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! :)