This picture is my Friday's Favorite this week. Africans checking out the white man and his crazy pants...err shorts. I love it!
This was the start of our camping experience two weeks ago. Sixteen of us headed to Kpalime, a town about two and a half hours north of Lome that seems to be popular destination these days for Mercy Shippers. With plenty of waterfalls and good hiking, we partook in the Kpalime trend. We arrived to our destination to set up camp just yards away from many of the small surrounding African communities.
After setting up camp in the African village, we hiked a small mountain with our guide. Here we are, all sixteen of us at the top.
This is also where Leah learned to balance a pineapple on her head!
Our guide showed us the grasshopper with the "African Mask"..pretty crazy!
And since I moved cabins in January here is our first out-of-town roomie pic: Leah, me, Sandra and Suey!
We returned back to the campsite to get dinner as the rain was headed in. I saw one of the African ladies doing her routine walking the goats (which she did multiple times while we were visiting)!
Since we were practically in their village, we invited our hosts to hang out for the evening. They ate with us in their true African way (spaghetti with your hands)...
played games with us
and danced with us late into the evening complete with bongos and song - even those who you'd think would be in bed at that hour!
Look at this cutie hanging out with us in her pj's. With no running water, the kids were all so dirty, but so precious!
The next morning we awoke to the chickens ready to start their day at 5am. Or, if we weren't awakened by the chickens, then we awoke to some African friends who wanted to play bright and early with us and with the bongos. Check them out trying to wake up the neighboring tent!
Day two involved our trip to the falls. After our fresh fruit breakfast provided by the village locals, we walked with our guide and arrived to this:
where we had some fun playing in the water
(Juan looked too ridiculous to pass this one up)
...and we posed for a group shot (please note Tom on the upper left who missed out on the group photo by climbing the falls.) We had such a great time not only at the falls but just spending time in the village with the Africans and learning the way they live.
There is a quote that says "a mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions." Every weekend away continues to shift my paradigm and this weekend was no exception. So much of the world lives with so little - no clean water, no electricity, and no solid walls to surround their homes. These are basic necessities that we so easily take for granted in the west. We can read all we want or watch the documentaries on TV, but until you come for yourself and experience life on less than a dollar a day you don't fully comprehend the impact it has on you. I came to Mercy Ships thinking I was giving up so much of my comfortable life in the US to help the forgotten poor on this big hospital ship. But here on the ship, I still get my three tasty meals a day, a shower at my convenience and healthcare if I need it. Despite just a glimmer of this daily life in the African village, I know I still have so much more than these Africans will ever see or imagine in their lifetime, and that is a very humbling thought.
the grasshopper with the african mask is awesome!
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