Patrick arrived late this morning in his car, and we are on our way to the local Mall in Accra for phone charger, internet access and groceries. I don’t even shop at malls in the U.S. — not a fan!.

Along the route, there are non-stop “stores” on the roadside.  They don’t look like stores we see here, they are like part of a mile-after-mile continuous and dreary farmers market.  Umbrellas and tables and shanties selling their wares individually….. and what do they sell?  Some are hard to tell, others not.  Bottled water, concrete blocks, FOAM (that word always in capital letters….. mattresses are a BIG SELLER HERE ?), lottery scratch-off tickets, wood furniture, various & sundry items, beauty products and/or services, used appliances….too many to list. We also see school children in bright uniforms, some of them very young, all walking alone in the road beside very heavy urban traffic.

LOUD MUSIC EVERYWHERE….and I DO MEAN LOUD – I love loud music, but this is a whole other level (loud speaker music will become another common theme/thread recognized here).  We just heard and saw the loudest music blaring from a massive speaker, right beside live chickens being sold from their cage.  Ugh.

All in all, this is the first day that I felt fully ‘myself’.  I had my first coffee.  Now, I’m not a huge coffee drinker in that I typically have one cup a day, but it’s kinda important…..enough said.  So I found “Nescafe Instant 3-in-one”.  Way too sweet, but along with the good night’s sleep I had last night helped me feel normal and happy….READY for the day.  So even the heat didn’t bother me as much today.

At last I was able to post a fairly long Facebook update, from a store in this mall that sells cell phones — they allow 20 minutes of free Wi-Fi.  At this point I realize the daily blog I planned to post isn’t going to happen while we are “in country”.

At the mall we went to Shop Rite, a regional grocery store (for friends and family in Connecticut, their logo was almost identical to our Stop & Shop).  Rick bought two bags of apples; one for Godwin’s family at the pastor’s home; and one for the kids at the house where we are staying.  Lydia says it’s likely that none of them have ever seen or tasted apples. I can’t imagine, but…. (that won’t be the last time I have this thought).

We saw the first other “Obroni” (white people) that we’ve seen since arriving in Ghana.  We get stared at wherever we go, but I ignore it.  Insight or deeper understanding?  I’m not yet sure.

And ohhhhhh…that fresh baked whole wheat BREAD!  So fresh they don’t even tie the wrapper. Tonight Lydia and I stir-fried some peppers, onions, chicken breast with curry seasoning, which made for a delicious meal with that bread!

 

There’s a young man living at the Seminary compound serving Pastor and his wife.  His  name is Godwin. He unlocked the wall gates as we arrived here after church services (as he would the following Sunday we were there).  We later learn from Pastor and Cindy that Godwin’s two young sisters  “stay close to starving all the time”.  Rick gave Godwin some Ghanaian currency — I’m not sure the amount, and don’t care how much – but it made me fall in love with my husband all over again.

Ready for church, but not sure where it is!

Late last night (our first full night here), we received an email from the Pastor who leads the Lutheran Seminary here in Ghana, Reverend Doctor Steven Schumacher.  We are invited to worship today at Church in the Valley, but the directions are a bit hazy….not sure we’d find this on GPS at home: “Go past the tro-tro stop in Oyibi, then get out at the first gas station on the left and walk the path to church”…….  Huh?

So we used Uber to get to church.  I’m a pro at using Uber from my days in Florida without my own car, but this is…. DAUNTING.  So here’s what we did.  We got out of the Uber at that “first gas station on the left”.  And then a young man you will hear MUCH ABOUT on this journey, Patrick, met us and walked with us to the church.  We absolutely would have NEVER found it on our own.  Little did we know that while we were walking, Patrick and Lydia were speaking in their native Twi language, and in that short span of time, also establishing the beginning of a bond that continues to this day for all of us.  Call them “consequences” if you like….. we call them spirit-led moments.

The church service was simple and mystifying at the same time.  We were late, but managed to be there in time for the sermon, which was based on the same scripture as our Pastor’s sermon the last time I was able to attend our service at home.  Interesting that during the offering, music was played that was uplifting, dance-able and more “African” than I expected (Lydia was happy)…..And the congregation held hands and prayed Luther’s Morning Prayer afterward. We also attended “adult class” (we would call it Bible Study), and then Pastor Schumacher and his wife Cindy invited us to their home for a light lunch and what would be meaningful, helpful conversations!

Once we arrived at their home, we called our own Pastor  Mark Clow at home in Connecticut (8 A.M. there), who was excited to hear from us and offered a prayer for our journey.  It felt so comforting to hear his voice and his prayer.

Pastor Schumacher and Cindy gave us some wonderful ideas and guidance for our time in Ghana, along with further insight into Ghanaian culture: “Ghana is a country of deception”.  That quote would wiggle and nag my thoughts the rest of the trip…..and to this day.  Not necessarily in the negative way you might think, but more of a pointed understanding of a culture so diversely different than our own.  Kind of a “good to know” moment.

He told a story of how his laptop was stolen from their home compound on the seminary grounds early on…..of how the policeman came to the house to investigate….and when the “suspect” was identified walking not far away from there and picked up (all while Pastor and the policeman were still in the same car)…. the policeman handed his (loaded) M-16 rifle to the ‘suspect” in the back seat during transit, saying “HERE….HOLD THIS”….ON THE WAY TO THE STATION TO BE QUESTIONED!

We also learned that Pastor Schumacher is the only Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) Pastor who fluently knows American Sign Language….and serves two additional deaf ministries in Ghana.  We also learned he is a second-career Pastor – formerly an engineer.

All in all, we felt so blessed to have made the connection with Pastor and his wife that we had already — that they had made time for us, graced us with their insights….and offered the services of their driver  (the one who walked with us to church), Patrick, for most of our stay in Ghana.

Much more on “Patrick” later.  For starters, he showed up first thing the next morning and would remain with us throughout much of the trip. And we discovered he has also learned American Sign Language and is passionate about serving these same deaf ministries with the Schumachers.

Patrick was formerly a Pentacostal preacher who would have never met Pastor Schumacher and Cindy had he not been a taxi driver who one time drove them home from a furniture store – a long drive.   He came to a deeper understanding of his own faith journey on this drive home with them, and after long conversations in following days about Jesus and grace, mutual core beliefs and what gets someone into Heaven…….Pastor  asked him, “have you been baptized?”…..and Patrick answered, “No, I’m not good enough.  I’m not worthy”.

The Lutherans who are reading this right now are saying “ahhhh HA”.

 

(On the afternoon of Friday, October 19, 2018 my husband Rick and I, and our friend and sister-in-Christ, Lydia, left our homes in Middletown, Connecticut en route to Kennedy Airport in New York, City.  To follow is what I wrote in my journal about our first hours/days of the journey):

That Lydia….such a big troublemaker!  Her carry-on was searched by TSA because they saw…..wait for it….a box of educational flashcards.  (Terrorist flashcards?).  Almost all the Ghanaians on our flight are dressed as though it’s 40-degrees on the airplane.  Everywhere I look I see leather jackets, ski jackets, puffy jackets, men and women in full suits.  I’m in a 3/4 sleeve knit shirt and capri pants, shoes are kicked off and sweat is rolling down my neck!  A portend of conditions to come ? (well, that was added just now …now that I’ve ‘been there!)

The lovely lady seated across the aisle from Lydia is traveling to Ghana with about twenty people from her Texas church to work on a school they started there.  Later we would see them in the airport after arrival at baggage claim, with about 30 large bins of supplies, tools, etc. for the work they’ll be doing.  The lady we talked with has two teenage girls from Ghana currently living with her family in Texas.  The girls stayed behind this time!

I never really thought about how long this flight would be (11 hours or so)….or what it would feel like….my body is stiff and aching, making it hard to sleep.  Later we would all agree that a flight through the night like that, you find yourself in some kind of ‘half world’, feeling dazed and hazy.  I watched two movies through the night, “Runaway Bride” and “The Sound of Music”.  I’m hopeless.

(Saturday morning, October 20th – WE’VE ARRIVED [photo below]

8:53 A.M. WE’RE IN AFRICA!

OK, let me (try to) only say this once.  It. Is. Hot. Here.

Airport, baggage claim, customs, etc. all very easy to navigate and get through.  After a bit of a wait, we got into two taxis accompanied by cousins of Lydia’s – who arrived IN the taxis — because she’s not sure how to get to the house, so we need them to navigate our way there…..and there don’t seem to be street addresses here in Ghana.  We are going to “Kwabenya House #7” (Kwabenya is an area of the capital city of Accra – what we would think of as a large suburb, and there are definitely more than 7 houses there!)

Coming here from the airport we saw entire areas of three-wall shanties sitting on dirt – some have small storefronts selling everything from concrete blocks to bottles of water.  Clotheslines are everywhere, huge black plastic water tanks sit high everywhere you look.  I could see kids, goats, dogs, garbage…. all in one glance.

The roads are impossible to describe (and this theme would continue throughout our stay).  Most are dirt roads with deep ruts, holes, huge rocks in the middle to go around, no definable traffic lanes, so many cars, motorcycles on both sides of us, typically…and “tro-tro’s” (large passenger vans used for public transportation) pulling off…pulling in.  And horns horns horns honking honking honking.

We arrived at the home where we will be staying most of the time while in Accra – the home Lydia’s mother owns here.  There are other relatives and families living here.  Uncle, aunts, cousins, grandchildren, friends.  I lost count of how many children there are….but they are all so BEAUTIFUL!  We’ve already given out some candy, Matchbox cars, dolls and a stuffed animal.  The kids all say ‘thank you’ in the sweetest way, and give such good ((((hugs))).

Surprise!  We have no running water here.  I recalled Lydia sending money in advance of our trip for the pump to be repaired….but it’s still not working and more parts are needed.  I bathed using a five-gallon bucket of well-drawn water and a one-gallon pail to pour it from.

Uh huh….. we are officially off on an adventure !

Thanks for joining us in this journey of hope.

We have started a faith-based mission goal in the country of Ghana, West Africa.  Our goal is to provide a safe place for young people to live, learn and grow their future in faith.  This goal started almost twenty years ago with a dream of “what to grow” on a piece of land in Ghana inherited by one of our Church members – a native of that country.

Our first trip to Ghana was completed October 31st of this year.  We went with open minds and hearts…..and only two small goals:  to successfully establish the next steps, and recruit a trustworthy new team member to be our ‘boots on the ground’.  The Holy Spirit was working alongside us throughout those first days in this journey.

Stay Tuned!