TGIF!!!

I am in an internet cafe in Accra (Sakumono) listening to the Destiny's Child Christmas album and there is a tiny ant crawling across the inside of my cell phone screen. It is thanksgiving weekend, and I won't be hitting up a few houses (at least 7) for dinner. There is no turkey, no pumpkin pie and no ox-tail.

I am celebrating thanksgiving this year by giving thanks! Idressa, who is from B.C. and is living with Adowa will be celebrating her birthday on Sunday though. As well, on the 21st, I will return to Accra to celebrate mine.

At this current moment, I am watching Rhema TV, preparing for some freelance work regarding the Jay-Z Concert tonight, and contacting some astrophysisists regarding a theory that I am developing (who knows, it may just win the nobel prize!).

Back at the Ackerson's it was nice to see Mama Ackerson, Emmanuel, Micheal and Kwaku, but Irene and Anita are away at school (I really wanted to make fun of Irene...gotta wait until my birthday party).

Oh, let me tell you about my bus ride to Accra. It is supposed to take 10-12 hours, including the 1 hour break in Kumasi. It was also supposed to leave at 6:30am. 'Supposed to' is a very minor detail with the STC (gov't) bus system (supposedly the best). The bus came two hours late, and did not leave until after 9am. It also did not work properly, and could not accelerate. It shut down a few times. Check this out: we drive into Kumasi to one of the busiest roundabouts in the entire country and a transport truck is broken down in the roundabout leaving only one line for hoards of traffic to pass through causing delays in all for directions that lead into the roundabout. As we are going around it, four guys pushing a taxi (a stuggling to do so uphill), cut in front of the bus. As we wait for them to move, which takes a few minutes, our bus shuts down. What are the chances of that??? The bus shuts down right beside this truck effectively shutting down movement in Kumasi's busiest intersection. Thankfully that did not last long. Anyhow, 19 hours later (yes that is the right number...I'll write again...19 hours later), we got into Accra after 1am.

Now here is a situation that you don't get into: a foreigner travelling alone at a bus station (prime target grounds) at 1am looking for a taxi to a distant suburb that a lot of people don't know how to get to. See, my ride could not come because it was soooo late and I couldn't go to the JHR house as I have no phone numbers or keys. I decided to get on-duty management (which was a bus driver to bring me to a taxi driver that they knew personally and could vouch for). By God's grace, a man named James that I met in Kumasi talking about soccer and God's grace was getting into a taxi and was going to the same area as me. We had one scare when our driver pulled over, apparently out of gas (all the warning signs of a set-up), but he really was out of gas and had some in his trunk. We were on our way, and got to Sakumono around 2am!

It is nice to be out here. I am just about to go get lunch and then meet Idressa, Adowa, and maybe Kary and her friend (I might see T.J. and Nana also) and go get our seats early at the Jay-Z concert.

One thing I want to add: a lot of people at home seem to be going through some hard things at this time. Some people have shared that with me, and some I am sure are dealing with it on their own or with others. I just want to say, 'stay encouraged'. Be still and know that He is God: just draw quiet and still and say that you that you are. Don't worry about what you can not change or understand, but look for the lesson and the challenge in the situation and embrace it. Give your best and the things that you can not understand will be taken care of in ways that you can not imagine.

LOVE!!!!!!!