Some Observations after 1 Month

August 6, 2008

It is our 1 month Anniversary here in Kumasi. If I had thought of it earlier, I would have baked a cake. (Although, after baking two cakes for Katie’s Birthday last week, I think we have all had our fill of cake.)

On the one hand, I still feel like I am seeing Kumasi for the first time every time I leave the house. On the other hand, we have fallen into a rhythm that is quite comfortable for our family, which makes me feel settled and at home. It is an unusual experience to have such extreme feelings wrapped around a single place and a single experience. But such extremes seem to be common in Africa. Walking through our new neighborhood I was struck by the co-mingling of poverty and prosperity. I saw two flat screen TVs hanging in a large, lovely home a few blocks from us. Next door to them, a family lived with broken down mud brick walls and a scrap metal roof. Suffering and joy, also, seem to walk hand in hand.

As I hear pieces of peoples’ stories, I was struck by how many of our new friends lost one or both of their parents early in life, suffered through wars or draughts or flooding, people ostracized from their family because they left Islam for Christ. For all of them it could have left a mark of sadness or bitterness. And yet there is a joy about them. A happiness that is infectious at times. These extremes of life keep coming to me here in Kumasi. Even the dusty, dirty, messiness of the market is off set by the vibrant colors of the women’s clothing and the care with which the vendors arrange their wares. Kumasi is a city of extremes. It is a city that embraces life in its fullness, completely.