MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope everyone had a good Christmas! As for me I enjoyed my Christmas in the village. On Christmas Eve I went to the Missionary family's house for dinner. They had croissants filled with turkey and turkey gravy drizzled on the top, and then cooked carrots. Not gonna lie, my taste buds were really happy and partially in shock as they were reintroduced to seasoning and yummy gravy. Being at their house, it felt a little more like Christmas because they had a Christmas tree up, but as soon as I stepped back outside into the heat I was back to feeling like it was summer time. Celebrating Christmas with no snow on the ground is the strangest feeling. If it was up to me, I would live in the warm sun everyday of the year with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I do not miss the cold, that's for sure!

After dinner I left their house, and went with Fo Dela to church service. It was suppose to start at 7 and I'm pretty sure it was about 8:30 when we actually started. No, no... we weren't misinformed of the time, but in the village if someone says 5 that translates to 5:30 or 6. So basically I think that I've been reunited with my people (lol). Joking, but I always tell Dela that being on time is not my thing either.

Christmas morning I woke up and I cooked 4 loaves of bread worth of french toast for some of the people in the village. Mary and Eunice helped me (they are the two woman that cook for me). Everyone really liked it a lot, so I was happy. Cause, dang that would have been bad if I served all those people some food that they thought was nasty. After I cooked, we went to church for Christmas service. One thing about the church I go to is that they be jammin! They have the drums and some other instruments and it just moves your spirit. It's really nice.

After praising the Lord, me and Fo Dela went around and greeted a lot of people just wishing them a Merry Christmas. One of the preachers in the village invited us to come eat dinner with him and his family so we went over there and ate. We had rice with pepper sauce, beans, and something similar to coleslaw. They kept insisting "eat more, eat more" so I was so full when I left. I also talked to my family on Christmas and it was so nice to here everyones' voice and it put a BIG smile on my face. (Love you family!!) So that was Christmas in the villlage. Everyone cooks and eats and shares with their family and neighbors. No gifts, no Santa Clause, just unity and celebration of Christ's birth.

On Friday and Saturday, our bible study group fasted from 6 am to 12pm (not so much fasting but kinda). During this time, we went to the church to sing, pray, and also hear the Word preached. At first I didn't really want to do it, cause I was like "I went to church Monday Wednesday and Thursday" and I just felt like it was overload, but when I completed the fasting I was really happy I had gone and done it. It was long but it was really powerful. So that was Friday and Saturday.

Sunday, was voting day. They had to do a second vote because none of the parties had 50% + 1. Fo Dela didn't even try and get out of it this time cause he knows I would lecture him (lol). So, today we are just waiting for the results to come to see who will be the next President.

Okay my people, I'm out of words. I hope that everyone has a safe and fun New Year's. Whatever changes you need to make in your life, let 2009 be the year to do it. Don't wait, don't resitate, live your life to it's full potential and with no regrets. So until next year, peace and love.

My Birthday week... Amazing!

My birthday was like no other I've had before. Although the Tro Tro caused my pretty birthday cake a few dents, it was still a nice celebration. I'm not gonna lie though, my little birthday girl spoiled self was so irritated at first that my cake wasn't perfect but then I was like Laura check yourself! "Does it really matter?" Then I was fine. About 25 people from the village came over and countless number of children. They prayed for me and my 24 years on this earth and then they all sang me Happy Birthday. We didn't have any plates so you know, I just cut the cake and placed it in my hands to theirs. It was fine :) Everyone was really happy that I decided to celebrate my birthday with them and Fo Dela 's uncle even gave me 5 Ghana Cedi's which is basically 5 dollars, which for most people here is a days salary. So I was really happy that I decided to celebrate my birthday with my village "family". Then there was 3 boys from California that came through our village that night to climb the mountain and spend the night so they joined in the celebration. Two of them were studying in Ghana for the year and one was studying in London and had just came to visit them for a couple weeks. They invited me to join them play a dice game and so we just sat and played the game and talked. So that was my "BIG" bday celebration in Ghana.

The next day I woke up at dawn to run my 3 miles. So far i'm sticking to my goal of doing it every other day. After running and eating breakfast we went to the church to help lay cement. Everyone thinks it's so funny but so great to see me joining in the work. I was carrying sand and rock and water on my head from point A to point B. I'm actually getting pretty good at not spilling anything and I can almost balance the big bucket using no hands. The men shoveling the sand and rocks into my bucket kept trying to put just a little in the bucket and I kept telling them "do you think I'm weak? Put the same amount as the other woman have." They just laughed. Fo Dela kept saying "are you okay?" I was like "I'm fine, my dad had me doing this manual labor stuff my whole life" (lol) Although I complained the majority of the time but thanks dad for preparing me for life in the village.

So Friday was the last day of school for everyone in the village, so the high school threw this community event in the evening. I would say half the H.S. students are above 18, and the reason is because in Ghana you have to pay to go to High School and most families can't afford to send their children so they go when they are adults and can pay on their own way. Anyways, so the H.S. students walked from the begging of our village to the end and back to the Primary School's campus (probably a mile and a half total) singing Christmas songs and playing the drums. Everyone from the village came and met at the campus and their was dancing and singing and drumming the first half. Then for the second half some students read bible verses and then their was a few people from the village (mostly teachers) that gave speeches. Oh, don't worry I was informed about 10 minutes before, that I would be giving the closing speech to the community (200-300 people) on the importance of education. Not only do I fear public speaking more than ANYTHING!! But to make the situation even more horrifying was the fact I had 10 minutes to prepare a speech in my head. I was thinking how am I gonna get out of this one. Finally I realized that I wasn't so that I might as well take a deep breath, pray, and go make a fool of myself. I don't really remember what I said, I just kinda went up to the microphone and opened my mouth and then after a few minutes when no words came out anymore, I said "that's all". It was definitely the most horrifying public speaking I've ever had to do, but maybe it will help me get over my fear.

Then Saturday morning after our 3 mile run, Fo Dela had me go to his farm to help him harvest. I told him on the way there that I know God does everything with a purpose and I'm really happy that he made me a city woman and not a farm woman. He was laughing so hard. When we got to the farm he was like "come on city woman". I don't really know how much help I was to him, I just followed him around the corn field holding the bucket as he picked all the corn. Farming... definitely not my thing.

Okay so that was pretty much my birthday week. Now that it's Christmas week I'm preparing for that. Instead of buying everyone individual gifts, I'm getting some bread and eggs today, and on Christmas morning I'm going to cook French toast for like 20 people. They liked it a lot last time Sarah and I made it, and it's simple enough so that's my plan. Wish me luck getting the eggs all home in one piece (I'm carrying them in my back pack, riding bike from the town to the village.)

Well, Merry Christmas everyone!!! I hope you all enjoy the holiday with the ones you love. Even though I will be absent from my family this year, I feel so blessed to be celebrating it with people who I adore and love so much. Be safe and much love and peace to everyone. Love ya!

Hi Everyone. Usually I have something typed before I come to the town to use the internet but I'm just gonna try and write something off the top of my head today since I didn't get a chance to type anything in the village. So in advance, forgive me for any spelling and grammar errors, and also randomness.

So tomorrow is the big day! lol. You know I like to think of my B-day as the biggest day of the year. I'm kidding (kind of). But all that I've planned is having some people in the village come over for cake. I found cake, probably the most expensive birthday cake ever, but I have to have a cake and somewhat of a celebration. I even managed to find birthday candles that were also very expensive but whatever. So that's my BIG plans.

I forgot to mention in my last blog that my committee and I passed out 300 new uniforms and shoes some of the orphans in our community last Friday. They do this every 2 years so I just happened to come at the perfect time. It was really nice to see all the kids recieve these uniforms and shoes cause for them it means they are able to continue going to school. My main mission while I'm here in Ghana is finding funders for this committee so that they can continue with this project, expand on this project, and create new projects. There are so many children that aren't in school here either because they don't have money for uniforms (which are manditory) or they don't have the money to pay school fees. So I'm really going to try my hardest to do all that I can. If you have any ideas please shoot me an email and let me know. The committee I'm working with is wonderful and they are really trying hard to give kids from their community a chance to have an education and to have an opportunity. I pray almost everyday that God gives me the tools that I need and the wisdom I need to make some sort of impact while I'm here. So that's were i'm at in terms of my work here.

The election here in Ghana ended up being a run off, so come December 28th there will be a second vote. But everything seemed to be quite peaceful so I'm thankful for that.

My Ewe is getting better each day. The people in the village love that i'm learning their language.

I've been waking up every other morning at dawn (5:30) for a 3 mile jog with Fo Dela. It was my idea but he seemed to be happy I suggested it. You know I got to get my workout on.

Oh, I almost forgot... On Friday at my committee meeting, they told me to come to the church the following day at 4pm. They said it was a suprise. So when I arrived they were there to give me a welcome ceremony. It was a bit of a late welcome ceremony but it was really nice and thoughtful. They presented me with a bracelet with beads made in the village I live. They prayed over the beads and tied it on my wrist for me. And then they just spoke a few words of thank you to me, and I gave a small thank you speech as well. It was really sweet.

I can't really think if there is anything else I should tell you but I'll be here in town again Thursday so if I left out anything I'll add it then.

Happy Holidays everyone. Celebrate life, and appreciate all that you have. When you think that you're day is going bad, remember all that is going right. Each day wake up and be thankful to see another day. I'm out.

Traveling in Ghana

December 5^th, 2008

It doesn't seem like I've been in Ghana for a month now in terms of how quick each day is going by. But when I think of all I've learned and the things I've done it seems that I've been here longer than a month.

Let me start where I last left off... Thanksgiving I spent unlike any other Thanksgiving I've had before. It was hot as ever in Ghana so in my mind it didn't seem at all like Thanksgiving. Me, Sarah, and Fo Dela took a tro-tro into town and spent a little time at the Internet cafe before heading to our Thanksgiving feast (lol). We went to this restaurant that is (I was told) the spot where all the white people go. It has the most westernized food your gonna find in Ho. So we order their “pizza”, which is exactly like a pizza minus the cheese. So really it's not pizza at all. But it was probably the best thing EVER at that moment cause from my last blog you know I wasn't having too much of an appetite for the food here in Ghana. So after eating our Thanksgiving dinner we headed back to the village in a tro tro packed with 20 people in it. Imagine a small pickup with the topper on it, and 20 people smooched into it, for an hour, in the hot African sun. Okay, and then image two super fat women sitting together on the same side of the vehicle, as you drive down a road that already has you tipping from one side to the next. love it! When we got back Sarah and I shared the Reece’s cups I brought and had been saving. It was actually a pretty sad and pathetic sight to see us as we savored each bite. Haha.

Sarah, the other volunteer is gone now. She left Ghana on December 1st. Before she left, Me, her and Dela went to Accra for a couple days (the capital city in Ghana). We arrived in Accra on Saturday afternoon. One thing that I will say is traveling by tro-tro is taking years off my life (lol). Every time I get into a tro-tro I say a prayer because people in Ghana drive so dang crazy. They pass each other on a highway that there's one lane going one direction and one lane going the opposite but that are right next to one another. They do this in what would be consider a no passing zone in the U.S. Oh but don't worry, they indicate to the other vehicles, that might possibly be coming towards us, by honking the horn a few times (like this is going to prevent the head on collision). The taxi driver was laughing at me on Sunday when I was in the back seat quietly freaking out. He was like, “Are you okay?” I just told him with a smile on my face that his driving was out of control and I was a little scared for my life.

But anyways... We went to the slave castle in Cape Coast and the hanging bridges in Kakum National Park on Sunday. I was really happy to have had the opportunity to go to the slave castle although it was a sad place to visit. I felt it was a chance to pay respect to those who suffered in such a tragic part of our world's history. At the hanging bridges I was so scared. You are high up in the air, crossing over a hanging walking bridge, the width being the same width of one of your feet. Each step I took I heard “creeeeaak”, and each step the bridge shook, making me want to cry with fear. But the fact there was a 70 some year old man behind me made me feel like I needed to stop acting so scary.

On Monday we went to the ocean in Accra for a couple hours. Not my typical trip to the beach but it was still beautiful as ever. What I mean by not my typical trip to the beach is just that because of the standards of women here in terms of wardrobe, I wasn't able to put on my bikini and soak up the sun but I get plenty of sun here anyways, so I was fine with that. After the beach we took Sarah to the airport and saw her off. I really enjoy her company while she was here but know I feel I'm going to embrace the village life even more than before.

December 7^th, 2008

Today I went to a funeral with Dela. It’s kinda similar to one in the U.S. in that they hold a wake, then a funeral, and then the burial ceremony. But a difference is that at the funeral, the ladies of the deceased person's family and church dance around the casket to the beating of drums and people singing. Usually, the wake is held Friday, the funeral and burial is on Saturday and then Sunday the family and friends celebrate the person's life by dance and drinking all day long. I don't know exactly why they didn't do it like that this time but I think it's because the lady was older and she had been sick for a few months. I didn't like seeing everyone crying but I'm happy that I was able to experience this aspect of their culture.

Also, today was voting day. It was exciting to be here during their election, just to see how it's done in other countries. One thing I thought was real nice is that last night our village had a gathering at sun down. It was to pray for a safe election. It was probably between 200 and 300 people there and it was just really nice to see community coming together like that even though they weren't all voting for the same party. Dela almost didn't vote, but after I lectured him several times, he finally decided to go and rock the vote!

Each day I'm seeing new things, observing, and learning. The conversations I have with people everyday are helping me to broaden my thoughts and how I see the world. The relationships I am making are allowing me to embrace and love people that much more. I feel myself transforming into a stronger person and a better person and I know that this is all part of God's plan for me.