More church, my offenses, and Angelina Jolie (ha, no I didn't see her)

I've added some more pictures below this post to convey what Ghana looks like, more of the kids, and some showing what the schools look like! Tomorrow, I am taking my first official sightseeing trip! It is just to a place less than ½ an hour from my home, but it is one of the mountains in Volta Region (these are really just large, large hills) where there is guided hiking to the top of the mountain and the possibility of seeing some monkeys in the forest! Wish me luck, the hike ranges between 2-4 hours roundtrip and I am going to try to get there early in the morning so I don’t pass out from heat exhaustion!!! =)

I haven’t been back to the kids' church, but I do keep getting invited to attend church with other people. One man that I always seem to run into on the street has been trying to get me to attend the Church of Latter Day Saints (the Mormon church) and I keep putting him off. But finally last week, I felt bad turning down his offer because he was very helpful in getting me a ride to a nearby town when I was completely confused at the tro tro (bus) station. So I agreed to meet him at his church last Sunday. One problem though, I thought I knew where the church was, I didn’t. I asked three people on the street for directions and they all pointed to the same church. So I entered this one church thinking I would see my friend and a bunch of the white Mormon missionaries that I always see around town, but no, it wasn’t the right church, it was a Catholic church. Of course, I didn’t realize this until after I entered the church and then felt bad getting up to leave, so I stayed. Plus I’m use to a Catholic service….uh, normally, this one was entirely in Ewe and probably about halfway through when I entered the church. I was expecting some kneeling, standing, sitting, etc but for the two hours I sat there I heard what I think was a sermon and then an hour of a song lesson (after an hour, I still couldn’t sing the song)! I eventually couldn’t handle it anymore and just got up and left and of course, everyone stared! One cool thing, all the women wore these beautiful white veils over there hair during the mass…kind of like nuns, but with such gorgeous material, it made me want to have one too! I don’t know if it was offensive that I wasn’t wearing one, but that couldn’t have been any more offensive than the fact that I didn’t realize I was suppose to remove my shoes at the door or that I sat on what I think was the side of church for boys only! Oops!

I started taking my orphan friends out on the weekends. It is hard at the orphanage during the week to give all of them the individual attention that they are craving since there are so many of them. So, I take three of them at a time on Saturdays and walk into town, look around at the market, and buy them each an ice cream and soda. You would think I was buying them something amazing, they love it. But of course, choosing which three get to go each week causes a little chaos, but I try to be random and make them pick numbers and assure them that everyone will get to go eventually. The vendors at the market get a kick out of seeing a yevu with so many little Ghanaian children and like to ask me if they’re mine. Maybe they think I am Angelina Jolie…you know without the tall, supermodel looks and a hot male companion, named Brad!

I also have made friends with a fun young British couple from London who also volunteer with DiVOG; they have been here 5 months. They live in a village in the Volta region working on building an IT center. They are married, quit their jobs, sold most of their things (I believe) to come to Ghana and volunteer, travel, and maybe go on to South America, which of course I think is very inspiring and is very adventurous to do especially as a couple! They are going to be ending their volunteer time in the next month or so and then heading to Ghana’s coast to manage an eco-lodge (that has sea turtles!) for several months. So, they have invited me to come down and visit the place; I am very excited to see the lodge and beach! I think all the volunteers get fun, random questions about our homes from the Ghanaians, but Maria and David asked me their own fun questions about my living in the US, such as, do I know any famous people and how many have I’ve seen? Yep, we have tons of them in the Midwest, don’t we? (Sorry David and Maria if you are reading this, it was just too cute not to share!).

Ghana will be celebrating 50 years of independence on March 6, so hopefully I be able to share some of their celebrations with you soon!

I have had a few people ask about things that they could send to be helpful, honestly, the kids at the orphanage need a lot. Storybooks for ages maybe 12 and below would be great, and workbooks to help them with all forms of math and practicing writing their English (their spelling is really bad) are also needed. I have an address directly to the orphanage and some shipping info that I will post next time if anyone is interested. Thank you to everyone that already donated stuff before I left; the kids have been devouring the coloring books (thank you Kathy!), crayons, and pencils. I bought some kids books from Goodwill before I left, but they really do need more.

Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you!