affirmation

All along I've been questioning. Wondering. Doubting even. The crazy thoughts running through my mind didn't quite calm down when I came down with a TERRIBLE case of food poisoning in Accra, Ghana the night before we were supposed to fly out to Zambia. Laying in my bed unable to move around, I thought my worst fears had been affirmed. God didn't want me to keep going with Clothed in Hope. I had somehow messed things up or caused Him to change His mind.

But this was all wrong. Rather, God knew how my mind races, how I get anxious with excitement and tend to overplan. Laying basically half-dead in my bed, there wasn't much time for planning or mental preparation for the trip. I had planned to read these verses, pray this long, etc etc. But God a different plan. Doesn't He always?! And yet again He proves HIS control, HIS timing, HIS sovereignty over all things, even health. I woke up the next morning not feeling 100% but not nearly as awful as the night before and such peace just flooded over me. God loves to love His children. He delights in their joy. He loves to give to His children and doesn't withold any good from them. My sickness wasn't punishment but rather God's gift of removing anxiety and stress, of showing me where I could place 100% of my trust and where I could find renewed faith in His work.

So here I am in Lusaka, Zambia in the very same internet cafe I wrote all the blog entries in from last summer. I'm eating at the same places, shopping at the same stores, meeting some of the same people but yet it's different. I thought it'd be bittersweet here reminding me of such sweet memories of last summer that I won't be able to get back. Instead it's different, it's new. It's incredible just how these two days even have made me feel so comfortable, so at rest. This may be a small detail but I slept better last night than in the past 6 weeks! It's home. I write this and my heart races a bit at the reality of this statement but I'm incredibly excited. Every last detail has just been affirmation for me and for Clothed in Hope. Sure things aren't glamorous or super easy here. But there's just something about this place that feels so right. I was able to meet with a man yesterday from an NGO here in Zambia who could be and will be a great contact for Clothed in Hope. I don't want to get ahead of myself in explaining things but let's just say that God's really taking care of these plans. So many things came together in a matter of minutes that I couldn't even begin to make happen over an entire semester.

I'll be updating with more stories of the things I've seen, the people I've met and the plans in the process as I have time.

Just a glimpse at the life here in Zambia, the poorer, shyer, less popular cousin of Ghana: Yesterday we went to visit an organization here employing young women, mostly single mothers, to crochet purses from platic bags. The compound includes a safe house for boys & girls in Ng'ombe that need a place to flee during a hard time. The safe house began when one girl, then 13 years old, came to the compound after midnight one night after being raped by a group of men who attacked her. She's now 16 and still lives in the safe house with her 3 year old beautiful daughter and gift of the Lord, Kelly. She's been trained to create these purses to provide for her and her daughter. Just stories like this rip your heart out but it hurts more knowing they're not uncommon whatsoever. The immense need of Ng'ombe is what continues to fuel my heart for these people. And just the gentle beauty they all carry with them despite such hardship.

Okay I could write for days. I'm really done now. I'm in awe that God isn't though!

support

Every morning I walk into the kitchen to get some breakfast and exchange a "Good Morning, how are you?" with Grace, Ben's nanny, and Gina, the housekeeper. I've enjoyed getting to spend more time with them, linger a bit longer in the kitchen or in my room while Gina's cleaning just to talk to them more. It's not my natural inclination to slow things down and just enjoy people. But I'm enjoying learning that and praying that it'll continue. Gina takes 3 buses to get here and lives far away. She leaves her house at 5:30 but doesn't get to our house until around 9 every morning. She keeps this house looking beautiful. She's a very talented seamstress but when her business went under she just took the first job she found. I love her passion for sewing and for people- things beyond a mop and a broom. She's a quiet woman but once you talk with her, not at her, she just lights up and has a beautiful smile that brightens her whole face. On Friday, I told her that my parents will be coming soon and that I'll be traveling with them for two weeks. I didn't think she'd remember, or really care honestly. This morning after our greeting and while I'm finishing up breakfast she asks when they're coming. And in the most simplest yet touching of moments she looks at me and says, "I'll be missin' you."

I hate to admit it but I don't think I'd stop and spend as much time with a housekeeper in America. And I've been really convicted of that. Gina is a beautiful, wonderfully caring woman who just wants to feel special. I'm thankful that I can see her through God's eyes, and though I fail many times, I can let His love shine through me to reach out to her. I pray that these realizations will come with me back to the States and that I can continue to see God's sons and daughters as the beautiful people they are, all created in His image. I can't wait to share more later about the other wonderful Ghanaian women I've met and spent time with here.

This post, however, is about my realization after Gina said this sweet thing to me. Here I am sitting at work just itching with excitement for my parents to come here on Friday. They're traveling for a day, spending a week and a bit in Ghana and five days in Zambia and then another day's travel to go home. All along I've been excited for them to experience what I'm constantly talking about at home. I've been looking forward to showing them around here, allowing them to experience my daily life in Ghana. But most of all though I'm just so antsy to show them where I left my heart- at the Ng'ombe slum- and let them experience the sheer joy of those children and women so in love with the Lord, living with so little. I've been viewing these next two weeks as just another two weeks out of my 10-week stay here. But this is a big deal. My parents are taking off of work, spending a pretty penny to come here and more to experience life here, and they're putting themselves out there to live a life so much different than in the States, ridding themselves of many comforts of home and opening themselves up to so many new experiences. I confess that I take that for granted sometimes. Actually a lot of times. Sitting down to think about it all though, it's beyond incredible. It's beautiful. It's selfless. It's touching. It's loving. It's Jesus. I'm thankful beyond words that I have two parents so supportive of my passions, helping me discover them and celebrating in them. They WANT to see the future site of Clothed in Hope. They WANT to see the sights of Ghana. Most touching of it all, they WANT to do all of this with ME. I don't think I tell them enough so I'll say it now. Thank you Mom and Dad for radiating Christ through your actions, your words, and your guidance. Thank you Mom for being the Proverbs 31 wife and mother. Thank you Dad for caring for us, supporting us, leading our family, and raising me and Mark the Ephesians 6:4 way. Y'all bring so much joy to my life and the support I have from y'all means more to me than I'll ever be able to express in words. I love y'all.

So here goes to these next two weeks, surely filled with joy, confusion, unmet expectations, tears of joy and of pain, bittersweet feelings from last summer in Zambia, many laughs, smiles, and most of all, love.

pebbles

The egg sandwich lady wasn't at her stand on Wednesday night so we decided to get rice & beans (Waayke) from this lady's stand tucked back a bit from the main road. Not like a hike but a few steps back with no line. Some say that should be a sign of bad food but instead I was trying to see it as a great find- fifty cents for a huge portion, no line, perfect. And it was perfect until I got it home and ate a good part of it. I was chowin down with just a few bites left and crunch. Not a bone crunch that I could force down somehow (it's pretty common) but like a real bad crunch. So, unladylike of me, I had to see what it was. It was a pebble! A round, black PEBBLE. Gross. Maybe that's why this lady didn't have any business. How do pebbles just jump into a huge pot of Waayke anyways? Weird.

Fast forward to today. Our Marine friend's driver came to pick us up from the movies (yes we had a spoiled day today) and of course Tori had to share my story. Emmanuel, the driver, busts out laughing and doesn't stop for a good while. I thought he was laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, as the random/crazy stories only seem to happen to me around here. He then explains "you should be happy it wasn't a stone! You are lucky it was just a pebble." Really?! Emmanuel tells me that it's pretty common to find large stones in your street chop (the stands on the side of the road that serve food like I got).

We drove down the road a bit and I made a comment about how great he drives in the terrible Accra traffic. Emmanuel, with such a happy chuckle, says, "You just have to be patient. It's a waste to get angry." This may sound like a duh moment but around here in Accra, patience is something I've gotta work pretty hard at, especially with the language barrier, poor sense of direction, and millions of opinions which are all usually incorrect. Emmanuel was so right though. What's the point? Why spend my time being frustrated and upset? Sure it's the easier way to go but definitely not the most beneficial to me,, or anyone else for that matter.

Then I connected the dots. Again this may seem cheesy or a bit over the top but around here I've gotta go off of something. Motivation and inspiration are found in the smallest of details. There's not much else to go off of so I'm thankful for these little lightbulbs that go off sometimes. I should be grateful for the pebbles. That they're just pebbles and aren't stones. So many things go wrong, or just not according to plan here. As a whole though I'm doing just fine and life isn't as dramatic as we make it seem. Same goes with the States back home. I find myself blowing up at the smallest of difficulties or inconveniences when really?! Life could be so much harder. But again, it's by grace that I only get the occasional pebble.

twisted

This weekend I went on a trip with all of the Global Mamas interns and some staff from the Cape Coast and Accra offices to Busua beach. It's known to be the most gorgeous, cleanest and quietest beach in all of Ghana and I'd have to agree! We took this huge safari-esque truck with open air windows and headed to the "resort" after we met up with everyone at the Cape Coast office. All along I've wished to be there or at least somewhere different than Accra but once we got there, I realized Accra is exactly where I want to be. Cape Coast is so much prettier but also so much quieter, apart from the inside of the volunteer house. Around 15 or so interns live at the house there and I mean I enjoy friends and all but my Scooby Doo bottom bunk is treating me just nicely these days. I thought the grass was greener in Cape Coast but I'm happy to be in Accra for sure. Oopsies I always get sidetracked. Okay so Busua Beach. We got there early evening, put on our swimsuits and headed straight for the water. Let's pause for a second though. We were told very little about this trip. Basically just to meet up with the group and we'd get there. So I didn't ask questions, for maybe the first time ever when it comes to planning a trip (a huge duh for all who've traveled with me or just been around me for more than 10 minutes). Looking back now though I kinda wish I'd spoken up but yay for learning experiences right?! We pulled up to this pristine resort with a guard house and a gated entrance... to turn around and go to our "resort." I actually love the roughin' it lifesytle here which is a huge surprise to me. I'm fine with the 5 minute cold shower, bucket showers even, bugs, sweat, dirt, strange odors, I can do it all no problem. But here was a different story. The Alaska Resort is owned by a group of rastas. Not judging but just stating facts- the whole "don't worry bout a thing" is pretty accurate, even when it comes to our living conditions. I was handed the key to my grass hut and off we went. Luckily I got to room with just my friend Tori but not so luckily was the day-long power outages, community unisex bathroom 10 huts away with an inch of water on the floor, and never-ending poundings of African drum circles that I never could locate. It sure was an experience though! A few girls got robbed, our towel rack broke in the night to dump our clothes in the mud, we got rained out from the beach for a good day and a half, but it wasn't the end of the world. All of these things were just things- many things I've already dealt with and some that just seemed minute in comparison to other strange or inconvenient things that have happened previously this summer.

Something else was just unsettling. Sure there were amazing times of laying out on the beach, enjoying a very fresh catch of lobster and eating it straight out of the pot on a porch on the beach, and waking up to banana pancakes served on the beach (minus the honey as syrup and ants in the sugar). As a whole though my weekend was just bleh. Just not satisfying. Not enjoyable. Not what I was hoping for. I've tried to place that feeling ever since it began and I think I've narrowed it down to this one thing. Twisted paradise. This place that's supposed to be so pristine and so perfect just wasn't. These people who were supposed to be just like me, just weren't. For some reason I just had this uneasy feeling the entire weekend, itching to get away from it all. I was in paradise, literally, yet that couldn't be more from the truth of how I was feeling. I prayed and cried out to the Lord asking Him to meet me in this low place but I wasn't met with any revelations or visions or even fuzzy feelings. I felt like I had screwed something up or that I hadn't laid it all out on the table before God and I was somehow being punished. My fear, doubts, and insecurities flooded into my mind. The more I examined the situation, the more I felt... inadequate. I tried to find joy in the weird weekend, celebrating how "paradise" isn't even close to Paradise in heaven. And for that I do rejoice! I just didn't FEEL it. I kept reminding myself of truth. I'm not supposed to be able to fit in with everyone; I represent Christ and have been set apart. The dissatisfaction I felt from everyone just hurt my heart. We all feel it but we all handle it different ways. For me though it was just heart-breaking to be in this incredible place and just see people who haven't experienced true joy, who don't know of the One who brings complete satisfaction and security. Something inside of me wanted to burst it out but with that was a tension to keep it all bottled up. I just wanted to tell them what kept repeating in my mind and in my heart all weekend: temporary pleasure pales in comparison to eternal treasure. Sounds cheesy but it really was like a broken record in my mind. Instead of being some beach preacher I instead just ran to the Lord. All of my feelings of inadequacy I put on Him. Christ died for every single burden, every single fear or disappointment of mine, even in myself. It is finished. There's nothing else to be drawn out or held against me. Even when the fuzzy feelings aren't there, even when I "feel" like God is millions of miles away, I have a Truth I can cling to. God never changes. He never feels unsure about His love for me. He never feels unsure about His love for all people of the world.

That's faith. It's also a challenge to pursue each day but I've found that every single time, God meets me in that. It didn't come this weekend, it didn't come last night when I got back to Accra but it came today. God's mercy is new each and every day, and today I could wake up with such peace in knowing that, knowing that He's for my good and that His plan is always better. Being completely honest, it's been hard for me here this time around. No one knows me or where I stand with my faith so it'd be easy just to let things fizzle out. But instead I crave even more time with the One who saved me from eternal pain, the One who reminds me that satisfaction is only found in Him and that every moment and every person was created to glorify Him alone. Here there's no Christian friends, no Bible studies, no church sermons, no church groups, services, accountability; nothing. There is no Christian music blaring from the radio, no trendy videos or deep conversation. It's just raw. It's a choice to live by faith. It's a choice to seek God in the hardest times instead of running to what's comfortable or what's easy. It's not easy but God DELIGHTS when I turn to Him in the hardships. He doesn't create hardships for His joy but instead He finds complete joy in seeing me choose Him over it. Wow I've just been rambling and completely threw my heart all out there. But I don't regret it a bit. I tend to overuse my words but to end I'll just keep it simple.

I choose Christ.

crash

Maybe the title of this one isn't so great but it was honestly difficult for me to think of just one word to sum up this entire weekend. It was incredible, definitely one for the books but just like an amazing sugar high after one too many chocolates, there's gotta be a crash.

This weekend me and a few friends went on an adventure to Wli Waterfalls in the Lake Volta region of Ghana. The drive is supposed to be just over 3 hours so we packed up the car Friday afternoon and head off (this time also with a driver thank goodness). Our home in Accra just ran out of water Friday due to an electrical shortage with our pump so I had just experienced my first bucket shower with a Glad container. But we were ready. We had our hotel booked, military itinerary printed out to the hour from the US Embassy, and plenty of cedis ready for great food and attractions. We hit a ton of traffic heading out of Accra and this should've been a sign. The traffic lightens up and right when we think we're good to go to catch up on lost time, the sky turns this awful black. Maybe the blackest I've ever seen but that may have to do with just the sheer visibility of such flat land here. We could see for miles and we could see that it wasn't going to be good. Our super experienced driver, Emmanuel, even wasn't feeling so great about it so once the blinding rain began we had to pull over a couple of times to let cars pass to go the safer speed. All around became flooded and roads became backed up with traffic but we were certainly warned about the rainy season. They sure weren't kidding either. So this unexpected storm put us back a few hours and after dark in Ghana, nothing really can happen. Nothing good at least. (Sidenote to any concerned individuals: I felt safe the entire time riding in a US Embassy vehicle with an experienced Ghanaian driver, Marine, and new best friend so no need to worry.) Anyways, as we got closer to the town with the falls and our hotel we could see that the roads weren't going to be so nice to us. We called the hotel and they said there was no way for us to get there. The road we needed to take was blocked off due to a funeral weekend (which is a huge deal here and actually really neat). We missed the detour with the dark and the rain but managed to get on the right street again. This next part of the story sounds like it'd be like 5 minutes but in Africa, everything is 10 times more complicated and takes 10 times as long. We searched from town to town for a place to stay but people literally said "we have no room." I thought for sure we'd be sleeping in some stable or at least in the car. It was the weirdest thing. Even the dingiest of hotels, no room. What?! We called people to connect us to other people who would recommend us to others and finally found one place. We drove there as fast as we could and no joke, as we pulled into the driveway the power shut off. As if the night wasn't difficult enough. The guys were worn out and just wanted a place to sleep when they were told that they'd have to be the ones to start up the old-school generator. And of course after a billion tries, the city power finally comes back on! Thank goodness though! We looked around at the place we'd decided to stay based off of sheer exhaustion and it turned out to be the most incredible, home-y inn I've seen yet. No bed bugs, no mosquitoes, no dirt, and even furnished with homemade quilts on the beds. Perfection. Our weekend turned around at that very moment, and as the giant bowl of veggie pasta hit the table as we had forks in hand ready to eat. Go figure the one time we don't pack a billion snacks we get stranded but that's always when it happens right?! The huge feast of a dinner made up for it, along with friends, laughs, and the power staying on the rest of the night.

The next morning we slept in later than expected, fueled up with a HUGE breakfast then drove up to the Wli Waterfalls Reception. I was still a bit beat from the adventure the day before so I thought I was still dreaming but nope! My favorite animal of all time, an ostrich!, was just roaming around reception looking for hand-outs from tourists stopping in before the hike. We were warned about the strenuous nature of the hike but again, it's Africa... what do they really mean? Difficult? No. Try hardest hike of my entire life. Like probably 3 times worse than Camelback in Arizona that I hiked in November. And in 90 degrees with humidity. But what a great test of endurance both mental and physical. I caught myself just praying to the Lord as a friend, as a comforter in thanksgiving for even being able to walk up a mountain and asking for strength that I didn't think I had. From the first view of the mountain I didn't think there was a way but 3 hours later we arrived at the top falls of Wli and it was the most incredible thing. Drenched from head to toe we traded sweat for the cool water and mist from the falls as we jumped in right away. There's just something so peaceful and rewarding about a great hike. For me I think it was that I honestly didn't think I could make it yet it was only my mind holding me back from doing so. We had a great guide, Samuel, who showed us different natural remedies for bug bites, tree fibers for energy, berries for survival and pointed out different landmarks along the way, such as the village with reception that got smaller and smaller the longer we hiked up the mountain. From the top of the falls, I just sat and marveled. It may sound cheesy but it really was just a moment in awe of God's creativity, His power to create all of this to bring Himself glory. I sat on a rock in the sunlight with my Luna bar lunch and just closed my eyes to listen to the sound of people singing in the church in the village as it drifted up the mountain and rested where we were. There aren't many moments like that, allowing us to just sit and marvel. The ones we do have are just such sweet ones. After a long rest we began the hike down the mountain, just as difficult but felt so refreshing knowing we were heading back with a bit more energy and lifted spirits. The sky was gorgeous the entire time and right when we headed back to the car at reception, the craziest downpour began. It came just in time as we were worn out, hot, tired, and just put the icing on the cake for the most difficult yet most rewarding hike of our lives.

The next morning we packed up the car, said our goodbyes to sweet Margaret, the owner of the inn, and her son who were both so hospitable to us. We were the only guests in the inn those nights so it really was like a home away from home for us. We left early so that we'd have plenty of time for travel but mostly to catch the Mona monkeys before they went into the forest for the afternoon. At Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary nearby we enjoyed a private tour of the grounds, protected for the conservation of the forest and monkeys. The Monkey Sanctuary fees are poured directly into the community and have provided schooling for all the children, a new clinic, and improvements in housing in that region that really needs it. Besides that, we got to hold monkeys! We were each handed an unpeeled banana and just told to hold our arms out tight. The tour guide was also named Emmanuel. Ah crazy! As I'm typing it just hit me! Emmanuel means God is with us. And as evidenced from all of our escapes from near-tragedies, He absolutely was! Anywho I diverge. Emmanuel just told us to hold on tight as he let out this crazy monkey call and pointed to the branches as they began to shake closer and closer in. We looked around the forest edge where we were standing and we spotted monkeys all around us! The tour guide said that Mona monkeys favor white women, oddly enough, but it seemed to be true. I had two monkeys fighting on my arm- twice- with monkey scratches up my arm to prove it. A younger monkey jumped on my arm once and just sat peeling the banana with his little hands. So surreal. Another highlight of the trip and a memory I never want to forget. We then headed back home and on the ride home I was just praying, talking to God about the weekend. I realized this: God never says no, He just says "I have better." Maybe this isn't in the form of visual blessings and provision like my weekend was, maybe I'll never see the "better" of certain situations, but I believe that statement with my whole heart.

So that's all the sugar. And I hate writing novels but it always turns out like this. But with the sugar comes the crash. Our crash came quicker than we thought it would as we walked into our volunteer room straight into a solid inch of brown water covering the entire floor, including the bags I left behind for the weekend with books and chargers and such. No. way. The cheery, high spirits mood faded real quickly as we found two mops and a bucket and went at it for an hour until I enlisted some help from my boss's husband. He brought the electrician to fix the burnt out bulb in our bathroom who dropped the good bulb which shattered all in the water we were cleaning up. And then the power went out so we were mopping brown toilet water in the dark in the stinkin (literally) heat of the day. I have to admit I was livid. I was not a happy camper. How did this happen? Did no one care to move my things that were ruined? I wanted to find someone on which to place the blame but I was smacked with the reality that accidents happen. Maybe they happen a bit more here with a bit stronger severity with much more chaos, but they happen. And it's okay. Life will go on. God is still with us and if anything, He used that low to show me my lack of trust in His good. And for that I really am thankful. It's the low moments that draw us close to Him.

grace

Last weekend was our first big adventure! And an adventure it was, even from the very beginning. There's no trotro (mini-bus) stop anywhere around here that gets us out of the city so we had to get a taxi to the city center to Tudu Station to get a tro. The language barrier, or my accent, became apparent that it'd be a challenge for us from the start. The taxi driver finally worked it out and dumped us off in the very middle of Tudu with no station in sight. Tudu is unlike anywhere African I've been so far. Thousands of Africans, thousands of individual stands selling produce, perfume, random products but everything you could ever want or need. We were the only bruni's anywhere but luckily people were only extremely helpful. The second we popped out of that taxi, 2 guys immediately offered to help to bring us to Tudu station to catch a tro to Shai Hills. Another adventure. We circled around parts of the city 2 and 3 times, with the sky getting darker and darker as a huge storm was rolling in. I just prayed and prayed that the rain would hold off until we sat down in that tro. They kept checking to make sure we were following and lead us so well through the thick crowds and street sellers. After around 20 minutes of this craziness, with no one REALLY understanding where we needed to go, I pulled out the pen from my backpack and wrote it on my hand. Little did I know, this would be the only way we'd get to Shai Hills. Everywhere we went with the guys as they talked with bus drivers and tro drivers, my hand was pulled into the air to show off my writing so that we could find the vehicle we needed to be in. It worked! We were lead up to this one tro with the drivers all haggling prices as we walked behind a line of tros. And I just stopped. Something seemed off that I may have caught in my peripheral vision as I was following the guys. I backed up a few steps and couldn't have been more right about the whole something is whack thing. In the back of the tro, our tro that we were supposed to take to Shai Hills, was a kicking and screaming baby goat tied up by it's neck to the seat post in front of it. Woah buddy. It was crazy! Luckily that tro filled up as Tori and I stared for a few seconds and we got the last 2 seats on the tro next to it, headed to Shai Hills! I thought the guys were leading us around town for a couple extra cedis but at the end of our journey, one came up to me and shyly asked for my address. Instead I gave him a couple cedis and jumped in. Ghanaians were starting to prove us wrong and really are some of the kindest, most helpful people!

Promise the next phase of our journey won't be this detailed. But neat thing, the second (and I'm not exaggerating) we got seated on the tro and the door slammed shut, it started to downpour! Not just rain, but like blinding rain. Which wasn't the safest feeling in this old-school form of mass transit. But if God was providing already through answered prayers, I could easily trust that His will would be done throughout the rest of our adventure. We arrived safely as the rain slowed down and stepped off right at the Shai Hills Reserve sign. We had made it! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Here after it rains it's cool and breezy instead of all sticky and muggy like I thought it'd be. The clouds still kept the sun from beating down from us and we were able to walk to our hotel and just enjoy the afternoon. We checked in at Shai Hills Resort and it was unexpectedly empty. The room was around $25USD and was yet again another sign of grace- A/C was blasting, TV, mini fridge, shower, huge bed, closet, just perfect. When I was researching our weekend plans, I really had no idea if it would all come together, as is life in Africa, but it surely was! And was such a blessing.

We got settled, unpacked our big packs, and headed out for an afternoon of hiking. We met other German volunteers at the reserve who wanted to split the costs of traveling through the reserve. Hello, another blessing. One I didn't even expect or plan for but one that saved us a pretty penny. In the reserve, you have to hire a guide for the whole time and you can only get to the great places with a car. So with the Germans, we split a taxi and went on the most ghetto-fabulous safari ever. But somehow it really worked out! We got dropped off part way to finish walking up to the bat caves and were just treking in the middle of the grasslands with mountains ahead of us, sun shining, antelopes frolicking and baboons calling out to each other. Surreal. Our guide was the nicest, most smiley man ever and had this giggle that just warms your heart- though the giggle may just come out when Americans ask silly questions- but I enjoyed it nonetheless. We reached the bat caves and learned all about the Shai people, how they lived in the caves for protection during wartimes up until 1890ish, how the tribal people of this region worship the Boabob tree and make a yearly journey to perform their rituals at the tree outside the bat cave, covering it in ceremonial cloth that remains up for the rest of the year. They even perform animal sacrifices to present to the tree. Pretty fascinating, yet kinda crazy stuff. Anywho, we "walked" up to the bat caves. Our little guide just jumped the rocks and got there in no time but for America, it would probably be considered a "difficult" hiking trail. Whoops. We made it though and were thankful for such a great, unexpected workout. The bat cave is where the chief resided for maximum protection. The had traps in the cave and the narrowest of passage ways (ones I didn't think I'd ever fit through but because of a childhood of preparation from Twister, I sure did) leading to the chief's quarters which also was home to thousands of bats screeching and flying around.

We then walked back a while before the taxi returned to get us and it was just breathtakingly gorgeous outside. Like out of a movie or something. We returned to the main gates after a few bumps and stalls down the dirt road just in time to go looking for baboons before they went away for the night. The baboons on the safari are afraid of people but the ones who live at the main gate are comfortable around people and will even eat food out of your hand, though I wasn't about to do that and catch some crazy disease. I always knew baboons were big but dang they're huge! The largest male was probably the size of my golden retriever at home. One female had her sweet little baby with her and it was so awesome to see them up close for a bit. Tori and I then bought a watermelon, an entire one for like $1USD from the sweetest lady in the world. She cut it up for us so we could eat it on our walk back to the resort, and even brought a friend over to get their picture taken. They screamed and squealed in delight about the picture and it was such a sweet moment. We later returned to the hotel to watch the Barcelona/Manchester soccer game and enjoy the most delicious dinner ever at the hotel restaurant. Great day.

The next day, one of our friends we've met here joined us for a long hike up the tallest mountain in the reserve. He's stationed at the US Embassy so with that comes a driver, a Land Crusier with A/C and American music. Not too shabby. I'm glad we experienced the reserve the African way the day before because we sure were spoiled on Sunday. Until we got to the hike. Again the African guide just ran up this mountain trail, a trail that would be "difficult" or even more in America. I hadn't had the biggest lunch which was a huge mistake. I didn't feel so hot for part of the hike and was so bummed that I wouldn't be able to finish. But of course our friend came prepared with boxes of granola bars and saved my life, allowing me to push on to reach the peak. And I'm sure glad I did. We could see clear for miles and I could've stayed up there for hours. Unfortunately that wasn't an option due to our guide freaking out about sun setting soon and snakes coming out which I guess is a valid worry. So we booked it down the mountain with a few bumps and scrapes from climbing up and down this vertical cave but we all survived! We jumped in the too nice of a car and headed home without the tro adventures which I didn't mind a bit. I am glad though that we're able to have the crazy goat tro stories to contrast to the Land Cruiser rides to experience all of it. And I'm grateful that the entire weekend was an outpouring of God's grace on us. Such a great reminder of His sovereignty in how things work out, and that even God wants us to enjoy this life. So overall, our first weekend adventuring was a great success.

In 2 hours we're off to another adventure at Wli Falls and Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary! Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures quicker this time!
(ps I just realized the photos are all in reverse order. Oopsies sorry! Hope it still makes sense.)

good

Got the iTunes on shuffle during work here at my internship and I didn't even hear the other lyrics to the song when this line popped out at me:
You never said it would be easy
You just promised You'd be with me
Good stuff. This truth hits every aspect of my life- in Ghana, Zambia or in the US- and brings such peace.

Photos & stories from last weekend's adventure will be posted soon! Tomorrow we're off to Wli Falls and another monkey sanctuary. Such a sweet reward for ourselves after a tough week of work!