Vacation in Ghana and back to Nalerigu

   We did get a small vacation after all, thanks to the Coppola family. They were kind and gave us a couple of their vacation days so that we could leisurely make our way fom Accra (on the coast) to Nalerigu (in the northeast). We spent our first day of vacation at the beach. The water was too cold to play in, but we played in the sand and enjoyed the cool breeze. It was nice to fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.

 

 

   The next day we went to Kakum National Park, which is a rain forest in southern Ghana. We walked across the seven canopy bridges and then took a guided tour on one of the trails. We didn't see any large animals (as they move north during the rainy season), but we did see plenty of lizards, butterflies, and ants. It was a beautiful area. As we drove north towards Kumasi, we saw many farms growing palm trees, coconut trees, cocoa trees, banana trees, plantain trees, and orange trees. Tim even stopped at a roadside stand and bought bananas and oranges for us to enjoy.

 

   

  We stayed in Kumasi to visit with a missionary family that we met shortly after arriving in Ghana. They have two boys and Rebekah loved getting to play with them. She still keeps talking about her 2 friends. We were able to go grocery shopping in Kumasi, which was quite a treat. They had American-style peanut butter (the peanut butter here is made of raw peanuts, not roasted peanuts) and Dr. Pepper. We then ventured on to Tamale, where we arrived just after dark. We ate out for dinner, a family date night:) The next morning, Rebekah played with the goats and chickens as we packed up the car. We also did our Tamale grocery shopping, picked up lunch to go, and then headed back to Nalerigu.

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     After being gone for a little while, it was good to be home. When we arrived at home, we were warmly greeted by some of the kids that frequent our house, and they helped us unpack our truck.  We enjoyed a few days with the volunteer team that was here. We also went with them to greet the Nyiiri (the head chief in our region). We have tried to go a few times previously, but Tim's schedule has never permitted it. The girls did very well and enjoyed interacting with his many children. Sadly, the team had to return to the US this past week, and, along with them, the volunteer coordinator and his wife. Peter and Erin had served here as volunteer coordinators at BMC for about a year. We enjoyed getting to know them over these past few busy months. Rebekah is already missing Peter (her bug hunting friend) and Erin, as she keeps asking to go visit them at their house. We are praying for their safe return home and transition to life in the US.