment, you go to them and contract with them on the spot. I saw doors and windows, braids, pots and pans, irons, microwaves, refrigerators, mattresses, newspapers, maps of Ghana and even toilet paper for sale by vendors on the streets. I filled two pages in a notebook with items we saw for sale. Quite interesting.
Labo Labo was our first village stop on Monday. This little village was really prepared to greet us. They set up our meet and greet in a shaded area behind the school. After we exited the van, the children were released to greet us and I can truthfully say I have never been greeted in such manner. They ran across the school yard toward us singing and waving their hands, yelling "akwanna, akwanna"(welcome, welcome). Some of the children had paper airplanes that they sailed into the air. It was quite a greeting!
The people had gone to so much trouble to prepare for us - it was very touching.
That night we attended Pastor John Johnson's church in Kpeve, a small town about an hours drive from Labo. This little church was so refreshing. They have recently made some improvements to their building. It has a roof and door and they also have a new set of drums! The building is small and the walls go about 6 feet up with an opening between the top of the wall and the roof. They have done a lot of hard work on this and would like to put some screening up to keep the mosquitoes out. At this time, they are saving the money for this project. It was a wonderful experience worshiping with them.
We spent Monday night in a hotel in Ho. The hotel was clean and nice. The bed was extremely comfortable and I was very thankful for a good night's sleep. The day was very tiring with a lot of driving and bumping around in very crowded conditions. We have so much fun though even under those conditions - lots of singing, laughing and just enjoying each other.
Tuesday -
Today we will begin installation on the 2nd purification system in the village of Adigbo Torno. This village has a large body of water nearby but it has a parasite that causes Schistosomiasis (one of the symptoms is blood in the urine) and many of the villages are suffering from this. We spent all day here, working on the system, visiting with the villagers and playing with their children. A little girl named Esther and I became very good friends! She sat in my lap for a long time and demonstrated her dancing abilities for us. Very impressive, I might add! (For all you facebookers, she is my profile pic today).
We left there after dark and had a long drive to our next village, Alovanyo. We drove a couple of hours, turned off the paved road and onto a dirt road/path and drove (or perhaps I should say bounced) for 30 minutes into the village. They were expecting us for a worship service which took place far back in the bush under a palm canopy. Ben drove us as far as the van could make it into the village and then we got out and walked. It was really dark and a long walk through the village and down a dark, rocky path. This was my favorite worship experience of the trip. Their drums and shakers were the only instruments and their dancing and singing was out of this world.
We arrived at the guest house back in the village about midnight, very tired and ready for some much needed sleep!
Wednesday -
Upon waking this morning, we discovered the beauty that surrounded the house! Mango trees, pineapples, corn, plantain and bananas were everywhere and a gorgeous view. We were invited to a "meet and greet" with the Chief and his elders. As we walked up to the meeting place, I heard the call of the drums. They were signaling a village meeting! What a beautiful, soulful sound.
We left Alovanyo and headed to Logba Tota! Logba Tota is high on a mountaintop and is the village of Chief Takyi who has taken care of us everyday since arriving in Ghana! He has a 3 bedroom guest home that we stayed in. The views are magnificent from the wrap around porch on the house. It was a nice relaxing afternoon, sitting and visiting with all our team.
Thursday -
Today was our return to Tema day. On our way, we stopped at Adigbo Torno to check on the purifier and it was working perfectly. We were all so thrilled - it was a great moment! Even better is seeing the excitement of the villagers! The smiles on their faces and knowing that we could help in this way is just wonderful! And to top it all, I got to see Esther again!
It was a long hard road this week. I've been through so many different emotions as we go from village to village. I go from being completely exhausted to a burst of energy, from feeling terribly sad to complete exhilaration, and pretty much everything in between. This has been a week I wouldn't trade for anything.
We began our drive toward the Volta Region heading northwest from Tema. The traffic is unbelievable all the time here. Every road is lined in tents and huts with people selling everything imaginable. If they don't have a building for their business, they carry it around on their head. I have seen boiled peanuts (loose), bananas, banana chips, boiled eggs, loaves of bread and sodas being sold from the heads of vendors and this is only a few of the things I saw. Along side the road, you can buy or rent about anything you can possibly think of. You can rent a dump truck, a back hoe or other industrial equipment. The operators just sit in the equipment, you go to them and contract with them on the spot. I saw doors and windows, braids, pots and pans, irons, microwaves, refrigerators, mattresses, newspapers, maps of Ghana and even toilet paper for sale by vendors on the streets. I filled two pages in a notebook with items we saw for sale. Quite interesting.
Labo Labo was our first village stop on Monday. This little village was really prepared to greet us. They set up our meet and greet in a shaded area behind the school. After we exited the van, the children were released to greet us and I can truthfully say I have never been greeted in such manner. They ran across the school yard toward us singing and waving their hands, yelling "akwanna, akwanna"(welcome, welcome). Some of the children had paper airplanes that they sailed into the air. It was quite a greeting!
The people had gone to so much trouble to prepare for us - it was very touching.
That night we attended Pastor John Johnson's church in Kpeve, a small town about an hours drive from Labo. This little church was so refreshing. They have recently made some improvements to their building. It has a roof and door and they also have a new set of drums! The building is small and the walls go about 6 feet up with an opening between the top of the wall and the roof. They have done a lot of hard work on this and would like to put some screening up to keep the mosquitoes out. At this time, they are saving the money for this project. It was a wonderful experience worshiping with them.
We spent Monday night in a hotel in Ho. The hotel was clean and nice. The bed was extremely comfortable and I was very thankful for a good night's sleep. The day was very tiring with a lot of driving and bumping around in very crowded conditions. We have so much fun though even under those conditions - lots of singing, laughing and just enjoying each other.
Tuesday -
Today we will begin installation on the 2nd purification system in the village of Adigbo Torno. This village has a large body of water nearby but it has a parasite that causes Schistosomiasis (one of the symptoms is blood in the urine) and many of the villages are suffering from this. We spent all day here, working on the system, visiting with the villagers and playing with their children. A little girl named Esther and I became very good friends! She sat in my lap for a long time and demonstrated her dancing abilities for us. Very impressive, I might add! (For all you facebookers, she is my profile pic today).
We left there after dark and had a long drive to our next village, Alovanyo. We drove a couple of hours, turned off the paved road and onto a dirt road/path and drove (or perhaps I should say bounced) for 30 minutes into the village. They were expecting us for a worship service which took place far back in the bush under a palm canopy. Ben drove us as far as the van could make it into the village and then we got out and walked. It was really dark and a long walk through the village and down a dark, rocky path. This was my favorite worship experience of the trip. Their drums and shakers were the only instruments and their dancing and singing was out of this world.
We arrived at the guest house back in the village about midnight, very tired and ready for some much needed sleep!
Wednesday -
Upon waking this morning, we discovered the beauty that surrounded the house! Mango trees, pineapples, corn, plantain and bananas were everywhere and a gorgeous view. We were invited to a "meet and greet" with the Chief and his elders. As we walked up to the meeting place, I heard the call of the drums. They were signaling a village meeting! What a beautiful, soulful sound.
We left Alovanyo and headed to Logba Tota! Logba Tota is high on a mountaintop and is the village of Chief Takyi who has taken care of us everyday since arriving in Ghana! He has a 3 bedroom guest home that we stayed in. The views are magnificent from the wrap around porch on the house. It was a nice relaxing afternoon, sitting and visiting with all our team.
Thursday -
Today was our return to Tema day. On our way, we stopped at Adigbo Torno to check on the purifier and it was working perfectly. We were all so thrilled - it was a great moment! Even better is seeing the excitement of the villagers! The smiles on their faces and knowing that we could help in this way is just wonderful! And to top it all, I got to see Esther again!
It was a long hard road this week. I've been through so many different emotions as we go from village to village. I go from being completely exhausted to a burst of energy, from feeling terribly sad to complete exhilaration, and pretty much everything in between. This has been a week I wouldn't trade for anything.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Pondering life
Why is life so easy for me and so hard for so many others? It's a question I've pondered many times in my life, particularly in the past few years.
For all my life I will remember the night of January 1, 2006 when I crossed Lake Ponchatrain. I was with a team going to New Orleans to work at a relief center after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the area months before. Never had I ever seen anything like it, such utter devastation and pain. The people of New Orleans had it hard. That week was cold and they had no winter clothing or blankets. They came to the relief center for food, clothing, blankets, medical supplies - everything they needed for day-to-day living. But in the midst of all that, they blessed me in ways I will never forget. They smiled and hugged and were so thankful for the little we could do for them. As I returned over the next months to help out where I could, they continued to encourage me tremendously.
My New Orleans experiences changed my way of thinking forever and I came back home to South Carolina to find ways to bring encouragement to people at home. That's when we discovered the homeless community. Again I met people with so little, real-life men and women who were living a really hard life. Our house church, LifeNet, began to hang out with them on Saturday mornings at Finlay Park, sharing breakfast of sausage biscuits and cheese grits. We sang together and prayed together and so often, cried with them. Their stories broke my heart in the same way the stories of the precious people of New Orleans had broken my heart. Once again I found myself asking the question, why is my life so easy, so wonderful, so full when others have it so hard.
For all my life, I will remember the morning of July 8, 2009, the day I set foot on Ghanaian soil.
Life in Africa is hard. I've met hundreds upon hundreds of people in the past eight days. Yes, life is hard here in Ghana.
Many villages have no wells, no electricity, no running water and of course, no plumbing. They carry contaminated water from rivers and streams for all their water needs. They live in one room thatch or mud huts. A few of the lucky ones have tin roofs instead of thatch. They don't have stoves, refrigerators, mattresses, sofas, or so many of the things I think I need. You get the idea, I'm sure. They have a very hard life.
But they do have love. They have love for their families, love for their God, love for their neighbors. Amazingly they've shown great love to me a complete stranger from the USA. They have given so much to me. They give me hugs and have taught me their wonderful handshake. They laugh with me, they walk with me, they help me climb up steep rocky paths and carry my heavy backpack.They smile at me, they sing, they dance, they allow me to worship with them. They give gifts of beautiful pieces of Kente cloth with our names embroidered on each one, pineapples, bananas, plantains and even a goat. They smile and they are a beautiful happy people.
I still don't know the answer to my question. I doubt I ever will. What I do know, however, is that when I met the people of New Orleans and the people of the homeless community, and became aware of their plights in life, I became responsible. I became responsible to reach out to them, to love them, to let them know that they are special people and that God loves them. I became responsible to do the things within my realm of possibility to help.
I now know the plight of the people of Ghana. Life is hard. What can I do to give back just a little of what they've given me and try to make their lives a little easier?
For all my life I will remember the night of January 1, 2006 when I crossed Lake Ponchatrain. I was with a team going to New Orleans to work at a relief center after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the area months before. Never had I ever seen anything like it, such utter devastation and pain. The people of New Orleans had it hard. That week was cold and they had no winter clothing or blankets. They came to the relief center for food, clothing, blankets, medical supplies - everything they needed for day-to-day living. But in the midst of all that, they blessed me in ways I will never forget. They smiled and hugged and were so thankful for the little we could do for them. As I returned over the next months to help out where I could, they continued to encourage me tremendously.
My New Orleans experiences changed my way of thinking forever and I came back home to South Carolina to find ways to bring encouragement to people at home. That's when we discovered the homeless community. Again I met people with so little, real-life men and women who were living a really hard life. Our house church, LifeNet, began to hang out with them on Saturday mornings at Finlay Park, sharing breakfast of sausage biscuits and cheese grits. We sang together and prayed together and so often, cried with them. Their stories broke my heart in the same way the stories of the precious people of New Orleans had broken my heart. Once again I found myself asking the question, why is my life so easy, so wonderful, so full when others have it so hard.
For all my life, I will remember the morning of July 8, 2009, the day I set foot on Ghanaian soil.
Life in Africa is hard. I've met hundreds upon hundreds of people in the past eight days. Yes, life is hard here in Ghana.
Many villages have no wells, no electricity, no running water and of course, no plumbing. They carry contaminated water from rivers and streams for all their water needs. They live in one room thatch or mud huts. A few of the lucky ones have tin roofs instead of thatch. They don't have stoves, refrigerators, mattresses, sofas, or so many of the things I think I need. You get the idea, I'm sure. They have a very hard life.
But they do have love. They have love for their families, love for their God, love for their neighbors. Amazingly they've shown great love to me a complete stranger from the USA. They have given so much to me. They give me hugs and have taught me their wonderful handshake. They laugh with me, they walk with me, they help me climb up steep rocky paths and carry my heavy backpack.They smile at me, they sing, they dance, they allow me to worship with them. They give gifts of beautiful pieces of Kente cloth with our names embroidered on each one, pineapples, bananas, plantains and even a goat. They smile and they are a beautiful happy people.
I still don't know the answer to my question. I doubt I ever will. What I do know, however, is that when I met the people of New Orleans and the people of the homeless community, and became aware of their plights in life, I became responsible. I became responsible to reach out to them, to love them, to let them know that they are special people and that God loves them. I became responsible to do the things within my realm of possibility to help.
I now know the plight of the people of Ghana. Life is hard. What can I do to give back just a little of what they've given me and try to make their lives a little easier?
Saturday, July 11, 2009
It's been about 5 hours since we left Potwabin but I can still hear the sweet melody of the children's voices. They sang for me! What an incredible gift on my first visit to a Ghanaian village. There little voices were so sweet and melodious and the wonderful thing about it is that they began the singing on their own. My cameras are a child magnet. They love having their pictures made and then viewing themselves on the preview screen. They had gathered around me where I was sitting under the shade of the big trees. We took some pictures and then sang "Old McDonald" which they just love and they giggled and giggled at the animal sounds. And then they just started singing. They were probably all under ten years old and there was about a dozen of them. I have no idea what the words were because I speak no Twi but I didn't need to know. It was one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Those precious little voices just blended together in perfect harmony and they smiled at me through the entire song. They smile with their mouths and with their eyes. I managed to keep the tears back, though it was hard. I'm afraid the "abruni lady" crying would have frightened them.
I've wanted to come here for so long and it's just so amazing to actually be here, meeting the people, learning about their lives and just being able to have a small part in bringing them safe water. The little children really just grab my heart. I asked God to give me a deep love for the Ghanaian people before I came here and I can truly say He has done that. I wrote before I left that I felt I had given a piece of my heart to Africa many years ago and I'm sure now a part of me will be here forever. As I boarded the van to leave this afternoon, my last words to the children of Potrabin were "Midowupaa" (I love you)
I've wanted to come here for so long and it's just so amazing to actually be here, meeting the people, learning about their lives and just being able to have a small part in bringing them safe water. The little children really just grab my heart. I asked God to give me a deep love for the Ghanaian people before I came here and I can truly say He has done that. I wrote before I left that I felt I had given a piece of my heart to Africa many years ago and I'm sure now a part of me will be here forever. As I boarded the van to leave this afternoon, my last words to the children of Potrabin were "Midowupaa" (I love you)
Friday, July 10, 2009
Training Day and Processing
Today was a nice day. We all really needed a decompression day after all the intensity of yesterday.
Dave conducted the training on the purification system with the different men that will be in charge of the systems. We followed that with a preview of the water hygiene training that will take place in the villages.
After a really delicious lunch of chicken stew, white rice (just like South Carolina), roasted white potatoes and of course, deliciously sweet pineapple, we walked to Jerusalem Gates to visit with the children and take some little gifts for them. It was a great visit! The children were very excited to see us again and ran out to greet us with hugs and lots of big smiles. We took many pictures of individual chidren, which they loved. One little boy, Douglas, told me he wanted to be a pilot when he grows up and that he will fly me back and forth from America to visit him here in Ghana. One of the older girls, Comfort, hugged and hugged me today. She is so cute and just a bit awkward in that 12 year old way. She told me she likes to learn about science and math. I love it when girls are interested in those subjects.
It has been such an incredible thing to see how my trip is affecting my family from5000 miles away. Everyone seems to be having a difficult time processing all the sad things they are reading about and observing through our pictures. Ashlea and Tom are praying about what the next step is. Amy, my sweet other "daughter" wrote me today that Natalie and Nicole, ages 5 and 3, are hearing about the things that I'm involved with here in Ghana. Natalie, after hearing about the Tema Dump wanted to know if the people didn't have a trash can. So hard to try and explain these kinds of needs to anyone but especially to young children. What the girls do understand is that I need their prayers. Each morning, Amy gets the globe down, they place those precious little fingers on Ghana and pray for Nana. Oh, how blessed I am.
Dave conducted the training on the purification system with the different men that will be in charge of the systems. We followed that with a preview of the water hygiene training that will take place in the villages.
After a really delicious lunch of chicken stew, white rice (just like South Carolina), roasted white potatoes and of course, deliciously sweet pineapple, we walked to Jerusalem Gates to visit with the children and take some little gifts for them. It was a great visit! The children were very excited to see us again and ran out to greet us with hugs and lots of big smiles. We took many pictures of individual chidren, which they loved. One little boy, Douglas, told me he wanted to be a pilot when he grows up and that he will fly me back and forth from America to visit him here in Ghana. One of the older girls, Comfort, hugged and hugged me today. She is so cute and just a bit awkward in that 12 year old way. She told me she likes to learn about science and math. I love it when girls are interested in those subjects.
It has been such an incredible thing to see how my trip is affecting my family from5000 miles away. Everyone seems to be having a difficult time processing all the sad things they are reading about and observing through our pictures. Ashlea and Tom are praying about what the next step is. Amy, my sweet other "daughter" wrote me today that Natalie and Nicole, ages 5 and 3, are hearing about the things that I'm involved with here in Ghana. Natalie, after hearing about the Tema Dump wanted to know if the people didn't have a trash can. So hard to try and explain these kinds of needs to anyone but especially to young children. What the girls do understand is that I need their prayers. Each morning, Amy gets the globe down, they place those precious little fingers on Ghana and pray for Nana. Oh, how blessed I am.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Laughter and Tears
As I woke up this morning, my first morning in Africa, it was so quiet and peaceful. Africa wakes up quietly and slowly. The only sounds were those of some song birds and another bird that I think was a guinea.
After a leisurely and delicious breakfast, we (our team) along with Chief Togbe Takyi of Logba Tota, Oto and Ritchie walked to Jerusalem Gates Academy. Julius and Salomey (the husband and wife team who run the school) were expecting us and graciously welcomed us. I love the relaxing, laid-back ways of our African friends and we could learn a lot from them. We arrived at the school and they invited us to sit in the shade, sip bagged water and visit with them for a while. They had invited another gentleman from their church to be present, a Mr. Bloe (i'm sure that is not the spelling but if you drag the 'oe' out it's what is sounded like to me) who works for the Department of Agriculture and shared with us some of the experimental farming techniques they are experimenting with. It all sounds very interesting and quite progressive.
Next, what we were all looking forward to - meeting the children. Oh my, they are so precious and so polite and so heartbreaking! When you look into their eyes, it feels like you are looking into their very souls and you want to pull everyone of them into your arms and just make everything okay. Unfortunately, life is just not that simple. I took pictures of them and hugged everyone I could possibly get my hands on and then decided we would just do a great big group hug or huggle as our family calls it. Some of them laughed and some just smiled shy smiles and some held my hand and many of them hugged me. I left feeling sad and happy at the same time and so grateful to just be here!
We came home to a delicious lunch of kontumerie stew. This is a mixture of kontumerie, a leafy spinach type vegetable, tomatoes, tuna and a variety of spices. This was served with yams which taste like a cross between our sweet potatoes and white potatoes. Really, really good - my favorite food yet!
After eating that wonderful lunch, we went to the Dump. Never in my life have I even imagined the sights I saw today. Our fellow human beings living in conditions that I never knew existed. Yes, I've seen pictures of this dump and other dumps around the world but as we all know, seeing pictures and seeing real flesh and blood people are two vastly different experiences. My heart literally ached and I felt nauseous as I walked around. Their homes are made of whatever they can find, cardboard, pieces of wood, garbage bags, sheets of plastic and pretty much anything else you would find at a garbage dump. The smells will forever be with me - the smell of poverty and filth and hunger and heartache. The images are burned in my mind and in my heart - the images of poverty and filth and hunger and hopelessness! I pray I will never forget today.
After a leisurely and delicious breakfast, we (our team) along with Chief Togbe Takyi of Logba Tota, Oto and Ritchie walked to Jerusalem Gates Academy. Julius and Salomey (the husband and wife team who run the school) were expecting us and graciously welcomed us. I love the relaxing, laid-back ways of our African friends and we could learn a lot from them. We arrived at the school and they invited us to sit in the shade, sip bagged water and visit with them for a while. They had invited another gentleman from their church to be present, a Mr. Bloe (i'm sure that is not the spelling but if you drag the 'oe' out it's what is sounded like to me) who works for the Department of Agriculture and shared with us some of the experimental farming techniques they are experimenting with. It all sounds very interesting and quite progressive.
Next, what we were all looking forward to - meeting the children. Oh my, they are so precious and so polite and so heartbreaking! When you look into their eyes, it feels like you are looking into their very souls and you want to pull everyone of them into your arms and just make everything okay. Unfortunately, life is just not that simple. I took pictures of them and hugged everyone I could possibly get my hands on and then decided we would just do a great big group hug or huggle as our family calls it. Some of them laughed and some just smiled shy smiles and some held my hand and many of them hugged me. I left feeling sad and happy at the same time and so grateful to just be here!
We came home to a delicious lunch of kontumerie stew. This is a mixture of kontumerie, a leafy spinach type vegetable, tomatoes, tuna and a variety of spices. This was served with yams which taste like a cross between our sweet potatoes and white potatoes. Really, really good - my favorite food yet!
After eating that wonderful lunch, we went to the Dump. Never in my life have I even imagined the sights I saw today. Our fellow human beings living in conditions that I never knew existed. Yes, I've seen pictures of this dump and other dumps around the world but as we all know, seeing pictures and seeing real flesh and blood people are two vastly different experiences. My heart literally ached and I felt nauseous as I walked around. Their homes are made of whatever they can find, cardboard, pieces of wood, garbage bags, sheets of plastic and pretty much anything else you would find at a garbage dump. The smells will forever be with me - the smell of poverty and filth and hunger and heartache. The images are burned in my mind and in my heart - the images of poverty and filth and hunger and hopelessness! I pray I will never forget today.
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