Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Reality Check from God

List of quotes that explain life right now:

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
-Miriam Beard

“Knowing what is right is like deep water in the heart; a wise person draws from the well within.”
-Proverbs 20:5 MSG

“The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.”

“Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So…get on your way.”
-Dr. Seuss

“Come, let us go up the mountain of the Lord…There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.”
-Isaiah 2:3 NLT

“I can’t decide where I want to go until I know where I am.”
-Annie Chapman

“True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.”
-Psalm 23:3 MSG

A Reality Check from God.

I have so much to catch you all up on but I needed to share this story with you before anything else.  This weekend Rachel and I traveled by bus to Kumasi, which is about 6 hours north from Accra.  It was an interesting beginning to the trip.  Auntie had warned us that people from Kumasi aren’t always the most friendly.  She said that they are stubborn and know you don’t speak Twi  but that is how they will speak to you anyway even though they all speak English perfectly.  I was a little nervous for this because I already struggle with this back home when those around me speak Twi or Ga or any other language than English. 

Background.  Prior to this trip a few things we were struggling with was this image of always being the rich Americans.  The other frustration is not being able to go anywhere without catching the attention of at least a few Ghanaian boys who want to marry us.  We are white and they think we are their ticket to America.  We just tell them we are married and they keep walking.

Funny story about this though.  Normally Pratey comes with us out on our excursions around Accra.  He helps ward off the unwanted.  I normally stay calm when this happens and just keep walking.  Why be rude? That's just rude.  But on Saturday on our way to the bus station Najib went with us.    He wasn't used to the attention we get.  So Rachel and Najib were walking and talking and I was just a step behind them and this man grabs my arm and says he wants to marry me.  I just laughed and said no, let go.  He didn't let go so Rachel turns around and goes, "We have to go. Let go." He still didn't let go so I got irritated and more forcefully told him to let go.  Najib realized what was going on and goes, "Um, please, could you let go?" haha.  Little while later Najib looks at us and goes, "Do you get hassled like this often?" "Yes, Yes we do." Welcome to being white in a friendly culture.  Some people are fine and are really just wondering where we are from.  Other times, as you can see, people take it too far.

Anyway, so we set out on this adventure, arrived in Kumasi, and were met by Daddy’s cousin.  We enjoyed a nice Saturday night at a restaurant and the Zoo in Kumasi.

Saturday came and was even more interesting.  I had been struggling with a lot, personal stuff, school, the fact that I have less than two weeks here, Ghanaians marrying a white women thing, how privileged I am,  on and on and on. So Sunday morning was just this mix of emotions from the beginning.  Then, Daddy’s cousin’s driver took us out to Lake Bosomtwi, about 45 minutes away from Kumasi.  As we arrived, we drove right up to the lake and there is a village that meets you as you enter the lake.  There is an information center there.  Real interesting place.  It was created from a meteorite and the rain water from the surrounding mountains filled it up and they have Lake Bosomtwi.  The name came from a man who was hunting this animal and as the animal came to the lake, it disappeared.  They call this “bosom” meaning ghostlike.  “Twi” is the name of the local language, so all together they got Bosomtwi.

But back to the story, we went to the information center and the people all speak English but they gave the quick brief on the lake in Twi.  So Rachel and I just sat there having no clue as to what was being explained.  Then all of the sudden our driver asks us for 4 cedi.  We were like, wait, what the heck just happened!  No I am not giving you 4 cedi.  (We were calm, of course.)  They eventually explained it in English and we moved on.  Later, we drove with our guide out a bit to another village and he was really encouraging us to go see this lady who calls to the gods or something like that but he goes, make sure you give her some money. We looked at each other and were like, wait, what are we doing? Who is this lady? and our driver and the guide just laughed at us.  We were so annoyed.  We tried asking some questions about what it was we were going to do but were getting nowhere. Finally I just said, look, we don’t know what you are talking about.  We are asking questions because we want to know more details.  Would you please explain to us who this lady is.  We don’t want to pay for something we don’t need to.  Then as we were driving through the village the men were constantly telling us to take out our camera and take a picture.  We kept thinking, don’t tell us what to do. If we want pictures, we will take them.

Finally we just said, I think it’s time for us to get going, we have some other things we want to do and it’s getting late.  So as we got back to the lake some of the locals wanted to wash our car.  Okay, whatever, go for it. So Rachel and I sat there, irritated about the adventure and the way we felt like were just being tossed around.  Finally they were done washing our car and as we were getting into the back seat, one of the boys who was about 10 or 11 opened the door for Rachel, told her to have a safe trip and asked if the next time she came she could bring him a book.  She got in the car, looked at me and told me what happened. My only reaction was, “All he asked for was a book?” 

That was it.  We lost it.  We both started crying.  I felt so small.  It was my reminder that all the things I am struggling with really don't matter.  I realized that my personal life doesn’t matter.  It’s not a big deal.  Going home in 2 weeks doesn’t matter.  I am right where I should be.  Who am I to say that I know what my school needs.  It’s supposed to be a good school.  They have high test scores and achieve more than other schools around.   We don’t have all the answers in America, why should we have them here, in a third world country?  Why can’t the school just pay for materials? Because it just can’t!  Be satisfied with that answer.  I would love to take ownership of my classroom but I can’t.  It was never fully handed over to me, it’s just a classroom I have been in for seven weeks and one I am trying to help, not change.
            Be patient with those who don’t know any better.  Explain that America has faults as well.  Life isn’t always greener on the other side.  It was my reminder that I don’t know everything just because I am from America and I don't have all the answers just because I am from America.  Daddy loves traveling to the village and it’s because the people there are the happiest people he knows.  Do they dream of America?  Maybe, but they are happy where they are and that’s good enough. 
            Are there things to be frustrated with at school? Absolutely!  Should we worry about it like we do? No way.  Let it be.  Do the best we can, every day and thank God for another day of life and happiness.
            God kicked me in the butt today to show me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be;  to remind me to find the beauty in everything, every day.  To remind me that I may not have everything I want, but I have everything I need.  To remind me where I am to help me decide where I want to go.  I feel the most at peace I have in a long time.  The simple joy that a book can bring to someone is all I needed to remember that life is good.  "God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good."



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