RAINY DAY

We had some relatively lowkey plans for the day, but Emmanuel called this morning to say he needed some extra rest. He has been fighting a suspected bout of malaria. (He says he gets malaria about twice a year.) 

He first started feeling poorly a few days ago but I think he soldiered through and held the disease at bay by sheer willpower while he drove me all over the country. 

So when he got back to his family yesterday after being gone since Sunday morning, he finally gave himself permission to feel sick. 

Emmanuel's illness and a gray blanket of clouds with steady rain all day meant some Saturday down time for me. 

I didn't know how much I needed it. 

The combination of endless novel experiences, cultural awkwardness, spiritual highs, anticipation of the future, and some homesickness have taken their toll. 

My host (who is a member of Mission Resource Ghana's Board) was out of the house along with other members of the family, so I had a lot of alone time. 

You know how little of substance you get accomplished on a Friday evening after a long week of work? 

That was my whole day.

I did get started editing my photos and experimenting with ways to match up clients with their names from my notebook. It's going to take a while, but here's the start:

(You'll notice that, like Haitians, Ghanaians are not enthusiastic about smiling for photos!)

Also, I found a fun app to play around with - it removes the background from photos. Here's Emmanuel (on the right) giving his buddy (and Mission Resource group leader), Pastor Francis, a hard time for putting on some weight since the last time they were together!