Smiling - the universal language

Phew! We just arrived back in Asamankese after 10 days of gallivanting around this hot, African country. We snaked our way up to the north, going even as far as 7 km from the Burkina Faso border. The north of Ghana is not rainforest as it is where we are here; it is a legitimate African savannah and right now it is the dry season, making everything even hotter. Disclaimer:  I apologize in advance for how long this post will be...

The first stop in our journey was a community called "Hand in Hand" which is home to 80+ mentally and physically handicapped children and young adults. In Ghana it is traditionally believed that if a child is born with a disability, that child is from the devil and are more often than not abandoned. We had the opportunity to walk around with the children, play with them, watch them chase after the ball in a game of soccer and watch them splash around in the shallow pool that they enjoy spending time in everyday. There was one boy in particular that clung to my heart.

We first met Michael as he came crying up the path towards us and went directly into Karen's arms and soon pulled me into the hug as well. He then took my hand and lead me away from the group. I spent the next significant portion of time following him around the grounds as he viewed his world through the lens of my camera. I knew that God was smiling every time Michael dropped it and I carefully put the batteries back in and handed it to him again. God wasn't going to let my precious camera break when that innocent boy was having the time of his life taking pictures for possibly the first time ever. I couldn't help but smile. As we watched the soccer game, Michael climbed onto my back like a natural monkey and clung to me like a whirlwind was trying to sweep him away. He alternated between sitting on my back and climbing onto my front for a hug and to rest his head on my shoulder to watch the game. I had prayed that morning that God would help me to interact well with the kids as I am not always certain of what to do in the unpredictable moments with mentally disabled children. God confirmed to me again (as is becoming a theme this semester,) that smiling is the universal language. Smiling transcends every spoken language. It is accepted in every religion. The deaf can see it and the blind can feel it. I believe it was Mark Twain who said that "kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind see." I don't have to communicate verbally with those who speak Twi to let them know all is okay when I smile. The mentally disabled who can barely speak their first language, much less English, know that it is okay to come to us for hugs or to play when they see our smiles. Sometimes a smile is all you need show for people to know that you are welcoming and open to them. All it took was a smile for the children at Hand in Hand to come up to us and put their little hands into ours and entwine their hearts with our own.

During our stay at Hand in Hand we made a trip up to the Baoteng Monkey Sanctuary, walked through the forest with a guide and got to feed bananas to wild monkeys out of our hands! They were tentative to approach us at first but soon they were jumping up and clinging to our arms in their attempts to steal the remaining pieces of banana out of our hands. It was quite the entertaining experience, though smiling at the monkeys was not an efficient way to get them to approach us.

Continuing farther north, we hopped on a bus to take us four hours to Mole National Park. We had arrived too late to get a ticket with a seat number, so we had to stand as the bus bumped its way down the red dirt roads as the night closed in and the stars shone in all their brilliance. We were COVERED in dirt by the end of the ride; it looked like I had a beard and my backpack is still a slightly different colour than the original black. We tried to scrub the dirt off of us in the trickle of water that came from the shower that night and fell into bed in great anticipation for the next two days. In summary of those full days, we went on three safaris in the African savannah, two jeep safaris and one walking safari. We sat on the top of a safari jeep and held on as we drove carefully over bumps and rocks, through the running water of a river and across the tree-dotted grasses of the national park in search for elephants, my favourite animal. Since it is the dry season the elephants tend to move farther in, but we did manage to spot one, WAY in the distance, on our first jeep safari. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face all night. Up until that moment I didn't know that it was actually possible to tremble with joy, but as I gazed at a wild elephant in the African savannah from the top of a jeep and felt my wildest dreams become reality, I literally shook from being so happy and excited! The warthogs, Nile crocodiles, monkeys, baboons, vultures and various species of antelope were definitely amazing to see, but seeing a big elephant in its natural habitat was a definite highlight. I felt as though we were on the Discovery Channel the whole time we were at Mole.

Leaving Mole a few days later (on the bus that left at 4 o'clock in the morning and for which we received a wake up call at 3:15 am - oh joy), we went all the way up to Sirigu to an organization called SWOPA (Sirigu Women Organization for Pottery and Art) near the Burkina Faso border. Women in the small village of Sirigu used to walk 134 km with pottery and baskets on their heads to sell, so the organization was started to cut out the incredible walk that they would have to make in order to make money. During our stay we made a small basket in a basket weaving workshop (taking about 4-5 hours of getting stiff while sitting on the ground to complete), took a tour to see a traditional house in the area (which was very unique and symbolically decorated with paint and pictures of animals) and visited Mother of Mercy Babies Home. Many people believe that if a child's mother dies in childbirth, the baby is of the devil and is abandoned at birth. The Babies Home is home to 15 children in this situation, each with a caretaker, where they will stay and be looked after until the age of three when they will be reintegrated into their families and communities. The organization strives to change the mindset of the locals to show that these children are no different than any other. While we were there, smiles again became the primary means of communication and soon we had a third of the children living there holding our hands or reaching up to be carried and following us around on our tour, eager to show us their rooms and where they lived. Our guide fairly had to drag us away, saying that he knew we'd spend the whole day there otherwise. So very true. Although we couldn't communicate verbally with the children at all, our smiles, pointing to different things, playing little games and bouncing them on our laps was enough communication to let them know that they were noticed, that they are meant to have fun and play as children and that they are loved.

Taking an 11 hour bus ride from the north down to Pokuase (where we were taken care of by the incredibly hospitable Auntie Emma and Doc for the night/day) was long, but wonderful to see almost the entire country pass before our eyes in one day. We left the hot and dry savannah and entered into the side of the country with clouds and rain, the side that we are currently calling home. We have a limited amount of time left in Ghana and the next few weeks are packed with things that we need and want to do. Every day matters and we need to keep smiling as we go. Besides, joy is the fruit of the Spirit and we definitely have something to be joyful about in the death and resurrection of Jesus!