Monday, February 28th and Tuesday, March 1st

The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of God are right, showing the way to joy. Psalm 19:7-8

Thought for the day: The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.


We left at around 4 a.m. for the airport in Bamako, Mali. We flew to Ivory Coast to pick up more passengers. We were advised to remain on the plane. From there we flew to Lome, Togo where the real language barrier began. There was no guidance at the airport and we were a little confused as to what gate we were supposed to be waiting at. However, the plane was very late so we were able to gulp down a Coke Light and some chocolate which was very much needed at this time! We boarded a bus which drove 50 yards to the plane so you know how hot the sun is here. We think it was about 90+ degrees that day. Our arrival in Accra, Ghana was also a little disappointing....our transportation had not waited for us since our plane was so late. So we hung around the airport and tried to get on the internet to blog. Before Sara was able to post it, the timer went off and we lost everything. The same thing happened to me last night. So this is the best my memory can recall after 3 hours of sleep last night. After arriving at the hotel, we met Dr. Bob Agnew and Justin Morken (both from Fargo) with Wellspring for the World. Bob has made many, many trips to Africa, India and the Orient. Justin works at Hope Lutheran Church so I recognized him right away. It was great fun to visit with them during dinner even though it took two hours to be served and they brought out two plates at a time, about ten minutes apart. Very slow around here.... We were supposed to leave around 4 a.m. again to fly to Tamale in northern Ghana. However, at bed time Millie informed us there was a problem with tickets, so we would have a day of tourism in the area instead. We were able to sleep a bit later in morning and were grateful to catch up on our sleep. In the morning two drivers picked us up from World Vision and took us on a two and half hour drive to Cape Coast. A huge tourist destination in this part of Africa. Now I should tell you about driving in Accra. Imagine a city of four million people, many roads under construction or washed out, cars driving on both sides of the road where whoever drove the fastest took the middle, and then add about a thousand people walking in between the cars with bowls or platters on their heads stacked two feet high trying to sell you goods while you were stuck in traffic. It made us very nervous and quite jumpy trying to use our own set of brakes and begging our driver to be careful. He said it is always like this and he is used to it. I should mention that before we get in a car with a World Vision driver they ask us to pray for them and all of us for a safe journey. Now we understood why. Our drivers were amazing and were a great source of knowledge for the many questions we had. Our first stop was a beautiful resort where we had lunch and took several pictures of the ocean. It was not a swimming spot--very high waves and rocks. After that we drove a short distance to see the Cape Coast Castle. We did not really know anything about it. As it turns out, it was the main location where they picked up the slaves to be sold in the Trans Atlantic slave market. It was incredibly moving and disturbing to us. Our guide showed us the women's and men's dungeons, the condemnation room which was for prisoner's who fought with the guards. Small room sealed off by a door with no windows and no air. They usually died within 72 hours. The last tunnel we passed thru was to the "Door of no Return". This is where they were led to the boats and sent to countries to be sold. We were so touched and felt angry that they had to suffer such horrible conditions. Only the strongest survived to be sold. His final message was about forgiveness and they had all put this behind them now. But they are very proud that Africans will always have roots here at home. And they are praying that there will be no more injustice against humanity. They were thankful we came and we left with many, many things to reflect and pray about on our long drive home... Kim