I know that culturally we are very different, the Ghanaians and us. Many of us are interacting with them for the first time, maybe second time and I think we are all going through some growing pains. We are very different and yet very much alike. This is not the time to compare what we have or are use to. It is a time to love another people and to try and understand how they feel especially since we are guest in their country.
One difference I notice right away is the pace. In America I am running to bible study, post office, grocery store, meeting someone for lunch, etc. You know the drill. Always somewhere to go and some place to be. Life is not that way here. The Ghanaians spend most of their day at home visiting with each other. I can remember the frustration I felt on my first trip when I was waiting for someone and they said, "oh why, why are you worried because I am two hours late?" Truth is because I wasn't use to that. What I have learned is it is not so bad to slow down, rush less, eat slower, just sit in a chair and think or visit with a family member or friend or here's a biggy... take a fiesta during the day.
Back to that particular moment. It was a look on John's face as Little Richard left. I thought about how hard it must be to hold these kids, care for them when they are sick, laugh with them, play with them, feed them, watch them grow for years and then watch them leave. I am sure John and Irene have had achy hearts many times.
Like most dads, John is gone throughout the day and sometimes he is gone for a week at a time. He has an orphanage in Togo several hours away and is helping FTO with Hondzo, a school which is also hours away. I watched as he called the children to come and join him for stories. They raced to get their chairs and get as close to him as possible. They began telling funny stories and it was beautiful just sitting there watching them laugh at each other and at John. If one moved from his lap, it was filled quickly by another one. Yes watching him follow after Little Richard, holding Yaw's hand, was a moment that caught my attention.
We are not so different when it comes to our feelings. We all want to be loved and we all are human. I cannot think like an American while I am in Ghana because Ghana and America are different. I must love like God tells me to love and try to appreciate the differences instead of finding them inconvenient which I have been guilty of. This trip is different and I am seeing that God is teaching me some new things like appreciating some things that are different.
Being rich isn't always about money. If I have plenty money and do not laugh, love, enjoy I am not rich, I just have money. The Ghanaians are very rich in many ways, a few that we could learn from.
I love America, I love Ghana and I am praying that we will grow together through the love of Jesus Christ being patient, kind, long suffering and joyful with one another.
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