Our days in Ghana are quickly dwindling down, and we are all trying to make the best of the time we have left here. That might just be why we haven’t been posting many updates to the blog. Oops. The time between our last post and now have consisted of a canopy rainforest walk on a suspension bridge (yikes,) slave castles in Cape Coast, a rockin’ church service, more teaching, of course, construction of bookshelves, and further library restoration. Not to mention, all of the seemingly small but significant moments in the midst of the very Ghana-esque relaxed chaos.

Over the weekend we had a long, bumpy ride all the way to Kakum National Park where we conquered the canopy walk. I was terrified to say the least, but I couldn’t be happier looking back on what I accomplished. It was an unforgettable experience for those of us who were able to go. Unfortunately, Rebecca and Hannah had to stay behind that day due to illness. That same day we drove again to Cape Coast to see the slave castles. Gaining a perspective on the history of Ghana was an important experience for us all.

Even after a jam packed, sweaty Saturday, a few of us including myself attended a service at a local Pentecostal church. Despite being obvious outsiders, the church was expecting us, and wanted to make us feel as welcome and a part of the community as possible. There was a lot of song and dance, which was not only enjoyable, but also extremely passionate. It was really indicative of the natural livelihood here that I feel we lack in the States. Nonetheless, the people here have unknowingly lent me quite a bit of wisdom just by showing me their way of life. I hope to bring some of that home with me.

Post weekend classes began again on Monday, and we’re now down to our two final days of teaching at Heritage. Some of us are gearing up for Dance, Music, and Theatre performances, and others are trying to plant their final seeds of knowledge into the kids. We’re also trying to finish up the library before we depart. Progress has been going strong and steady, sorting and labeling tons of books, but there’s much left to do. I think we are all feeling a bit pressured with the two days left to make the biggest impact possible on the lives of these students. Just their presence has taught me a great deal over the past eleven days or so. I just hope I can do the same for at least one of them.

I haven’t been able to sufficiently articulate our time in Ghana thus far with such limited space in this blog post, but at a glance, I hope I’ve given a bit of insight as to what’s been happening here. With that, our group is now pushing through to the end, and we will keep you posted on the coming days. It’s Ghana be great!

-Brooke