So a funny thing happened on my way to...

Funny as in unusual not funny haha! Yesterday Margaret and I were running some errands down town and decided to grab a quick bite to eat before heading back up to our area. We were already past the place we wanted to go - I am driving per Margaret's request- so I take a quick right and we are on some "off the main road" roads. A few twist and turns and we know where we are and head in the right direction. But as I take a right turn, following another car, we are suddenly stopped by two official looking men who have blocked the road. Before you can say "hey what are you doing?" they reached in Margaret's window, unlocked the back door and jumped in the back seat. Normally we would have the windows up but the AC in the car is broken so hence the windows are down. They yell at me to back up and that I have "violated" the law. So I back up and wait for them to tell me what to do. I don't know that they were actually police men as they weren't in blue or white but they were more than security guards. So the main guy is telling me that I am going the wrong way on a one way street and now he is taking me to the police station. As I back up, I see that indeed there are signs posted saying one- way.

Now as an aside...there are many roads in this part of town which look like they should be one-way streets but aren't. They have one lane for parked cars and one lane for traffic but still traffic goes in both ways. The road I turned on was one of these roads. Plus there are several roads that have signs posted to not enter but are driven on freely by traffic in both directions. This is the first and only enforced one-way street I or Margaret have ever seen. I am guessing it was a trap and we were the lucky victims.

Ok, so I see the signs and say to the guys in the back, "you are right. I made a mistake. You will have to direct me to the police station". He continues to "threaten" me with going to the station and a big fine and having to go to court, etc. as I keep telling him that is fine, direct me to the police station.

Another aside...I had been prompted way back when on what to do in these situations. Remain calm, don't argue, if they say they have to take you to the police station go ahead and go.

So I am doing all that. After a couple of blocks, the guy - Steve- starts talking about how I am his sister (a common phrase here) and so he is giving me consideration and for his generosity I should "give him a little something" to get water and food. This goes on for a bit and Margaret is doing a lot of the talking as I am still driving around. Finally we stop somewhere close to where the whole problem began and we talk and talk and talk some more. Often in these situations, so I am told, if you go along with it but don't pay the bribe they will eventually get tired, not want to go to the police station and just give up. Well these guys didn't give up. I don't know why but they didn't. So after much talking and listening and a bit of disagreement on what a bribe actually is it is apparent that I will either have to pay them off or go to the police station. So once again I tell them that if we have to go to the police station that is fine but they will still have to direct me. We do go to the police station where they take us to the head guy and tell him what we (I) did wrong.

At first he is very gruff and tells me what I did wrong to which I again agree and apologize for it. He says that he is taking my license and I will have to come to court on Monday at 2. So I said "ok, if that is what I have to do...". In the mean time there are two very nice lady police officers behind me and Margaret starts talking to them in Twi - asking their names and where they are from, etc. We get a nice little conversation going while the officer is making a small pretense at filling out a form. After an interruption by another man, the officer finally breaks a smile and gives me back my license and lets us go.

Is that the end? Well not entirely. By now Mags and I are definitely hungry and so decide to still go eat where we had planned. I drive by the place but there are no parking spaces so as I turn to go around the block who do we pass? You got it.. the two guys that had stopped us in the first place. They are walking from the police station back to their "post". I resisted all urges to gloat thank you very much. Is that the end? Nope not yet. We eat and about 30-40 minutes later as we are leaving and driving down a small road who do we pass yet again? The same guys sitting on the side of the road. I don't know if they were waiting for us to pass or not but when the one saw us he got up and yelled for me to stop - I think. I wasn't really paying close attention to what he said. Well by this time I was incredibly tired of seeing them and their yellow shirts so I just drove by and headed home. I know I wasn't violating any traffic laws at that time.

The whole procedure probably took about 45 min. or so and ended well. I really praise the Lord for that. Mags and I were both praying for the guards and then the officer to have mercy and a kind heart. (The officer won that one). I also praise the Lord for giving me peace and calmness during the whole thing. I had a few moments of nervousness at the very beginning but really had increasing calmness as things went on, even at the police station. I know that was the hand of the Lord b/c I think I normally would have been much more afraid. Some of you may be thinking that I should have just paid the bribe at the beginning and I would have saved myself a lot of time and hassle. That is true. Giving the bribe would have done that but I just couldn't do it. I knew that I might be facing going to court and possibly paying a fine of about 600 cedis - yes that is accurate. 600 cedis which is basically $600. But I also know that it is deceitful and wrong to ask for or give a bribe to circumvent the right thing and I prayed for God to give me the strength to follow through on my convictions. He did!! And I thank Him for that and for His mercy in ending the ordeal before going to court or having to pay that fine. And I praise the Lord also for giving Mags and I the same conviction so that we could support each other through it.

I would be more than happy to have this be my first and last experience with the police for any reason whatsoever! I wouldn't call it pleasant but it certainly could have been much worse. Praise the Lord for His lovingkindness and mercy!!