We are back at the mission house. We had to drive half of the way back from Tamale in the dark. We try not to have to drive in the dark because it is not safe. We were happy when we saw the lights of Yendi.
We had a good time today in Bolgatanga. Bolgatanga is the area where the hand woven baskets are made. Of course we did some shopping! We also went to the old slave camp. The slave camp is a place that they held the slaves until they had enough to sell. The slave camp is very interesting but it is also very sad and to think that they marched the slaves from the top of Ghana all the way down to the coast. The trek was over 400 miles. It is a wonder any of them arrived at the coast alive. We carried our umbrellas because that place seems like it is the hottest place in Ghana!
After we visited the slave camp we went to the crocodile pond. The crocodiles were not very cooperative this morning. It took the men a long time to get the big crocodile to come out of the water and sit on the bank so we could take pictures of him. He comes out so he can eat the live chicken that the men are holding. After he comes out he will allow you to sit on him and have your picture made. All the while he is keeping his eye on the chicken. The Ghanaians in this area believe that the crocodiles are their ancestors; they are sacred and no one is allowed to hunt them.
There are lots of crocodiles in the pond; no one seems to be afraid of them. The ladies fetch water from the pond and wash their clothes in the pond. There was a group of young men fishing on the side of the pond. They were catching frogs in a net to use for bait to catch the fish.
The police have road block set up all along the road; they stop the vehicles to make sure that they have insurance, road worthy papers and valid drivers’ licenses. About half of the way from Bolgatanga to Tamale we were stopped; the officer asked for a gift to buy water. After Steve gave him a small gift he told him that today was his birthday and he needed a birthday gift. Please! We had only gone down the road a couple of miles when Steve realized the officer had not given him back his driver’s license. We quickly turned around and went back. The officer said that he had given the license to the next vehicle that passed and told him to drop it off at the next check point. The officer called ahead and told his colleague to collect the license from the driver and hold it for Steve. That was a little unnerving to say the least! We rushed to the next barrier and sure enough the officer had the license! We were relieved.
Thank you for your prayers.
In His Service,
Steve, Kandie, Dahlia, & Jack
