Grateful in Ghana

Today was the first full day in Ghana, and it was absolutely incredible! I woke up at two in the morning to some howling dogs and crowing chickens. Mhmm, my favorite. When I got up for church, I had a nice cool shower, and I wasn't even sweaty after I finished! The weather was perfect!!! After getting ready and chatting with the staff (they are already like family), we walked down a dirt road, over the highway, and passed a bunch of churches on our way to Sacrament meeting. Ghana is one of the most special places I've ever been, and I think one reason is that most people have a strong relationship with God. The whole city was packed into every single building shouting praises to the Lord, and what a glorious sound it was. Sure, it wasn't a bunch of reverent hymns that I'm used to hearing, but the drums, guitars, clapping, and shouting still made me smile.

The ward in Ghana is amazing, and a few things really stood out to me. It was fast Sunday today, so everybody had a chance to bear their testimony. As we sat in a hot chapel with the windows open and the drone of ceiling fans almost drowning out the voices of those who went up to the podium, the Spirit was strong and spoke to my heart. Each person started by saying, "I am thankful to my Heavenly Father…" There was such a genuine, sincere, and powerful sense of gratitude. Simply being there made me feel like the gratitude was something potent and tangible that I could stuff inside my backpack. I just wanted that feeling all of the time, and I was so impressed by the humility of those around me. One woman said, "Heavenly Father has been so good to me that I can't even explain it…" When she spoke these words, I couldn't stop myself as the tears flowed from my eyes. After only a few days in Ghana, I have felt more love and gratitude for my Heavenly Father, my Savior Jesus Christ, and my family. I also have a strong conviction that it's more important than ever to surround myself with people that point me towards Christ.

After church, we met back at the Telecentre and had a short orientation meeting with an optometrist who works with the Crystal Eye Clinic in Ghana. I couldn't possibly emphasize this enough, but his humility is just contagious. He gave us a quick summary and training on our responsibilities (I'll walk you through those in a later post once I have more firsthand experience), and he also told us a few stories. He told us that he often works 80-100 hour weeks, even as a 45-year-old young father with many children, but he wouldn't trade his situation for anything. During his first week with the clinic, while on an outreach (a visit to a destitute village), he was only able to see 200 patients, and he had to send 100 back home and told them to come back next month when he would visit again. He squeezed a few more in, and the last patient he saw was a young mother who was blind in both eyes because of cataracts. He was able to schedule her for surgery, and the ophthalmologist was able to remove the cataracts in less than twenty minutes the next day. When he went back to the village a month later, the woman came running up to him with tears in her eyes and wrapped him up in a hug. She was able to see! I am so excited to be a part of something great. For those of you that donated money and helped me get here, I want you to know that your donations make a huge difference. The Ghanaian people would not be able to afford these surgeries or eye care if it wasn't for your help, and I also want you to know that the funds are not being wasted or handled carelessly. Not a dollar goes unaccounted for, and I am excited to work hard every single day this week to help as many people as possible have the opportunity to have better sight so that they can have better lives.

"More gratitude give me!"