The Church is the Same Wherever You Go = )

Today was fast Sunday.  It’s practice here to not go to church for 3 months after giving birth, and Chuks was feeling sick, so one of the triplets  (they’re Mandy’s cousins - Dick, Dicken, and Dixon…but they’re so identical that people just refer to the three of them as the Dicklings…haha = ) came to get me and we caught a taxi to church (while waiting to call a taxi I got a lot of weird looks…haha = )  We walked in during the sacrament (there’s no waiting outside because everyone can see you walking up through the open, glass louvers and all the doors are open to allow for circulation…I’ll never complain about being too cold in church again = ) and the feeling of peace and comfort that came over me was so wonderful!  Again, got a lot of stares during church…and a big smile from the only other white - a missionary…but these stares were more ones of curiosity.  The testimonies were so good…a lot of youth bore their sweet testimonies = )  One teenaged girl who was just baptized talked about why she got baptized, and then her father spoke after and explained that he’d tried to get her to get baptized for so long.  Finally he realized that the only answer he wanted from the Lord was “Yes” when the Lord also answers “No” and “Yes, but not now.”  So he let up a little and decided to let things happen in the Lord’s time, not his own.  When his daughter called from Sr. High School saying that she had decided to get baptized, he didn’t believe her at first.  But his love for her was so apparent as he expressed his joy in seeing her get baptized and make those covenants with God that lead to eternal life with Him.  I was especially struck by how many people were grateful to see another year; we take so much for granted, like health and long lives.  The rest of the meetings were also great!

Mandy and 3 of the 5 friends that came to visit

On the way home I talked to the triplets about music they like.  When I said I like hip-hop they got really excited!  They like T-Pain (who was here Christmas Eve!) and some African rappers.  They also like a new style of hip-hop dancing called Azonto (Mandy showed me a video of it on YouTube…look up fuse odg ft. tiffany…it’s SO cool!).

Today Mandy’s friends from high school also came over (they still get together regularly) and they are hilarious!  That was a lot of fun hearing their stories from boarding school- getting whipped, sweeping floors, taking cold showers for 4 years!  They also taught me how to say some phrases in Tree (don’t know how you spell it…but it’s pretty much the main language here - although there are 46 in Ghana so not everyone speaks it).

I’m LOVING it here!  It is hot and dusty (the walk from the church to the main road was on a red dirt “road” in heels - Mandy let me borrow the hottest red stilettos = ) - and when cars drive by you can’t even see because you’re just in a cloud of red dust) but until I wrote it just now, it really didn’t seem bad at all!  Everyone is so warm and loving and welcoming!  Mandy and Chuks are incredible hosts!  I’m already realizing how difficult it’s going to be to leave!