Church & Cape Coast

Hello all.
I am writing today rom a very sketch computer that has a crappy keyboard in the middle of Cape Coast. I am pounding away at the keys to make them work so my apologies for typos. We have been spending the weekend in Cape Coast, a historical tourist city about 5 hours from our placement. Yes, the ride here was miserable. I sat in the front seat of a tro-tro on the floor between the front dash and the seat. Mhm. No feeling in my legs after that one. We finally arrived and entered our "hotel" that we are paying the equivalent of $14 a night to stay in. Trust me, we got a hotel room that is the value of $14. My biggest hope was to have running water. That's a no go. Bucket showers with water from some unknown source...talk about a little challenge.However, we got AMERICAN food for lunch! Hallelujah. You want to see some happy oburoni (foreigners) then just watch us eat Western food while sitting at a table that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. Beautiful. We got to run around in the sand and all got completely drenched from the size of the waves. My bag is still drying, but it was so fun. We then changed clothes and went back to the same place, Oasis, to watch a drum show and hang out for the night. So much fun.

Today we traveled to Kakum National Park (Beth- look it up. I was thinking about you the whole time. Needed your tree expertise.) We did a canopy walk through the rainforest. The bridges were 40 meters in the air. We were literally looking down on trees and still up at the other ones. It was a little frightening, but so beautiful. No worries, we took plenty of pictures and I even wore my floppy hat. The experience was great. I encourage all of you to go Google pictures of the canopy walk. You can't have an experience like that in the US, that's for sure.

We got back to Cape Coast and have been exploring the city ever since. I finally got the bag I wanted for only 10 cedi (so around $7). What a steal. I have been on the hunt for an elephant painting. (Watch out Christine. Our house will have a slight African theme next year because I just bought a handmade drum.) The markets are crazy and I am exhausted and gross, but I have loved every second so far.

A few nights ago I joined one of the staff members (Irene) at her church service. It was awesome. The pastor was great and so welcoming. I even got to participate in the service by reading the verses he was preaching about. The whole night was about walking in the spirit. The concepts were pretty basic, but the pastor presented them in such an interesting way. I definitely plan on going back to another service before we leave! We left and got these sweet books titled "Who I Am to God". It is sort of like a Bible plan and includes all of the ways God sees us and what we mean to Him. Pretty cool.

The kids are great!! Missing them this weekend. Little Annesty finally put a smile on and is full of laughter. She is a total goofball. We gave the kids glow sticks for 4th of July and they LOVED them. There was so much energy in that orphanage that night. A few fights broke out, but it was all worth it. I have never seen them all so happy. Bella is still a sweetheart and so smart. She knows a ton and is a huge help with the younger kids. Yes, I am in love and it's only the end of week 1. They are all precious, but please keep them in your prayers. Annesty was crying for an hour the other night and it took me awhile to find out why, but finally she whispered "I am hungry." We never see the kids eat and that concerns me, but they say that they eat. It broke my heart to think that I was going to leave them and go back to a huge meal and they would eat and still be hungry. Christ is still present though. He always is. I am trusting in Him to provide for His children.

Many prayers and thoughts to all of you at home. I am missing it like crazy!

With love and cravings for any type of American food,
Steph