Day 1 and Before

Grandma Judy and Rachel attempted to leave for Ghana on March 25, but after 24 hours and too many flights to count, I drove to Seattle and brought them home. Flying standby can be very frustrating. They were tired but made the best of a day to repack and rest. I drove them back to Seattle on Sunday and (Praise God) they made their flight direct to New York. Once there they retrieved their luggage and made their flight to Accra. I will let Rachel's humorous post fill you in on how that flight went.

Update No. 1: March 31, 2010

~Dear Everybody~

Hello from Ghana! We arrived safely at 7:00 am yesterday morning, and were picked up by Emmanuel at the airport. Did I hear someone ask how our flight was? I did? Well, I’m glad you asked. It was quite atrocious. I’ve never been so disappointed in an airline. First, they gave us seats in first class, when they really should have let us ride up front with the pilot. We were willing to let that slide, being stand-by and all. But when we arrived at our seats we were literally shocked. I decided that I should document the whole flight in photographs so that we could complain to the Delta authorities later.

In the first place, the seats reclined almost all the way flat, and there was a control that allowed you to raise or lower a foot rest. They had provided real blankets and the pillows were bigger than oven mitts. The seats themselves were far more comfortable than regular airplane seats. How in the world were we supposed to sleep in all that luxury?

And they had only provided a few measly feet of legroom. Pathetic.

Then, we had a look at our menus, hoping they would have something edible. Did we find good, wholesome foods provided? A healthy, basic burger and fries? Pizza? Fried chicken? Not a bit of it! Instead, they had all sorts of ridiculous options like “Roasted Chicken a l’Orange” and “Tomato Florentine Soup” and “Swiss Cheese and Mushroom Omelet.” The “Wines” section wasn’t even legible.

When the food finally did arrive, we could barely eat it for fear it would stimulate the vomiting centers.

And then, as a final insult, God wouldn’t even provide a decent view.

Really, Delta, you couldn’t do any better than that?

Anyway we’re here now, and that’s the important thing. J So what have we been doing? Yesterday was kind of a lazy day—we unpacked and reorganized and got to know the children a little bit. Ms. Romana gave us our instructions in a whirlwind because she was packing for her week-long trip, which she left for last night. Tonight, we will be in charge of a baby girl named E. She was born prematurely but is quite happy and chubby now! She still needs to be fed twice every night, however, and that will be our job. During the day, Rachel is going to start as a teacher to the 6-8 year olds every morning from 10:20-11:30. That’s around 4:20am-5:30am in Washington, so if you are awake that early, pray that Rachel would not go completely insane. Who knows? It might work. Actually the kids are great. They’re just like every other child: smart, disobedient, manipulative, and adorable. It should be an interesting two months. In the meantime, Grandma Judy will be helping in the kitchen, learning to cook some Ghanaian dishes, and caring for another little baby named Eunice.

A major prayer request would be for ELECTRICITY. This is a big deal here, and not just because we can’t get on the Internet without it. The food in the freezer goes bad, the washing machine doesn’t work, and the fans aren’t on so the whole place gets HOT. Right now they (not sure who “they” is…government? Power-turner-offers?) are turning off the power intentionally pretty much every day. Pray that that won’t continue for much longer! Also, please pray for M. M is a baby girl suffering from severe malnutrition. She was hospitalized yesterday after a struggle with the nurses who didn’t want to admit her. It’s crazy. In America, they wouldn’t have let her leave the hospital. Here, they won’t let her in!

Otherwise, we’re doing pretty well. We took our first bucket showers last night and found them difficult, but not lethal. We miss everyone living over the water and hope you are all doing well!

From Grandma Judy

We have gone from a luxurious plane ride from JFK to Accra (in Business/First class) to incredible heat, humidity, no electricity until an hour ago, but the cold bucket shower will feel splendid.

Rachel and I are tired, hot, but energized by the children. We have night duty with one baby tomorrow night, so are turning in early tonight after a cold 'shower'.

Will send more tomorrow or the next day. The children are great!!

Peace and Joy,

Judy