A weekend in Accra

So much has happened in the days since I last wrote! It's hard to believe that I have already been here for five days, as silly as that sounds. Thursday night Mary left to head to Accra for the day Friday, and so Friday it was just me and Lesley. Belinda woke us up early (8 am!) and we ate breakfast, but shortly after headed back to bed to read (but that was really an excuse to nap!). Jet lag has been hitting me hard – it hasn't for Lesley, who falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. Every night I can't seem to fall asleep until about 3 am (last night it was about 2) since that is around 11pm according to my body's clock. Hopefully that changes soon as exhaustion plus homesickness plus culture shock has not treated me well!

Anyways, so Friday afternoon Lesley and I spent time reading, I drew for a long while, and just generally relaxing. We weren't quite brave enough to venture out into the village on our own without Mary by our side quite yet. In the evening, just before supper, we went outside to take some pictures and I chatted with two of Auntie Jo's hired staff (although I can only remember one's name – Seth – names are so hard when you meet so many people all at once!). But before iit got dark, we headed back in as dusk brings mosquitoes. From what I understand, since we are so close to the equator, at this time of the year the sun drops so quickly. It is pretty much dark here around 6 pm, such a strange sight when it feels like a regular summer day in which the sun should stay hanging until around 10 pm!

Friday night we ended the restful day with a movie in bed.

We were up bright and early Saturday morning to be ready for our driver to arrive to take us into Accra. Belinda made us pancakes, a nice Canadian treat with a bit of a Ghanian spin as I piled on the fresh mangoes! In typical Ghanian fashion, our driver was about a half hour late, so we arrived in Accra at Mary's parents' house around 11:30 in the morning. We headed straight to the Accra mall. It was extremely similar to any North American mall, just with different stores in it (although there was an Apple store!). We walked around, visited the bookstore where Mary's books are sold, had pizza for lunch, and then shopped a bit at a store called “Shoprite.” In this store you can find everything you'd typically find at a North American grocery or convenience store. I picked up a few things I hadn't brought along with me, and got envelopes so I can mail some letters home! :)

After Shoprite, we drove across the city to the Accra market. On the way there we stopped at a store called “Global Mamas.” It is a none profit organization that began as a way to help women from Ghana sell their wares at a fair price. There was a lot of different, interesting clothing and It was very different than the market in Asamankese; there were more artisans here, selling clothes or jewellery or artwork rather than just household necessities or food. It was overwhelming how the vendors act – they are so pushy and really want you to buy their things! Mary said the trick is to “pretend you aren't interested, but as any of you who know me know that I have a very difficult time being rude! Everytime an artist would show me his work, and I would remark how beautiful it was, he would say, “Okay, I put it aside for you!”

We walked the aisles filled with carvings and paintings and jewellery and clothing. Everything was beautiful. I tried to limit myself to only one painting and managed to do so! It is a beautiful painting of three women walking down a street, carrying baskets carefully balanced on their heads. I also bought a traditional Ghanian game, Owari. Mary's still working on teaching me how to play so I can teach all of you at home when I'm back! And my final purchase was something I had wanted to buy since I found out I was coming: an African drum! Mary bargained down his price, so I got the “medium size” (the large I would have loved, but it was out of my price range) with a bag to carry it on my back. It is funny, because they immediately started putting the bag on the drum, and I of course assumed that it came with it. But they did it without asking so that I would feel obliged to buy it – thankfully, once again Mary was an awesome bargainer and we got a great deal on that one too!

As we left the market, I bought pure shea butter and Mary and Lesley purchased coconuts. I was brave and even though I am not a fan of shaved coconut, tried Mary's – and although I wasn't particularly fond of it, I was glad I tried it! Next we went to the Accra theatre – who knew they had a cinema here in Ghana? We saw Think Like a Man, a chick flick naturally – but it was fun. The commercials beforehand were the best: they weren't previews for upcoming movies like we're used to, but they were just regular commercials and very, very cheesy.

We bargained for a cab ride back to our hotel. It was a hotel just a little ways away from Mary's parents' house. It was beautiful on the outside, hidden behind a barbed-wire topped wall, but on the inside it smelled of mould. Nothing we would be used to in Canada. But I couldn't help but look at the bed, despite the funny smell, and be so thankful that I had a bed to sleep in and hot water to shower with (a rarity). Being here and seeing the poverty that many Ghanians live in has really opened my eyes to the amount of excess I have. At supper last night, Mary mentioned how the groundskeeper and his wife make 70 cedis a month (worth $35 CDN). That was what I spent on my drum alone at the Market. And as we drove back to the hotel that night, a woman was bold enough to come up to our stopped car in the darkness and ask us for some money for her and her child. The sadness and despair on her face was so evident that my heart broke. Even here in a country with far less money than our own, I have so, so many reasons to call myself blessed.

Anyways, this morning we had the opportunity to experience Ghanian church! It is incredibly different than any church back home, with an open building made up of pillars and a roof overtop. There is dancing and cheering and singing at the top of your lungs, and everyone comes dressed in their bright Sunday best. The women were dressed so beautifully in bright colours! In the Pentecostal churches here, men sit on one side, and the women on another – although when we asked, Mary wasn't sure why that is. Unfortunately, most of the service was spoken in Twi or Ewe, two of the local languages here. Mary translated a bit, and from what she shared with me I knew it was an special message for me. Since I have been here it has been an incredibly hard adjustment, and I've struggled most days with tears and fears and anxiety. I've especially doubted God's calling me here, and although I don't want to leave, my desire for home and safety is so great. Last night was a particularly difficult night, but the message this morning was specifically on God's calling for each of His children and how from the moment He knows them He is preparing them for what He has called them to do. The pastor spoke of the disciples and how God commanded them to leave all that they had for Him, and the pastor prayed that each one of us would be revived to God's calling in our lives. I felt that his words were speaking – even through a translation – directly into my heart.

I've doubted a lot these past few days, and yesterday my prayer was that God would allow me to look back and see the ways in which He has spoken to me and been faithful in the callings He has placed on me. And I did remember, in so many ways, that everywhere He has called me to I have walked in blindly, not believing that I can do it on my own. And I can't – but through His strength I have. I know that for whatever reason, God has called me to this place. On my own I cannot do it, but through Him, I have faith that I can.

Esther 4:14b: "And who knows if you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this?"