Ghana for Beginners, Part 2 -- My Version

I'm going to tell you the story of an American mom and American dad, who came to visit their volunteer daughter in West Africa, who should have known better, but made plans, a detailed itinerary in fact, for their two week journey; only to have so much go wrong, but through that, realize that God is indeed in control and His way is so much better than anything we could plan.

They arrived two hours late -- not a big deal in the U.S. where waiting areas have benches and air conditioning. No, I stood outside in the heat, waiting, unable to find any screen on which I could find some helpful information. Thinking as each person walked by, that maybe they would be next; two hours is a long time to anticipate the arrival of parents you have not seen for seven months.

After the arrival we went to the office of the reputable/not-so-reputable Hertz rental car company, with whom we have made a reservation for a car and have in our possession a print-out of the confirmation. When American Mom and Dad offer this confirmation and expect to proceed with a simple credit card transaction and prompt hand-over of the keys, they are abruptly surprised by the announcement that the reservation was never received, and not only that but they have NO cars. American Mom gets a little tense while Volunteer Daughter tells her not to worry and things will work out. Finally, after a conversation with the two employees, they have contacted another car rental company who will shortly bring a car.

We should have really checked out the car before we took it; but we didn't. After driving for some time, we realized the muffler was loose. Which, if we had been in a country with reliable roads, it would have been one thing. But instead, on every portion of unpaved or pot-holed road, American Dad would tell everyone in the car to suck up their seats (apparently a common term pilots use), and this action, of course, was to lift the car and keep the muffler from dragging on the road. Unfortunately this method was not too reliable, and sure enough, after one too many holes, the muffler fell. It was still hanging on, but now it was sparking as we drove. Fortunately within minutes of the incident we drove through a village that just happened to have a small shop selling rope, at which point Volunteer Daughter told American Dad to back up, and buy the rope. As he went to the shop to make the purchase, all the while causing a scene because of his whiteness, a crowd gathered and he met a small boy who had encountered this particular problem before and knew exactly what to do -- he took the rope, crawled under the back of the car, and swiftly fixed our muffler.

In the itinerary Volunteer Daughter scheduled a full day of driving to the north, well known for its wildlife reserve. But without considering the combination of less than functional roads and a crummy car -- a ten hour day of driving turned into two full days. By six p.m. on the first day the sky had grown dark and the rains were pouring down. Without having any certainty of what lay ahead we all voted to stop for the evening. We looked in the guidebook for a town large enough to have a guesthouse and went to the best on the list. The first guesthouse had no rooms, the second had no restaurant, the third had no rooms, and the fourth (not in the guidebook) was perfect. Brand new, great staff, comfortable rooms, and a smalling dining room with one table. The evening turned out to be a perfect hiatus from the driving we had gone through and the driving to come.

We woke in the morning and headed, yet again, to Mole [Mo-lay] National Park. About halfway there, we arrived on a horrible unpaved road with 86 km to go. But in a car with already low clearance, five people, and luggage for even more, we were dragging. American Dad was clenching his teeth and concentrating on the road, when after only 18 km and two hours of driving he decided we would turn around and drive further north to a city where we could rent yet another car that could handle the rough road and distance. We were off to Tamale.

We arrived in Mole by nightfall that evening. Finally. Just in time for some dinner and then early to bed. Shortly after falling asleep the rains began and continued all night long, bringing in the cool air and flooding the land. I woke early and feared, after all the work it took to get there, that the rains would never end. As we dressed and waited for our guide, the rains turned to a drizzle and stopped just as we began our safari. It was lucky that the rains came because the cool air, and abundant supply of water brought out hundreds of animals into the open. Within five minutes we were face to face with a beautiful giant elephant, and over the next two hours we saw animals everywhere, including kob, water buck, warthog, and baboon. It turned out to be a wonderful day, thanks to the rains.

We left Mole at five a.m. On our way back down south, towards the coast, we took the roads that seemed to be most direct and also reliable. By the afternoon we were in the mountains, driving on narrow, winding roads, through small mining villages. These roads, as our luck would go, had been driven on by huge trucks coming from the mines and crushing the pavement under their tires and heavy weight, leaving us with many potholes. Eventually the sun had set and we were dodging holes in the pitch dark. As was bound to happen, we hit one hole too hard, and got a flat tire. So we pulled over, and that's when American Dad announced that we did not have a jack. We started waving down cars with our flashlights, while dodging the fast and reckless drivers on the road. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a car with two kind men pulled over and willingly took the jack from their car and even changed the tire for us, telling American Dad to 'thank God' and not them.

After spending a few days along the coast, we were on our way back to Accra, and as I'm sure you have noticed, things in Ghana rarely go according to plan; so what should have taken two hours took six. Ultimately, I must admit that despite things that seemingly went wrong, there was a lot that went right. We had a fabulous Easter celebration, which included a village party and all of us joining in the dancing, we visited a local village famous for weaving, we stood under the tallest waterfall in West Africa, saw the largest artificial lake in the world and the dam that supplies all of Ghana's energy, enjoyed beautiful beaches, walked on a rope-and-cable canopy walkway in the rainforest, and toured an old slave castle.

Moral of the story: Be willing and open to what God wants to show you. That's the beauty of Africa. It will not work out the way you plan, but when it was all said and done, American Mom and American Dad fell in love with this place, it's challenges, and it's great people that make it all worth while.