This entire journey has been a lesson in patience. Every step of the way, there is waiting. It can be frustrating and yet, I know that every unexpected turn has been a "God Thing." Do you know what I mean? One of those things that when it happens you wondering WHY? WHY? WHY? and then, later, you completely understand the why.
I can't share all of these occurrences with you yet, but I'll give you my latest example.
I was supposed to leave Ghana Tuesday morning at 9:50. My airport shuttle ran late and I arrived at 8 am. Surely, this would still be plenty of time to board the plane (it is in the U.S. anyway). Nope. In Ghana, they do not let you check-in less than 2 hours before the flight. Even if you are in line waiting. 2 hours before the flight, they shut down and have no problem telling you to rebook for 2 days later.
As you can imagine, I was devastated by this. I was so ready to go home. There were about 15 of us in this position which was enough to cause quite a scene. One of the 15 was a soft spoken sweet natured woman named Agnes. Amist the yelling, Anges asked if I was alone in Ghana. Kofi had already moved on so, yes, I was very much alone. She then offered to let me stay at her house in Ghana. She explained that her husband was from Ghana, but he was back in the U.S. so, I was welcome to stay.
Now, in the U.S. this would have been weird and I would have likely declined. But, for some reason, it didn't even occur to me that this might not be a good idea. God Thing #1. I took her up on her offer and we were off. Her private driver took us back to her "House"...
When we arrived, I honestly asked if it was one house or many apartments.
"No, sweetie. This is one house." She sweetly replied.
She gave me the tour of what i think was a 7 bedroom mansion, all with their own bathrooms, large kitchen, dining room, living room and formal dining room with a baby grand piano. This was definitely a different side of Ghana than I had seen all week.
We kept each other company and got to know each other extremely well as we swapped stories about our travels and lives. It turns out that she lives in Ohio very near where the President of UjimaCare lives. God Thing #2. And, she is very passionate about helping the orphans in Ghana, but has only been able to do medical missions with her husband previously. God thing #3.
We determined within the first hour that we were meant to miss that flight and meet one another. I can only imagine where our friendship will take us, but I do know that had either one of us made that flight, we would not have met.
Thank you Agnes for your generosity in taking in a stray. I can't wait to see what God has planned next.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
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So delighted about your partial conversion to "patience". Guess you don't have to go to the market and buy a bag now sweetie. What a wonderful adventure you had with Agnes. Doesn't God really work in mysterious ways?
ReplyDeletethis is an awesome post! I love the pictures of the kids in dresses - your journey is amazing and I"m thankful to be able to follow it. Your trip and side track were definitely a "god thing" I like that - keep us posted - can't wait to hear.
ReplyDeleteSo happy you made it home. Can't wait to hear all of the details!!
ReplyDeleteWow! What an amazing story! Imagine if this happened at a US airport. An overseas flight is missed and you have two days before they will let you catch the next plane. Do you honestly think any wealthy or middle class American (you or me)would actually offer up their home to a foreigner who was stranded? I seriously doubt it! We are so self-centered it would not even cross our minds. We could learn a thing or two from the hospitality of our fellow humans on the other side of the Earth. An awesome experience Heather! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have read your blog with great interest as I am considering adopting from Ghana. I would love to e-mail with you, if you'd be willing to answer some of my questions. My e-mail is we-heart-africa (at) hotmail (dot)(com) Congrats on your referral and a succesful trip!
ReplyDeleteJenni
Wow, I got shivers reading your post. God is GREAT!
ReplyDelete