Linda’s Update – Mole

 

 

Greetings again from Kumasi

 

It’s wonderful to be here, after the “day” that we had yesterday!  Jean and I were picked up from the Deaf school in Tamale on Thursday afternoon.  As I mentioned before, you don’t want to be driving on these roads at nighttime.  Pastor John tried to beat the sun going down, but we arrived inside Mole Park after dark.  I felt, as we were entering the park, in the dark, that we were entering Jurassic Park.  Had to pass an armed guard.  Found our hotel room with 3 beds set up just like the 3 Bears!  Had a nice dinner, a SHOWER, and then bed.  Tomorrow, a long day!

 

I didn’t sleep again, just too darn excited about our upcoming safari.  We walked to the overlook area early hopefully to see elephants at the watering hole below.  Nothing!  But the panoramic view was AWESOME!!  You had no idea of this when you arrive in the dark. I just couldn’t get enough of this view!  Before we left at 7:00 AM, a family of wart hogs greeted us.  We then met our guide, David who possessed a keen eye.  We also picked up 2 other travelers, Daniel and Petrick from Germany.  All of us crammed inside our truck (except Amandu, who rode on top), we drove further into the park.  It wasn’t long before we saw our first baboons sitting in a tree.  Saw many Koff gazelles, water buffalos, and mongooses.  Then when we turned a corner near the waterhole, there it was, a male elephant munching on a tree.  We all got out to get a “closer” look.  We were safe with our armed guide. I have to tell you, it was a very cool experience! You just don’t get to experience that at the zoo!  We drove over an hour to reach the watering hole that we viewed from the hotel, but there was no elephants to see there except a few crocodiles, birds (Egrets - sp?), vultures munching on a hyena’s carcass and lots of elephant dung.  It was awesome!!  As we drove back to the hotel, we passed a village where the people are living with the baboons.  Or is it the other way around?  It’s amazing how well everyone gets along. 

 

After we enjoyed our breakfast, Jean and I walked back to our room.  We had to first pass by a banana-eating baboon that was near our room.  We were waiting for Karen to come back, so while I used the “toilet,” Jean laid down on her bed to rest. Next thing I heard was our room door bang open.  I heard Jean scream out my name!  The baboon came into our room!!!!  I think she scared him because he didn’t stay long!  Karen walked in right after that and was wondering if we “invited” him in.  We all had a great laugh!  Only in Ghana!  Smile

 

We started on our 6-hour ride back to Kumasi at 11:30 AM.  By the time we reached the end of the loooooooong dusty, bumpy road, we were into the ride an hour and half.  But with the abuse the truck was taking, we discovered a leak in the radiator.  That was NOT good!  We filled it with the water that we had.  Now we had to keep the speed under 120 KPH!!  It didn’t take long before we started overheating again.  Now we are in the middle of nowhere, not many cars passing by.  At least a very small village was nearby that Amadu went over and asked for water.  As we waited, I found a rock and said a prayer.  I knew our ride was going to still be a long one, but I felt at peace and trusted God that He would take care of us. He even provided us with clouds to block the steaming sun.  Filled up the radiator again, traveled as far as we could before we started overheating again.  Now we were at a “toll” booth, next to a larger village.  Enoch got out, was gone about 15 minutes and came back with some “goop” to seal the radiator.  God is AWESOME!!  It worked!!!  It was longer just waiting for this goop to dry.  We would arrive late to our destination, but we were going to make it.  God DOES answer prayers!  As we waited, Jean, Karen and I walked across the bridge (over the Black Volta River) and waited on the other side for the “boys” to pick us up.  We needed to walk away from the mob of kids begging for money at the toll booth.  As we walked, a 9-year old boy carrying a machete approached us.  I was mostly concerned for Jean and Karen because the sun was very hot!  As we walked, this boy introduced himself as Emmanuel.  WOW!  I asked him if he knew what his name meant.  He said he did, “God With Us.”  He then asked me for my money, I told him I had none, then he asked my for my DRESS, I asked him what would he do with my dress?  Then he asked me for my camera, I told him “No,” it was mine.  I was being to feel a bit nervous, but then I then told him “my story,” how I was in Ghana teaching Deaf children about Jesus. I told him how he had a special name.  Then I told him that the only thing that I could offer him was the “God loves you,” and if there is anything that you need, to trust and ask God and He will provide for you.  I then noticed he had a second “weapon” and was walking towards Jean.  I ask the Lord at that moment to take control of this uneasy situation.  Then Emmanuel just turned and looked at me and asked me “Are you coming back?”  Not sure what he meant, I said, “Yes, I would like to come back,” then he just walked away.  I then told him “God be with you.”  That’s the first time I have experienced any anxious feelings since being here, and then it’s with a 9-year old desperate boy.  I felt God was watching over me (us).  And perhaps there was a reason for our truck to break down.  I truly believe things happen for a reason.  If we didn’t make that stop, a seed may have not been planted and I would not have met a boy named Emmanuel.

 

With our truck “repaired” with this miracle goop, we were on our way.  We were obviously running late, and just got to the road construction zone outside of Kumasi.  Yikes!!  Chaos has a new definition: Blinding dust, cars passing in EVERY direction, people walking, giant potholes, over stuffed lorries (trucks), choking exhaust, no shoulders, Friday night, etc!!  WHAT A MESS!!  Drove in that for close to 2 hours.  Enoch, our driver was doing a fabulous job, and I just got done saying, “Go, Enoch, Go Enoch,” we hit a huge pothole and lost our muffler!  Now we had to turn around in this mess and retrieve it, before someone picked it up and sells it!  Now our truck IS the exhaust problem, but we sounded like we were driving now with Attitude!!  Couldn’t roll the window up, the exhaust, but then you had to deal with the red dust!  You should have seen all of us, when we finally arrived at the retreat house about 8:30 PM, 2 1/2hours late! We were in that truck for 12+ hours Pastor Reinke’s beard was RED!  The deaf group was waiting patiently for our return, because they wanted to present us ALL with gifts.  Oh, the pictures will tell the story, we were sticky, dusty and tired, but we graciously accepted BEAUTIFUL dresses with hair wraps!  It was their way of showing their gratitude for all the work we have done.  I LOVE mine and can’t wait to wear it!!  Need a shower first.

 

What a day!  And tomorrow, we’ll be in the truck all day again to head back to Accra for our final days here.  Can’t believe we’re going home SOON!!

 

 

 

 

Got to sleep in because we knew the truck was going to be repaired.  Still didn’t get much sleep.  I will probably hibernate when I get home.

 

Got on the road at 11:30 AM and traveled thru some beautiful parts of Ghana.  The jungle is lush green in these parts.  Have not taken this road before.  I am so amazed by the Wa Wa tree (Sue, you would LOVE them!)  These are the most majestic trees I have ever seen.  They fan out of the ground and raise high above all the plantain and palm trees.  They are the straightest, the highest, and the most beautiful!  They don’t possess any branches until the very top crown!  They are truly a marvelous masterpiece!  And what makes them so unique, they are scattered among the landscape, but you know a Wa Wa when you see it!  Enoch was in too much in a hurry to stop so that I can’t take a picture.  But I wanted a picture of them all. He just laughs and he’s got the best one. As I said, they are unique. 

 

While traveling ANY of these roads, one can also marvel at the past accidents of tro-tros, taxis and yes, of course, the huge “lorries.”  I don’t believe they have “rules for the road” here.  There obviously is not a weight OR height restriction here, but let me tell, there should be!  These trucks are soooo piled high with charcoal, (a “hot” commodity here, along with yams) that they barely make it up ANY incline and if they turn a corner, goodbye!  They capsize from being too top heavy and there they will sit (except the charcoal is gone).  There are not a whole lot of tow trucks here, so if an accident happens, the remnants remain until the vegetation takes over.  We just missed a huge accident this morning when we were leaving Kumasi.  The vehicles are in a such need of repairs (and mufflers!) that one can only speculate the truck’s brakes went out, crashing into a tro-tro full of people, several cars and ending up in the “gutter” of a crowded street.  You know there were many people in the tro-tro and in the street.  I felt sick!

 

We finally made it to Accra at dinnertime.  This is where our journey first began.  After we got settled in our space at the “house,” we headed to the same restaurant that we ate at our first night in Ghana.  Karen, Jean and I are “experts” now, we know we must sanitize our hands before we eat, we ordered for OURSELVES (we know the cuisine here now, smile) and we paid for it in cedi’s.  We actually left the compound earlier, walked down the street to buy eggs!  Oh yeah, we “know” what we’re doing!  Us girls toasted with our bottled water to a possible return next January (Love you honey!).  If the Lord is willing…

 

Tomorrow, another full day!  Only have a few left!

 

 

Jean’s Update -- Tamale

 

When we arrived yesterday, it was an experience.  Amadu accompanied us on the 6-hour bus ride north to Tamale.  The further north we got, the more things changed…the land got drier,  “shacks” became “huts” and there was a difference in the garments in both men and women.  Also, we saw more bicycles and motorcycles. Most notably, the air became hotter and drier.  I experienced extreme thirst.  At our second “rest stop”, Amadu led us to the back of some makeshift buildings, and that’s where I had my first experience with the “squatting potty.”  Good grief.  After standing there for a few minutes, I decided I really didn’t have to go that bad.  Linda, however, succeeded, and was quite proud of her efforts.

 

After a lunch in Tamale, we got a taxi, and sped westward to Savelugu School for the Deaf (SDS).

 

Whew!  The contrast between Cape Coast Deaf School (CC) and Savelugu was heartbreaking.  When we first visited Cape Coast, I thought that school had a lot of needs.  This school is desperate.

 

SDS is a poor school.  They have no running water.  (CC did!)  Some of the desks were broken.  Many of the kids’ uniforms were not in good condition.  The after-school clothes were dirty and ripped.  The children were hitting each other; there was no adult supervision. (The housemothers we saw were inside watching TV.)  Teachers did little or no signing…writing entire lessons on the blackboards.

 

The headmistress, Atoriya Immaculate, was kind to us, and even seemed to be glad we were there.  She was an interesting woman to look at.  She was an elegant woman, carried herself tall, even tho she was considerably shorter than I.  Her face was expressionless, with authority, but once in awhile, she smiled, and it was slow, deep kind of smile.  She made great efforts to sign to me, and I appreciated it.  It told me she cared deeply.  She said many of the children’s parents do not explain religion to their children, whether Muslim or Christian, and we had her permission to teach both groups…only if the children decided they wanted to come to our lessons.  She served us our first dinner there at her own house.  I was very impressed with her.

 

It’s very dry here, last night, and this evening, Linda and I washed our feet.  It’s amazing how much dirt can pack up between your toes. This dry heat leaves me feeling extra thirsty.  I cannot talk for more than a few minutes before my mouth feels dry.

 

We taught about Moses this morning.  The classroom arrangement was a little bit confusing, but, we did manage to tell the story three times today…one to the older set, the middle set and thirdly to the younger set.  Half the kids that showed up for the older set, also showed up for the middle set.  I teased them, and said they had to tell the story for me.  Linda talked about the Pharaoh’s daughter having a good heart, and how God used her to save Moses’ life. 

 

Later on, late this afternoon, Linda and I walked to the school to meet the kids, and they were pushing and shoving themselves around us.  One boy kept saying “good heart! Good heart!” to the younger ones…so we KNOW that at least ONE boy understood Linda’s message.

 

Last night, after leaving the headmistress’ house, we looked up and saw all the bright stars against the dark, dark sky.  It was beautiful.

 

 

We talked about David and Goliath today.  I used 9 and half sheets of construction paper, to show how tall Goliath was.  The amazed look on the kid’s face told me they understood.  After my story, I picked a boy to re-tell the story, and he did a pretty good job.  Linda told them how we are like David, and our problems are like Goliath.  And that we can depend on God to overcome our problems, just like David overcame Goliath.  Once again, the kids seemed to understand.  The Peace Corps girl came up to me afterwards, and told me I was signing too fast for the deaf kids.  That really surprised me, because I felt the kids really took to the story.  I didn’t take her comments personally, but I was surprised.

 

That evening, Linda and I went outside to spend time with the children.  They just devoured the little books that we showed them.  After spending time with them, some of the kids started fighting, and hitting each other on the head.  We both felt perhaps it was time to withdraw, and we went back to our bungalow.  Later, two girls came to get us, saying they were doing dances.  When we got to one of the classrooms, we saw the dance they were doing was hip-hop dancing.  Some of them were pretty good!  Then John, the deaf teacher came over, and asked us to tell a story.  I told the story about Esther …after we finished, I asked John to close with prayer.  He signed, “Let’s fold our hands and pray.” And half the kids fold their hands the Christian way, and the other half folded their hands the Muslim way.  That startled me!

 

It was so hot today.  We visited John’s classroom, he teaches weaving, Kente style.  He had asked us to teach just one class today, so the ages were combined…we had over 85 kids for this lesson…about Noah.  This time, we had an interpreter named Rafiel (I think), and he was a pack of dynamite!  I felt with him being there, the kids understood us much better…we even had some kids asking questions about the story.  Then at 1:30, we met with the students, and the teachers at the food hall, where we presented the gifts.  They were very excited about the One Hundred stories from the Bible books, and the soccer balls.  I felt guilty about leaving…I had a choice.  They do not.  They asked us when we were coming back.  They begged us to come back soon.  It was heartbreaking… I thought for them, I would come back.  We will see, God willing.

 

Pastor Reinke came around 3:30 and dropped off more books.  There was a mob of kids enthralled with the big black SUV, and the people in it.  When we left, they were all standing and waving, til we couldn’t see them anymore.  It made me feel sad.

 

 

Wow…this morning we went on the safari.  Didn’t see very many animals…a lot of gazelles, warthogs, baboons and one elephant!  After a two-hour drive, we went up to the restaurant and ate breakfast.  When we finished, Linda and I walked back to our hotel room to freshen up before we left.  We passed by baboon eating garbage in front of our hotel room.  We passed by him very quietly, and entered our rooms, and shut the door.  I told Linda I wanted to lie down for a few minutes, so she went to the bathroom first.  I am lying on the bed, looking around, when all of the sudden the door is kicked open by that baboon we saw just minutes earlier.  He walks in the room, like he belongs in there.  I’m totally shocked, and I call out for Linda.  The baboon continues to walk around, and he gets a little bit closer to me than I like.  I yell for Linda in a louder voice, and then the baboon notices me, and is spooked, and runs out.  Just seconds later, Linda rushes out the bathroom door, asking what happened…and Karen walks in and asks was that baboon in our room?  It was hilarious…Amadu teases me about my new roommate, the baboon.

 

We take one last look down to the waterhole before we leave…there are three elephants there.  It’s very beautiful…it makes me think about the Creation story…

 

Our drive back to Kumasi is interesting…first the radiator heats up, and we pull over next to a village with huts.  Enoch is telling Pastor that he should “slow down” to 140 to 120 km…and I’m trying to think what that might be in the US system…I’m thinking it’s over 70 mph.  Then we stop by a place, where they fill the radiator with fluid (how did Enoch know where to pull over?  There were no signs to advertise radiator fluid!).  Then we pull up to another town, where Enoch finds some goop to fix the radiator.  It’s hot out, so us ladies stand outside on the sidewalk while the men are fixing the car in the middle of the road.  I see a boy wearing a Tim Horton’s sweatshirt…and am amused to find a Canadian connection here.  Then us ladies take a walk on the bridge over the Black Volta River…it’s blazing hot.  There are kids milling about.  I’m not feeling particularly Christianly at the moment.  After what seemed like 500 hours, the men finally drive by, picking us ladies up.  And once again, we head southward to Kumasi.

 

We’re closer to Kumasi, the sun has disappeared, and the red dust is everywhere, we’ve been bouncing on our seats on the unpaved highway for hours, when all of the sudden the car makes a loud noise…and it turns out we lost the exhaust pipe.  Amadu and Enoch are running against the traffic (in the dark!) looking for the pipe…amazingly, they found it just a short distance back.  They’re all climbing to the top of the SUV, securing the pipes, and then we drive all the way to Kumasi, to the compound.  What a day!  God has protected us!  When we arrive, the students are waiting for us, anxious to give us their gifts.  Wow!  We all received beautiful dresses with bands to wrap our heads. 

 

While they start their meetings, we all take our showers, and pack up, ready to move on again tomorrow morning to Accra.

 

 

I think today’s event was the defining moment of the entire trip.  We drove out to Mampong to the Deaf High School.  We arrive just in time for the Sunday School.  The theme is Doing God’s Will.  A young deaf man gives the lesson, and he never mentions Jesus’ name once during his talk.  It was all “you must obey the 10 commandments,” and you MUST do this and you MUST do that.  I’m sitting on my chair thinking “OH MY GOSH! What will Pastor Reinke say about that?”  Pastor is sitting next to me, and squirming around a lot…and I’m sitting there ANTICIPATING Pastor’s answer.  I did not know he was giving the sermon, and of course, THAT was the time for his answer to the young man’s Sunday School lessons.  If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I was sitting thru a revival of some sort.  Pastor Reinke really got those kids thinking about God’s forgiveness…what it really meant.  It was an awesome experience to watch those kids listen to Pastor Reinke’s sermon.  I finally understood what it meant to be a missionary in Ghana…and I thought I want to come back again, and DO IT RIGHT the next time!

 

Afterwards, we drove out to Adamrobe, a village where there are many deaf people.  It’s also the site of the future Deaf Lutheran High School/Seminary.  I walked thru the village, and watched a group of deaf men build a mud house.  It was a humbling experience to see these people living in primitive conditions…and I, as a deaf person, live half way around the world, and live in a modern house complete with electricity, running water, gas, a grocery store nearby and I also drive a car.  (Deaf people are not allowed to drive in Ghana).

 

As we walked thru the village, the sun is just baking…I’m sweating like there is no tomorrow.  My hair is wet, and my dress is getting soaked.  Amadu says he notices that I’m having a hard time with the heat.  And I said Yes I am.  He tells me an animal story, about a Lion and the Baby.  At the end, he tells me the moral of the story is that if I want to come back next year, I should take a hotter and hotter (to boiling?) bath every night, to “practice” before I come again next year.  And then I ask him what is a Lion doing boiling water a pot in the first place?  It took a few minutes before he realized I was teasing him, then he had a good laugh.  For those of you fortunate to have met Amadu, you know that his laugh is very infectious.

 

Well, now there are two more days left…and tomorrow promises to be a busy one.  I am looking forward to flying to St. Louis, and then going home to Vancouver on Feb. 8th.  But, I know I will examine, and “chew” my experiences for a long time.