Absent but present

Cathy and I in Boston! Aren't we beautiful?

Keren and I in Boston harbor going to the islands for a day of nature.

The true Ghanaian family. This was taken after an appreciation Ghanaian dinner for all of my supporters.

A pretzel bigger than my head. Truly! This was taken in Germany with all the delicious bread and fruit you could get!

Running down the paths of tree in Salzburg just like in Sound of Music. I think I could pass for Julia Andrews. Wait till you hear my voice!

An oxymoron? I think not, just a complication in identity and location. After being in Ghana for ten months, I had established a home with friends, critters, and a reason to be there. The unkown became normal and life had a rhythm. Then being back in the states, I saw my other purpose. The purpose of being close to family, friends, and bakeries in the North End. Alright, the third one is a joke but it was nice. So although I was absent from Ghana I wanted to live each moment in the states, to be present in mind and in spirit. I won't lie, there were some difficult parts when I just didn't understand the culture or felt out of the loop but what a joy to see those who have helped prepare me for this chapter in my life. I was able to see professors and mentors and thank them for guiding me through life to get to the point I am at now. Don't worry, I realize I have more growing to go! So although I love the people in the US and hopefully the people love me(smile) Ghana is home right now.

Oh, so a little about the summer! After leaving Ghana, which made me pay 40 ghana cedis to leave the country since my visa had expired, my friend and I went to Germany where Ghana lost my luggage. The country really loves me, what can I say? Anyways, it really was a blessing in disguise because Lufthansa gave me 50 euros to buy clothes and then everything showed up in Munich. Kim's bags were heavy so it was better not to have two more bags. Man, we were a sight at the train station trying to carry all of our luggage! We took the train from Frankfurt to Munich and spent three and a half days touring the city and elsewhere. Probably the highlight of my trip was eating fresh strawberries from the fruit market a block away from our cute little hotel. We were able to see Dachau which is just ruins now but with a nice museum depicting the history. How awful! I am glad to have seen it with mine own eyes so I can somewhat understand the devastation that occurred there. We also went to Slazburg in Austria where Sound of Music was filmed and then went to Neuenschtein(sp?) to see the Disney castle. So we got around but the countryside from gorgeous. It was green and rolling and green, and mountainous, and did I mention green? We even spent the night in the train station because our train left at 3 in the morning.

At home, I started the middle school program for VBS and we had a blast. I had to catch up with that age level as I am use to younger kids. One time I asked them if they needed help tying something and they gave me that look, we can do it. OH yeah, right! Oops! However, I saw the Lord touching their lives as they had to think deeper about God our creator and sustainer in all. I wish I was there all year to minister to these kids and have programs for them.

The fun continued with a two week "Freedom Trip" outeast with Cathy and a good friend. We hit Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City. Boston was my favorite as it is one of the places that began our country and it seems like a small town in the middle of a large city. We stayed in the North End which is the Italian section and were able to smell bakery from our beds. What could be better! In New York, we visited a college friend of ours with two other friends and took the city by storm! It was wonderful to catch up with sisters in Christ who for the past 5 years now have helped challenge me to grow closer in my Lord and Savior. What a blessing to be in their presence as a friend and colleague as we are all teachers. You know, got to stick together.

The rest of the time was spent frantically spending time with the family. So many good memories that we will cherish until my next visit. Thank you for all those who have been prayer warriors for me. I was so fortunate to see a lot of you this summer. I am sorry if I was unable to make it to everyone so please keep in touch.