A Month to Remember

I know this blog has been really quiet lately. I was pouring my energies into soaking up precious family time with the seven family members who spent three weeks in Ghana, a rarity probably never to be repeated.

My older sister, Dawn, and her family were going to be traveling to visit some of the other missionary stations, but my youngest sister, Kaiti, stayed with me. It was happiness personified to have her with us. And it was such fun to introduce her to Ghana, including its foods like fufu, groundnut-okra soup, and goat pictured below.

We went to Kakum National Park where this group experienced the swinging bridges. I expected Tyler to get really scared but he marched across with the best of them. So much for moms knowing things.

 

One night we slept in rooms with an ocean view, all for $20 a night. Okay, so you get what you pay for, but no soap, no running water, and waiting nearly three hours for supper was worth the gorgeous view. On another day, we took everyone to the ocean for the morning where we were able to watch lots of fishermen at work.

The view a stone's throw from our rooms

We toured a slave castle that was built before Columbus discovered America.

View of the fish market from the castle wall

A real highlight for everyone was going on a safari at Mole National Park where we saw 10 elephants in the wild, something none of us had ever done before. We also watched monkeys steal food from the outdoor tables at the restaurant where startled patrons were eating their breakfast.

The three sisters. L to R: Me, Kaiti, and Dawn.

Our family at Mole

On our way home, we stopped at a waterfalls and were sorry we didn't have time to play in the water and have a picnic lunch. We got our exercise for the morning by taking the 152 steps leading down to the falls. Actually, we got the most exercise climbing back up the steps. I expected Sophia to wear out halfway up and I thought to myself that I'd kindly sit with her on a step to let her catch her breath. Once again I underestimated my child. By the time we were 3/4 of the way back up and Sophia was still going strong, I started wishing she'd kindly sit with me on a step until I caught my breath. But I made it.

Not all of our time was spent sightseeing. It was pure joy to have family hang out with us and to see my children enjoy Kaiti and their cousins.

The 'twins' in matching dresses I made
for them. They are best friends, cousins,
and only three months apart in age. 

Saying good-bye is never easy, no matter how often we do it. My heart physically hurt when I hugged my sisters before they left, our tears flowed unchecked. I closed the gate behind them when they left for the airport, then went back into my house, a house so quiet and empty without all the happy commotion and laughter that filled it for nearly a month. It would be unbearably hard to be this far away from such a great family as mine if it weren't that I believe this life is temporary and heaven won't be like this. 

I sat down, crying, and lifted up my sorrowing heart to Jesus. "Jesus, this is for you. This separation wouldn't be happening if we didn't believe You and Your Kingdom is worth all of this. So I give this painful separation back to you as part of my life's offering." 

Heaven won't be like this. Instead of the pain and the tears of separation, we'll have the golden gladness of having given our life to the Lord, no matter how much it hurts at the time. 

So I wiped away my tears and prepared my house for a visit with a neighbor lady I met at the gate a few days earlier and invited over for tea. A stranger wasn't a good replacement for a sister, but her visit was an excellent diversion from the left-behind feelings and I thanked God for giving me that blessing on the day my sisters left for home.