We have now set foot back on American soil. We were very sad to leave but happy to be home and see family and friends we had missed.
I wanted to continue the blog to fill you in on our time in Kpando because it was an important part of our trip. Like I mentioned, we were hosted my Kenneth Wutoh's family who lovingly welcomed us into their home. We stayed in 2 homes. The "elders" were in one home with Paulette as their "house mother" and Stephanie as the "house mother" of the youngins. Our morning began early on Sunday with a 7:00 am church service. We wore our African dresses which were made especially for us. Alex Nash, the only male team member, might have looked nice in a dress but instead received a shirt and pants combo :D Dina, Maude and a few other family members had driven 4 hours to meet us at the airport to get our measurements so our African garb would be ready when we arrived in Kpando. Sunday afternoon, they threw us a traditional Ghana party. The band beat on their bongos and sang in their language while the women taught how to dance. Alex even took over a bongo for one of the songs. He was a natural. The rain came but that didn't stop the party :D All and all, a good time.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were all spent at a different orphanage in Kpando. We painted at each of the orphanages and when finished spent some time playing with the children. I want to tell you about a young girl at one of the orphanages named Mana. She walked on her ankles or got around on her knees, which had gotten very calloused by now. Barb and Deb were able to fit her with a pair of crutches. She couldn't stop giggling and smiling.
Thursday, we took 30ish children from one of the orphanages to the waterfalls an hour drive away, fitting them on our 17 passenger bus. A tight fit but we made it safely to the falls with only one child puking. Tradition says, that the more people that visit the falls the more the water pours. What a breathtaking site.... Before you could see the falls you felt them; I thought it was beginning to rain. They were amazing!
On Friday, we said our goodbyes. What a great family! We were sad to leave. We got on the bus and headed back to Tema to spend one last night in Ghana before we headed back to the States. We were planning on making a stop at Johny and Friends Disability Center, before we got to our hotel. Samuel and Kenneth are partnering with them to begin their physical therapy center there in Ghana. The building is in the process of being built. There are no street signs in Ghana. You just have to know where you are going or ask people for directions. We finally gave up after asking multiple people for directions and on more than one occasion fearing our bus would get stuck because the roads were so bad. (fyi: I will never complain about a bad road in American again. Our bad roads would be pretty distant roads here in Ghana.)
On Saturday at 11:00 pm we headed home and arrived in Bismarck on Sunday at 2:00 pm. Ghana is 5 hours ahead of us. I don't know about the rest of the group, but I was ready for bed at supper time. I was forced to stay up until 8:45 pm. Before bed, a shower was in order. After 2 1/2 weeks of bucket showers with room temperature water, I forgot how good a warm shower felt.
Has this trip changed me? You bet.
I will never be the same....
Thank you God for what you're doing in Ghana and in me.
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