Figuring Ghanaian life out

Hello again! Thank you all for the love and support from my last blog post. It is proving quite the struggle to find reliable internet! I managed to figure out the public transportation to the capital city of Accra. There, I am able access a slow wifi at a coffee shop. The things we take for granted! The public transportation system is like a minibus, called a tro tro. To catch one, I stand out at the main road until a tro tro picks me up going to Ashaman. This costs about a dollar. Then we head to Ashaman; this chaotic, very bus market. There, I get and manage to find another tro tro heading to Accra. This costs about another 70 cents. The process takes about 2-3 hours, depending on traffic from Accra, which is normally awful!! It’s quite the process to find internet! I take so many things for granted in the US.

 During these few hours, I see and hear a lot of interesting things. During my last tro tro trip back to CORM, a man stood up and spoke for about 30 minutes trying to get passengers to buy a bottle of something with the word BLOOD written on it.  I’m not sure what it was, and I was almost afraid to ask! Going out into the city is something I have really enjoyed. There is just something so amazing about being completely surrounded by unfamiliar things.

It’s been a busy few days at the clinic. Lots of wounds being dressed, the kids are always hurting something! Kids will be kids, no matter where the location. Lots of malaria tests, and malaria medications administered. We have also been providing HIV education and medications to those who need it. When Dr. Troy and NP Jamie are gone, I man the clinic, which can be very busy!  It’s a lot of work for one person! I feel like I am learning so much from Troy and Jamie, its been such a blessing to work with them.  

This last week has been exciting. Fifteen new children arrived from Lake Volta! CORM partnered with the police department and IJM to rescue a total of 45 kids along Lake Volta. In Ghana, a lot of children are trafficked here to work on the river. These children end up working long hard days catching fish. They experience traumas, and things children should never have to go through. City of Refuge, the nonprofit I am working with, works to provide a better life for these children. Once they are rescued, they come here. A plot of land with a boys and girls dormitory, a cafeteria, a school, a church, a playground, a basketball and soccer field( which is a favorite!) and a place where kids can just be kids.  They experience God’s love, they get to have a childhood again. They also get the opportunity to go to school. It’s such a beautiful program, and I am so blessed to be a part of it!  

The new children arrived pretty withdrawn, understandably so with all that they have been through. Almost none of them speak English, so it is hard to communicate. The few that do end up translating for us into their local language. Slowly, you start to see them open up. It’s absolutely amazing to see. They are given a period of time to adjust to their new surroundings, and then they will start school. How lucky I am to get to experience this! God is truly blessing me through being able to care for these children.

This week, I was also able to visit another organization located closer to the Volta River called Baptist Vocational Training Center. This broke my heart. I learned about a practice in some of the communities here. When a family has something bad happen to them, like a death, it sometimes is presumed that this happened because of a curse that is on the family. The family must then do something to lift the curse, so more people don’t continue to die. To remove the curse, the family must offer a virgin girl between the ages of 4-12 to the fetish priests. She will never return to her family, she is now taken on as a wife of the idols. From my understanding, the fetish priests are not actually priests at a church, but it’s more of a tribal religion. These fetish priests impregnate these girls at very young ages. They give birth there, and then their children also live there. The things that these poor girls go through is absolutely heartbreaking.

This organization goes in with bribes for the fetish priests, and is able to remove the girls to live at their organization. They stay there for three years and learn a trade. They are also given equipment at the end to continue their trade in the community and start a business. Through these three years, they are also given education and taught about Christ’s love. My heart breaks for these young girls. Please keep this ministry lifted up in your prayers.

So far, I am adjusting to life in Ghana pretty well.  I even was able to video skype with my fiance and my mom on my trip to Accra! It does my heart good to see their faces! The past few days have been a little difficult physically. I have had some sort of allergic reaction, we aren’t sure to what, and I have been really itchy from hives. I have been taking some antihistamines to help keep the irritation down, which has made me a little sleepy. I also started on an oral steroid and have been using ice to help with the itching. Please pray that we are able to figure out what I am allergic to so I can not be drowsy for the work I need to do while taking antihistamines! This seems so trivial In the grand scheme of things that people are experiencing over here. I just want to be present every moment with these kids, pray that one way or another I am able to do that.

Thank you all for your support since I’ve been here. Your encouraging notes and messages mean the world to me. Hopefully, I can catch a tro tro to Accra to post this soon! Love you all and thank you for your prayers!

Hello from Ghana!  I made it safely, thank you all for you prayers! It’s a very surreal experience to be back.  It’s something that has been on my heart for so long, but leaving this time was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. It’s never been a challenge for me to go on these trips before, but having been recently engaged has changed things. It’s been an adjustment to be away from him, and I am counting down the days until he visits in October! Being away from family for this length of time is challenging too. My nephews are going to be so big by the time I return! I told them they aren’t allowed to grow until I return, but I doubt they will mind their auntie.

The last couple months before I left were spent maximizing every minute of time. Packing things for the trip, spending time with family and friends, making wedding plans, I was always busy with something! Since my arrival, I have to learn how to be still again. The pace of this place is quite different from the American pace. Things take time to get accomplished, you have to have patience. It has been both difficult and refreshing to adjust to this. I think it’s something it will take me a while to master.

Slowing down has allowed me to get acquainted with Africa again, to take in all the senses. To be honest, a big part of me never feels like it left. I feel right at home. I love the adventure that comes with being here. It continues to surprise me with it’s beauty and mystique. So many things about this place can be dangerous. It’s both intriguing and terrifying. But for some reason that appeals to me. I love being able to immerse myself in another culture and constantly learn new things.

I felt so at home returning to my Ghanaian family. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the children again, they are huge! They have grown so much since the last time I saw them. We were able to skype a few times over the years, but nothing compares to being able to talk with them in person, and to see how each of their personalities are developing. My heart is very full.

While I am here, I will be working with Troy and Jamie Tompkins, a doctor and a nurse practitioner from Arizona. Troy, Jamie, and their 12 year old twins recently moved to City of Refuge and will be staying here for seven years. They will be starting a medical clinic to serve City of Refuge Ministries(CORM) and the local community. Until the clinic is built, they are using their house as a temporary clinic. I could not be more excited to work with these two. Their passion for God and for the people of Africa has been amazing to be around.

We have spent time organizing supplies, medications, administering test, and treating patients. I have also been at the school on site. Faith Roots Academy has about 240 kids from CORM as well as the local community. Needless to say, they keep me busy with a variety of things from skinned knees to tummy aches. Right now is the rainy season, so malaria running rampid around the children. Not much time goes by before we are running another malaria test.

I also have spent time learning the process of CHE(Community Health Evangelism). This is an education model that we will be using to help empower the leaders in the local communities to instill change. Health education will be provided, tied in with spreading the gospel. I am very excited to learn more about this program and to help use it to reach local communities.

During my time here, I will be staying in an apartment with two other rooms for volunteers. It’s quite different from my other volunteer experiences where I am constantly moving. This time I will be stationary, and I have a place to settle into. This weekend, a team of volunteers arrived that are staying in the other two rooms of the apartment. So I’ve also been busy welcoming them, and hearing all about what has called them to missions. It’s amazing to see how God is working in so many lives.

So as you can see, I’ve been busy! It’s been an eventful first couple of days in Ghana, but peaceful. I feel at home, like I am exactly where I am supposed to be and like this is where God wants me. I am so anxious to see how He will use me, and figure out more ways I can help.

If you could pray for God to just open my eyes to opportunities where I can be of service. Also, that Troy and Jamie’s work permits would come through so they can apply for their medical licenses to advance their work. Also, pray that the process of applying for my residents card would be a quick so I can try and get my Ghanaian nursing license. Also, pray my family, Lance and myself to all be at peace with being apart for this length of time.

Thank you everyone for all the love and support you have shown me before my departure. It meant so much to me. I pray all is well in the states and look forward to updating you on new events in the future! Love you all.

Life In Ghana

I finally have internet!  Thank you all for your patience, I should be able to update my blog more frequently now.  So much has happened in my time in Ghana already.  I have been at the City of Refuge site for several weeks now.  I am still waiting for a dull moment here, but something tells me I shouldn’t hold my breath.  Let me begin with telling you about the wonderful organization that I am working with.

City of Refuge is a center for children rescued from human trafficking.  In Ghana, there is a large river, the Volta River, which runs north to south through the country.  Poverty in northern regions drive parents to look for better solutions for their children.  They are promised a better life for their child if they send them to work along the river.  Parents are promised a life for their child.  They are told they will be taken care of, fed, and given an education.  Unfortunately, this is rarely the case.

Children are forced to give up their childhood, and work on the boats.  The days are long and grueling, not to mention dangerous.  Children are expected to dive down into the lake and untangle the nets that are caught on the tree roots far below the surface.  They are forced into child labor and deprived of an education.  In addition to the hardships of the lake, they frequently become victims of physical and sexual abuse.  Their childhood is stripped away from they and most of them will never get it back. 

Here, at City of Refuge, children have the right to a childhood.  They finally have a place to call home.  They are given more food than they can eat, given an education, and are loved immensely.  Most children don’t know when their birthday is or how old they are when they arrive.  Upon their arrival, their birthday becomes the day that they were rescued by City of Refuge.  Their new birthday respresents the day they were given a second chance at life.  Johnbull and Stacy, the directors of the organization, have taken all the children in as their own.  It’s common to see a house full of children sprawled across the floor of their living room while watching soccer in the evenings.  They are one big happy family.  

There is also a school on the CORM (City of Refuge Mission) site called Faith Roots International.  This school has 240 students, including the children that have been rescued.  I have been working at this school for the last couple weeks.  I tutor English and reading to struggling students.  Even though all of the children speak English, there are plenty that are unable to read.  I also teach a science and health class to students.  I haven’t really taught before, so this is definitely stretching me outside of my comfort zone.  I like it. 

My biggest role is the school and CORM nurse.  This, in itself, is a full time job.  It doesn’t end at 5 o’clock, or take Sundays off to rest.  It’s constant.  It has been amazing and exhausting, all at the same time.  I have also been able to make home visits for sick students, go with them to the clinic or hospital, and be their advocate for better care.  I went back to school for nursing after my last trip to Africa in hopes that I would be able to use my degree to make more of a difference upon my return.  I am finally doing it.  I worked hard for four years to get back to Africa, and finally, I am here.  It’s scary and definitely has its challenges.  It’s forcing me to think outside the box, look beyond my own perspective, into medical care for another culture.  It’s unfamiliar, and constantly surprises me, but I love it. 

It feels like a huge responsibility to me.  I prayed for so long for God to use me, to send me.  Here I am, in Africa.  I am so lucky to be here and have this opportunity to help.  Not many other people are this lucky.  I feel like I need to work that much harder because I have been blessed enough to come back to Africa yet again.  So, here I am.  I am trying to live in each moment, enjoy each African sunrise, and give more hugs than I thought humanly possible.  It’s a little slice of paradise here with so many intelligent, unique children.  It’s a constant reminder of how beautiful life is, and how blessed I am to experience it.  As another day comes to a close, and the knocks of tiny hands on my door start to dwindle, I drift off to sleep to wake up early and enjoy another African sunrise.   

 

On my way

This day is finally here.  The day I return to Africa!  I have made it to JFK so far, just waiting for my connection to Accra, Ghana.  One more flight and I will be there!  I went to the airport nice and early this morning, leaving at 4:00am.  Being dropped off at the airport to fly to Africa for 6 months reminds me of being dropped off for your first day of school.  It begins with a tearful goodbye and some separation anxiety of all things familiar.  There is that moment of panic where you lose sight of your family.  You look around frantically, worried that they might have snuck off when you broke their gaze to ensure your box of crayons were still in place.  Your eyes scan the horizon to find them in plain sight; smiling, waving, convincing you all is well.  As the time comes for you to go inside, they wait, nodding in encouragement.  They smile a bittersweet smile, excited for the new possibilities you will face, sad that you are moving into a new phase of life.  Reluctantly, they wave goodbye with tear stained cheeks.  Your cheeks are salty as well with thoughts of home. 

                It’s exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.  Fear of getting lost in your scary, new world overwhelms you.  You approach the door timidly with the thought of school yard bullies clouding your head.  Africa holds a wide variety of school yard bullies, ranging from jiggers to corruption.  They are both frightening.

                You glance at the clock and it reads 8:00am.  The day is just beginning.  Your thoughts wander and a smile drifts onto your face.  You think about that moment when you hear the final bell, dash out the door, and see your family waiting on the other side.  You distribute hugs after what seems like an eternity.  You share a piggy bank full of stories that you have accumulated over the entirety of one day, content to be in their presence again.           

                The teacher begins her lesson and you are brought back to the reality of the new day.  You look around the room, excited to see who will become your best friend over the next 7 hours.  You miss your family, your familiarity, your home; but until 3 0’clock rolls around, there’s work to be done and adventures to be had.  You take all the love that your home has shown you and turn it into courage to venture off into your scary, new world; full of sloppy joes and possibilities. 

 My departure date is fast approaching!  January 17th is going to be here before I know it!  I'm very excited to return to Africa.  I'm keeping myself busy with vaccinations, packing, and preparing various educational projects for my trip.  I will start my journey in Ghana, working with City of Refuge.  There, I will be working with children that have been rescued from human trafficking.
      After that, I will head to Malawi to work with the Ministry of Hope.  This organization has two orphan infant crisis centers that serve as the home to orphans from newborn to the age of two.  Then, I will take a quick trip to Zambia to see Victoria Falls, and finish up in Uganda.  There, I'll be working with an organization called Think Humanity.  I'll work at a clinic that serves with refugees and internally displaced people.  As you can see, I'll be keeping very busy on my trip!  I'll make sure to post updates as often as possible, but I'm not sure how frequently I'll have the internet.
     Thank you all for the love and support you've provided me with over the past couple of weeks.  It has meant a lot to me to know that I'll have so many prayers for my safety while I'm gone.  Join me in the countdown, T minus 20 days!! I can't wait to be in Africa again!

Hello everyone!  This will be my official blog for my upcoming travels!  Stay tuned for more African adventures...