Coming home

Tomorrow I will be back in the United States. I am really excited. Slightly nervous and very anxious but definitely excited! We arrived back in Accra on Monday night. Saturday was the last day of school and then we had a promotion for the kids on Sunday night. It was so much fun to hear the kids read what they had prepared for the promotion. Isaac and Hannah both read from their writer's notebooks. I was so proud! I stayed at the Emerson's house Sunday night. Brett and I left Kara at 6am on Monday morning and got down to Accra in pretty good time - especially seeing as we stopped in Kpalime at the Blind Center to look at their wood shop. On Tuesday we went back to the Artisan Market and I got a few more things I needed to get. The picture you see is of the men who made a braclet for me:) The Miller's arrived Tuesday night. It is so good to see them again and spend some time with them actually IN Africa. I spent some time with them in Searcy before I left but seeing them here makes things feel so complete. Tonight is my last night in Africa. I leave for the airport at 6:00am tomorrow morning. That should give me plently of time to get my stuff takenc are of and send a few e-mails before I board my plane. Please pray that everything goes smoothly with my flight here in Accra and also on my flight out of JFK. :) I can't wait to see everyone!!! See you on the other side of the ocean!

Ghana Artisan Market

Today Brett, April, Caden, and I went to the Artisan Market in Accra. I had so much fun! Basically, it a huge market area (like the other markets) only it's for the "arts". There was so much stuff there I didn't know where to begin. We arrived there at about 11:00am and only spent 1 hour. The time absolutely flew by. I got so much stuff for such a cheap price. I got a lot of presents for people (still many more to get). Since they speak English, I bartered with them over so many things. It was a blast talking with them. It's so great because you can be sooooo overdramatic and it's ok and exactly what you are suposed to do. You just have to remember that your starting offer is 1/2 of what they want you to pay. Then you go from there. You approach something with a price in mind and you talk with them until one of you gives in. The idea is for them to give in to you but sometimes that doesn't quite work. They all speak a "broken" English. Everything is simplified and articulated. I get in the rut of talking that way and sometimes I forget that I can talk "normal". I had a blast. Togo works the same way only it's all in French which, if you've heard me speak French, it doesn't go well. Anyway, I will be going back there before I come home and getting the rest of my gifts. The picture is of me trying to "talk" about a price for the things I want to buy.

Togo - the dog

Ok - well, sad news. While in Accra, we went by Delta to check on things for bringing Togo back to the states with me. Turns out, there is a embargo on pets entering the U.S. from May 15-Sept. 5th. Which means, Togo can't come with me. They say it is for heat and the "safety of you pets". I'm not sure what that is suposed to mean - do they know he LIVES in more heat then they can ever imagine. Anyway, we exhusted all the options including trying to ship him. No luck. It would have been over $1000 to ship him. I love him but I cannot see spending that much money for a dog. Anyway, the Emerson's have agreed to keep him at their house. I am going to try to talk some gulable couple that comes to visit into bringing him back with them later in the year. I will just pray that it will be possible at some point. I'm sure he will be so happy with the Emerson's though. He loves Caden, and they will get along great. I will miss him but he will be in good hands!

Fun in the Sun

We just returned from the West African Missionary Retreat at Coconut Grove. Well, we will actually return to Kara on Sunday. Right now, we are staying at the Baptist Guesthouse in Accra. It's a real treat because we have wireless internet there. Needless to say, I am online ALL THE TIME!!! Sokay, it makes up for all the time I haven't been able to get on because of the ridiculous price of our internet in Kara. Anyway, the retreat was amazing. It was such an encouragment to all of us and a great time of fellowship. It's been a while since I've seen that many white people in the same area so that came as a shock. hehehe. We stayed at a resort right on the beach and it was so beautiful. We also took a tour of an old slave castle and walked through a rain forest. At the rain forest we took a "canopy walk" where we walked on these extremely small, wood planks held up by ropes above the canopy of the rain forest (I included a picture of Isaac on one of the bridges). I also had the great pleasure of meeting the Rider family from the Arlington Church of Christ. For those of you who do not know, the Arlington Church supported my parents when they were in Liberia. Turns out the Riders have heard of my parents because Danny grew up at Arlington. After telling my parents about meeting them, my dad said he had heard of Danny Rider and knew him when he was a small boy. I know that God provided that opportunity for us to meet and have the blessing of sharing our stories and memories. It was amazing to see them all the way over here in West Africa.
We will be in Accra until Sunday morning and then we will make the long drive back to Kara. I will be in Kara for 1 week and then I will head back down to Accra to catch my plane on the 24th. I will arrive in Nasvhille the evening of the 24th (because of the time change) and head STRAIGHT back home. I cannot wait to see all of you again. The next time I post, I will be back in Accra and just days away from coming home. Please pray for my trip and for a smooth transition for Togo (the dog) and me.

Very soon!

Well, I will be home in about 3 weeks. I can’t wait! I have started to think about all the things I need to get done before I come home…and it is quite overwhelming. Because I’m bringing Togo home with me, there is so much I have to take care of with him. I am praying that things will go smoothly with the airline. While we are in Accra on the way back from WAMR, we will be getting things all ready. I am starting to make “lists” of all the things I need to take care of in order to even start packing. I have never really been a list person, but then again, I’ve never lived in Africa either so - why not start. Right? Anyway, I found out that I will be taking the same flight that Brett and April took recently - the direct flight from Accra, Ghana to JFK. I am very glad that it is a direct flight to the U.S. because it eliminates some of the hassle by not having to go through Europe. However, the Emersons informed me that their flight from JFK to Atlanta was canceled due to weather, so I have started looking for hotels that will allow pets just in case my flight to Nashville is canceled. I am trying to be prepared for as many things as possible. Please pray that things go smoothly with the flight as well as getting Togo out of Africa and through customs in New York. I am also busy getting everyone presents to bring back with me. Most of my family is all finished. I just have friends to buy for now. I have to confess - every time I find a present that I think it perfect, I end up wanting it myself. SO…I have to find another present. This is starting to become a problem since I only have so much room. I’m going to have to figure out where to find some self-discipline.

Waterfall

This past Thursday for prayer time, we hiked back to a waterfall in Baffilo. We left Kara and drove for about 25 minutes, parked the car, and hiked about 15 min. back to the water. As we were getting closer to the water, it was getting more and more jungley looking. You could feel the temperature drop when we got closer to the water. We had to climb over quite a few rocks and boulders to finally get to the water, but it felt so cool and relaxing (minus the bugs that were everywhere). We read the story in John about Jesus and the Samaritian woman at the well and then prayed. I took a few pictures of the waterfall and after figuring out how to work the timer on my camera, got a picture of all three of us. It was perfect because we have had just enough rain that everything has started to turn green and there was just enough water for the waterfall. It was such a fun time and a great bonding time for us!

Apple Pie

This week has proved to be rather challanging. The water has shut off twice since Thursday, the internet has been extremely slow when it actually does work, and the power is currently off. I have decided that living here automatically puts your "stress-o-meter" up to red. Then any of the what you would call "normal" happenings of living here just push you over the edge each and everytime they occur. Pleasant - don't you think?

On Friday of last week, Elijah was very sick, so Dave took him down to a hospital four hours away (he is much better now). At that point, their car was the only vehicle working until later that afternoon. So, we couldn't have school that day. I went over and hung out with the Rieses. Oh, the water had also been out since Thursday afternoon on my side of town, which made life so much fun - NOT! Anyway, so I went over there and took a shower and had lunch and dinner with them. While I was there, Tracey and I were dicussing dinner and she asked me what I wanted for dessert. Jokingly, I said, "Apple pie!!" To my surprise she said that sounded good as long as I was willing to peel the apples. No problem! So, I made the "apples" part of the pie and she made the crust. It turned out to tastes amazing. I had to take a picture! It was really hot that day, not much different than every other day, and we had been in the kitchen cooking. It was totally worth it though! :)

All Church Retreat

On Sunday, I had the privilage of attending the All Church Retreat for all the churches in Kabiyeland. It was such an encouragement to be at that service on Sunday. The retreat lasted the whole weekend and all the men on the team stayed out in the host village, Soumdina Po Wayi, with the Christians. We came out on Sunday morning to worship with them. The service started at 8:00am, or something like that, and went until about 11:30 or so. Of the 18 Churches that have been planted here, 17 were represented by atleast 1 person. It was such a joy seeing that many Christians in one place, united for one purpose. Please keep praying for all the Churches in Kabiyeland.

I took so many pictures and I look forward to showing them to you! The first picture is doing the worship time. The second picture is a picture that Becky took of Caden and me.

Togo update

I thought everyone might want to see an updated picture of Togo, the dog. He is growing so fast. It's a good thing we are coming home soon because soon he'll be too big to fit in a crate on the air plane! He now loves to be outside a lot. He stayed outside the whole time I was gone to Benin and when we go to Ghana for the retreat, he'll stay outside again. He knows how to sit and lay down now and we're working on "shake". He is loving the doggy forturn cookie treats and we both are loving the new shampoo (thanks Wendy). He loves to play with the kids at recess and if he's lucky, he gets some of their lunches that they don't eat. He is also finding out that he can choose whether to obey me or not so he has gotten a few spankings. All for the better though!! Over all he's a great dog and it's really good to have him around. In May you can see him in person!!!! You'll love him!

Long Time Gone...

You know the song by The Dixie Chicks “Long time Gone”? Well, think of that song while you read this post. Heheh - sorry it’s been so long.

Hello to all. I apologize for the long time of updating my blog. The internet costs me a little over $1/30 min. SO…..naturally I don’t have a lot of time be online. The great people of Illico (the internet company here) had a few people complaining that they didn’t have enough money for the whole monthly payment. So, they decided to make a “card” system where you can buy prepaid internet cards from them and be charged per ½ hour. We went in and made a suggestion of having TWO plans where you can either have unlimited access to a montly fee or buy a card. Hasn’t changed yet - All you can say is “it’s Africa” and move on. Me being the genius that I am, did not think about writing my blog and then copying and pasting it into the actual blog when I’m on line the next time (thank you Brett and April). So, this is me FINALLY posting J

Lots has happened since I’ve posted last. I’ll just start listing some of the highlights in no particular order…

1. Togo is growing leaps and bounds!
2. I am coming home May 24th. - looking for a job….anybody know of one?
3. The internet continues to frustrate me.
4. E-mails have gotten shorter in length and longer between waiting times.
5. Made a mini-vacation to Benin (legally this time) and stayed at a Beach resort at Casa Del Papa.
6. Emerson’s car is broken - all piled in 2 cars for a VERY long rode trip to Benin.
7. Lome’ City Mart had Cream Soda, A&W Rootbeer, Oreos, and Cheetos cheese balls - definitely stocked up (see picture).
8. Bought Oreo cookies for $4.50 - shut up, you would have too!
9. Received packages that are AMAZING!!!!!
10. Excited and totally ready to come home!!!!!

We have 3 weeks of school then we’re all headed down to Ghana for the West African Missionary Retreat at Coconut Grove for a week. Then it’s 1 week of school and then Togo and I are headed down to Accra to come home! We can’t wait to see you guys! Plus, I get to see New York for the first time (Are you jealous Cheri???) - even if it is only from a plane.

Irony

So - here's someting ironic...see if you can follow:

It's really hot - right? Well, when the power goes out, in order to have light and not waste batteries in my flashlight - I have to have candles lite. But - candles burn using fire - and fire is hot, so how is that helping me? I keep forgetting...

Note: in order to get the full affect - you need to wait until the hottest part of your day in the summer, put your sheets in the dryer and get them nice and hot, turn off your air conditionor, shut all the windows in your house, shut all the lights out (ABSOLUTLY NO FANS), light candles all through your house (including right next to your bed), put the hot sheets on your bed, and then lay down - NOW, you can go back and reread this post!

Togo and Bodowdaa

Today is an excellent day. I have had two new, great experiences in Africa. First, I got my dog. He is an almost 3 month old German Shepard puppy (see Picture). I have named him Togolese Phillips. Togo for short. A name quite fitting especially when I bring him back home with me! He is absolutely gorgeous! We had our first night last night and he did great. He slept the whole way through the night. He is still very new to the potty training thing but he's getting better! He is a great help for my loneliness! I am so greatful to have him! Currently, he is knocked out on the floor at my feet. He likes to sit under my desk and sleep while I play on the computer.

Second, I went to the village of Bodowdaa (Boe Doe da). The church there is struggling a great deal and David preached a great lesson to encourage them. After worship, they asked us to eat with them. We ate this mush-type stuff with some sauce (very spicy). You are suposed to take some of the mush off the plate with your fingers and dip it in the sauce. Very messy! The mush was the consisitancy of Cream-of-Wheat, and I have no idea how to describe the sauce except that it looked like melted butter with little floaties. The mush was actually quite bland but the sauce helped to give it flavor. It was pretty spicy though. Dave said it wasn't as spicy has normal so I was thankful. Anyway, a few things I have learned. 1. They leave you alone to eat. They do not eat at the "table" with you. 2. The men and women eat separate. 3. The men are served first, then the women, then the children. There is a definite pecking order.

I have included a picture of "Togo", the food that we ate in the village and a picture of the village.

Interesting Encounter

So, I had a funny encounter with this African lady yesterday. Well, I went to dinner at SIL. I actually ate with the Friesen's. They are a family from Canada and are working with the Wiclif (sp) Bible translator people, or something like that. Anyway, they have been here as long as our team has. So, I was walking up there - which is like a 30 min. walk. So, I left the schoolhouse. I always take my Ipod and listen to it while I walk, but I don't put it on until I get to the main road. That's about 5 min. from my door. So, I'm walking and when I'm almost to the paved road this lady comes running out to greet me. She is sooo excited to see me! Which I think is cool. So she is rambling off in French. I'm like - ok, brain switch to French. So, I'm doing my best to listen and then tell her that I speak very little French. She thought that was funny and turned to tell her friends something - don't know what, and they laugh. Anyway, so we get further into our "converstation" (in quotes because I do very little talking and A LOT of pointing) and I start to figure out that she is telling me that she knows where I live because she can see me from her house. I laugh and say wonderful (little scary) and then she proceeds to ask me what I'm doing here. Of course, in the time it takes me to process the first sentence that she has said - she is off in another whole part of our converstation. Which - due to my slow processing, I'm missing. Anyway, I finally am able to tell her what I'm doing here and that I think it's wonderful that she can see me while I wash my dishes. She also asked me where I was going and then proceeded to walk with me about 5 min. down the road. When she figured out I was going like on a 30 min. walk up to SIL she told me she was gonna turn around. While very weird - it was great to talk with her; even though I sounded very unintelligent. She thought the whole thing was hilarious and told her friends that so many times while we were "talking". I guess I made a new friend. Don't know her name becuase I didn't realize she was telling me that until about 10 minutes into the converstation (again, process issue). It's funny -when I'm in my apt. I can think of all the things I needed to say but when I am actually in the situation I freak, have a brain freeze, and all that comes out is "uh, uh, uh" and a WHOLE lot of hand gestures. Anyway - interesting encounter.

Snakes

So - although I have not actually seen A snake since arriving here on the contintent of Africa, unless you count the Accra zoo, I have been told stories. Well today, in the middle of school, Tracey informed me that one of our day guards, Chaula, killed a snake in the school yard. Apparently, it slythered underneath the gate and into the school yard. I had seen something black running around outside my window at one point but chalked it up to Chaula running around for no reason at all. This would be a first for him, but living here - nothing is surprising anymore. Come to find out, the snake had come in and he was chasing it around the building. He finally caught it and took it to the neighbor, who...conviently, eats snakes. Tracey said that Chaula said it was an "orangish" snake that usually eats baby chickens (this is not a problem for me due to my fear of birds). I thought it rather adventurous and took it in stride along with the pigs and lizards that freely roam everywhere. Thought you all might enjoy another animal story - no pictures cause I didn't actally see the snake :(

Church in Kara

This past Sunday we worshiped with the Chruch here in Kara. Worship started at about 9am and lasted about 2 hours - or something like that. The service was mostly in French. I was able to understand more and more the longer the service went. I think my mind gets oriented to the sound of French the long I am immersed in it. At one point, they started singing a song in "Enlish". I'm not sure why but I starting laughing really hard. I am still not sure why it was funny, but I couldn't stop laughing. There were actually two songs in English (didn't know the songs) and one of the songs repeated the phrase "Jesus is the winner-man". Hearing them sing that song with their accent was quite possibly one of the funniest things I've encountered here. I took a video and a lot of pictures. The Christians here currently meet in a building close to the river; however, they are not going to be able to continue to meet in that building because they do not have the money to buy the land. Please pray for the Christian's who meet here in Kara. They need a lot of encouragment and guidence from the Lord. Also, please pray for God to provide them with a place to meet as this is a very heavy burden on their hearts.

The power stayed on for 24 hours straight - the whole day Saturday. I was very excited about that. Reality set in again, yesterday, when it was out for 1/2 the day...again. I am having three skirts made here by the tailor from the fabric I bought at the market the other day. I am very excited to see them, and I"m sure you will see them in the pictures to come.

The first pictures are of the building the Kara Church is meeting in currently. The other picture is of Caden, Brett and April's son, "dragging" one of the children in to worship. She was just hanging out outside the building and he decided she needed to come in. It was cute!

A thing called Power

A candle -lit dinner has a whole new meaning. The power has now gone out for the.....uh, don't know how manyith, time here in Kara. The current temperture is a cool 90 degrees with absolutely no air movement what so ever and quite a bit of humidity. I have decided that there is really no good reason for the electricity to keep going off. The only logical reason I can think of is that some bird has decided to perch on some wire somewhere and has taken it upon itself to make mankind suffer, as all birds do, by twisting the wires in just the right way to make the power go off. Can you think of a better one? For those of you who are reading this and are currently wearing a sweater and drinking coffee or hot chocolate - dealth to you and your hot drink! Currently, little sweat beads continue to form on my upper lip and my shirt is pretty much soaked. I have literally laid on my bed and thought, I don't think the power will ever come back on. When it has, in the past - probably won't again - I have literally jumped off my, danced my way to the computer, and clapped my hands. (Aren't you sad you missed that?). I'm told it gets hotter - I can't wait...I'd take a picture but you couldn't see it anyway - it's too dark!

The Market

I love the market! We went there at 9am this morning, Becky, Elijah, Hannah and I. (that's 2 of her kids). Anyway, so we get there...and I've been there before but I was so - not with it then. Everything was so overwhelming and I didn't know what to think. I was still overwhlemed today, but alteast I was able to think this time. I actually bought some stuff. I got some presents for my brother and brother in-law. I already knew what I was looking for and found them. I also got fabric for a pangea (it's like a wrap skirt that is really easy to take on and off). Very Afrian. One is a blue/white kinda star-like pattern and one is a ty-dye purple and green. I also got a little "purse" type thing to use...because I can't ever figure out where to put things if I don't have pockets. :) I found this guy that makes all sorts of wood and basket things so I'll probably get a lot of presents from him. The prices are reasonable, and I like what he has there.

So, the market is like...picture a parking garage, 2 stories, people everywhere with their little stands selling things, other venders walking around selling you stuff. That's just inside. Outside the building is twice as many people and venders on the side of the street on a very busy road - with cars and motos EVERYWHERE! I have learned that "the market" is kinda just a designated area of town that everyone comes to try and sell you what they have. On the first floor, inside, is the "food" section. I still can't get the smell of dried fish and butchered meat out of my nose. I can barely breath in that section. Actually, I have to hold my breath a lot! On Market day there is blood and meat flying everywhere cause it's so busy, that's what they tell me - I have yet to experience it. Market days are Tues. and Sat. Anyway, so first we stopped at the fabric guy on the second floor. He was very nice and gave me a good price. Then, we walked downstairs and outside to look for a bag/purse type thing. I found one I liked so we talked to the guy who was selling it. He doubled his price right off when he saw I was white so we offered him 1/2 his price. He came back with something more reasonable but I still didn't want to pay that much, so I told him I'd think about it. Then he came down even more. I payed like 2 bucks for it. Well, I didn't have exact change so when his "friend" was giving me my change he tried to give me the wrong amount. I laughed and asked him if he was playing with me. He laughed and handed me the correct change. Becky had gone on ahead so it was a great confidence builder for me. We then moved out to the road and looked at different things there. She took me to the wood guy and I looked in his store. I will be visiting that place more often. He was a good guy and treated me well. I took a few pictures while I was there. The first one is looking down from the second floor of the building onto a part of the venders. The other one is one of the streets that is included in "the market" by our car.

Safari Trip

I just returned from Safari. The southern team came up and we all drove up to Penjari on Saturday morning. It's about a 3 1/2 hour drive. There were a total of 6 cars in our group so 3 cars left early in the morning and 3 cars left about and hour later. I was in the second set of cars - which I'm greatful for because I got to sleep an hour longer :). Anyway, I rode in the car with the Emersons. They are a ton of fun to be around and so easy to be with. After some "playing" with Marty's truck (a guy from the southern team) we headed to Penjari. We got there about 2:30ish and went to the hotel to check in. Now, in order to understand the next happening, you need to keep in mind this is Africa. Ok - so we arrive and go to the "front desk" and tell them we are checking in and we need our room keys. It ends up that the hotel had overbooked, some miscommunication with the main branch people, and there weren't enough rooms or big enough rooms for us all to have what we had reserved. Dave and Bryan had a "go-around" with the guy in charge. This was rather amusing because it was all in French and I could get bits and pieces of it as they talked. They finally got them to give us some portion of our reservation. So, we all "squished" in to the rooms we were given. I ended up sharing a room with one of the southern team families and Emily. We were pretty tightly packed. It was a great bonding experience. The second night we were able to get more rooms and Emily and I shared our own room. Anyway, that was all the first hour we were there. We finally got our stuff in and went out looking for animals.

Ok - what you do is get in your truck, or as I prefer, on top of your truck, and you take different circuts around the millions of miles in the park to see all these animals. The very first night, we saw elephants and lions. They told me that we were lucky to see lions at all. We saw them everyday we were there. It was great. We saw elephants, hippos, monkeys, baboons, so many different types of deer, some type of buffalo (can't remember the name), different kinds of birds, worthogs, and....a bunch of other stuff I can't think of. Anyway, I never got to see the elephants up close because we were watching the lion when the other people saw the up-close elephants. But I did seem them from a distance. It's so amazing to see God's imagination in his creation! The second day we were there - the lions had killed a buffalo and were sitting next to it chasing the vultures away. That was awesome! I rode on the top of Brett and April's car and the Friezen's car the whole weekend. It was a great trip! I'm gonna steel some pictures from other people who had a better camera than I did. I got some pictures but the people with zoom lenses got great pictures!

The first picture is of one of the male lions we saw by it's kill. The second picture is of a bunch of us standing on the cars looking out at some different lions.

Ajadaa

So, yesterday I got to go to the village with Becky. We went to Ajadaa (Ah-jah-dah). It's out went toward Ghana and then a little North. The road was awesome! By awesome I mean the worst I had been on since I got here. I, of course, took pictures :). We went through 3 ditches that were very deep and in the rainy season they are very flooded. It took about 45 min. to get back there. They were suposed to know we were coming but they weren't for sure so most of the women were working in the fields (or where ever). Remember that "time" here is not exactly the same as you think of time. We arrived at about 3:30pm. Greeted some people and then waited. And we waited - talking with one of the older Christian women. And we waited some more. We walked around outside some - over to the water well and then over to one of the family compounds. We greeted them. I say "we" greeted them - I did not talk, Becky greeted them - I smiled. I got my second or third marriage purposal, can't rememeber which number I'm on. Very tempting, but no. I laughed and they all laughed back at me. They saw that I had a camera and asked me to take their picture - the one you see on here. They all want to see it after you take the picture and just laugh at themselves. It's so funny because they are so excited and if they are in group picture - they want to know which one they are. It's funny. Anyway, so after "we" talk with them some - we headed back to the building and.....yep, waited some more! Finally people start showing up at about 4:30ish. So Becky starts teaching and we end up leaving the village at about 5:35pm or so, which puts us back at home around 6:30pm. Over all I would say that I have never enjoyed not talking so much in my life. You really learn to observe and watch when you are not running your mouth. There were more chilrent there and they broke my heart. If you could hear them sing...

The pictures I put on here are of the people I mentioned before and also the church building that they worship in (taken standing in the front).

Snakes Revisited

Round two (ding!). So, today right after school, I saw two African men running really fast in the backyard of the school house accompanied with really loud banging noises. I had the most natural reaction that most people would have.....SNAKE! Ok, maybe not your but here - definitely first reaction. I jumped up from my chair, looked out my window and saw Chaula ( the guard) and another African standing near the pig pen with pieces of wood raised up above their heads. I yelled down and asked Chaula if it was a snake and sure enough - it was. So, I grabbed my camera and ran down stairs to see it. When I got out the door - Chaula and his friend were walking toward the gate with the dead snake. I asked if it was dead. His friend laughed at me and told me it was dead. I asked Chaula what type of snake it was, and he said that in French they call it a Cobra. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I don't care what language I hear the word "Cobra" in - it only means one thing. So, I did the next natural "American" thing and asked them to stop so that I could take a picture. They laughed at me. Well deserved I'm sure but I don't care cause I got the picture. Chaula also said that he figured it was the male snake coming in the look for the female snake (which is the one he killed earlier this week). This time - I have a picture! Chaula is the one on the right, not holding the snake.

Sokode...and more!

Today, I went with the Reeves to the village of Sokode (So Ko Day). We drove most of the way there (about 30 min) but we had to walk about 10 min. to actually reach the village. It is actually one of the first churches that was planted here in Kabiyeland. It is special is that is was planted by the Christians in N'Djei (In Jay). Together they also started two more Churches in the villages around them, Ewede (eh wade a) and Kayahta (not sure how to say this one). There are 4 all together in the small Cluster, about 15/20 min. walking distance of each other. Today, we saw the new building that the Sokode Christian's built to worship in. Most of the villges here meet under a "big tree" so the building was a huge deal. When we got out there, they were headed to the village of Ewede, where we had just come from, to help them carry rocks up for the foudation of their building. Each group has two Elders for their Church; however they all work together Sheparding the Christians in that area. Today, I learned some cultural things in the village, today. 1 - they bow when they greet you. I saw Becky bow so I did too. I noticed that their heads were always lower than mine. The position of the head shows submission. Also, when they shake your hand, always with the right hand, they hold their wrist with their left hand. Also showing submission. I asked Becky about all of this when we got back home and she explained everything to me. Again - a very humbling experience!

The first picture is of some of the children in the first village we stopped at, Ewede. They were all crowded around the car, and I asked them to step back so I could take their pictures. The all wanted to "see" the picture after I had taken it. It was adorable! The second picture is of the new building built in Sokode. We thought it was a school at first because they are using school-type benches in it. Later - they took us in to show us. They were so proud of it!

A Proud Moment

I have discovered that living in Africa makes you find out things about yourself you never knew. For example, I do not remember things like potty training, or reading/writing my first word, or taking my first step. But you know what, I bet it was the best feeling of accomlishment in the world - having done those things for the first time. I just had one of those moments. I have learned that they are more frequent here, due to the fact that everything you think you know how to do, now means nothing. So it seems like you are doing things for the first time.

Today, I walked all the way to the store and bought my own groceries ALL BY MYSELF :) It was like 50 miles away - ok, not that far. But it seemed like a long way. I was so proud of myself I almost started crying. It's like 30 minutes away on foot, and I hadn't walked that way yet. I didn't get lost and did relatively well. The man at the store followed me around with a basket as I walked through the store. He wanted me to by some chocolate when I told him I was finished. Appartently since I'm white, I would naturally want buy that. Anyway, thought I would tell you - it's funny how you can be so proud of something that seems so childish. I have found myself in that position quite often here. It's a very humbling experience.

The picture is of the side street that leads to the schoolhouse.

Sanda Te

We went to the village of Sanda Te today. From Kara, you head West toward Ghana. Then, after you driven about 30 minutes, you turn right on the little dirt road back to the village. Simple enough. Very pretty drive! I will put a disclaimer at the beginning of this: Things here are so different and it is hard to explain. I often feel it is IMPOSSIBLE to explain, especially using any comparison to worship at home because it is in a completely another paradigm. Not just worship, everything here is like stepping into a time machine. There is not a way to fully explain the experiences here. Even if you could try to capture it in a picture, you could never explain the smells, the tastes, the feelings, or the sounds. I apologize for my inabilities to explain things fully. Please know it is not because I don't want to...it is because I don't know how.

We arrived at about 8:44-9:00am. This church is slightly "older" due to that fact that is has existed for about 3 years now (I think that number is right). Anyway, they have built a building and meet regularly. The "service" lasted about an hour and a half - shorted than I expected. Time is not exactly an important thing, just so long as you come at some point, so people trickled in throughout the service. It was pretty organized, meaning that one man seemed to be coordinating and leading the service. However, I got the impression that any man who wanted to speak had the opportunity. Most all of the service was in Kabiye; however there were a few songs in French which I was able to pick up on fairly quickly. There was quite a bit of singing. Which was amazing. I got a few videos with my camera. I didn't want to draw attention to myself so they were only about 10 sec. in length. Becky said she didn't notice so I guesss it worked. This worship here - it's authentic worship. There is no show. Nothing is fake. You see hearts when you hear and see. Nothing is routine or stagnate. I have trouble explaining what it's like to be with Christians who don't know anything but how to worship with their hearts!! Ironic I think. Just some things to think about. Let me know what you think!!!

Picture #1 is the building that we worshiped in today.

Picture #2 is a "close-up" of part of the village Sanda Te.

Pigs

As you know, or maybe you don't know...we have pigs in a small pen in the back yard of the school house. Well, they got loose during lunch today. Not exactly a new thing but this time, rather eventful. So, while the guard found someone to help him chase them back into the broken pen, the pigs were running everywhere in the school yard. No big deal. Tracey and I go back in and start class for the afternoon. Well, being the thinker that I am, I shut the gate that leads to the porch of the school because I like to leave the door open to the classroom, lets in the sunshine. Right? Anyway, so I closed the gate and I'm up teaching about...pictographs...I think. All of a sudden, in walks a baby pig. (They are skinny enough to fit through the bars of the gate)So I'm like..."oh, a pig"...so we all three chased it back outside. It was pretty funny because I thought...my first full time job, how many people can say a pig got in the classroom while they were teaching math? Seriously! I took a picture of the pig later just to show you :) Thought you all might enjoy a little insight to my day!

P.S. I named the pig "Squirt".

My First Coke

Today, I had my first Coke since I arrived on the continent of Africa. I had decided to not drink coke when I got here because of two reasons: 1 - while not individually expensive, it can become quite a costly habit, 2 - I wasn't sure if I could get it in Kara and I didn't want to get into the habit. I thought, I'm putting my body through so much already, what's the deprivation of coke gonna hurt. For the most part, it hasn't been that bad. Actually, I drink about 3 liters of water everyday because it is so dry here you don't want anything else. Little did I know my body had more in mind. When I opened the bottle of Coke I could feel a little "tingling" in my jaw. I would say that is a sign of addiction...what do you think? Anyway, it was so sweet that it gave me a small stomach ache, and I didn't even drink it that fast. Sad...just sad. I know what you Coke drinkers are thinking, but you know what, move to Africa. Then you can have an opinion. Just kidding. I hope that this little experience puts a smile on your face. I have included a picture for your enjoyment! :)

Thinking of You

If you are not aware, it is a very hard to think of new titles every week for this blog. Reguardless, I look forward to writing in it. I am going to try to write in it more than just once a week.

Things in Kara are going better. I have now made it to the point of not crying everytime I talk to mom and dad on the phone. Some days are better than others. I usually don't know that I've had a good day until I have a bad day. Weird how that works. Although, everytime I talk to someone new I cry. For those of you who don't know...Skype is the best thing that was ever invented. It is a program that you can download for free, and you can actually talk to someone over the internet FOR FREE! I was able to talk to Cheri Smith the other day, which was great. She has way of calming me down and making me feel confident again. She also got me to smile quite a bit...which was a new thing for me. After talking with her I think to myself, I'm so glad one of us has confidence in me. Culture shock is truely an eye opening experience that I never want to go through again. I do think everyone should go through it in some form or fassion. It has a way of humbling you by helping you see how big the world truely is. The team here has been amazing. God has blessed me with these people more than I can explain. They have taken such good care of me and have been so supportive and patient with me. I pray I can be a blessing for them through my teaching of their children and also in life. My morning walks with Becky are extremely encouraging. She is so understanding and such a sensitve person. She also seems to know what to say, when to say it, and how to say just the thing you need to hear. I miss everyone back home so much! I think of you often, and I pray that you are doing well.

School is going well. We have now completed our first full week of school. It was good to start getting into more of a routine. My kids, Isaac and Hannah, are teaching me a lot about myself. They are wonderful to be around and keep things interesting. I love being able to teach with a religious emphasis. Tracey has been a great source of encourgament in teaching. I am starting to build a closer relationship with the families here and it has made the adjustment better each day. I am thinking of getting a puppy. I'm not sure what kind yet, but I will be sure to take tons of pictures and post them. It will probably be a few weeks before I get it because we will have to go to the capital, Lome' (about 5 hours or so from here), to get it. I guess that is all for now. I will work on getting more pictures on here. The internet is really slow here so it takes an ridiculous amount of time to download pictures. If you have some time, send me a quick e-mail to tell me how you are! I would love to hear from you anytime. ~Love - Rachel

P.S. The first picture is of the paved road in Kara. I took it while I was walking to Brett and April's house. The second picture is of the place we worshiped last Sunday in one of the villages.

Living in Kara

Well, we arrived in Togo on Monday night. We stayed with the Southern team monday night and then drove to Kara on Tuesday morning. I am still learning adjust to everything here. It has been a huge struggle, and I think will continue to be for some while. Culture shock takes on a whole new meaning when you are actually going through it. Kara is a pretty big town. Nothing like Accra but still is a good size. I have been extremely home sick. I don't think that will pass but I have been taking "small" walks up and down the dirt road in front of my compound in order to get out and see things more. I am not used to living alone, which has also be a hard thing for me. I live in an apartment above the school house. My bedroom is a redish pink. I actually think it was red at one time but with a mixture of the dust and just "life" I would say it is starting to fade. The rest of the apt. is all white. I have not be able to sleep much because of all the new sounds and the fact that the sun is up at 6:30am every morning, like clockwork. I drink about a gallon of water a day here. The dust is really bad, and it just makes you thirsty. I talk to mom and dad quite a bit, and I'm working on not crying everytime. Diane and I e-mail probably 4 times a day although I think that will change once school starts for her.

The first day of school was Friday of last week. The school week is Tuesday-Saturday here, so we only had 2 days of school last week. The first day, as you can imagine...was just working out all the unknowns and getting to know one another. I would say we'll be doing some of that everyday for quite a while. We do all the basic subjects. I am teaching the 3rd graders. There are two students, Hannah and Isaac. They are full of energy and keep me on my toes. They are very bright, and I do enjoy teaching them. Tracey, one of the moms, teaches the 1st graders and also the preschoolers twice a week. French is the official language of Togo so the students have french class twice a week. I have been working on my French as well, which when you put that in the mix of culture shock and homesickness...things are tough. I am learning how to depend on God which until now, I truely had not ever in my life. I guess I never have had to soley depend on him and it is difficult. I pray for you all you back home, and I think of you all the time. Please keep me in your prayers and I look forward to hearing from you. Please e-mail me if you get a chance. I'd love to hear from you!!! rlphillips@harding.edu.
P.S. We went to one of the villages for worship this morning. I didn't understand a word of it but it was really good. It is one of the smaller churches and needs lots of encouragement!

Arriving in Africa

I arrived in Accra, Ghana on January 4th. David Reeves picked me up at the airport and my mom surprised me by meeting me there as well. Gary Cage had to come back and get some bags that he wasn't able to pick up the day before and my mom came with him. It was great to see her standing there waiting for me to come out of the airport. It took about 45 minutes to get out of immigration. We stood in a line for what seemed like forever in a hot room with A LOT of people. My mom picked up my luggage, which was amazing, and then we went out and met up with David. I was so exhusted!!! The whole trip took more than 20 hours when you combine all the flights and the very small delay time between the flights. Things are going well. We are still in Accra at the guesthouse. Brett and April Emerson came in 2 days after me. The two of them and their baby have a little bit of the flu. They are doing better now. We leave in the morning from Togo and then Tuesday morning for Kara. I am excited about getting up to the schoolhouse and my apartment! I am putting a few pictures of the city of Accra. The dust is everywhere...just sitting in the air which you will see in the pictures.