Friday, August 19, 2011

We made it back to Ghana today!  "The third time's a charm," or I guess it could have been, "Three strikes and you're out!"  

I got up at 6:00 to put the breakfast casserole in the oven.  Joe got the car all loaded.  Then, we ate breakfast and headed out about 9:00.  We made it to the border in two hours.  On the Ivory Coast side, it took no more than five minutes.  When we got to the Ghanaian side, the passport portion went fairly quickly.  They have a new thing that allows them to take a picture to be saved with your information.  For some reason, they have had to take my picture every time.  The kids were upset that they did not have to have their picture taken today.  Gilbert said, "It's okay, Danny!  They just can't get a good picture of Mom." as we made our trek to the bathroom.  There is a man who sits at a desk.  We have to pay him to use the bathroom, and then he gives us toilet paper.  Danny wanted to get the toilet paper from the man – what a highlight!  On the outside of the building, there is a large painting of a person seated on the toilet so that people will know how to go about using the toilet.  The kids always get a kick out of that.  

Joe proceeded to the car paper line.  There was quite a wait there today.  It took almost two hours to get the car papers.  They usually give us sixty days to be in the country with the vehicle.  It was a different person doing the paperwork today, and he only gave us thirty days.  So, Joe will have to cross the border with the vehicle in thirty days.  We were just glad to be on our way again.  By the way, the air conditioner worked nicely today.  That is the first time we have had AC in a vehicle in Africa! 

We got home about 3:30 to the sound of the generator running.  Kristine said that the power has gone off promptly at 9:40 each morning for the past five days; then, it comes back on around 6:00 in the evening.  That was how it was today as well.  Praise the Lord for a generator!  When we saw new power lines going up as we left last week, we knew we would probably be in for some days without electricity.

Kristine made supper for us.  It was delicious!  It was good to see her; we enjoyed visiting with her this evening.  The kids were happy to see the cat.  They went up to check on the pool with Joe.  The water will have to be treated for a couple days before any swimming can be done.

Thank you for praying for my health.  I am feeling much better!

Please continue to pray for the people of Ivory Coast.  Things seemed to be a bit more tense on this trip than they were two months ago.  

A demain,

Joe, Laura, Gilbert, Danny, and Bonnie