Tuesday, May 24, 2011

We are back home.  We did not take our computer with us to Accra.  So, I will catch you up on the past couple days.

We had a good morning at church on Sunday.  Brother Arthur taught the Sunday school lesson, and Joe preached in the morning service.  After church, we came home and ate lunch.  Then, we headed to Accra.  Kristine McLaughlin went with us.

This was the first time for this stay in Ghana that we have actually driven to Accra.  We didn't get stopped by the police at all on the way there.  Danny said that it was because they were sitting back in their seat; the police saw them sitting back and just told us to keep on going.  We found the guest house without a problem.  We walked to Chicken Express for supper.  Then, we walked back to the guest house.  We went to church at the Christiansborg Baptist Church right next to the guest house.  The pastor preached a good message about soul winning.  They were happy to have white people in their service.  That church was started by Baptist Mid Missions missionaries in 1949.

After church, we walked to the Italian ice cream place.  Gilbert said it was the best ice cream ever.  It was very good.  We walked back to the guest house and headed to bed.

On Monday morning, we left the guest house at 7:00 on foot.  We walked to Frankies for breakfast.  From there, we took a taxi to the US Embassy.  It is a new complex in a different location than when we lived here a few years ago.  It is easier to take taxis because they know where things are and which shortcuts to take to get there.  We didn't have to wait too long,  The whole process from filling out the paperwork to swearing that Danny is our son only took about thirty minutes.  From there, we headed to Accra Mall.  Gilbert had some birthday money that he had been saving to spend in Accra.  I gave all three of the kids some allowance money too.  They had fun looking around and spending their money.  There is a nice play area with slides, a trampoline, little cars that go around a track, and all kinds of things.  Joe paid for the kids to play for thirty minutes.  He ordered lunch, and Kristine and I went into a couple of the "breakable" shops.  We met back at the food court.  Bonnie was crying inside the play area and wanted out.  The boys still had four minutes left to play, and they stayed as long as they could.  They both left the play area with long faces.  We ate pizza for lunch.  Then, we took a taxi back to the guest house.  We rested for a while.  Joe has a sore throat and isn't feeling very well; we got him some medicine while we were out.  After naps, Kristine walked to the grocery store with me and the kids.  We got some drinks and some things for breakfast.  We had leftover pizza for supper.

After supper, Joe got the kids watching a movie upstairs.  The guest house has some old VHS tapes.  Kristine and I ventured out to the ice cream place once again.  It's only a few minute walk from the guest house, and it is well worth the walk!  When we got back, we watched the rest of the movie with the kids.  Then, we went back to our apartment.  Joe went on to bed because he wasn't feeling well.  The kids played with their new toys while I read a book that was there at the guest house.  

This morning, I got up at 5:00. I woke the kids up about 5:20.  We had some breakfast.  Then, we packed up the car and headed out.  Kristine stayed because she is going to go visit a missionary friend in Togo for a couple weeks.  

We definitely saw some interesting sights.  Things have interesting names here.  We passed a little shop called Texas City.  Then, we passed a sign for Six Flags.  Don't get your hopes up; it was a store that sold plumbing parts.  They have vans here that are used for public transportation; they call them "tro-tros."  Most of the tro-tros have some type of saying on their back window.  One said, "Pray for Life."  Joe said he didn't think he would want to ride in that one.  Another one said, "Pick up the pieces;" that sounded dangerous too!!  

The Wideners live in Cape Coast.  They leave on Thursday to go back to the States for furlough.  We called to see if would it be okay to stop by to tell them goodbye.  We got there a little before 9:00 and visited with them for a little while.  While we were there, I saw a Dr. Pepper can on the table.  I asked where they found Dr. Pepper.  We hadn't seen it anywhere in Ghana this time around.  He said that he had gotten in Takoradi yesterday at Garden Mart.  That is the store where we do most of our grocery shopping.  When we got back to Takoradi, we made a stop at Garden Mart to get some Dr. Pepper.  Then, we picked up some chicken and rice to take home for lunch.  

We didn't get stopped by the police on the way home either.  Danny is just sure that it was because they sat back in their seats.

The kids had all slept some in the car; none of them took a nap.  We will be going to bed early tonight!

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie