Home sweet home!!!

The final leg of the journey is complete!! And im back in the land of the Irish after what felt like a long long journey from Lome.

The flight was pretty uneventful other than the fact a gentleman 2 rows in front was pretty ill most of the flight - so at one stage most of the cabin crew were crowded around him (and there were a lot of cabin crew!!) along with a doctor who was on the flight!! There was no chance of any sleep at all, so I was very jealous of the guy seating beside me who pretty much slept from sitting down in the seat until we landed!! I can never understand how people can do that!! So 2 films and many episodes of Friends later we landed in Paris at Charles De Gaulle.

Then the long wait began...my connecting flight to Belfast wasn't for another 12 hours!! Any other time I might have gone too check out the sights of paris but I was in no fit state to go any where. So i tried to find somewhere quiet to sit down for a while. I happened to pass the multi-faith prayer area so i decided to check it out. The christian area was empty so i went in and sat down thinking this was the perfect place to spend some time thinking not to many people would be around. I guess with it being a sunday morning I was wrong shortly after that i had fell asleep listening to my Ipod when a couple people started coming in...before i knew it I was in the middle of a service of mass and even ended up giving one of the readings!!! Certainly an interesting expereince when it was all in french!!

The rest of the day was spent moving from seat to seat trying not to embarrass my self by falling asleep in any strange positions!!

Eventually it was time to check in and make my way to the boarding gate - here I knew I was on my way home when i heard the Northern Irish accents all around me...finall i was no loinger in the minority!! :) I did get chatting to a couple who were coming home from holiday, so i told them a little of what I had been doing and to my amazement when i said I had been in Ghana living near Kumasi the gentleman said 'oh yes i know it', apparently his uncle had lived there many years before working in either the univerity or college!!

Our flilght was delayed a short time and by that stage i though i was going to go out of my mind if i had to sit in an airport any longer!! But i held it together and boarded the flight (which Julie Dillon got off...walking past us on the walkway - not even waving having not seen me for three months!!! ;o) ) bound for the homeland!! The last leg of my long journey and my big adventure is nearly over.

But there was one last hurdle to get over...bags!! Would they be there or not and well they weren't!!! I had them checked through from Lome to Belfast Internetional and well it turns out that Easyjet dont do baggage transfers!! I didn't know that and well the airport staff at Lome didnt know that either - Im not surprised really they hadn't even heard of Easyjet!! So i'm currently waiting to find out if my bags are making their way from Paris or not!!!

Then it was out in to the cold Belfast evening for the final pick up by mum and dad, there was only a slight panic as we drove off on the wrong side of the road and went round the roundabout the wrong way but I soon settled.

So my big adventure is over...or is it!! No, it's never over as every day is new and different, you never know where God is going to lead you, what challenge He will put in your path or who you are going to meet.

Life is a big adventure :)

God is good...

...All the time...Praise the Lord...Amen


The last 24 hours have certainly been heart stopping!!

I arrived safely in Lome yesterday morning to be met by Gerard and Fidele, friends from the Methodist Church Headquarters here in Togo. It was great to see them again and I am very grateful for their help with all things french.

So after settling in to my hotel Fidele took me to the KLM/Air France offices to confirm my ticket flying out on 6th Sept (tonight!) as it had been changed in Accra...something that I thought would be pretty straight forward. But no it did not turn out that way!! The lady we spoke to informed us that I did not have a reservation despite what it said on the sheet I was holding and the plane was full to capacity...no seats what so ever. The only thing I could do was have my name put on the standby list and pray...after that there next availability was 16th September!!! I could not believe what I was hearing!! I was so glad to be able to laugh about it...if I hadnt I think I would have went mad! And the lady did manage to smile and laugh a little when I asked was there no seat what so ever...what about the pilots...could I have his seat??

So we left the office and I was in a slight state of shock...all we could do was come back this morning ay 9.00am when the offices opened and pray there was a move on the standby list. We headed to the Methodist Headquarters to tell Gerard the news and he was just as shocked. We started to think of plan b and he rang around some other companies to see if they had any flights leaving Lome this weekend for Paris. We found one with Air Ivoire leaving on sunday night so i provisionally booked a place on it...just in case nothing came of the stand by list!! That was all I could do, so I can honestly say last night was not the most restfull of mylife so far!! Most of it was spent on the internet (thankfully my hotel is fully wireless) looking at ticket possibilites as I was not totally convinced by the Air Ivoire choice having looked at the itinerary more closely. There were about 3 stops - the first being in Accra!!! Then somewhere like Abidjhan before a stop in Paris which then went on to Paris!! 24 hours in total to get to Paris...not exactly something to look forward to!! So not only that my mobile battery was fast waning and well my charger was broken!! I had not expected to be making so many calls and texts between Accra and Belfast as Janet quite rightly put it, it was like something out of a horror story...lol!!!

So I slept some and was up and ready to leave for the KLM offices at 9.00am!! I actually felt so ill on the way there and sitting waiting for our little number to come up to see if I was coming home or not!! Then it was our turn...Fidele and I made our way to the desk for what felt like judgment - yes you allowed in or no sorry your not coming!! Praise God it was a yes!! The lady who dealt with us yesterday seen us and smiled saying 'oh its you, yes your on'. I dont know what happened, if someone cancelled or what and well it doesnt really matter anymore cause I have a seat on the flight :) it was the miracle I and many people had been praying for, for me! Such relief I do not ever remember feeling before...I'M COMING HOME!!! So with Fideles help I was ticketed for the flight and she managed to help me find a phone charger...amazing!! In a couple of hours I will be on my way to the airport extra early - there will be no stopping me getting on that plane now and I will still be praying right up until I touch down on the tarmac in Belfast tomorrow night!! :)

So a big thank you to everyone who was praying and standing with me, it is so appreciated and for all the texts, facebook messages and phonecalls of support and well wishes, they were amazing.

I'll be seeing you all so very soon!

Last days....

So I am now safely in Accra – the first leg of my journey completed.

So how were my last few days at the lake?

Most of my time was spent trying to tie up loose ends regarding the construction project, trying to relax a little and spending time with friends. The team from Dunwoody UMC were here with us until Tuesday afternoon so there were literally hundreds of patients waiting all day Monday and Tuesday. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the compound so busy! So it was nice when peace and calm returned on Wednesday!

Rebecca and Lucas have been talking about the world in school so we had the globe in our house...i thought this was the perfect opportunity to get an intercontinental picture as there were 4 continents represented in the room at the time!!


Rebecca – North America, Me – Europe, Michael – Africa and Lucas – South America...what an international bunch we are!!

I also had lots of goodbyes to say and on Wednesday afternoon took the opportunity to say thank you and goodbye to all the construction workers – masons, labourers, plumbers and electricians – all of whom I have become very fond of, they are all awesome guys!! It was a common sight to see on of them hanging out a window or on top of a nearly finished wall shouting Abena, Abena Louise as I walked up and down the hill. Always trying to test my Twi which never quite lived up to the standards they thought I had reached!!!


On Wednesday I was treated to my final lunch by Michael (who had become a regular chef in our kitchen!) and Abena Rebecca. We sat down to a feast of Yam chips and peppe (?) one of my favourite dishes and of course Avacado which they seem to be able to eat at every meal...i don’t understand it myself!! ;o)

So that was my last day at the lake the end of a blessed time and I feel very privileged to have shared my summer with some very special people.

The Jernigan Family with their 3 mad interns.


Final moments in the house.


Today Rebecca and Michael came with me to Kumasi, i had never been to the market and well this was my last opportunity and it is huge!! There are little wooden stalls everywhere with narrow walkways between them. It was very crowded with many many people walking up and down often with 'Wide-loads' on their heads so we often had to duck to let them past!! It was pretty crazy with many interesting sights and smells but definitely had to be experienced before i left!!

Then it was to Pizza Inn for a farewell pizza before goodbyes at the airport!!




And finally Rebecca...you never know where Tweety will turn up!!!

The Last Supper!!

Well this is my last entry from the lake…wow!!

I will be leaving very soon for Kumasi where I will fly to Accra later this afternoon, and so my journey home begins!

It has been really tough saying goodbye to everyone whom I’ve come to think of as family. But I know that bond will never be broken as we will always be united through Christ no matter where we are.

One moment I want to tell you about for now. Last night Michael and James came over for their last visit along with their friend Eric who is visiting. James has been saying at dinner practically every night since Sunday that it was the last supper…and well tonight it really was. We shared in our last supper together, sharing in fellowship, laughs, memories and a few tears over Sprite and cookies. True communion with friends who are loved greatly and will be missed very much indeed.

Ankaase Community Service...

There is currently an American mission team from Dunwoody United Methodist Church here with us at the clinic on a brief visit as they are only staying 4 days on site, today being their last day. They have a medical team which is providing free consultation and drugs to many many patients and as i write they are a couple of hundred people waiting and it has been the same the past couple of days. People have come from villages all around the lake for the free clinic. They also have a construction team who are helping out on the building site, helping with electrical work and anything else that needs done.

On Sunday past we took part in another community church service. This time in Ankaase (which means under the orange tree).

While we were waiting for the service to begin Rebecca and I took the opportunity to sit by the lakeside with some of the local children who sat with us and talked to us and then joined us during the serivce.
People always make an effort to look their best on a sunday morning for church and this little guy was actually wearing a 3 piece suit.


Each church had their own meeting to take care of any business/announcements and then came to join us at the lakeside under the trees which was thankfully shaded and nice and cool, and it was great to see some of the workers from the site who live in Ankaase there with us.


Each church took part in the service whether that was leading the singing or praying.
Ankasse Methodist choir

Rebecca and I read the 2 lessons in English - being introduced as Abena Junior and Abena Senior to distinguish between us as we both have the same day name! - then a member of one of the local congregations read it in Twi.

Andrew and Michael then spoke to the crowd from Matthew 25:31-49 - the parable of the sheep and the goats.

Andrew was clearly having far too much fun!!

Which for me was particularly poignant as the first time this passage really struck me was when i spent some time in Uganda. So to be back in Africa and to hear this passage preached on was very special.

Of course there was plenty of dancing and singing with Grace one of the clinic ward assistants making sure that Rebecca and i didnt sit still for too long!


In the afternoon the team led a 'Vacation Bible School' in Ankaase.


We took over the football pitch playing games with the children, unfortunately the weather didnt really hold back long enough for the full programme to take place but the many kids who came (probably 2-3 hundred) all seemed to enjoy there afternoon with the team.

One memory i will go away with is dancing with a group of women looking over the field. Beetrum was playing some twi songs over the sound system so Rebecca and i started to dance - as we do anytime we hear music :)
Soon we were surrounded by a number of women young and old, only too happy to show us their moves and smiling with delight as we copied them. Sometimes we worry so much about not being able to communicate or talk to the people in Twi...but sometimes words arent even needed and this was one of those moments - those women were just happy to spend that time with us dancing, smiling and laughing.

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!
Psalm 30:11-12 (NLT)