Traffic

Our family has been blessed to be staying with Godwin and Lenusia until our water pump is fixed. They have been amazing hosts for our family. We thank God for everything they have done for us. We could not do this without them right now. They have helped us with everything here.  Because our vehicle is not here, we have been dependent on Godwin for transportation, and, right now, I'm very thankful that someone else is navigating these roads!

The photo is the view from the front window of our van yesterday.  Our amazing driver, Michael, remained unscathed with cars weaving in and out at every moment.

If you have ever thought there's bad traffic in your city, I can promise it does not compare to Ghana.  Yesterday, we drove twenty miles toward Teshie.  Our trip took over 2 hours before we reached our destination.  If we were not stuck behind turtle-speed traffic, we were waiting for herds of cows to walk down the road.  We've never been delayed frequently by cows before.  This is new.

Today we asked the boys what they thought would be the biggest adjustment for them.  Two of our boys said the long car rides in the traffic.  It is something to get used to.

I love that you can buy plantain chips out the window from the hawkers on the street.  You can also purchase phone cards, batteries, mangoes, bagged water, boiled peanuts, sugar cane sticks, and maps of Ghana.  Who needs a convenience store when all of this is simply one rolled down window away?  For lunch yesterday, we bought bananas out the window.  Wow!  We fed our family of seven plus three other people for 5 cedis!  (About $3.00 American)  That was the deal of the day!  (I did wonder if our boys would have been satisfied with a banana for lunch in America.  Kinda doubt it, but here a warm banana hit the spot for all of us!)

We headed home after dark and needed to stop for gas.  Surprisingly, the electricity went out while we were filling the tank.  Blackness.  The only lights were the cars on the road driving past us.  The attendant would not let us leave until the power came back on, so we sat in the steamy van until the electricity came back on.  Another first in Ghana.

As we drove home on the dark pot-holed road, there were flickers of power in homes.  A few dotted the dark landscape.  There are no streetlights, so the few homes with power stood out against the night.  Dark silhouettes of children with wares on their head came into view as we approached them.  The faces of these kids looked so tired.  Most of them, I'm sure, had been out all day working to help support their families.

As we continued driving, I wondered about their stories.

I suppose our driving time will allow for that - wondering, pondering, and talking with our family.   Pray for our driving time to be productive.  The fact that we can't just drive places quickly is new for us.  But God can teach us in the waiting too.  We pray we will learn.

They that wait upon the Lord

Will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not grow weary,

They will walk and not grow faint.

Hmmm...maybe instead of driving, God wants us to fly, run, or walk...just pondering...