I want to apologize for not posting sooner, but the continued power crisis has prevented me from using the computer as often as I would like.
Plenty has happened since the last time that I posted. I have spent much of my time getting to know the people of Brafoyaw. Br. Augustus and I often take walks into the town center to pass the time with the different persons gathered there. Each time that we go there I learn more and more about the Ghanaian culture and simply how Ghanaians interact with each other. Always following these short excursions is an enlightening conversation with Br. Augustus. We talk about issues facing the Ghanaian society on the national level and also in those that are often faced in the villages. I learn everyday how similar the problems faced by Ghanaians are to the ones people face in the States. More on that later though.
Because I have been delayed in keeping up this blog an important date is now about to arrive. Tomorrow morning I will be embarking on a long journey to visit the Northern parts of Ghana. I will be visiting places no Holy Cross student that has visited Ghana has been. My trip will first take me from here in Cape Coast to Sunyani, located in the Brong-Ahafo region, to stay with some of the Holy Cross Brothers that are beginning a new community there. After that I will journey on towards the booming city of Tamale in the Northern Region. From there I will backtrack to the famous Mole National Park where I will be able to see some large animals, like elephants and hippos, up close and personal. After returning to Tamale I will head up to the last large city before the Northern border with Burkina Faso, Bolgatanga, located in the Upper West region. After a day there I will leave for the city of Wa in the Upper East region. From Wa I will travel all the way back down to Sunyani and then back to Cape Coast to seal up this ten day journey.
I will be going alone on this journey and I am terribly excited about it. I will do well to take as many pictures as possible and also to jot down all of my thoughts onto paper so that I can eventually transfer them onto this blog.
I know that I am about to encounter places that will be vastly different from the Ghana that I have become so accustomed to. This experience will be one for the books I am sure. I will ask that you all keep me in your prayers while I am on this journey. And until I return...Nyame Inshirawu!...God bless you!
Just The Beginning
10 August 2007
The 2007 Summer International Experience in Ghana has come to end for the Holy Cross College students and they have now returned to the states. As I watched them walk into the airport after saying our goodbyes I knew that my experience was just beginning. It will not be a 2 1/2 week immersion into the culture of Ghana, but rather a year of my life devoted to the mission of the Holy Cross Brothers in Ghana. I can no longer find shelter from a large group of my countrymen. I recognize that I am a foreigner here. Ghana is not my home, but as a lay member of the Congregation of Holy Cross I am a part of a community to be found here.
Each day that I pray, eat, converse, work, and relax with the Brothers I am pulled closer to the vision of the Venerable Fr. Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross. A vision of life where professed religious and lay persons form intimate relationships and strive together to fulfill their mission of educating hearts and minds as well as the greater mission of preparing this world for the kingdom of God.
Of course to keep this in mind all day every day is quite a difficult task. I am an individual who struggles to stay consistent with my prayers and to always keep God in my thoughts. However, this is one of the greatest aspects of being close to the Brothers. Their commitment to prayer and service inspires me to work harder each day and to consistently keep God at the center of my life.
This is just the beginning of this experience and I have much more time to reflect and prepare before I begin teaching at the Home of Hope in late September. I shall do my very best to update this blog twice a week to keep all who are interested informed as to what the experience of a Moreau Fellow, or HCSC member, is like. So until next time Nyame Inshirawu! God Bless you!
- JD
The 2007 Summer International Experience in Ghana has come to end for the Holy Cross College students and they have now returned to the states. As I watched them walk into the airport after saying our goodbyes I knew that my experience was just beginning. It will not be a 2 1/2 week immersion into the culture of Ghana, but rather a year of my life devoted to the mission of the Holy Cross Brothers in Ghana. I can no longer find shelter from a large group of my countrymen. I recognize that I am a foreigner here. Ghana is not my home, but as a lay member of the Congregation of Holy Cross I am a part of a community to be found here.
Each day that I pray, eat, converse, work, and relax with the Brothers I am pulled closer to the vision of the Venerable Fr. Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross. A vision of life where professed religious and lay persons form intimate relationships and strive together to fulfill their mission of educating hearts and minds as well as the greater mission of preparing this world for the kingdom of God.
Of course to keep this in mind all day every day is quite a difficult task. I am an individual who struggles to stay consistent with my prayers and to always keep God in my thoughts. However, this is one of the greatest aspects of being close to the Brothers. Their commitment to prayer and service inspires me to work harder each day and to consistently keep God at the center of my life.
This is just the beginning of this experience and I have much more time to reflect and prepare before I begin teaching at the Home of Hope in late September. I shall do my very best to update this blog twice a week to keep all who are interested informed as to what the experience of a Moreau Fellow, or HCSC member, is like. So until next time Nyame Inshirawu! God Bless you!
- JD
Final Post from Ghana
On Saturday, Brother David presented information on African art. An extraordinary artist, he showed us pictures of pieces he has painted as well as art from previous periods in Ghana's history.
We then separated into three groups: painters, dancers and drummers. Br. David worked with students to paint three distinct symbols used in Ghanian art. The other groups met with Ghanian performing arts instructors who taught us dancing and drumming techniques.
Yesterday the group traveled to a neighboring village, Pedu, to participate in Mass at a local parish. The Ghanian people have a very lively Mass with an abundance of singing and dancing. The priest, who spoke both in English and Fante (the local language), welcomed us and thanked us for participating in the liturgy.
Last night Dr. Annan Prah spoke to the group regarding the Church in Ghana.
This morning Br. Paul Mensah led the group is a discussion regarding our experiences in Ghana.
Tomorrow morning we head back to Accra to prepare for our departure tomorrow evening. Several students will continue to travel to various places across the United States. The group traveling to South Bend should arrive at Holy Cross College around 6:00 PM.
We then separated into three groups: painters, dancers and drummers. Br. David worked with students to paint three distinct symbols used in Ghanian art. The other groups met with Ghanian performing arts instructors who taught us dancing and drumming techniques.
Yesterday the group traveled to a neighboring village, Pedu, to participate in Mass at a local parish. The Ghanian people have a very lively Mass with an abundance of singing and dancing. The priest, who spoke both in English and Fante (the local language), welcomed us and thanked us for participating in the liturgy.
Last night Dr. Annan Prah spoke to the group regarding the Church in Ghana.
This morning Br. Paul Mensah led the group is a discussion regarding our experiences in Ghana.
Tomorrow morning we head back to Accra to prepare for our departure tomorrow evening. Several students will continue to travel to various places across the United States. The group traveling to South Bend should arrive at Holy Cross College around 6:00 PM.
Emancipation Day in Ghana
The people in Ghana celebrated Emancipation Day yesterday. In the morning, the group traveled to a place where slaves were taken after walking for several weeks with little or no food or water and no chance to bathe. The slaves, still bound in chains, were led to a river where they were able to bathe prior to being sent to the dungeons in a "slave castle." There are several memorials dedicated to remembering all of those who were enslaved, especically those who persished.
Yesterday afteroon we traveled to a nearby slave castle where many people from Ghana and surrounding areas paid tribute to their ancestors who were slaves. The program began with numerous chiefs, many of whom sat in chairs carried by their subjects, parading the length of the viewing area. Those chiefs who were walking were escorted by a person shielding him with an umbrella. Numerous "queen mothers" also accompanied the chiefs. After numerous songs and prayers, the chiefs performed a cleansing ritual remembering those in Ghana who particpated in the slave trade.
This morning Br. Paul Mensah, Superior of the District of West Africa, addressed the group about the Congregation of Holy Cross in general and the district in particular.
This afternoon and tomorrow morning, we will be helping the local community with several projects: helping to prepare meals and fabricating cement posts that will eventually be used to mark property that the Brothers have acquired to build a school.
Yesterday afteroon we traveled to a nearby slave castle where many people from Ghana and surrounding areas paid tribute to their ancestors who were slaves. The program began with numerous chiefs, many of whom sat in chairs carried by their subjects, parading the length of the viewing area. Those chiefs who were walking were escorted by a person shielding him with an umbrella. Numerous "queen mothers" also accompanied the chiefs. After numerous songs and prayers, the chiefs performed a cleansing ritual remembering those in Ghana who particpated in the slave trade.
This morning Br. Paul Mensah, Superior of the District of West Africa, addressed the group about the Congregation of Holy Cross in general and the district in particular.
This afternoon and tomorrow morning, we will be helping the local community with several projects: helping to prepare meals and fabricating cement posts that will eventually be used to mark property that the Brothers have acquired to build a school.
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