*Counting Down

I am spending the next few days getting ready to travel to Ghana - a trip I am blessed to repeat. I am admittedly nervous. I do not like to fly - although I love to see different places. If those places could just magically be in a drivable distance. The concept of Pangaea sounds like a good one to me - too bad I was not here when that was God's current design for this planet.

My husband has been working hard to keep me calm - telling me that everything will be ok - easy for him to say - he travels far, far away all the time. He has set up his ipod for me to have new stuff to listen to, which is very generous. My ipod is a sad little outdated thing, which is sufficient for music while walking, but his is a beast that holds more music than you could listen to before the battery dies, along with pod casts of some of our favorite speakers. I also get frequent reminders about not walking off alone, and what documentation to keep with me and the phrase "I am an American citizen, take me to the nearest embassy." It is actually sort of cute how much his anxiety increases thinking I am far away and out of his zone of protection. I never have him repeat the safety instructions back to me before he goes to China.

Ghana is a relatively safe place, and when at the Village of Hope I feel safer than I did when in some areas of Memphis. The people we stay with and serve are gracious and so appreciative. A level of gratitude you do not often find here in the states. For those of you who have not been inundated with Ghana pictures from last year I will post a photo of where we stay. Gorgeous colors - the sun works differently there, likely due to the proximity to the equator, the rays are more FULL ON than they are here.



The flowers are so vivid and much pinker than what grows in my yard, much to my daughters frustration. While boasting no air conditioning it has several ceiling fans, prompting thoughts of childhood summers before central heat and air was something we learned we could not do without.Out side our house was a cashew tree. I had no idea that cashews grew on trees. I had previously given no thought at all as to where I thought they grew but I felt surprise when I walked up to this tree...






Apparently there is a yummy cashew in there - safely encased in an outer skin and some acid. If you pick it and bite it you will get a nasty surprise. Whomever decided to find out how to treat these nuts in the complicated way to remove said skin and acid showed a great deal of determination. How did they know it would be worth it? I am thankful they "decided it was worth it to finish what they started." My life has been blessed by their efforts. :)



I will try to post some more Ghana thoughts and memories as I count down to departure - it will help me and I know some of our 8 readers will enjoy the photos. So in keeping with a countdown concept.... 3 ...