Kumasi

[CLT: "Lost at Sea" - Jimmy Needham]
This weekend we went to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region. The region is in the center of Ghana, and it used to cover an area of land larger than present-day Ghana. Though it wasn’t super far away, it took longer to get there because of the crazy road conditions; sometimes the road was one big construction/demolition zone. It was worth it though to see the awesome mountains we drove through. Little simple towns sat at the foot of the “highlands”, it would be amazing to explore them one day.
First in Kumasi, we visited the palace of the Asantehene- the “king” of the Ashanti region. Many of the people there respect the Asantehene more than the President. His palace was nothing like the ones you see in Europe. It was a simple British-Colonial style house absent of extravagance; the most glamorous things were the golden relics the Asantehene wore as a status symbol coming from the time when gold was so abundant in the region.
The rest of our time in Kumasi was spent shopping around the local craft villages. We visited another Kente weaving village, a woodcarving village, and an Adrinka cloth printing village. Adrinka symbols represent ideas or values from religious to family to war. This was the coolest place we visited because you got to see how they made Adrinka cloth from getting the dye to printing the symbols on the cloth. You could even pick the symbols you liked and print your own cloth if you wanted.

Besides the Adrinka place, my favorite place we visited was the Kente village, not because of the Kente. Instead of getting bombarded by salesmen shouting out, “Oburoni!”, I went to a roadside stand and bought a ball. I took it over to a group of kids that were playing on a side road and just started to play with them. It was wonderful to just interact with the people who lived there, and even speak a little Twi with them. They laugh when they hear you speaking Twi with a different accent, and it was great to lose track of time kicking a ball back and forth with a growing crowd of giggling kids. I left the ball with them to keep playing when I left, and it was probably the best 67 cents I spent this weekend!

Madre guess what?!

[CLT: "Bears" - Andrew Peterson & Randall Goodgame]

This post is especially for my mom. Right before I left for Africa, we went to the Smokey Mountains and stayed for a night. The hotel we stayed at had a lot of bear sculptures and stuffed animals. When we went to Cade's Cove the next day, we sadly did not see any real bears because they were sleeping. But that didn't stop us from calling for the bears with a special bear song.
I wondered if they had a lot of bears in Africa, or if they learned about them in school, too. Wandering through the bookstore one day, I found my answer. They do indeed care about bears in Ghana and want to learn about them.
"Da bears, da bears, da bears are right there!"
You know the song mom! Love and miss ya'll!

Volta Region

[CLT: "New Reality" - Lecrae ft. Chinua Hawk]

This weekend was another trip with ISEP to the Volta Region in the Eastern Part of Ghana touching Togo. We set out on Saturday morning and got to drive through some interesting cities, but the best view was when we finally got near our destination. The mountains were so beautiful, not quite like the Smokey Mountains, but beautiful in their own way.

Our first stop that I was super stoked about was the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary! It was just a normal village with people going about their normal day-to-day lives. There were kids playing in the dirt with empty sardine cans and some men weaving Kente cloth. But the coolest thing was that the village had become a sanctuary for these monkeys. By opening the village up for people to come see the monkeys, they were able to pay for needed upgrades to their village and surrounding community. Our guide Immanuel led us on a little adventure to search for the monkeys, and he would call to them by making little sounds with his mouth. At one point he just called out and said, "Hey monkeys, come here, I know you're there." But it worked! We all got little pieces of banana and got to feed the monkeys. They would come up to you like they were shy, then grab the banana super fast and smash it in their mouth. They were so funny! Monkeys are one of my fave animals, so it was definitely one of my favorite adventures here. But the great day was about to get even better!

After the monkey sanctuary, we went towards those beautful mountains we saw on the trip there. We were going to hike to Wli Falls, the tallest waterfall in West Africa. We hiked through more jungle with gorgeous plants and trees. After we had walked for awhile, we noticed the air getting slightly cooler. Then we came around a bend in the path and could hear the falls, just a slight roar. When we came in full view of the falls, it was truly awesome and magnificent. The water was cool/cold, but it was shallow enough to walk to the waterfall and stand underneath it. To walk up under this mighty wall of water and touch the rock face behind it was an indescribable experience! You couldn't see anything while underneath it, but you could feel it pressing on you like a super powerful refreshing shower. Just one more declaration of the world for God's glory!

After all the excitement, we went back to the hotel and passed out for the night. We didn't know until too late that there was a church right next to the hotel, so we didn't get to go anywhere that morning. After breakfast we went to a weaving village where they make the beautiful Kente cloth that is associated with Ghana. They make it on looms that you control with your hands and your feet. I can't imagine sitting there like that all day long, but the product is beautiful. There weren't a lot of people there because it was a Sunday, but they did let us try weaving for ourselves. The guy helping us told me I was a pro at it. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I won't count that out as a future career!

Church Notes: LIC 02/13

[CLT: "Empty Me" - Chris Sligh]

Yesterday, I went out to eat with Frances and her parents, Esar and Judy, who my parents have been talking to on the phone since I got here. Somehow my parents found all these contacts from/in Ghana for me before I got here, and they have all been wonderful help since I came. Esar and Judy also attend LIC, so I went there today thinking I may see them there, again. I really like this church a lot. The announcements sometimes go for a long time, but the two messages I've heard there have been pretty solid w/ Scripture; it's so exciting!

JESUS CHRIST: THE FULFILLMENT OF GOD'S MISSION
Scripture: Luke 4:14-21 quoting Isaiah 61:1-3

Question: What was the mission Jesus came to fulfill?
Answer: Luke 19:10 "To seek and save the lost.

Adam's sin in the garden was no surprise to God. He had been planning all of it from before time began. (Acts 2:22,23; Acts 4:27,28; Revelation 13:8, 17:8). That is why Jesus can say that all the Scriptures pointed to Him because had been leaving hints and declarations throughout the Old Testament as to His future plan of salvation.
Jesus declared 5 things about Himself and His mission when He quoted Isaiah 61:1-3.
1- He would preach the Gospel to the poor- those who are poor in Spirit (Matt. 5:3)
2- He would proclaim the release of captives- Sinners are captive to their sin. When Jesus grants forgiveness to the sinner, those shackles are removed and we are made free because of Christ's merit and grace (Rom. 6:18).
3- He would recover sight to the blind- Sinners are spiritually blind, "the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers" so that they cannot understand the truth of the Gospel(1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:4). Only Jesus has the power to open peoples eyes and ears to the truth.
4- He would free the oppressed- In this world we can be oppressed by temporal things such as illness and poverty. Jesus has promised to help us bear that burden and overcome (Matthew 11:28-30; John 16:33).
5- He promised to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord- The Lord used to speak to the people through prophets, but Jesus is the final revelation of God to us; there is no new prophecy for Jesus is alive today and He is the Word (Heb. 1:1-2; John 1:1). "God is the Gospel" so Jesus was saying part of His mission is to proclaim Himself to the people.

Christ perfectly fulfilled the mission God sent Him to earth to do, bringing glory to God with His every action and sacrificial act of obedience. His mission however has not died; instead He has now enlisted His children to carry the same message to the world (John 20:21). He has given us His Spirit for power and desire to continue with the task. He has comforted us; let us not sit and be comfortable and not seek to carry on the mission He transmitted to us.

Classes (Unofficially) Begin

[CLT: "Show's Over" - Trip Lee ft. Mitch Parks]

Technically, last week was the "official" first week of classes. Unofficially, classes started this week. Only one of my professors showed up to class last week. I'm taking one science class called Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases; it's basically a long name to say we're studying diseases caused by parasites and trying to find ways to prevent them. It's super interesting, and I'm so excited to be studying it here with some crazy diseases that are endemic here. That may sound weird to be excited by diseases, but it really does seem interesting.
My other classes are Religion classes, and they all got moved around last week. I'm so glad that God worked it out that way, because I have a really favorable schedule with classes that will teach me a lot about the Church. Plus, there's only one day I have class before 3:30, so I have some great opportunities to volunteer at multiple places!
The only other classes are a Twi language class and an African drumming class. So exciting! Twi is one of over 40 languages native to Ghana, and it will be so exciting to be able to talk to people in many of their native tongues! And the drumming class is great as well; hopefully I'll come back with some rhythm! Other than classes, I have been able to hang out with Frances, the daughter of someone my dad knows through a friend. She's in her 3rd year as well, and she introduced me to her friends. They were so funny and kind, and we went to karaoke night on Friday! My roommate Winnifred is also Ghanaian, and she is super nice. I haven't gotten to see her much because we keep different schedules, but hopefully we'll get to know each other a lot better. And I know when classes get on a normal schedule, God will put great friends in them as well. Can't wait!

Welcome Durbar and Bojo Beach

[CLT: "Actions Speak Louder" - Swoope ft. LeCrae, Tedashii, & Jai]

Last night was the Welcome Durbar for the international students. Along with dinner, we were treated to wonderful music and traditional dancing. It was definitely a show rich in fascinating culture and tradition. Today about 10 of us ventured back towards the Cape Coast region to go to Bojo Beach Resort. It was supposed to be a nicer beach than Labadi, and it definitely did not disappoint! It was so beautiful, and so relaxing after a lot of walking around during registration week. It took almost 2 hours to get there just because we had to make 3 or 4 tro-tro exchanges, but it was totally worth it. Seeing the sun set there served as an amazing example of Psa. 19:1 "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands."


This is the lagoon you have to cross by canoe to get to the beach.



So excited about the "entertainment ticket" to the ocean!



Beautiful sunset, and the sun looks so huge!

Taboos

[CLT: "Kingdom Come" - Elevation Worship]

Learning about the culture and people the past bit has been wonderful, and the international program organizers helped make it that way by informing us what NOT to do in Ghana. It's not that they'll hate you if you do these things, but just to be respectful, don't. I'm sure I'll learn some more things during my stay, but here are a few:

1- Don't gesture or shake hands w/ your left hand. The left hand used to be avoided superstitiously; it's seen it as your "dirty hand". If you must shake hands w/ your left hand, you apologize as you do it.

2- Don't do thumbs up; do a "peace sign" instead. If you do thumbs up w/ your thumb not entirely vertical, it is an insult to someone's mother. To be safe, just do the 2 finger "that's good" sign.

3- Don't eat while you're walking, and don't eat a meal when travelling by tro-tro. This is seen as very rude. I'm not sure exactly why, but it may be because you're not able to greet people as easily, and it may also say that you're not taking time to appreciate your food.

4- Greet those you make eye contact with. It's just polite and friendly to say, "Good afternoon," to those lock eyes w/ for more than a few seconds. I haven't quite mastered this yet; I'll greet some people, and they just continue to walk by and give weird stares. Guess I'll just have to work on it!

5- Knock before you enter a room; you don't necessarily have to wait on a reply to your knock. I entered a room the other day when I saw the door open anyways. The man jokingly chided me for not knocking before I entered. When I offered to go back outside and knock, he started laughing and said it wasn't a problem, but I definitely remembered to knock when I came back.

All in all the Ghanaian people are very friendly, and they laugh with you when you mess up or do something weird. A lot of the people are eager to teach you about life and the culture. Some of the things take getting used to (especially if you talk with your hands!), but it's so rewarding to immerse yourself in the culture and have the people here respond!