We are in Ankaase, but our first night here was without Internet access. My thumb drive modem had expired, and by the time I realized it last night, my tech guru, Evans, had gone home for the evening. We’re back up, but I’m now behind on blogging and we’re already falling behind on our schedule. I’m trying not to be overly legalistic about sticking to the schedule, but I’m being very American about it and finding myself fidgety if we’re not moving ahead with our tasks. Must relax.
Yesterday we arrived in the village about 2 p.m. – and so did our luggage. It was a happy moment indeed. Daniel, Isaac, and Evans were waiting for us at the airport with a van to bring us to Ankaase. Nothing against Accra, but I was so ready to get back to the village. There is something about the feel of this place that makes me know that I am finally and fully in Africa.
Our first day was a mixed bag. As soon as we got to the Mission House, we learned that one of our sponsored students, Kadri, was in the hospital. We knew that he had some issues with childhood arthritis, but when we got to the hospital we realized that this was something much worse than what we had anticipated. Kadri was thin and unresponsive. His mother and father were both at the hospital on either side of his bed in tears. It was surreal. The last time I saw Kadri in October, he was riding his bicycle on the main road of the village returning a flashlight he had borrowed. This little boy lying in the hospital was somebody different. There was no bright smile (Kadri has a beautiful, wide smile that he would use to great advantage). His father told us that he could no longer swallow. I tried to talk with him, but he seemed to be unable to focus. We felt helpless. There was nothing we could do, including find out what was wrong with him.
It was a somber way to begin our time here and last night I wanted to blog to ask for prayer. An update on Kadri: Peter called an ambulance this morning (unfortunately the Ankaase ambulance wasn’t working so they had to call one eight miles away), and he was rushed to a hospital in Kumasi. We don’t have a definitive update, but Peter is traveling back to Kumasi in the morning to check on him. Please pray for this sweet little boy and for his parents. The books and basketball jersey we brought for him are on the desk in the mission house bedroom, and I’m praying that we will be able to deliver them this week.
Today we visited Sarah, one of our very special sponsored students. When we visit our friends, the plastic chairs are moved into a circle and we share the “news from the road.” I’ve missed that. We’re looking forward to spending time with Sarah later this week to “talk.” She is still learning English, so we’re going to hang out with her at the house this week and see how she’s coming along.
On a weather note: it’s a little cooler here than it was in October, or last May – although my travel companions would scoff. We’re still sweating all day every day and because the air-conditioning unit in our room doesn’t work, we’re sweating just a bit at night too (it’s still very humid). But that’s all part of being back in Ghana, and I’m definitely not complaining.
So we’re praying for better news about Kadri tomorrow, and I hope I’ll have that news to share.
Until tomorrow, goodnight from Ankaase.
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