The Tuesday after graduation, I boarded a plane to Ghana in West Africa. My cousin Emily is serving in the Peace Corps there and her older sister, my cousin Christine, was able to use her connections as a flight attended to get me a reduced ticket. I had to fly standby the whole way there and back, but it was worth it to be able to go. I figured out that Africa is the fifth continent I've visited in my travels and by far the one I've been wanted to visit the most. The trip was incredible, so amazing, and I really learned so much while there.
My cousin Emily picked me up at the airport in Accra when I landed and from there we spent the rest of the day out and about, going to a reggae night on the beach that evening with other Peace Corps volunteers and some of their Ghanaian friends. We spent that night at a hotel and the next afternoon headed north to Koforidua to visit the bead market that is held there on Thursdays. We met up with another Peace Corps volunteer that evening and traveled back to his site where we spent the night. The next morning we went and watch some of the locals tap palm wine and then went to Boti Falls where we were able to swim and cool off for the afternoon. We spent that night there as well and then decided to head back down south to go to the beach near the border of Togo.
We spent the next evening at a beautiful hostel on a lagoon next to the beach and the following morning were canoed across the lagoon and watched the local villagers haul in fishing nets from the sea. We then returned to Accra to pick up my cousin Christine, her husband Andy, and Andy's mother Leslie at the airport. The five of us went back up north and spent two days on the edge of the Volta, which is the largest man-made lake in the world. After two relaxing days of drumming lessons, rope swings, and visiting a menagerie with crocodiles, monkeys, and other local animals, we continued on to Emily's site in a rural village farther north.
Being in Emily's village really opened my eyes to what being in the Peace Corps, and even missions, is really like. It was a primitive house with no running water and limited electricity, and I was able to get first hand experience of washing clothes by hand and perfected the art of taking a bucket bath. Not only was this simple living situation a good learning experience, but so was watching Emily's interactions and relationships with the people in the village. I think the most valuable lesson I learned was that the relationships that we build are far more important that the work that we do. It was incredible to see how much the students at Emily's school love her and to see that she's having an impact on their lives, not because of what she's teaching them (although for some I know that this is invaluable), but mostly because she's sharing her life with them.
As I reflect on my own desire to go into missions, I think I gained a clarity of what the priority needs to be wherever I go. It is not about data or statistics of what I accomplish, but about the people that I meet and build friendships with that matters most. I think about how Jesus operated while on His mission to this world. Yes, He preached, healed, and taught. But He also had 12 men that he built relationships with and it was these 12 men that went out as Light into the World. In the end, these relationships that we establish are far more important and lasting than any school, water, orphanage, or health clinic.
More importantly, I fell in love with Africa. I loved the energy, the friendliness, the culture, the liveliness, the beauty that I saw all around. I loved that I could be sitting in a tro tro and the man next to me would ask me to tell him about Prom and the Ivy League. I loved that taking photos of people broke down walls and opened up conversations. I felt at peace there and honestly can say that I hope to return to Africa for the long-term sometime soon. It was an incredible blessing and I'm now toying with the idea of somehow using my photography as part of my support-raising strategies.
I returned home from this adventure late on Sunday night and started my job as a seasonal park ranger for Rocky Mountain National Park the next morning. This is my sixth and final season with the park and its been bittersweet so far, as I'll be stationed in the Backcountry Office at headquarters all summer instead of my outpost at Corral Creek. I want to pack as much hiking, backpacking, and fly fishing with friends into the summer as possible, but there is a huge part of me that misses my cabin in the middle of the woods where I would raft the Grand Ditch, do yoga as the sun rose, and hike up Thunder Pass on a whim after closing the ranger station.
In addition, one of my best friends gets married in less than a week. This coming week will be busy with last-minute wedding plans and I'm already struggling with how I'm going to say good-bye to her when she moves to Tennessee after the wedding. With all thats been going on, my support-raising efforts have been non-exisitent and I'm going to have to put in a lot of hard work in the coming months in order to ensure that I will have all the support I need for the World Race. I have a few prayer requests that I would like to share as well:
1. Please pray that I would use my time and energy wisely so that I can step up my support-raising efforts and give it the attention it deserves.
2. Please pray that with all the distractions and whirlwind that I would intentionally and purposefully carve out time to spend with the Lord. I've been struggling with focusing on Him throughout this all.
3. Please pray that I will continue to cultivate and nurture my friendships and relationships, as I have a tendency to withdraw when I get busy and stressed.
Thank you for all of the continued love and support!
