A burial celebration, my birthday celebration, and Ghana’s 52nd Independence Day celebration were all mixed into this week’s regular schedule.
While the first may sound slightly strange, it was actually a very unique and joyful experience for Elise and I as we attended on behalf of one of our students from the village nearby whose uncle had passed away. I have only been present at a couple of funerals in my life and both were rather somber, but this was a party in every sense of the word! The whole village attended, bringing out hundreds of friends and family. They were all dressed in bright clothing. There were traditional drums and dancing going on in one area while an enormous sound system played music in another area. People all around us were dancing, playing, laughing and singing (and bringing us into it all as well) as they celebrated the life of the deceased. It was wonderful and it is exactly the way that I think funerals should be!
Two days later, I celebrated my 23rd birthday with a full day of school, lots of hugs from the kids, a conglomeration of cards, letters, and drawings, a little bit of laundry, some homemade meatloaf, brownies, and a good movie! While it was pretty low key and much like an ordinary day here, I know it was probably the most unique birthday I will ever have.
Then on Friday, the kids and I, the house mamas and the cooks all piled into the small dining hall to watch the Independence Day parade on the television. Unlike our fireworks and festivals in the United States, kids from schools all over the country travel to march at Independence Square in Accra, Ghana. They are accompanied by the nation’s soldiers, and the military is put on display by land, air, and sea. It was interesting to watch, but what was even more interesting was the pride and patriotism that our kids display in regards to the love of their country. Maybe it is something that has been lost throughout the generations in America, and maybe our independence is something that we simply take for granted, but having achieved their independence only 52 short years ago, this nation of Ghana is well aware of it’s value and they thank God daily for it!
Now, Victory, Victoria, and Comfort are our children of the week, being our three baby girls. These three beautiful toddlers are two years old and bring so much life to the girl’s dorm and to the entire compound. Please pray for the growth and development of their bodies and individual personalities as they are raised in this place!
While the first may sound slightly strange, it was actually a very unique and joyful experience for Elise and I as we attended on behalf of one of our students from the village nearby whose uncle had passed away. I have only been present at a couple of funerals in my life and both were rather somber, but this was a party in every sense of the word! The whole village attended, bringing out hundreds of friends and family. They were all dressed in bright clothing. There were traditional drums and dancing going on in one area while an enormous sound system played music in another area. People all around us were dancing, playing, laughing and singing (and bringing us into it all as well) as they celebrated the life of the deceased. It was wonderful and it is exactly the way that I think funerals should be!
Two days later, I celebrated my 23rd birthday with a full day of school, lots of hugs from the kids, a conglomeration of cards, letters, and drawings, a little bit of laundry, some homemade meatloaf, brownies, and a good movie! While it was pretty low key and much like an ordinary day here, I know it was probably the most unique birthday I will ever have.
Then on Friday, the kids and I, the house mamas and the cooks all piled into the small dining hall to watch the Independence Day parade on the television. Unlike our fireworks and festivals in the United States, kids from schools all over the country travel to march at Independence Square in Accra, Ghana. They are accompanied by the nation’s soldiers, and the military is put on display by land, air, and sea. It was interesting to watch, but what was even more interesting was the pride and patriotism that our kids display in regards to the love of their country. Maybe it is something that has been lost throughout the generations in America, and maybe our independence is something that we simply take for granted, but having achieved their independence only 52 short years ago, this nation of Ghana is well aware of it’s value and they thank God daily for it!
Now, Victory, Victoria, and Comfort are our children of the week, being our three baby girls. These three beautiful toddlers are two years old and bring so much life to the girl’s dorm and to the entire compound. Please pray for the growth and development of their bodies and individual personalities as they are raised in this place!
1 comment:
Happy Birthday! For your 23rd year and forevermore, how great to know these words from Psalm 73 are true.....Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The beauty of those three little two-year-old faces representing the future of Ghana along with your words about the children's national pride made me weep with joy and hope.
Regarding the national pride, Karen Cheney has spoken of the same response from her two boys that came home from Ethiopia this past fall. She shared that other people who travel extensively had told her that the only country where that type of pride isn't seen is the US.
My heart breaks over that. We (Americans) just don't get it and I have no doubt that a large part of this is because we have too much as you have so wisely mentioned in previous blogs.
Mondays are my days to pray for the United States, the President and other leaders so I will be adding 'increased national pride' to the list!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On my end, recent lessons from the Lord are connected to the burial celebration on your end. I continue to experience some grief regarding my dear mom's death and I know this is 'okay' because it is a part of the healing process. But, more importantly, I have realized that though I had prayed for several years to be prepared for her death and in those last few days, I said things like 'How wonderful that she'll be seeing Jesus soon', I was (and still am) way too attached to this world. I have not embraced the true glory of being in His presence. As a result, I am asking the King for readjustment in this area and I am already jotting down some plans to consider having drums beating when the time comes to celebrate my life!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And, on that note I will close and wish you many more celebrations during your time in Ghana! Laurie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S. By the way, if I were there, I would hold each of those little two-year-old bambinos gently until they knew me well enough to allow me to kiss their sweet little bellies and toes non-stop. Now, you have a glimpse of how Rae was raised! Poor girl - ha ha!
Post a Comment