Bon Voyage and Best Wishes, Kristen “Kay” Edwards and of course, George Ostrom, Tracee Mendenhall, and Laurie McMahon
Wake up, eat breakfast, pack our bags, and set out on an excursion to seek out one of Laurie’s students for a final goodbye. So begins our last and final day here in Ghana.
As Laurie so deftly put it, it is a bittersweet moment, if nothing else. I’m sure I speak for the group when I say that I am truly torn between two completely overwhelming emotions: Elation at the prospect of returning home to the friends and family I have built my life around, and despair at leaving behind those who I have grown to care so very much for these past three weeks. Though it seems such a short period of time on paper (3 weeks… 22 days… 528 short hours), the circumstances under which we have bonded have led us to forge relationships that are often years in the making. It is with that in mind that we all say a tearful farewell to those individuals who have been our family and our support system throughout our stay.
To Bless (“Rah-rah”): Thank you for the wonderful food, your kind words, your wonderful company, and of course, for teaching us all the correct way to play Uno. I wish you and your daughter the very best that life has to offer!
To Millicent: We never saw much of you, but you kept us full and happy every day here at the St. James! Thank you for the hard work and dedication!
To the rest of the St. James crew: Thank you so much for sharing the guest house with us! You provided us with a temporary home, and we will be forever grateful!
To the host community (the schools in New Akrade, and the library in Senchi): Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to come here to Ghana. You welcomed us enthusiastically, taught us what you could of your culture, and above all else, trusted us with your children. Though we came here with the intention of giving what we could to you, you have given so very much to us in return.
To Amo: We will miss you buddy! I am sorry that we didn’t see you the last two days of our stay, but thank you so much for all of the work you have done and for all the time you dedicated to seeing us safely from site to site. Thanks also for assisting us all with our Twi!
And finally…
To Esther: Please don’t ever underestimate how very much you mean to each and every one of us, and just how profound an impact you had. I know you think you are just doing your job, but you made what we did here possible through your kindness, your diligence, your patience, and your willingness to put up with us crazy obronies. You kept our make-shift family whole and safe! We love you and will miss you greatly, but we will all no doubt meet again! Oh… and we promise not go swimming without our lifejackets.
That said, though we part ways to return to the lives we so briefly left behind, we, one and all, leave a little piece of our hearts behind with the Ghanaian people who welcomed us with such open arms.
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