Yendi Notes
Well, this will be my last installment of the Yendi Notes as Pam and I will be flying home tomorrow evening, Lord willing. It has been an enriching experience even though we have been here before. Our dearest friends, Steve and Kandie, have gone beyond the norm to help us in every way. We pray that our efforts with them for the past two weeks have encouraged and enhanced the work here. As I am writing this, we are in an apartment room that Steve and Kandie often use when they are in Accra. The people here know them as though they are family.
This morning was again breakfast at 8:00 am with a planned departure at 10:00. We were shutting down the visitor room section; unplugging the refrigerator in the room, covering the entire bed with a large sheet of black plastic, padlocking the bedroom door of the guest room section and locking the front door of the area. We had to prep all the suitcases for the flight from Tamale to Accra. This involves labeling each suitcase that will be checked and zip tying all the zippers for extra security. They have travelled so much this way that they could teach a course on how to travel abroad, especially in Ghana.
When we left Yendi I learned that the man whom we thought was possibly dead on the road to Kpamang was not dead but seriously injured. We learned today also that he was in the hospital and able to take some food. This is good news but the dangers of this country are multiplied when you observe the seeming carelessness of their modes of travel. We got into Tamale around 11:50 and after stopping for fuel and something to drink, we made our way to the airport. The road was so congested and one man who was trying to make a left turn from a side road to the main highway ran over the concrete median and blew a tire. He had all the lanes on the main road blocked and they were trying to repair his tire IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY! To say that Steve was upset would be mild as we were cutting it close for the 2:00 pm flight to Accra. We finally arrived at the airport, unloaded the luggage and while Kandie was parking the van we were pushing the luggage carts to the ticket agent. The agent was so slow that it was 1:20 before we offloaded our luggage to their care and still had to go through security. They could use some training on efficiency but hey it’s Ghana.
After we finally got to the gate, the sitting area was full so we just stood around waiting. At the time of our boarding there was a young Ghanaian girl who had never flown on an airplane so in gracious Kandie form she told her that she would take care of her. She literally did not know what to do and was all alone. She sat directly across from Kandie on the aisle and things went smoothly. The flight is only less than an hour which cuts out fifteen hours of driving. When we arrived at the domestic terminal, retrieved our luggage, and piled into the van of the man the Taylor’s have been using for years to get them around Accra, the adventure began. After a hair-raising ordeal of riding in Accra traffic, he dropped us off at the apartment complex and Ben the manager took over. Pam and I are on the second floor and Steve and Kandie are on the third. There are no elevators, so it is up and down the stairs you go. After putting all the baggage in the rooms and turning on the air conditioner and refrigerator, we took a taxi to a place that Kandie knew about to browse and shop for about 30 minutes. The taxi driver waited for us and afterwards took us to the Palace Chinese Restaurant. We were among the few (three tables of people) customers in the entire restaurant which was nice (and it had the best air conditioning). After eating Steve informed us that we had to find a taxi to take us back to the apartment building. Imagine two American couples with white skin walking the streets of Accra in the dark to hail a taxi from who knows where. Just as we were coming to the intersection of the street, a Ghanaian man loudly yelled to Steve and Kandie. It was a man who had known them for years in their time in Ghana and Accra. They were carrying on like old friends. Steve told him that we were trying to catch a taxi. He immediately went into action and whistled for a driver that was just going down the street. When the driver stopped where we were, he leaned in to talk to the driver and told him where we needed to go. When Steve asked how much it was, he told him that he had already paid the driver for our trip and that it was his pleasure to do so. As we were riding in the taxi, Steve said something about how that kindness and doing good to others can find its way back to you. Amen to that.
When we got back and settled into our rooms, Kandie brought me the laptop to type these notes. A few minutes ago, the crier for the Moslem prayers was calling not far from where we are staying. It is a constant reminder that this country needs the gospel and how important the work that Steve and Kandie and so many others are doing here. Accra especially is so congested with several million people that it is not difficult to be reminded of how many lost souls are around. May God help us all to realize the importance of evangelizing and strengthening those who are brethren everywhere.
Jimmy Clark
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