And the rains came. Actually, for the peple here, they continued. The country is mourning the loss of life in the Petrol station explosion two days ago when over a hundred people died while trying to find shelter from the flooding rains. We drove to the Cape Coast slave castles in heavy rain, but fortunately the rains lightened by the time we arrived at the Cape. Thus the rain jackets and fashionable ponchos.
The slave castle at Cape Coast is the smallest of the three main slave castles in Ghana, but it was built during the height of the slave trade. It was a sobering tour as we wound our way through the dark, musty male and then female dungeons where there was no light and little ventilation. If the captured Africans survived their time in captivity here (which was two weeks to three months), they were marched through the "door of no return" and loaded on waiting slave ships where they were stacked on top of one another. Many of them died on the ships, but if they survived they were immediately taken to the auction block where they were sold.
The castle is now a tourist attraction, but our guide, Sebastian, finished the tour by reminding us that slavery still exists, and that wherever and whenever we learn of its existence and have an opportunity to speak out and do something about it, we should not hesitate - in honor of slaves around the world who have suffered and died.
We know that slavery still exists in places like Lake Volta here in Ghana, where children are forced into labor after being taken from their families, or handed over to slave traders because parents are promised that their child will be fed, educated, and treated well. But these children end up as slaves, sometimes dying on the lake doing dangerous work. Our mission to transform villages through family preservation seeks to keep children from being separated from their families because of poverty. The slave castle seems a good place to begin our time in Ghana as we acknowledge that the world is a broken place, and that we can join God as He is fixing brokenness and making all things new.
So, on a lighter note, we had a delicious traditional Ghanaian meal at Tante Marie, a restaurant near the guest house. We feasted on jollof rice, red red, beef stew, and kebabs. It was a good way to end the day. We're repacking tonight and will take the flight to Kumasi tomorrow afternoon. Then it's on to Ankaase. Everyone is well. Still a little tired, but hoping to sleep long and well tonight and have a relaxing morning before our flight.
So, for one more evening, goodnight from Accra, Ghana. Next stop, Ankaase!
