I had the chance to join Gregg for the Employee Christmas Social/Devotional in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. I really enjoy going to Abidjan... the skyscrapers, the wide multilane roads and a beautiful lagoon. It is a breath of fresh air.
The employees wanted to surprise us and planned the social to take place at Coconut Village on the beach. It was a great surprise. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas program under palm trees next to the beach. We sang Christmas carols in French (their national language) and enjoyed some local cuisine. A great trip.
We've been to Rome before. On that visit we tossed a coin in Trevi fountain and it worked! We came back! So.... we tried it again. It would be wonderful to return.
It's a great place with great food. And for those of us who don't have a McDonalds, this find was a real treat. But what to chose? I chose the Leonardo.
Penne pasta al dente with arrabiata sauce and lasagne. Magnifique!
The perfect ending to a perfect day... gelato. Scott and Melita Dunn were with us. Melita found a cone that was just her size. And yes, he's having Nutella gelato.
It has been an unbelievable journey helping Joseph Apoya get a room and get accepted into high school here in Accra.
Suffice it to say that miracles do happen and prayers are answered.
Here in Ghana, no one rents month by month. Landlords require 3 years rent up front. Some even make you pay a fee to see the room they are renting! Some require a down payment on a room that isn't for sure available yet. And many make you pay an "agent" which can easily turn out to be the owner of the land or building. After many disappointments, Joseph finally did succeed.
Here's the happy picture of Joseph and me in his single room. If you ask him about this room, he will tell you that it is "just perfect." It is about 8 feet by 10 feet. It does not have an indoor bathroom, shower or kitchen. There is no running water. But,he no longer shares a sleeping room with 20 other people. And he is still very grateful to the man who let him sleep there for the last few years rent free. For the first time in his life he is sleeping on a bed instead of the floor. And his rent is paid up for the next 3 years; that's how long it will take to finish high school.
Because he never dreamed he would be able to go to high school in Accra, he applied for admission in the northern region where it is less costly. However, with the help of several Obruni (white) ladies and a teacher from his junior high school who felt he had potential, we were recently able to get him into a good high school here in Accra. This required myself and this teacher taking him to the Ministry of Education.
His former teachers all liked him because he was a "self made" student. He was chosen as the Head Prefect of his junior high because of his scholastic ability and hard work. He will freely admit that he was a poor student until he realized that he could look up every word he didn't understand in the dictionary as he prepared for school each day. And this he did without parents or family support of any kind. He did meet a compassionate American tutor who passed his name on to us and sent money to make sure he had food. He had a weekend job all through junior high to earn money for school fees and food.
The drama of actually getting him into school was an intense few days. School started October 22, 2012, and no word about a spot for Joseph. We were really worried about his chances. But, on October 30th, he got a call saying we must come to the Ministry and then go pay fees at the school immediately. I dropped everything, borrowed a car and off we went. At the ministry we received the paperwork for his admission to St. Thomas Aquinas High School. We met the Assistant Headmistress and then set off for the bank to pay the fees. Here is a picture of Joseph in his uniform on his first day of high school.
God really does work in the details of our lives. He knows and cares for each of His children; even a little orphan boy in Acrra, Ghana, Africa.
We saw some very cute babies on Safari. We thought we would share our favorites.
baby Zebra
baby Oryx
baby Cheetahs
baby Lion
baby Elephant
baby Giraffe
baby Vervet Monkey
baby Warthogs - as Gregg says, that's a face only a mother could love...
Ah, the beautiful Serengeti. If you only had the time or money to visit one place on Safari, I would choose the Serengeti in Tanzania. Just be forewarned that these are extremely bumpy roads, to be rivaled only by the roads of Masai Mara.
This was the first time that we have seen an animal skeleton hanging from a tree branch (a young wildebeest). That's a sure sign of leopard nearby. We drove on. This was the magic moment when we got to see a leopard! She was sleeping up on the ledge of a rock formation in the middle of this Endless Plain of dried golden grass. She woke up, stood, climbed to a higher ledge, looked out at her adoring fan club and went back to sleep.
Although most of the wildebeest and zebra have crossed over the river and are in Kenya, we saw plenty. We watched a group of over 200 zebras running somewhere.
We also saw 50 Masai giraffe. They are everywhere with many young ones. What amazes me is that this branch is completely covered with big thorns. Somehow, they are able to enjoy the leaves while not getting injured.
We visited 2 fabulous hippo pools. There were at least 50 hippos. They grunt, snort, and have skirmishes in the water. But when they come on land they are perfectly quiet. I was amazed at how big some of the females are.
We also saw a 6 foot long black snake cross the road; our guide said it was either a black mamba or a black cobra. My first snake siting in Africa. Luckily I was in a vehicle!! Almost all snakes in Africa are venomous. Somehow, the rattlesnakes back home don't seen so threatening. At least they give you some warning that they are there.
It was an amazing Safari. I'm so glad we went. Thank you Gregg.
The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania is a large ancient volcanic caldera and a great place to see African animals. This conservation area is surrounded by Masai villages. We passed many Masai warriors with their cattle, which graze around the crater.
Our tent camp was at the top of the crater. Since this camp is in the bush, we had to be accompanied to and from our tent (for our safety) by a Masai. It was cold here (altitude), but they supplied a space heater in the tent and a hot water bottle in the bed (which I needed more than Gregg did).
In the crater we saw 4 of the Big 5 animals. The Big 5 are the five most dangerous African animals to hunt on foot; elephant, lion, leopard, cape buffalo, and rhino. We lacked only the leopard. However, we saw the shy and elusive black rhino here. We were told that there are not many left and it is rare to see them in the wild.
Here is Gregg's favorite lion picture of the safari. This male and his pride of lionesses had just killed and eaten a Cape Buffalo and he seemed quite proud of himself (although I'll bet the lady lions did all the work).
The lionesses looked like my boys after a Thanksgiving meal!
Hippos seem to live a life of leisure. They are dangerous and we needed to be in a vehicle to get this close.
Masai Mara is the Kenya side of the Serengeti. Right now the great migration is happening there. On our game drive we saw zebra and wildebeest everywhere. All it takes is one to start a race to the river. There were too many to count, thousands, all running full speed toward the river. As they got within 50 yards a lioness suddenly appeared walking toward the river and everybody came to an immediate halt. As Gregg would say, "live to cross another day." To be honest, I didn't want to see the crocodiles get any of them.
Our favorite sighting was a mother cheetah and her 3 cubs sitting on a bushy mound in the middle of the savannah. We were able to drive quite close for a photo. She didn't seem to mind. Some of these encounters made us feel almost invisible.
We also saw a male ostrich seated on a nest of eggs. I had no idea that both parents take turns sitting on the eggs until they hatch. We could see 3 eggs; look straight down from his neck. Our guide said that he would probably sit there all day and she would sit there all night. There could be as many as 20 eggs in the nest.
We visitied a Masai village. Very fascinating. Both the women and men danced for us. The warriors can jump amazingly high!
Here is Gregg's favorite lion picture of the safari. This male and his pride of lionesses had just killed and eaten a Cape Buffalo and he seemed quite proud of himself (although I'll bet the lady lions did all the work).
Masai Mara is the Kenya side of the Serengeti. Right now the great migration is happening there. On our game drive we saw zebra and wildebeest everywhere. All it takes is one to start a race to the river. There were too many to count, thousands, all running full speed toward the river. As they got within 50 yards a lioness suddenly appeared walking toward the river and everybody came to an immediate halt. As Gregg would say, "live to cross another day." To be honest, I didn't want to see the crocodiles get any of them.
