the near side has drawn far...

We have arrived home safely from our far side of the world tour! A home to some Americans which may be modest, but to the Ghanian people truly a palace. Where you seem to have forgotten your password because the form of communication in Africa is song and dance, not the internet. Where when you flick on the switch the lights allow you to see. Where there's toilet paper and a safe place to store your fruit nectar. Where the streets have stop lights and the cattle crossings are posted. Where the shower pressure is strong and hot water is expected. Where you blend into the masses because you're just like everybody else going about their business. Where a good steak is a treat just like bush rat in Ghana. Where you can put your feet up at the end of the day and say ahhh. Indeed we have had a journey to be told. We love being able to open up our windows to hear our backyard waterfall and birds seeking seed. We love seeing the mountains and the trees and the green grass..oh! and flowers. We love sleeping soundly without the canopy of the mosquito net. We love having clean clothes to put on and choices for dinner each day. We love that God provides our every need. We realize that two weeks for most of us is merely a blink of the eye~yet while in Ghana we learned to appreciate and soak in every precious moment. Because we will dearly miss the honk at our guarded hotel gate proclaiming our ride has arrived signalling a safety cue to come out of our room. We will miss the children running over the dirt mounds announcing "Obroni no aba!" (the white man is here!). We will miss the resounding and collective and joyful 'Hallelujahs and Amens'. We will miss the the hugs from the wait staff who didn't want us to leave. We will miss the smell of Deet protecting us from Malaria. We will miss the precious children at the school who performed a short play and poetry and song all in English. We will miss the young teen~Amelia~ who hung out at our bus window as we were stopped in congested traffic and wanted to see our family picture and post cards from Boise. We will miss the police guards who after shining their flashlights into our bus gave us the go ahead anyway. We will miss terms like Awkwaaba (welcome) and torch (flashlight) and meda ase (thank you). We will miss the 2 litre of pure water that quenched our thirst during intense humidity. We will miss the walks through poverty and filth just to get a big smile when we waved and asked permission to take photos. We will miss the goats who frolicked across our paths. We will miss the magical fireflies who calmed our fear as we trekked deep through the midnight dark of the bush. We will miss the Mission Ready Africa team who never left our side. We will miss the rhythmic drumming and playful games of Chinese jump rope. We will miss Kasoa, Ghana. Now the far side of the world is close in our hearts. We thank you for your prayers for our safety and good health. We thank God for the privilege to serve. Until the far side draws near once again...with our love, Bob & Cori