We have arrived in Ghana!  Our trip was one of "ups" and "downs."  Because our flight was overbooked in Economy class, part of our group received an unexpected upgrade to Business class at no extra cost.  So for an 11-hour flight it was quite a treat.  But it was also hard not to reflect on the inequities of life.  Why us and not all of the group?  And not just in relation to the flight, but in all the abundance we enjoy while so much of the world is starving?  Much to ponder as the trip began.

Then came the "down."  We arrived safely in Accra, but our luggage did not.  So we spent the first 3 days with no change of clothes, no hair blower, etc.  We were not a pretty sight, well some of us anyway.  I ended up being very glad however.  I think God wanted to make sure that we got off on the right foot, learning from day one not to depend on ourselves or our "stuff," but rather to depend on God.

We had a wonderful week with the mission group from First Pres and the Chicago Presbytery.  You can read all about it on the Knox Presbyterian Church website, www.knoxpres.org.  The group held a commissioning servicefor us before they left and their companionship for the first few days helped ease the transition to being here on our own.

We are now settled into our new "home" for the next few months in Akropong.  It is a yellow stucco guest house with a large coconut tree in the yard and some resident chickens.  (I am having trouble with the cord connecting my camera to my laptop, so I'm unable to send pictures yet.  Hope we can come up with a solution.)  The house is 150 years old and feels like "holy ground."  It is the house where both Akrofi and Christaller lived during their work at the first Basel Mission.  They are the missionaries who translated the Bible into the local language here (Twi). We have an office where we can meet with students, a bedroom, a screened porch, and bathroom.  No hot water but an electric pot to heat water if we get desperate.  We also have a kitchen with an eating area in a separate wing of the building.  We were welcomed there by a huge local roach.  Fortunately the kitchen came with a supply of bug spray.  It also comes with a rice cooker, a good thing since we have some variety of rice for virtually every meal!  We have buckets and a clothes line for laundry.  We will try that new (for us) adventure next weekend.

It is cooler here than we expected, since Akropong is at a higher elevation than Accra.  The mornings are hazy and misty, often with some rain, but there is usually some sun in the afternoon. They assure us that we will have plenty of hot weather coming up.  We are also surprised that it gets dark so early.  Daylight is from 6am to 6 pm year round.

The first weekend was quiet but the students began arriving this morning for registration.  They will have Orientation sessions all week and we will sit in on them to get oriented ourselves.  We are eager to get to know some of them and see how we can be of help.  We attended worship on Sunday at the only English language service in the area at Christ Church Akropong.  We understand that most of the students worship there.  Time -- 7:00 am!