A Piece of Our Heart - The Peace in Our Heart

Today our early morning coffee table laughter gave way to somber faces as we looked to the day ahead. Half of our traveling family is leaving us to return to the US.  We have one last church service together - a joyous celebration in Kpando - and then, after lunch, Willie, Grady, Jill, Dick, and Glenn board the van to Accra to prepare for their long flights home. 

When we arrive in Ghana we receive a wonderful welcome.  We are made to feel as if we are home.  Those words don't do it justice. It is impossible to write descriptively enough to help you understand how much the EP Church and the Kekeli Hotel community are our home. As Willie says, "Unless you see, smell it, taste it, feel it we cannot explain it well enough for you to understand it."  

If you see us together, anyone who has ever been part of this traveling family, we fall in to the rhythm of peace and homecoming when we talk about Ghana. We don't mean for it to be an exclusive club, but there is an understanding and a connection between us and the beautiful people of this land that lives between us. "Wherever two are gathered, so am I"...that is the connection of Ghana. 

We come here to see and learn, almost all of us because we have witnessed someone's connection with this place and we want to know what they are talking about. Whatever we think we are bringing to share pales in comparison to what we receive. It is in the smiling, hand waving cheer of Waezo! It is in the outstretched arms of a 2-year old who nestles into your shoulder. It is in the giggle of school children posing for pictures.  It is in the joy of two boys tossing an American football and shooting rubber bands in the courtyard. It is in the drumming and the dancing and the singing that rises from the church across the field. It is in the curious smiles followed by exuberant waves as our van bumps through villages. It is in the platters of food and the smiles as we tuck into the cuisine they have prepared. 

We come here to find out why. We are overwhelmed by what we learn. Try as we might to explain it to you, often the words seem to fail us. But we will continue to try. Ask us about our trip and we will take a deep breath and launch into stories. Ask for photos and you will find that we carry on average about 3GB of photos from Ghana in our phones. And we will still have more to tell you. 

We promise not to be offended when we have gone on too long and you need to turn away, but please understand that in your asking, you have given us the opportunity to return to Ghana in our minds and hearts for a few moments, and we will tend to ramble on.

Although half of our team is making their way back to their homes in Pennsylvania and Virginia, this blog is not yet ending.  There is still so much to catch up on from the last ten days.  We haven't talked about the variety of local foods we have eaten, the community and staff of the Kekeli, our worship service at Kpando, the Ghanaian clothes we had made, and a bunch of other things.  

For tonight, as my traveling family settles into the beach resort for their last night in Ghana on this trip, I am wrapping up this blog and taking a rest.  I will be back at it early tomorrow morning while preparing coffee... because that is something that will require its own blog post as well!

Prayers for a comfortable rest, a safe trip and God to bless you with traveling mercies!

Stay tuned, there is much more to come!