Praise the Lord for a smooth overnight flight leaving at 11:00 pm on Thursday, August 5th, a delicious dinner of Jollof rice and Kontomire served by the attendants of our United Airlines plane, and a safe landing earlier than scheduled at 5:35 am on Friday morning!
We are grateful to be near to family and friends once again, although we miss many attributes of Ghanaian life and of course all the wonderful people we met there. We wanted to share a few final events from our last few days in Ghana (and pictures too!). Perhaps some of you have been waiting in suspense for the revelation of those photos promised in the last email - particularly those of Alli with the large rear. Here we go - memories and photographs...
1) Alli had her hair braided on Tuesday morning...no, afternoon... no, BOTH! It took every bit of FIVE hours for Kwoku, an exceptional hairdresser and friend of a clinic volunteer, to finish the doo. Whew! By zooming in on the wedding photo below you can see the final product. She's aiming to keep the braids through orientation week at least. Ah, the tangible memory of Ghana.
2) Monday night of our last week in Ho, We joined the other American volunteers at their house for a feast of Jollof rice, fried chicken, salad, and fresh pineapple. Linda, the clinic volunteer and cook for their group, is a talented chef and lovely lady. While we watched her whip up a huge pot of Jollof, we learned a new Ewe word: Kanzo, which means "the burnt rice at the bottom of the pot"! Who knew? Alli really likes it.
3) Sunday night, we made a fajita meal for Mami Augusta, Daniel, and the girls in the house. We tried to buy cheese and tortillas at the local supermarket, but all the potential spots to find those items (maybe 2 or 3 locations?) were closed on Sunday, so we made do with what we had and what Mami already had at the house - spiced black-eyed peas (like refried beans . . . sort of), onions, peppers, and chicken with Ghanaian spice, rice, fried plantains, chopped tomatoes and onions (like salsa) and gaucamole (made from avocados - which they call pears - we had bought at the market). They complimented the meal and they helped us greatly in preparing it. It was wonderful to sit down like a family to share the meal!
4) Wednesday afternoon, before catching a Tro-Tro (the least expensive form of public transportation), Reverend Bankas held a farewell ceremony for us at Lilimed clinic. We were honored to receive their thanks for the medication donation and time we spent in Ho. The thanks truly goes to them - those who stay and continue doing great work to meet the needs of under-served villagers and city-dwellers.
5) We arrived in Accra at around 8:00 pm. A kind gentleman Jeremy talked to on the way down got off with us at our stop to be sure we met Paul safely. Paul ran across a major road at night to meet us at the Tro-Tro stop (basically an exit ramp or shoulder of the road - it was dark!) Then we ran back with him to take a taxi to his family's place, where we spent our last night in Ghana.
6) Thursday morning, we attended a wedding in Accra. Paul was the best man, the groom a good friend from Sierra Leone and Bible College, the bride a beautiful woman from Benin. As Paul spoke to the guests after the wedding certificate was signed, "Let's clap for this great couple from the United States of Heaven." Hallelujah for cross-cultural marriage!
So...we were first invited to come to the wedding. Then after the ceremony asked to pop the champagne during the reception. It seems most Africans have this way of making you feel at home. We were surprised to be announced as missionaries and American travelers to Ghana during their wedding celebration.
That's all for new experiences. Here's a bit more explanation of the photos included in this email:
* Clearing the brush in front of the termite mound in Hodzove. We joked with the kids afterward and suggested they charge a small token from anyone who stops to view the mountain of mud - a tourist attraction of sorts. Check out the before and after shots.
* Vodafone Cafe photo below kind of captures the air-conditioned amenities of the cafe providing "the fastest Internet connection in Africa" (or so they claim!) It is the spot where all the Yovus converge! in this photo, John Barber (the coordinator for the Massachusetts volunteers,www.ghanaact.org) is the one sitting on the far left front row of computers.
* Included below are the photos of Alli dressed up as "queen mother" for the ceremony and also a group shot of the American volunteers, villagers of Saviefe, and the actual Queen Mother of the community. She was selected for the position at the age of 14 and is now in her mid-20's about to begin school at the University studying nutritional health.
Wow! So many memories and so little time. We will be setting up a Picasa site soon to share our whole collection of photos. Look out for that update shortly.
Anyiboboe children without a school
Second mobile clinic village where many urinate blood (Bilharzia)
Body-moving at church service
Buying Fanyogo (Ghanaian bagged ice cream)
Dressed up as the 2nd queen mother
Paul as best man for friend's wedding
Popping the champagne at the wedding
The termite mound before Paul cleared the brush
The post-clearing termite mound
Vodafone cafe (a taste of home)
Yovus and villages with the actual queen mother of Saviefe
