Our New Home

If you like adventure, you would love to drive in Ghana. It is like a constant game of "Chicken". Having been in Africa two times before, I knew what to expect during our 4 1/2-5 hour drive to Takoradi. To give you an idea of what goes on- imagine traveling VERY fast, swerving to miss pot holes, driving on the shoulder so as not to collide with ten cars that are passing a slow-moving vehicle, slamming on the brake to miss goats, people and parked cars... You get the idea ; )
The Takoradi region has a population of approximately one million. Our new home is in Kansaworodo, a village on the outskirts of Takoradi. They are building a bypass to the International Highway which runs right by our village. This is an ongoing project so as we neared Kansaworodo the blacktop disappeared giving way to dirt roads full of pot holes of varying sizes. The "main street" in Kansaworodo has vendors selling their wares on both sides of the road. This is a very busy place from early morning to late at night. It would be impossible to drive to our house without being noticed!
Our driveway (which the Lord has since allowed us to repair) was my first surprise. After repeated wash-outs, it more resembled a rough trail. We had to get a running start to get up it. One taxi driver had to transport our groceries to the house while we walked because he couldn't maneuver it with us in the car.
The house is situated on the top of a hill overlooking the village. It has a nice yard with many fruit trees.  In addition to the main house, there is a small guest house and guard shack on the property. There is currently only a partial wall, but we hope to build a complete wall as God provides. This is essential for our safety.
The house itself was familiar from the pictures James had taken in December although everything seemed much smaller in real life. It really is a perfect size for us with plenty of room. Once we began cleaning, I wished it were smaller : ) My second surprise wasn't the extra roomies ( I was told to expect mice); it was the mess that they had created. Let me give some background to explain...The missionaries that were renting this house before us had been gone from the house for 15 months. We had purchased their dishes, pots, small appliances, linens among other items. While Martin had paid some girls to come sweep and do some house cleaning, the cupboards had been untouched. They tried to make everything clean for us, but they had to stop house cleaning because the dusty season was hindering their work. Back to my story...I think I was most repulsed by the fact that these critters were not only in my house but also very likely going to mess everything up again as soon as we cleaned it.  Mice had destroyed many of the kitchen items. Termites had wreaked havoc on the wood, and  the countertop was falling into the cupboards. Everything felt dirty! Enter culture shock or at least Africa 101. I kept the dishes in the living room on tables until I was sure the critters weren't going to immediately ruin our work.  Praise the Lord they do have chemicals and bug sprays to help us get rid of these pests, and we used a lot in those first weeks. Believe it or not, for all that mess, we only caught one mouse... I try not to give that much thought!  : )
 For the first two weeks, our family counting Kaitlin worked constantly to clean the house: we went to war against mold, bugs and dust. Everything had to be laundered as it all smelled musty. Everyone washed dishes, walls, and cupboards. When the house was finished, we moved to the guest house again sorting and cleaning. Finally, we had everything in order, and we looked forward to establishing a daily routine.  We have yet to see exactly what that looks like, but we have a start with homeschooling back in session.
God has been so good to give us a nice place to live here in Ghana. It has already become an oasis for us. There are many repairs that still need to be done, but the Lord has provided for the things that just couldn't wait- like the countertop : )  I wish I could say I haven't been discouraged at all, but I am so thankful for my family (for future reference remember that includes Kaitlin) who have been such a help getting things clean and orderly. The mission field has brought out the best in them, and they are exhibiting character traits and adapting in a way that clearly shows the grace of God!
I can't end this post without mentioning that our container is arriving tomorrow!! While it has been a blessing to start with the items we bought from the Consfords, we are very excited to have our own belongings to finish making this house feel like home. We covet your prayers as we go to the port on Wednesday. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and that the duty is low.  God Bless!