Building Relationships

Tuesday night Margaret came back from her trip up north. Rather than having to ride on a bus which would take about 15 hours barring any problems, she was able to ride back to Accra with the family she had been working with the past week. John and Bess Russell live way up north in Wa, which is pretty close to the Burkina Faso border. Eva and I had planned a "welcome home" menu for Margaret and were so happy to be able to share it with her and the Russells. They also have two young children, Isaac and Rachel, who are just adorable. John is a "traveling" pastor and Bess is primarily a wife and mother but is also a nurse and so helps people all the time with illnesses and injuries. Margaret had been with them for about one week filming the different types of ministry opportunities they have and are involved with. These DVDs are then given to the churches and individuals who support the Russells. It was really neat to see where they live and to hear stories of God moving in these small villages, even a couple of villages where the people had not heard of Jesus Christ. It was an expected gift to break bread with this family and to also receive a prayer of blessing from them when they left for the guest house. I hope to be able to travel to their area sometime soon.

Eva and I are thrilled to have Margaret back home. She brings a special element of life to the house and the three of us just laughed and hugged and talked for quite awhile that night.

Wednesday - Amma came to the house for our lesson and got to welcome Margaret home. Amma and I did most of our lesson together and then Margaret joined us at the end. They talked some in Twi with me listening and trying to pick up on words and ideas. Then of course we just started talking and sharing and laughing. Amma stayed for dinner. It was really neat to have all four of us in the kitchen cooking and talking and then cleaning up. We had so many languages going. There was a little of Twi, a lot of English, a little French and a bit of Liberian English- oh and some pretension at a British accent:) I just enjoyed building the relationship among all of us. Amma doesn't have a lot of family support and has recently broken up with a long-term boyfriend. It was good to hear her share and to also see her laugh and really enjoy herself. She is a beautiful person - inside and out. I hope to spend many more evenings with her- sharing life, enjoying each other and getting to the things that really matter ( oh yeah - and of course learning Twi).

Tonight there is the possibility of 3-4 people coming over or we may end up with just us three roomies. Amma will come for another lesson and then Margaret's friend, Gifty, might join us. The Russells could be stopping by at some point to see the finished version of their DVD and then my "trotro friend", Sherri might be by also. Sherri, who is with SIM, has been given a real special treat of being invited to participate in her Ghanaian friend's wedding this weekend. So she is coming over for some pre-wedding beautification stuff. You ladies understand:)

Anyway, I am grateful to the Lord for the relationships that He is bringing. Pray with me that they are deep and meaningful and glorifying to Him.

Sounds in the air

Several times throughout the day and into the evening when I am at home, I can hear the Imam give the call to prayer over a loud speaker. Just a short ways from my house, where Margaret and I sometimes walk, is a compound called the World Islamic Call Society, Ghana Bureau (click organization name for link). Across the street, at the little store where we get our minerals (pop), I see the owner praying on her mat while a young girl waits on us. It was not what I expected in Accra but God has placed me in my neighborhood. Pray for love and friendship at every opportunity that God provides.

Just rambling

I don't think I have mentioned one of the most wonderful things about Ghana. It is simply real Coke in a glass bottle. Apparently it is still made with the "old" recipe that uses sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup and it is yummy. Especially in the glass bottle. You can buy a case of 24 bottles for about $6! One bottle by itself on the street is 30 cents or so. But it is more if you take the bottle with you. Even the case, we take it and when we are done return the bottles and get a new case. I have restricted myself to only one a day and not everyday of the week as it is so good but not very healthy.

I am thankful for the little washing machine that we now have in the garage area. It is a European brand and holds about 6 kilos of clothing and takes approximately 2.5 hours to wash and rinse a small load. BUT it is convenient and it doesn't take more water than it actually needs to wash the clothes. Which is really good as we haven't been getting water from the city for quite awhile now and our tanks are almost empty. We will soon have to buy a truckload of water to refill them. We don't have a dryer and I don't plan to get one. It is certainly hot enough here for clothes to hang on the line.

Men have at least one distinct advantage over women here and that is in the area of public toilets- or the lack there of. Suffice it to say that men are free to go wherever they choose -AND they do- while women must be more selective.

My friend, Mariah, has an outstanding singing voice. She was a school teacher in Argentina before coming here and was able to sing the National Anthem for the US Embassy there. She has a wish of singing it at every US Embassy of any country she is living in. Well the other night we were out to dinner for her birthday and she mentioned this. Of course in my usual smart aleck way I told her she should give us a sample right now. And she being equally smart alecky (which is probably why we get along:)) stood up and sang it right there in the restaurant. She did a fantastic job especially without any warm up. Anyway my point of this being that we all have a friend here who is in the Navy and works at the Embassy. Last time we saw him, Stacey, he mentioned the upcoming marine ball and we wondered if Mariah could fulfill her wish and sing at it. So Stacey has worked it out!! We (about 4 of us girls) are invited to go with Stacey and his friend, Matt, as a group to the marine ball and Mariah will get to sing. It is so amazing. How fun. What a crazy thing to be able to do while living in Ghana. I am finding it is good to have American friends. Hanging out with them occasionally is like having a little break. Even though I am still in a new culture, it is nice to be with people that have the same cultural background as I do. I can relax a little bit and not have to work so hard b/c we all basically understand everything we are saying and doing. I hope that makes sense. Of course there is always the danger of spending too much time where it is comfortable and not out with the people so I am watching that. Fortunately most of the time I really enjoy being out in the community and going to new places, etc. so I am not overly concerned. But now to find something appropriate to where to a fancy dinner. I think I know enough people here to be able to borrow something.

My chicken, Dixie, is big enough now to notice that "she" is a rooster but I have decided to still call her a her and also call her Dixie. I am just used to it now and I can't get too attached as a). it is a chicken after all and b). she will soon be someone's dinner. It is still really cute though how she waits for me at the gate and is practically on my heels as I come through.

Something a little bit gross - I have found that there are certain people groups here that do eat cats. Yes, cats. So gross I know. But for parts of Ghana it is common and even considered really good meat. And sometimes dogs are eaten too. I am happy to say that it isn't common in Accra but still....I can't even write about it anymore.

Cat, the white one that now practically lives in the yard, loves our night guard, Kwasi. She sits and waits for him to come and then follows him everywhere he goes, sits by him all night and meows for him to feed her. It really is cute. On the other hand, I think she gives me the evil eye and keeps her distance. Not such a bad thing though as I am pretty sure she would have ticks, worms, or other such icky things from roaming freely all over the place.

Margaret has been up country for about 2 weeks and returns tonight. Eva and I will be very happy to see her. We miss her. For part of the trip she was filming the work of some missionaries that are with her agency. And the other part involved traveling and filming the devastation from the flooded areas with two missionaries from SIM. Once she has a video made I will put it on here so that you can see what is actually going on. The little I have heard and read about sounds like it has been extremely hard on the people and will continue to be so as they no longer have the crops to harvest that they rely on for every meal. Please pray for the whole area up north.

Riding the trotro

Today, Saturday, I did some completely new and enjoyable things. The first was driving by myself all the way to Dzorwulu/Pig Farm to the SIM office where my friend Sherri lives. For those living in the Chicago area that is about as far as driving from Mundelein to Northbrook. Not excessively far but I did it by myself. Yeah! In true confession form, I was a bit nervous and sang "Blessed Assurance" out loud pretty much the whole way there. Wimpy but there it is. God keeps reminding me that he is with me and on the way home I was able to thank him that no matter what might happen he is with me.

Then Sherri and I took trotros all over parts of Accra I had not been to. I think we went on about 7 different ones. Trotros are the equivalent of buses but they look like the old hippie vans. One guy drives and the other (called "mate") hangs out the side to call out where the trotro is headed and to collect money, etc. We had to ask a few times where exactly the trotro we wanted was located but everyone was really helpful and we got around just fine. It also helps that Sherri, who has lived here 2 years, knows her way quite well and also speaks Twi well. The first stop we went to was the Kaneshie market. The best way to describe it is a complete zoo but fun nonetheless. If I had gone there in my first few weeks in the country I would have been completely overwhelmed but today I enjoyed it. There is food of all kinds laying out for sale, beauty salons, clothing and cloth to buy, housewares, jewelry, etc., etc. We bought a few little things but mainly walked around. At one point a woman tugged on my bag from behind - I think to see how securely I was holding it- and then kind of grabbed my waist and acted like she was dancing. I just held my purse tight - like I would if I was in downtown Chicago- and pushed her away. We walked up to this overpass that is for pedestrians to buy some "Ghana" socks for Sherri and we were just about finished with the purchase when I noticed that one of the guys selling the socks was folding everything up in his tarp. The lady next to him was doing the same. Strange. I said to Sherri "something is going on" and asked the guy what was the matter. He said "the police are coming". You never saw so many sellers pick up their merchandise and scatter so quickly. The police did come and made a show at chasing people but nothing really seemed to happen. Obviously they aren't supposed to be selling stuff up there but as long as they have a "lookout" for the police, they don't seem to worry about it too much. After wandering through the market for awhile we hopped on another trotro and went to an area where Sherri has some friends who run a chicken and rice stand. Chicken and fried rice is a staple meal here and these guys made it wonderfully. Nana, Misty, Abu and Daddy Nice were the nicknames of the guys doing the cooking. They really are thrilled when Sherri stops by and gave us the royal treatment including a plate of chicken and rice at no charge. it was sweet! After visiting there for awhile, we took 3 more trotros to a different part of Dzorwulu and said hello to some more of Sherri's friends. And finally took one last trotro back to the SIM office. The travel costs for the day (7 trotros and quite a bit of distance around town) was approximately $1.50. Incredible. So much cheaper than a taxi would have been and much less of a headache than trying to drive. Taking trotros is the main way that most Ghanaians get from place to place b/c it is so cheap. But it does take along time as there are many stops and a person may have to change trotros several times before reaching their destination. Of course, we received many stares and I heard the word "obroni" too many times to count but it is relatively unusual to see a white person taking a trotro so these reactions are understandable. I was very thankful that Sherri called and invited me to go "ride the trotro" with her. It was a new experience and has introduced me to a different aspect of life in Ghana. And driving back and forth was a good experience also. God is good and I am grateful for the "little" victories that he has given me lately that balance out the times when I feel grossly uncomfortable and tired of being a stranger here. Tomorrow I plan to drive Mariah and Jules to church. I am grateful to the Lord for surrounding me with many friends here and for the support that we can give to each other. It is a real blessing.

More Driving Adventures

Well today I ventured even farther from East Legon into the area of Accra called Osu. This was definitely a big deal for me as Osu is where lots of tourist places are as well as restaurants, shops, etc. It is one of the busiest places in town. But before I get to the success part, let's talk about the one-way street nearer home:) Michelle and I went to the near-by store called Game. It is at a new (and nice) shopping mall. Basically the store is like a Wal-Mart but I don't think the prices are quite as good. All is fine and good going to Game except they didn't have what we needed (cartridges for the printer). So we have to go way down to Osu in the middle of the day to get what we need from the computer store. Coming out of Game and getting onto the actual main road to do this was a little challenging. Even Michelle wasn't exactly sure how to do it and so the first major turn I took on the interchange was going the wrong way. Basically I turned to go down an up ramp from the highway. Fortunately we saw this right at the top of the road (and a few kind people hollered that we were going the wrong way) so we weren't too far down to turn around. I am glad Michelle was with me b/c I was able to laugh and get going the right way and my nerves weren't shot. It might have been a little different if I had been alone. So as I said in an earlier post the Lord keeps helping me and giving me courage. It is now starting to be fun as I whip around people and potholes to whichever side of the street seems to work best. I don't worry about stop signs b/c there really aren't any and today I got to use my horn. What fun! I was coming off a circle and was facing a car almost in my lane going around a stopped car, a car trying to turn left across my lane and then two silly guys on bikes in the middle of the road who were quite wobbly. Poor Michelle. She did gasp a tad as I honked, swerved and kept on going. Gotta love that horn. But I still am not quite ready to venture too far alone. That will come with time. It isn't so much the actual driving that makes me hesitate as much as not always knowing where I am going and not being sure that the car I am borrowing right now (Margaret's old one) is completely reliable. These things also require dependence and trust in the Lord. As with anything though, the more I do it, the more comfortable I become.

A Little Driving Victory

Did you ever notice how very kind and patient the Lord is? I have been so nervous about driving outside of just a couple of routes near my house but the Lord is expanding my horizons. Today Michelle rode with me (brave woman that she is) as we went down the main road to do some errands. I know the Lord helped me b/c I was sure praying for his help. The trip was a success. Amazingly I was able to push my way into traffic, as is common here, and also make a two-wide left hand turn without hitting anyone. If you saw the turn in a picture you would surely think there had been an accident. The car going straight on my left is at my door, next to me on the right is another car that pulled out to turn left and he is blocking the guy coming straight from the other direction. So the two of us turn left into traffic at the same time. It was crazy but I wasn't scared- neither was Michelle. The Lord is good even in helping me to drive. It was a victory and my confidence level has been boosted. It really helped to have Michelle who is a very experience driver in Africa in the car. Little by little I will expand my horizons and so grateful that the Lord is with me each step- no matter what happens.

On a completely different note. I have to say that right now as I am writing we are being pummeled by rain with some seriously dark grey/green skies. Yikes. It is the kind of rain that seems to come in waves or sheets. I think I am stuck in the office for awhile:) I may have to build an ark.

Little differences

I thought I would just list a few things that are different here and that I find interesting (or amusing).

1. Lights are turned on by pushing the switch down and off by pushing it up. (I think that is opposite of the states. Can you believe I am having trouble remembering that? And also remembering if the hot water is on the left or right. Here the hot is on the left. That may be the same).

2. Locks on the doors turn like in America. But locks on gates turn the opposite way.

3. It is considered offensive to give money (or anything) with your left hand. Only use your right. You wave to people with your right hand or both hands but not just the left.

4. People here are extremely polite. They say "please" with almost every sentence it seems like. For example, "yes, please", "Please, I am coming." "Please, I am fine." "Please, no". From what I understand even one of the worst insults you can give a Ghanaian is preceeded by "Please". I am happy to say I have no idea what that insult is and have no intention of learning it:)

5. When going into a home where there are many people, you greet one person and then move in a circle to your left (not right) to individually greet everyone else. It is rude to not greet each person and ask after their family, well being, etc.

6. Cell phones are used extensively here. You buy a phone and a SIM card. Then to use it you have to buy minutes from your respective company. You scratch off the card to see the number and enter it into the phone and the minutes are added. People often "flash" each other which is just ringing once so that they will call you back. The reason for this is that you are not charged any minutes for incoming calls. So if I am low on units/minutes I can flash someone and have them call me without any cost to me. Text messaging comes with the minutes/units and is not an extra charge. It just uses up your units as a phone call would.

7. Pedestrians here are primarily responsible for their safety on the road. Unlike America where drivers are to give way to pedestrians, here the pedestrians give to the cars and really have to watch what they do.

8. At the local University (the University of Ghana) you may be assigned to a room where you have to share your bed with another female - for women. Not just have someone in the top bunk while you are in the bottom bunk but actually share the bottom bunk with another girl while there may be 1 or 2 in the top bunk. It is called "perching".

Just a couple days in the life of....

Saturday we woke up to a very wet day. We were hoping for dry, hot and sunny as we wanted to go relax and rest at a nearby pool. But what to do when the weather is rainy? All three of us decided to go to our respective work places to get some stuff done. While I was at the office getting the end of the month reports ready it started really pouring. B/c I was driving Margaret’s car, I looked outside a couple of times to make sure that the car windows were staying up. The windows have developed a strange habit of rolling themselves down at the most inopportune time – like when it is raining or when you are out in public with things in the car that you don’t want walking away. Well both times I looked the windows were up so I finished working and didn’t think about it again. By the time I walked out, the windows (all 4) were down and it was still raining. So of course I drove home with the windows down in the rain. Shortly after returning home we needed to go down town a ways to look at some furniture that someone who is returning to the US is selling. Our options were to drive the car in the rain with the windows that not only roll themselves down but now won’t roll back up on command, take a taxi or just go another day. Since Margaret and I were in a strange and silly mood and we could really use some LR furniture for a good price, we decided to go ahead and drive. Fortunately it didn’t rain too hard while we were out but still we did get wet and probably looked rather silly driving like we did. But we had a really good laugh over it and just enjoyed ourselves. Additionally the furniture was purchased and half of it was transported to the house. The rest will come when the people actually leave in a couple of weeks. PTL for furniture to sit on.

Today, Monday, the day was spent primarily at the driver’s license place and running all over to get the needed paperwork for the car M is buying. We had seen a decent small SUV on the side of the road last Friday and stopped for her to look at it. After driving it and having her mechanic/friend, Simpson, look it over, she decided to buy it. Since she was going to the DVLA (Ghana’s equivalent of the DMV) anyways I decided to tag along to get my license. I am glad she was with me for most of it b/c there are so many buildings and people going in every direction it was challenging to find the appropriate place to start. But we did. Then there was the challenge of getting in the right line and at the end of the line. There aren’t lines and ropes to give direction. Instead you sit in chairs and just move chair by chair until you are the head chair. The people here are quite kind and will answer most questions so I wasn’t lost for long. That was the line just to pay for the form to fill out to get the license. Then there were two other stops that I made it through before I was told to “leave the papers and come back tomorrow.” I made sure that I heard the man correctly and then just shrugged my shoulders, left my papers and met up with Margaret and Simpson who had just gotten the papers they needed to transfer vehicle ownership. The next stop was to go ALL the way downtown to cash the check for payment of the new vehicle. Once we found the right branch it was relatively easy to get the cash. We finally met up with the owner of the car/SUV on the side of the road and there he and Margaret conducted all the business needed to complete the sale and transfer of the car. We aren’t used to doing business like that on the side of the road but hey it worked and M is now the proud owner of a Mitsubishi Space Wagon. I personally find the name interesting. I am not sure who came up with the name “Space Wagon,” but if we were riding around in it in the states I am sure there would be many, many funny (and derogatory) remarks made esp. if one of us is blond. I think we are safe here. All in all these dealing – simple as they may seem- took about 6 hours. And actually all the work for my license and her car is not yet completed. Margaret hopes to complete everything for the car tomorrow and I hope to have a temporary Ghana license in my hot little hand by Thursday. Last Friday when M planned to buy the car, I toyed with the idea of buying her current car – a Volkswagen Golf with almost 300,000km on it. But she has had many, many mechanical problems with it so I wasn’t really sure I should try to get it. Then on Sat. when we had so many problems with the windows, I decided that I probably should pass at this time. Riding in the rain may be fun for a time or two but I am pretty sure I would get tired of it really fast.

The stuff today took so long that I couldn’t meet up with my Twi tutor, Ama. I hope we can connect tomorrow or Wednesday as I want to get started. I am learning to just go with the flow and not get too worked up when plans don’t work out. Most Ghanaians seem relaxed about these things b/c a change in plans happens so often. I am trying to follow their example in holding my schedule loosely and not getting bent out of shape when things take so much longer than anticipated or planned for. What else is there to do?