Ghana Trip Reflections
Ghana Trip reflections … November 20– December 3, 2002
On Wednesday, November 20 fourteen
of us left for our journey to Ghana in West Africa. The travelers include
nine people from our congregation and five members of the First Presbyterian
Church in Grand Haven: James Baker and Nancy Ann Collins, Kristen Bosch,
Alfred Garcia, Sally Hume, Muriel Mersereau, John Petro and Joyce Petro,
Ronald Tanis and Carmen Deyoung-Tanis, Paul Trittin, Laurie Tupper, David
Van Arsdale, and James Van Buren.
After 14+ hours of air flight time with a two hour delay, we arrived in
the capitol of Ghana and the largest city, Accra. Wow! With so little
sleep, with so many changes from what we had left behind, we had genuinely
arrived at our destination: Ghana.
That first day we slept in late
to catch up on all the sleep that we had missed. It was time for us to
see the city: the W. E. B. DuBois museum, the national monument honoring
Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumh. We drove around the extremely
large market teaming with thousands of people.
Soon, Saturday was upon us.
The bus was fully loaded with our luggage, including our many gifts for
our Ghanaian hosts, and we headed north out of Accra toward the Volta
Region. B y 5:00 p.m. and we had arrived! There were hundreds of people
with what seemed like twice as many children all cheering and wanting
to shake our hands and say “Welcome.” There he was, an elderly
rather frail man, wearing a baseball cap that said, “First Presbyterian
Church, Kalamazoo Michigan” on the front. There was so much confusion,
but so much joy and happiness. We Presbyterians from Michigan were the
confused and the Presbyterians from Sokode were so joyous to receive us.
The Togbe (chief) Adzima formally
greeted us on behalf of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the community
of Sokode Bagble. He went from person to person in our group tying on
our wrists a string with a single bead, saying we are partners in Christ.
The five people from Grand Haven departed for their next stop seven miles
away in the large city of Ho. We were then taken as honored guests to
our host homes. Soon it was time for sleep and the conditions were much
better than expected: nice accommodations, good bed, excellent cooling
fans … and we were tired.
About 5:00 a.m. I awoke to my
first cock crowing. Soon I heard the ladies beginning their food preparation
for us. It was quite light by 5:30 a.m.
Early morning walks were fascinating as one was able to observe the village
coming to life for another day. The goats and chickens were roaming about
everywhere you looked. The women of each household were bent over sweeping
the sand in front of their home. The young girls were fetching the water
with their very large basins. The younger children were taking baths using
water from a bucket for each stage, all the while standing so erectly
on a rock to avoid stepping in the wet soil. Other children were pressing
clothes using their heavy charcoal iron as the family was getting ready
for church. So much was happening and people were so friendly and welcoming.
By 9:00 a.m. we were ready for
church and gathered under the mango tree with the choir and pastor for
the processional hymn. How does one describe worship in a Presbyterian
Church in a Ghanaian village? You have to experience it and words will
not help your understanding. It concluded at 11:30 a.m. and was truly
a joyous celebration of faith like none of us had ever experienced. Spirituality
is a concept that encompasses all of life.
Following our time of worship
we gathered for pictures in the hot sun in front of the church. But then
we were being escorted to someone’s home. We met under an overhanging
patio at the home of Togbe Amedziklu II. (There are two chiefs in Sokode.
Togbe Adzima is the overall chief for the four Sokode villages, while
Togbe Amedsiklu is the chief for the Sokode Bagble community. He has been
the chief since the mid 1950’s.) Vida Ahiati acted as our interpreter
for this meeting. (Vida was one of two women who came to Kalamazoo in
April 1999.) We shared in a formal time that always moved from introductions
by name to an immediate question, “What is your mission?”
Initially finding this intimidating, we quickly became comfortable with
this dialogue and this practice would come in handy in a meeting two days
later.
Shortly after breakfast on Monday
we walked to the other side of the village and the schools. We saw children
arriving and teachers readying themselves for a busy day. Students sit
in open-air classrooms with two per desk and appeared very attentive and
responsive. (Later we saw that every teacher had a switch available should
any student not be attentive. Not quite the American style of education!)
We walked beyond the existing two building Primary School toward the Kindergarten
Center. Wow! Suddenly we were amidst a “gathering of ants”
… some 140 children between the ages of four and six, awaiting the
beginning of school, descended upon me. All wanted to shake our hands,
touch our skin, say hello in their Ewe language … and all at the
same time. We could sense their joy at meeting this strange looking person.
The curiosity was beautiful. You could see in their eyes a sense of hope
and excitement about what their school was offering. They appeared ready
to “conquer the world” … even if they knew no part of
the world more than one mile away.
Monday morning had been set
aside for the community work time on the now half constructed E. P. Church
Primary School. We gathered with the carpenters working on the roof trusses
as we began the tedious job of moving cement blocks. The solid blocks
had been made on the site and were moved to a central area for future
use. Everyone pitched in: many from the village and then we folk from
America. Some of us were open to having the women teach us how to carry
a load on our heads.
It was now time for a formal
meeting of the visitors with the Sokode Bagble E. P. Church Session. Led
by the Catechist (a lay preacher role), the members of the Session (“Presbyters”
as they are called) were introduced. Then, came the question: “What
is your mission?” At the conclusion of the discussion there was
a unanimous proposition from we visitors from the U.S.A. and our hosts
from the village that the partnership relationship should continue. As
the meeting was concluding someone approached with a large covered bucket
and we were introduced to another Ghanaian tradition … one celebrates
with a drink of palm wine served in a coconut shell.
Monday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
became the designated time for the sharing of our gifts. We had met the
night before to review and seek the guidance of the partnership committee
related to how gifts should be distributed. We called forward Togbe Adzima
who chaired the Partnership Committee and presenting a large and beautifully
written resolution from our State Representative, Alexander Lipsey, that
had also been signed by Governor John Engler. It was a strong statement
supporting the work of our two communities and churches as we sought to
further the family of God and relationships between our two countries.
The Sokode Partnership Committee presented a beautiful Kente cloth stole
to each member of our delegation. The person’s name was woven in
the fabric. Next came the big gift of the day, at least for the children.
With the near completed new Primary School building we had brought 100
backpack book bags for the elementary age children. Other gifts were given
including notebook paper, pens, pencils, 8 small calculators for use in
the upper grades, shirts for the committee, soccer balls for the schools,
and several gifts for others. We concluded the gift giving by presenting
to the Partnership Committee money from our trip that appeared to be extra
in hopes that they would now have enough to complete the construction
of the new Primary School building. They were ecstatic with excitement
following the gift giving.
With the coming of Tuesday we
joined the five other travelers in Ho and visited the headquarters of
the Evangelical Church of Ghana. This denomination is the remnant of the
mission work done by the Bremen Missionaries of the Reformed Church of
Germany. The Volta Region was part of Togoland and the site for German
mission work, thus the name “Volta” and “Ewe”
and the singing of German hymns in worship.
We then boarded the bus for
a short trip to the village of Kpetoe where Kente cloth has been woven
for centuries. We learned about the process, the extensive time needed
to complete the weaving process, and especially about the importance of
Kente cloth to Ghanaians. It takes the men of the village many long hours
and even days to weave a single strip of the soft and very fine basket
weave of Kente. The woven strips are approximately 4 inches wide and are
joined with many other strips to make large pieces of the beautiful fabric.
Wednesday morning arrived and
we were all packed to leave by 7:30 a.m. The departure was difficult.
We had all made some very sincere friendships. We had all come to value
the depth of faith expressed in the beautiful music. We had all experienced
the joyous smiles, the laughter and energy of the children, and the dignity
of leadership expressed through the church and community leaders. As we
were boarding the bus I heard some of the children reciting the spelling
of “Kalamazoo” that I had taught them the day before. “KA
– LA – MA – ZOO!” They seemed to so enjoy the
sound of the letters flowing together. They had even learned to say “zee”
instead of “zed” using the American way. There were some tears
shed, but it was now time to move on to our next adventure.
The geography varied from open
plains, to the bridge across the Volta River and through the hills near
the regional capital of Koforidua. After some eight hours of driving we
arrived at Kumasi, the regional capital of the Ashanti Region, the second
largest city in Ghana with 2 million residents. We spent three days in
the Kumasi area visiting many of the historic Ashanti Kingdom sites as
well as the excellent craft communities.
Finally, with the coming of
Saturday we headed straight south toward Cape Coast. The drive was only
several hours and featured a number of small communities along the way.
The entire central and western area of Ghana is dominated by the Presbyterian
Church in Ghana and is a result of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A mission
efforts. It is the largest of the many Christian denominations in Ghana
where some 70+% are Christians.
As we approached the coast line
we first saw the tall coconut palms then finally the Atlantic Ocean, or
specifically the Bay of Guinea. We visited the first slave dungeons at
the Cape Coast Castle (not really a castle and much more like a fort).
It was originally a Portuguese effort before coming under British ownership.
The next day we saw the Elmina Castle, a Dutch effort. Elmina is the largest
of all the historic points of export for the slave trade that last from
1620 through 1830’s. As many as 3 million slaves left the beaches
of the Gold Coast under the flags of many nations and all headed to the
Western Hemisphere. Nearly 1/3 of all slaves embark ships through the
Elmina Castle. The treatment of human beings as slaves is revolting to
us today and yet it is one of those historical facts that have focused
the abuse of one group of people over another that should never be forgotten.
Soon it was time to pack for home. We had come with full suitcases with
many gifts for the people in our two communities. Now we were leaving
with many gifts for family back home. The artisan displays and products
were exceptional and vast.
Some final observations from
all the travelers are necessary. We experienced the joyous spirit of the
truly happy and faithful people of Ghana. Their faith is pervasive and
deep. Their hope is eternal and oh so strong. Their laughter and pleasant
smiles are contagious. Their hospitality is ever present and so welcoming.
It was a life-changing kind of experience and I look forward to a return
trip in the near future.