Over the next couple of weeks, I thought I'd share some photos from our recent trip to Ghana, West Africa.
Ghana is located on the Bay of Guinea.
My husband and I and six others from our church flew into Accra, Ghana's biggest city,
which has almost 2 million people.
These first five photos are taken in the fishing village of Winneba, about 40 miles from Accra.
We stayed there for four days helping a local church.
These photos of the seashore don't reveal the extreme poverty that the people of Winneba
live in just a short distance from all of this beauty.
After our time in Winneba was over we headed inland to Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana,
with approximately 1 1/2 million people.
Our Ghanaian ministry friends and most of the projects that we do are in Kumasi.
On the way there we stopped at the slave castle in Elmira, one of the many slave castles in Ghana
from which the slaves were shipped to America, the Caribbean and Europe.
It's a very sobering, heartbreaking tour to take but we felt it was important for our team to experience it.
Our tour guide at the castle was quick to point out that slavery is not just a past issue but a current one.
We were told that right outside the castle children are "sold" to work for the fishermen.
Their lives are considered dispensable as many of them drown while diving.
I think it's a fact that wherever you go in this world, you will often find heartache in the midst of beauty
and beauty in the midst of heartache.
still following,
"...heartache in the midst of beauty
ReplyDeleteand beauty in the midst of heartache." So true!
Yes, it definitely is true! Thank you for coming by!
DeleteOh wow Elizabeth, thank you so much for sharing. I look forward to seeing more pictures from your journey.
ReplyDeleteI will share some more next week!
DeleteSo moving. Nice boat pictures. It would be great to go to a foreign land for a noble mission!
ReplyDeleteThe boats are very roughly handmade using axes. I saw some men making one while I was there.
DeleteLooks to be an interesting place to visit and very historic though I'm afraid not a place I would go
ReplyDeleteI didn't think I would go either, now I've been twice!
DeleteLove the idea of your sharing your photos with us since I will most likely never travel abroad, this is wonderful to see this part of the world through your photography and sharings. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll share some more next week!
Deleteoh the places you'll go ... from the book by dr. seuss but my goodness the Lord has you in His perfect path to bring love to a hurting world. i didn't know about the castle children and their {lack of} worth in the eyes of some. tears.. our church began and continues to support a ministry and college in ghana. so many folks native to the area are being brought up strong in the Word so they can venture out into the country (some go beyond) share God's saving grace. selah..
ReplyDeleteThere are many amazing believers in Ghana, great heroes of the faith, doing wonderful things!
DeleteWhat an amazing experience! I can imagine how heartbreaking it was to see beautiful signs of creation, yet be so aware of the imperfect mindsets and actions that result from the fall. Your quote, you will often find heartache in the midst of beauty and beauty in the midst of heartache. sums it up perfectly.
ReplyDeleteLisa, it really is true, right in the middle of poverty and the evidence of man's brokenness you will find beauty and the evidence of our amazing Creator.
Deleteslave castle seems like an oxymoron....it's sobering to think of the atrocities that have happened and continue to happen on this shore. You have captured it beautifully, and I look forward to more of your photos and stories. I dream of going to Ghana someday to meet Portia - a girl we sponsor. She's special to me because we share a birthday.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is an oxymoron. While slaves waiting to be shipped out filled the dungeons, they were having church on the upper level of the castle! Isn't that horrific? You would fall in love with Ghana. One thing I've found that is interesting is that poverty looks the same, whether in West Africa or Central America. The way people build shelter out of whatever materials they can find, selling what they can along the street, it looks the same.
DeleteWe think we have come so far and yet our world is actually full of issues like this, all of which are caused by poverty
ReplyDeleteMollyx
Poverty and greed in the heart of man are not a good combination.
DeleteThese are wonderful, Elizabeth. What an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWow, so many beautiful captures!
ReplyDeleteAmazing beauty in a land of such need! Thank you for sharing your photos and the truth of real life with us.
ReplyDelete~Adrienne~