Accra Ghana:
-I have an amazing host family: Kwesi and Akua Nimako-Boateng and their 2 year old son Nana (who is adorable, Rachel don't be jealous)
-Accra is more industrialized than I'd ever have thought Africa could be....... typical stereotypes we have.
-Traffic is RIDICULOUS!!!! (Whitney Neely can now vouch for that as she has gotten to experience some of it) It took us 2 hours to work our way through Accra on our way to Nkum....... and it wasn't even rush hour. American drivers would not survive. THEY would be running into other drivers and I'm not quite sure what the point in the speed limit, seatbelts, and the lines in the middle of the roads are. I have never experienced anything like this type of traffic jam and it would take a LOT of searching even in the US to find one like it.
-There are Obama posters EVERYWHERE. AND the Palace here is SO much cooler than the Whitehouse but I could get fined for taking a picture of it.
-Street vending is CRAZY!!! Basically it is what you could call a drive-thru mall.
-We got the opportunity to drive by the embassy............ the U.S. likes to flex its muscles in comparison to other nations.
-My team is amazing. We have gotten along so well thus far (even through some of us being ill). My roommate....... awesome. I feel like I have known her for more than a week. One of the boys shares the strange obsession for peanut butter that I have, only I would never just dip my hand in a PB jar. AND some of you know one of the members that is on the team from STP 06 I believe. It was great to talk to him about friends that we have in common.
As for the trip to Nkum. These thoughts are difficult to search through at this point in time. I can elaborate on them more when the trip is over or when I have had a day or two to just think through them and meditate on everything that I've seen thus far. I will, however, give you a general break-down of what the days have kind of looked like so far. 5 days, I'll go 1 by 1.
Day 1: The day started out with me not feeling well. My head hurt really bad and I couldn't eat anything without getting sick to my stomach. In the end, I had to stay behind as the others trekked through the jungle to tell others about Christ and his salvation. I was definitely upset and spent about an hour crying because I wanted to go so badly but I didn't have the strength or endurance to do so. I needed rest so that I could go the next day (needless to say I don't get to tell a story of how I walked through an African river in the jungle in a skirt carrying nothing but a 1.5 Liter bottle of water and a Bible....... I wore jeans when I went and had a backpack). We had the chance to spend time with some of the children of Nkum. They are adorable and love white people........ and the camera. The host said the kids used to be really scared of whites but have grown to love them (we found out later it was for specific reasons..... but if you put yourself in their place, it is understandable). They do have a love for life. I pray that they learn to love Christ in the same way they love the camera and life. The weather (temperature wise) isn't that bad..... like low 80s. The humidity is ridiculous and I never seem to stop sweating. The food....... I've never tried so many new things in my life and I had to pray my way through some of the meals so far. I've eaten more fish and rice in the past week than I have in my entire life. The food is also horrendously greasey (like more so than cheddar bites from sonic or any other american food I've ever eaten). Chickens and goats EVERYWHERE but I can only take pictures for you Amber. Sorry dear. The Ghana Navigators team has been outstanding, making sure that I have everything to cover my diabetes, such as food to eat, water to drink, and enough rest to make it through the day. 2 words: bucket baths. More difficult than it sounds. I also feel like I bathed in bug spray at least 2 times a day. Pretty sure the smell of 40% DEET bug spray is forever engraved into my senses.
Day 2 in Nkum: This is a day difficult to speak of that I will need to reflect on more. I saw the real Africa today. The pictures of the poor starving kids who live in mud huts and hardly have any clothes....... what they do have is torn almost to shreds. It breaks my heart. Yet, even with so little, they are more than willing to give. God has worked wonders and shown himself in some of the villagers who offered us food and coco beans........ which are crazy sweet by the way. The images will never go away. They were so happy to see somebody willing to come and talk to them. Somebody who wasn't just there to site-see but somebody who cared genuinely about their lives and souls.
Day 3 in Nkum: Church....... I got to help with Sunday school :) and then took the day off. ALSO, So many unexpecteds, I think I'm going to make a list.
-walked through an african jungle to tell people about Jesus.
-never expected to see a laptop with 2 large zenith speakers and the internet in the middle of a jungle in a mud hut
-learn phrases in a 2nd language
-eat things I can't pronounce or have no clue what it even is
-food that we would NEVER image eating with our fingers............ it's finger food to Ghanaians.
-Carrie Underwood on the radio.
-the electricity went out one of the evenings (funny the things you take for granted even in Africa)
-bucket baths....... no need to say more.
-I've eaten fish...... right off the bone.
-Coco beans and sugarcane....... I've tried it fresh
Day 4 in Nkum: the list continues. It is also the day of the "crusade" which is hard to talk about or describe so this will come later as well.
-Involved in a crusade
-more passion and faith in Christ than I've ever seen anywhere....... I can't even begin to explain.
-Spaghetti with fish in the sauce....... eaten with a spoon. It can be done.
-I can say I've done the electric slide in front of a crowd of African crowd......... in the middle of the night...... in the middle of the jungle.
Day 5: the journey back to Accra was long and the roads are bumpy. We made it home, although myself and 3 others have not felt well at all.
I plan to send out pictures at a later date but obviously do not want to bog down my host's computer with all of these. Keep praying. It is getting difficult already and there are 4 weeks to go. Part of this could be because of the lack of luxury and just flat out not feeling well some of the days. Thank you all and God bless!
~Sharina Marie Schaller
Side notes: My hosts call me blondie because they have never been able to tell what the color blonde was. My name in Ghana would be Akua because I was born on a Wednesday (my hostess's name is Akua). I don't have malaria....... yet. There are a lot of songs and quotes from the Lion King being thrown around...... wouldn't know why. Ghanaians eat....... A LOT!!! Our host is HILARIOUS. I'm working on the whole claustrophobia thing...... learning to deal with it.
some of the Nkum village kids and me
some of the children in one of the villages we visited
The Ghanaian and American Navigators team that went to the village of Nkum
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