clair027

Along the coast and waterways of Ghana, fishing is the most common form of livelihood. During a recent family outing, the boys and I experienced first hand the hard work required of fishermen (and children, unfortunately). We worked for about an hour helping to pull the net in. I'm guessing their net was about 200 to 300 yards long. These fishermen were working the Volta river for their catch. Their net was about 1/10 the size of some of the ocean nets I have seen. I can't imagine the endurance required to fish the ocean.   The net was put out by boat in a horseshoe shape. Two teams of fishermen were at each end of the horseshoe working the net from the beach. We pulled at a steady pace, drawing in the net until our catch was on the beach. By the time we heaved in the net, I had blisters on my fingers and nearly exhausted back, leg, and arm muscles. My pride wouldn't allow me to give up before we pulled in our catch - I was so thankful when we finished. However, the majori...

We have arrived back in Ghana after a short 6 week furlough home.  Short is an understatement.  The time at home was a tremendous blessing but I found myself longing for more time, more conversations, more hugs, more connections with those I love... Now, we are back in Ghana and facing another transition for our family.  Parts of coming back are wonderful, and parts are stark shoves back into the reality of life here. Yesterday we drove to church and passed a woman wrapped in a rice sack for clothing... Young ones who know us chased down our car at the toll booth.  I think they were there selling water to support their family... Hugging some of the kids at the orphanage brought tears because I know parents on the other side of the ocean longing to be the one hugging their child.  Oh, I hold them tight.  For now, to a small degree, our family stands in their place to express love... We've been without power and could not run the generator.  We've enjoye...