Home, Sweet Home

Home, sweet home. It's so nice to be home again. There is something very comforting about being home. It's at home when I am most content. It's at home I can be myself and feel/express whatever emotion I am feeling without having someone wonder about it. Everything at home is familiar-clothes, food, rooms, books, storage, and the veranda...my place where I have my time with the Lord. I can study at home. I can work at home...sometimes. The children come to play at my house. I love to hear them call to me, "Maakum! Maakum!" and see their smiling and expectant faces.I provide an island of familiarity to expats from Europe and the United States. When a respite is needed for these volunteers, I can provide it. But, most of all, being at home means being with "my people." God has given me family and friends for this chapter of my life. They are the people with whom I work and "play," those with whom I live among-the Dagaaba of the Upper West Region of Ghana, in the Lawra area. 

Life can be very challenging at times. I had three different plumbers here for a total of five times before my toilet was fixed! The ATM machine was broken. When it was fixed, it wouldn't take my US bank card. The next closest ATM machine is a two hour one way trip away. I can arrive at church on a Sunday morning, and no one is there, not even at the time the service is supposed to start. Being sick can present it's own set of challenges, too.

Praise God! He has a plan for all of these challenges. I am happy to say that the toilet was fixed before I got sick. And, when I was sick, I had the luxury of soft toilet paper that I bought in Accra, 15 hours away! When I traveled to Wa to use the ATM machine, I was able to buy "soft chicken" and potatoes for Christmas dinner that was shared with Ghanaians and expats alike. The Physician's Assistant is a good friend, and makes house calls! And, even thought it was VERY cold on Christmas Day (80 degrees F)  and no one was in church at 9:30 am, there were 20 people who came to worship Emmanuel, God with us! Even now, there are children's voices coming from my veranda. What a sweet sound. 

Home, sweet home. It's so good to be "home." Yet, I am a stranger here in Lawra because I am not Ghanaian. And, I am a stranger in this world because I am a follower of Jesus. I look forward to someday being in my Heavenly home...just not yet!

Frustrations and Joys

Life in Lawra can be challenging in many ways. But, to me, the most challenging things have to do with electronics. The electricity is not stable, it is not always available ("lights off" happens more frequently than I'd like), the internet is slow, some web pages cannot be viewed with a VPN...even this blog post has taken me more than two weeks to write and post, because putting a picture on it has caused me more challenges than I have been ready to face...and...without my morning coffee!!! When I first moved to Lawra, MTN was the internet provider to use...when it worked. Then, Vodafone was amazingly fast! I no longer had to start dinner or do dishes while waiting for a web page to load. That worked for a while. Last year, I heard that airtel worked even better. So, I tried it. I could upload pictures without growing old! WOW! How nice. This year, MTN upgraded their towers. 3G is now available in Lawra! YAY! I can be on my computer, email, use my VPN without everything freezing up and...wait...there is no connection...it was fine a minute ago...oh, airtel will work...hmmm...It's back on! Let me try Skype...I video Skyped my brother in Pennsylvania. It was the first time in a long time that I saw him with my own eyes...and his wife...and his grand dogs...what a blessing. Yes, electronics can be a real challenge at times, but, "joy comes in the morning!" (Ps. 30:5b)