July 12

I AM in Damongo. This morning we went to a church service at the orphanage led by Abraham. The children were so beautiful. They started to sing and dance which was wonderful, but the most touching part of service were the prayer requests. When asked what the orphans wanted to pray for, each and every prayer was for others. Here these children are, with next to nothing in terms of material possessions, and they continued to care about the wellbeing of others. It was so humbling.

Abraham led a wonderful service. I stared in awe as I watched how he engaged both children and adults alike. Our eyes were glued to him and I fell in love with his energy. He told the story in both English and Gonja and transitioned so effortlessly which was also very cool.

Abraham told us about the complete lack of financial support the orphanage has received from the Ghanaian government. Although he is in love with his work, the stories that he shared made the physical and emotional distress his job brings very apparent. He has sacrificed so much for those children. His passion is an inspiration to me.

After service we got a chance to play with the children. I learned some hand games and sang some songs with the kids, which was great. They are such a delight.
They’re already calling me sister Zoë. I can’t even imagine leaving this place.

After lunch, Annie and I decided to walk back to the orphanage to spend some more time with the children. However, on our way home that evening we ended up getting lost. Walking along that dark road was unnerving. Luckily, we met a young man who was carrying water on his head. When we asked where Pastor Abraham’s house was, he immediately offered to take us there. He placed his jug of water on the ground and walked us fifteen minutes in the opposite direction just to make sure we made it there safely.

That kind of generosity amazes me. Most Americans wouldn’t even take the time to give you detailed directions let alone go out of their way to physically show you where to go. Although the amount of poverty in Africa saddens me, my faith in humanity has tremendously grown in my short time being here.