So my 135 days in Ghana has come to an end. It is difficult to put how I feel into words...partially because my mood and feelings change almost momentarily and partially because how do you make sense of leaving a place that I love to go to a place that I love?! It is bittersweet - I am happy, I am sad...I'm excited, I'm bummed...I feel like crying tears of joy and tears of sorrow...but that is life and I can say my experience these past 4.5 months are totally worth the way I am feeling now.
Ghana has really changed my life. It is hard again to put it into words, but really my experience has just changed my perspective on life or maybe more on people. Life is the same all over the world in the sense that we all eat, we sleep, we have relationships, we work, we have fun, we have goals and hopes and dreams - that is the same for everyone. What is different is what those goals and dreams are, what those relationships look like, how people work and have fun. They are different. And I never went in thinking the American way of life is better or superior, but now I really understand that we are all striving and living for the same things, just in different ways. I know that is kind of obvious, but really if you think about it, it is so beautiful and worth reflecting on! God really did make us so unique and it is going to be so fun being in Heaven with so many different peoples and cultures.
Ghana has also challenged me in so many ways - spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically, in every way. Some I had been expecting, some came as a surprise. During those times that I was homesick (like all the time) or sweating to death at like 7 in the morning (again like all the time) or confused about my faith and having no one to really talk to about it - yeah those times were tough, but they have changed me too and taught me so many things! Our experiences really help shape who we are and I firmly believe that God is and will use all those challenges to make me more into the woman He has planned for me.
And of course there have been things I don't like about Ghana or things I find weird just because I have never seen something done a certain way. For example, the other day I gave my Ghanaian friend my rice and chicken lunch. Well it was like a chicken leg and the guy ate the entire thing! I mean he chewed the bone and swallowed it! Strange...but not really, just different :-) And really, even the things that I don't like about Ghana like how they litter everywhere and have the nastiest smelling gutters that you are often at great risk of falling into, they are just the way it is. Also some things get tiring and annoying like people staring at you all the time and kids always yelling to you and many times asking for money of candy. But there is beauty in these things too in the sense that, again, it's just the way things are. Here's another example, we girls get hit on like all the time and I have had so many marriage proposals I lost count on day 2, but sometimes guys will just say, "Oh you are looking so beautiful today." Or, "You are a very beautiful woman." And even though you know they probably have ulterior motives, it is kind of nice hearing someone tell you that on an almost daily basis. Basically all I am trying to say is that even the annoying, frustrating, and weird things are really part of the culture and the beauty of the country. And I can still say that someday I do hope people will stop throwing their garbage on the ground, but I'm trying to look at it in a different way, you know - just accepting it as something that happens in that country and not everything is bad, just different.
And of course of course there are things I love about Ghana. Probably the thing I will miss the most is the complete randomness of everything! Funny and random things happen ALL THE TIME! It makes the days so interesting because you never know what to expect! Examples: I was walking home one night talking on the phone and this really old woman comes up to me with arms outstretched to give me a hug! Oh it just made my night! Or, even though this has become normal, seeing goats crossing the street or chickens crossing the street and thinking about the beginning to the common joke, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Or being invited to celebrate the Muslim holiday with some rastas and watch them go through the process of cooking a chicken from its very alive and feathery form to it's very dead and "edible" form. Wow. Or meeting a random guy from Cote d'Ivoire who only speaks french and ends up following me and my sisters around town ALL day until he decides it's time to ask us for his bus fare home...yeah...no. There are just lots of things that happen that I can never predict and that is what has made Ghana so fun and exciting!
I will also miss my wonderful host family who have become my family away from home. I became a part of their family and their daily lives and so enjoyed it! We had awesome conversations and learned so much about each other and our home country's and cultures. They were so welcoming to me from day one and have made me feel so safe and loved my whole time in Ghana. I do not know when I will see them next which I think is why it was so darn hard to say goodbye to them, but one day maybe :-) And maybe it won't be till Heaven, but they will always make up a big part of my cherished memories of Ghana.
And really I think the greatest thing about my experience in Ghana is how the Lord revealed Himself to me. You know I did not go to church really, I was not consistent in my devos the whole time and my prayer life always needs improvement, but despite everything, God just showed Himself to me. He constantly, over and over, reminded me and demonstrated to me His faithfulness. He loves me with an unending love that cannot be taken away. In one of the podcasts I listened to while I was here, the pastor was talking about how Jesus has a really firm handshake or hand hold on us. He holds our hand all the time and not just holds it, but firmly has a grasp on our hand. And even when my grip feels limp and weak, His is strong and unwavering - He is faithful to us. That has really been a great comfort and realization. God is awesome - in America, in Africa, everywhere - God is SO awesome.
I could continue writing, and I probably will, but my plane will be landing soon (yes I am using the internet thousands of feet into the air...see even America is weird too!) And then soon after that I will be in the loving arms of the family I have SO missed!
So for now Ghana, with all my love I say goodbye...maybe I should just say see you later. I will miss you, but I thank you for all you've given me! Oh and of course, I love you Ghana :-)
