Goin' Fishin !

My beautiful roommate Penny recently celebrated her 23rd birthday. In celebration of her special day a bunch of us girls piled into a landrover and spent the day at the bead factory where they demonstrate how they make the hand crafted glass beads, and Boti waterfall. It was a lovely 1.5hr dirve through the "mountains" (really quite small more like hills). Just getting away from the stench of the port is refreshing but the beauty of the Ghanian countryside is magnificent. We enjoyed a picnic at the waterfall and were sitting around chatting when my friend Ruth(in the red shirt with the fish in her hands) found a home rigged fishing pole tangled among the rocks.

Using some of leftover chicken from the picnic I baited the hook and tossed it into the water. My friends were quite skeptical in thinking that I would really catch anything on our pink stringed rudimentary fishing line. As you can see evidenced by these pictures I did catch a fine looking whiskered catfish about a foot in length...quite an exciting moment. Took us all by surprise ....I don't touch slimy, eel-looking fish so my friend Ruth Heroically removed the hook from its mouth and liberated the poor thing. I think the pictures adequately capture the excitement of the moment. The girl standing beside me with the blond hair is my wonderful roommate Caroline from TX, also serving with Mercyships for 2 years.

I am sitting in the Mediterranean lounge, better known as the "med lounge", it's one of the popular hang out spots on the ship. It's a great place to play games, and chat. On special occasions its the venue for concerts. It is one of the few places on the ship that has comfy couches, and it's the location of the "Sala Victoria", the crew cafe. One of these days I will take pictures of different places around the ship and post them so you can have a bit of a tour. It is also the only place we can get wireless on the ship, another reason it is a popular place to congregate in the evenings. It has been deserted for some time, the only other person sitting up here left an hour ago. It is now nearly 2 AM. I am listening to Selah's hymm CD--"Great is Thy Faithfulness", "Be Thou My Vision", "It is Well With my Soul"...these songs never cease to stir my heart.

I was sitting reflecting on my week. I know I have been in Africa a long time when certain things become normal to me. It doesn't startle me anymore to be standing at the railing on promenade deck enjoying the evening breeze and notice a man swimming beside the ship in the nude pushing a bag of rice which he has just stolen from a neighboring ship. Some of them are a little more discreet, and wear underwear but most of them strip down so they don't get their clothes wet as they swim across the harbour to collect rice that has leaked from sacks as it was being unloaded from a cargo ship. The harbour is supposedly secure...and I guess it is because the port officials know about the "swimmers" but choose not to do anything about them. Or I know I have been in Africa a long time when someone mentions needing to buy jeans and I direct them to a large tree on a street corner. This particular tree is covered with jeans, almost to the top (25ft up). It kinda looks like a decorated Christmas tree. Or I know I have been in Ghana a long time when:

• A Roasted Plantain off the street and a handful of peanuts (or groundnuts as they are called here) is what I consider fast food.
• I get excited about seeing a fire truck...the only other emergency vehicle I have seen was an ambulance that was being pushed down the middle of the road by four well- built Ghanian men.
• It doesn't phase me to see 6-7 year old kids with their 2 year old siblings strapped to their backs.
• I fantasize about cold skim milk. The milk we have on the ship was probably invented by NASA to endure twelve monthes in space without spoiling. It expires in Dec 2007, and sometimes resembles yogurt more than it does milk
• I get offered a live chicken as a Christmas gift
• Malaria medicine is taken with breakfast
• 30 people packed into a public bus the size of a church van looks normal
• I stick my hand out the window to signal changing lanes when driving

Have I mentioned that I love living in Africa ?? ...with all its quirks...

Beginning of Advent...

Hello friends! Happy 3rd day of Advent. We had out first advent service tonight. Christmas decorations are appearing on cabin doors and in the lounge areas around the ship. I am starting to get very excited about Christmas--such a special time to celebrate the incredible gift of grace. I was thinking today how beautiful it is that we can live in a constant state of anticipation. Anticipation of our heavenly home, anticipation of wholeness and anticpation of perfect fellowship with our Creator...

I have been spending a lot of time with Corrie Ten Boom lately. She was a dutch woman who lived during World War II. Her family hid Jews when the Germans invaded Holland. She is one of my heros, author of the book "Hiding Place" and many more. I feel like I know her even though she died in 1983 the year I was born. If there were 3 people I could meet who are already dead she would be one of them--the other two would probably be Mother Teresa and maybe Hudson Taylor (I just finished reading one of his books so his story is still fresh in mind). But back to Corrie...she said this while in coversation with a college student "It is only when we are crucified with Christ that we can enter into the joy of His resurrection...do awaken to the reality of this truth. Give up your life for Christ's sake, and you will save it. Sanctification is not a burden, but a blessed release." Those last few words struck me as I realized I have come to think of life as a struggle and this Christian life as a constant battle--against my flesh, against the world, and against the powers of darkness. And I have come to think of this process of sanctification as wearisome...but, is it in fact, a blessed release from the weakness of our human condition? Not a striving for righteousness but a resting in the only One who is righteous?? Praise God for His patience and Mercy towards us!