Greetings, Sojourners –
Finally!! Internet access!! This has been an incredible couple of days and there has been so much to share, but no way to do so. It’s been fast-paced, intense, emotional, purposeful, moving, enlightening and so many sights and experiences pulling forth a myriad of feelings. There has truly been a lot to process. In the last few days, I’ve been a surprised witness to a woman giving birth in a military hospital; I’ve experienced the chaos, vibrancy, joys, life and abject poverty of the Agbogbloshie market in Accra; received a truly exhilarating Coming Home celebration in the Village of Torgorme in the Volta Region, and over the course of twenty–four hours there received my Ewe name at a naming ceremony, spent the night in the home of a sister and her family in the village, took a bucket bath, became the brunt of laughter among the women and children of the village as a result of my lack of dancing rhythm, and had the chief of the village personally welcome me home and tell me he loved me and ask me not to forget about them. We visited the BaBa Blankets & Crafts studio in Accra and met the women who create these beautiful items; had a deeply moving visit and healing ceremony in the Female Dungeon at Cape Coast “Castle”, walked through the Door of No Return and walked back through the Door of Return; viewed the sacred site a few miles outside Cape Coast where slave catchers forced their captives to take their last bath before taking them to the dungeons of the Cape Coast Slave Factory (now known as Cape Coast Castle) and where the unearthed bodies of two African slaves era found in America in the last few years were brought home to rest; and took a canopy walk high above the rain forest at Kakum National Park. And these are just the highlights! There has been so much to process that I think I will just share some lighthearted observations of our journey while I come to terms with what we’ve experienced over the last couple of days.
I’ve noticed since coming to Ghana that religion and spiritual references are everywhere, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. On the taxi cabs, on the Tro Tros (small buses or vans used for urban transportation), as part of the names of business and shops, even on the side of canoes. I really sort of noticed them at first in passing, but they didn’t register with me one way or the other. But then I noticed that these names and scriptural references were everywhere and there seemed to be a reason behind the practice. I began to think about how many of these names, references or whatever you might call them I might find if I wrote some of them down. Our guide explained that the reason behind these distinctive names of businesses and services is simply marketing. The business owner wants to make sure that when you buy dry goods at Pray Hard Provisions Store or take a taxi with God in You Taxi, you will remember them and come back again. So I started writing down as many names as I could as we traveled through villages and towns and so far I’ve written three full pages and counting!
Here are some of the ones that I collected over the last couple of days – just for fun:
1. Believe in Him Body Shop
2. God in You Taxi
3. Mustard Seed Co-Op
4. No Weapon (with scriptural reference on side of a Canoe in Elmina)
5. With God Computer Shop
6. Still God Tro Tro Service
7. Victory is Ours Tech Service
8. Jesus My Redeemer Cold Shop
9. Blood of Christ Barber Shop
10. God’s Way Electrical
11. Anointed Tires
12. Saints Guest House
13. God First Caskets
14. Good is Good All the Time Cold Shop
15. Messiah Enterprises LTD
16. Jesus Says Catering & Messenger Service
17. Pray Hard Provisions Store
18. Glory Be to God Photos
19. Amazing Grace Shop
20. Abundance Grace Shop
21. My Joy is Divine Stationary Shop
22. God Our Redeemer Store
23. Messiah Phones
24. God is Good White House
25. God in Control Shop
26. By His Grace Barber Shop
27. Trust Him Chop Bar
28. Our God Reigns Enterprises
29. God is Our Light Shop
30. To God Be the Glory Fried Yams
And that is just the FIRST page of the collection. More later….
Abundant Blessings
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