Guest Post from my Dad

Well, Benjamin and I have been in Ghana about a week now, and are happy to announce that we have finally thawed out. Of course, 90-degree weather will do that to just about anyone, no matter how much snow you left behind.

Leah has kept us busy during our stay. We’ve spent time touring Pastor Tirumbu’s various ministries, both here in the city and out in remote villages. Benjamin and I were introduced to a village chief who, as a mark of honor, invited us to sit on his official seat with him and presented us with cola nuts and Ghanaian yams. I guess we are now honorary chiefs (chieves?).

While walking through town with Leah, I’m struck by the number of people she knows and greets along the way. It’s only a 5-6 mile walk, but on our first try, we spent more than three hours on the way, as we kept greeting people and being introduced by Leah. Everyone was excited to see that her father and brother were visiting. We have learned a few words in the local dialect, but don’t really understand the language or the grammar, and I feel a bit like a parrot. But it makes the Ghanaians happy to hear us speak their tongue.

Yesterday, we walked over to a compound house, where some student friends of Leah’s live. We got there just as they were finishing preparations for a meal of fried plantain and bean stew. They offered us some: we couldn’t take much, as we had a large supper awaiting us at home, but we sampled the fare and would like to report that it was delicious, as has been all the Ghanaian cuisine we’ve tried.

After being here, we can see for ourselves how well Leah is being taken care of, and how everyone looks out for her. The Ghanaians are very friendly, welcoming people – to her, and by extension, to her family.

Of course, the problem with visiting a new location is that you always want to come back. I guess we’ll just have to make plans to return to Africa in the future!

Note from Leah: please pray for us as we travel down to Accra this next week, taking in a few more of Ghana’s tourist attractions along the way. Likely I won’t have access to a computer again until Friday or Saturday of next week. Thanks for your prayers!