I cannot begin to describe how amazing and life-changing Ghana was. The culture, the people, and the environment are all so beautiful and have touched my life in more ways than one. I met the best people while I was there and made some lifelong friends. HOLY I AM GOING TO MISS THIS!
there are so many pictures I am about to overload you with, but believe me, they are all worth it.
We arrived in Accra, Ghana Thursday, June 7 at 10 pm. We were delirious, confused, and tired from our 17 hours of flying and 14 hours of layovers. All of us were running on no sleep, my luggage was almost ripped from my hand, and we were in desperate need of water, and we were so dang excited. The first night we found shelter in a pink hostel (they meant it when they said pink), took a well-needed shower, but was surprised when there was hardly any water coming out of the faucet, and fell asleep late at night without any pillow or blanket. Wow, that first day I truly believed this was going to be the longest trip of my life. I was so wrong.
The next day we woke up bright and early after only three hours of sleep and headed to the airport to travel to our first destination: Tamale. From there we went and saw some of the poorest places beyond imagining. People here lived in mud shacks, took showers in the rivers, had no running water, and ate one small meal a day. Instantly I felt grateful for everything I had and was so so thankful for the little water pressure I had the night before. Throughout the rest of the weekend, we went on safaris (and during these, I managed to spray bug spray in my eyes), chased bamboos out of our hotel rooms, danced with the locals, went on canoe rides, made Shea butter, and met the cutest, sweetest little kids.
Most of the time spent in Ghana was spent building a children's shelter. Monday - Friday we would begin our work at 8 am and finish at 4 pm. We spent the day making assembly lines and passing along bowls of dirt or cement, or heavy dirt bricks. I never have sweat so much in my life than on the worksite. When the rains came down, they blessed more than just Africa. The worksite was by far my favorite part of the trip. During the work days, my group and I bonded so much and would have the BEST times together. We would spill cement on each other because we were laughing so hard we would drop the bowls, and some people even fell off our homemade bridges into the water holding a brick from laughing at a very dumb joke (SORRY KORALEE). We met the coolest people who would work with us, and they were so strong. They would carry heavy bags of cement on their heads and make it look like nothing. It is so much harder than it looks. We made so much progress on our worksite, and I cannot wait to see the finished product.
Every afternoon we met up with members from the ward and participated in activities with them. We did family home evenings with locals, had talent shows, culture night, and even had a traditional meal: Bonku. Every night when we gathered together the children would instantly come to hold our hands, dance with us, and sit on our laps. The members of the ward immediately became our family, and I love them so much.
The second weekend of our trip was spent touring ancient slave castles, playing in the SALTIEST beach, going through the rain forest on suspension bridges (one of the coolest things I have ever done), and having a bonfire on the beach. During this time we were running away from salesman who are very aggressive in their souvenir shops, and enjoyed our first meal that was not chicken and rice... HAMBURGERS. We literally cried.
After seventeen short days of sweating, laughing, and having the best possible time, it was finally coming to an end. On our last day we visited the Accra, Ghana LDS temple. We were able to go inside and do baptisms for the dead and it was so special. The spirit was so strong there and it was an experience I will never forget. During the trip we had many, many miracles and the spirit was so strong. My group and I will definitely always be bonded through these experience because it is one that is specifically special to us. I love you Ghana.
Towards the end of the trip, our group was able to receive African braids. Yes, mom, I did get dreads. Anyway, on our way back we almost missed our flight, but luckily we had one last miracle, and it was delayed. This flight went by so much faster, and it was our last hoorah. Once we arrived at the airport, we all broke into tears, and it was so hard to leave everyone. These people became family and my best friends. Luckily, we have reunions planned every month. I was blessed with the BEST group.
These past 18 days were the best of my entire life. I met the most incredible people and had the most life-changing experiences. I already miss it so so much. I miss the crazy African drivers, the intense salesman, the ladies carrying bowls on their heads, the random disgusting smells, my roommates, the cute little kids who would instantly come up to hold our hands, the ward members, and my fantastic group.
I 100% recommend participating in a humanitarian project. Serving others brings so much light and happiness into your own lives and is worth every penny.
I love and miss you Ghana.
-Lex
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