We will ARISE

There is a song that the MOP kids sing on Friday that goes by “we will arise” and it makes me think it is perfect for the second part of my four-day weekend. Another song fitting for this occasion is “Raise It Up” by the IMPACT Repertory Theatre and Jamia Simone Nash from the motion picture August Rush. This song just gives a glimpse into the service I experienced. 

Easter Sunday with Anita, my AMAZING ROOMMATE

So my wonderful roommate invited me along to her church service. I have been to her church once before for a wedding, but this indeed was a new experience. Before we set off, I got myself a VERY fruitful breakfast of bottled strawberry yogurt and some Kashi Go Lean Crunch (from wonderful Michael’s package…thank you Michael ). It was indeed a very nice Easter treat.

After this breakfast, we headed to the church, attempting for a tro tro and then ended up just going for a cab. The church was not packed at all when we got there. There were about 50 people (when the church can fit a couple thousand). They were ALL wearing white. I would have felt VERY out of place, if it weren’t for my roommate and her friend wearing other colors. I decided to wear one of my Ghanaian dresses, proudly showing how I am embracing the culture.

The service started with some singing that was half in Twi and half in English. I actually enjoyed the Twi more because I had an excuse to sit back and listen to everyone sing. Ghanaians can truly sing AMAZINGLY. It is breathtaking absorbing their power and beautiful voices. By the time we finished the music the room had filled up very quickly. There were about 500 people at the end of this singing section.

Then, the service broke in to a sermon with the story of Easter. It was interesting seeing how Ghanaians emphasize different parts of the Bible than some churches I have been to at home. Their conviction and passion was clearly evident, though. As I look back to the congregation (we were in the very front, which made for a VERY LOUD service) it had seemed to grow REALLY FAST. There were about 3000 people shoved into the church.

Then my FAVORITE PART OF THE SERVICE…which Anita said, “brought light to my face instantly”…was the children’s part of the service. The children’s choir performed two songs. It was EXACTLY like the children’s choir back in Fort Collins at First United Methodist Church. The little kids had no clue what was happening so they danced around and waved at their parents. The older kids had access to the microphones and shouted out the lyrics. The only difference between these kids and the kids from home is these kids in Ghana had AMAZING VOICES! It was indeed adorable. I had a Ghana moment, where I realized I am indeed in Ghana, Africa, listening to a beautiful children’s choir.

After the choir, a group of 6th or 7th graders put on a play. They had a Jesus and some disciples. It was really an interpretive dance where they wore all white and danced around Jesus who was sitting in a chair. It was very endearing with the blissful joy and pride of these kids performing, shinning through. Once these little performers ended, two other kids took the stage and did a little bit of Bible reading. One of the two, memorize a Bible verse, which he shakily said, but was completely successful, which aroused a large applause from the audience.

After the gleeful children’s section, the pastor took the stage and gave a very long sermon, but his conviction, authority, and passion gave me goose bumps. I felt like I was in one of those services on television (where many people flip on through thinking, wow that is really intense). There was another round of singing, which I actually ended up knowing some of the songs…VERY EXCITING! After this singing, there was another song performed, a birthday song. Apparently every week people are wished happy birthday from the church and one of the birthdays was Anita’s mother.

Then, the children were brought onto stage and each given an egg, for what Christ had done for them. Imagine a child in the United States just getting an egg for Easter…what greed and materialism has our country turned into. I indeed enjoyed this escape from materialism, but also dreaded the idea of returning to it. The real and sincere joy that was put on the children’s faces, made me realize how wonderful this Easter is. I looked down at my watch; we began at 9 am and now it was 1pm…no wonder I was STARVING.

I met Anita’s mother after church. This lady ran a school in her house and raised a wonderful and caring daughter. She was joyous and full of energy. She gave Anita some money and told us to go out for a lunch. AND SO WE DID!  We went to this nice place that had great chicken and fried rice (Ghanaian fried rice…very different than Chinese fried rice). I ate hungrily gleeful taking in protein for the first time in a while.

The rest of the day I just relaxed and skyped my family and boy friend. Happy late Easter! 


Reading…the entertainment of Ghana: over the semester I have learned what to fill with my time. There are times when I have too many things to do and others where I am not sure what to fill it with. When I do have that time, I tend to fill it with naps, reading, and watching movies. My top 6 favorite books thus far this semester are:

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, a great read about a family divided by a lie and how the lie unfolds. For people interested in Downs Syndrome , this is a very great read.

Water for Elephants, a book donated to me by the wonderful Mrs. Gardner, I read VERY quickly. I was hesitant at first; already seeing the movie, but indeed it was a fabulous read.

The Three Hunger Games, A GREAT SERIES! I loved each one and it seemed to be the perfect series to keep me hooked while there were little lows throughout the weeks. I am really bummed there are only three though. I CAN’T wait to see the movie in theatres…that is on my to do list when I get back.

AND NOW MY MOTHER’S BOOK Lesserblood Lies by Ainsley Davidson…something my parents gave me on audio before I left. I avoided it at first…not wanting my view to change of my mother. I decided to just go for it…and it was A WONDERFUL CHOICE. I truly RECOMMEND THIS BOOK! My mother, Carla Casewit, is an amazing author and writer and I will forever be proud of her writing after this book.

The MOP building site: if Sunday was not enough to cheer me up, Monday, Katie, Emma and I went to the Mavuwio’s Outreach Program building site. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I did not get to record the adventure, but it was AMAZING! Many of the students will be moving to the Eastern Region for a new school in September. The construction looked amazing and this school seems to be the PERFECT THING. Less distractions and more focus on academics is what they need. I am ever so proud of Kuami and Renee for getting this place build…VERY PROUD! This remote location, will allow for the rural area to have their kids go to school as well. There was a pond next to the school…clearly the perfect calling. Hehehehe 

My first U of G internal exam, paper, and dance critique: as this semester gears toward the last couple of weeks, I got several assignments. I had an internal exam last Monday in my Africa 1500-1800 course. I wrote a paper about the colonization of South Africa. This paper was very simple and it felt odd to not analyze…but indeed that is what the professor wanted. I then had a paper due a couple days ago for my Introduction to Resource Analysis geography class. This paper was hard to write. I had no motivation to write it…but I finished it in time. All my friends who have had papers all got mixed results (A through D)…so I wonder how this paper will go. And lastly, we had a dance critique to write for my dance class. This was a breeze to right…besides the fact I did not go to the dance performance because I was told about the paper AFTER the performance was over…hahahaha typical Ghanaian moment.

On the subject of classes, I am enjoying my classes, but I am lost or bored in several of them. For example, my Islam in Ghana class we learn about 20 new names and terms each week…so it is really confusing! I find my two history classes interesting…but pretty simple. My dance class is WONDERFUL! We have started working on our third dance…and it is my favorite BY FAR! I really would love to start some African dancing back at school…because it is something everyone should experience.

Water out and first bucket shower…as I come back from dance class yesterday all sweaty and soaked…of course the water is out in my dorm. See, every time it happens I never need to shower, so I have never bucket showered…but indeed I took my first one last night. It was not bad at all. I did not mind it. It was fun to use the last of the water and dump it over my head.  There is a first for everything isn’t there?

The Ghanaian Diet

My preference and diet has changed throughout the course of the semester. When I first got here, the sauces and meals were not that appealing for me. The first week of food provided…was okay at the time…but would have been GLORIOUS if I had those things now. I would eat like that…if I wanted to lose all my money.

I enjoy all the sauces, stews , and some of the Ghanaian dishes I thought I would never enjoy. I love fufu now (which is pounded cassava…but not fermented). I still don’t like kenke or banku…but maybe by the end of semester I will. Red-red (as Kathrine and Rachel told me, shout out to both of you ) is my favorite dish. This is fried plantain and a bean stew. I learned how to make it…so we shall see…maybe I’ll make it back at school someday. I LOVE sausage here and found a new wonderful creation of sausage and Ramin Noodles (Ramin like thing). Homemade pasta sauce with pasta is a usual. (We make the pasta sauce with tomatoes, onions, garlic, tomato paste, and CHEESE (which Lisa has let us use so many times.)) Jolif and Watche was once something I had all the time the first two months…but not something I have anymore…sometimes you can just have too much of something.

Once in a while I will go out and eat somewhere nice with some of my friends…which is always the highlight of a week. While traveling, the food is always up in the air…making my stomach very strong in the last couple months. I was a very needy individual before Ghana with food…and now I have learned to adjust without it at times.  (Don’t worry I am NOT starving myself hahahaha…BELIEVE ME I AM EATING MORE THAN ENOUGH). But, as Rachel warned me…I indeed have one very large meal every day and smaller meals throughout the day. Egg sandwiches (with “cheese” it is something that Heather Newell would consider real cheese, it is this non-refrigerated cheese), bananas, ground nuts, and WONDERFUL REAL SUGARED SODA happens daily.