Last Day of Ghana Trip Journal: Day 7

This morning we got to sleep in! It felt so good to rest. Around 10am we talked with Esi and she said she would have her husband pick us up so he could show us around the town. She said he would be over in about 30 minutes. Well, an hour and a half later we were starting to wonder where he was. Although, when you are in Ghana, you are on Ghana-time, and that usually means about an hour later than what is said. About noon we wandered out of the hotel to wait for him and outside, and we found this:

Esi had planned a surprise party for us! She had invited close friends and family to come and thank us for helping Nana Yaw. One thing that I have certainly learned about Ghanaians is that they are so grateful! Esi cooked the best meal we have had since being here. Hands down – THE BEST! Just look at this line-up:
There was everything there from a freshly roasted turkey, to 3 different kinds of rice, to soup, beef, chicken, potatoes, fresh salad, even spaghetti. Now I know what Nana Yaw is missing! Have I mentioned that one of Esi’s 4 different jobs is that she is a wedding decorator? She also helps with catering and cooking so she has all of these food warmers that she uses at weddings. She’s got all the perfect pieces to throw a great party, and that she did!

We were introduced to lots of Nana Yaw’s friends and family, we ate and had a great time. Towards the end of the party Nana Yaw’s grandmother presented us with gifts….traditional African wear and personalized jewelry with our names on it!

In Ghana they hand sew all the beautiful fabrics to fit your exact body dimensions. Well, since they weren’t able to measure us they guessed our sizes from pictures. The outfits were so fun! They wanted us to change into them right away, so we did!

Jake looked pretty spiffy in his African shirt, athletic shorts, and high-top basketball shoes. He’s pictured here with Nana Yaw’s mother and father.

And, here is me in my outfit! I am pictured here with Nana Yaw's sister, brother, mother & uncle.

What a great way to spend our last day in Ghana!

Later that afternoon we met up with Mark & his wife one more time to talk through a few more details about Kingdom Hoops Ghana. It was then that Amina gave me a beautiful gold necklace with a heart shaped charm that has the Ghana flag in the middle. This gift was the perfect ending to our trip. This heart shaped necklace represents so many things. Leaving Samuel here in Ghana means that a piece of my heart also stays here. Not only that, but this necklace also represents how this trip has opened up my heart to this country and to this group of people. I will always think of both of these things when I wear this necklace.

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It’s evening time now and we are sitting in the airport waiting to board our flight home. As I sit here I’ve started to reflect on this amazing trip that we have just had. I am not sure yet how this trip has changed me. I feel very changed on the inside, and I think I will be able to tell in what ways when I get home.

While in Ghana I really missed my kids and our friends and our family. I am also really missing just the normal routine of life. I love our crazy-busy life at home in Iowa, and I missed it while being here. I also really missed American food, and warm water for taking a shower. When I get home I may never eat rice and chicken again because that is all I have eaten for almost 8 days now. Right now I just feel hungry for some ham or ground beef or Italian food. Or some chips and salsa. And a diet coke.

This trip was also emotionally draining in such a deep way. I’ve gone through full-range of emotions while being here. The first few days I was sort of in shock and trying to figure out how exactly to digest the sights and experiences. Then the next few days I felt extreme sadness for the conditions here and complete lack of opportunity for these people. Suddenly, the next day frustration set in….this led to anger and lots of questions running through my mind. Over all of these emotions I also was elated over some of the relationships we had started with people like Mark, and Kofi, and of course Samuel and his mother and their community. And, now, I am so happy to be going home. I can’t wait to hug and smooch my children. I just can’t wait.

We leave here, knowing that we will soon be back. Hopefully, many more times. Until then, Samuel and Ghana will be in the memories floating through my mind every second. They will be in the pictures and stories that we will tell when we get back. And, for sure they will stay in my heart until we meet again.

♥

Ghana Trip Journal: Day 6

The rooster outside our window started crowing at 4am this morning and woke me up. I think he was confused because the sun hadn’t even come up yet. I realized that I had been dreaming about Samuel all night, and I layed there trying to fall back to sleep. But, no such luck. My mind was racing with excitement! I couldn’t wait to see Samuel again today. I layed there for 2 hours thinking and then I decided to get up and get ready.

Morning view looking down the mountain from our hotel.

Cool archway outside of our hotel.

At 8am we went over to the uncle’s house again as they wanted to prepare breakfast for us. The uncle lives right next to the school that Samuel has recently been able to go back to, so I snapped a couple of pictures of the outside of it.

After breakfast Kofi took us back over to the village to see Samuel and his mother. When we got there, Samuel and his little brother were playing with the little spiderman car that we had gotten for him.

They sent that thing up and down the alleyway for about 30 minutes straight. And, of course Samuel wanted to play with Jake’s I-phone again! We also posed for more pictures (I’ve already uploaded these on a previous post….if you want to see them click here) since the lighting was a little better than last night, and then we got to meet Samuel’s grandmother. I am just kicking myself that I didn’t get a picture of her! After all of this, it was then time to head to the celebration that Samuel’s uncle had planned. Jake, Samuel and I crunched into Kofi’s tiny car to head to the church, and Samuel’s mom would come later. During this car ride I was again reminded of how great it was that Samuel seemed so comfortable with us. Thank you all so much for your prayers! They were answered!

So, we got to the church….

and it was then when we realized that Samuel’s uncle had planned this celebration specifically for the purpose of celebrating the adoption! Honestly, I just thought we were going to a church service to celebrate the New Year. We had no idea that we were the honored guests. They had seats for us up front and we were positioned so that we would face those in attendance. Let me just pause here by saying that this is a very sort of ‘miraculous’ thing that our adoption of Samuel would be celebrated. In our adoption training books, we were prepared for the opposite sort of reaction to trans-racial adoption. In many African countries, the adoption of an African child into an all-white family is often opposed and spoken against within communities. Heading into this trip I had expected and prepared myself to face more of this type of reaction to our adoption. But, here we were being honored and celebrated. It just blew my mind! Anyways, back to the celebration! These kids were in charge of the music:

So, the celebration consisted of about a 2 hour church service full of scripture reading, a sermon, worship and dancing. Here is a little video clip that I took during one of the songs:

So, you’ll notice that during church they have all the children sit together on one side of the church, and most of the adults sit on the other side. The children have been taught to sit still, listen, and not talk the entire time. WOW. They are VERY obedient. Towards the end of the service we got to pass out the goodie bags for the children. Here they are waiting patiently! (Samuel is in the middle)

Jake hands out the goodie bags! If you click on this picture to enlarge it you will really be able to see the tint of Samuel's reddish hair. I LOVE IT!

When Kofi saw the bags he said they were great and he noted that many of the children would use the sacks for their school bags to carry their books! Well, if I would have known that I would have gotten them some more durable sacks than these 50 cent ones. I hope they last!

To end the celebration each child was annointed with oil.

And Jake gave a speech to those in attendance, telling them all how thankful we were for their support of the adoption.

Jake also mentioned that they would see us again. We weren’t going to just adopt Samuel and then never return. We would be back to visit, and then Jake also made a commitment to them that he would get a group of workers together to come and help them ‘finish off’ the church. The uncle had expressed his hope that someday their church could be remodeled (and it really wouldn’t take much) and Jake reassured them that we would get a team together and be back to do it! Exciting!

Then we posed for some pictures as the celebration came to a close.

It was then that Samuel’s mother came up to Jake and I and gave us each a big hug, and she said a very humble and grateful “Thank you.” I knew she wanted to say more, but this was all she could say in English. Also, I had learned from Mark’s wife earlier in our trip that Ghanaians don’t give hugs unless it is someone that they know very well, or to someone who is family. They usually just give and receive handshakes for everything. After this hug I knew that Samuel’s mother trusted us. It meant everything to me. And, this is when the tears started. You knew they were coming didn’t you? I had done so good and really held it together up until this point. But, I couldn’t hold back any longer. I quietly cried as the group walked us to the car. It was time to say goodbye.

We got to the car and Jake gave Samuel one last gift that he had been waiting to give to him until the very end – a soccer ball, and a basketball. We had found out during our time here that Samuel LOVES soccer, so we thought that he would enjoy having the new ball. But, to our surprise at this particular moment he was more interested in what exactly he was supposed to do with the basketball! So, Jake showed him how to dribble.

His last words to Samuel were “Make sure you keep practicing until we can come back and get you.” I then gave Samuel’s mother the letter we had written for her and mentioned to Kofi that he would need to translate it for her. And then, the moment came that I had been dreading – we had to climb in the car and say goodbye. I can still remember looking out the car window and seeing Samuel and his mother smiling and waving. Samuel’s mother was yelling out ‘bye’ as she waved….this is another English word that she can say. That image of the two of them waving to us with their smiles is frozen in my mind. I knew we were leaving them happy and hopefilled. But still, I can’t even begin to describe how I felt leaving him there. It was just heavy. This heavy feeling. It wasn’t depair because I knew we would be back. But, it felt like heartache. Heavy heartache.

Well, I had a 2 hour ride back to Accra to think about Samuel, his mother, and the time we got to spend with them. I kept flipping through the pictures on my camera and thinking about how exciting our next trip will be when we get to come and bring him home. My exciting thoughts are too often crowded out by the devil whispering in my ear What if the adoption falls through again? What if you’ve become too attached to him and something bad happens and the adoption can’t be completed? What if, what if, what if? Each time this happens I have to remind myself that I am not trusting in men to complete this adoption. I am not trusting in Kofi’s expertise, or the courts, or immigration services. I am trusting in God to complete this adoption in His time. God is my trust. God does not fail. Even if this adoption does fail, God’s faithfulness does not. He has a plan. And that is the plan I want to go with.

Once we got back to Accra Kofi showed us the CompAfriCare office.

And then we unloaded the suitcase full of formula that we had brought for CompAfriCare. Jake carries it in the African way!

Then, we went and visited a foster mother who is caring for a little baby boy that is being adopted by a family in Ankeny. We went there to drop off some of the formula that we had brought. We walked in and chatted with the foster mother and she asked me if I wanted to hold the baby. OF COURSE I WANTED TO HOLD THE BABY!

Um, could he get any cuter? I think not. Now, let me tell you the story behind this sweet boy. His biological mother had gone to social welfare services in Ghana because she couldn’t care for the baby. She had not been able to find any orphanages with available spots for an infant, so social welfare was her last hope. She eventually was connected with Kofi, and told Kofi that she wanted to give the baby in adoption. But, she also mentioned that in the mean time, there was no way she could care for her child. She was so desperate that at one point Kofi said she had almost ‘thrown him in the bush’ to die. On another occasion she tried tricking Kofi and leaving the baby with him. Kofi was able to convince her to hold off doing anything drastic as he was searching for a foster family to care for the baby. Eventually he found a foster mother in Accra, and also in the mean time our adoption agency found the family in Ankeny to adopt him. Praise God! Isn’t adoption B E A U T I F U L?

After our visit to see the baby, Esi’s driver came to pick us up to bring us to her home where we would spend our last day in Ghana. When we arrived in Esi’s town we checked into our hotel (we stayed in 3 different hotels during our stay in Ghana!) and then the driver took us over to Esi’s house. When we got there her niece and house help were preparing dinner for us. It smelled so good! And I was so hungry.

We had a wonderful dinner of rice, seasoned chicken strips, seasoned beef strips, potatoes, fried plantain, and then chocolate cake and custard for dessert. We sat and talked for a long time about our trip. Nana Yaw’s family is so loving and welcoming! Esi had even made a big poster sized picture of Jake and I that said “Welcome Jake & Janel!” She is such a great host! Esi’s home cooked meal was the perfect ending to our emotional and busy day. About 10pm we left for our hotel to settle in. Only one more day left in Ghana and then home we go!

Ghana Trip Journal: Day 5 Part 2

As we continued our drive to Samuel’s village Kofi kept saying “The family is so excited for your arrival!” In fact, along the way one of Samuel’s uncles called Kofi asking if we were almost there. Kofi said that this uncle had already called 4 times earlier that day, and during our drive he called Kofi 3 times! It was very reassuring that they were so excited to meet us. As we drove through a village on the way up the mountain I pointed to one of the houses and asked Kofi if Samuel lived in a house like it. Kofi said, “No, when you see Samuel’s house you will cry.” I thought, Great, let’s pile on more reasons to have an emotional breakdown in front of Samuel and his mother! One thing I had remembered Jake telling me from his last trip to Ghana when he met Solomon’s family was that Ghanaians do not show sad emotions, especially in public (other than for funeral processions). So, he would remind me that I really needed to try not to cry when I met them, because it comes across quite awkward for them. Luckily I was getting most of my tears out of the way on the car ride, so I was hoping it would not be a problem!

Once we arrived in Samuel’s village it had gotten completely pitch dark and I wondered how we would be able to see since Kofi said the village would have no lighting back in the housing area. We parked our car in the market area and Samuel’s uncle met us on the road to lead us back to Samuel’s house. Thankfully he had a flashlight so we could see as we walked. We were making our way down the alley way through the housing area, and then all of a sudden, out popped Samuel from a random doorway where he had been waiting for us! Jake and I were shocked that he was all of a sudden standing right in front of us! We both grabbed him and gave him a huge hug. Then, that is when I saw it….his smile! In the pictures that we’ve had of him he has not been smiling, and so to see him with this big smile was just the best greeting ever! And, the other best part was to know that he had been waiting right there in that exact spot for us, expectantly. He knew we were coming. And he was excited about it. You could tell by the smile on his face. Then the first thing I said to him was, “Samuel, how are you?” And much to my surprise he answered back in English, “I am fine,” and he grinned. When I had asked the question I hadn’t really expected an answer because I didn’t think he would know much English, but he did! Then, with the smile still on his face, Samuel led us further down the alley way to where his mother was at the house. These first few moments of meeting him were so surreal and quick that I didn’t have too much time to think, which was good! When we got to the house his mother was putting out some chairs for us to sit in. As Kofi introduced us to her she smiled right away, and I could see that Samuel had her exact smile! All of this smiling and excitement left no room for tears or sadness in me. There were none. We had just walked into this exciting, happy, smiling atmosphere and it was contagious!

I’ve already posted a ton of pictures from this first night that we met in a previous post. So, I won’t re-upload those now even though they correspond with this journal entry. But, I will upload this one because it is my favorite because of all the smiles!

This is Jake, Samuel's mother, Samuel, Kofi (our adoption representative in Ghana), and me.

To see the other pictures from our first meeting, you can click here.

I tried talking with Samuel’s mother but Kofi said she did not know English, so he translated some things between us. Meanwhile, Jake had been talking with Samuel and telling him all sorts of things. One of the first things Jake said was, “I like your hair color. It’s the same as mine.” Samuel smiled and nodded. Samuel also did say a few phrases back to Jake in English, and you could tell that he knew a few English words and could understand us pretty well. Samuel’s mother then introduced us to those who were gathered there. We sat in the chairs for awhile and talked and I showed Samuel his welcome book which was a big hit! After we looked at the book I remember there were a few moments of silence, and then I will never forget what Kofi said. He looked at Samuel and said, “Now you start dreaming, Samuel. Look at these pictures and then when you go to sleep at night dream about where you will be. Dream about your new bed.” Samuel looked Kofi in the eye and said, “Yes,” with a big smile.

By this time I could tell that us adopting Samuel was not a sad occasion for his mother. She was so excited. I know I keep coming back to that phrase, but I don’t know how else to describe it. There was just this happiness in the air that was so opposite of how I thought it would be. Since coming to Ghana I have realized that it is every child’s dream to come to the U.S. And it is every parent’s dream for their child to come to the U.S. Hands down. Go around village to village to village in this country and just ask people what their dream is. I guarantee you they will say they want to go to the United States. And when you ask why they will either say education or opportunity. I ‘get it’ now. I didn’t understand this concept before our trip, but now that I have seen what we have seen, and heard what these people have to say, I ‘get it’. Kofi told us during our car ride that there has even become a jealousy among the other families in Samuel’s village about his adoption. Some of the other mothers have said to Kofi “Why Samuel and not my child? Can they adopt my child too?” Kofi simply explained to them that Samuel was the first one up for adoption in the village. And now since then, there are 4 other children available for adoption in Samuel’s village.

After we went through the welcome book we gave Samuel his gifts to open. When I handed him the box he said ‘thank you’ but he didn’t know he was supposed to open it! So I showed him how to tear off the wrapping paper and then everyone ‘ooohed’ and ‘ahhhhed’ over the clothes. By this time I thought I had a pretty good idea about Samuel’s personality. He is very shy and softspoken, and smiles a lot! He also has these little tiny freckles under his eyes and on his nose, and his reddish/brown eyelashes curl straight up, almost as if they were curled with an eyelash curler (only a mom would notice this I am sure!) I think I studied about every inch of his face so that I wouldn’t forget any of it.

At some point within all of this we posed for a few pictures, and Kofi asked Samuel’s mother if we could take some pictures of her house and kitchen area. Then, I think it was about this time that I noticed something. It’s fuzzy in my memory as to when it exactly happened, but Samuel had taken a hold of Jake’s hand, and would not let go. At some points while we were talking, Samuel even took his other hand and held onto Jake’s arm right below his elbow. Wherever Jake walked, Samuel clung tightly to him. It was like Samuel had known Jake for years. And this all happened in a moment. It was almost like that was the exact moment that God whispered to him, “Samuel, this is the Dad you have been waiting for. This is him.” Because in that moment when he took Jake’s hand I saw a different side of Samuel. It was a vulnerable, scared side. And somehow, to him, Jake was protection. It’s like he sensed it.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. –Helen Keller-

This was such a beautiful moment but it was at this point that I felt my heart break. Reality sunk in right then and there that tomorrow we would have to leave Samuel here. And, I now knew how hard that was going to be.

After being there for about an hour we were told that one of Samuel’s uncles wanted to give us some dinner at his home which was about 5 miles away. We were kind of confused by the customary things and the language, so we weren’t sure if Samuel was coming with us or not. By now it was about 11pm Ghana time, so we assumed Samuel was staying behind to go to bed. We didn’t really want to leave Samuel already but the uncles were quite persistent that we come eat. So, we started to head to the car. Samuel led us back out to the market area, and I tried desperately to snap pictures as he and Jake walked ahead of me! I will never forget walking through that dark, dirty, rundown alley and just praising God for the beautiful moments that had just happened. Everything from Samuel’s mother’s excitement, to Samuel’s smile, to getting to have the experience of seeing Samuel’s village, to now this, watching Jake and Samuel’s unspoken bond with my own eyes. WOW. This couldn’t have gone any better. It really couldn’t have.

This was one of the pictures I took while they were walking. It was extremely dark and this photo didn't turn out, but I tried to lighten it and I kind of like how it turned out.

We got to the car and told Samuel that we would see him tomorrow morning. Then we were taken to the two uncle’s house where we were introduced to their wives and children. These uncles live in a nicer house about 5 miles from Samuel’s village. I am not sure that they are actually Samuel’s uncles, but I think they are more or less men in the community who have a higher status. Kofi had been calling them Samuel’s uncles, so I’ve just been sticking to that terminology, but I don’t think they are related. Kofi had mentioned that usually when visitors come to town it is customary that they are ‘hosted’ by someone. Since Samuel’s mother couldn’t afford to do this, the uncles had offered to be our hosts. The wives of the two uncles cooked us a very fun meal of homemade bread, fried eggs, bananas, oranges, and tea.

Once they brought out the food they all went into the other room while we ate. Jake and I got some good time to talk about Samuel and reflect on the trip. Eventually some of the kids who lived in this house came out to talk to us, and they wanted to know how they could come to the U.S. ! Of course! That is what everyone wants to know here! Jake talked them through some things and he asked them why they wanted to come to the U.S. so badly. Each one of them said for the education.

After we were at this house for about an hour Samuel and his mother showed up! Samuel just keeps popping up out of nowhere! Samuel sat between Jake and I and Jake showed Samuel how to play a matching game on his I-phone. He played for about 30 minutes straight and every time he got a match he would tap Jake on the shoulder and show him. Then after awhile Samuel turned to me and said ‘camera’. He wanted to take some pictures! So, I showed him how to do it and then he took about 30 pictures of all of us sitting around and talking. His favorite part was viewing the picture on the screen after he took it.

By this time it was getting pretty late, and we all decided to call it a night and say our goodbyes until the morning. We weren’t sure if it was customary to ask and see if Samuel could stay with us in the hotel for the night, but since it was so late we decided against it since we would be seeing him in just a few hours again. Samuel and his mother left, and Jake and I were taken to our hotel.

Once we settled into our hotel room I realized that I was physically and emotionally exhausted, but in the most beautiful way. All I could think of was Samuel and the thing my mind kept saying was “He’s perfect! Just perfect.” I loved his personality and thought that he is going to fit in so well with our family. I started thinking about getting to take him to all of his firsts….first football game, first weekend basketball tournament, first time swimming in a pool, first time ordering some ice cream at DQ, first time riding a bike, and on and on. I was so grateful that this first meeting had gone so well. Better than I could have ever imagined. And, most of all, my heart was full of joy because Samuel’s mother was so excited about the adoption. What a great day! I fell asleep thinking that there was no one else in this entire country of Ghana that I would rather adopt. Samuel is the one. He’s perfect for our family. And I prayed. Thank you God for leading us to him. YOU, Lord, are faithful. YOUR mercies never fail. YOU, are mighty to save.

Ghana Trip Journal: Day 5 Part I

This morning we were up early to head to church with Mark. He attends the International Central Gospel church located in Accra. When we drive somewhere in the car, it is always my opportunity to take in the sights. This morning we left the hotel at 6:30am, and the city of Accra was already up with the sun.
I saw tons of people walking to church. You can tell when they are going to church because they wear their traditional African garments sewn from vibrant, beautiful cloth. The only time they dress like this is either for church, weddings, or for some sort of celebration. We also saw a lot of soccer athletes out for their morning run, and there were numerous soccer games going on in various dirt fields. There is also this one stretch of road that we have driven by a few times now, and this morning we drove by it again on our way to church. It is about a ¾ mile strip where the homeless live. Mark calls it the slums. Every time we drive by it I get a huge lump in my throat. This morning as we drove by I saw a mother cuddled up, asleep with her small son. They were sleeping right on the ground under a thin and worn blanket. They were two of about 75 people on this strip. The strip is right along the side of the road, so these people are not hidden at all. It’s interesting because in the United States it seems like the homeless are somewhat hidden away from us – living by rivers, under bridges, or back in trees (or maybe this is only the case in Iowa). Here in Ghana the homeless live right on the shoulder of the road. I force myself to look every time because I don’t want to become numb to it.

Well, we finally got to church and boy was I ready to hear from God this morning! And, let me tell you, these people know how to worship! I thought that Jesus might come back at any moment because with a 2000+ congregation singing and shouting and dancing so loud for him, I thought for sure He would want to come and join the party. I think this church had about 3 different overflow areas outside, plus the regular seating, plus the seats upstairs. And, this crowd was just for the first service. Apparently I wasn’t the only one ready to hear from God. There was also another second service still to come which Mark said would bring in another 2000 people. The preacher gave a powerful sermon entitled “A Fresh Start” which was in line with the celebration of the New Year. I took notes, and here is my favorite excerpt of what he said:

God’s forgiveness prevails when we repent of our sin. Sin brings guilt and weighs us down. It takes away our confidence. We cannot function fully in our life when we carry our burdens of sin. But, through God’s forgiveness we can have confidence to come to His throne. The assurance of God’s presence in our life banishes fear and timidity. With confidence in God we can embrace life. Real life. And, we can embrace it with excitement. Life is sweet. No, we are not ignorant of the problems of the world, but we are also not ignorant of the power of God to redeem and save. When men abandon you, God will be there. God is coming! Help is coming! Don’t run away from your problems. Don’t cry yourself to sleep at night because help is coming, and it is from above. (Psalm 32:1-2, Hebrews 4:15-16)

After the sermon the preacher prayed and gave the opportunity for any who had not asked Jesus to be their Savior to do so. Those who had never put their trust in Jesus before had the opportunity to go up front and pray along with the preacher. There were about 150 people that made the decision to give their lives to Jesus this day. It was a beautiful sight, and I had to take a picture.

One thing that the preacher said to this group that really stuck in my mind was that a life lived in faith is like a walk. You take a step, and then another step, and another. Each of these steps forms your walk. He told them that putting their faith in Jesus was the first step to a new life. The old has gone. The new has come.

I also did find out today about someone who actually is doing something about the trash problem. Across from the church grounds there is an area (behind the slums) that used to be a refugee camp. It is no longer used for that purpose, and when it shut down there was piles and piles and piles of trash left everywhere. It literally stretches about ¾ of a mile of just trash and junk.

Well, the preacher of Mark’s church decided to do something about this area. He purchased this land and he is now in the process of cleaning it up. He has hired people to go through the trash and pick out the plastic….

Which is then cleaned. These girls are cleaning and scrubbing off the plastic pieces.

Then it is recycled. These piles of bags are waiting to be picked up for recycling.

I was glad to hear of someone doing something about this trash issue which frustrates me so much!

Here are some more pictures that I took from the car on our way back to our hotel.

This is how the women carry their babies:

I don't know why I took so many pictures of people carrying items on their heads, but I just find it fascinating that they have the balance to carry these huge loads!

Those are oranges that he is selling right on the median of the road.

After some lunch we then made our way over to the basketball courts where the Kingdom Hoops Ghana team was going to have their first game as Kingdom Hoops! I took a TON of pictures, so I will let these paint a picture for you:

The court:

The team warming up.

So far, one on-looker. Also, that is the scoreboard in the background...a chalk board. And, notice what the hoop is being held down by...concrete blocks!

The surroundings. There are always random goats everywhere. Kind of like you see cats running around in Iowa. In Ghana there are stray goats. At least I think they are stray.

You can't tell in this picture, but she has a baby strapped to her back.

Mark & Jake talk over strategy before the game.

Giving the game to the Lord! I LOVE this picture!

This bench was the only seating in the whole place (except for some tree stumps).

Half-time talk.

Jake downs some bagged water!

LOTS of onlookers now. When there is something going on in the town, people find out!

Meanwhile, during the game, some kids started a soccer game on the side of the court. Notice that many of them play in their BARE feet! I don't know how they do it!

Well, during a time-out, Jake decided to go and give these boys a speech about how they should be practicing basketball, not soccer. :)

I couldn't hear what he said, but I imagine he told them that basketball could take them places they've only ever dreamed of. :) Then he gave them a basketball.....and they fought over it!

Jake also chatted with this little boy name Prince.....

Prince is 11 years old, very well spoken, and knows English (which means he is probably in school). He told Jake that he wanted to come to America and go to school, and he asked for Jake’s phone number. Jake gave him his number and Prince called Jake every day after that, and has called numerous times since we’ve gotten back home. He keeps saying that he wants to come here to go to school. Jake is working on finding him a host family situation, so I’ll have to keep you updated! Prince was a really sweet boy!

Well, Kingdom Hoops Ghana ended up losing the game! Bummer! The boys were so bummed too because they really wanted to put on a good show for Jake. Hopefully Jake will get to see many more Kingdom Hoops Ghana games in the future. Here is a good team picture:

After the game, Kofi (our adoption representative) picked us up at 5pm to head to the eastern region where Samuel lives! I was SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got Kofi’s car loaded up with our luggage, said goodbye to Mark for a day, and then hopped in, brimming with anticipation of what this part of our adventure would be like. We chatted with Kofi for a bit, and then, get this, Kofi said we would be meeting Samuel and his family TONIGHT! AHHHH! I had no idea! I thought the plan was to meet them tomorrow! Of course I became even more excited at that point, but then I started getting nervous. At least I had a 2 hour car ride ahead to emotionally prepare myself!

The drive to the eastern region took us up a beautiful mountain. We had the windows down and Kofi had some American Christian music playing…the first song he played was My Redeemer Lives by Nicole C. Mullen. I sat there in the back seat taking in the fresh and cool mountain breeze, thinking about little Samuel. I got this huge lump in my throat from trying to hold back the tears – I wanted to pray that God would have the meeting to go well, but I was speechless. I just felt very still sitting there, almost frozen. All I could do was sing along to the music in my head and that was about it. Tears of excitement and happiness welled up in my eyes as I continually pictured what it might be like during that first moment of meeting Samuel.

As Kofi’s tiny car inched us along, it was then that it hit me that this car ride up this mountain was an exact representation of how our adoption journey has been. Here we were, slowly slowly slowly going up this mountain, blindly following twists and turns, traveling through overgrown trees, completely weighed down by our baggage (literally – Kofi drives a tiny 2 door Volvo sort of car and we had 3 full size pieces of luggage somehow jammed in the back….the car could barely go 30mph). And yet, I knew that if we could just stay on this path, up the winding road, it would lead us to what God had for us. On top of that mountain was Samuel’s village. We would finally see his face. And I would finally be able to breathe. Every detail of this trip up this mountain has been exactly how our adoption journey has felt. In this journey we could never see where God was leading us. There have been twists and turns and disappointments. There have been emails full of bad news, unexpected happenings, and trials that have completely weighed us down in this journey. It has been an uphill climb the entire way. And, still, who really knows what is ahead. Only God. But, as we went up that mountain, I knew that at the top was Samuel’s village, a place where we could rest, and breathe. We would finally see what we had been climbing for!

And, you are going to hate me, but I am going to have to continue from this point on Monday! Sorry but this post is getting really long and I have about 3 more pages of thoughts written from this day. On our trip we didn’t bring our lap top so I hand wrote my journal and it’s taking me a little longer than I thought it would to type it all out and post corresponding pictures! I need a blogging break over the weekend, but at least you already know some of the details about our meeting with Samuel, so I am not really leaving you hanging! If you haven’t seen that post of our first meeting with Samuel, you can click here to read it. More on Monday!