Friday, August 13, 2010

Hooray!

To follow up from the last blog we got back at 4:15 from our meeting the other day. Boo-yah! Total of waiting hours for the day= 3 hours. I am going to take up knitting.

Onto the good stuff! I went out for the first time 2 nights ago. In a group of 12 we taxied to Osu Street which is like Hillsborough St for Accra. To take a taxi you have to wait for a little car with 4 orange corners to come by. Then you point to the ground with your right hand which means you want to do "dropping taxi" which means they drop you off at point b without picking anyone else up on the way. You have to barter before you get in or they will rip you off. I tried a Ghanaian beer called Black Star and I thought it was pretty good for a cheap beer. We sat at little plastic tables outside of a store so I guess that was a bar?? Anyway it was nice to get out.

I felt so homesick the past few days. I hate to say it bc it has only been one week since I left and I want to be more independent than that but I am not. The reality that I was coming here was so distant even as I was on the plane out but it has settled now. It is a huge shift to go from always being around people who love you to always being around strangers. Talking with others, I am not the only emotional person here. Homesickness is supposed to get better the longer you are away. I have found that chocolate, prayer, and watching The Office with a friend is the best remedy(no matter how guilty-pleasure/western it is :) haha) I kinda gave myself a peptalk and thought about how missing home so much is the result of being so blessed at home. I also thought about the nature of adventures being conflict and that they don't feel so adventurous when you are living it. (shout out to Donald Miller's book: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years)

Yesterday was a big turn around. I am excited to be here again. I met a girl named Vlasta from the Czech Republic and helped her find things on campus. Instant friend. Bjorn the hilarious, huge German guy is a good friend now. He likes to call me Queen Elizabeth. I met about 15 new people playing games at night and laughed like crazy. I think my favorite thus far is a Texan friend named Mo. His parents are from Lebanon and he likes soccer and conversation requires zero effort. Finally!

We have no schedule this weekend and I am so relieved. Sunday I am going to church with Christine and Jessica and some locals that Christine's family knows. I can not wait.

And a shout out to everyone back home. To family that supports me and makes me laugh. To friends who know how to make me smile and who throw parties for me. I love you.

6 comments:

  1. Yeehawww, the hilarious and huge German! :)

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  2. Ben Goodman's sermon was really good. It reminded me of messages,that I have heard before. I needed to hear it again.
    The Isreaelites had been delivered from Egypt and were in the desert. They were really blessed, led by a pillar of fire, their clothes didn't wear out, water from the rock, manna everyday. " They had some really awesome meetings". "Never confuse the blessing of God with your destiny".
    They were destined to enter the Promised land but along the way were disqualified by three things: idolatry, immorality, and grumbling. The first was worshiping the gods of the people around them and making them just as or more important than God. What are the idols in my life? What is my mind filled with my constant focus? The second immorality, they prostituted themselves with the people around them. and the third -grumbling or complaining. The third one doesn't even seem in the same league as the first or second. But not according to God. Ben talked about his inner whiner and made a little circle on his chest with his finger. It says" Why me?" "I don't want to" " it's not fair" " I'll do it later". I a so guilty of this one! And when we criticize other people, we are really telling God that we don't like his workmanship, because He made us all. When we complain we are really telling God that He is not meeting our expectations like we think he should, because we know better than He does.
    So yes that generation was blessed in the desert, but God had enough and just let them all die there. They did not reach their destiny. I don't want to just be blessed and never enter into what God created me for.
    So what do we do? Repent, go in the other direction, get God's perspective on our sin.
    And press on! Forget what is in the past and move forward.

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  3. When are you going to post your next entry? Haven't heard from you in a while. We went to your Mom's surprise birthday party at Sharon's house. It was fun. Where are you!!!!

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  4. Why does Bjorn call you Queen Elizabeth?

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  5. hehe... Queen Elizabeth is based on this game, where you stick a note on your forehead which says the name of a famous person or a thing, and then you can only ask the people Yes-No-Questions to guess who you are...
    So Caitlin has been Queen Elizabeth, and it was a hard time for her guessing, because she had to break out of the idea that all famous people are Americans ;)
    Also I think Queen fits her well... she is very elegant and fashionable :)

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