Delays, Running, and Ghana, OH MY!: July 3, 2013

Courtney & Marlee

It's 2:30pm and the team has gathered at Charleston International Airport with every thought centering on one thing: boarding that plane and taking off for a once in a lifetime trip to Ghana, West Africa. As we all said good bye to the loved ones who had come to send us off with all the love and support in the world, we walked single file through the TSA line and the screening booth! 

However, there was one small hitch; and by small we mean our first flight being delayed until almost 7 p.m.!   Due to bad weather, our flight to JFK was re-routed over Atlanta and Cleveland and did not arrive in New York until 20 minutes before our scheduled 10:18pm flight to Ghana!  We then sat on the tarmac until 10:05pm before being released from our plane. So the thirteen of us raced off the plane and acted out the classic scene of running through JFK to catch our flight to Accra, Ghana! But the Lord saved us by delaying that flight until 11:05pm. HOWEVER, once on the plane we sat, and sat, and sat some more. It seems there was a bag in the luggage compartment that could not be identified with a passenger. Eventually, somewhere around 12pm we were given permission to fly and FINALLY were enroute to GHANA!

Since we didn’t have time to grab a bite to eat before boarding our Ghana flight, we relied on the food of Delta Airlines to give us what we were in need of. Let’s just say the food lived down to its reputation.  In addition, since we were not in first class seating, the amount of legroom and sleeping space was severely limited and a couple of us even neglected to recline our seats for the first few hours. But after 10 hours, as the flight came into sight of the African coastline, we as a team became restless to be there. With our hearts in Africa already, our bodies could not get to it fast enough.

AKWAABA! rings in the air like a well-welcomed friend. "Akwaaba" means, “You are welcome here.” So, with all of our luggage in tow (HURRAY for no lost luggage!) we loaded our pushcarts with suitcases and 9 bins of donated books and old laptops and headed out into the wide, wide Ghanaian world.  As directions are given by Prof that the people outside should not take your cart for you no matter how helpful they may seem to be, we walked like little ducks in a row behind our Ghanaian guide out of the airport and across the street to our bus.

We see the light! We are in Ghana! This is real! This is where our hearts and bodies finally catch up with each other.

Ghanaian driving is…let’s just say too close for American comfort, even though our driver, Kwame, is a pro! However, as we all finally got comfortable with the closeness of vehicles, we also became fascinated with the street scenes outside our bus window. Our guide, Damba,  said something so beautiful that we must share it with you. He told us to “Feed your eyes.” As we traveled to the hotel where we are staying for the first few days, we fed our eyes on the wonder of Ghana's capital city, Accra. God has already begun to feed our hearts with the faces of the people and their smiles are already feeding our souls.

The Sun Lodge, our hotel for our short stay in Accra, is more than nice!  When we arrived, our bags were carried to our rooms where we freshened up a bit and then right away headed out to Osu Street where we got our first meal in Ghana, which mostly consisted of chicken, fries, and pizza.  Oh and how could we forget our new favorite drink “Alvaro.” As we ate, Dr. Clerico or Papa, told us that the vendors in the street will be very persistent in asking for us to come look at their shop.  Dr. Clerico told us to say "No; thank you," and if that did not work then to simply reply, “Papa said No, not today.” With this information in our minds we headed out to the street to take in the sights, smells, and faces of Osu Street and the people of this section of Accra.
  

We walked the streets following “Papa” like baby ducks follow their mother.

When we finally returned to the Sun Lodge and got ready to sleep and prepare for the next day, we realized, tomorrow we will be waking up in AFRICA!