Sunday, April 17, 2011

Week of April 11

This week in Ghana I have learned to let go of the things that are out of my control and to focus on my blessings. This taxi is the most out of control thing Ever. Literally, every single day this week there was a problem:
Monday: His friend who works at the bank (supposedly respectable guy) calls him at 9:00 at night and begs him to come get him from Boondocks, which is a bar on the outskirts of town. So Paul goes, waits for three hours while his friend finishes drinking with his girlfriend, then the friend and the girlfriend get in a fight and she ends up stealing his wallet and running away so Paul didn't get paid.
Tuesday: There is a volunteer who was with CCS in Hohoe who got her bags stolen while walking to the Geduld Hotel (like 2 minutes away from CCS) so Paul's friend Jojo had been helping her try to get the things back. They found the bag, but everything was missing out of it, then they found the thief who apparently sold all her things to people in Kpandu, a town about an hour and a half away from Hohoe. So Paul being the sweetheart that he is, spent the whole day driving them there and around the town without any success of getting the things back. The girl promised she'd pay Paul for his driving and gave it to Jojo, who pretended like the girl hadn't paid him, then when confronted about it admitted he'd spent the money that was supposed to be given to Paul, so again, nothing!
Wednesday: Because of the long trip to Kpandu the day before, we had to take the tire to get air pumped into it. Then discovered that the exhaust pipe had fallen down so we had to get it welded back on.
Thursday: Paul was driving someone on a "rough road" (which means that it's dirt and has more craters in it than the moon) and anyways, he fell into a hole which led to the engine getting hit from underneath and the thingy that hold the oil exploded and all the oil fell out. So he had to have people help him get out of the hole, then get a mechanic to fix it so all the money that he'd earned for the day was spent.
Friday: It was Market day and some people said they wanted to buy the car but before they would buy it, wanted us to put new rings in the engine, (no idea what that means) and we'd had enough so we parked it and are giving ourselves a break from it for a couple days.

Other than that though, this week has been great! My school is on Easter Break for 3 weeks and so while poor Paul was dealing with our wretched vehicle, I had to find something to occupy my time... Well lots of you know my Famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars that I invented :) well I decided to make them for Paul's family and after a trip to 3 different stores, and the open market I was able to get all the ingredients. The kids were fascinated while helping me and we watched disney movies (just like being at home) and without any measuring cups, (they are unheard of hear) we baked up my masterpiece. To cook it, I had to light the top of the oven with a match, leave it for ten minutes, then light the bottom. Then Paul suggested that the kids could try selling them so, we individually packaged them in baggies, and Eric took them out on Tuesday for a "test sale" and people loved them! I sale them for about the equivalent of 20 cents haha but I made 4 batches and 10 cedi and it made me feel like i was actually contributing something.
Also, Paul had to go to Accra yesterday to get his friend from the airport and the flight got delayed 6 hours so they ended up having to stay the night. Well this morning I gathered my courage and took the 1 hour and 45 minute trotro ride to Ho to go to church by myself. I'm SO happy I went, the spirit was wonderful and Ghanaian people really amaze me with their conviction and faith in the gospel. I got a calling as the Young Women Advisor and the Branch President also told me that Paul is being called to be a Sunday School Teacher which is So great!
Despite the challenges, I can't even count all the blessings that I am receiving here! I know that every challenge is an opportunity for me to grow! I love my husband and I love my life :)

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