Exams, Togo, and LDSSA

What an incredible week! It is hard to believe that my classes at the University of Ghana have ended and we are now entering the time for examinations to begin. I completed my first drumming exam today and I think that I passed with flying colors! I didn’t even mess up once and I received compliments from all of the drum professors who were there. I have my dance exam tomorrow, another drumming exam on Wednesday, and then it is off to the Northern Region of Ghana for a few days before I have more exams and performances.

This weekend I traveled to Togo! This is the country just east of Ghana. We traveled there by trotro for about 4 hours to the border city of Aflou. We passed through the Ghana side, and then went to the Togo side for our visa applications. Within just a few hundred feet, the atmosphere completely changed. There was something exhilarating about crossing a border that is hard to describe. There was a feeling of nervousness and excitement as we received our stamps in our passports allowing us to go into another country. It seriously made me so excited to fill up my passport with more stamps!

While in Togo we walked along the ocean line about 30 minutes away from the border to the hotel Le Galion. Togo is a French speaking country so we were lucky to have someone in our group who spoke French so she could translate for us. We ate out that night for my friend Rose’s birthday. On Saturday we woke up at 5:30 so we could walk to the beach to see the sunrise. It was SO beautiful! In my mind I was thinking how incredible it was to see the sun rise in another country. We spent the rest of our time eating French food, walking around the market, and relaxing at the beach. One of the scariest/best parts of the whole trip was riding the moto-taxi. In Togo they don’t use trotros as the way for public transportation, they use motorcycles to take 1-2 people around. I was scared to get on because of my nerves for riding something with two wheels but I managed to do it (twice I might add…) and I LOVED it! Such a great weekend.

On Sunday I taught the primary class for the first time. I think the class went well but I was just nervous. I think that the next time I teach I need to be more interactive with the children so that I don’t lose their attention haha. I registered for my last semester at USU! I am really excited for my spring semester schedule. I do not have too many classes but I will be working hard on my thesis and preparing for my internship. I am still in the process of deciding where I should apply but I definitely have it narrowed down to about 8 different sites right now. It is just hard to apply at this time because I need a lot of documents/recommendation letters that I cannot get while I am gone.

Something unique that happened today (Monday) that made the world a whole lot smaller for me…  I went out to eat lunch with 2 girls who I met at church and are here to do some volunteer work. They are about 18-19 years old and I met them at church. One girl told me that she is from California but spent her last year of high school at a boarding school in Utah. When I asked her what school she went to she said she attended West Ridge Academy!  She graduated in March from WRA and then I started working there in May! How crazy is that?!? It was good to talk with her about people that we both knew and things that we both knew about there.

The last thing that I wanted to share was an experience that I had tonight at our last LDSSA Family Home Evening meeting. Before we began the lesson, the LDSSA president had me come up and announced that this would be the last time that I would be with the group. He then proceeded to invite any of the LDSSA members to come up to the front and share any departing thoughts with me. About 8 different people came up and shared some stories and thoughts about my involvement in the LDSSA group. There were words that were shared which I will never forget. Sometimes you never know how what impact you will have on the lives of others until a moment like this. I was able to share my gratitude with them for their faith, their friendship, and their firmness in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This group of students has truly been examples to me of those who let their light shine for those around them. In closing, Daniel and Lizy sang a duet to the hymn “Each Life That Touches Ours For Good.” This song holds a special place in my heart because it was sung at my Grandpa Truss’ funeral. They didn't know the significance of this song for me and it was a tender mercy from the Lord. I know that fellowship in the church is one of the most important things that help me to stay on the straight and narrow path. I have tried to surround myself with good friends who have the same standards and values that can help encourage me and be my support. I know that Heavenly Father has shown His love for me by bringing this group of people into my life.