Well, we have come to the end of another month. It’s been hard for me to sit down and write about everything that’s been going on because honestly, I don’t even know where to begin. It seems like I start every blog like that… hmmm…
This month we have been in Togo, a tiny little country in West Africa that most people have never heard of. About 10 of us worked on the Africa Mercy, a ship that goes around West Africa and docks in different ports and does medical missions where they are. My job was chopping veggies in the galley with Allison, and it was actually kind of fun! Okay, lots of fun. Being on the ship has been a blessing – we have air conditioning, doctors, reces cups, starbucks, and SO many amazing people from all over the world. We stayed in a big city yet again, which was a little disheartening because I have been wanting to see Africa – the Africa I knew I’d fall in love with. Not the hustle bustle of a large city, but the true heart of this continent that you find in the villages and jungles that not many people visit. Just as I was feeling I might not get to see that this time around, God decided to give me the chance…
This weekend was amazing. It was truly an adventure…The best weekend on the race, by far. So. Let me try and sum it up for you! 🙂
So, there is a guy named Joel on the ship. He is an optometrist from Ireland, and he drove here to Togo all the way from his homeland in a VW van to work on the ship. Well, he was talking to Allison and asked if we had ever been out of any of the cities in Africa yet. She said no, and he said that we are really missing out on Africa because the cities are nothing compared to what Africa really is (which I could sense…). So he invited her to ask 3 or 4 ppl to go camping with him over the weekend to a place up north. She asked me, Annie and April to go, and he brought two of his friends who work on the ship as well… Micah from Chicago and Jens from Denmark. They all 3 are awesome men of God – they are respectful and leaders and goofy and nuts and fun all at the same time… We packed up Saturday morning, loaded up in Joel’s VW van (which didn’t have anything but open space in the back so some of us sat on folding chairs) and started the trek up to the mountains. We got there about 11 am and set up camp in a clearing in the mountains. Togo is beautiful… we were in the mountains, in the jungle, in Africa, camping. We ate lunch and then hiked down the mountain to a waterfall and all swam for a few hours. We got caught in a downpour but it didn’t matter cause we were all in the water anyways. The hike back up the “hill” was treacherous, but only cause we are all a tad out of shape. We got back to the top, changed into dry warm clothes (it was actually chilly with the rain) and sat under a tarp and played cards and drank hot chocolate till the rain stopped. Then we made dinner on Joel’s “wee little stove” and then had a bonfire. The locals came up when it got dark and they brought their drums and played for us and we all danced around the fire and learned their songs and dances… then went to bed and slept like babies. We woke up at 3:30 in the morning by screaming roosters, which was not fun. They were RIGHT outside our tents, we could pretty much see their shadows by our heads… annnd they didn’t shut up until like 7 am – but that was just a minor set back. We ate breakfast, hiked to the falls again, and then went to the top of another mountain before we headed back into the city with 3 student hitch hikers we picked up along the way from American University. We played games the whole way back and laughed till our stomachs hurt… it was just an amazing weekend.
THIS is the Africa I knew I’d fall in love with, and I definitely did. I’m sad to leave Togo, and sad to leave new friends as quickly as we met them…but I know that Nigeria will have just as much excitement in store for us. So look out, cause World Team Police is coming your way 😉 😉
