christianity in akropong

Hi everyone!

Many of you have told me that you read this email and I would just like to quick say that I really appreciate the support.  It means the world to me knowing that I have so many people back home thinking of me! I can’t thank you enough. 

The past few days have been a retreat to the town of Akropong.  On the way we were able to stop at the botanical gardens.  It was beautiful to see so many different trees and feel the fresh air outside of the city.  I even got to eat a starfruit picked right from the tree- washed of course!  It was very tasty.  We then finished our very beautiful bus ride up to Akropong to the Akrofi-Christaller Institute.  It is a seminary school with a focus on missionary work.  Akropong is where Christian missionaries first began to spread Christianity in Ghana- very fascinating history.  It is located in a beautiful area and the people are wonderful in the town.  I will post more pictures on Facebook soon.  Our first night there we learned about the history of the school and began to make a covenant as a group.  We discussed our challenges and fears so far on the trip and also how we can improve our spiritual disciplines through our experiences here.  It makes me even more excited to see what God has in store for me while I am here. The next day we had a series of lectures.  The first lecture was about Chistianity in Ghana and how they maintain their traditions.  It was quite interesting.  The next lecture was about Ghanian culture, customs, and gender roles.  That was very interesting to learn about and very useful.  Interesting fact: in Ghana it is considered very offensive to use your left hand to greet, gesture, point, receive something, or give something.  The left hand is considered dirty and the right hand is the clean hand.  This is incredibly hard to remember and I try so hard but I realize I use my left hand quite a bit.  This definitely will need to take a lot more practice.  Our final lecture was about Christian-Muslim relations in Ghana.  Unfortunately all I got out of that one was that they get along well here.  Sorry people my attention span was losing focus.  After finishing up our group covenant we watched a documentary on Christianity in Ghana that was pretty interesting.

After the lectures we went for a walk through the town.  As I said before, the town is so beautiful in its own way.   I will post pictures so that you can maybe attempt to see what I mean.   The kids are all so wonderful and adorable. 

Today we had a hike up the highest mountain in the world.  That is a slight exaggeration but it was quite the hike and the sun came out for the first time today so it was hot.  It was beautiful though.  The hike was also more fresh country air away from the city so I loved it.  We were also able to hike to waterfalls and go swimming below them.  God is such an amazing God and creates the most breath-taking scenery. 

It was a good retreat and I am excited to start classes on Monday and get into a routine.  I am ready to learn about this culture more and see what experiences present them selves to me.  I still miss home terribly, especially all of you people, but I am learning to appreciate where I am.  I thank you all again for the prayers and support.  I would not be able to get through this without you. 

Love to you all.

Ps. The internet is being lame so pictures will be on Facebook sometime soon.