25 Fun Facts & Lessons from Ghana
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African peanut butter is a gift from God, we found it at the market for the low price of 10 cedis (2 American dollars) literally made from real peanuts! That’s my kinda peanut butter!
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Electricity is a blessing- I can actually keep my laptop and phone charged to take pictures, update my second of the day video, and write blogs!
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I do not have a great source of wifi this month. I used my team leader’s hot spot on her phone, and team data for blog posts and I used it to talk to family, friends, and Gerardo to let them know I’m alive and well and won’t be able to communicate for a while. But we may be able to use it to occasionally make phone calls home!
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I recently learned that I am not great at using squatty potties, aka toilets that are holes in the ground usually in a small stall of some sort.
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I do still miss my family, friends, and Gerardo. Yes, a lot.
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Ceiling fans are also a gift from God.
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Its wonderful thing to be a short walk from the beach this month. And a lot of our ministry is done at a rad place called The Lord’s Gym- a gym/school/recreational center on the beach
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One of our hosts, Angie, is from American, but moved to Ghana 13 years ago as a missionary and now has 4 beautiful kids with her awesome and charismatic husband Paul (sometimes he tells us to call him Don Pablo, or we call him Pastor Paul, or P Do) who grew up in Ghana!
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We are blessed each days with food prepared for us by 3 lovely women named Florence, Odelia, and Elwim.
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Rice and plantains are a main food group here. But we also have a lot more vegetables and way less fish in our diet compared to last month
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I really thought I was going to develop an intolerance to fish at some point last month. I was amazed by ways the people of the village cooked with it- in stew, in all sauces, in rice, fried, mixed with eggs, in oil, wow lots of fish…
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For some reason I started really liking ketchup- not my choice condiment, BBQ sauce is usually my go to but I don’t think that exists here…
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We have spices in our food this month! Woohoo I love spices, but unfortunately after a month of nearly no spice my body is REALLY having a hard time relearning how to digest spice…if ya know what I mean…
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We have flushing toilets this month! And we can flush toilet paper down them too!!
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And we have running water, sinks, and showers!
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I have now developed a lot for naps. I have never considered myself a napper before.
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Its a normal thing for the power to go out here. And just as normal to cheer and clap when it comes back on.
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I am still hand washing my clothes in buckets of water and hanging them on clothes lines to dry. I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it!
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I really wish I would have brought at least 2 more t-shirts, 2 more shorts, another skirt, and another pair of pants.
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I really never stop sweating, except for maybe when I fall asleep. Maybe.
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Often times our daily “schedule” changes, things are moved back 1-2 hours or, we are told we need to be ready to leave in 5 minutes for an unknown event, but its cool I’m learning to be adaptable.
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Africans have no perception of the proper volume of their speakers, meaning they’re always WAY too loud. I try my best to not sit by them at church or other events.
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Sometimes church services last up to 4 hours. Often at these services we are asked to preach or sing a song or two, sometimes spontaneously.
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I often drink water out of bags, its simple all you do is bite a corner of the square bag and squeeze it into your mouth or I pour the bagged water into my water bottle!
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I got tested for malaria 2 times, and tested negative, praise God. Yes people on my team have gotten malaria, but they’re all good now!
Thanks for reading friends, family, loved ones, supporters! I’m thankful for all of you! 🙂
Also I’m in need of funding still, I’m about $2,500 short of my deadline due at the end of February! Help me to continue this journey and share fun facts with you along the way by supporting me!
