Rainforests and Slavery

I would honestly be surprised if you are actually reading these forever long posts about each day here. I am so happy if you are, because every single minute of this week has been a blessing to me and I love sharing it. But, I have also been writing so much of this for myself...to remember later what happened and when, and what I felt about it. So, here we go with Day Six.

On Wednesday, we once again experienced all ends of the spectrum in our day. We began at the Kakum Rainforest Reserve, where we got to walk high above the rainforest on a suspended canopy bridge. It was a very fun experience and was beautiful to see a real rainforest! I actually got a little freaked out about halfway through as I started thinking WAY too much about the fact that I was suspended by ropes, hundreds of feet above the ground. And, it didn't help that my heavy-footed husband was walking behind me, making it creak and pop and sway with each step. Yikes! But, it was worth it. A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Of course, the first question Carlie asked when we told her was “What animals did you see?” Unfortunately, all we saw were some butterflies, some gigantic ants, and “the killer leaf”. Colin was walking in front of me on the trail and a big black leaf fell from a tree. I wish you were there to see the way he jumped. :) So, we documented the killer black leaf by camera and laughed that none of us could obviously handle a real jungle animal!

They do give you the option to come camp in the rainforest at night, where apparently the animals do come out and run freely. Our guide said he takes groups through the depths of the forest in the middle of the night with flashlights and a shotgun. Sounds perfect. :) It actually would be cool to see jungle elephants, leopards, monkeys, and all the rest! I just don’t know if I could handle it in the dark!

After the rainforest fun, we went to the other extreme of emotion. We stopped at the Cape Coast Slave Castle, to see what awful things happened there years ago. It was very hard.

Although the castle was beautiful, and was originally built to protect the gold coast in Africa, it quickly began to be a place of oppression and slavery. To walk into the dungeons where slaves were kept to either die or be shipped away to a life of captivity was surreal. I kept taking pictures so I could document it, but felt so guilty in a way for capturing snapshots so casually of something that was so wrong and evil.

We listened to stories from our guide about what would happen in each area of the castle…and then he brought us to the “Door of No Return”, where the slaves would leave the castle to be taken to the ships.

As we entered the Door of No Return, I literally gasped at what we saw. RIGHT outside the doorway were piles of fishing nets, which for our group, only represents one thing: modern day slavery of another kind.

As we looked off the pier right below where we were standing….right where slaves long ago lost their freedom…there they were.

Children mending nets in fishing boats. Modern day slaves WORKING with no freedom! It was almost too ironic to believe. Kofi confirmed what we already knew was true: These were trafficked children working for fishing masters.

It is hard to believe that a nation who has been scarred forever by its history of slavery in other countries, still has slavery right in front of its eyes. This is when my tears came. And, I could not stop staring at these precious children in these boats. I can’t believe it was so close to the slave castle. In fact, we found out later that Cape Coast slave castle is a meeting point for fishing masters to buy and sell children today.

Oh, the irony and heartache that is still there. Why does this continue?? There are actually many answers to that question…some of them too big to cover in a blog entry.

But, we have seen the Lord’s action on behalf of these kids even this week! Some meetings are taking place, and people in high places are noticing programs like Touch A Life. We got to see this happening firsthand this week, and it was so encouraging to know that movement is beginning on behalf of trafficked children! I pray that Ghana’s motto of “Freedom and Justice” is soon proven true for all of its people, including these little ones.

After touring the area, we headed back to greet the children after school, which is my favorite part of every day. Another wonderful afternoon and evening with them! This day was one of those “visits” from a woman from the State Department of the US. So, we got to do VBS for her! It was so wonderful to watch these kids praise God and sing their hearts out, as we learned about how much God cares for us and knows us and protects us.

Amy did a GREAT job personalizing pillowcases for each child, which they LOVED decorating. They turned out so cute, and added so much happiness to their bedrooms. It’s amazing how much they treasure these activities, and especially their own work.

After pillowcases, it was time for an ice cream party, more painting, and playtime!

The treat of the evening was the arrival of Brad Gautney! The kids loved meeting him, and we were so excited to add him to the team and get to spend time with him before he began his medical work the next day.

Of course, by Wednesday it was setting in for all of us that we did not have much longer with these kids. The children were beginning to ask how many more days we had, and I was already becoming emotional thinking about leaving these little guys.

Since I’m actually finishing these updates on the plane ride home, it’s hard to recount our activities without being a little sad. We had such an amazing week, and it went too fast as it always seems to do! And, of course...I'll be back with more. :)