It's Ghana Be Hard to Say Goodbye

“When do you leave?”

This question has become quite prevalent in these past few weeks, and as time goes on it gets harder to answer. At first the answer was “June 1st.” Then it became "In two weeks." Then it was “Next week.” And now, “Wednesday.” Just like that. In two days my life will never be the same, and quite frankly I'm not ready.

Over these past four months, Ghana has become home. It didn't start off like that of course, as there were so many difficult moments and challenges throughout this semester that I look back on and can laugh about now, but through it all, that's what it has become.

As it comes closer to time for me to leave here, it gets harder to face. It's hard to know that in just a few short days, I will never be in this country under the same circumstances with the same people ever again. And I'm not ready for that.

It's hard seeing people bringing full and overflowing suitcases and bags down the stairs as they get ready to leave. It's hard walking past a room that used to belong to your friends, but is now empty. It's hard going down to the first floor of ISH where we all used to sit around for hours and eat and talk, but the majority of them are nowhere to be found. It's hard seeing everything come to an end right before my eyes, and it's hard knowing that my time in Ghana will also meet its end very very soon.

While I know that as this chapter of my life comes to an end, God has a lot planned for the next chapter of my life– it is still hard. Goodbyes are hard. Goodbyes are always hard. Goodbyes were hard when I left for Ghana, and they will be hard when I leave to return to the U.S. The goodbyes I've already had to say to people were hard, and the goodbyes I have yet to say will be hard. There's no way around it. I don't think there's a such thing as an easy goodbye. Some are surely harder than others, but I don't think they're meant to be easy. Goodbyes are hard, and that's okay.

Although leaving Ghana and saying goodbye is hard, it hurts, and it's painful– I'm glad. I'm glad I came here and had an experience that makes it hard to say goodbye. I'm glad I came here and met people who make it hard to say goodbye. I'm glad I came here and made friends who make it hard to say goodbye. I'm glad I came here and got involved with a community that makes it hard to say goodbye. I'm glad that Ghana is a country that makes it hard to say goodbye.

When goodbyes are hard, it means you've been changed, you've been taught, you've grown. It means you have opened up your heart to be impacted by the people around you. It means you have allowed yourself to really be with others and grow relationships that matter. When goodbyes are hard, it means you've made friends, you've been a part of a community, you've found a family. When goodbyes are hard, it means you have loved and been loved well. When goodbyes are hard, it means you have given your heart and invested it into people who matter. And all of these things describe Ghana for me. Ghana has taught me so much. Ghana has caused me to grow. Ghana has changed me. Ghana has brought some amazing people into my life. Ghana has given me a family and community that I absolutely adore. Ghana has shown me love and helped teach me how to love. And I have surely been loved well here.

It's hard to say goodbye, but that's okay. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's hard to say goodbye, but that means it was good, it was a blessing. It means my heart is happy and full and I am so incredibly pleased. It's hard to say goodbye, but that means I have absolutely loved it here.

It's hard to say goodbye, so I won't. Pieces of my heart will always remain here. We're all familiar with the phrase “It's not goodbye, it's see you later.” But here in Ghana, it's not goodbye or see you later; It's “Mekwaaba” (I will go and come).

So, Ghana. It's been a blessing. It really has been. I am so thankful. I am so grateful. My heart is so very full. Everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly, has brought me to this point where it is so hard to say goodbye. It's hard, but that means it's been worth it.

Family and friends at home, I will see you very very soon.

& Ghana, mekwaaba.

Thank you everyone who's been with me on this journey, literally or metaphorically. Thank you all so very much for the prayers, the messages, the phone calls. Thank you for keeping up with this blog and the sweet comments you have given. Thank you for your words of encouragement and for cheering me on. Thank you all of my dear friends and family who have put up with this 4/5/6 hour time difference and my lack of a stable wifi connection. Thank you for listening to me rant and vent and dealing with my range of mixed emotions over the past month (y'all know who you are lol). Thank you thank you thank you.

I love you all so very much!

In Christ,

Elisha B.

I'm Ghana Miss It Here

And just like that, classes are done, finals are finished, my spring semester at the University of Ghana is complete, and I am officially a senior in college (where has the time gone!?). Before we know it, I will be on a plane headed home, getting adjusted back into “normal” life.

Now, before you ask. Let me answer.

Am I ready to come home?

Yes. Well, yes and no.

I'm ready to see my family.

Being so far away from them for so long has shown me to an even greater extent how important family is and how blessed I am to have the most amazing family in the world (yes, I'm biased, but it's still the truth). From my parents, to my siblings, to aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, this trip has surely given me a greater appreciation and love for all of them and I can't wait to be reunited with them.

I'm ready to see my friends.

From the friends that I consider to be more like sisters, to the people I can just laugh with for hours on end over the littlest things, to those who I just love running into at the least expected times around campus, I've missed all of them tremendously and cannot wait to be back to make the most of our last year together before we graduate.

I'm ready to see my church families.

Churches here are great, but there's nothing like the churches I attend back home. I miss being surrounded by people who have known me for longer than I can remember, and people who I have met just last year but have become like family and have poured so much into my life and truly transformed my walk with the Lord. I'm excited to come back and be in fellowship with all of them again.

I'm ready to go back to Agnes Scott College.

Never in a million years would I have thought I would miss it there, but I do. I really do. I miss my fellow Scotties, the professors, and the multitude of other campus staff that put a smile on my face when I see them. I miss going to Evans or Mollies (or somewhere in Decatur when those options don't sound good, lol) to eat with friends. I miss being able to walk to Chickfila (Seriously. I miss Chickfila so much). I miss studying in the library until 2am and then having to go to Campbell to finish lol. I miss pancake jam. I miss self scheduled exams. I miss having an honor code. I miss Pinky Promise and KC3. I could continue, but long story short: I miss Agnes and it took me coming to Ghana to realize how wonderful that school is. (I will still probably complain about it when I get back lol, but deep down inside I promise I love it.)

If you would have asked me if I was ready to come home even a week ago, you would have gotten a different answer. And if you ask me again in a week, I'm not entirely sure what the answer will be (so many mixed emotions these days). But for now, this is my answer. And while I miss all of these things from home, I know the second I get on the plane to go home, I will miss everything about life here in Ghana.

I'm going to miss sharing a room with my amazing and hilarious roommate who definitely made my time here 10000x better than it would have been if she were not here/if we weren't roommates.

I'm going to miss walking to the night market every day for fresh fruit or an egg sandwich or jollof or waakye or loads of other random things you would be surprised that can be found there.

I'm going to miss going to the first floor of ISH (International Students' Hostel) to eat and spend time with people from all over the U.S. and different parts of the world. People who have come from completely different backgrounds and various walks of life to all spend a semester (or year) in Ghana.

I'm going to miss eating fufu and banku and rice balls and ground nut soup and other local Ghanaian foods.

I'm going to miss eating with Ghanaians, together, out of one bowl, and with our hands.

I'm going to miss getting on tro-tros and being amazed at how many people they manage to fit before it is considered “full”.

I'm going to miss being able to buy water, ice cream, snacks, and other things out of the window of a tro-tro from people selling it on the streets, in the middle of crazy Accra traffic.

I'm going to miss bargaining with sellers at the markets and being able to buy things for almost (if not less than) half of the original price.

I'm going to miss being called “Oboruni” (white person/foreigner) by different people and being able to respond in Twi (local Ghanaian language), and seeing the looks of shock on their faces.

I'm going to miss being surrounded by kids asking “How are you?” over and over again at the excitement of seeing an “Oboruni”.

I'm going to miss hearing “You are invited” when someone around me is eating, and hearing “You are welcome” when arriving at different places.

I'm going to miss looking up at the stars in the clear night sky and being reminded/amazed at how big our God is.

I'm going to miss being greeted in Twi by my classmates who are always so happy to see me.

I'm going to miss the sunrises I get to see every morning and hearing the roosters crow.

I'm going to miss going to different parts of town with other international students to find American restaurants for different occasions.

I'm going to miss my Twi professor and all the times he started beat-boxing and dancing in class in an effort to get us to remember different words in Twi.

I'm going to miss feeling so ridiculous as I attempted to learn traditional Ghanaian dances.

I'm going to miss the random adventures around Accra with friends.

I'm going to miss having absolutely no idea what is going on 90% of the time but loving every second of it.

I'm going to miss going to plays, dance performances, and concerts on campus with my roommate, and supporting her when she had band performances.

I'm going to miss 7am Bible study every Friday morning with others who were just as eager as I was to see and be a part of what the Lord is doing here.

I'm going to miss seeing women carrying babies on their backs and just about anything on their heads.

I'm going to miss my ISEP group and our wonderful coordinator and her assistant. (Literally would not be here without them, so I'm extremely grateful for everything they've done).

I'm going to miss the workers at ISH and greeting them every morning as I go down the four flights of stairs (I will not miss those stairs. lol).

I'm going to miss being constantly surrounded by people speaking a language I can barely understand (but have enjoyed trying).

I'm going to miss my professors making sure that I'm okay when they make references to Ghanaian things that I have no clue about.

I'm going to miss hearing Christian music at random times in random places, and the joy I feel when it's a song that I know from home.

I'm going to miss walking around in the heat and being so relieved when it decides to rain.

I'm going to miss everyone at Mawulolo Youth Network, from the board members, to the other volunteers, to the children. (They have all been an incredible gift from God this semester and I could not be more grateful for the experience I have had with this organization.)

I'm going to miss holding children's hands as we walk through the village.

I'm going to miss the kindergarteners that I've been teaching for the past few months that have grown so near and dear to my heart.

I'm going to miss the beauty of this culture and everything I have gained from being here.

I'm going to miss being in Ghana.

Two more weeks and I'll be home. It's mind-blowing because it seems like just yesterday I was packing to come here, and soon I'll be packing to return home.

However, unlike in my last blog post, this time around, I'm content with the fact that I'll be home soon. I'm content with the time that I've had in Ghana. I'm content with the way the Lord has changed my heart while I have been here. I'm content with the things I have seen and done this semester. I'm going to miss everything without a doubt, but I am most definitely content.

I'm excited to see how God is going to use these last two weeks of me being in Ghana, especially since I no longer have classes to attend or exams to study for. I'm excited to see what God will continue to show me and how He will continue to share different aspects of His heart with me for His people here.

I'm surely going to miss it here when it's time to leave, but for now I'm living in contentment, eagerness and expectancy.

In Christ,

Elisha

I'm Ghana Make It Count

So, May 1st was the other day. Big deal right? Well yeah. My alarm woke me up that beautiful Sunday morning, and when I looked at my phone to turn it off, my heart dropped. I obviously knew a new month was approaching as April came to an end, but actually seeing the date made it a reality and sent me into a panic.

May 1st. Exactly one month until my flight home. May 2nd. Exactly one month until I land in Georgia. May 3rd. Exactly one month until I wake up in my bed at home in good ole Douglasville, Georgia, instead of waking up in my dorm room at the University of Ghana.

One month until life supposedly returns to “normal”. One month until I see family and friends whom I have missed so dearly. One month until I can get a long awaited meal from Chickfila (other than people, this is definitely what I've missed the most from home lol).

While one month may seem like a long time to those who are back home waiting for my return, for me it definitely seems to not be long enough. With only one month left in Ghana (a country that went from just being another place on a map to being a country where a piece of my heart will remain forever), I feel at a loss because I feel like I don't have enough time left.

I don't have enough time left to spend with the people who have come to mean so much to me. I don't have enough time left to fully embrace this culture that was once so new and so different. I don't have enough time left to continue discovering new things about myself as I discover new things about this country (and the world). I just don't have enough time.

And even still, though I may feel like one month isn't enough time, one month is plenty of time. As I am currently struggling with the thought of having to leave here in a month, I am reminded of a similar situation I found myself in this time last year.

It was the end of April, exams were about to start, and I would be moving out of my dorm in two weeks. I was having this same conversation with my Intervarsity (a campus ministry) leader, explaining to her that two weeks was not enough time for disciple making and there was no way I could reach out to those I wanted to reach out to with only two weeks left in school. And what she told me was true then, and it is true now. “God can do so much in two weeks. He can do so much in one day. He is not limited by your limited amount of time left here, He can and will still move.”

So while I could go on and on about how a month isn't enough time left for me to be in Ghana, I am choosing to look past that, and focus on the fact that God can do so much in a month. While my time here may be limited, He is not. He can and will still move while I am here and even after I leave. He can and will still use me in so many ways, even ways I won't realize, during my last month here. It seems like a short time, in fact it is a short time when you look at it in comparison to how long I've been here, but God can still use it.

I have a month left in Ghana, and I may not be super happy about it, I may wish I could stay here longer, I may want this month to go by as slowly as possible (sorry for those of you back home, I promise I'll be back soon❤), but more than any of those feelings, I have a month left in Ghana and I'm ghana make it count.

❤ Elisha