You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress

So Chelsey and I got dresses! Well actually we bought the fabric at a market in Accra, then had them made here in Abomosu, but yes, we are almost true Ghanaians now. After quite a few alterations (and an awkward change in a little shack with no door) we got to take the dresses home and wear them to church on Sunday. We received quite the reaction. Everyone was quite pleased with our purchases. And then we proceeded to our photoshoot.

My Favorite pic of the day:


Just my dress:

Baby, You're a Firework!

Well, happy birthday America. I was definitely sorry that I missed it this year. It's funny how you don't even realize how much you love something till you miss it. I discovered just how much I love the 4th of July! It's an extremely fun holiday.

Anyway, I was slightly bummed due to the fact that I was missing out on all the fun when I decided to make some fun myself. I could tell that the other interns were feeling a bit of a drag as well, so I hatched a plan.

Every Independence Day celebration needs certain things:

fireworks, parades, barbeques, and patriotism.

We had miraculously had excellent corn on the cob at dinner, so I considered that the barbeque portion of the evening (unbeknownst to the rest of the group... We did think it was conveniently timed though). I also knew that I had a snowball's chance in Ghana of finding fireworks at the Abomosu market, so I got working on the next best thing: solitare. Not that the game itself is a requisite substitute for patriotic festivities, but the result of a win is...

So I called the rest of the group into the living room and got working on Solitaire. I have been honing my Solitaire skills lately, so I didn't think it would take me long. Ironically, it took me forever. But luckily the other interns are patient-ish and I soon had Miley Cyrus full blast while I conquered a Solitaire game and prepared for my parade.

And then I remembered that Solitaire just drops and shatters the cards instead of congratulatory fireworks. All that hard work down the drain. But I carried on with my parade anyway, and marched back and forth across the living room tossing Obama biscuits to the masses (or four other interns... I had to work with what I had). Obama biscuits are these small packages of cracker things with Obama's picture on it and the most patriotic thing I could access at the time.

Luckily I did remember that Mahjong celebrates with fireworks after a successful finish, so I slayed the game (first try, I'm getting really good at that one) and we entertained ourselves with a quick fireworks finale.

It wasn't the most traditional holiday observance, but we made do here in our little town in Africa...

I was up so high, lookin' down at the sky, don't let me fall

I'm ironically afraid of heights for a tall person. Therefore, this next post may surprise you... It surprised me.

During our stay in Cape Coast, we heard about a national forest that was nearby. After doing a little more research, we discovered it's called Kakum National Park and that they offered a canopy walk experience. Therefore, we adventurous people hailed a taxi and rode about 30 km out to "virgin rainforest" to discover what we could. And what we discovered was virgin awesomeness.

We paid our entry fees and joined a group. The group was mostly packed with students; apparently we had come during a field trip. Best. Field trip. Ever. We all took a little hike and listened to a short explanation of the park and how the canopy walk was built. Don't ask me to remember much - it wasn't my field trip. Then we got in a big line and ascended some stairs to start our adventure in the air.



The entire walk was thrilling and terrifying. The surroundings were awesome and the view phenomenal. Yet, when you're 100 ft above the forest floor, your walk isn't that stable. I think I would have been fine, except for the shakiness of the walkway. So basically I was the constraint in our little group, since my legs seemed to lock up slightly when each time I raised one foot, the other shook... Yikes.



Regardless of my terror, I made it across all the walkways (there were about six), and it was awesome. Definitely an excellent addition to my summer adventures!

If you would know your history, then you would know where you're coming from

So I went on a little trip. "But Melody, aren't you already on a trip?" some of you may ask. To those questioners I would respond, "I am doing lots of hard work, just because it happens to be in a beautiful place does not make it a vacation." Also I really like the thought of a vacation from your vacation. Sweet.
Anyway, we spend a few days in Accra, going to the temple and doing massive amounts of shopping (see last post), then we headed off to Cape Coast. About three hours west of Accra, Cape Coast is the heart of Ghana's tourism. Or so the website tells me. I did see significantly more white people while I was there though, so it must have been right.


I had a cool experience while I was there. One of the first days there, we wanted to hit the beach, a feat we thought would be fairly simple in a tourist area with the word "coast" in the name. In a case of dramatic irony, we spent over 4 hours wandering the greater part of both Cape Coast and Elmina looking for a decent beach that had sand and no death rocks 16 feet out. Picky American tourists, I know. After our wanderings, I was trying to keep a good attitude, but I lost it somewhere between the pig eating garbage and two men defecating on my beach. Lovely.
When I finally had reached my limit, I decided I was going to take solace in a castle. I think I was a princess in another life. This wasn't any castle though; it had been used as a slave outpost for a few hundred years. God definitely knew that I needed some perspective and also exactly how to give it to me. As we stood in the old holding cells where they kept hundreds of men and women for months at a time, my annoyances paled in comparison. I was so worried about some trash on my beach during a vacation, when these people didn't even know if they'd survive the journey to a place where they would be worked like animals.


I love historical visits on my trips, and this one was particularly timely. I'm so glad for the reality check. It was definitely one of those things that made me stop to re-evaluate my life.

I Love to See the Temple

I am just going to preface this post with saying that the church never ceases to amaze me. I have been so impressed with not only the effect that it has on these faithful saints in all areas in Ghana/the world, but also with its orderliness and the automatic relationships it makes. It has opened so many doors to us not only in Abomosu, Asunafo, and Sankubenase, but also in Accra. We make a contact with one person in the church, and bam, suddenly we have the numbers to the Branch President, the District President, and the senior missionary couple, who then hooks us up with things like buildings to meet in and a projector. I don’t know what we would do without the help of the church.
But the main purpose of this post is to write about how awesome the temple is. We got to Accra on Saturday, so we were able to go to church on Sunday. The building where Peggy, Stephen’s daughter, attends is actually right on the temple grounds. Church is awesome, but it adds a whole other dimension to your church-going experience when you can see the temple each time you step out of a room.


Then on Tuesday, we were able to attend the temple. The guys in our group left in the morning to do a session, and we girls caught up with them later to do baptisms. It was awesome how things were just the same as in the Logan temple. Although their baptistry was prettier… I just have a small love affair with stained glass windows, and there was a large stained glass window on one side of the room, with the afternoon sun shining through it… It was amazing.


We definitely received blessings from doing temple work. The spiritual boost was much needed. It has been a while since I did baptisms, and I had forgotten how much I love it. And for the first time in six weeks, I used a water-heated, stand-up shower! If there was any doubt before as to how much I loved the church before that moment, it was blasted away by that sweet, warm water. I could have stayed in there for hours, but sadly Chelsey was done with baptisms much too quickly. But that heavenly shower will stay in my memory for probably at least another six weeks till I can have hot-water, stand-up showers regularly again. It’s amazing what you come to appreciate when it’s gone from your life.

Between the shower of water and of the Spirit, I am definitely ready to conquer the second half of my stay here in Ghana.

Money, Money, Money

Well, we finally gave our first loans! It’s been quite the process, but we were finally able to approve loans for five men in Asunafo. They all came to the majority of our classes last month and were great students. After working through their business plans and pricing with them, we allowed them to form a “pod,” and then Supe and I went to the bank.


As it turned out, going to the bank was the hardest step in that process… The bank we have our account at is actually in Kwabeng, a town about 30 minutes away from Abomosu. Since Joey and Spencer opened the account last year, Supe and I couldn’t just waltz in and withdraw, even if we are the only other obronis trying to bank with them. Luckily Stephen is on the account, so if he was there, he could approve the withdrawal. Stephen was super busy this week with some World Joy guests (another NGO that helps build schools and health clinics in the area). So we worked out a system where Supe, Nkansa, and I would meet Stephen and a bank employee in Ekorso (a town about halfway in between), Stephen would sign a paper, then the rest of us would continue on to the bank and get the money!
Easier said than done…
Supe, Nkansa, and I were in place at our appointed time… Stephen was supposed to come just after 11, and we weren’t sure what the status of the bank employee was. As the time rounded noon, with no sign of either of them and no phone service to call anyone, we were about to give up hope and call a cab. Luckily Stephen pulled up just as we had decided to go. But when we met him, he wanted to know where the paper was. We were supposed to go get it from Kwabeng… Hooray for misunderstandings. So we rode off on our bumpy way to go get the paper, and got to the bank just in time for the skies to let loose their fury. Hooray for the rainy season. As we were waiting in the bank, someone got a call from Stephen that he was just going to come meet us there, since his plans with World Joy were rained out. Hooray for the rainy season (no sarcasm this time)!
After getting everything worked out with the bank (Stephen taught the GM, so it pays to know Stephen), we crammed the four of us (and 2,400 GHC in a Ziploc baggie) into the back of a taxi and headed home.
The next morning we met with the loan recipients. They were really excited to finally be able to get started on their projects. Twelve hundred of the cedis went to the men in back (Douglas, Moses, and Benjamin). They each got 400 to work together on a fish farm, where they will have about 2,000 tilapia and mad fish in about six months’ time. The two in front (George and Sampson) are cocoa farmers and they will use 550 GHC each to buy fertilizers and insecticides that will enable them to double their yield. I told them it was just an investment into my favorite addiction. These are great guys will benefit so much from these loans.


I’m so excited that we finally have started to do what we came here to do. As awesome and as necessary as teaching classes is, it is really rewarding to finally be doing something that will really make such a big difference in their lives. I’m excited to hear about their progress and see how this will affect their lives.



P.S. While we were waiting in Ekorso, we stumbled upon this school. Apparently I'm not as far from home as I thought I was... I guess Sky View actually raised the funds to build this school the year after I left. Pretty cool!

Don't Go Chasin Waterfalls

Since we've been working hard and sticking in Abomosu (and Asunafo), the fellow interns and I decided we deserved an adventure. We had heard there are some waterfalls in the area, so we decided that should be perfect.
The day started with rain. Lots of rain. And power outages. Lots of power outages. (Usually it just goes out for long amounts of time, but it just wouldn't die, much to our benefit.) We waited out the rain and luckily it had stopped by the time we left (about 10:30). It was quite the trek.
(All times are approximate)
10:30 - 10:45: Walk into town
10:45 - 10:50: Listen to the cab drivers argue about who gets to drive us and pile five of us into the small cab
10:50 - 12:00: Drive over countless potholes to Anyiam
12:00 - 12:05: Get out of the cab, pay the taxi driver, then pile back in when he realizes that we are going to the waterfalls and he can take us
12:05 - 12:35: Drive on dirt roads till we reach the base of the hike, then get number of driver so he can come pick us up
12:35 - 12:36: Take a moment to let yourself revel in the fact that you are in the middle of a freaking African rainforest
12:36 - 1:15: Hike up a little, wet, somewhat steep trail while not using any of the numerous trees for balance because chances are, they are covered in bugs or moss
1:15 - 1:16: Stand and gape at the awesome waterfall
1:16 - 1:37: Take pictures of said waterfall
1:38 - 2:45: Play in said waterfall and surrounding areas
2:45 - 3:05: Hike back down the slippery slope in wet clothes
3:05 - 3:07: Eat a granola bar while a fellow intern calls the taxi driver
3:07 - 3:15: Wait for said taxi driver
3:15 - 3:25: Wait for said taxi driver while eating plantain chips
3:25 - 3:49: Give up waiting for taxi driver and start walking
3:50 - 5:12: Get picked up by the late taxi driver and drive back to Abomosu
Later that evening: Write a blog post about your adventure and post lots of awesome pictures so all your friends and family will be jealous