volta trip.

The Volta Region is gorgeous and our time traveling was interesting, exhausting and exhilarating! Leigh and I made really good travel partners as we had a skeleton plan and were both not taken a back when the plans changed due to waiting for trotro’s or anything that would make the trip’s timeline go out of whack…it was nice.

Probably my favorite part of the whole trip was riding public transport the entire time. You just meet so many interesting people. Well and some who like to drool on you…that’s actually not so much fun! You’re asking, “so did that really happen?” oh yes.

On our leg coming home Leigh was sitting by an incredibly drunk man who wouldn’t stop asking her to marry him. She’s very polite and kept saying “you don’t know me,” but he wasn’t getting the picture. At that time there were three people sitting on the back row of the trotro including drunk guy, Leigh and another small boy. There really wasn’t a lot of room, but then we picked up five more passengers to make an 11-passenger van actually seat 20 however, that’s normal here. So I scooted on back and plopped myself between Leigh and said guy. I wasn’t very nice because he was being so crude to my friend and then he started spitting out the window and I was just praying God please don’t let him throw up on me. I actually prayed that when he missed the window and spat on his arm. So I’m riding along and about 10 minutes later with guys’ head bobbling up and down at every bump because he’s apparently passed out I have a wad of saliva hit my arm. I’m talking about enough to fill a cup. Sorry I know that’s gross, but imagine it on your arm! As I’m wiping it off I made a very Ghanaian grunt, it sounds like this (eeeeeeeeeeyyyyyy) short and loud. When all 20 people in our 11 seater van turned around to see the obroni freaking out over some spit I decided maybe I should laugh, but not without telling the young man he needed to stop drinking so much because he didn’t even know what he was doing. And then honestly God softened my heart towards this guy. For some really sad reason he was drunk that early in the day. I don’t know why but even having him spit on my made me more compassionate for him somehow. Don’t ask it’s just one of those God things… Anyway all this to say it was an interesting ride.

I would say throughout this trip God strategically put people in our paths to help guide us around, give us great information of what trotro to take where and most of all interesting people hiking and budget traveling like us. We met several people doing great work in Ghana either via ngo’s or volunteer programs. We met several people that asked us what we ‘are doing’ in Ghana as from the west that’s usually our first question to each other. Once we explained we were here trying to live out a life with Christ in the center and said that stereotype bringing word ‘missionary’ we had responses such as “oh I didn’t know those still existed,” or “yeah I don’t believe in God.” So it was exciting to get to know them better and hear more about their thoughts of this ‘Godless world.’

But I would say above all else seeing the Ghana countryside was amazing. It’s so beautiful in the Volta Region. Green luscious plants everywhere and rolling hills with waterfalls. You just can’t beat being in the majestic mountains seeing so many different shades and echoes of the Most Creative.