ET Phone Home?

I thought it was about time to get something posted here! I’ve been internet deprived... and therefore, deprived of keeping in touch!!! AHHHHH! I miss you all!
Quite a few exclamation marks don’t you think Les?
Yup, but it’s to emphasize how much I miss the people I love!!! Keep those emails coming!!!! Better yet!!! I’ve still got a mailing address: (hint hint!)

C/o SIL
BP 57
Kara, Togo
West Africa

So Monday, I was sitting minding my own business, when out of the air dropped a package onto my lap. I GOT MAIL! I got a whole stack of mail from Miss. Lauren Webster’s class @ Wallaceburg Christian School! I’ve got to be one of the luckiest people ever, I have a whole classroom of people praying for me over here :) (Thanks Laur, it meant a lot).


Yes, I’m still alive, I survived going to Ghana, although there were several obstacles to get there (see last post) God is good, and we arrived in one piece. We decided to cross the border in Lome (Togo) into Aflao (Ghana) WHOA BABY! Crazy experience, and due to missing one vital piece of car information… mighty expensive. The number of people crossing the border… all on foot (ah ha, they knew it was pointless to bring the vehicle through!) *shaking my head * it was something to see… Waiting in the customs office “hillsongs” came on the radio… ENGLISH!!!! It was a nice change, that’s for sure.

The road to Accra was under construction; the trip there reminded me of playing a Nintendo car racing game, all the cars going wherever they could! Later someone told me that if you ask a Ghanaian what side of the road they drive on, they’d reply “the better side”. A number of times in Ghana we had to drive in the ditch as the oncoming traffic took over all lanes of the road… I never knew that a two-lane road could hold five lanes of traffic!

I was able to hook up with Joseph Aryee (from Ghana Youth For Christ), and he found me a place to stay with the Darmani family. I spent the two weeks traveling around visiting some of the different programs run by Ghana YFC. Funny thing…. Whenever I went to observe the programs (oh, let’s say a school program or whatever..) For some reason people expected that I was coming with a full teaching program! On our way to one school group the leader turned to me, (RIGHT after we had just discussed with Joseph that I had just come to watch) and said, “well, you’ll only have to speak for a little bit.” I looked at him and asked… “um, how much is a little bit?” (I HATE public speaking! And, I’m NOT a pastor!) He replied “oh, no less then twenty minutes”. Gee!

I spent much of my time being a tourist, and being stuck in traffic! OK, funniest thing ever! So, you spend most of your day stuck in traffic (how do people get to work on time?) what happens when you get hungry? What if you don’t have time to pick up a few things on your way home from work? No Problem! Roll down your window and start shopping! People are walking in and out of traffic; selling everything from toilet paper and watches to chocolate and giant snails…
I had the opportunity to go watch drums being made, I visited the Cape Coast Castle (one of the sites where the slave trade happened) and even got to go on the canopy walk in the rain forest!

I saw so many things… and met so many people… I feel bad trying to summarize a two week trip’s adventures in two pages… SO just remember to ask me lots of questions about it when I get home.

One thing that I can say is that God is amazing… It’s not often that we have the opportunity to find out why He answers some prayers the way that he does… A few years ago I applied to go to Ghana for a program through my university. I was SO devastated when I didn’t get into the program (my room mates can attest to that!). I couldn’t understand WHY I couldn’t go, I thought that was where God was calling me and the opportunity was totally shut down. Then a team from NYFC went to Ghana as a work team (they did some construction at the yfc centre), things weren’t going to work out so that I could go…. Again, I was confused! I was ready, I was willing, I was able… why was I still in Canada? A year later I had the opportunity to go and work in Uganda with Watoto… I fell in love with the children, with the people, with the village life/culture… Then I was blessed enough to come and work here in Togo, and though the language barrier has been really rough, again, the people, the life.. all of it, I LOVE. While I was visiting in Accra I realized how it was totally God’s plan… If my first exposure to Africa had been through that GIANT crazy city… I wouldn’t have the love I have for this place now…

Looks like I’m moving off the SIL centre on the weekend, I’ll be moving in with another missionary, her room mate just left for the States for a few years, so she’s got an empty room! Her name is Barb, pray that I don’t drive her too crazy ;)