Grace and Emily Dance!

Grace and Emily imitate the response of a Ghanaian soccer goal!

See the video below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puG2D541sjE&feature=youtu.be

Please Pass the Miralax!

by Rachel Ortiz (with input from the team)

Greetings from the ORU Anna Vaughn College of Nursing 2012 Ghana Team here at the Manna Mission house! Or as they say in Ghana, “Akwaaba” (Welcome) to our blog. The following is a brief account of the past 72 hours.

Day 1 January 26 (Leaving on a Jet Plane!!!)

We left Tulsa at 5:47 PM on a plane bound for Detroit. I think we were a major point of stress for the poor Delta employee who had to check our 24 bags and one huge box, while we played musical bags and shoes trying to keep everything under the 50 lbs limit. However, we all made it through security with minimal hassles. (Although Ms. Poore would like to add that Dr. Cattʼs Yellow Fever card was missing and that was enormously stressful. However, Dr. Catts was able to leave the airport and get back in time.)

We made it to Detroit early, but still had to “book” it to catch our plane to Amsterdam. Julianne had a race with a US Army service man on the way to the plane. Julianne ended up winning, but you might say that he had a slight disadvantage because Julianne was running on the moving sidewalk. We all had a great chuckle over this.

The plane taking us to Amsterdam was HUGE! It was quite the hike to get back to economy seating. We were a tiny bit disappointed that the plane didnʼt provide individual TV screens, but as it was the middle of the night and most of us fell instantly asleep, the disappointment was short-lived. We were served dinner on the flight. Matt thought that the barbecue chicken and “cheese sauce” had a strange consistency. I was being careful about eating the “cheese sauce” when I discovered that it wasnʼt cheese at all, but sweet potatoes. To be fair, Matt was practically inhaling his food as he was nearly starved by the time they served us dinner.

Day 2 January 27 (Still on a Jet Plane!!!)

Itʼs a strange feeling to wake up flying into a sunrise. Unless youʼve experienced waking up in a plane, it is something that is indescribable. We arrived in Amsterdam at noon local time. I found that my feet had swelled so much so that I could not strap my shoes. I was not alone, we all found our shoes somewhat tighter.

Our layover in Amsterdam was brief. We had just enough time to purchase some chocolate and hunt down Starbucks coffee (a necessity) before we had to go through security again. In the Amsterdam airport, you had to pass through security for each individual flight. The girls agreed that it wasnʼt too bad to go through the lines again because you didnʼt have to take off your shoes and the security guard was pretty cute! The European security even found a pair of scissors in Mattʼs bag that the American security had missed. The security guard was very pleasant and let us keep the scissors

if we promised to hand our bag over to be checked. She was very pleased when we complimented her superior job skills and she added that she “does it with a smile, even!”

Our KLM flight was amazing! We had individual screens, the greatest service, and pretty good food (as far as airplane food compares). We made no apology as we showed our “American”, snapping a ridiculous amount of pictures and talking perhaps a bit too loudly. After nearly a year, we were finally a plane ride away from Ghana.

Before we landed in Accra, they warned us not to take any pictures or video at the airport. We snuck a few on the runway before they bussed us to the terminal, though. All I could think getting off the plane was, “Holy HUMIDITY, Batman!” Bethany and Emilyʼs hair was curling up within minutes of our arrival.

Getting through customs in Ghana was definitely an adventure... There is a general disregard for lines and personal space. At that point, we had been traveling for over 24 hours and were all exhausted. We also had to find our 24 pieces of luggage and get them past inspection. We were stopped, briefly. The security guard had us open 3 pieces of luggage at random so that she could say she had “checked” it.

The staff from Manna Mission was there to assist us and we loaded everything into a small car and a 15-passenger van. Although, with all of the suitcases we were lucky to squeeze the eight of us girls into the two front seats. Matt and Dr. Catts rode in the car. I promised Matt that he would have this in writing: I WILL NEVER COMPLAIN ABOUT HIS DRIVING AGAIN. Our ride to the mission house was a near-collision at every turn. I discovered that there was good reason the pastor prayed for the safety of our journey to the mission house, before leaving the airport. Although, Ms. Poore let us know that our drive was not that bad, I was just not prepared for it at all.

We arrived to the house around 11 PM. We were greeted with freshly cut pineapple and cool, refreshing water. Dr. Catts brought out Shakira and we had an impromptu dance party. Hays and Emily showed off their Zumba skills, but it was Matt who impressed us all with his rendition of “The Jive”.

Day 3 January 28 (Not on a Jet Plane... Finally!)

The girls stayed up until nearly 2 AM putting their room together... We were all so exhausted but our internal clocks all told us that it was only 6 PM Tulsa time. We did have the opportunity to sleep in.

At 9 AM we were awakened for breakfast by Dr. Cattʼs singing a song about little birds. Breakfast consisted of fresh mango, watermelon, pineapple, bananas, and eggs. And of course, coffee! We have not one, but two wonderful cooks here at the mission house, Miss Vida and Miss Grace. We all agreed that there will be no losing weight on this trip.

Dr. Ablorh arrived around 10 AM to greet us and discuss some of what they have planned for us while we are here. We also got to meet Pat, Dr. Ablorhʼs assistant and our helper for the duration of our stay.

In the afternoon, Pat gave us an tour of the compound. It was so exciting to finally see where we would be working. Itʼs an amazing place.

In the evening, we rested. Grace, Emily, Julianne, Bethany, and Hays had the opportunity to see the Ghanaian soccer team play to qualify for a championship game. Ghanaianʼs love their soccer, or “football”. Matt, Dr. Catts, Ms. Poore and I sat in the living room and heard the roar of the entire populace scream for their team. They did win. Emily and Grace came home imitating the Ghanaian peopleʼs victory dance. 

Today January 29 (Happy Birthday, Kaitlin!)

Emily, Bethany, and Julianne went running at 6 AM. CRAZIES! I guess we have to get our aerobics points somehow.

Sunday is church day. And church is big business here. We started at 7:45 AM this morning and didnʼt arrive home until well past 1:30 PM. We were introduced to the Manna Mission church, all of the members were very cordial. For some reason they heartily laughed after Grace introduced herself, although for the life of us we couldnʼt decide what was so funny. They also gave a “hoo-rah” when Matt introduced me as his wife. After service, we went to Sunday school where we were told that we had exactly 32 minutes for our lesson. 62 minutes later, we were escorted to a van to take us to a different church where Dr. Ablorh was a guest speaker.

Once we arrived at the Agape House in Agapeland, we were taken to a Deaconʼs house to rest. They greeted us in Ghanian style, where they traveled around the room greeting everyone properly and bringing us food and drink. The house was so restful and beautiful. It was amazing to be in such a lovely place. (Side note: On the drive we passed a coffee shop called “Starbites” that mimicked the Starbucks logo. We are so going there soon!)

Agape House is a church run by American missionaries. This morning they were hosting a Holy Spirit Revival meeting, and the church was packed. Matt was using his camping fan when the blade flew off. It ricocheted off the pastor in front of us and nearly hit Dr. Ablorh in the pulpit. Needless to say, we were holding back the inappropriate giggles. On a sadder note, we never got the blade back, so the fan now sounds like a dying animal. The church service was filled with the Holy Spirit. Dr. Ablorh prayed a special blessing over each one of our team members.

Once home, we had lunch and a birthday celebration for Kaitlin. Lunch was left- over chicken and rice and fresh slices of Velveeta with saltines! Nian brought her hot sauce, which weʼve all been enjoying. Yum! Ms. Poore had brought Ho-hoʼs and put candles in them for a birthday cake.

Weʼve all gotten quite comfortable with each other. Dr. Catts and Ms. Poore had placed a bottle of Miralax on the table. Long journeys can sure shock the digestive processes. Weʼve all been celebrating like toddlerʼs after we go “potty”. After lunch, Bethany very sweetly asked Emily to, as if it was a perfectly normal thing to do, “Please pass the Miralax!” We have now started a memorable quote page and posted it to the wall.

I think that pretty much accounts for today and the past 72 hours. Tomorrow we begin our work in the hospital. Look for more posts to follow!