Day 9

Happy Sunday! Sunday’s are very casual here. You basically walk around until you find something to keep you busy for an hour or so and then walk around some more. We woke up, had our breakfast, and then church casually started around 9, ending at noon. The power has been going on and off due to the rain so they hooked the generator up to the church so the fans would work, thank God for that. They have a translator for the local people who come to church and only speak ewe or tre (a couple of the local languages, there are many). Church was filled with dancing and celebration again.  Pastor Johnbull honored the three graduates again and called up a family that was attending this church for the first time. I thought this was so personal and helps make this church feel like home for them. We all welcomed them. 

After mass, I couldn’t tell you how many games of Uno I played. I’ll be playing that in my sleep tonight. I also tried to join a game of soccer with the older guys. However, they don’t wear shoes so I tried to play along without shoes as well. After the third person stepped on my foot I decided to watch instead. My little buddy Abigail and I were cheering them on. She is such a polite and cheerful little girl. Since I’ve been eating carbs for every meal I decided to work out and Abigail decided she was gonna be my fitness coach. We started doing some laps around the basketball court and the deal was I couldn’t let her catch me. She’s 8 years old and not gonna lie I struggled. The Ghanaian heat is not my friend. Then we did sit ups together while facing each other and clapped in the middle. Don’t know how I’m gonna stay in shape when I’m back in the U.S. without her.

After dinner, Johnbull and Stacy had a small informal meeting with me and the two other volunteers. He asked us how we were enjoying our time, the food, and anything we were concerned about, etc. I feel extremely happy with my time here. Although the days pass slowly, they are always filled with new people and adventures to look back on at the end of the day. I feel like every day I am still learning and seeing new faces. I am looking forward to this week and plan to keep branching out. Each of the kids here are so special and unique. I also love the fact that they are all collectively so religious. Many of their responses to questions revolve around God. For example, I asked little Abigail what she wants to be when she grows up. She responded, “whatever God has planned for me!” I was so blown away by her maturity. She also really stands out to me during church. She worships so energetically in her own space, nothing distracts her. Her eyes stay pinned to Pastor Johnbull so attentively while the other kids are mostly playing, drawing, or talking. These kids truly give all of their grace and thanks up to God. They worship Him so greatly and will have casual conversations with one another about God working in their lives. I love this. Johnbull gave us memorable advice at the end of the meeting when we prayed. He said keep giving, keep emptying your heart because then God will be able to fill it back up again with more plans and aspirations for us. I think this is a great way to go about life. God is good, baby.