Ghana Tastes: Day 60: It's So Hard To Say Goodbye

Accra - Today Brandi and I went back to church at Elim International Family Church where we worshiped in the presence of the Lord. I don't know if it was because it was our last Sunday in Ghana but it was emotional as we sang "How can I explain the unexplainable? How can I describe the indescribable?" The music minister Daniel Nete preached, it was his first time. He spoke around the question, "Who are you?" He said, "I don't mean, what is your name? I mean, what is your purpose? Why are you here?" He meant, why are you on this earth? He warned us against defining our identity by our positions or possessions. The church prayed for us at the end of the service, that we will be blessed with safe travel tomorrow. I encouraged Daniel with tears at the end of the service. Brandi and I left in silence, unable to describe this emotional experience in words.

We drove through the Makola Market to find the old Accra Ghana Railway Company buildings. As we arrived in front of the place, two policemen in the street were forcing every passing vehicle to the curb to check drivers licenses. They tried to make an issue of me driving with a foreign driver's license and were shouting when they threatened to take me to motor court. Having been in this position many times, I remained calm and let him go through his routine. Sure enough, at the end, he quietly encouraged me to give him some "gift" and he'd be willing to forget the whole thing. The whole thing? The whole what? I have an international driver's license and it is not illegal to drive in Ghana with a foreign driver's license. And because we were in the guest house truck I told him we were Baptist missionaries and it was against our faith to pay bribes. He was taken aback when I used the word bribe and he denied asking us for money. I was careful not to argue with him but after he saw I was not pulling out my money, he finally gave up and said, "Just go." I went.

We went across Kwame Nkruma Avenue to the UT Bank building where we found a security guard who gave us a place to park while we walked back to the Railway Station. Careful to avoid the policemen who were still pulling cars over, we snaked our way through a sidewalk market and through the gate of the old, deteriorating transportation center. See the pictures below. At one time this was a vital piece of Ghana's transporation system. Today, as you can see, squatters are living in the abandoned train station. Two rail cars sit frozen in time, inhabited by several families. Having researched the history of Ghana's railroad at the national archives, I plan to write a conference paper about it once I finish my master's thesis for Georgia State. We were nice to several disabled homeless Ghanaians at the station and we walked away from the area with several children yelling "O'bruni! O'bruni!"

We had lunch today at the Movenpik Deli on Liberation in downtown Accra. This late discovery must be added to the best coffee shops in Ghana. Brandi had a vegetable quiche with a salad and ginger ale to drink. I had a mince meat quiche with a cajun chicken sandwich, chips, and a pineapple juice to drink. I had coffee for desert as Brandi ate a chocolate mousse. We walked around the Movenpik Ambassador Hotel afterwards and thought of the irony. The standard room at this historic hotel costs the equivalent of the average Ghanaian's six week salary.

We went on to the Accra Mall . . . one more time. Brandi found fabric for about ¢14 per yard. She bought lots. We stopped by the Wild Gecko while we were out there but they are closed on Sundays. Back to the Guest House. Kofi let us in the gate and I parked the truck under the covered car park. We started packing our things for tomorrow night. Laying out all the treasures we found over the eight weeks we were here. With some sadness, we prepared for our flight home. We had planned to attend the Ghana Baptist Convention's Golden Jubilee Celebration at Black Star Square tonight but we just found out today that the event had been cancelled. The 50th annual session actually concluded this morning at Calvary Baptist Church in Shashie.

Kama Conference Center and home of the Elim International Family Church in Accra

Minister of Music Daniel Nete who also preached today at Elim International Family Church

Two thirds of the congregation at the Elim International Family Church of Accra

The initials in the Gate of the Ghana Railway Company

Frozen in time, the old railroad clock tower is motionless above a public space that now houses several homeless Ghanaian families

These tracks are silent, showing the way the trains used to go from Accra to Kumasi and Takoradi and all points in between. Notice the clothes drying on the ground.