One of the learning curves about moving from the U.S. to Ghana (or to many other nations for that matter) is the different cultural perspective of time. Ghanian culture is more relationship oriented rather than task oriented. This can be very positive change from the fast-paced, take-a-number, disconnectedness one can feel in the U.S.
However, this people-orientation, combined with messy traffic, temporary electricity or phone line losses, and various other challenges, creates lots of opportunities to practice patience. Today when we showed up for church services with a congregation of hundreds, the first service was not out yet. The service started over thirty minutes late, but no one seemed to care. We just sat around talking, meeting people, and sipping drinks.
As we were leaving the parking lot after the service (an extremely energetic, two-hour affair) the car wouldn’t start. We piled into another vehicle to eat lunch, then went through a rigamarole later in the afternoon to get us all home. Our living arrangements have not been finalized, so all of us new people have been farmed out to stay with others. Still living out of our suitcases and feeling rather unsettled is another way that God is currently stretching us. Because of construction issues, school has been delayed another week, which might be God’s way of taking care of all of us who are still relatively homeless. But no one worries, stresses, or complains - at least not to the degree that you might find elsewhere.
Everyone just looks at each other and says, “This be Ghana.”
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