Taste and See

The past few days have been pretty interesting. On Saturday I went to Cape Coast, where I visited a slave castle and the Canopy Walkway. The walkway was a series of bridges (well, more like a plank of wood, held up by some rope) that your cross and look at the scenery in the rainforest. At least I think they said it was a rainforest.
Yesterday I got my driver’s license. That was an adventure! I started at about 9:30am. I went to the first room and discovered I didn’t have one of the necessary papers. So I called Caitlin, and she brought it up. Then I started over and was sent on a maze through all the different little rooms and stops you have to go through. I had a helper, and that was a blessing. I would have been lost without him! I’m not sure, but he may have bribed someone. Caitlin kept telling him before we went that we wanted to do it the right way, no matter how long it takes. I’m not sure what happened, but some guy is $10 richer! I finished up at about 12 noon.
Then I went grocery shopping. Ugh! I do not like these prices. That is something I’m going to have to adjust to. I’m one of those people that hate spending money as it is, but fifteen dollars for one container of cream cheese or a box of cereal? But I guess once I’ve been here long enough, I’ll think it’s worth it. I also bought a cell phone and a bicycle. I’m pretty excited about my bike. I am not looking forward to trying to drive here. I just know I’ll end up running over some boy trying to sell me a picture of Barak Obama.
Tomorrow I’m going to Nalerigu! I can’t wait to get settled into my house. I’ll post some pictures soon! Thanks for your prayers!

Oh, here’s my address if you want to send me packages!
Angela Bell
Baptist Medical Centre
Box 50
Nalerigu via Gambaga
N.R. GHANA

OK, so I'm in Africa. I keep having to remind myself of that. It is still a little hard to believe. I finally made it. But not without my usual flight delays, of course. At least I wasn't delayed for 5 days, like my first trip to Africa.
Things have been going well in my first 24 hours. I got in around 9:30 last night. I chilled with the Walker men (two brothers here on a volunteer trip), spent some time on facebook and skype, and then went to bed. Today I'm just hanging out and getting rested. Right now I'm watching The Next Karate Kid! :)
Tomorrow we're going to Cape Coast. I'm not really sure what that is...but I'm sure it will be great fun.
It's weird, but I'm thankful that my flight was delayed. It was a reminder that I need to be flexible. I was spending so much time worrying about what I needed to bring and how I would get it there, that I wasn't really remembering why I was even going. This helped to slow my mind down so I could really think about the real reasons I'm here. I'm here because this is where God wants me. And if He wants me here, then everything will be taken care of. It may not always be easy...but He will always be here with me. Thanks for your prayers! :)

LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. Psalm 139:1-3

Okay, I'm going to try this whole blog thing again. I keep forgetting about it!
I'm now at the end of week 3 of orientation. It's basically awesome so far. I'm learning so much, I'm just praying I'll retain half of this information.
This past weekend, the people going to West Africa went without electricity and cooked all our food from scratch. We wanted to get a little taste of life in West Africa. It's amazing how much of a reflex it is to just flip on the light. I found myself reaching out several times. You really have to change the way you do everything without electricity. No email, facebook, or itunes. No popping anything in the microwave. The cooking was intense. We met around 10 in the morning to cook lunch. Around 1 we cleaned up. At 2 we started dinner. By the time everything is cleaned up, you're out of daylight. It really taught me about using my time wisely. But I did get to enjoy getting to know my small group a little better. They're all great people. I'm hoping to see them sometime on the field.

God's been teaching me so much since I've been here. I think what sticks in my mind the most is just getting into His Word. It's beautiful. One of my goals while I'm here is to really make my time with God deeper. It's so easy to get caught up in life and business, that you just rush through a chapter in the Bible and say a quick prayer. In America, we tend to rely on the church to meet our spiritual needs. I can tell you that is just not enough. God has so much to say to you when you just take time to listen. If I didn't take time every morning to just be with God, I don't think I would make it through orientation. I am enjoying my time here, but it is hard. There is so much information to take in and so many people to meet. I'm just not strong enough on my own. Thankfully, I don't have to be. He gives me new strength every morning.

"Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!" Psalm 147:1

Hello all! This is my first blog to ever write. I'm just learning about it. Hopefully I'll be able to make my page better later.