Well, to sum up... wow!
I have been trying all week to come up with a reply when someone asks me how my trip to Africa was. Because, my first thought is to say," How long have you got?". It seems impossible to come up with a word to say that would encapsulate all that I have experienced and felt. In fact, I don't believe there is a word. The closest I can think of is amazing...
It was amazingly hard.
It was so amazingly hard just to leave our county!! I have so much appreciation for people who have to deal with international travel on a regular basis. Maybe it becomes easier as you travel more, maybe you just get used to it and surrender to the insane process, but holy cannoli...it was really hard.
And life itself in Africa is hard, even outside of an orphanage. Every convenience we have here in the States is nowhere to be found there. No washing machines, driers, no dish washers, or grocery stores, no mega Walmart... or even a small one, no easy way to get the internet or TV, and no easy way to see doctors or get medical care... in short, it's us about 100 years ago, give or take a few things. It's really hard.
It was hard living in the orphanage. Living with those children who are in need of so much, seeing their pain and not being able to do much about it. Living in that kind of poverty, well, even for a few days, it changes you and the way you look at everything.
It was amazingly beautiful.
The children are so beautiful, and the sisters, oh my. What they have given up to be with these children, and how they care for them and how they pray, well never have I seen lives lived so beautifully.
African women dress so beautifully. Even when they are farming, cooking, living their everyday lives, they wear these beautiful dresses of the most striking colors. Rarely did I see a pair of jeans or shorts. The people of Africa take such pride in their heritage. It's really beautiful.
The landscape of Northern Ghana is pretty monochromatic. It seems everything is a shade of brown. But it is the dry season, and I'm told that in the rainy season, green becomes prevalent in the fauna of Africa. But the trees, although mostly brown, are gnarly and grow in interesting ways that make you take a second look at them. The homes in most of the villages we passed were brown clay homes with thatched roofs, but the mosques these Muslims build are so pretty, in colors of pale pinks, blues and yellows, they really stand out in the African landscape... beautiful!
It was amazingly gross.
Come on... you knew this was coming!!! The flies were gross enough... but did you ever see an ant hill that was bigger than you??? Totally not kidding. I almost put it in the beautiful part, but it's an ant hill... hello!!! Gross!
You've probably heard enough about bucket baths. And no running water... that leads to some pretty gross situations, believe me! The chickens and goats everywhere (and their droppings), and there were some older children who could not be potty trained. Oh, and did I ever mention that there is no garbage pick up? No... well, they pile it all up and burn it, which doesn't help the gross smells all around there! And what doesn't get burned stays along the side of the roads. No laws against littering in Ghana!
It was amazingly surprising.
Surprising good in that I was surprised at what a pretty warm welcome we received from everyone we encountered. Except for the children who stared at us as if we were from another planet... or ran up to us to try to wipe off our white skin!!
And surprising bad in the horrible condition of African education. Can you even imagine a government not at all concerned with the education of their youth? I was working with Samuel, a very smart boy about 14 years old who attended secondary school, on how to get on the internet and all that you can access on it. When I asked if he wanted to see the earth from space, he asked what earth was, and what space was. The school the younger children attend is a joke. 4 classrooms, 4 teachers, probably 2 or 3 grades per classroom and no books, no writing materials, no learning. There was probably 60 kids in one classroom, and school is from about 8:30 to noon. There is really no attempt to end the cycle of poverty, no hope for a better future.
Another surprising thing was my reaction to all the grossness. My mother loves to tell people of my hatred, and sometimes fear, of all things multi-legged. Bugs, spiders, centipedes...I just cannot stand them!!! She gets some kind of thrill in telling people... she even told Sister Stan (Yes, Mom...I know about that!!) and Sister told all the kids the first day we were there!! But that's ok...admitting a problem is the first step to conquering it... well, either admitting it or being placed in an environment filled with such things and having to deal with it...baptism by bugs!!! And, I'm happy to say, deal with it I did. Seriously, when faced with the decision to comfort a child or run screaming from him or her because he or she is riddled with bugs, there's no choice. You take a deep breath, pick up the child and give them all the love you can... and say a prayer that your bucket bath will remove all the bugs from your hair, etc., etc.
It was amazingly hot.
Seriously hot. It was so hot that on the second to last day, I could no longer make knots in the rosaries we were making. I think part of my brain melted. I had been teaching how to make rosaries all week with Paula, and all of the sudden, I couldn't make them anymore. We were laughing about it, but in the back of my melted, sweaty brain I was a little nervous about it!
I am happy to say I kept on top of sunscreening myself and didn't get a sunburn, but except for the time in the early morning when there was a little coolness, I thought I would sweat away my weight! No such luck... but man, did we sweat.
So, you see, there is no easy answer for the question how was Africa. Maybe I'll just print out this page and say, read this!! It was the greatest experience of my life, one that I am sure I will experience again.
Thank you to Tom and Paula Radel, for your generosity, love, support, everything. Thank you to my amazing family. I realized in Africa that I won the familial lottery... they are the best!! Thank you to you for reading my ramblings, for your prayers. I hope this blog has meant something to you. For me, it really gave me the gift of being able to process everything I was seeing and feeling. Thank you for coming back each day and for your support of the Nazareth Home for God's Children. And finally, thank you to God, who has opened every door and allowed me to experience the life of a missionary. It is a hard life, but one filled with the joy of giving. Please keep me in your prayers as I attempt to discern God's will for my life.
On the last night we were in Africa, we were given a party. It was full of fun and dancing. At the time I was wondering if they were celebrating the fact that the crazy Americans were leaving... but with the tears during our departure, I knew the celebration was for the fact that we came. We were treated like family there. How I love them all! Here, I hope, is a video of the party.
Sorry if it's sideways...I still have a lot to learn!
Thank you for coming on my journey with me. May God continue to bless you and yours!
