As you can see by the photo, Africa is a beautiful country, yet the people litter and throw their garbage everywhere. When we went to the Wli Falls, which we shall tell about later, we walked through some of the most beautiful and lush green vegetation we have seen. Yet the guide was picking up litter all the way in and out. He said that was part of his job. When we asked him how people could litter such a pretty area, he said it's mostly the African school students who do that. I wish they would have more respect for this lovely country.
I started out feeling sorry for the people here, but after being here awhile and getting to know them, I now am starting to feel sorry for the people back home. They don't have the distractions that modern technology provides, so they spend their time reading scriptures, studying lessons and memorizing songs. They are very knowledgeable about the gospel and scriptures. They love to sing here, even if they have no accompaniment and they are mostly off key. When there is no accompanist they ask someone to sing the first stanza of the hymn. (They call this give us the tune.) The chorister will then say, "One, Two, Go". They then start to sing. It's wonderful because what they lack in quality, they make up for in quantity. They are not shy about singing the hymns loudly.
The people here are warm, friendly and open. You can talk to anyone, well almost anyone, about the gospel and they will stop to listen. They will accept the pamphlets we hand out and will promise to read them. They love getting things from people, especially us "Yavoos" (White People). As they walk along the road they have this sullen and serious look on their face, but if you greet them, their face brightens and they will smile and return your greeting, well, most of them do. There is always the exception. We have people walk up to us and ask us about our church. If you can't be a missionary here, you can't be a missionary anywhere. When people greet us here they say, "You are welcome", which means, you are welcome here. In Ewe they say "Woezor", which means "Welcome". Then we reply back, "Thank you" or Akpeh". They kind of have it backwards here.
When the children see us they brighten up and yell Yavoo. We can tell when we walk by children that have seen us because they will yell out. Some will want to give us a big hug or want to hold our hand. They smile so big and enjoy being around us. We've even had to have someone who spoke Ewe tell them to go back home because they were following us and we were afraid they would get lost. We have been told it's good luck for them to see and be around a white person. Kind of makes you feel special. And they all love to have their picture taken and see it on the camera screen. But they don't want to smile for the photo, but they have big smiles afterwards when they see them.
The driving can be best described as bumper cars, yet they seldom have collisions, just lots of near misses. We have had our mirrors hit before. And when they do have a collision, they just get out and yell at each other for awhile and then go on their way. Seldom is there any physical confrontation. The drivers are aggressive yet courteous. They will take the right of way, but if you take it from them, there is no yelling, shouting or cursing. But if you let a vehicle in, the whole line of them will go. There is no your lane goes, then my lane goes and so forth, it's every man for himself. The vehicles have the right of way on the streets, at the intersections, everywhere. The pedestrians watch out for them. About 70% of the highway fatalities here involve vehicles hitting people walking. When you do stop for a pedestrian and let them cross, they look surprised, then smile and wave at you. Because there is hardly any private ownership of cars here, if they want transportation somewhere, instead of walking they either take a taxi or tro-tro (a van that will hold up to 14 people). A member of our branch, who drives a taxi, says there are about 2,000 taxis here in Ho. I believe it, they're everywhere. The vehicles stop at anytime and anywhere to let their passengers out or in. You always have to be ready to swerve out of the way in case they do.
The driving can be best described as bumper cars, yet they seldom have collisions, just lots of near misses. We have had our mirrors hit before. And when they do have a collision, they just get out and yell at each other for awhile and then go on their way. Seldom is there any physical confrontation. The drivers are aggressive yet courteous. They will take the right of way, but if you take it from them, there is no yelling, shouting or cursing. But if you let a vehicle in, the whole line of them will go. There is no your lane goes, then my lane goes and so forth, it's every man for himself. The vehicles have the right of way on the streets, at the intersections, everywhere. The pedestrians watch out for them. About 70% of the highway fatalities here involve vehicles hitting people walking. When you do stop for a pedestrian and let them cross, they look surprised, then smile and wave at you. Because there is hardly any private ownership of cars here, if they want transportation somewhere, instead of walking they either take a taxi or tro-tro (a van that will hold up to 14 people). A member of our branch, who drives a taxi, says there are about 2,000 taxis here in Ho. I believe it, they're everywhere. The vehicles stop at anytime and anywhere to let their passengers out or in. You always have to be ready to swerve out of the way in case they do.
Things I think I'll never get used to: Humidity. Roosters not knowing the time of day and they're only supposed to crow at sunrise. People relieving themselves out in the open, anywhere they can. The noise, Africa is a noisy place. The fire station across the street testing their alarms daily, but at least it's around 7am. The sun rising and setting at the same time each day. Ghana is the center of the world, the country closest to 0 degrees longitude and 0 degrees latitude. The taste and texture of food. It is okay, just a little off from what we're used to. Even the products that come from American companies that are made in South Africa, don't taste quite the same. But the fresh fruit here is wonderful. Seeing lizards in the house, but I guess it's better than having bugs. But we have bugs too. Ghanaian standard time. It's worse than Mormon standard time. The price of things compared to the quality. Everything here is so expensive, I don't know how some people live, but the quality is really poor. It's not even Ghana good (to quote Mandy). The driving. The condition of the roads and rumble strips, or speed ramps. Dodging potholes everywhere, I am working on my PHD (pot hole dodger). Electricity going off at random times and not knowing when it will come back on. There is no electric company to call here. No addresses. People very seldom had telephones until cell phone came along, now everyone has one, but they don't know phone etiquette. They don't say goodbye, they just hang up. And if their phone rings they answer it, no matter where they are or what they are doing. Deep gutters, I mean deep, at least two to three feet deep and about twelve to fifteen inches wide. You definitely don't want to park to close to or drive your vehicle into one.
They have a whole different terminology for things. If something is ruined or broke, it's said to be spoiled. An intersection is a junction. Groceries are provisions. If you are going out of town you are traveling, if you move, you are out of town. Comments in church are called contributions. When they run out of something, they call it finished. When the instructor asks someone to look up a scripture and read it, they will wait for everyone to find it and will say "are we there yet?" When questioning what you say, they say "are you sure". Speed bumps are called rumble strips and they don't just have one, they have several in a row.
Yes, Africa is a wonderful place full of contrasts. For everything you find that's bad, you can find more that's good. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve here on a mission and for those who have helped physically, spiritually and financially. And it's an added blessing to be serving here with Sister Lyon, my eternal companion. May the blessings of the Lord be with each and everyone of you.
Mia Ga Da Go
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