canopy walk

Today we left the lodge about 630 am for the Canopy Walk. We took a taxi to the junction where we boarded a trotro to Cape Coast, knowing we would probably need to get on another trotro at Pedu Junction to take us to Kakum, where the Canopy Walk is. But I asked the trotro mate (he collects the money and hangs out the window yelling the trotro destination and getting customers. Lol) if they could take us all the way to Kakum. He agreed and a passenger heading to Anomabo translated between the mate’s Fante and our English as we negotiated a price—they always start out way too high with obrunis because they could get lucky and find obrunis who don’t know the right price and therefore pay a ridiculous amount. We settled on a price and drove a little more and then the passenger, who was a really nice guy, asked me if I knew how to get to Kakum. I told him that I knew we were supposed to turn at Pedu junction, and he informed me that the mate and driver didn’t know how to get there…so once we turned at Pedu, they pulled over and the mate motioned me to move into the front seat to navigate. Lol The driver asked for directions about 3 different times though and the mate and I got us there just fine so my first experience navigating a trotro was a success. Ha (btw it was just a straight shot since you didn’t turn until turning into the park entrance. So it was tough to mess up…but a success nevertheless. Haha) The canopy walk was amazing! I used to be really scared of heights when I was little, and this was high but didn’t bother me at all so hopefully I’ve almost totally conquered that fear. We saw a few monkeys in the trees below, and the view was breathtaking. After the canopy walk, they had an optional nature walk which was cool as well. I saw the biggest tree I’ve ever seen…probably not as big as the Redwoods in California ha but still the tree was way too wide for the camera lens. On the nature walk I met a guy named Martin from Germany and his friend Jassan who I’m not sure if he was from Germany too or Ghana. A few of us stayed to eat lunch in the real Rainforest Café, not the Americanized version. Ha I had my favorite Ghanaian meal, Red Red (Fried Plantains) and Bean Stew. It was just a great experience as I love being out in nature and connecting with God there. As I walked the canopy walk, I just sang to God quietly and worshipped him as I soaked up the beauty of his creation below me. Then the nature walk and eating in the rainforest café surrounded by such a pretty setting topped it off. Another great day in Africa!

Village of Hope--third times a charm

My third trip to Village of Hope was my favorite so far. I’ve worked FCA camp for a couple of summers and they always had the guys play sports first while the girls had their huddle on the first day. They did this because athletic guys often connect better through sports and the playing field than sitting around and talking. I knew that is how I would best connect with the guys there so as soon as I had the opportunity, I hopped on the football (soccer) field and wasted no time getting schooled. Haha Yeah they pretty much put on a clinic and I was the demonstration player that they do whatever they want to…except I was trying. Lol Oh well, it was fun and allowed me to meet some boys…soon I moved to the basketball court where I am more comfortable. Surprisingly, this obruni held his own there as the team I was on won 3 out of 4 games. I hit it off with a guy named Ernest on the basketball court as we played against each other and then on the same team in the best game of the afternoon, which we won on a last second shot I hit with him getting the assist! J We talked more between games and later I actually taught him how to throw and catch an American football…yeah he was a natural and could probably get a scholarship to a good-sized school if he had grown up playing the game. He’s about 6 foot 3 inches 200 pounds to give you an idea of his size (pictures from the orphanage should be coming in the next day or two). He is 18 and in form 3 (9th grade) but I don’t know his story and it’s likely he began school late because that is common here. He really impressed me with the way he handled himself on the court by trying to get everyone involved, even those who weren’t very good, and when we were throwing football he made sure to throw with the little boys too in order to include them. I also hung out with two boys, Samuel and Godfred, a lot as we wrestled together some—they asked about wrestling because I was wearing my Bradley wrestling shorts so I taught them a double leg. Ha I even ran a lap around the track with them and some other kids when they discovered I was a runner. Oh it was so much fun just loving on those boys! These were the most well-mannered kids I have met in Ghana which is a testimony to their parents (remember they run their 24 person homes like a family and call the husband and wife their Dad and Mom.) Honestly, I probably could’ve hung out at the orphanage almost every Saturday of this trip and been just fine. I feel a natural love and connection with these kids because I’m adopted and they are orphans so that just seems to unite us…I’m going back one more time Thursday and not everyone will want to go but some will probably want to go with me. I just want one more opportunity to love on those boys before I go…please pray that I will get a chance to talk to them and listen to their stories if that is God’s will…that would be incredible…btw I only teared up once at Village of Hope ha…several boys were writing their names in my journal so I would remember them and the moment just overwhelmed me…the love these kids showed me and knowing that most of them have been deserted as some point but now they are set up to succeed in a beautiful restoration project called Village of Hope…WOW! There are times in life when you end your day and think, “If Jesus were here, He would’ve spent some of His time doing this,” and Saturday was one of those days…because I truly believe that if Jesus was in Ghana for two months, He would’ve spent some time investing in and playing with orphans at the Village of Hope!

Konkromanso continued

Next they took us to fetch some cassava, which is the root of a tree, kinda like potatoes are a root. On the way, the guys taught me how to weed with a machete so I cleared a wider path for us, ha, and then they taught me to harvest the cassava by uprooting the tree—btw they said this was man’s work in their culture. Haha When you harvest cassava, you cut off part of the trunk of branches and replant it. In about one year, the cassava is big enough to be harvested again. So Gideon and I decided that I planted a tree for Emily and next year, as long as she gets to come, he will take her and a few people to see his family and she can harvest the cassava from her tree because it will be time! We returned to the houses to discover that it was time to pound the fufu. So we all took our turn experiencing the rhythm of pounding fufu. One of the grandkids finished the process as we hung out with the family. Next came lunch which was delicious! Traditional Ghanaian cooking is incredible! I tried fufu for the first time with lye soup which had beef, and it was really good. Fufu is a little more smooth and sweet than banku. They also had beans that were cooked with corned beef, fish, tomatoes, and some spices and you put them on rice and it was amazing! The meal was topped off with plantains—my favorite! We hung out for a little longer after lunch and they gave us a cocoa to take back to the lodge with us—btw you can split open the cocoa and suck on the beans which have a citrus taste and are good as well. I was really sad to leave, and it wasn’t even my family so I can’t imagine how Gideon felt…Gideon’s 100 year old father, who still works everyday in his cocoa farm, took the 15 minute walk with us back to our car. I took possibly my favorite picture of the trip of Gideon and his dad walking through the bush and talking. (I will post it soon.) Today was my best taste of rural African life as I feel like I experienced how people have lived for years and years and continue to live without the modern conveniences. They did have a generator, which Gideon’s brother bought, and a TV, DVD player and laptop which Gideon bought for them to expose the kids to technology. (He even made a DVD of their cocoa harvesting process which was cool and the kids especially love seeing themselves on TV.) Gideon bought these things because he wants to inspire the kids to get an education and knows it will be to their advantage to at least have held a mouse and touched a keyboard while growing up. So I really enjoyed the glimpse of African rural culture and I have so much respect for these people. It’s Gideon’s mission in life to see some of the village kids get an education and go to university and improve their lives like he has, and I hope that God will open doors for me to partner with him and help him achieve his life’s mission!

Konkromanso--Gideon's village

I’m pretty sure this was my favorite day in Africa so far. Saturday night it rained for the first time during our trip…so Philip and I took full advantage by creating a slip in slide in the grass just inside the gate to the lodge…meaning we just took off and dove in the grass while we played in the rain and eventually even flopped in a big puddle! Ah it was so much fun! We drew a small crowd of the owner and workers who were laughing so hard at us and we must have been inspiring because Ashley took a slide herself after seeing our fun! The power went off during this beautiful thunderstorm, and the next morning I woke up with the power still off. We departed about 630 with the power still off for our trip to Konkromanso, Gideon’s village. Gideon invited Whitney, Lindsey, Sarah, and me all to go so we piled into the back seat of his car for a close 3 hour drive ha and took off with him and his friend Atoo, who was driving. 3 hours later, we reached the end of the road, literally, and got out to walk the last stretch. First, we had the privilege of being welcomed by the village chief. To be welcomed, you must sit down and spend a few minutes with them or its considered an insult, so that was pretty sweet. Then we walked for 15 minutes through the bush to where Gideon’s parents live. We walked through his Dad’s cocoa farm and I learned to distinguish between a palm tree and coconut tree and how to pick out a cocoa tree. We also saw wild plantains which made me hungry because plantains are my favorite food here. Lol We met his uncle first and then we arrived to be greeted by his parents, several of his brothers, and so many of his parents grandkids! The moment almost moved me to tears as I was overwhelmed by the love they immediately showed us and with the fact that we were the first white people that Gideon’s dad has ever interacted with. Btw, he is at least 100 years old, so we are the first in a century of living!! The day’s adventure was just beginning. First they took us to gather firewood and Sarah and Lindsey carried the firewood back in pots on their head just like all the African ladies do! Then they taught us how to peel cassava for the Fufu, so we peeled cassava and plantains and honestly, I felt like I held my own and did pretty well with the knife even though African culture considers that women’s work. Haha Then I put the plantains and cassava on the fire pit to begin cooking as the fufu process was now well under way. While it cooked, we took a break as one of the grandkids climbed a coconut tree and dropped several coconuts down for us. These coconuts were definitely the best I had eaten while in Africa! Next I attempted to climb a coconut tree for the second time while here, but this time I experienced a little more success. I actually started climbing it a little and all Gideon’s family told me not to go any higher as I don’t think they trusted my ability to safely get down if I climbed too high! Ha Gideon said they were impressed that I could climb it at all! Ha Btw I almost forgot but its tradition in his village to bury your umbilical cord and plant a coconut tree with it at your birth. So we got to see Gideon’s coconut tree which keeps him from ever forgetting his roots!

2nd trip to orphanage

Our return visit to the orphanage went great! Emmanuel, the same man who showed me around, took everyone on a tour. This time we actually got to enter the school, and see their computer lab which is amazing. They also have a good library for the kids to use with many textbooks! I haven’t seen this many textbooks and resources since I’ve been here! We were also pretty impressed to see classrooms with adequate desks and you could tell by the number of desks that the classes were a much more manageable number of students. It was so cool for me to have everyone else see the Village of Hope and realize the incredible opportunity the kids there have. Yes, there life is obviously tough because they are orphans, but once they get into the Village of Hope, they are set up to succeed which is so good to see. After our tour, we joined them for church which consisted of a Friday night singing. It was basically choir practice as we all sat in our parts…I sat in the bass section and sang all 4 parts and had a blast! It reminded me of learning to sing tenor sitting by Brandon and Russ at church when I was younger and then as my voice dropped more learning bass sitting by John Roy! I met some wonderful young men, too. One guy was a little stud named Joseph that I sat with and he asked for my bracelet which says, “sharing the hope of adoption” so I gave that to him only to have the other boy I was sitting beside, John who was a ninth grader, give me a bracelet he had from the village that says, “Have hope. Give Hope.” I’m glad we were able to meet several of the kids this week so we are not total strangers when we go this Saturday. All the kids and all of us are definitely looking forward to spending Saturday with those kids just loving on them! As always, it’s just special to me being around these kids at the orphanage since I’m adopted. It makes me even more thankful for Dad and Mom and Mamaw and the way God unfolded His unimagineable plan in our lives and continues to unfold it each day!

Village of Hope (cont)

By the way, feel free to check out Village of Hope's website at www.thevillageofhope.com or you can email them at thevillageofhope@gmail.com

Village of Hope

Saturday I visited the Village of Hope orphanage in Gomoa Feta, about 30 minutes from Winnebah. I went by myself because most of the group went to Accra but I wanted to check it out and set up a time for us to return and serve there. So I got my first experience on a troto on my way there which went well as I had some friendly people help me out. ha (A troto is a crowded 15-passenger van that holds anywhere from 15 to 25 people because the motto of a troto is that it can always hold one more. haha) Well I arrived at Village of Hope and it is unbelievable! It really seems to be the real deal...they have 175 kids right now in 8 homes and the ninth is under construction. Each home houses 18-24 kids and they live with parents so its basically just like a family except you have 24 kids instead of 3 or 4. But these parents really do love their kids. There is a boys quarters in the house and a girls quarters. 6 boys stay in one room with 3 sets of bunks and they have a bathroom with 6 sinks and several showers--I didn't go in far enough to tell how many--and the girls side is the same. The way they accept orphans is that if a person in Accra knew of an orphan he or she would turn in paperwork for the Child. Or the parent can fill out paperwork or the church of Christ can submit paperwork because they support it. Then Village of Hope sends a Social Worker to investigate and ensure that its a legitimate claim. Then they take the child if they have room so it sounds like a solid, good system. On campus they have a staffed medical clinic and the dental clinic is under construction but almost finished. They also have an agricultural program to raise food for the kids and teach them to grow their own food, and village of Hope has a feeding program for street kids in Accra. It began feeding 40 street kids once a week and now they feed 80 street kids 4 times a week and give them coupons for free meals at local restaurants they partner with so the kids can eat on other days! Ok back to the orphanage...Each parent has a task on site as well so some teach and the man who showed me around, Emanuel, he manages the onsite store. They also have a school that includes a nursery, primary, and JHS. The school even has a computer lab which is rare in Ghana but so good for the kids to be exposed to. They have a mural on the outside of their school that is beautiful and Americans volunteering there for some time were artists and as a project had the kids paint the mural! Such a sweet project! And the school is so good that they have two boarding houses with a mom and dad where kids live during the school year to attend the school. (This is common in Ghana.) And they have two school busses to pick up kids from the community for school and take them home after school--not common in Ghana. Ok so here is the part of Village of Hope that floored me. These kids take tests to advance to the next level...for example after primary school they take a test to go to JHS and after JHS they take a test to go to secondary school. that is the system throughout Ghana. When these orphans pass the test to leave JHS, the orphanage places them in secondary schools throughout Ghana and provides funding for the kids to attend and board there. Then on vacations they come home to Village of Hope. Then after they pass the test to graduate from Secondary school, Village of Hope assesses their ability and sends the kids with solid academic ability to university, others to polytechnic school, and others to vocational school, and they provide funding to send the kids to these places! Then once they graduate from any of these, they help the kids find jobs and places to live in the town they find employment! Their goal is to make these kids independent so they can in turn help others--WOW!!! What a vision! I love the fact that they don't drop the kids until they are capable of living on their own and providing for themselves! I had a great time talking to several of the parents and hearing their hearts and then getting to share my story of adoption. We really connected well through that, and I asked them if kids were ever adopted from village of Hope. They said it was rare because the kids have such an incredible opportunity there that they want to ensure that the kids will have an even better opportunity if they were adopted, and I really respect that and it shows their love for the kids. I'm calling them tonight and we are going to try to take some people and visit and serve them on Friday. Then we are scheduled to go Saturday morning, February 22 to spend the day there and I'm hoping to return at least one more time after the 22nd one day after school. They are totally donation based, and I actually befriended a man from Switzerland who stayed at Lagoon Lodge the first few weeks we were here and he donated $5,000 to Village of Hope and then after visiting and seeing it himself donated $5,000 more! I know that Isaac, the owner of Lagoon Lodge, also donates there, and when I was there they showed me three homes--the one I visited and two others--that were totally built by Americans. So if you are desiring to send money to me for our community projects, let me give you the opportunity to designate your money to Village of Hope. Personally, I think we will have plenty to accomplish our community goals and if we have any leftover, it will probably go to the orphanage. I am actually going to give most of my money straight to the orphanage because as someone who is adopted, that's where my heart is. I love seeing restoration in action, and Village of Hope gave me a glimpse of that on Saturday and I look forward to joining God in what He is doing there.

Deep thoughts from the African Bush

Ok, so I already filled you in with a summary of the trip, but here's some deep thoughts that could've only originated while walking through the African Bush on a safari. On the safari, some people rushed through it, eager to be done because it wasn’t there thing or they got frustrated because of not seeing certain animals or for whatever reason…some were so focused on seeing an elephant—the big animal—that they missed the joy of seeing all the small animals along the way…Some were so focused on keeping up or the length of the walk that they missed the experience…and some had their minds on other things and failed to take it all in…but some people were fully present, and as they walked they saw the antelopes off to the side that others missed…they noticed the monkeys and pointed them out to the group because they were aware of their surroundings and intentionally looking for animals…they enjoyed each part of the safari…and even if they didn’t see an elephant on the safari (my group didn’t see one until later ha) they soaked up the journey because they recognized the safari was meant to be experienced and not just about achieving a specific goal. These people truly took in the whole safari and had the best time and walked away satisfied. As I was realizing this God showed me how the safari paralleled life…some get frustrated and rush through life consumed with their own agenda…some get so focused on the goal and the destination that they miss the joy of journey and especially the small highlights along the way…some are so focused on keeping up or getting ahead that they miss the experiences…some have their minds going all the time and are consumed with worry so that they are rarely mentally present…but some people are fully present and aware of whats going on around them…they catch the small things that God is doing and soak up the small joys because they are intentional about joining Him and seeing Him in these little things…even when things don’t turn out the way they planned, they still walk away satisfied and full of joy because they recognized that God is a God of process and journeys who leads one step at a time and works it all out to His desired end and destination. Feel free to let me know what you think...just deep thoughts from the African bush...

restoration (continued)

(This continues my most recent post but it was too long so I had to make it two posts. I'm wordy what can I say. ha) At North Campus Primary and Don Bosque I know books are a need and the people there are exploring other possible needs. I wanted to let you know this in case you felt led to give to our cause and help us out. We are pooling some money ourselves and then several group members have emailed people back home and friends and family from America are sending money. All the money we raise will be pooled and will go directly into restoration projects to address needs in Ghana like the ones I have mentioned and others if we have the resources and discover more situations that we can assist in. If you have a desire to give, the easiest way to do it is to give the money to my mom or dad and they can deposit it in my checking account and then I can withdraw it here with my ATM card. If you don’t want to give, no worries, I just wanted to present you with the opportunity. You can call my Mom at 423-593-6471, her cell, or 423-472-0279, her home number or reach Dad at his cell which is 423-716-3006. Please keep praying for us that God would open up more doors to join Him in setting things right and for wisdom to know which opportunities to focus on and invest in. You guys rock!!!
No Regrets,
Todd
P.S. If you could just let me know an approximate amount by Monday, that would be incredible because early next week we are going to sit down and add up how much money we have and start deciding how to divide it up and best use it. Thanks!

restoration

Hey! Africa is continuing to go well as God keeps stretching me so much. I wanted to let everyone know that we are striving to use our resources to participate in restoration and better the community while we are here. Our first priority is purchasing uniforms for children who cannot afford them. School here is free but if a child cannot buy the uniform, they cannot attend. We talked to our headmasters (principals) and they provided lists of 22 kids at my school, North Campus JHS, about 40 kids at North Campus Primary, and we are still waiting on the list from Don Bosque Primary. So we are purchasing uniforms for these kids so they can attend school, because without an education, these kids have no chance at improving their place in society. They will most likely end up selling things on the street in a rough life of poverty without an education, so this is an opportunity we have to give these children a chance. Next, I asked my headmaster what our school needs because the last thing I want to do is arrive in arrogance and proclaim what I think the school needs after only two weeks…so I told her that she is here all year and knows the needs, and we want to help as much as possible if she will alert us to needs. She (her name is Madam Teresa) told me that JHS needs more benches and a water basin, which is a wooden stand that you place a bowl of water in so the kids can wash their hands. We are also going to purchase some nails and she is bringing us some hammers and we are going to repair some of the broken desks either one day this week or early next week. Some of the desks are safety hazards because of nails sticking out or falling apart so that they can barely hold together. That is a small expense but a great way to serve them…her face just lit up when I said we would do that for the school.

trip to mole!

Well, this weekend we departed on our first extended traveling adventure through Ghana from Winneba in the South and by the coast to Mole National Park in Northern Ghana for a safari. So we left about 5:00 am Friday morning on our adventure and quickly realized that traveling in Ghana isn’t exactly cruising down I-75…basically it makes the right lane in Alabama and Mississippi—which most drivers avoid at all cost because of its roughness—seem like a freshly paved smooth road. Lol But perspective is key because some roads became quite fun and seemed like amusement park rides as I would literally come off my seat and get air when we hit certain bumps—ok craters in the road—just right! Ha The best part of the trip there involved our stop at a place called Kintampo Falls…The falls were beautiful and I felt so wild at heart—thanks John Eldredge—as I got in the water and climbed under the water fall and just had so much fun getting soaked!!! I even discovered a natural water slide that was short but fun over some slick rocks—pics will be coming soon…I definitely felt like I was living the dream of a ten year old boy out exploring and playing in nature…or maybe the dream of a 22 year old boy…either way I loved it!!! Next the bus ride continued…one note about traveling in Ghana: time doesn’t really matter when you stop. So often the bus driver would stop and let us out to use the bathroom or in this case take a short hike to see the falls and then leave with the bus to refuel, get food, see family, run a few errands, swing by Walmart, whatever and return at his own pleasure. Haha So you just had to embrace the Ghanaian culture as our slogan became, when in Ghana, do as the Ghanaians, and we would just hang out and wait for his return. We finally arrived in Mole after close to a fourteen hour bus ride about 730 and ate some amazing supper! I had fish—cooked whole with skin, head, and eyeballs—and fried rice, but our favorite part of supper was the ice cold bottles of water. Most drinks are not very cold so this was like water from heaven!
The next morning, its safari time, which was the entire point of our trip as we all wanted to see animals, especially an elephant. We split into two groups and our guide led us off into the African bush. Ok so bad news first: my group did not see an elephant. But after the safari was over and we had breakfast, an elephant came to the watering hole and I was able to walk down and see a male elephant bathing and check out 6 crocodiles also in the elephant hole…so even though the other group got an elephant on the actual safari, it all worked out in the end. Now back to our safari because we did see a crocodile, some monkeys, so many antelopes, warthogs, and guineas—I had a great time! More than anything for me the safari was good for my soul. Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, Frederick Law Olmstead and many others have proposed that people need nature and wilderness to be healthy mentally, physically, and spiritually, and the safari again confirmed that to be true. I loved getting out of the city and into the African bush because I connect so well with God in nature so the safari for me provided great time with God—some good soul food! As I returned from watching the elephant at the watering hole, I was informed we were leaving early because of discovering that our bus was leaking gasoline and so the race against time began. As we were leaving we met a guy from Ohio, John, who was volunteering with an organization for youth development in Ghana and the founder of the organization, Emanuel. They visited Mole for the weekend and missed the 400 am bus they needed to catch back to Kumasi where we had to pass through on way back. So God provided for them by allowing us to give them a ride back! They were great guys who were a lot of fun and it was cool to see how God allowed us to be a blessing and meet their needs for transportation, because if not for us, they were stuck in Mole until Monday morning. So we took off leaking gas, stopping to refuel occasionally and monitor the growing leak. We made it to Kumasi and dropped John and Emanuel off and two Swiss girls who were staying in Kumasi that some of the girls had met at the lodge the week before and who decided to join us on the trip. We left Mole about 100 pm and about 1245 am we were out of gas 45 minutes from home, and we pulled into a gas station whose sign said it was open for 24 hours. We quickly discovered that the station no longer stayed open 24 hours and that it would reopen at 400 am. Ha So now our adventure had landed us out of gas, 45 minutes from home, but surrounded by street merchants selling all night to truck drivers and other travelers since this was a main road. At this point, some people were losing it but to me, it was out of my hands so several of us just made the most of it. I hung out with Gideon, who is our friend from the University and who helps greatly with our trip, and we bought a banana and some groundnuts (we call them peanuts ha) from the merchants…then Philip told his hilarious version of the day—he is great…then a couple of us got to listen to Gideon talk about his background and hear his heart. He came from a village with no electricity to now teach technical classes at the university and will soon have two masters degrees…he recognizes that God has blessed him so he can bless others and he has such a heart to help kids from his village get an education and better themselves like he has been able to do…his heart is incredible and he understands that Jesus lowered himself to lift others up and we should do the same. Then a blessing from God came in the form of a truck of guys that just happened to have an extra barrel of gasoline which we bought off them. One of the guys even helped patch the leak a little so instead of waiting until 400 to finish the journey, we departed around 200 am and arrived back around 300 am. What an adventure! It ended with one of the best showers I have had in a while because between the safari and the elephant at the watering hole, I went for a run because I wanted to run in Ghana’s only national park, so it goes without saying that I was covered in layers of dirt sweat, oil, and probably other fun stuff! Haha So traveling in Ghana proved an unforgettable experience and an incredible story!