There are many acres of unoccupied land just outside of Freetown – green and lush and well watered with many tributaries. With all of this, we wondered why so many people prefer to live in the overcrowded conditions of Freetown. We were told because of the war many of the young moved to the city, leaving the older generation to farm the land and the new generation have become strangers to farming, preferring to haggle wares and services or just to plain beg. We see too many beggars in Freetown. There is a need for a new sense of survival and empowerment of the people.
We found out (the hard way) how much we take little things (like opening a bank account and changing flights) for granted, esp. how very tedious it can be, when done manually. But that’s how things are done here.
We finally came to the time to travel to Segbwema. The plan was to have a one day retreat to meet the staff of the hospital before we finally went. This was done in a Catholic guest house in Kenema (the catholics were the only religious body to have the vision to invest by building guest houses all over the country). The retreat was well attended and was very effective in highlighting the current problems, suggesting solutions and creating a pathway to reaching the solutions. The day went fast for us as we were anxious to see the end of our 4 week journey. At last, at 4:30 we set off from Kenema. We had only 27 miles to go – but we were told these were worse than the 100 plus miles we had already travelled. All the warning couldn’t have prepared us for the roads to Segbwema. It was worse than ‘river bottom’!!!!!! It took nearly 2 and half hours to travel. We were appalled. It seems it rains nearly on a daily basis and the roads reflected this. At one point we went through a muddy section where we could reach out of the window of the 4x4 and touch the ‘ground’. The more we drove the more it looked and felt remote – like driving into a jungle. We saw less and less concrete houses and more and more collection of mud huts with grass roof (villages). It was then it slowly dawned on us, we were really going in deep deep deep rural. It’s not going to be easy if we wanted to leave ( physically).
When we finally reached our destination it was dusk. The hospital grounds is not much to look at ( esp. in the dark – no electricity) and we were further alarmed. Was this really a hospital? We saw dilapidated buildings, overgrown premises, and few people milling around. Then we came to our new home. Of course, it was dark. The neighbour’s children came out to greet him ( he is the head of the nursing school) and they of course greeted us too. Everyone seemed pleased to have us. We found some light (our rechargeable lantern) and headed indoors – holding our breath for the surprise. And…………..we were pleasantly surprised. Our bungalow has 2 large bedrooms, both large enough to hold a king size bed, dresser, wardrobe, desk and chair, and also our many suitcases and bags and still find space to walk around without bucking our toes. We have a large living and dining area, toilet and bath (separated) and an ok kitchen. We have a fridge ( electric) and a gas operated stove. The corridors are huge!!!!!!!!! and Little J fell in love with the space. She also fell in play with the neighbour’s children. We were well looked after as person after person came with items for our comfort – food, water ( we have to get this at the communal source), light ( the generator was turned on for the hospital), somebody to kill the spiders ( they seem to just love the place) and someone to quickly give the tour. It was amazingly overwhelming.
We went to bed tired yet not, and woke at 3 a.m. to talk about our feelings. At 4:30 we heard crying (we’re approx 30 yards from the hospital) as it appeared there was a death. It turned out to be a maternal death ( obstructed labour ). This was the second in 2 days, and it seemed they are regular because of the practise and mentality of the people. They tend to go to TBAs even though the hospital is close by. But that’s another post.
Prayer warriors, please pray for team spirit to quickly grow on the workers and students; for the spirit of peace to descend when damaging old behaviour is confronted; and for people to want to change for the better. Don’t be alarmed or worried, we are all very, very well and learning to love the place more everyday. God has gone ahead and prepared the way. We are confident he will continue to be there for us. We are happy. With every blessing.
M,J and Little J.
Friday 26 October 2007
First Few Days in Sierra Leone
Freetown is a beautiful city from where we are staying – up in the hills. We have uninterrupted view of the bay from the over hanging hills.
On the first day, we went into Freetown (down town) to register at the British High Commission and to start the search for a vehicle of our own use. That was a task and a half. Because of the terrain and the state of the roads ‘up country’, we were advised to purchase a 4x4, manual( instead of automatic). So the hunt was for a durable and affordable 4x4. Easier said than done. We looked at a number of vehicles but they were either not in very good condition or not affordable. Those in good condition were either automatic, very expensive or both. To buy anything here one has to haggle, as in all other African countries. Items are way above the selling price and the trick is to haggle to a price acceptable to both parties. We think we will leave the haggling to the locals.
Freetown itself, is like any overcrowded city. The roads are filled with people, the buildings are old and not maintained. They would have been beautiful – old colonial style, with wooden louver windows – if they were well maintained, but they looked over used (infrastructure and facilities). Of course, there is a massive shanty town on the outskirts ( just on the beach) which floods when there is too much rain. Some secondary roads ( just off the main), resemble trails of red dirt leading up hill into ‘homes’. Many people live in corrugated zinc houses, with no light and water facilities. In all of this many of the people are beautifully dressed in African styles and the women’s hair are immaculately plaited. These people do not have much, but they hold their heads high. Even going to church, they were immaculately dressed and accessorised. Poverty does not show on them at all. However, because of the lack of infrastructure, there is a lot of unfinished work to do in Freetown. The new government have a great task on hand. In some ways, we are glad to be going out of the city to work.
On our first Sunday, we attended the Buxton Methodist Church in Freetown. We were informed that services usually last for an hour and half, unless when ‘they have a special programme’. And, of course, this Sunday was a special programme – the Zion Circuit Youth Fellowship was celebrating their yearly African Service together with the 99th Yearly Celebration of the Methodist Local Preachers’ Mutual Aid Association. Needless to say, the service lasted for more than the 90mins. Actually, the service lasted for over 3 hours; however, I can honestly say I enjoyed every bit, even though I struggled with the Creole language in some instances. There was the usual and typical praise and worship, which lasted for about an hour, whilst I counted about 6 different offerings – for the building fund; the MLP,MAA, and others. This should not have been a surprise since we had to pay for a copy of the ‘Order of Service’.
One feature which I found really ingenious was the ‘decorate a friend’ section, during which members of the congregation were encouraged to purchase hand made florets for other members of the congregation who have done ‘special acts’ and who deserved praise and acknowledgment. This I thought was an ingenious way of raising funds whilst encouraging other congregants by showing appreciation.
Little J had to be escorted out of the service after an hour ( after the praise and worship and just before the sermon). We found the Sunday School children who were practising songs for the annual Harvest Sunday in the basement of the church. Of course, she enjoyed the singing and managed to disrupt the programme by going up to nearly every little child and touching them. They didn’t find this amusing and she had to be parted from a few fights. At (the sudden) end of practise, she found a few ‘friends’ to run around with. Then we were told the children should go up to the main service, which they did, but ended sitting up in the top floor listening to the service (for the next hour and half). Of course, Little J wasn’t amused and Mummy had to take her outside ( again) to do some running in a safer environment. As usual, Mummy heard none of the sermon ( she hasn’t sat through a sermon for nearly 2 years) and had to get it second hand ( and not very thorough) from Daddy. I guess that’s life!
Monday, 16 October was a public holiday. We had hoped to visit other parts of the country and probably to have ended up on the beach with most of the ‘Freetownians’. We were taken to a relatively far beach in Kent (we didn’t see a beach – as we refused to pay the entrance fee) and York ( which turned out to be a fishing beach). The coast is really beautiful, and we enjoyed the outing, although we did not get to swim. The driver took us back to Freetown through the back roads and we got a taste of the ‘bone crusher’ roads everybody talks about. I thought I got whiplash going over a few of those pot- holes, and we were relieved to have left the vehicle at the end of the journey. We wondered what it would be like going to Segbwema – a good 50 miles of very, very bad roads. But that’s another post.
Prayer warriors, keep praying for journeying mercies and survival of the terrain – ‘ bone crusher’ roads, heat and mosquitoes. God bless you all.
M, J and Little J.
PS: System too slow to allow uploading of pictures. Still working on it.
On the first day, we went into Freetown (down town) to register at the British High Commission and to start the search for a vehicle of our own use. That was a task and a half. Because of the terrain and the state of the roads ‘up country’, we were advised to purchase a 4x4, manual( instead of automatic). So the hunt was for a durable and affordable 4x4. Easier said than done. We looked at a number of vehicles but they were either not in very good condition or not affordable. Those in good condition were either automatic, very expensive or both. To buy anything here one has to haggle, as in all other African countries. Items are way above the selling price and the trick is to haggle to a price acceptable to both parties. We think we will leave the haggling to the locals.
Freetown itself, is like any overcrowded city. The roads are filled with people, the buildings are old and not maintained. They would have been beautiful – old colonial style, with wooden louver windows – if they were well maintained, but they looked over used (infrastructure and facilities). Of course, there is a massive shanty town on the outskirts ( just on the beach) which floods when there is too much rain. Some secondary roads ( just off the main), resemble trails of red dirt leading up hill into ‘homes’. Many people live in corrugated zinc houses, with no light and water facilities. In all of this many of the people are beautifully dressed in African styles and the women’s hair are immaculately plaited. These people do not have much, but they hold their heads high. Even going to church, they were immaculately dressed and accessorised. Poverty does not show on them at all. However, because of the lack of infrastructure, there is a lot of unfinished work to do in Freetown. The new government have a great task on hand. In some ways, we are glad to be going out of the city to work.
On our first Sunday, we attended the Buxton Methodist Church in Freetown. We were informed that services usually last for an hour and half, unless when ‘they have a special programme’. And, of course, this Sunday was a special programme – the Zion Circuit Youth Fellowship was celebrating their yearly African Service together with the 99th Yearly Celebration of the Methodist Local Preachers’ Mutual Aid Association. Needless to say, the service lasted for more than the 90mins. Actually, the service lasted for over 3 hours; however, I can honestly say I enjoyed every bit, even though I struggled with the Creole language in some instances. There was the usual and typical praise and worship, which lasted for about an hour, whilst I counted about 6 different offerings – for the building fund; the MLP,MAA, and others. This should not have been a surprise since we had to pay for a copy of the ‘Order of Service’.
One feature which I found really ingenious was the ‘decorate a friend’ section, during which members of the congregation were encouraged to purchase hand made florets for other members of the congregation who have done ‘special acts’ and who deserved praise and acknowledgment. This I thought was an ingenious way of raising funds whilst encouraging other congregants by showing appreciation.
Little J had to be escorted out of the service after an hour ( after the praise and worship and just before the sermon). We found the Sunday School children who were practising songs for the annual Harvest Sunday in the basement of the church. Of course, she enjoyed the singing and managed to disrupt the programme by going up to nearly every little child and touching them. They didn’t find this amusing and she had to be parted from a few fights. At (the sudden) end of practise, she found a few ‘friends’ to run around with. Then we were told the children should go up to the main service, which they did, but ended sitting up in the top floor listening to the service (for the next hour and half). Of course, Little J wasn’t amused and Mummy had to take her outside ( again) to do some running in a safer environment. As usual, Mummy heard none of the sermon ( she hasn’t sat through a sermon for nearly 2 years) and had to get it second hand ( and not very thorough) from Daddy. I guess that’s life!
Monday, 16 October was a public holiday. We had hoped to visit other parts of the country and probably to have ended up on the beach with most of the ‘Freetownians’. We were taken to a relatively far beach in Kent (we didn’t see a beach – as we refused to pay the entrance fee) and York ( which turned out to be a fishing beach). The coast is really beautiful, and we enjoyed the outing, although we did not get to swim. The driver took us back to Freetown through the back roads and we got a taste of the ‘bone crusher’ roads everybody talks about. I thought I got whiplash going over a few of those pot- holes, and we were relieved to have left the vehicle at the end of the journey. We wondered what it would be like going to Segbwema – a good 50 miles of very, very bad roads. But that’s another post.
Prayer warriors, keep praying for journeying mercies and survival of the terrain – ‘ bone crusher’ roads, heat and mosquitoes. God bless you all.
M, J and Little J.
PS: System too slow to allow uploading of pictures. Still working on it.
Tuesday 16 October 2007
God answers Little J’s prayers……… for French fries!
Finally we’re in Sierra Leone (SL) !!!!!!!
We eventually checked in 4 suitcases averaging 35 kg each onto the flight. The charge for being overweight was US$250.00 for the 50kg excess. Again, local currency was not acceptable – remember the ‘visa saga’. There was however, a ‘small’ problem since Kenya Airways would not accept a credit card for payment. At least that was what we were told at the check-in desk even though their partners KLM previously accepted the same credit card for excess weight – a fact we pointed out to the check-in clerk. We only had travellers’ cheques on us at the time….so we had a small problem. There was a stalemate since we were not in a position to do anything else, and were asked to stand to one side whilst other passengers checked in. We had no choice but to pray whilst trying to reason with the check-in staff. Finally, after nearly 15 minutes waiting, our excess luggage were checked on to the flight and we thanked the check-in clerks with a ‘modest gift’. Whether the check in clerks were expecting us to ‘dash’ them (grease – palmed the Ghanaian way), we will never know because we did not ask and were determined not to pay. We consider this another miracle of God – because it was a risk to take all the luggage with us. We were the last people to be checked in and we had to race to catch the plane. The flight made up for the rush, as it was short, earlier than scheduled, and the crew were very accommodating. We sat together and Little J even had a seat for herself.
Flying in to Sierra Leone was interesting. The landscape seen from the aircraft is nothing like the city. We flew over a wide expanse of green forest – mostly palm trees, criss-crossed by rivers flowing into the sea. This is because the airport is on a strip of land - island really - away from Freetown. The view coming into land was mostly green expanse of land with ‘houses’ sprinkled – few and far between. Our flight was the only one at the time, so going through immigration and getting our luggage was a relative breeze. We had a representative from the church waiting for us – identified by our name on cardboard.
Getting from the airport to the city is an adventure by anyone’s standard. We had a choice of the ferry (2 hours), the hover craft (1 hour), by car (a 60 + mile merry –go – round taking a few hours) or by helicopter (7 minutes). Of course, we took the helicopter – not that we had a choice since both the ferry and hovercraft were out of service. This turned out to be a larger than normal army looking, privately run helicopter (picture M.A.S.H.), which transports approximately 12 people and their luggage with each trip. Therefore, for any one flight they may have about 4 – 5 trips (or more). It was a noisy and bumpy affair. In all that palaver, Little J fell asleep. She amazes us!!!
The route to Freetown from the helipad took us beside the beach. Now, this was nothing like Accra or Cape Coast – this was a nice sandy beach. There were people jogging and walking on the beach and the waves reminded me of Negril. Surprisingly, really nice. Freetown was bustling with people selling wares and (at the time we landed) trying to get home. It was hot, but nothing like Accra.
Our ‘hotel’ is in the hills overlooking Freetown. The road reminded me of Mobay, going up to the hills to Cambridge. Very narrow, winding through the hills, with gullies to the side, and in those gullies are peoples’ houses. It feels like Mandeville – cool.
The ‘hotel’ turned out to be a guest house owned (but not operated) by the Catholic church. So, our vision of a hotel by the sea, with A/c, some modcon, (like tv and phones) and maybe internet access was not really that. We have the natural a/c, a transistor radio and mobile phones (which we bought), definitely no internet facility available. We are provided with 3 meals, hot water (for bathing) and breakfast as early as 7 a.m. Electricity is via a generator which has a operating regime – lights/electricity out at 11 a.m, 5p.m and 11p.m. So, we have to work around those times if we want to do anything related to the use of electricity. Good practise for our own generator in Segbwema.
The first night was hard. We had to get our heads around the electricity, lack of tv and the remoteness of the place. We can’t just go down the road to buy neccesities. Our nearest neighbours are those working at the new American embassy, sprawled over more than 100 acres. They’re not that friendly anyway.
Little J’s craving was for ‘fries’. After one day in the city we saw no Mcd, Burger king, Nandos etc etc which might sell this highly demanded fries. But lo and behold, without saying anything to the cook at our hotel, our dinner that evening was chicken and fries!!!!!!!!!! Now, this was confirmation that God does answer prayers – even of a nearly 2 year old toddler!!! He will provide for even our wants and of course our needs.
We are still trying to understand the system. We are being ably and patiently helped by the church and hospital staff and transported in comfortable vehicles.
We will be in Freetown for maybe an additional week as we try to do all the paper work (work permits, registering with the nursing council and trying to get a vehicle for our own use). This makes sense as it is an 8-hour journey to Segbwema, and once we’re there we need to use most of the first few months to try to settle – esp. to sort all the books we had shipped.
For the prayer warriors – continue to pray for a swift settling as we try to understand the system, attempt to communicate and become apart of the community. So far, so good.
Unable to load pictures - but would try again later
We eventually checked in 4 suitcases averaging 35 kg each onto the flight. The charge for being overweight was US$250.00 for the 50kg excess. Again, local currency was not acceptable – remember the ‘visa saga’. There was however, a ‘small’ problem since Kenya Airways would not accept a credit card for payment. At least that was what we were told at the check-in desk even though their partners KLM previously accepted the same credit card for excess weight – a fact we pointed out to the check-in clerk. We only had travellers’ cheques on us at the time….so we had a small problem. There was a stalemate since we were not in a position to do anything else, and were asked to stand to one side whilst other passengers checked in. We had no choice but to pray whilst trying to reason with the check-in staff. Finally, after nearly 15 minutes waiting, our excess luggage were checked on to the flight and we thanked the check-in clerks with a ‘modest gift’. Whether the check in clerks were expecting us to ‘dash’ them (grease – palmed the Ghanaian way), we will never know because we did not ask and were determined not to pay. We consider this another miracle of God – because it was a risk to take all the luggage with us. We were the last people to be checked in and we had to race to catch the plane. The flight made up for the rush, as it was short, earlier than scheduled, and the crew were very accommodating. We sat together and Little J even had a seat for herself.
Flying in to Sierra Leone was interesting. The landscape seen from the aircraft is nothing like the city. We flew over a wide expanse of green forest – mostly palm trees, criss-crossed by rivers flowing into the sea. This is because the airport is on a strip of land - island really - away from Freetown. The view coming into land was mostly green expanse of land with ‘houses’ sprinkled – few and far between. Our flight was the only one at the time, so going through immigration and getting our luggage was a relative breeze. We had a representative from the church waiting for us – identified by our name on cardboard.
Getting from the airport to the city is an adventure by anyone’s standard. We had a choice of the ferry (2 hours), the hover craft (1 hour), by car (a 60 + mile merry –go – round taking a few hours) or by helicopter (7 minutes). Of course, we took the helicopter – not that we had a choice since both the ferry and hovercraft were out of service. This turned out to be a larger than normal army looking, privately run helicopter (picture M.A.S.H.), which transports approximately 12 people and their luggage with each trip. Therefore, for any one flight they may have about 4 – 5 trips (or more). It was a noisy and bumpy affair. In all that palaver, Little J fell asleep. She amazes us!!!
The route to Freetown from the helipad took us beside the beach. Now, this was nothing like Accra or Cape Coast – this was a nice sandy beach. There were people jogging and walking on the beach and the waves reminded me of Negril. Surprisingly, really nice. Freetown was bustling with people selling wares and (at the time we landed) trying to get home. It was hot, but nothing like Accra.
Our ‘hotel’ is in the hills overlooking Freetown. The road reminded me of Mobay, going up to the hills to Cambridge. Very narrow, winding through the hills, with gullies to the side, and in those gullies are peoples’ houses. It feels like Mandeville – cool.
The ‘hotel’ turned out to be a guest house owned (but not operated) by the Catholic church. So, our vision of a hotel by the sea, with A/c, some modcon, (like tv and phones) and maybe internet access was not really that. We have the natural a/c, a transistor radio and mobile phones (which we bought), definitely no internet facility available. We are provided with 3 meals, hot water (for bathing) and breakfast as early as 7 a.m. Electricity is via a generator which has a operating regime – lights/electricity out at 11 a.m, 5p.m and 11p.m. So, we have to work around those times if we want to do anything related to the use of electricity. Good practise for our own generator in Segbwema.
The first night was hard. We had to get our heads around the electricity, lack of tv and the remoteness of the place. We can’t just go down the road to buy neccesities. Our nearest neighbours are those working at the new American embassy, sprawled over more than 100 acres. They’re not that friendly anyway.
Little J’s craving was for ‘fries’. After one day in the city we saw no Mcd, Burger king, Nandos etc etc which might sell this highly demanded fries. But lo and behold, without saying anything to the cook at our hotel, our dinner that evening was chicken and fries!!!!!!!!!! Now, this was confirmation that God does answer prayers – even of a nearly 2 year old toddler!!! He will provide for even our wants and of course our needs.
We are still trying to understand the system. We are being ably and patiently helped by the church and hospital staff and transported in comfortable vehicles.
We will be in Freetown for maybe an additional week as we try to do all the paper work (work permits, registering with the nursing council and trying to get a vehicle for our own use). This makes sense as it is an 8-hour journey to Segbwema, and once we’re there we need to use most of the first few months to try to settle – esp. to sort all the books we had shipped.
For the prayer warriors – continue to pray for a swift settling as we try to understand the system, attempt to communicate and become apart of the community. So far, so good.
Unable to load pictures - but would try again later
Monday 8 October 2007
Crocodiles, Lizards and all things creepy…..
Crocodiles, Lizards and all things creepy…..
It’s been great visiting family and friends in Ghana. It has turned out to be an ideal R&R stop as it has forced us to rest and re-group after leaving London in such a whirlwind. We are blessed to have such friends and family who are willing to accommodate us for this time and also to help to clean and rearrange the mess we left. We will be eternally grateful to you all.
A part of our stay saw us in Elmina, near Cape Coast for a few days. It was a beautiful and quiet break from the hustle and bustle of Accra. The bus ride to Cape Coast was surprisingly fast and smooth. Granted the bus left approx. 20 minutes late, but the roads were quiet, hardly any traffic and pot- hole free.
Map of Ghana – Cape Coast to the west of the capital Accra – along the coast obviously.
The infrastructure has been improved since we last experienced it 4 years ago. We decided not to take pictures of the journey, as the scenery is so much like Jamaica. For you all from Ja. just imagine the scene through Santa Cruz, or Westmoreland or St James. The only difference is we (in Ja.) have more mountains on the horizon and there are gullies beside all the winding heart-stopping ‘tracks’ called roads ( for example the Ginger hill road). The road to Cape Coast was like a highway through Jamaica, flat and mountain-free and somewhat safer.
Our friends’ hotel was situated in a green, ‘cool’, quiet area. The food was sumptuous and we had the whole hotel to ourselves. He had a great collection (they seem to like his rock garden) of lizards – all varying sizes and colours and behaviour! We got some good ‘up close’ (but not too personal) pictures. Everyone seemed ok with these lizards running around and they seem to come out approx. 8-10 a.m. Any other time and its too hot/cold. I think I can tolerate them for that time.
Lizards – female and the differently coloured male….and dem very big!!!!!!
We visited the Crocodile park, which turned out to be a house/ restaurant on stilts with water all around and the crocs (babies and adults) all free to roam (too near for comfort) around. This was the closest I had ever come to one so huge and I never want to experience that again!!! We had our meal - hastily- and made a literal run for the hills!!!!!!!! Only to find the cursed things were allowed to wander freely near fields by the roadside.
It’s been great visiting family and friends in Ghana. It has turned out to be an ideal R&R stop as it has forced us to rest and re-group after leaving London in such a whirlwind. We are blessed to have such friends and family who are willing to accommodate us for this time and also to help to clean and rearrange the mess we left. We will be eternally grateful to you all.
A part of our stay saw us in Elmina, near Cape Coast for a few days. It was a beautiful and quiet break from the hustle and bustle of Accra. The bus ride to Cape Coast was surprisingly fast and smooth. Granted the bus left approx. 20 minutes late, but the roads were quiet, hardly any traffic and pot- hole free.
Map of Ghana – Cape Coast to the west of the capital Accra – along the coast obviously.
The infrastructure has been improved since we last experienced it 4 years ago. We decided not to take pictures of the journey, as the scenery is so much like Jamaica. For you all from Ja. just imagine the scene through Santa Cruz, or Westmoreland or St James. The only difference is we (in Ja.) have more mountains on the horizon and there are gullies beside all the winding heart-stopping ‘tracks’ called roads ( for example the Ginger hill road). The road to Cape Coast was like a highway through Jamaica, flat and mountain-free and somewhat safer.
Our friends’ hotel was situated in a green, ‘cool’, quiet area. The food was sumptuous and we had the whole hotel to ourselves. He had a great collection (they seem to like his rock garden) of lizards – all varying sizes and colours and behaviour! We got some good ‘up close’ (but not too personal) pictures. Everyone seemed ok with these lizards running around and they seem to come out approx. 8-10 a.m. Any other time and its too hot/cold. I think I can tolerate them for that time.
Lizards – female and the differently coloured male….and dem very big!!!!!!
We visited the Crocodile park, which turned out to be a house/ restaurant on stilts with water all around and the crocs (babies and adults) all free to roam (too near for comfort) around. This was the closest I had ever come to one so huge and I never want to experience that again!!! We had our meal - hastily- and made a literal run for the hills!!!!!!!! Only to find the cursed things were allowed to wander freely near fields by the roadside.
The restaurant sitting in a ‘croc’ infested ‘pond’.
So, if we really decided to run for the hills via the field we would have a very very rude meeting indeed. These crocs are not little. They look large enough to swallow a small adult (like J!!!!!!!) whole. We couldn’t put Little J down for a moment without watching her every move, because ‘…management is not responsible for any accidents or incidents and parents should supervise their children…’. I tell you, no way Jose. That’s the first and the last time for us.
We then decided to go to Elmina slave castle to take pictures ( since the last time we were here we did the tour - plus we thought a fidgety 2 year old wouldn’t want to hear about the misdeed of her father’s and mother’s great great great great grandparents). We were sad to leave but it reminded us that Ghana has many interesting places to see.
Elmina Castle – the beginning of the Middle passage
Little J has really acclimatized. She doesn’t sweat as much anymore even though she’s busy playing, running and jumping etc. She’s barefooted most of the time and really enjoying her
cousins (and vice versa), even though she does most of the bossing around! She’s eating most of what is put in front of her and even asks for ‘fufu’ when she’s hungry! We think if she had her way she would ask to stay in Ghana. We’re actually thinking this may be a great idea – eventually. We just need to look around for good international schools and maybe we will decide to stay for her prep school days. We’ll see. How things change. We never thought we would ever be saying this because our thoughts were to send her back to England for her education when she’s older. That plan is already beginning to unravel. God works in mysterious ways.
Little J has really acclimatized. She doesn’t sweat as much anymore even though she’s busy playing, running and jumping etc. She’s barefooted most of the time and really enjoying her
cousins (and vice versa), even though she does most of the bossing around! She’s eating most of what is put in front of her and even asks for ‘fufu’ when she’s hungry! We think if she had her way she would ask to stay in Ghana. We’re actually thinking this may be a great idea – eventually. We just need to look around for good international schools and maybe we will decide to stay for her prep school days. We’ll see. How things change. We never thought we would ever be saying this because our thoughts were to send her back to England for her education when she’s older. That plan is already beginning to unravel. God works in mysterious ways.
We have made contact with Michael’s former colleague and friend who is a pharmacist here in Ghana. He was so impressed with our decision to work in Sierra Leone and has promised to help with a software to capture management information. This is very promising and God’s doing because one of our major tasks would be to set up a management information system for the hospital. God is great!! – who thought we would find a solution to one of our key needs in Ghana?
We are a few days to starting the real leg of our journey and it really feels a little like an adventure now. We have no clue of how the place looks, who will meet us (hopefully he’ll have a card with our name) and where we will stay for the first few weeks. We just know the flight time and date, and the name of the hotel. We have limited ourselves to 3 suitcases, 20 kg each and again we are praying hard for a miracle to fit all we think we need in 60 kg. It’s mind-boggling.
We would be leaving Ghana with very pleasant and fantastic memories but then we’ve always known that. We intend making the country our ‘base’ for the next 24 months so we may pay periodic visits just ‘to get away from it all’, think, plan, re-group and strategise. We will keep you all updated as much as possible. Prayer warriors – continue doing what you do best. With every blessing.
M, J and (a very Ghanian) Little J.
Bird nests overhanging the croc infested pond
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)